Nami started a tech company and now it's under threat. A big company, represented by her old high school crush/nemesis Jae, wants to acquire it, making the partners rich, but a bad deal for the employees. Nami will fight to protect it. Toggle, the company, is her baby. As she fights, she and Jae find themselves drawn together, but he's hiding a big secret that will tear them apart. I really liked Nami and Jae and their families, and I enjoyed the humor and the kindness among the coworkers. A really enjoyable book by a fine writer.

Unputdownable, addictive romance alert! As an avid enthusiast of the enemies-to-lovers trope, this book checked all the boxes and then some, surpassing my expectations by earning a resounding five stars — a rating filled with the essence of hellishly spicy ramen, mischief, immaturity, and yet, a captivatingly competitive sense of humor that kept me thoroughly entertained!

Can you fathom the sensation of approaching your 30th birthday, only to find the company you've painstakingly built with your sweat, blood, and sacrifices slowly slipping from your grasp? Picture celebrating your milestone amidst a gathering of elders, mustering a fake smile to conceal the inner turmoil, all in an effort to shield your mother from disappointment, despite the tears that threaten to breach. Nami, the unfortunate protagonist, finds herself mired in this predicament.

After a mortifying incident involving her ex-fiancé, who cheated on her with a dancer at his bachelor party, an episode that goes viral, Nami channels her energy into her career, an attempt to mend her broken heart. Yet, it appears her precious creation is on the verge of being devoured by corporate sharks, and she's powerless to prevent it. To make matters more intriguing, cryptic messages from an unexpected sender start to arrive — none other than her high school arch-nemesis, Jae, emerges from the shadows, suggesting an impending reunion. This complex turn of events leaves her emotionally entangled, as her cyberstalking escapades reveal a transformation in Jae: from a familiar face into a wealthy, seemingly villainous millionaire with a physique that could grace a sweatsuit catalog.

Focusing on her future and harboring a desire for happiness akin to her sister Sona and her fiancé Jack, Nami fervently wishes for her soulmate to cross her path. Yet, fate throws an unexpected curveball, steering her towards the very person she detests. Jae, who represents Rainforest — a company infamous for its questionable treatment of employees, ruthless company takeovers, and a power-hungry drive that renders it an industry monolith — embodies all she opposes. Her company's potential assimilation into this malevolent entity is unacceptable, and she refuses to let her arch-nemesis claim victory again. Aided by Dell, one of her partners obsessed with his Weiner Swivel Office Chair, Nami sets out to halt the impending takeover. The arrival of Marcellus, a fashion icon entwined with a brilliant mathematical mind, adds a layer of complexity. But as Nami and Jae lock horns, they realize their rivalry sparks an undeniable attraction. The heated challenges they embark upon — from consuming the spiciest ramen to downing the strongest ABV beers, displaying dance prowess, and even tennis matches — serve as a backdrop for the burgeoning chemistry that envelops them. Unbeknownst to Nami, the stakes are elevated: not only could she lose her company, but she might also surrender her heart to the very nemesis she finds herself inexplicably falling for.

This is undeniably a delightful read, brimming with a diverse array of characters, set in a captivating office environment. The narrative even provides a tongue-in-cheek critique of corporate giants like Amazon and the detrimental consequences of unchecked company takeovers. Yet, the pièce de résistance is the sizzling, palpable chemistry shared between Jae and Nami — it stole the spotlight of the book. I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to fellow enthusiasts of the genre and anyone seeking a respite from the harsh realities of life, aiming to infuse a touch of joy into their existence.

A heartfelt thank you extends to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for generously providing me with the opportunity to engage with this captivating book, through a digital review copy, in exchange for my candid insights.

Overall, this was a pretty cute book. I was a bit apprehensive at the beginning, especially with how often the author emphasized the rivalry between Nami and Jae back in high school. They seemed a little too hung up on it for 30 year olds. Aside from that, I thought the plot was pretty unique and flowed well. The romance was pretty well done and there were definitely moments I was rooting for them.

Jae and Nami were high school rivals and he suddenly comes back into her life attempting to buy her company. He works for a not-at-all thinly veiled mega company and she fights the sale trying to keep her company intact.

We've definitely seen this story before. Workplace enemies who have completely competing goals turn lovers but one of them is going to blow it all up. But it was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed Nami and Jae's banter and the side characters, especially their families.

I would have liked a little more creativity with all the companies rather than just renaming them something extremely similar and changing nothing else about them. It just seemed a little lazy.

This romantic-comedy had me smiling at the witty commentary the whole book! A ton of great cultural pieces and pop-culture references. I really loved the character development and wanted to work along side Nami! Such a feel good read😊

The book is truly what it's marketed as (an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance), which, after reading so many "she-misunderstood-he-was-in-love-the-whole-time" books, this achievement earned my instant respect. Even better, the actual enemies-to-lovers (!!) has a sufficient amount of nuance (!!); Nami and Jae hated each other, but more so, they hated the ideal that the other person represented (which made the "to-lovers" bit believable), and they actually had massive amounts of respect for each other (a "you-are-the-only-person-worthy-of-being-my-enemy" type situation, which I found really cute).

I especially enjoyed the casual representation. However, there were some expectations Jae's dad inflicted on Jae that were explained away simply due to Jae's dad's Korean heritage; I would've enjoyed some more background on the reasoning and the history behind those expectations, just so I could understand Jae's complexities a bit more; I think this would also make Jae's 180-degree character improvement much more nuanced and engaging to read about.

I really appreciated the lack of graphic sex and also the fact that it's not a pandemic book (the pandemic's mentioned in the beginning and I got scared).

Small qualms: outfit and appearance descriptions (it's giving Wattpad), I didn't understand many of the pop culture references (this may just be a "me" thing though), what exactly does Rainforest do (??), what exactly does Nami do (??).

Things I found unintentionally funny: <spoiler>one of the ending messages is that crypto > corporate sharks (???), Jae's character revamp is quitting his corporate job and becoming a **freelance consultant** (lmao), there's a character that's Zuckerberg/Bezos/Musk mashup (he owns a social media company and his major life goal is to go to space again #rocketman). </spoiler>

Fun read, but not much more than that. There were some grammatical errors which I hope will be fixed before the publication date.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All thoughts were my own.

Love the first book in this series so I am excited to read this second stand-alone. Nami's fiance broke up with her. Her job is about lose funding. She's jealous of her sister's happy love life... She sees her high school nemesis Jae again and the sparks fly...

Love this enemies to lovers story. The banter is great. Love their main characters' chemistry. Fun rom-rom.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I requested this ARC because I love a good enemies-to-lovers worplace romance. This one just did not do it for me.

Let me start with the positives:

The witty, snarky banter between Nami & Jae was top notch. They loved to push each others buttons and did it so well. There were a lot of moments I laughed out loud.

The story was well written. The family ties for both MC was lovely. The story itself was well fleshed out.

As my husband works in the "tech" industry, I also enjoyed the story on that level.

The negatives:

The first 30% of this was so difficult for me to get through as it seemed like the goal was to tick off every DEI box possible. Japanese american FMC, Koren, Filipino & Hawaiin FMC. Gay brother. Nonbinary life partner. and those that appeared to be written as white were toxic, misogynistic, sexist males thats sole purpose was to degrade women. Trust me, the scene with "Deuce" was gross on every level as he blatantly refused to let her speak and tried to lure her in to fulfill his Asian sex fantasy.

At arund 40% these talking points were put on the back burner and the story itself shone through. If it had gone on much longer I likely would have DNFed.

I appreciate these are real world issues and they should not be ignored, downplayed or swept under a rug or dismissed. To me, it was excessive and not needed to tell this story.

It was an fun book with really interesting characters. The premise of the book kept me engaged and the chemistry between the characters was very good. I enjoyed how the relationship progressed throughout the story. All in all it was you do not want to miss this book.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

thank you cara tanamachi and st. martin's press for my arc <3

overall, i had fun with this. very good chemistry between the characters. i liked how real both of their families felt. i definitely felt emotions while reading.

i'm going to be kind of negative, but please know that overall, i did enjoy this a lot. i'm only pointing out the things that i personally did not like because they might irritate other people as well. i think with a little reworking, this could've been a 5 star for me.

what i did like - i actually liked all of the scenes of them competing. i usually find these types of scenes annoying. i wouldn't say i LOVED them, but i definitely didn't hate them. i like how they humbled both nami and jae, while also showed how well they work together.

the biggest thing, for me, that kept this from being a 5 star book, is how the takeover was handled. 1. <spoiler>crypto ends up saving the day, so that the employees can create their own company and them out</spoilers>. which i.... hate. do not try to sell me on the idea that <spoiler>crypto is good, actually</spoiler>. and 2. i was hoping that, after an entire book of nami and jae competing and ultimately working well together, that the resolution would be them...... working together....... it's a romcom, it's fine. i don't necessarily have a problem with the guy having a Reveal where he Fixed Everything. but it would've been nice to see.

some smaller things:
- nami calling jae "satan"
- mention of the pandemic (it was only once, but i almost stopped reading because i hate "pandemic books" - it is not a pandemic book)
- nami and imani. i didn't have a problem reading both names back to back, but i can't imagine someone with say, dyslexia, having a good time with that
- way too many pop culture references, they were already outdated and this book comes out in january 2024.

technical -
this sentence is missing a word, i think
"I can’t tell her the truth without violating the NDA, and it’s not Nami would keep the secret."

I definitely enjoyed the vibe of this book. The characters feel very relatable, both in age range and characteristics, including all supporting characters and not just the lead characters. As someone that is the eldest sibling in an Asian-American household, it felt realistic with the character background and development.

The banter was very enjoyable, although maybe a little cringy at times. The build up to the romance was casual and it was great to see the specific "aha" moments of the lead characters' realizations for each other. There was not any descriptive (ahem, sexy) spice, which was fine with me. The alluded implications were still well written out.

I don't know anything about start-up company/culture but it was still easy to follow along and did not make a huge impact for those unfamiliar with it such as myself. I very much enjoyed the pop-culture references sprinkled throughout the book. The story itself had a satisfying ending resolution and I enjoyed reading the epilogue and how it played out.

I generally enjoyed this book, the hate-to-love was fun, and I enjoyed the fire-y build up to their romance, the camaraderie at work, and the likeable characters (except for the obviously dislikable ones like Dell and his chair.) Having been in on start up culture for the last decade or so, Cara Tanamachi captures some of that energy, some of the heartache, and some of the weird twists of fate that can happen. But this is a romance novel, not a book about start up culture - and it was delightful. I liked the ending and the epilogue.

This was a feel good book - I loved the banter between Jae and Nami, which was funny, silly, and never super mean, just sort of spiky fun. I thought the character development was excellent - we got to see a lot of depth in both of the lead characters, as their layers get peeled back,, and see their perspectives and motivations play out. This had some spicy (food) elements, but was tame in terms of sexy spice - some implied actions, but not much detail, which I thought was well executed. I enjoyed the dedication to competition, even on the silliest of things (see: hell ramen.)

I found the first chapter from Jae's perspective kind of awkward, but subsequent chapters felt better. Some suspension of disbelief is necessary if you've ever seen the inside of a modernish tech company, and/or one undergoing a takeover or dealing with VC fundraising or any of that, but I think it played out relatively well regardless.. When crypto and NFT's were mentioned a couple of times, I got nervous, but there was a reason, and it was cute. No one is actually singing their praises as a current thing to invest in, praise be.

I did not realize this was part of a series until after I had already finished it, and was looking at some of the authour's other books, (The Second You're Single, features Sora and Jack) but I think this is probably fine as a standalone.

This was fun, and laughed a lot throughout, Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-galley.