Reviews - The Takedown | The StoryGraph

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525 reviews for:

The Takedown

Lily Chu

3.68 AVERAGE

kambrielle's review

3.0

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

becks29's review

4.0

Exactly what I expected. Lily Chu's third book in what seems like as many months (although maybe it's years) is adorable and lots of fun. Dee is a fantastic character, and her growth throughout the novel is probably exactly what a lot of us need - not the least of which is to let go of what we've been taught about how to deal with stress and learn what's healthiest for us. For a book focused on racism and sexism in the workplace, this was so easily digestible, even if you're not as Smash the Patriarchy as some of us. I appreciate the way Chu approached modern racism in the workplace - it's not all white hoods and separate drinking fountains. It's subtle a lot of the time - talking over someone, giving promotions and credit for ideas to white men (and women, but a lot of the time it's men) who didn't earn them, jokingly dismissing wrong pronunciations of names that don't fit a white-standard default, cultural appropriation being passed off as appreciation (i.e., no one identifying with that culture is consulted nor is care taken to honor and respect it, but the "artist" thinks the representation they're attempting is cool... or "exotic" *cringe*).

So for all of these things to not only be represented in this book, but serve as the main plot foundation, it is almost alarming how light the book is. It is, after all, a romance. Dee is a delight - a trivia-loving DEI consultant whose meet-cute with the very sexy, respectful, and artistic fashion exec/designer Teddy happens while playing a trivia-based scavenger hunt game. And bonus, they kind of already know each other because they've been chatting as they battled for the top two spots for years. So cute, but then - oh no! Their relationship must be paused when Dee is hired as a short-term DEI consultant for Teddy's company after some bad press concerning their lack of diversity.

It's got that forbidden love thing, some family drama, a secret investigation, a random trip to Paris, and some truly adorable date nights, all without getting too heavy (in terms of the writing, the plot, and the romance - don't look here if you're searching for spice). The writing gets maybe three stars, but the characters - especially the Perfect Boyfriend Teddy (who cooks Dee's favorite foods and designs her a whole wardrobe, all while being completely respectful and hot!) - bump it up to a four star read. Highly enjoyable.

elle_vic's review

3.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

shalon_atwood's review

5.0

Cute story! Phillipa Soo is my favorite narrator!

cgnycdr's review

4.0

I really enjoyed the direction this story went. There was plenty of fun trivia facts thrown in throughout and I like how the pair were able to resolve things even when it seemed like all hope was lost.