I know a lot of people are not a fan of this book but this was a solid 4 for me.

There are so many times in life we have to fake it to make it and this book lives that out loud. Being a strong female worker in a male dominated place, Emmie has to do what it takes to get to the position she is aiming for. Tate is an annoying character. Even when his “cuteness” comes into play, he isn’t that strong for me - until he starts opening up and showing himself. I think there are a lot of people who can connect with an anxiety issue and being an introvert. My pros, Emmie isn’t a character I would remember and I had to look her name up in the book for this review and Tate stood out simply because I deal with a few of the same issues. ( )

Started out promising but quickly went downhill. Only thing I liked about the main character was her take no sexist bs attitude that she has at work. Other than that she was blah. Also the guy who is her main love interest doesn't come off as sexy or romantic just a possessive jerkface. I guess I don't really like the whole concept of "boy likes girl so he pulls on her pigtails" thing. It just comes off as immature and a way to excuse the guy's behavior. ( )

This book sent me. There is just so much to unpack. Was this a poorly written book? Yes. Did it seem like someone just fed an AI a bunch of romance novels and had it write one? Yes. None of that matters though. The only thing that matters is the twist.

The twist! Censored if you feel like finding out 80% into the book is that Tate The Love Interest has a fetish for Asian women! And the only woman he has ever loved (before Emmie The Protagonist of course) just totally coincidentally happens to look actually identical to Emmie. And then Sarah Smith The Author trying to walk that back by claiming this is a coincidence and not a fetish. Sorry but you can’t show me a character who very clearly has a racial fetish and then try to tell me he doesn’t. That’s not how writing works.

Many people have noted the weird way Smith treats race throughout the book so that doesn’t need to be rehashed but it makes the twist (and its racial aspect) so much weirder and discomfiting.

But going beyond the twist, the book is not at all romantic – Tate The Love Interest is possessive and jealous and a little bit stalky (but it’s ok because Emmie The Protagonist is crushing on him).

All of this is the longest way of saying I loved this book. It was so confusing and surreal and racially charged. Arguably very bad but so much fun to read. Quarantine is getting to me. ( )

I really liked it, but I didn't love it.

To start out, this book could have been a lot shorter, and with a lot less drama(especially in the end). Also, I was expecting a book that explored the construction thing, because of the helmet in the cover, but I was kinda disappointed.

Other than that, this book was exactly what I wanted, a rom-com with lots of hurt-comfort. The book was incredibly cliche, but that was what I wanted, so no comment on that. The characters were really likable, but Tate (why are you named Tate, I find Tate to be such a weird name) could have been a lot better at expressing himself, and Emmie could have been a bit more open in the beginning, though without her close-mindedness, we wouldn't have had as much drama, and I wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much as I did.

I've been wanting to read this one for a while, and I had had pretty high expectations, which was not a good thing. I also found that it felt a bit incomplete to me? What happened to Jamie in the end? What happens when she finally meets the parents? Do they actually go on that vacation, and iif they do, could we not have had a sneakpeek in the epilogue??? I wanted the happy ending to be complete!??!?!?

Also, that drama with ....(what was the ex-girlfriend's name???).....her could have been done better. In my opinion, we needed that insight into the ex well before the character was introduced, and the twinness could have been a surprise. I would have liked to know more about Tate, and have met some of Emmie's family members.

All in all, a good read. I recommend it to anyone who likes romance, the haters-to-lovers trope, the hurt/comfort, and, in general, a rom-com. ( )

1.5 stars ( )

Cute story of enemies to friends to lovers. Emmie and Tate work together at a tool company with their offices across from one another. Overhearing things and misinterpreting the meanings leads to lots of fighting. Eventually they realize their mistakes and finally listen to each other.

I liked Emmie and Tate. They are both strong characters with strong personalities. I felt like I really got to know them well. Of course, I knew what was happening with them being a long-time romance reader but I still delighted in their path of discovery. I liked the build-up of sexual tension between them. I just adored this couple and their story.

I won this book in a Goodreads contest and am giving a fair and unbiased review. ( )

This book has a lot going for it, you’ve got multicultural representation, bickering, steamy romance, and business. Definitely a must read if you like your romances more descriptive.

Free review copy. ( )

I received this book for free from the publisher (Berkley Publishing) in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this book because it is an own voices book written by a biracial Filipino American woman. As some of you may know, I too am a biracial Filipino American woman. I knew I had to read this book because representation matters!

All in all, I found this to be a cute romance.

I loved Tate. Despite his tough exterior, he was such a softie and a generous lover. I loved that he put female pleasure first. Speaking of pleasure, I really liked the sex scenes.

One of things I really liked was the communication between Emmie and Tate. Many times in contemporary romances there will be miscommunications and misunderstandings between the main characters and they will go their separate ways and sulk for a week instead of talking through it. In this book, the characters will almost immediately talk about the situation, which I find more realistic.

This book does get comparisons to The Hating Game by Sally Thorne because of the workplace enemies-to-lovers trope. I have read that book, but it was a while ago so I don’t remember much. Because of that, I can’t speak to their similarities.

As for the Filipino representation, I enjoyed seeing lit bits of Filipino culture like Illocano words and Filipino food. I was also happy to see Emmie talk about being darker skinned and how that has impacted her. There is also a lot of talk about Hawaii, since Emmie grew up on the Big Island.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am so happy to finally see some Filipino rep in romance! ( )