Hot Desk

This was a great read. It grabbed my attention right from the first few pages and it never let up.
I’ve read a few books by this author but I think I’d definitely have this in my top 2.

I’ve been in a bit of a book slump recently and was struggling reading a book, so I thought I’d read this one instead and it brought me out of the slump! I couldn’t put this down and really enjoyed the story.

‘Seriously, I don’t think your stuff is crap, it’s part of you and you’re the most creative person in this place, Alice in Wonderland.’

Recently, I’ve read a lot of romance and this one did not disappoint. It took a few chapters for me to get into the story properly but once I’d read them I was hooked. I loved the romance and the relationship that blossoms between Alice and Jamie. Alice and Jamie had met once, years before they had started working together, at Reading Festival, where they had shared a kiss that Alice can’t stop thinking about, but it appears that Jamie doesn’t remember her. Alice has been excited about returning back to work full time after lockdown, but her boss has introduced flexible working, where she will work different days to Jamie, but will share a desk with him. This transforms their work relationship into a flirtationship as they begin to write post-it notes to each other all day. Whilst Alice is learning to work efficiently from home half of the time, she is also having to deal with an obsessive ex, who doesn’t seem to get the hint that she doesn’t want to be with him.

‘The real you, not some fantasy. It would have been easier if you’d just been a dream.’

I thought the concept of the story was very cute and I loved reading the post-it notes that they sent to each other. This book has been on my TBR since January and I’m so glad I finally got to read it, and loved it! I 100% recommend this to romance fans.

I was really looking forward to reading this as the write up was so good and it certainly didn’t disappoint me at all from the first page I was hooked and just wanted to read more to see what was going to happen. It’s full of work and relationships and romance and being happy and honest with others. The characters are able to draw you in and the plot is well written and you just want to keep reading.
Alice years ago kissed a bloke who she always has had something for but she is with someone at the moment who she knows isn’t right. She on her way to work and gets an email saying they have a meeting that mortgage and she thinks after the pandemic and working at home she is going to loose her job as the business is going under. But once in the meeting she learns they are slim lining the office and you will work part at home and part in the office and she will share a desk with someone who she learns is Jamie who she knows is this bloke she kissed years ago. He doesn’t seem to realise she thinks and while they share a desk he leaves notes for her and she can’t wait for what the next note will say. They soon start getting closer but there are still secrets to come out and one major one as well and how will Alice cope when she learns Jamie does remember the kiss they had and he does feel for her but what else is he hiding and will she support him and find a life with him or not and how will work life go sharing a desk together.
Worth far more than five stars as so well written.

I've never read Zara Stoneley before and I'm sat here asking why I left it so long to read her books.

This book was brilliant. You will follow Alice through love and friendship. You'll meet her family and her work colleague's. You'll even meet Mabel, a blue footed booby bird (not a real one, a toy one), who if you're an animal lover like me, you will research and find out they are a pretty interesting animal.
I connected with Alice a little more than I'd like to admit as she is very like me but I think most women who read this book will find themselves connecting to her in some way. There's some good life lessons in this book as well.

In general it was a really good book and one that I will definitely be recommending it and probably buying a paperback copy of it once its published as I can see myself wanting to reread it.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Hot Desk is such a cute rom com! If you're looking for a fun and easy escape, don't hesitate to get this book!

*4.5
i received an arc through netgalley.

this book is so good but once again i was a bit annoyed that they were fade to black scenes but it made sense. i wish we got to hear them say out loud to each other i love you, also i needed an epilogue knowing how everything fully worked out. i would like to believe that they are married and are co parenting alfie but i don’t know

The story of Alice and how sharing a desk with Jamie changes the way she sees herself and learns to finally put herself first.

A great fun book which was an easy and enjoyable read.

I do enjoy Zara Stoneley books but I must confess I wasn’t sold on the premise of this however what I expected to be a bit of a shallow read actually had some solid issues amongst it. The main character Alice is horrified at the concept of sharing her desk, this is what I thought sounded a bit weak in honesty, it’s not exactly the end of the world however as the story progresses and more of her personality unfolds you can actually appreciate why this cut her up so much especially when you add the problems with her ex into the mix. Her coworker Jamie comes across really well in his messages but you don’t get to the heart of him until well into the book and he in turn gets a really solid storyline. Overall this does had a solid basis but I’m glad to say there’s still a lot of fun and humour in it too, 9/10

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

For Alice, who loves her job, and doesn’t want to lose it, the thing that’s she’s always had without sharing it with anyone has been her desk. Since childhood she’s always had to share, be it her room, clothes, food. Even moving out of her parents house hasn’t changed this. But her desk has always been just hers. But now, that’s about to change.

The company where she works has decided to switch to shared working weeks, so she’s now got to share her desk, move her stuff off it to make room for the other persons stuff, and that other person is Jamie. The man she can’t stand, and also someone with whom something happened years ago.

As well as that, she’s got her ex, Dave, who can’t take no for an answer. Alice is beginning to realise Dave has always tried to mould her into his way of doing things, be it what she should eat, wear, buy or have at home. Even though the relationship has ended, he’s still poking around.

Deciding to stand up for herself, she’s slowly getting to live her life how she wants, starts saying no to people helping themselves to her stuff, wanting her doing things their way.

Jaime, finally let’s her know that he too recognises her from the past, and then also drops another bombshell……

What will this mean for her and Jaime, will they remain just friends sharing a desk or will their note leaving ritual progress to something beyond friends?

Recommend It.

Another escapist read from Stoneley, who excels in this genre. This one is set in the office, where sharing a desk is de rigueur. Laugh-out-loud, one sitting read.

I loved this book and blew through it in 2 days! Set in today's world (read: Covid exists) Alice's office has to down-size and she now has to share her desk and personal space with her co-worker, Jamie. Their professional relationship starts to blossom into more through cute post-it notes left for each other on their desk…but there will be a few bumps in the road. What an amazing storyteller Zara Stoneley is!

This was such an entertaining and humorous read. I literally read in one sitting. I love Zara Stonely books, she's fast becoming a favourite author. Her books have the feel good factor with heartwarming romance.
Alice loves her job , her office is the place she escapes to , her desk is home to her keepsake collection and full of her happiest memories. When the work from home / desk share scheme is introduced she finds herself Hot desking with the office hottie and her nemesis Jamie. The two are complete opposites, Alice is messy and a clutterer , while Jamie is tidy and likes order . When they begin corresponding through post it notes left on the desk between each visit a friendship forms .
There are fun and humorous moments aplenty. The romance developing between Alice and Jamie is heartwarming but nothing runs smoothly and there are a few misunderstandings to overcome.
This was an enjoyable read and I thoroughly recommend it.

I think this is the first book I’ve read that mentions Covid and starts to examine ways that our lives have changed since then and that what is good news for one person could be life altering for others. I really enjoyed the characters in this book- they felt very real and authentic- particularly the protagonist. I could definitely identify with her need for space but it was really interesting to see her unravel the deeper cause of it. This felt like it added greater depth to your usual run of the mill rom-com and I was definitely rooting for it all to come right in the end. A lovely read.

Oh this was just lovely, and the best thing was that the main protagonist wasn't a flailing mess who just kept getting deeper and deeper in the mess: she grew and learned and got stressed but worked on it, like a real person. It was so unusual and so great for this genre. More please!

Alice has just gone back to the office after covid and is overjoyed as working from home was hard in a tiny bedroom in a shared house with housemates who weren't exactly quiet. As things are tight financially for her company they have decided to rent out part of the office to another company so they will have to desk share and work from home again for some days.
Alice is partnered with Jamie who she has a crush on after a kiss with him a few years ago at a festival but never saw him again
Really enjoyed seeing Alice asserting herself with her housemates, sister and ex boyfriend, a great read

What a cute book! I really enjoyed the characters and the story! A feel-good rom-com all the way around :) Highly Recommended!

This was such great story!!! I wasn't sure I wanted to read where COVID was actually an issue but this story was fun and presented in such a way that all of us could understand. I love the British humor and the idea of the "hot desk." The characters were so complex and I enjoyed getting deeper into their personalities and issues as the book progressed. I highly recommend this fun read. It will make laugh, it will make you think, but most of all it will bring you joy.

I loved the premise of this book, two co-workers forced to share a desk whilst already sharing a somewhat awkward history. It was a cute, funny, uplifting romcom and I enjoyed watching Alice learn to assert herself a little more. The notes between her and Jamie were really sweet and I was excited every time she returned to her desk to see what had been left. A thoroughly uplifting, escapist romance with witty humour deftly woven through.

Alice is in a quandary - it seems everyone invades her space, with the result she has no privacy at home nor in her relationship with Dave, then she has to share her work space as well! She decides to try and finish with Dave and be more assertive, but Dave has other ideas. An original and enjoyable novel.

Good. A charming workplace romance that takes place primarily through post it notes. Interesting characters and concept.

A gorgeous tale of second chances, Hot Desk has a bit of everything. I initially described it as The Hating Game meets The Flat Share, but it's both of those and neither. Alice is part of a big family, full of loud characters and with a spoiled youngest sister with who she's grown up sharing everything with. She lives in a house share where no one seems to respect her boundaries, and her things go missing all the time. Work, and in particular, her desk were her sanctuary. So when she's finally allowed to return to the office after Covid Lockdowns? She's ecstatic. Finally, she's going to have her one safe space back. Only to be told she's now got to desk share with her (seemingly) arch-nemesis, Jamie.

I was once Alice in many ways. I lived in the smallest room in a shared house. My desk at work was my mini sanctuary. And I experienced the stress of hot-desking. So I could empathise with her plight right from the start. Saying that she is a little rambling at first, and there's quite a bit of repetition in the opening couple of chapters. That said, as I read an uncorrected manuscript proof, I'm willing to overlook that, as I'm sure it will be tightened up in the final edit.

But back to the romance. this is where things really worked for me. I loved the post-it flirting. And I really loved the whole festival storyline. The inevitable conflict was well handled and didn't just feel shoe-horned in, As such, that was where I really felt for these characters. I think what I liked most was the way Alice was able to have that epiphany about boundaries, while simultaneously breaking down her own towards Jamie.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

I will leave the same review on Amazon UK on publishing day

Was such a cute premise, messy desk and clean desk have to share. The story of how they met and only "one" remembering was so cute. I was not a fan of the little twist at the end that kept the two apart for so long. But overall cute story and a great read.