This is an adult romance that follows Annika and Hudson, two app developers who hooked up a while ago and now run into each other again. Annika finds out that Hudson created an app called "Break Up" that's all about helping people break up, which goes against everything she stands for. It's an enemies to lovers romance set around all things related to the apps and it all goes from there.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this as much as I had hoped. I love Sandhya/Lily's previous books but this one missed the mark for me. I felt like Annika was way too mean to Hudson, it made sense at the beginning, but at some points, it went a bit too far. I also felt like I was missing content between them, in the sense that... this is a very slow burn romance, which is cool but it just felt like there was a lot going on throughout the book where they just... were arguing and not really spending time together, and I didn't love that. I wanted more from the romance and less of everything else that was going on.

That being said, I did really enjoy some parts of the emotional journey Annika went on. In this book, her app Make Up is actually really struggling (part of why she is so mad at Hudson) and I thought that was cool. I feel like we often see these badass business people in books who have their shit together and know what they're doing. It was see a perspective where it shows the challenges and we can watch the character overcome them. Along with that, there were a few moments between Annika and Hudson I really loved. Lily's writing is beautiful and I enjoyed that. I also loved the setting and the whole plot with the apps because I just love modern romances like that.

I'm still super excited for whatever Lily writes next because I have high hopes it's going to be amazing, and it's only going to go up from here. If you like modern romances like this and don't mind the arguing and all the conflict, maybe still give this book a try.

Entertaining read with likable characters. This one is also a quick read.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of Make Up Break Up in exchange for an honest review!</i>

We have another case of <i>this was fine, but I really don't have that much of an opinion on it.</i> I love the idea of two individuals from conflicting apps having the enemies-to-lovers thing & found some of the scenes to be very cute and steamy; however, this isn't a book that really sticks out for me.

This one was just not for me. I couldn't get into the book, I couldn't get into the characters. I made it about halfway through without connecting with anyone in the story. I think I would have enjoyed Hudson's POV in order to maybe be able to see his side of the story and at least relate to that, but we didn't get that. I liked how determined Annika was to make her app work. I think this was maybe a case of, it's not you, it's me.

Unfortunately this book was a bit of a miss for me. I can be a bit particular about work themed romances and these one felt a little to work focused and technical. I had a hard time connecting to their love story. And the ending threw for me a bit of a loop. I think readers in the tech field would enjoy this book.

I really loved this book! The banter, the serious topics and the chemical attraction between the characters was amazing.

Annika's dedication to Make Up was astounding. She will do everything for her app and she's determined to let it succeed. Hudson was sooo annoying, but such a great character.

One disadvantage is the miscommunication in this book. Annika is a character that fills in the gaps in a conversation. Except, she fills in what she thinks you mean. It's so annoying and she does it multiple times, which made it kind of repetitive.

This book surprised me. The story stayed with me, even when I wasn't reading and I wanted to read all the time.

Link will come.

2.5 stars.

Thank you to St Martin's Press for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Can't say I was a huge fan of this book. Annika was so singularly focused on her app that I didn't feel like she developed at all throughout the story. I dislike the miscommunication trope and this one definitely felt like Annika and Hudson were just going around in circles until the last page when you find out why they "broke up" in Vegas.

I did like the focus on women owned business and women in STEM but overall, I was disappointed.

When I finished this book, I was definitely thinking to myself that I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t like the last half of the book and I didn’t like them as a couple. Then I read other reviews and am in 100% agreement: I really didn’t like this book because it followed a writing formula to a T. It was too predictable and there wasn’t enough chemistry built until they got together which made it all seem very forced and inorganic.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you.

I don't know who I feel about this book. The storyline was fine but flat. There were moments where I was like, this is great.

But when you find out about the actual reason for this archenemy plotline was laid out very late, around 85 percent of the book, it was underwhelming.

Another thing that might have helped this book was to have Annika AND Husdon be narrators; instead, we only get Annika's viewpoint which made her an unreliable narrator, and it made me dislike her.

I haven't read The Hating Game yet, which people are comparing the book to, but this book fell flat. It was okay.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an honest review.

Make Up Break Up is a a typical business enemies to lovers story told in the world of app development. It was a quick read and while predicable I enjoyed the story.

While I'm sure this was intentional, I found it ironic that the H/h are both owners of apps that are focused on communication, and yet they do not/will not communicate themselves. Because both characters were acting silly, it was really difficult to root for either of them

I loved this book from Lily Menon! Hudson and Annika were so much fun and I was hooked from the beginning. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Make Up Break Up is a fun, and relevant romantic read. It's perfect for 2021! Menon has created a world where the characters, Annika and Hudson, must be true to themselves and their respective passions, just as they see their dreams possibly fall through their fingers. This novel is meant for romantics and cynics alike.

My one complaint is that in both cases of Annika and Hudson, their professional accomplishments came a little too easy, and a little unrealistically fast, for my liking. Almost as if the author was reaching to write about the "it" profession of app development without actually knowing anything about it. If you can get over that, the romance is spot on.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for this advanced copy.

4/5⭐️ to Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon. Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for early access to the egalley!

I was really excited to see Menon’s first adult romance, as I am a huge fan of her YA contemporary romance. I thought this one was intriguing, delightful, and I’ll definitely be reading more of her romances in the future! The premise was super fun, with our MC Annika heading an app that gives couples a second chance, and Hudson, who’s app helps couples break up. I felt the tension between them from the first pages, though the romantic tension didn’t really build until much later. It did make it quite satisfying when they did finally get together in the end. The tension and disagreements between them made sense, for the most part, and worked really well for the overall worry! And the date scenes were super cute! I feel like there could’ve been more character growth on Annika’s part as she was a bit intense and potentially unlikeable with how she treated Hudson, and she didn’t really work on that during the book. I did really appreciate the depth & complexity added to her with her relationship with her dad! It was super sweet & the emotion really made me feel for her! Finally, there was some great discussion on pursuing what you’re passionate about and balancing that against the dreams and hopes your parents have for you. This book is definitely worth checking out!

This was my first Lily Menon (A.K.A the very popular Sandhya Menon) book, and I really enjoyed reading it! ❤ A love story between the owners of two rival apps (which follow completely different philosophies) sounds like the best thing ever, right? 💕

My favorite thing about the enemies-to-lovers trope is how we get to see the main characters gradually start seeing the other in a different light. This was just the cake of Make Up Break Up too. I loved the twists and turns that Annika and Hudson's relationship took. It had the perfect amount of angst, slow-burn and drama. The author didn't try to sugar-coat the differences in Annika and Hudson's opinions about love, rather she gave them space to grow together and understand where the other person is coming from.

I would have given this book 5 stars, but the slowness of the story at the beginning, along with a lot of things happening all at once in the end made me disappointed. :( But don't let that stop you reading Make Up Break Up though. It's a delightful story. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

When I started reading this story I wasn’t at all sure I was going to enjoy it. The two main characters, Annika and Hudson seemed a very unlikely match, and even though they had a fling a while before they set up their companies, it seemed clear they were never going to be friends - at all. They were, like the software they were developing, opposite ends of the spectrum, and both appeared to want to destroy the others’ business. Hudson though, was already very rich and successful, whereas Annika had not got started yet, and was perilously short of money. I liked June though, she was amusing, hard-working and friendly, the perfect sounding board for Annika.

It was worth persevering though, because once they had the opportunity to really talk you had the opportunity to see the people behind the hostile facades, much more interesting. There are several twists and turns in their relationship before their happy ever after looks possible, in fact it takes a very dramatic event to make both of them realise what is really important. It is a good story, worth reading. I will look out for this author in future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! Slowburns are so so for me, but this one struck a chord. I loved the unusual meeting place and the rivalry that ensues. Enemies to lovers meets romcom, and techie stuff? Count me in!

This slow burn romcom is about Annika & Hudson who meet up at Tech Conference in Vegas with a not so positive outcome. Flash forward to the present day and they have become rivals with their relationship apps. They find themselves presenting their platforms at another conference in Napa for some angel funding. Will Annika’s Make Up app or Hudson’s Break Up app receive the funding. Pick up a copy to find out! Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Annika Dev is creating an app with her best friend that will give couples tools to help mend breaks in their relationships and level up their communication. The tech they are working on is cutting edge, and Annika is proud of what she’s doing.

Along comes Hudson Craft with his app, Break Up, where they will essentially break up with someone on your behalf. It’s become wildly successful since it launched and basically goes against everything Annika believes in.

To rub salt into the wound, Annika and Hudson hooked up at a conference in Vegas, and now the annoying, and annoyingly good-looking, app-idea-stealing douche has moved his office into her building! This means war!

I love a good enemies to lovers stories, and I enjoyed both of these main characters so much. They were both layered and nuanced and had plenty of their own baggage to sort through so it was rewarding to watch them grow throughout the book.

I had hoped the ending was going to go a particular way, which I, unfortunately, can’t talk about without spoiling the book, but I did really enjoy it none-the-less. If you’re looking for a sweet, feel-good rom-com complete with mariachi music and nerf-gun fights you’ll for sure want to pick this one up.