Book Description

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. Cue: 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.

My Review

I spent this entire book with a huge smile on my face because of the banter between Nami and Jae was simultaneously adorable and hilarious. I don’t think I will ever forget the exact miniscule difference in GPA that earned Jae the valedictorian spot. The hell ramen scene had me howling with laughter.

The techy background was super fun, especially since it’s clear which company “Rainforest” is supposed to be. The background scandal of the missing custom desk chair was a quirky complement to the main plotline, and I certainly never guessed the identity of the culprit.  

I would absolutely recommend The Takeover. This was truly one of the best enemies to lovers romances I’ve read in a long time. It’s making me rethink my ambivalence for the genre, but I’ll probably be comparing every new book to this one. I didn’t realize this was the second book in a series, so now I have something to tide me over until I can read Tanamachi’s next book!

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley.