#The TakeOver

[critical-quoter]

She loves me. For the first time in my life, I feel at home.

The Takeover - T. L. Swan

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb: 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.

Review:

When your high school nemesis comes back into your life years later only to try and take over your company... but he also seems to want to win your heart. Nami's life is not how she imagined it going, she thought she would be married and living the perfect life with a great job by now... but her fiancee cheated on her, her tech company is about to lose funding, and Nami is feeling so alone. When she gets a text from her old high school nemesis she just knows her life is going to be turned upside down. Jae Lee is egotistical, handsome, wealthy, and bored. When his company is planning a takeover of a start up he is surprised to find that his old high school nemesis works there, the uptight, rule-following, party mood killer, Nami. Nami gets under his skin like no one else, no one else can make him feel excited or even get a fire going in him, no one challenges him like her... and finding out that she's back in his life, he will do anything to be near her again. Nami and Jae can't seem to be in a room without arguing... yet there is something different, there's an undertone of passion between them and both of them can't seem to stop wanting to kiss each other. Yet working on opposing sides, and Nami's beloved company at stake and Jae knowing something... can their relationship survive this company takeover? Nami and Jae felt so immature as individuals, I get being high school rivals and all but come on both of you are grown adults dealing with a company and being in charge of people's jobs and livelihoods but can't stop acting like children. The third act breakup/makeup was meh, I honestly was hoping for a better make up between the two of them after the big breakup. There were some aspects of the book I just didn't vibe with but overall it wasn't a bad read. If you enjoy rival romances then give this a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[introword-reviews]

Check Out my Goodreads review.. Let me just remind you I’m not a professional reviewer and sometimes I don’t read beautiful insightful pieces of literature sometimes I just read trashy romance novels so keep that that in mind

[sheerwisdom]

Short introduction into The Miles High Club by T. L. Swan

T. L. Swan's The Miles High Club series was recently completed for me. For those who don’t know, this is a series of books that seems to be quite similar to “50 Shades of Gray”. Romance, passion, and sex. These four books tell the love stories of four brothers, the Miles brothers. They are the heirs of Miles Media Imperia and the most handsome and desirable men in America. Actually, Jameson and Tristan head the New York office of Miles Media, while Elliot and Christopher lead the London one.

The brothers are well-known for their colorful and secretive personal lives. The most beautiful and well-known girls of the town fly around them, trying to draw their attention. And guess what?  Nevertheless, all of them fall in love with average-looking girls. You will say it is trivial, but let me just tell you the plot of their stories.

Jameson, the eldest brother and the CEO of New York Miles Media, is a man who tries to make a deal between his two personalities: a workaholic and a romantic and caring boyfriend. He has had a long relationship with a workaholic like him, Claudia, but after some years of dating they have decided to take a break to fix their careers and then come back to their engagement. Who knew that at this time, Jameson would meet a cute and lovely girl who would turn his entire life upside down?!

Tristan is a master at fixing things that don’t work anymore, and this certain part of his character got him to know Claire. She is a widow trying to keep her husband’s business afloat. She received an offer from Tristan to sell him her company, because both of them knew that she didn’t have the knowledge and time to handle it. But she didn’t give up. Without any doubt, she rejected his offer. This is a huge part of her passed-away husband’s dream, and it isn’t so easy for her to let it go. Tristan saw something special in Claire’s determination and was tempted to bring her into his life. But no one claims this will be an easy prize. He has to deal with her sons!

Over the ocean, Elliot, known as Casanova, chases Harriet Elbow, an artist who talks to him through her paintings. What a strange man! His tabloid portrait doesn’t reflect the kind of deep and romantic man he is inside. Probably because of this, he keeps his personal life away from cameras. He has started a wonderful relationship with an average girl named Katherine, but he is still dreaming about his exceptional and mysterious artist. But what will happen when he finally finds his fate?

Christopher is the youngest of the Miles brothers. Being treated like a rich and spoiled guy, he decided to get a do-over and go backpacking. At his first stop in Spain, he got six nice friends with whom he has decided to travel around Europe, catching new experiences, sightseeing, and struggling with a lack of money. But with one of these friends, he has a special connection. Is this a friendship or something more? Time will tell.

[ohrenoir]

The Takeover

[oceaniddoesstuff]

Oh god. It's starting. The faceted truncated icosidodecahedra has started showing up on my dashboard along WITH the truncated decachoron.

(yes I'll specify the entire name every time, fight me.)

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Takeover | Author: Cara Tanamachi | Publisher: Griffin (2024)

[chrissmou]

February Reads 2024

Hi! Everyone, that was a fun month with lots of romance and a young adult book. As you can see, I read only 7 books this month but I liked all of them in different ways. As always I will have the links in Goodreads for you to check out if you want:

Accidentally His (Designated Debutantes #3) (Sabrina Jeffries): I liked the series overall, especially this one. This one concerns the youngest sister Verity and her romance with Colonel Walford who just returned from the Napolean Wars in the Peninsula. We learn in the beginning that the truth is that he is a spy for the British and he has already been in the sister's events because of his work. It is hilarious and the bluntness of the protagonists makes it even better. I recommend it for everyone who likes regency romance as it has all the elements of a good one.

The Poisoned Prince (Once Upon a Prince #6) (Kristin J. Dawson): This retelling was good enough and I liked it. The Huntsman and the Princess/ Servant plot in this Snow White retelling was good, and the Snow and Max was a cute friends-to-lovers relationship with a perfect magical twist to tie it all together. So far, the books in this series have been amazing and I recommend them.

The Breakup Tour (Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka): That book surprised me at every turn as I didn’t expect it to be so good. I thought it would be a standard exes-to-lovers romance with a popstar plotline and songs in the mix. But it was so much more for me because it gave the emotions of the two main characters in such a way that made it unique. I loved the music part and would like to know the playlist that inspired this one because it can’t be only Taylor Swift but also the old standards that Max played in the retirement home he manages. The main characters were amazing Riley was witty and thoughtful in a way that made me both sorry and mad at her but also happy and I wanted her to believe in herself and the magic that her lyrics made and Max was emotional, sympathetic, and loyal in his believes that I wanted so much this book to have the happy ending it deserved. I recommend it to every Taylor Swift and music fan too. If you believe music is a memory like me, this book is for you.

The Takeover (Cara Tanamachi): This was a fun read and it was the first book I read from that author. Let me tell you something, ever since I remember I wanted to learn about Asian countries and their cultures, especially China and Japan. Even if this one is mostly about two Asian- American it has many things that help you learn about different cultures. It has many things about food, especially Ramen, and a really funny scene about it between the two protagonists, Nami and Jae. It was a good enemies-to-lovers romance who always competed in high school and later in their jobs. I loved the side characters like the employers in Toggle or their families. It was adorable.

The Silver Prince (Once Upon a Prince #7) (Lynsey Hall): I only know Barbie’s version of this fairy tale but love it, so I barely knew where I was going. I love this version even more of the two Princesses and their friends in a curse with everyone who tried to rescue them. I loved the characters of both Andres, Isadora, and Livia but also those of Amma, the historian, Gus, the gardener, and Dominic, the shoemaker. It has mystery because of the curse but also romance music and folklore between the two countries of the protagonists. I would recommend it to everyone because it is a book that if you like, you would read in one sitting like me.

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2) (Rick Riordan): As many of you already know, I love Greek mythology and I have many versions over the years. This version of Jason and the Golden Fleece was good and a modern version of it has many differences but is also an adventure story for teens and young adults. It didn’t have much of Grover in it as it was also a saving mission for him except for Percy’s dream sequences which were both terrifying and funny. It had the same humor as the first one but also more battle sequences, as it was in the sea, and especially the Bermuda Triangle was in the sea. We also learned more about Percy’s prophecy and his connection with Cronos. It was a good and fun to read.

[valvewall]

Dramatic!bf Izuku who huffs and puffs until you give him his mandatory kisses. He, the world's greatest hero who keeps dramatically letting out big sighs and flailing around on the other side of the couch.

"SIGhhhhh..."

You look over at him, taking a mental note of how he's doing the thing again. What did you miss?

"Sigh.... Can't believe the day has come. My girlfriend doesn't like me anymore. Such a shame.."

You let out a snort at that, are you kidding me? Pulling the cards now is he? You decide to play his game.

"Ughhh... Can't BELIEVE my boyfriend won't tell me what I missed in his 10,000 step PDA routine... what a shame! a misery! Feel so ashamed of myself..."

You fake grovel into the couch, feigning being 'miserable' and 'such in despair'. Izuku just puffs out his cheeks at that, a small blush forming.

"You didn't ask me how patrol went.... sigh..."

Fuck, you love this man.

[novel--notes]

“You know, I’ve been thinking.”

“Did it hurt?”

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

sega when they realize that kirk thornton can fucking deliver as shadow if they actually tell him anything about the character

[spiraphobia]

Tomie: Takeover | Junji ito

[mooshs-crack-headcanons]

Best Knuckles line read ever actually:

[911bts]

911onabc: We started out as friends…Then I “proposed” (auditioned) ….and now we’re here!!! I’ve loved @/appleofhisai for so long, and I’m so grateful to be on this amazing and important journey with her!! The first picture is literally 15 days before my audition, and I had no idea it was coming when we took it! #IDo #MeantToBe #TracieThomsTakeover