'The Takeover' is a light, fun read despite a number of sticking points that pulled me out of the text. A lot of my issues with the story are things that I dislike about Ana Huang novels, which are wildly popular, so it might just be me that's the problem in this case. Without further ado:

There's a lot of virtue signaling via checklist diversity that doesn't actually go deeper or inform the story at all. I'm all for diversity, but put some thought into it beyond 'we need one of every race, one of every gender/sexual orientation, one of every ability status, etc.' and then not having those different perspectives/experiences/etc. inform *anything at all* about the character or the story.

This also has:
* body betrayal syndrome
* enemies to lovers (but no good reason to be enemies)
* successful adults who somehow act/think like particularly unreasonable teenagers
* aforementioned successful adults are over a decade past high school, but somehow they're still hung up on high school drama and the fact that FMC was a hall monitor?
* successful adults who do not seem at all capable of achieving the success they're purported to have
* 'other women, if love interests, are evil' - her ex’s new girlfriend is ugly and bad at makeup (apparently moral offences) and eats large pastries (which somehow warrants disgust)
* unintentionally unlikable characters

I would try the author again, because it was a quick, mindless read and sometimes that's all you want, but I wouldn't rush to do so.

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: romance
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: no
✨ Recommended For: fans of Ana Huang

💕 Characters: 1/5
💕 Writing: 2/5
💕 Plot: 3/5
💕 Pacing: 3/5
💕 Unputdownability: 3/5
💕 Enjoyment: 3/5
💕 Book Cover: 4/5

Thanks, NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cute!! I definitely needed a pallet cleanser and this was perfect! Loved how hobbits were included! Overall, a fun enemies to lovers book!

The Takeover follows Nami after her 30th birthday party ends up reminding her that her life is not where she wanted to be. There is the failed engagement, the company she has poured her soul into is struggling, and she is beyond jealous of her sister's happiness.

I enjoyed the exploration of the relationship between Jae and Nami. Everything was complicated with their own complex family relationships and expectations. The chemistry was evident from their first interaction. Their was witty banter and fun pop culture references.

Both narrators did a great job of bringing the characters to life.

The Takeover is a quick read with the usual, and predictable, enemies-to-lovers romance and a ticking time bomb threatening. The characters are likable and I was vested in the happily ever after, but there are no surprises. For a quick read, this is a good option.

I did not enjoy the narration, however - the delivery was too staccato for me.

3.5 rounded up

This was a fun enemies to lovers, dual POV, workplace romance that sees two childhood rivals reunited as one tries to takeover the company of the other. Forced proximity at its best, the sexual tension in this book was top notch and the perfect embodiment of the line between hate and love is a fine one. I enjoyed this a lot and recommend for fans of Sally Thorne's The hating game! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I found the story inoffensive, Nami was finding her feet after a rough time and now needing to keep her business afloat, while Jay was representing the company hoping to purchase her start-up.
The characters were fairly likeable (initially I strongly hated Bezos’ minion Jay - what an arse!); but there were some parts that I found confusing (like how she was a founding partner but knew nothing that was going on).
It would be an easy palette cleanser - The battles they got in to were fun yet short lived.

Obviously the medium affects how you feel about the story, so if I was to review based on that - it would be a 1*
I was 2% in and already wanted to DNF because I knew the F-Narrator was too robotic for me. There was no life/character in the portrayal. I didn’t enjoy it. at. all.
It required work from me to overlook her speech pattern. Maybe pick up the e-book instead.