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millah's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I liked a lot in this book, especially all the attraction and sexual tension between our love interests. Faziel's and Todd's second-chance-situation was quite intense and angsty, since they had two very different understandings of what had happened before and under their breakup as teenagers. Still, Faziel's and Todd's mutual attraction was intense from the moment they knew that they were going to work together. Things happened quickly and perhaps a little insta-love-y.
When they finally talked about everything that had happened, it turned out that they both had acted badly, although Faziel's assumptions and actions perhaps had the worst consequences.
I struggled a bit with Faziel getting all the blame, and their conflict ended up being so angsty that I actually started to doubt that they could ever be good for each other. When they had sex after their Big Talk, it even felt like Todd wanted to punish Faziel, and I didn't know how to feel about that.
I still enjoyed several things here, just like I've enjoyed the other books in this series. Faziel and Todd had some sweet and hot moments together. They were messed up and flawed, actually so flawed that they ended up being a bit annoying st times. There were more miscommunication and heartbreak towards the ending, and I'm not sure I bought it, but it was resolved in a good way.
When they finally talked about everything that had happened, it turned out that they both had acted badly, although Faziel's assumptions and actions perhaps had the worst consequences.
I struggled a bit with Faziel getting all the blame, and their conflict ended up being so angsty that I actually started to doubt that they could ever be good for each other. When they had sex after their Big Talk, it even felt like Todd wanted to punish Faziel, and I didn't know how to feel about that.
I still enjoyed several things here, just like I've enjoyed the other books in this series. Faziel and Todd had some sweet and hot moments together. They were messed up and flawed, actually so flawed that they ended up being a bit annoying st times. There were more miscommunication and heartbreak towards the ending, and I'm not sure I bought it, but it was resolved in a good way.
roryta86reads's review against another edition
3.0
Sweet, Todd was kinda annoying but this entire series has been so entertaining and well written.
Book 2 is my fav though
Book 2 is my fav though
ilyarozanov123's review
2.0
This is one of the very few times where I’ve spent a good chunk of a book not wanting the MC couple to be together. It’s practically unheard of, but I found myself feeling that. I’d rather have taken them not end up together than have Fazil move to Seattle.
Why? Because Todd was an asshole who spent WEEKS not even considering lifting one finger to be able to be with Fazil. No, he spent the entire time expecting and demanding for Fazil to give up his entire life, his dream job, and his friends, in order to be with him. To have him move to a city where he’d been treated like shit by everyone around them. It was completely ridiculous. I was spitting mad at Todd and could not believe what was going on.
It made no sense. It was so unrealistic it was basically a plot hole. There was no logical reason given why Todd assumed Fazil would be the one who’d have to move. Todd had a shit job with horrible coworkers. There were no family or friends in the area spoken of. Nothing. And yet the author thought it would be realistic that the thought of moving to Pittsburgh never even crossed his mind until the very end. I don’t buy it. Nope.
This all ruined the book for me, because I adored Fazil as a character, and rooted for him deeply from the start. Having him pressured and suffering like that because of Todd’s idiocy was not fun to read. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the Takeover universe a lot, and Eli especially is growing to become one of my favorite characters, but holy cats did this book piss me off for the vast majority of it.
Let’s hope Brian’s book is easier on my patience.
Why? Because Todd was an asshole who spent WEEKS not even considering lifting one finger to be able to be with Fazil. No, he spent the entire time expecting and demanding for Fazil to give up his entire life, his dream job, and his friends, in order to be with him. To have him move to a city where he’d been treated like shit by everyone around them. It was completely ridiculous. I was spitting mad at Todd and could not believe what was going on.
It made no sense. It was so unrealistic it was basically a plot hole. There was no logical reason given why Todd assumed Fazil would be the one who’d have to move. Todd had a shit job with horrible coworkers. There were no family or friends in the area spoken of. Nothing. And yet the author thought it would be realistic that the thought of moving to Pittsburgh never even crossed his mind until the very end. I don’t buy it. Nope.
This all ruined the book for me, because I adored Fazil as a character, and rooted for him deeply from the start. Having him pressured and suffering like that because of Todd’s idiocy was not fun to read. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the Takeover universe a lot, and Eli especially is growing to become one of my favorite characters, but holy cats did this book piss me off for the vast majority of it.
Let’s hope Brian’s book is easier on my patience.
galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
READ: May 2023
FORMAT: Audio
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary romance, Fazil and Eli travel to Seattle to work with a company’s employees to transform the company into an attractive and marketable asset. In what seems like a cosmic joke, Fazil’s first love and boyfriend from his teenage years is a key player in the department that he’s meant to work with. Todd is just as shocked to see Fazil come through the doors, having spent many long years trying to reconnect with the man who made himself impossible to find.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.5 / 5⭐
The third book in this series, Due Diligence feels a bit like Takeover Book 1, Take 2: This one has more stakes and consequences and an actual ending. The plots are very samey as far as their main beats go: Fazil and Todd are surprise-coworkers who knew each other beforehand and get into a relationship they have to keep hushed, thanks to workplace policies and homophobia. The antagonists of this book feel a bit like a copy-paste of the one from the first, too. The main difference is in how our main characters met; where Sam and Michael were a vacation one-night-stand, Fazil and Todd have history together stretching back to their foundational, exploratory teenage years.
The interesting thing that this story does (and I don’t know if this is a common trope because I typically avoid romances with previously-established relationships) is that both of our men have a separate version of events from their separation all those years ago, and both hold resentment for how they perceived the other’s behaviour of the time. The reality is that both were awful teenagers, and both continue to carry awful traits into the present. Old habits die hard, and they have one final chance to break the cycle that dooms history into repeating itself.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐
I’m a tiny bit surprised that there’s only two years between book one and this book. On a couple of occasions through my listen, I really did think that this one seemed like Zabo was taking a crack at the first book again. That’s not to say they’re entirely the same, or that if you’ve read one, you’ve read the other; the main characters are still extremely different between the two books, and they all have their own tastes and personalities. But the growth in writing is glaring. Comparing the two books, everything from the first just felt under-developed, from the plot to the characters to the conclusion. This time around, we’ve got all of that.
Don’t get me wrong, this book is by no means a perfect piece of art; it’s exactly what it promises to be, meeting expectations as far as contemporary romances are concerned. If I was disappointed by anything, I’d have to say it’s the side characters, who are all showing up to perform a role instead of enriching the world-building. Beyond Eli, Sam, and Jason (all of whom we know from the previous books), I couldn’t tell you the first detail from any other character beyond, “there were two completely deplorable toolbags who said and did awful things.”
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.75 / 5⭐
If you were let down by book one and shy about giving the rest of the series a chance (as I was for a while), then I am happy to tell you that things do improve. This book brings back the business politics that book two completely lacked, as well. That can be a pro or a con depending on your personal tastes, but I never felt like it got too dry or lost in the weeds.
This book has representation for gays, lesbians and bisexuals. There are a number of non-white characters portrayed, including one of our main characters who is Turkish-American.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Hate crime
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Biphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity
nagel__bagel's review
Reached for this on a lark, and enjoyed it enough but probably won’t finish out the series. The universe is starting to feel a little thin, and I’m just not compelled to continue in this 98% male series. No major complaints.
leahkarge's review
4.0
Rep: bisexual MC, gay MC, Turkish-American MC
Warnings: ableism, racism, antisemitism, islamphobia, hate crime, homomisia / queermisia, mention of cheating, slurs, cissexism / transmisia, misogyny
Warnings: ableism, racism, antisemitism, islamphobia, hate crime, homomisia / queermisia, mention of cheating, slurs, cissexism / transmisia, misogyny
littlewishling's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I struggled with this one as the solution to the main conflict seemed very obvious and the road to it was a bit tedious unlike all Zabo’s other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
ruthie_wk's review
3.0
I liked it, but this was way too long for me. I was more interested in Singularity than the romance, which turned out to be a pretty big disappointment since we never got to see Eli in his element. I miss the ruthlessness he had in the previous book.
The MCs were just fine, and there really was nothing emotionally moving except Fazil’s first discovery that he was the cheater. From then on it was just okay, with a surge because of the drama...which was definitely did not have a satisfactory resolution.
I’m happy this is over though.
The MCs were just fine, and there really was nothing emotionally moving except Fazil’s first discovery that he was the cheater. From then on it was just okay, with a surge because of the drama...which was definitely did not have a satisfactory resolution.
I’m happy this is over though.
queenofswordsandwords's review
4.0
“Can we start over?”
“No. But we can start again.”
- second chance
- workplace romance
- dragon dildo
(that's all you really need to know)
“ Fazil tasted of pecans and honey and all the wasted years between them. ”
as always, Anna Zabo just delivers. i'm not a big fan of second chances, but the end of this one really satisfied me. i was wondering for the whole book how they were gonna get to a happy ending and their journey of reconnecting and knowing each other as adults was a good one.
“ Fine, maybe he was kinky. Or maybe he felt safe with Todd. ”
oh, and it got deliciously kinky.
and what we got of Eli from the previous book was gold. I love him so much.
CW : past cheating
“No. But we can start again.”
- second chance
- workplace romance
- dragon dildo
(that's all you really need to know)
“ Fazil tasted of pecans and honey and all the wasted years between them. ”
as always, Anna Zabo just delivers. i'm not a big fan of second chances, but the end of this one really satisfied me. i was wondering for the whole book how they were gonna get to a happy ending and their journey of reconnecting and knowing each other as adults was a good one.
“ Fine, maybe he was kinky. Or maybe he felt safe with Todd. ”
oh, and it got deliciously kinky.
and what we got of Eli from the previous book was gold. I love him so much.
CW : past cheating