Thank you to @HodderBooks and @smenonbooks for this advanced copy of Make Up Break Up in return for an honest review. Make Up Break Up was published on 15th July 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Annika Dev believes in fairy tales, true love and happily ever afters and all of that is the inspiration for her app; Make Up. It’s been called Google translate for failing relationships. Hudson Craft’s app is a direct contradiction of that. His app Break Up has been called Uber for break ups. Annika and Hudson’s week long fling in Vegas was fine at the time as their opposing beliefs didn’t matter.

However Hudson moves into the office next door and the two clash time and time again. Competing within the same business with opposing ideas makes them enemies right? However the closer Annika gets to Hudson, the more she questions whether Hudson really is the playboy millionaire that he’s depicted to be. Will they forever be in opposition or will they teach each other what happily ever after really means?

General Thoughts 🤔

I really needed a book to put a smile on my face and this book popped to the top of my TBR list at exactly the right time. It was funny and romantic and gave me all of the feels. Don’t get me wrong there is a certain amount of cheese but there is always a time and a place for cheese; and this was it.

I thought that this was a great play on a classic enemies turned lovers plot line that was fun and flirty. There’s some raunchy bits in there to spice it up a little but then some pulling on the heartstrings to give a lovely full rounded rom com.

Characters 👬👭👫

I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to Annika in one way or another. She wanted Hudson so badly, but fought against herself because she couldn’t get behind the ethics of his business. But her physical want for him did betray her at times and haven’t we all been there? I loved the passion that Annika had for her own business and how strongly she believed in it.

Hudson sounded like a heart throb and I have no shame in admitting that. I totally understand why Annika struggled to control herself around him. I had a suspicion from early on that there was a sweet and soft side to him that Annika was failing to see and I’m so glad it got to shine through.

Writing Style ✍️

Once I’d started I struggled to put this book down. The relationship between Annika and Hudson was captivating and I thought it was developed by the author brilliantly.

I enjoyed that this book gave me all of the warm fuzzy feelings but also made me laugh with the odd feeling of sadness. There was just the right amount of each to make it a fun and engaging read.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

Just when I was in the mood for something lighthearted, heart warming and fun, this book came along. The characters were great, the storyline was endearing and I would definitely recommend this book for curling up on the sofa on a weekend.

No. Just...no. This book has several issues from the very beginning. Number 1) the characters are extremely childish for a bunch of adults and Number 2) the writing is juvenile. I picked this up because the premise appealed to me however the immaturity of the characters is astounding and I can't fathom how I'm supposed to root or enjoy reading this. Sometimes the conflict in these types of book can be easily resolved and this is no different for Make Up Break Up. It's surface level and I will not be reading other adult fiction by this author unless the sampler promises better writing.

I loved the basic idea of this book but the execution of the plot.. not so much.
I felt like the story kept going in circles and it was slow and little bit pointless in some moments.
For me it was just okay, little bit boring.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read ARC for my honest opinion

This book was a rather enjoyable enemies to lovers romance. The characters had a really good push and pull and I enjoyed the development of their relationship.

I love nerdy romances and this did not disappoint. The rivalry between the two apps was really fun. All in all this is a nice little book!

I struggled to get into this at first, but thought i would stick it out and I am glad I did. It was a light hearted easy read and was easily distracted from real life by it.

Fun and easy read. Characters were good with great supportive friends alongside them. Fairly predictable ending but still worth a read.

Ah, I wanted to love this. Enemies to Lovers is my absolute favourite trope, and the blurb offered so much potential. Unfortunately, it felt way too predictable and ultimately unsatisfying. I think a lot of my issues lied with not being able to connect with the heroine. I just... didn't get why she remained so mad, for so long, other than because the story would have had to finish so much sooner. Hudson explains himself pretty clearly , so her continuing anger just becomes grating for the reader and frustrating.

Make Up Beak Up is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy. It’s a really enjoyable read, very entertaining and a whole lot of fun. A new tenant moves into the office next to Annika’s, it turns out to be none other that Hudson Craft whom she had a short and intense fling with over the summer. Annika has been following Hudson’s rise to success and is convinced he stole her dating app idea and is out for vengeance.

Both Annika and Hudson are strong and commanding characters and equally ambitious and it was fabulous seeing them go head to head. Annika is beautiful, intelligent and determined to succeed and she will not let her floundering company go under. Hudson is handsome, funny and quite the charmer, but he also shows quite a vulnerable side as well. The romance is delectable with just the right amount of passion and chemistry and I really enjoyed the build up with lots of banter and sexual tension. I loved the scene in the yoga studio, up close and personal and my goodness it was a hot and breathy. The side characters are equally as appealing. June and Annika’s friendship is lovely and I also like the relationship June has with Ziggy, these are two quirky characters who worked really well together.

I would have liked have seen Annika and Hudson spend more time together as a couple, it ended a little too suddenly and would definitely have benefitted from an epilogue. Nevertheless, I enjoyed everything else about Make Up Break, it’s is a quick and compelling story with a great little cast of characters and a lot of fun to read. A great first venture into adult romance by the author.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley.

'Make Up Break Up' by Sandhya Menon is based on two apps of this name. Make Up is owned by the forthright and morally driven Annika Dev who vows to help people find common ground in their relationship and their second chance at a happily ever after. However, Break Up is owned by Hudson Craft, a service which pays 'terminators' to break off relationships rather than just rely on ghosting. He seems less moral and more driven by money and career success within the tech industry. Regardless of this pair's, ahem, carnal past, they are competing for a lucrative investment and will stop at nothing to sabotage each other...

This book has a fun concept. The idea of diametrically opposed apps being pitted against each other in the tech market is fun and raises some moral questions about the nature of love and relationships in our modern era of online dating. I also liked the second chance romance element of the narrative. However, it is somewhat let down by Annika and Hudson being inconsistent in their actions and, frankly, unlikeable. Annika cannot stand that Hudson's success is at the expense of her own (plus, I hated what he was driven to at the end). Hudson was also a fun character when him and Ani had a brutal back and forth of sabotage. This is soon replaced by a lovesick puppy and I was left to wonder where the strength of his character dissolved to.

Overall, I enjoyed the arc of the story and think it uses an intriguing concept. I just wish Annika could be a little less selfish and grow by realising sometimes she needs to compromise to take account of the feelings of others. She does not seem to learn any real lessons in the book which is unfortunate. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Make Up Break Up - Lily Menon

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Love, romance, second chances, fairy-tale endings…these are the things Annika Dev believes in. Her app, Make Up, has been called the “Google Translate for failing relationships.”

High efficiency break-ups, flashy start-ups, penthouses, fast cars…these are the things Hudson Craft believes in. His app, Break Up, is known as the “Uber for break-ups.” It’s wildly successful—and anathema to Annika’s life philosophy.

Annika will do anything to save her company, well almost anything. Developing Make Up is her passion and she is unwilling to give it up to become the doctor that her father wants her to be.

At first I wasn’t sure what I thought about this book, I struggled to get into it but after picking it back up I found that it was a light hearted book to read. With a sprinkling of pranks, this is an enjoyable book to read and easy to get distracted by.

Rating 4/5

I loved the first few chapters of this book, but then it fell a little flat for me.
I enjoy a love-hate enemies-lovers trope but I found myself not really caring too much about what happens.
I found Annika a little hard to like, she expected Hudson to have his life and mind sorted out ( at 24!!! ) but she didn’t even have hers sorted.
I thought the story had a lot of potential, but not with how it was written.

This was one that’s been on my NetGalley shelf for a while and, determined to make a dent in my (ever growing!) TBR, I gave it a go this month.

I think this book had potential. A young, female in tech? Great! A love-hate, enemies to lovers trope? Fantastic! Female friendship? Love. It. Unfortunately, this book didn’t deliver for me.

It wasn’t badly written, so thats why it’s 3 stars BUT I just found the narrator annoying and - instead of rooting for her - I didn’t really care where the story was heading and the romance? Not interesting.

I appreciated the women in tech angle of this one but the story in general fell flat.

Coming to my rating : out of 5 stars
Title : good, ⭐️⭐️⭐️(but I expected that there would be some kind of collab between their ideas and their apps as the title appeared as a single one to me)
Cover : ⭐️⭐️⭐️(could be more attractive)
Character development : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (the characterisation, the description, the emotions, everything were in correct place with the wording)
Originality : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (the visionary of the apps etc were something unique to me)
Plot : ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (the story could be more better, considering the plot, the characters attitude, and the ideologies, there could be more to the story. The ending could show something more and better, like what would their lives be like together, or there could be some collaboration between the apps, and how would that be, or even a small scene when they announce their love to the friends, or something else, these are just some ideas, but I expected a bit more and the ending left me a bit unsatisfied)
Overall : ⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars.

I had high expectations that weren’t met.
Make Up Break Up had a promising premise but it ended up being just ok. It was enjoyable but I struggled to connect with the characters.

Wow! Starts a little slow, but just keeps getting better! A fantastic book - really enjoyed the story, and by the middle couldn’t put it down until I saw how it ended! Great read!!!!

'Make Up Break Up' is an enemies to lovers rom-com between two bosses of rival apps. As a huge fan of Menon's YA novel <i>Of Curses and Kisses</i> I was really excited for this book, and it did exactly what I expected! It was an easy to read romance, got me out of my reading slump and was a perfect shoe-in to new adult romance novels.

We follow Annika, the CEO of Make Up, as she is struggling to get her dating app out to the world, and an old enemy, Hudson Craft, CEO of Break Up, returns into her life. The cast of characters is diverse and interesting, the friendships and relationships felt really true. I enjoyed the characters and the way they steered the plot; I could easily see this working as an Amazon Prime TV series.

I would highly recommend this book if you're trying to bridge the gap between YA and adult romance, and for anyone who has an interest in enemies-to-lovers dynamic!

Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to have an ARC (via Netgalley)!!!

I loved this book so much. Annika and Hudson were so cute (when they weren't all angsty). I loved that the setting was in the tech world and was centred on a female CEO and I thought that Make Up could be a really good app in real life.

I also loved the relationships Annika had with her dad and June. I would love a book about June and her romance with Ziggy (or someone else!). I eagerly await Sandhya's next adult book.

One of those books you’re not too sure how to rate. You enjoy the storyline, and the ease of it all just not fully aware how it left you feeling.

The things I liked were how she was a young (24) female boss who empowered other women. However as she (Annika) was young she forgot about the importance of communication.

Like before, it was a nice quick read that had you thinking all about the tech world. Just weird that at 24 she expected Hudson to have everything figured out when she hadn’t herself.

I would still read more from this author though!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of this book. (3.5stars)

Annika and Hudson are CEOs of rival apps and although they had a bit of history, the rivalry took over the entire book. Sandhya did a great job making these characters as real as possible and I knew when I started getting annoyed by Annika that the author did a good job.


It was easy to read but I wasn't blown away by it. I wanted more steamy and cute moments between these two and it felt like when things were just about to kick off, the book ended.

I'll definitely recommend this to readers who love (one sided) enemies to lovers trope, light and easy reads.

It took me a while to get into the book, but once in it was thoroughly enjoyable. Great characters. Brilliant theme of app development. I found it, overall, a good read but it's not one I'd particularly pick up and read again at a later date