Pandora got fired for kissing surf god Ozzy and the face of the new campaign at work. Not a good day.

Fast forward, and Pandora sees someone climbing up the wall to the condo she lives in, and she rightfully calls the cops. But you'll never guess who was climbing the wall... Ozzy, of course.

When Pandora is in a pickle at work because of the ongoing prank war going on between her and Ozzy, he comes to her rescue and matches with her on the app she is building to find road trip buddies. Will they be able to live in a small camper van in Mexico while they try to enjoy their trip? Only time will tell.

I had a very hard time getting into this book, though I really wanted to. There was something about it that just seemed to drag on and on. And while there is an enemies to lovers trope, this seemed like an impossible gap to bridge. I give the book 3.5 stars, but have rounded up.

Mooreghan Martin read this book, and I think that's what saved the book for me. I could listen to her read just about anything.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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. Also, the narrator had a similar upbeat tone throughout everything, so it was hard to distinguish nuance. 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.

I wanted to DNF this book so many times.

The pacing of the romance was awful, I also just didn't like these characters together what so ever. Enemies to lovers?! WHERE?! They kiss 0.4 seconds after meeting and proceed to have the most obvious flirting sexual tension filled "feud". I'm going to be honest Ozzy is a walking red flag, Pandora is not any better either (maybe a light red flag, pink even). The book just made me incredibly uncomfortable! you were meant to root for them but all I wanted was for them to stay apart. I made it through one 'smut' scene and refused to read the others. The characters also read much younger than they are meant to be. It felt like they were early 20's based on how they talked and acted but they're both I believe in their early to late 30's.

It just felt like there were 3 different book concepts that got chucked into a blender and hoped it would work. If we would have only had the road trip scenario I think it would have worked better.

The audiobook was enjoyable, I just wish the characters would have been more energetic.

The premise of this book sounds so cute. I love the fake dating and workplace romance tropes. What also drew me in was that the fmc is a coder and the mmc is a surfer. Within the first chapter, the two main characters kiss after they first meet, which I did not like. Their love story overall was not my cup of tea, unfortunately. I did like a few aspects such as their occupations within their company, their opposite personalities, the roadtrip they took, and when they play the fmc’s video game together. The writing was okay, I just did not like how the author repeated the same phrases. The narration was great. The narrator added more life to the characters and I liked the “voice” they gave to the mmc. I wanted to enjoy this book, but it was only average in my opinion.

A L C • R E V I E W ✨
The Code for Love by Anne Marsh
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Narrated by: Mooreghan Martin

my thoughts 💭
This is an enemies to lovers with workplace romance… this book was a cute quick read. It follows Pandora she is a software engineer and Ozzy he is a retired surfer boy. 🏄‍♂️

Ideally she creates an app that matches people with the perfect traveler so people won’t travel alone. I loved the idea but that was a little creepy to me… anyways somehow Ozzy and Pandora are the perfect match. Let’s just say the forced proximity was perfect, the sparks between the two ughhh! I 👏🏼 ATE 👏🏼 THIS 👏🏼 BOOK 👏🏼 UP!

This book was so funny, I absolutely loved the characters and the plot. The audiobook was perfection, the voice character did a phenomenal job! Definitely recommend! 🤗

Thank you @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for gifting me a ALC.

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. Narrator was fine.

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

Meh, this book was a bit of a miss for me.

It seemed a bit all over the place and didn't really follow an easy flow for me.

You may enjoy this book if you enjoy:
*Forced proximity
*Fake dating
*Workplace romance
*Roadtrip romance

I struggled with this book and cannot decide if it was the book, the narration or both. The author and narrator are both new to me. While the story was written with only one POV, there was no change of inflection or tone throughout. While there didn’t need to necessarily be a change of inflection when the male character spoke, the narrator was flat the entire time. I did enjoy the plot, the main characters and their development, I struggled to stick with the story as at times it processed slowly, I felt the female lead kept repeating the same things over and over. I did appreciate the female character development and that she made her career and life choices independent of the male leads involvement and their relationship. I suspect I may have enjoyed the book format better than the audio for this book.

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.

I was intrigued by this premise from the start.

The story follows our software developer FMC, Pandora who is nerdy, quirky, and constantly feels invisible. The story starts at a launch party at Pandora’s work, but she’s hiding on the beach (as an introvert does) where she runs into (or rather, he runs into her?) professional surfer, Ozzy Wylde. They have a hot make out on the beach but are interrupted. Pandora then gets a text from her boss, firing her. Next thing we know, Pandora’s at a new temp gig and she’s got a new neighbor: Ozzy. Because of course! He acts like he doesn’t remember her or their kiss, and she believes it because experience has shown her that very few remember her. So she’s mad he doesn’t remember and they’re… less than cordial to say the least. But Pandora’s job ends up sticking them together on their own road trip adventure, as a test and marketing for her new work project. Pandora’s job depends on it so she can’t say no!

As far as points I enjoyed, I liked both Pandora and Ozzy. I enjoyed their dynamic together, with the sort of grumpy x sunshine / nerd x jock combo. And as I mentioned above, the premise had hooked me. The forced proximity of being stuck together with a neighbor you antagonize in order to succeed in an important work project? I mean, you had me at forced proximity, let’s be real 😅

But there were parts of this that just felt a bit underdeveloped. The conflict was not that believable and a lot of the ending felt rushed but also dragged on? Overall it was a cute read, but not a favorite for me. I was still rooting for them though, so I was at least invested!! 👌🏻

as far as audio - I thought the narration was good!

Summary:
Pandora Fyffe is a no-nonsense software engineer who believes logic always beats love—until a buggy demo of her new matchmaking app pairs her with her infuriatingly chill, annoyingly attractive neighbor, surfer Ozzy Wylde. When their boss demands a romantic, social media-filled road trip across Baja California to promote the app, Pandora is forced into close quarters and fake dating with the one person who drives her nuts. As the miles pass and masks drop, the two opposites might discover that love isn’t always logical…but it might be exactly what they need.

Short and Sweet Opinion:
A promising concept with great tropes, but unfortunately the execution fell flat—this enemies-to-lovers romance wasn’t for me.

In-Depth Opinion:
I went in excited for what sounded like the perfect summer romance—STEM rep, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, road trip, fake dating—but I ended up DNFing at 78%. Despite the fun setup, I struggled to connect with the characters and felt the story never quite found its rhythm. From the opening scene’s random kiss to a series of confusing choices and awkward interactions, I kept waiting for it all to click, but it didn’t.

As a woman in STEM, I wanted to root for Pandora, but I found her internal voice and behavior frustrating and at times downright cringeworthy. Her “pranks” didn’t land, and her narration often felt more immature than relatable. Add in an audiobook narration that didn’t match the tone or pacing I was hoping for, with mispronounced words that repeatedly pulled me out of the story, and the experience overall just didn’t work for me. While it had potential, this one simply missed the mark.

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.

I’m totally here for romance with nerdy FMCs! Pandora was hilarious. I listened to the audio and I thought the narrator did a great job with the deadpan delivery of Pandora’s internal dialogue.

The plot sort of jumped the shark by around 50 percent, but fortunately by that point I didn’t really mind and was invested in the romance. After all, in order to enjoy romcoms you have to be willing to take a few trips to Coincidence Island!

Read if you like: Opposites attract, Big Bang Theory’s Amy Farrah Fowler, golden retriever boyfriends, forced proximity, road trips

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Going to be completely honest, I was not a fan of this book. The narrator did a great job, but the female main character was written too much like a robot. I get that she's a coder, and a couple jokes about that would have been great, but her whole internal dialogue was strange and made her seem like a machine. Would have been more appropriate if she was actually a robot trying to fit in. Also, Pandora just let people walk all over her and never stood up for herself. Ozzie was a very stereotyped himbo. The two had no actual emotional connection.

There was a lot to enjoy in this book - funny one-liners, snappy banter, and Ozzy calls Pandora Panda, which is adorable, but it wasn't perfect for me. I've never been drawn to reading women in stem, and I'm still not particularly interested, but I did like Pandora’s quirky, introverted personality. There is a lot of steamy scenes and an impressive if excessive (obsessive) variety of colourful descriptions of Ozzy's equipment. The Mexican road trip, that I wanted so badly only came in halfway through the book. I would have loved to see the travel buddy app be a bigger part of the story.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the narration for this one, I recommend reading over audio.

In "The Code for Love" Pandora is a software engineer who designs an app that matches single travelers with one another to plan their best possible trip with a companion. Unbeknownst to her, there is a glitch and her app matches her up with surfer god, Ozzy, who just so happens to be her neighbor/nemesis. He's the likable golden retriever and she's the prickly loner.
The premise for this book sounded SO PROMISING. I was really interested in the idea of an app compiling data together to plan a perfect trip companion, but that part of the story didn't even happen until 60% through the book and the trip barely was focused on. There was a huge lack of chemistry and no connection with the characters. I couldn't care less about what happened to them.
I almost dnf'd this but felt obligated to see it through due to getting an arc for it.

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

This book was hard to get through. I thought it was going to have such an interesting premise, but it quickly disappointed me.
I rarely DNF a book, but I was so close to it on this one.
There was no connection between the main characters. I just felt nothing between the two of them.
Our MMC was obnoxious, and he had no redeeming qualities. Our FMC was too smart for him, but still wanted him; it just didn't make any sense.
He randomly kissed her, didn't know her name, the way he kept reintroducing himself to her made me so angry, he was misogynistic, called her a PANDA(?!!!), HE tells HER to apologize, the pranks were so stupid and reminded me of high schoolers, their intimacy makes no sense, and they have no chemistry.
The characters were not very developed and were not engaging.
The plot was disorganized and felt disjointed - sort of thrown together. I can't say much about the pace because I was just trying to get through the book, but I didn't identify any immediate problems with the pace.
Just not the book for me.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!
Happy Reading!

I had high hopes for this story and audiobook, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. I felt a lot of it was repetitive and the narration just wasn't for me. It was very mehhhhhh.

I ended up having to DNF at 43% and I will not be posting reviews anywhere for this book/audio.

Pandora for President! Love her cactus-y style when really she is a sweetheart. Super smart and witty! I loved Ozzy too for bringing out the best in Pandora. This book is a fun time but also so powerful modern women.

The narrator added so much life and humor to this. As someone who isnt technologically inclined, the narration made a huge difference for me. Its not necessary, but I get hung up on concepts and words that im not familiar with. The audio made thing story feel even more witty, clever, and sweet.

I was swept away with the premise of this book. I truly wanted to love it. However, the narration wasn't as good as I was expecting and that threw me off with the story itself. And the story wasn't what I had anticipated either. I didn't like where the story was headed and I managed to push til the end but made it to 71%.

Sure, the spice level was quite high, but it just didn't make sense to the story. Like I don't know where it was going to go and if it was even worth my time.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Harlequin Audio for the early listening copy.