Review: The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi

 *I received a copy of this book from SMP Romance in exchange for an honest review.

The Takeover

by Cara Tanamachi

January 30, 2024

Goodreads Summary:

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

On Nami's 30th birthday, she’s reminded at every turn that her life isn’t what she planned. She’s always excelled at everything – until now. Her fiancé blew up their engagement. Her pride and joy, the tech company she helped to found, is about to lose funding. And her sister, Sora, is getting married to the man of her dreams, Jack, and instead of being happy for her, as she knows she ought to be, she’s fighting off jealousy.

Frustrated with her life, she makes a wish on a birthday candle to find her soulmate. Instead, the universe delivers her hate mate, Nami’s old high school nemesis, Jae Lee, the most popular kid from high school, who also narrowly beat her out for valedictorian. More than a decade later, Jae is still as effortlessly cool, charming, and stylish as ever, and, to make matters worse, is planning a hostile take-over of her start-up. sharp elbows and even sharper banter as the two go head-to-head to see who’ll win this time. But when their rivalry ignites a different kind of passion, Nami starts to realize that it's not just her company that's in danger of being taken over, but her heart as well.

Review

The Takeover was a nice surprise. It's a prime enemies-to-lovers story with a side of business mixed in. Light on drama and a breeze to read, I cheered for the good people and booed the evil overlords.

Mainly a romance novel, I loved how The Takeover incorporated slices of reality into its plot. In Asian culture, certain values, no matter how absurd they might sound, should be upheld. Both Nami and Jae faced expectations from their families. Despite some initial frustrations, it was moving to see some heart-to-heart talks near the end.

Nami and Jae's relationship was all bark and no bite. Since their reunion, the banter between them always felt more flirty than hostile. I liked it but I also wanted to see more of Nami going head-to-head with Jae. "Life is messy and gray, and sometimes the 'right' thing isn't easy to figure out." (p. 243) Regardless, I was still extremely entertained watching them consume Hell Ramen XD

Nami is surrounded by a group of oddball co-workers in The Takeover. They're best described as very nerdy, somewhat wacky and super sweet. The saga of the stolen chair that unfolded was ridiculous yet funny as hell. It's easy to see why Nami loved and cared for them so much.

Featuring adorkable adults, I laughed, swooned and raged alongside the characters. The Takeover is an amusing romance story perfect for readers who love enemies-to-lovers and fun banter.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the copy I received.