Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this Audiobook. The premise of this book sounded really cute and entertaining. I unfortunately didn’t enjoy it and over halfway through I was forcing myself to finish it. I decided to stop it at 65%.

Thank you NetGalley. I found myself really dreading picking this book up. Despite the fact that the two love interests come from awful backgrounds, that wasn’t really my reason for not loving it. It just felt like there was no connection between the love interests and some of the plot points felt thrown in. I would be open to giving the author another shot though.

This book really didn't do it for me. I really disliked the main characters and found them both childish. The MC was the worst and extremely selfish while the FMC talked like she was in high school.
Usually I love a good enemies-to-lovers, but this just didn't hit the mark for me. The switch from enemies to lovers was too quick and the third act conflict was unnecessary.

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the gifted copies!

Synopsis: Nami is living her dream running her own tech company. But when funding runs low, threatening to ruin everything, she might have to turn to the most unlikely person for help - her high school nemesis, Jae Lee.

Thoughts: This was a fun rivals to lovers rom com. I really loved the main character - always love to see a woman in stem, especially this one where she owns her own company! I really enjoyed the workplace aspect and the coworkers as the cast of side characters. They were fun and spunky and really rounded out the story. I didn’t like the male main character quite as much, he was more difficult to like I think by design though. If you’re a fan of rivals to lovers, workplace romance, low spice romances, definitely check this out! I had both an electronic and audio copy of this book and I will say the audio narrators definitely made the book for me!

Read this if you like:
💻 workplace romance
💻 rivals to lovers
💻 women in STEM

"The Takeover" is a light-hearted romcom that follows protagonists Nami and Jae through a career and life growing pains. Nami is a startup co-founder and CEO whose business is thriving, but it feeling pressure on her wallet from fast growth. Her love life is a mess and she feels isolated from all of her friends. Jae is a business shark who will stop at nothing to strike a good deal, but like Nami, his personal life is essentially non-existent. The high school rivals reconnect when Jae is sent in to negotiate a business acquisition between his company and Nami's startup. The two of them must decide if they will let old rivalries die or continue to fight tooth and nail to end up on top.

This book includes;
- workplace romance
- high school rivals to adult lovers
- exploration of relationships between daughters and mothers, sons and fathers, and between siblings
- 3rd act breakup
- happily ever after

"The Takeover" is a quintessential beach read. Its lighthearted and easy to read without feeling too silly. I really liked Nami and Jae, and I enjoyed the extra elements that explored family dynamics and how complex they can really be. My singular gripe with the story is that I wish they had been rivalrous family friends, rather than high school rivals. In a way, I guess they sort of were family friends because it was mentioned once that their moms were close friends, but then Jae and Nami didn't know basic things about each other's home lives so it didn't feel like they were family friends. I couldn't suspend reality to believe that two 30 year olds still held on to so much animosity from high school, but if they had seen each other a few times over the years and maintained the conflict, it would have made a bit more sense. This doesn't take anything away from the quality of the story, however, and the book was enjoyable regardless.

I also really enjoyed the audiobook for this book and felt that the voice actors really brought the story to life.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Cara Tanamachi, RB Media, and Recorded Books for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

3.5 stars. This story was cute and the banter was fun. It hit all the notes for a solid rom com. I just didn't really connect with it. How am I supposed to sympathize with a dude whose father doesn't support his dream of being a venture capitalist? Honestly, unintentionally hilarious. And the narrators were kind of weak here. The female narrator sounded robotic and the male narrator was better, but over-acted a bit. If someone doesn't mind how the main characters' jobs are portrayed and reads instead of listens, they'll probably really enjoy this book.

Thank you, NetGalley!

3 Stars
A quick and fun read

If you're in the market for a lighthearted book, enemies-to-lovers trope, then this is for you. Great banter between the two MCs kept it fun.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Cara Tanamachi, and RB Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. all thoughts are my own.***

The Takeover
Cara Tanamachi
It’s Nami’s birthday. She hates birthdays, especially milestone birthdays and this is her 30th. Things have not gone as planned. She has a tech company, Toggle, that has a funding problem partially due to Covid. The company has a laid-back family atmosphere. Her fiancé has ended their engagement. An old frenemy, Jae, comes back in her life. They have been rivals since high school and they pick up where they left off. Jae works for Rainforest, a big tech company, that has made an offer to buy Nami’s company. They are known to come in and destroy the business…Jae works for them. Nami’s business partners want to sell but Nami is determined not to allow Rainforest to take over Toggle.
The characters in this tale are immature and silly. There are several humorous moments in this tale but it falls short. The narrator did a poor job.

I wanted to like this book. The storyline itself was fine, I like enemies to lovers, workplace romance, multicultural romance. The MCs banter was definitely top notch. The problem and solution that comes up definitely have potential. However, this one just didn't do it for me.
I think this could have gone through a couple more rounds of beta readers or something. There are multiple things that are way over used. The Toggle office is glass, the walls are glass, the doors are glass, and the desks are glass. It's all glass and brought up in multiple, multiple scenes.
I know this was a "they knew each other in high school and run into each other 10 years later", but they are both very stuck in high school as nemesis. Another one that was over-used: nemesis. Most people change in 10 years. It just felt like it should have been a YA novel and wasn't at all. "Meant unironically".
I probably would've given it at least 1 more star if I had read as an ebook or physical book. The females narration would probably be better suited for a book without conversations. She is very monotone. No change in the different characters, no matter the age or accent or anything. It's hard to tell when it's a new person talking or even just normal text. Her tiny 87 year old grandma that barely speaks sounds the same as the 20something MMC.

Nami is usually looked down on because she's a perfectionist and a rule follower but her compassion and work ethic makes her an amazing boss. When her high school nemesis Jae Lee comes back in the picture in the form of the whale company trying to buy out her smaller fish company it's a hard mix between feeling all the feelings of the past, some new feelings in the present and pain that he's in her life to dismantle all the good parts of it.

I loved this book. I love the characters and the takedown of some of the caricatures that just feel good to have them cut down a few pegs. The book was funny and layered. The feelings of family were delicately and honestly handled. It was an enjoyable book.


#arc
#netgalley
#thetakeover

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Eh. This is hard. Maybe 3 or 3.5 stars.
It started great but around the 65% mark I started to lose interest.
Then the warning Jae has been giving Nami the entire time is pretty uneventful.
And then we find out that Jae got involved in this situation just because he was bored and wanted to pester Nami. Which was REALLY uncool and this got brushed over and forgiven way too easily.

There's also this weird storyline going on about a swivel chair that costs $12,000.

Also, the hero of the story is cryptocurrency?????

Honestly it just kind of fell apart at the end.

This just wasn't it for me. I'm not leaving angry but I'm not leaving excited about this book either.

I also read this as an ebook, loved it then and loved it even more as an audiobook.

The dual narration was great and the narrators did a really good job both with their diction, it was soothing to listen to and they encompassed the characters really well.

Personally I listen to audios on about 3.5x and they were still completely understandable even when listening that fast.

Absolute gem!

Words can’t express how much I loved reading this! More than the fact that it’s incredibly well written it was just so fun.

The Takeover is so engaging I was all in from the first chapter.

The banter in this book had me smiling all throughout.

There’s also a good dose of relatability: BIPOC characters, diverse representation, family and interpersonal issues, self esteem and reflection acknowledgement, etc. I think it’s be easy for just about any reader to find something relatable to them in this book.

I listened to The Second You're Single last year and I really enjoyed that book. So when I saw she had a new one this year I knew I had to listen to it. This one started out a little slow for me for some reason. I really enjoyed all the characters (the mom was a little bit of a pain..Lol) in this book. I definitely had laugh out loud moments. I really enjoyed Nami and Jae Lee's competitiveness and banter. Once this start coming together you will definitely love this book. I also really enjoyed listening to Donald Chang and Chieko Hidaka telling this story. I found it really easy to follow. I can't wait for the next book from Cara. I would definitely recommend this sweet rom com!



Thank you NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

If you are in the mood for a quick and fun read this is the one, or better yet audiobook!! Thank you for the audiobook arc!

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Ok, first of all, I honestly thought the writing in this was a bit cringe. I don't know the author's age but it seemed like they were trying to force gen z/millennial humor/language and it came out unnatural. I also think the whole premise and plotline were weird, and the third-act breakup and rushed ending didn't help either. The fact that two people that haven't spoken in years were still caught up in high school hatred and competition was also kinda crazy ngl. I get it, but it was too extreme. Also, the fact that she was a hall monitor was mentioned a billion times; We get it. I didn't want to DNF it for the review, but sadly I just didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked to. P.S. The hell ramen scene was pretty funny though so points for that.

This was a cute enemies-to-lovers romance with a lot of extra storylines surrounding it. Nami and Jae, high school enemies, reconnect righa round Nami's 30th birthday when Jae's business looks to buy Nami's. There's also the struggle of overbearing parents (for both characters) and struggling to have a job that pays your bills but doesn't bankrupt your soul.

Some things I didn't love: I would have preferred if the characters were a bit younger, because they came across that way. The heavy-handed diss toward Amazon (Jae works for an evil corporation called Rainforest...) and Nami's obsession with Jae's flat abs.

Jae and Nami did have good banter and though their switch from hating to dating was very sudden, I liked their overall dynamic. Recommend if you need a light and easy-to-read romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for access to this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I loved the narration for this one. It was just right for the story. I love the rivals to lovers trope. Nami's life is not where she thought it would be. Her start up is the only good thing that is until her highschool rival comes in to take it over. Jae Lee was her constant competition all through highschool. Now he is trying to take the one thing she has that she is proud of. When they have to work close together will their hearts become involved? I loved this fun romcom. The story was so good and the romance was so sweet. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’m sorry but I had to dnf at like 30%
I could not get into the story it is all taking so so long ..

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC. I enjoyed the narrators but the story was too immature for my liking. People actually act like that? No thanks.

I like a good romance every once in a while and an enemy-to-lover trope is most of the time fun to follow. Nami and Jae did not disappoint on that part, they are very much into the usual stereotype for this kind of book, which is exactly why I read them. Nami has worked very hard to come where she now is, leading her own company, surrounded by partners and employees she loves dearly. Jae on the other side, is his school-life nemesis (to quote her), a having-it-all golden boy, who stole her the valedictorian position. But when her company cannot be financed anymore and faces a takeover, their paths cross again, for better or for worse.

The book is told from their both point of vue, which is nice. You can see them grow fonder of each other at the same time, through their banters and provocations. At the beginning of the book, I was not sure whether I would grow to like the characters. Nami felt a bit too black-and-white in her positions, repeatedly using the word "evil" to describe Jae or his business, which all felt a bit too childish. At the opposite of the spectrum, Jae qualifies himself as a wolf, in opposition to pigs, in the big dangerous business world. The first chapter from his point of view underlined this bit so much, that the character development felt kind of rushed.

After this first impression though, I genuinely enjoyed them teasing and provoking each other. I giggled a few times at their will to surpass each other and was smiling through the falling for each other part, that was very nicely described. I would have loved to have more about it, before they surrender to their feelings.

All in all, it was a good romance. I also liked the choice of the male voice, which was well rendered. I was less convinced by Nami's voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with the opportunity to read this lovely book, through a digital review copy, in exchange for my honest review.