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freadomlibrary's review against another edition
2.0
I usually don’t post reviews right away for books I’ve read but this one was really disappointing.
I love this author’s YA romances and I was really looking forward to seeing her magic in adult, but it was missing completely. I didn’t feel any spark between the characters, it was too much “haters to” not enough “lovers” and the ending was incredibly rushed. Also, by the end, I was really tired of hearing “Make Up” and “Break Up”!
There was nothing that made me want to root for them and I felt like Annika had too high expectations of Hudson and how he should process his own emotional turmoils. It made me uncomfortable that she only wanted to be with him after giving up his company and after having done soul searching work, regardless of accuracy, that shouldn’t be a requirement to accept someone you love. She could’ve been the person to love him through his discovery but she just went back and forth with him instead.
I don’t know, I just think the way this book was structured wasn’t for me.
I love this author’s YA romances and I was really looking forward to seeing her magic in adult, but it was missing completely. I didn’t feel any spark between the characters, it was too much “haters to” not enough “lovers” and the ending was incredibly rushed. Also, by the end, I was really tired of hearing “Make Up” and “Break Up”!
There was nothing that made me want to root for them and I felt like Annika had too high expectations of Hudson and how he should process his own emotional turmoils. It made me uncomfortable that she only wanted to be with him after giving up his company and after having done soul searching work, regardless of accuracy, that shouldn’t be a requirement to accept someone you love. She could’ve been the person to love him through his discovery but she just went back and forth with him instead.
I don’t know, I just think the way this book was structured wasn’t for me.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
2.0
This book, just like the other things I have read by Menon, has the potential to be something I love. But something about her writing keeps me at an arms length even in adult form.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
bujo_bellel's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was good journey to go on, the characters were very contrasting, and they were well-developed. The plot was interesting, I liked the concept about the apps and I liked seeing the competition. I think that Annika's back story was well developed but we don't know much about Hudson, so I felt a bit disconnected from his character, I actually felt more connected to Ziggy then Hudson. I felt that the ending was a bit abrupt and would have loved to have an epilogue or a little more about what happened after their conversation. This story made me feel thinks, but it didn't really wow me and it took me a while to get into the book, but it was a fun time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Racism
Minor: Misogyny, Cancer, and Death
kaeleevincent's review against another edition
2.0
The definition of mediocre. I don’t even have the desire to talk about it.
laura_cs's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Annika Dev is the proud founder and CEO of Make Up, an app with the motto of "Happily Ever After, Redux". The goal is simple: help couples communicate and save their relationships. Her mortal enemy? Founder and CEO of Break Up, the self-proclaimed "Uber for breakups", and plagiarizer of ideas. AKA Hudson Craft. So who, of course, moves into the same office building as Make Up and celebrates milestones with gongs, throws lavish parties, and basically serves as a slap in the face that Make Up is still struggling to get off the ground? That's right. Hudson Freaking Craft and Break Up...
Sparks once flew between Annika and Hudson, but now all that flies between them are insults, pranks, and bitterness. And with the opportunity of a lifetime just weeks away, an opportunity both desperately want, who will come out still standing with their prides, dignity, and hearts intact?
A brilliant debut into the world of adult romance from Lily Menon (AKA the fantabulous Sandhya Menon of the YA Dimple-verse fame), "Make Up Break Up" is a enemies-to-lovers romance you don't want to miss! Brilliantly funny, side characters to root for, an amazing father-daughter relationship, high stakes, and--of course--a fantastically written will-they-or-won't-they? relationship between Annika and Hudson. Can they both get a happily ever after? What does a happily ever after mean for each of them? All of that, blended with questions about living a happy, meaningful life and examining the measure of success.
Overall, five brilliant shining stars on top of five delicious cupcakes for the first of (hopefully!) many of Lily Menon's rom-coms!
Annika Dev is the proud founder and CEO of Make Up, an app with the motto of "Happily Ever After, Redux". The goal is simple: help couples communicate and save their relationships. Her mortal enemy? Founder and CEO of Break Up, the self-proclaimed "Uber for breakups", and plagiarizer of ideas. AKA Hudson Craft. So who, of course, moves into the same office building as Make Up and celebrates milestones with gongs, throws lavish parties, and basically serves as a slap in the face that Make Up is still struggling to get off the ground? That's right. Hudson Freaking Craft and Break Up...
Sparks once flew between Annika and Hudson, but now all that flies between them are insults, pranks, and bitterness. And with the opportunity of a lifetime just weeks away, an opportunity both desperately want, who will come out still standing with their prides, dignity, and hearts intact?
A brilliant debut into the world of adult romance from Lily Menon (AKA the fantabulous Sandhya Menon of the YA Dimple-verse fame), "Make Up Break Up" is a enemies-to-lovers romance you don't want to miss! Brilliantly funny, side characters to root for, an amazing father-daughter relationship, high stakes, and--of course--a fantastically written will-they-or-won't-they? relationship between Annika and Hudson. Can they both get a happily ever after? What does a happily ever after mean for each of them? All of that, blended with questions about living a happy, meaningful life and examining the measure of success.
Overall, five brilliant shining stars on top of five delicious cupcakes for the first of (hopefully!) many of Lily Menon's rom-coms!
moonchild720's review against another edition
2.0
I was SO excited to read this book and it was quite a let down for me unfortunately. It was entertaining enough but I found myself not caring about either of the main characters or their stories. I found myself annoyed with the female main character too. I thought the whole story being about owners of conflicting apps to be interesting but I just really couldn’t get into this one like I hoped I would.
anotherstoryreader's review against another edition
3.0
Have you ever read a book and thought, eh, not bad. Probably won't read it again. Then after you put it away you start to think about what you read and your mind starts to find all of the little problems, all of the little things you really didn't like. That's how it was for me with Make-Up Brake-Up.
After I finished the book was just so so for me but as I started to think about it I started to stew. I realized I really didn't connect with Annika through most of the story. Most of the book was about the crappy things going on in her life and not communicating with anyone around her. I would have liked to see more emphasis on her and Hudson finding some way to reconnect and work through their problems rather than focusing on so many other things, like her relationship with her father or her possible business failings. Those are great elements in a story but for me they almost took over the romance angle of the book. It just brought the mood down a bit for me.
I also felt like Annika was very judgemental and a bit haughty towards Hudson. She had this huge attraction to him but because she didn't like how his app Brake Up affected people she shut down any future with him completely. In her view, he wasn't putting good karma out in the world and was perpetrating evil and she just couldn't align herself with that kind of person. Maybe it's just because I would have approached things differently that's the problem.
Ammika and Hudson had an amazing week-long whirlwind relationship. We don't really find out how things ended till the ending of the book. It was the big plot twist. But it only made me frustrated throughout the whole book. You got the sense that he was truly hurt by the ending and she was evading whatever happened. Then when we finally, FINALLY find out you can't help but be mad because the WHOLE drama could have been avoided with a smidge of communication. ARG! I kind of wanted to head smack them both.
After I finished the book was just so so for me but as I started to think about it I started to stew. I realized I really didn't connect with Annika through most of the story. Most of the book was about the crappy things going on in her life and not communicating with anyone around her. I would have liked to see more emphasis on her and Hudson finding some way to reconnect and work through their problems rather than focusing on so many other things, like her relationship with her father or her possible business failings. Those are great elements in a story but for me they almost took over the romance angle of the book. It just brought the mood down a bit for me.
I also felt like Annika was very judgemental and a bit haughty towards Hudson. She had this huge attraction to him but because she didn't like how his app Brake Up affected people she shut down any future with him completely. In her view, he wasn't putting good karma out in the world and was perpetrating evil and she just couldn't align herself with that kind of person. Maybe it's just because I would have approached things differently that's the problem.
Ammika and Hudson had an amazing week-long whirlwind relationship. We don't really find out how things ended till the ending of the book. It was the big plot twist. But it only made me frustrated throughout the whole book. You got the sense that he was truly hurt by the ending and she was evading whatever happened. Then when we finally, FINALLY find out you can't help but be mad because the WHOLE drama could have been avoided with a smidge of communication. ARG! I kind of wanted to head smack them both.
caseyemathews's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Didn't particularly grip my interest, ending seemed rushed and too tidy