An irresistible, feel-good rom‑com with charm, cultural nuance, and workplace fun. It’s perfect if you enjoy a fast-paced corporate enemies-to-lovers romance sprinkled with pranks and spicy banter. The characters and humor largely make it a delightful weekday or beach read.

1 ! Sadly, I couldn’t connect with the story or characters, which caused me to DNF. Perhaps I'll revisit in the future.

2.5 rounding up to 3. The idea behind this book was good but it just missed the mark. I felt like half the book wasn’t necessary. I would have liked more about them falling in love rather than “and then we spent three weeks non stop together”. It just felt so rushed.

The Takeover was such a fun romcom! Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, and I loved the banter between Nami and Jae! I enjoyed this book!

Quick Summary: A hate to love romance with a classmate reunion twist

My Review: The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi is a 2024 contemporary novel.

About the Book: "Sometimes, when you ask the universe for your soulmate, you wind up with your hate mate instead."

In My Own Words: Formal high school rivals reunite professionally, only to discover that the hate they thought they had for each other was all about something much deeper.

About the Characters: The cast of characters at Toggle stole the show. They were hilariously funny. My favorite hahas where they were concerned:

1) Dell's Chair
2) The Interoffice Emails
3) The White Board Communications

My Final Say: This was such a great weekend read. Nami and Jae were a total mood, and I loved it and them. They had just the right amount of angst between them to keep things interesting. The family dynamics behind their stories was also interesting to watch. All in all, this was a crazy, sexy, cool rom-com that left me with a smile on my face...okay and a few shed tears along the way.

Readers who like the following tropes will adore this story.

Tropes - >

Hate to love
High school nemesis
Second chance at love
Workplace romance
Close proximity
Rivals to romance
Both fall together scenarios

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: ❤️

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin), and to NetGalley. Thank you so very much for providing access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. I am grateful for the opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and reviewing this novel. I look forward to further acquainting myself with this author's writing.

The book was a very fun and quick read. I found the storyline very easy to follow and very enjoyable.

This rom-com was FUNNY! I really enjoyed the sense of humor and how light the story was. The plot was easy to read and follow. If you like enemies/rivals to lovers, definitely read this one!

This was such a fun read! I loved how the relationship developed, from the very beginning of a random birthday message the banter kept me engaged!

This book had potential, but ultimately left me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled. While the pacing was quick and the banter between Nami and Jae offered some genuinely funny moments, the rest of the story was bogged down by a preachy tone and a glaring sense of self-righteousness. Nami spends much of the book insisting she's a morally superior boss running a Not Evil company, yet offers no real evidence to back it up beyond cool mugs and catered breakfasts. Meanwhile, the depiction of the tech industry feels naive at best and wildly out-of-touch at worst. Jae isn’t much better—greedy, dismissive of his employees, and oddly fixated on predatory metaphors. Their chemistry goes from zero to committed couple in record time, which was jarring, and the third act conflict was eye-roll worthy. I had high hopes going into this story, hoping to see a nuanced portrayal of a woman in tech, but instead got a shallow dichotomy of Good vs. Evil and a cringe-worthy opening line about birthdays and toilet paper hoarders. Not a total loss—but far from the insightful commentary it seems to think it is.

Enemies to lover? Check.
Great banter between characters? Check.
Actual communication when problems arise? Check.
A Fun and quick read? Check.

This book had all the things. If you need a one sitting fun romance this is the book for you.

Enemies-to-Lovers is probably my favorite trope. There is nothing quite like the banter between those that "hate" each other. HAHA. The one thing to note though, is that in order for the enemies-to-lovers trope to be successful, the MCs have to actually be likeable people. Were Jae and Nami likable enough? Debatable.

Look, this book was a quick and enjoyable read. If you're looking for a book with a lot of substance, this is probably not the right fit. While the plot was fine, problems were either superficial, quickly glossed over, or solved out of nowhere. There is some fun banter and funny scenes. Jae and Nami are both extremely flawed protagonists with little redemption. Not to say that I hated them, but I was often annoyed while I was reading the book. The romance went full throttle a bit suddenly and lacked a development between the two characters, which was a disservice to the main plot.

Overall, this book was enjoyable but ultimately pretty forgettable. I think I just needed more substance.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, so this book was right up my alley. It was refreshing that Nami and Jae actually talk things out. The banter between them was also great. The book had a great cast of secondary characters that helped move the story along.

The perfect read in one sitting, addictive romance! Love the enemies-to-lovers trop? Then this is for you!

Thanks, St. Martin’s Griffin, for the arc!

I enjoyed THE TAKEOVER by Cara Tanamachi, but I lost a little focus at times because I was loathing some parts. It was 50% of me had fun and genuinely loling, and then the other 50% wanted to throw the Kindle across the room because the characters were being so stupid 😅

I love the rivals-to-lovers trope, which this book did well, then seemed to forget it was doing - another frustration. Nami and Jai had such heated chemistry as rivals, working into a passion for lovers. I wanted more! Not it suddenly to pause and then pick up again. It was not paced well.

But overall, Tanamachi writes excellent chemistry between two people. I enjoyed Nami and Jai’s banter so much! I just wish the pacing had been better.

This might not have been my favorite romcom, but it was entertaining enough not to DNF. I’ll definitely read more by Cara Tanamachi in the future!

PS: I also loathed - LOATHED - Jai’s dad, but I think that was his purpose.

I was really looking forward to this book. I feel like romance novels set in tech are a missing niche. I enjoyed the slack-like messages throughout he book and the personalities and hijinks that happen around the office seemed realistic at least in the tech companies I've been introduced to. I just had a difficult time really feeling the enemies to lovers relationship between Nami and Jae. I had difficulty being engaged or drawn into their relationship and where it was going to go.

This one wasn't for me. I didn't find myself rooting for either character and ended up being irritated with them as I kept reading.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Takeover
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Cara Tanamachi
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 304

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
• High School Rivals
• Workplace Romance
• Great Supporting Characters
• Enemies to Lovers
• Family Drama
• Dual POV

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
• Fantastic Banter
• The Spicy Ramen eating contest
• Dell’s Missing Chair Memos
• Nami’s protectiveness of her employees

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Nami just turned 30 and her life is turning upside down. Her (ex)fiancé cheated on her at his bachelor party with a dancer, her company (Toggle) is going under, so her birthday wish is to find her soulmate. What she didn’t expect was to see her high school rival, Jae Lee! Jae is the Vice President at Rainforest, a company known for their ruthless takeovers of companies in trouble. Nami tries everything in her power to save her company without the help of Rainforest.. She doesn’t want them to endure what other companies have since they have a reputation of not treating their employees well. She works closely with Jae to make sure the transition goes smoothly but the lines get blurred along the way.

I really did enjoy this story. I did feel that it started a little on the slow side and then felt rushed at the ending but I loved the chemistry between these MC’s. There were so many cute moments shared between them. It's a quick fun read - definitely recommend!

This book was such a fun read! The tension between Nami and Jae kept me hooked, and their banter was so entertaining. I really enjoyed following Nami as she navigated her personal and professional struggles, and the romance had just the right mix of sparks and sweetness. It’s a perfect pick if you love an engaging enemies-to-lovers story with plenty of heart.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martens Press

This book has been on my Netgalley for a bit and I haven’t picked it up. I haven’t been into romance in a minute, so I’m not the right person to review it anymore.

I loved this book more than I thought i would, going into it mostly blind. I love a fun, quick easy read and this was a great find! I was drawn in easily by the characters, a cute enemies to lovers romance where high school rivals meet up years later. Thanks so much for the copy!