REVIEW: The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi: Nami really isn’t welcoming her thirties in the way that she had planned, with her beloved Tech company about to lose funding and her now ex fiancé calling off their engagement, it is safe to say things are not going the way she had planned. Which is how she finds herself making a birthday wish for the universe to send her the man of her dreams. Well the universe does send her a man, just not the man that Nami had been expecting, her high school nemesis, Jae Lee. If narrowly losing out valedictorian to Jae over ten years ago wasn’t bad enough, now Jae is planning a hostile takeover of Nami’s company! This time Nami has no intention of allowing Jae to steamroll her over, between sharp verbal jabs and even more spicy banter, soon the two find themselves walking a very thin line between rivalry and attraction. Could Nami’s heart be the one getting taken over rather than her company?

The Takeover was pure enemies to lovers, office romance perfection! This book checked all the boxes and then some, there was banter, snark, steamy rivalry and some downright silliness. This might be my first book by Tanamachi but it most certainly will not be my last. The writing style is clean and easy to follow, with easy to relate to well fleshed out characters. One of the things that I really liked about this book was all the Asian representation, we get to see a bit of Jae and Nami’s culture and how it moulded them into the people that they are today.

Gosh did my heart just go out to Nami! I could totally feel her pain with having to see all her hard work slowly going down the drain. Our leading lady really did not have the best welcome into her thirties, but I do love a good come back story and boy does Nami have one! I really enjoyed getting to see her fight for not only her company but also the work family that she had created. The thing I liked the most about our leading lady was her drive and passion, she did not let the less than favourable odds put her off. As for our hero Jae, well he had a few moments that made him seem like a bit bull headed but all in all I could not help but soften to our hero. I loved the fact that he fell so hard for her and that he really did wind up saving the day at the end.

The chemistry between Jae and Nami was incredible. I loved that as much as there was spice and heat between them, there was also a lot of respect. I just loved getting to see Nami slowly lower her walls and allow herself to see Jae as more than the competition. The supporting characters in this book were so hilarious, I loved the close knit bond that the office staff formed. This book really was a hoot to read with all the misadventures that Nami found herself caught up in, the hell ramen, grandma Mitsyue on pain medication and the most hilarious of all the saga of the Wegner chair! I think the only thing that held me back from making this a 5 star rating was the ending, I had hoped for Jae and Nami to end up working together and I just found the entire staff buying up the company a bit meh.

The Takeover was a thoroughly entraining read, this enemies to lovers, work place romance will have you rooting our main characters on while you giggle non stop. Definitely a must read!

Book Info:

Publication: January 30, 2024 | Griffin |

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.