Pandora Fyffe is a software engineer and the company she’s working for is celebrating, using a celebrity surfer Ozzy Wilder. Then she’s fired. She begins working at a new company, developing a travel app – matching travelers and a trip. She also has a new neighbor – none other than Ozzy Wilder. The app has matched her and Ozzy and those backing the app want her and Ozzy to go on their trip together. But she has a love/hate relationship with Ozzy and wants to stay away from him. If she doesn’t do this, however, she can kiss her dream job goodbye. What she doesn’t expect is how the trip ends.

I really wanted to love this book. It has the bones to be a really great book. There’s some really great romance tropes – enemies to lovers, close proximity, he falls first, workplace romance, but it just never felt like it all came together and clicked. I wanted to feel more chemistry between the two characters. I never felt like it was there.

Honestly, Ozzy was so annoying to Pandora for the first part of the book and that’s how she kept talking about it that I never looked at him another way. I found him to be equally annoying. I think that really set the tone for the whole book for me and the tone never changed.

It wasn’t a terrible read, it just wasn’t fantastic either. It was just okay.

This is such a rompy, fun book to read!

I loved Pandora and Ozzy's characters and their banter and antics are so much fun! It was just really enjoyable to read. Pandora is a coder for a travel app to help match solo travelers with a mate to travel with. And it matches her with former surfboarder/turned her next door neighbor and they're off on a massive road trip to promote the app. The story made me smile and laugh out loud more than once.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This just didn't do it for me. I really liked the male lead character and the narrator helped a lot for that, but truly it was hard to root for these two, they didn't really talk or connct on anything but sex and the resolution was too quick for a pretty big secret.

2.5 ⭐️

This one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I usually love a good grumpy/sunshine setup—Pandora, the closed-off coder, paired with Ozzy, the golden-boy surfer—but their chemistry never really came through. The FMC spends half the book irritated with him because he doesn’t remember a kiss they shared months earlier… but considering they were basically strangers (and he’s a surf celeb), that grudge just felt a little flat. The MC was all charm and persistence, but not much beyond that.
The fake-dating road trip idea had potential, but overall it felt predictable instead of swoony.

That said, I think readers who enjoy light, easy rom-coms may connect with it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Shameless Romantics for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So I really liked that the story featured a female lead in STEM. The premise itself had potential and there were a few moments sprinkled in that I enjoyed. The cover is also great. But overall I think the two stars say the rest.

I went in with high hopes because the cover is so cute and the premise sounded right up my alley! I love a good enemies to lovers, fake dating trope. But this one fell a little flat for me. It seemed to drag out and there wasn’t much happening within the plot.

I thought this was a really cute and original story! It was a great, light read and I really enjoyed it.

As a woman in tech, I was really excited for this book. However, this was definitely not my cup of tea. I found it lacking in several areas, it dragged on, and I just didn't look forward to reading it. I felt the MMC was really cringy and there was no chemistry between him and the FMC.

female character was annoying me so much that i can’t put it to words. she was ‘mad’ at the guy, but why? because he doesn’t remember her? well, that moment was resolved pretty fast but that still doesn’t explain constant hatred toward anyone. it feels like the idea was to create that “dark cat” female character who doesn’t really care about the male interest and mostly interested in her personal life but instead this bitchy and teenage like girl came through. her personality wasn’t developed enough, especially in a context of her storyline. she had no foundation to why she felt like that or acted the way she did. similarly to the mmc. overall, his whole personality ended at being funny and clingy. i still don’t understand why he spent so much time trying to get her attention. for what? there was no motive for him to do so.

I got to the halfway point & they still hadn't gone on the trip they were supposed to take. Everything just felt really drug out, and I wanted the book to get to the point. Plus, it's really weird to me that I'm pretty sure the FMC is black, but the FMC on the cover is white. And if the FMC is BIPOC, then shame on the publisher for not ensuring the character on the cover is BIPOC.

This was fine. Pacing was a bit weird and didn’t really get the chemistry between the main characters. At least it was a good read.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read several of Anne Marsh’s previous Harlequin entries in the Blaze and Dare imprints (I miss them both), so when I saw she had a new romance out I was keen to pick it up. This one is a fun contemporary romance with a few flaws featuring a number of tried and true tropes that made for an enjoyable summer afternoon.

Software engineer Pandora Fyffe is used to being in the background; after all, she writes computer code for a living. She’s even created her own online space exploration game which is her preferred way to spend her free time. She’s the complete opposite of handsome and world-famous surfer Ozzy Wylde. During a beach resort work trip, the one highlight was a shared kiss on the beach with Ozzy though they never exchanged names. But never did Pandora expect to see Ozzy again, and for him to end up as her neighbour! She was completely in her rights to call the police when she saw a man scaling the outside of her apartment building to climb onto the balcony next to her suite. So what if it happened to be Ozzy who had forgotten his key, and that he apparently doesn’t even remember their intimate moment (ouch).

As Pandora gets used to living next door to Ozzy, he continually finds ways to spend time with her, despite her best efforts at one upping him in a prank game to keep him away. She’s the grumpy one, he’s the ever cheerful and fun-loving one, and somehow that leads eventually into a friendship, as well as a little friends with benefits action.

When Pandora helps to create an online vacation app at her new company, one where the user inputs their vacation preferences and gets matched to a traveller wanting the same kind of trip, it’s Ozzy who helps her collect hundreds of survey data points to build the app. And when she tries out the app in a demo meeting, it matches her to Ozzy and a driving trip to a bunch of oceanside locations in Mexico. Obviously there are some bugs in the system as that’s the last type of holiday Pandora would want. But her bosses think it’s a great idea, especially making social media posts to look like she and Ozzy are dating while on this trip, and reluctantly Pandora broaches the idea to Ozzy with a promotion on the line. Ozzy loves the idea (except for any surfing – he’s retired now due to an injury and has no plans to go back in the water). Now she’s stuck with him (fake dating! forced proximity! there’s only one (small and very cosy) bed!) for a week or more. But is it all fun and games and sexy times or can it lead to something real?

I laughed a lot reading this book. Ozzy is like a well meaning puppy, always underfoot and driving Pandora crazy. While I didn’t mind it, I could see some readers finding him more irritating than amusing. Her inner monologues are also very amusing (if a bit silly) as she battles her attraction to Ozzy (I mean, he is a very fit, very sexy man). The story is told all from Pandora’s point of view. I kind of wish we would have had Ozzy’s POV as most of the time he appears quite superficial (one can’t be that happy and cheerful and goofy all the time), but we do get to see a more serious side of his character later on. I felt like Pandora is very relatable as well, a woman in STEM who does a lot of the work without the recognition she deserves. From a critique point of view, the plot of the book is a bit meandering and I didn’t think the conflict part that comes in later was that believable. It’s a low stakes romance and has a happy ending with a qualifier – do they have enough in common to keep them together for the long term? I’m not sure, but I enjoyed the read all the same.

This review will be posted at All About Romance and feedback updated with the link.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

I love to read and listen to books so this review is for both the audiobook and the ebook.
Unfortunately I couldn't finish either version. For the audiobook I didn't like the narrator's tone and that can make or break an audiobook. The narrator's inflection was monotone, making it difficult to keep track of the character's actions and something about the way she was reading sounded like she was making fun of the character she was trying to read for. I switched to the ebook version and I think this is a book that is better suited for reading than listening, there are a few coding references that don't translate well to an audiobook since the formatting of the text is what makes it funny. I really enjoyed the material that this author tried to include in the book but I ultimately felt that the references were being made simply for the sake of making a reference and not to further the plot or add to the tone of the main character. Normally I can read just about anything if the romance is good but I really felt like the chemistry wasn't there enough for me between the two main characters. I really wanted to like this book because I haven't read enough books that have women in computer type jobs. This representation was great but I personally just didn't enjoy reading this book so I couldn't finish it. I still think that despite all of these reasons there is going to be a reader who enjoys this book for the exact reasons that I didn't like it so I would still recommend this book to someone who wants more representation of female coders with a fun romance throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for the advanced audiobook and ebook copies.

Unfortunately this was not for me at all. I loved the idea so much, but I just could not get into it at all.

Honestly not even sure where to begin with this. For a book that was not even 300 pages, the author sure tried to cram in as many romance tropes as they could: second chance, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance, reverse age gap, he falls first...just to name a few. And none of it really worked. I should have been the target audience for this book. The female main character is supposed to be in her late-30s and yet she acts infinitely more childish and immature than the 20-something male main character. There were times where it felt like not a lot of time was spent researching the subject material (coding). The plot, though linear, seemed to abruptly jump around quite a bit and I found myself having to go back multiple times to make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped some pages. I wanted a cute rom-com and instead I got nothing but frustration.

Thank you to Harlequin Romance and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

The Code for Love is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance that mixes humor, tech, and sizzling chemistry. Pandora Fyffe, a no-nonsense software engineer, is forced into a road trip with her polar opposite: the laid-back, social media-savvy surfer Ozzy Wylde. Their "romantic" Mexican adventure quickly becomes a testing ground for both their professional aspirations and the simmering attraction they can no longer ignore.

The dynamic between the prickly Pandora and charming Ozzy is a lot of fun. Their chemistry builds naturally, and while the road trip setup might feel a bit cliché, Marsh does a great job of making it fresh with the addition of workplace rivalry and tech-driven conflict. The mix of fake-dating and real feelings adds an extra layer of tension, and the picturesque Baja setting is the perfect backdrop for their evolving connection.

Though the book leans heavily into the "opposites attract" trope, it's a sweet and spicy read that fans of STEMinist romance and workplace drama will enjoy. Ozzy is a lovable, swoon-worthy character, and Pandora’s journey of self-discovery adds depth to their romance. The only downside is that the pacing can feel predictable at times, but overall, it's a fun, escapist read.

2⭐️ ?🌶️ 4🎧 I love books about women in STEM, opposites attract, forced proximity books, so this book was (in theory) a recipe for time well spent. This book missed the mark in so many ways.

• 30% in and we finally start the main plot of this book: FMC creating a dating app to match you with the perfect travel companion. 1st 30% was why she doesn’t like Ozzy and all the issues Women in STEM deal with.
• I don’t feel like Ozzy and Pandora have any real chemistry. Where is the longing and pinning that usually comes in an enemies-to-lovers romance story. She just straight up hates him for they not so meet cute 6 months prior and this is a single POV story so we have no clue how Ozzy is feeling, but he seems to have his head in golden clouds he lives among.
• “One second I’m plotting his demise, the next I have my tongue in his mouth” the whiplash is so real in this book
• “He has a jumbo 5XL dick” uhhhh…..no he doesn’t, lol. And then where being whipped back into “I’m not having sex with you”/”call me when you change your mind” zone
I started this book at 1.5x speed. I went to 2x at about 20%, 2.5x at 35%, and DNF at 40%. I am sure this book will bring someone joy, but I have too many books on my TBR for books I am speeding through just to get them over with.

Things I loved about this book:
• Ozzy calls Pandor ‘Panda’
• Pandora’s deadpan humor and the narrator nailing her one liners and inner monologue.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pandora: My superpower is invisibility.
Ozzy: You're never unvisible to me.

Pandora, our FMC, comes across as unlikable in the beginning, but as the story goes on it's because she feels invisible in her field of work. No one notices her even though she puts in so many hours and so much effort. People walk all over her. She doesn't know how to say no

Ozzy, the recently retired surfer, is full of joy and quite literally pushes happiness in Pandora's direction. He's sweet and playful.

They are complete opposites and it shows in their love/hate relationship.

My favourite parts are him calling her Panda, their playfulness on their road trip whe she finally let's loose and hiw completely engaged his is when she shows him her little space game she created. You can see how much they love each other.

I do wish that Pandora's character was given more backstop to get to know her more. We get a bunch of Ozzy's during their road trip,  but I think more of hers would have helped.

Overall, enjoyed the story. A few little blips here and there, but I read this for the fluffy romance I assumed it would be. Quite a few steamy scenes as expected. It could have added a few more sweet scenes where she gives more of her emotions/history to him.

Thank you Harlequin Romance & NetGalley for the ARC!

I was so surprised by this book! I went in a little skeptical, but I truly found myself relating to the main character more and more throughout the book. I tend to be a loner by choice, and my work used to be the most important thing to me, too. But alas, love found me and changed my life - much like Pandora and Ozzy's story. Some of the story seemed a little far-fetched, but I fell for it anyway.

Thank you again for the ARC!