This was a cute workplace romance with strong enemies to lovers vibes!

Things I enjoyed:
• the enemies to lovers was on point. The tension was high in a fun way!
• the audio reading of this book was sooo good
• the family cultural elements/expectations were real and genuine

Things I didn’t love:
• a little slow at times
• pretty predictable

Overall, a fine romance! Wasn’t my favorite but still a fun journey.

I read the book and loved it so much I requested the audio version! The female narrator for Nami I had mixed feelings about because her voice didn’t captivate me as a listener, but I didn’t necessarily think she did a bad job narrating. I found her tone easy to tune out. The male narration for Jae’s character I thought was spectacular! His narration kept me listening and I thought the voice matched the character perfectly!

Thank you for the opportunity to listen!

While I often enjoy the "enemies to lovers" trope, this one missed the mark for me. Partially, it was because I felt like a lot of the writing was a little stilted, and there seemed to be more telling than showing. I like a backstory to unfold, but this novel began with a bit of an information dump. I also struggled with the over use of terms like "boss babe" and the like.
That having been said, there was a lot of cuteness in this novel. I thought the spicy food competition was adorable, and I loved how easily and seamlessly the author incorporated diversity in her characters.
I think this is a fun, light read overall with a cute storyline.

As a major fan of a rivals/enemies to lovers trope that includes witty banter, competitions, and high school nemeses, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It checked a lot of boxes in what I look for in a contemporary office romance. True to the description, it definitely gives off The Hating Game meets The Office vibes. Diverse characters and representation. Nami and Jae's journey from hate mate's to soul mates was full of fun, wild drunk dancing, reminiscing about their time as academic/athletic rivals in high school, family dynamics, processing traumatic personal events as well as sweet, tender moments as their relationship blossoms.

Includes: Rivals to lovers, high school enemies, he falls first, found family, witty banter/hate flirting, and HELL RAMEN, Closed door office romance.

If you are looking for a fun office romcom with minimal/no spice, I highly recommend!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publishing: January 30, 2024
Pages: 304

This is the first time I have read novels by Cara Tanamachi. So, when I started to read this novel, it was a bit slow for me. I requested the audiobook version to review and was surprised to find that I loved this story. I love a good trope that incorporates enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity and office romance. This was absolutely that kind of rom-com that I enjoyed. The characters were perfect for one another.

Nami has a tech company in desperate need of cash and in walks Jae, her high school nemesis offering to bail her out of her bind. You can see the chemistry coming from a mile away. There are funny characters, awkward moments, and steamy. Well-written story that had a natural pace to the end. Narration performed by Donald Chang and Chieko Hidaka was good. It left me smiling upon finishing this quick listen. This author is hereby added to my list, and this is definitely a winner. Recommend the read/audiobook.

Being 30 is not what Nami thought it would be and she feels like she is failing at everything when all she has ever done is excelled - so who can blame her for making a birthday wish to find her soulmate? Except fate has a sense of humor and instead send Nami's highschool archnemesis, Jae Lee, bulldozing back into her life. But what if the universe knows something that neither Nami or Jae do? As the old adage goes, there is a fine line between love and hate.

I love myself a good enemies to lovers romance, and Cara Tanamachi really delivers with "The Takeover". Seeing the growth of the characters and watching the love grow between them was so fun and a bit spicy. There is a perfect amount of comedy, romance, angst and levity on hard topics found within these pages. Cara's writing style is very reminiscent of Jesse Q. Sutanto, but with a bit more spice and romance!

There was so much diversity and I was so glad to see the Korean-American perspective, as well as mention of the interment camps back in WWII. It wasn't a direct focal point of the book, but the subjects were still given the proper respect that I think they deserve.

The narration of this book was phenomenal and amplified the entire story, which is a direct complement to the narrator's talent. I would highly suggest this as your format. The characters had distinct voices, the funny moments were funny and the hard moments held the appropriate amount of gravity.

You may not like this book is if you want more or less from the tough subjects referred to above, I thought it was the perfect balance though. I did struggle with how prejudiced these two were against each other and how close-minded they were in the beginning.. A lot of their original gripes about one another come down to them making assumptions.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book. I have liked everything I have read by Cara Tanamachi and love how she brings funny moments into a romance and really pays attention to developing a great plot. I am going to be recommending this one to my romance loving friends!

I loved the diversity in this book and how Nami is a boss lady in the tech world. This enemies to lovers romance was as cheesy as it comes and my favorite scene was the super hot ramen scene. Jae Lee bothered me with how inconsiderate he was when it came to him being "bored" and just wanting to go after Nami's company. Whether that was because he wanted the competition he gave her or to take apart her business, there were a lot of people involved who would get hurt from his "boredom." He did somewhat redeem himself by helping the coders figure out a plan. Overall, it was a fine read, just not my favorite.

The narrators did a fantastic job delivering this story. It’s a cute workplace high school rivals to lovers and I enjoyed it being told from Asian American POV for both the FMC and MMC. I thought the relationship between the main characters was good but it was clear they were into each other right away. Things that really kept kicking me out of the story was the names of the companies that are mentioned frequently throughout the story. Names like Rainforest (aka Amazon), GrabGrub, Joust, Toggle and Insta deliver. All and all it was cute and good pallet cleanser type book. I would read again from this author.

I just reviewed The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi. #TheTakeover #NetGalley

so many thoughts...
the yays: 1) I am so relieved to read about a hero and hero who are not blond and blue-eyed. If I read about another h/h with clear blue eyes like the sky I will vomit... I am so happy to read about characters that are rich in their cultural backgrounds. Double yay!

2) why... why oh why... this is not an enemies to lovers book... this is a I am very priviledged and want to come off as worldly troop. I liked neither the hero nor the heroine. They were both very immature. Hello authors, just because your main characters are wealthy doesnt make them interesting, nor likeable... I enjoyed the familial relationships more than I did Jae Lee and Nami. I thought they were spitiful... and enough with the weatlh... we get it they are well off... really
I get there might be a generation gap...but who the heck behaves this way in a professional environment?
The narrators were both pleasant...but I don't know or understand why women narrators keep giving women these valley sounding voices... why? why?

A great "enemies to lovers" story without the slow burn. Fun "easter eggs" in the company names. Had good character development, seemed like logic was used in what each character realistically would have done in each scenario. Very much enjoyed how culture played into everyone's backstories and motivations. I wasn't a fan of some of the writing, as phrases got repetitive. At times, lines of dialogue didn't feel authentic. This also might have just been the voice actors way of reading the story (it felt more like reading and less like acting out the dialogue). Overall this was a really enjoyable read/listen. I couldn't put it down and needed to know how each storyline played out. I really appreciated the nice neat ending, all loose ends tied up!

Overall, I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers aka hate mate storyline along with the undertone of women in the tech industry. While I enjoyed the love story between Nami and Jae Lee I did feel like their love story seemed rushed but I did enjoy the cultural undertones of their relationship dynamics.

While I enjoyed the book I did struggle with the narration of this audiobook. I really enjoyed the performance by Donald Chang who performance Jae Lee's point of view. I really struggled with Chieko Hidaka's performance. She sounded like there was an echo to me and I struggled to follow her sometimes when she spoke really fast in some parts.

I did not like this one, it was not for me. I truly did not care for the characters and it was sort of annoying. I also didn't connect to the narrators. I had to DNF at 25%.

In this delightful book, Nami, a 30-year-old grappling with a broken engagement and a pandemic-threatened business, finds herself reuniting with Jae Lee, a high school nemesis turned big-shot executive at Rainforest. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic in this workplace romance had me both giggling and on the brink of tears. The cheesy charm, complemented by witty banter, made it a true rom-com gem. I particularly enjoyed the competitive spirit between the main characters, and the dual points of view added depth to their thoughts and emotions, making it an engaging read.

The take over is an
Enemies to lovers they happened to
Grow up together in school,
She hates him alone
He’s completely obsessed with her.
I do believe most ppl will rate this 4 stars it was so fun and fast pace . They have
Nick names for each other and most of this book is in the workplace so it also has
Workplace romance trope. There’s
Family drama but not really to negative pretty funny all the banter between her family and his (:
She’s a girl boss who’s stunning and doesn’t even know it and he’s super successful down to earth and handsome but she couldn’t see it before or she wouldn’t allow hers to because he’s always been her rival !

The only thing I truly disliked about this book was the amount of times the main character referenced the antichrist ,demons, satanic rituals and possession in reference to this man she’s openly falling for with no shame 🤣 I was super thrown off by that but other wise I would say I’ve truthfully given this a 3.5⭐️
I recommend this book and I would so buy it as a fun romcom for a friend .

This was an enemies to lovers business rom com. I enjoyed the cultural talk with the relationship. Fun rom com. Quick read. Good characters and story.

3.5 Stars
A quick and fun read

If you're in the mood for a lighthearted book featuring the enemies-to-lovers trope, then this is for you. The witty banter between the two main characters was entertaining, and the ramen scene was an absolute riot.

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

The takeover was a hilarious banter filled romcom. Nami and Jae's love story is so relatable and definitely felt genuine and built with the story. I love how stubborn they both are and how they challenge each other.
This is an high school enemies to adult lovers. I enjoyed the family dynamic and historical reference.
This was a dual POV with dual narrative and both were very well done and kept me engaged in the story.
There are lots of nerdy references in this and the office shenanigans were hilarious. I kinda want to work here.

This one wasn't for me. DNFing at 50%. When you don't care about the ending and aren't even slightly curious, I see no reason to continue reading. Both the H and h are flat to me. The storyline doesn't really make sense. (You have an Amazon-ish company who also acquires other companies and they are going after a home-swap-AirBNBish app startup? WTF?) And then the characters remember minute details about each other from high school , despite now being 30 and not speaking to one another since graduating- like their tennis moves. I just couldn't.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book, since I have enjoyed RB before. However, this book was very annoying and seemed like someone who wants to be part of startups but not understanding how tech actually works. The characters are not believable. Also, she names the tech company the same name as a well established company.

I LOVE when publishers take the time to hire a narrator for each main person in the book. Having 2 separate voices make all the difference. Both were phenomenal narrators and it made the book that much more enjoyable!

I honestly really loved this book!

Enemies to lovers is one of my MOST favorite tropes and I feel so many people can easily get it wrong by making one or both parties have no redeeming qualities. The just POOF go from enemies to lovers in a heart beat because of the "passion of hate" and it never feels genuine. This book, THIS BOOK, did it so well. Build so many pieces as a foundation to let us see the natural progression due to misunderstandings in their teenage years.
I enjoyed it SO much and found both of the main characters adorable.

Highly recommend!