Unfortunately, this book didn’t really work for me. I enjoyed the tropical island setting and appreciated the representation of women of color in STEM. The story also tackled important topics, like navigating a male-dominated workplace, which I found interesting. In the beginning, I liked the banter between Tris and Rafe, but after a while, it started feeling repetitive rather than engaging.

One of my biggest issues was how heavily the book relied on insta-lust without developing a deeper emotional connection. Because of that, their relationship felt flat and unconvincing. I also wish their rivalry had been explored more—since they were supposed to be rivals, it would have added more tension and build-up to the story.

Another thing that frustrated me was Trishara’s immaturity. Despite being an adult, some of her actions felt childish, which made it hard to fully connect with her. On top of that, the side characters lacked depth, so I never felt invested in them.

While the book had potential with its setting and themes, the execution just didn’t deliver what I was hoping for.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for giving me the opportunity to listen this book. Tris and Rafe are “sworn enemies” who have to go to a work retreat together. They discover they are put in the same room and chaos erupts. Overall I thought this was a fun romance read. I tend to hate an enemies to lovers in a contemporary setting because all I’m thinking is “what did this guy do to you? Did he kill someone???” This book though really does put the fun back in it. The author knows how crazy that is and she really does dive deep into the comedic aspect of their relationship. I love how that even though it was a romance it still talked about things that do happen in workplace settings to women and POC. It gives you a better insight to the company and what Tris has went through for the past 5 years. She was a complex and fun character who had struggled. The audiobook did really well making this feel like a stream of consciousness. I felt like I was in her brain and actively see how she thinks and reacts.