This is a good escapist read imo. The topics discussed aren't too deep, the characters are charming, and overall the entire story is VERY cute. If you love a good rom-com, you'll definitely enjoy this.

I loved 'Hot Desk' it is such a wholesome and amusing book. It started really well and was quick to get going.

At some points, it did get a little repetitive but I can also understand why as the main character would have been focusing on it A LOT.

The family in this book was very wholesome and made me very happy to read!

I would give this a 2.5 if half stars were possible - it was overall just really okay.

Alice was excited to finally get back to working in an office, until on her first day back the company shared a new WFH policy. She not only would be in the office on a different day than her friends, but she now would have to share a desk with her work rival, Jamie. Through a series of post it notes, the two become close, but some plot twists keep it interesting.

Overall, the book would have made a much better straight to Netflix movie. It was a cute story, but nothing amazing. The book was a bit slow in places, with what felt like a lot of filler fluff to give the book length.

I expected this to be an adult office version of Dash and Lilly, but unfortunately it wasn’t. The book was by no means bad, but it just wasn’t great either.

Hot Desk is set in England and is a second chance romance when two people who shared a kiss in college end up working together and sharing a desk when the company needs to downsize. Alice and Jamie start to share notes and become closer, and Jamie helps Alice when an ex begins to be aggressive with her. There are some themes of family included as well.

This book was not for me. I read a similar romance before & loved it, but the writing in this book was not for me. Most of the book was Alice's internal monologue rambling and going back and forth in time with no rhyme or reason. I didn't find the romance to be at all engaging and the miscommunication between the two was excessive.

I wanted to like this book, but the writing really stopped that from happening for me. Not to say there isn't an audience for this writing style and book, it's just not me. If the summary sounds intriguing, I say read it and ignore my review - everyone should form their own opinions and has their own preferences.

**Thank you to One More Chapter and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

Too much internal dialogue🙄
2.5-3🌟 stars
This story was so NOT what I expected or hoped for. The intro blurb caught my attention but once I started the novel I felt there was too little action and alot of meandering thoughts of a young British office worker named Alice who has made her office desk her safe, contemplation oasis and fears its destruction. She's also got a silent crush on a guy in the office and SO much rehashing of their nonrelationship in her head!

When her office returns from totally remote work to an office environment Alice is thrilled until the powers that be decide to revert to part-week remote days and institute a shared desk policy for their on-site days. So not what Alice wants!

This plot could have worked better but it was just too ploddingly slow and uneventful, with flights of thought all over the place. I had this same issue with a previous book by Stoneley but was hoping this time would be different. While the end may be fantastic I will never know. I could not make my way further than about a third of the way until I gave up. There are too many books out there that suit my tastes to squander extra hours on one that just does not ring my bell.🔔

Thanks to Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Unfortunately I just couldn't get into this book. The main character, Alice, was just so whiney that I genuinely didn't care about what happened to her after the first few chapters. She moaned about working from home, moaned about people touching her things, moaned about people talking to her, moaned about people she didn't like... You get the point. Also I felt the author lacked foresight as the book dwelt a lot on covid but as we're moving on from that now, it felt like a book stuck in the past, harping on about something we'd sooner all forget we dealt with. It was a book with much promise, but sadly couldn't deliver

Hot Desk was a cute (semi-)workplace romance taking place post Covid. Though we are not fully out of the woods from the virus, the references to the pandemic did help anchor the story in reality. I liked most of the Alice/Jamie love story, though some of the obstacles in their way felt like they didn’t have much basis (the main obstacle on Jamie’s end had no forewarning whatsoever, it just appeared). I liked that Alice was eventually able to take charge of her personal life and stand up for herself, though I did feel she could use a bit more backstory or explanation as to how her personal and professional selves are so “different”.

Cute rom-com with a slow burn and predictable (yet nice) ending. I enjoy the workplace romance trope, and this has a current spin on it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a really tough one to review, as I so badly wanted to fall for it but a couple of things held me back. I’d hoped for a Beth O’Leary style ‘The Flatshare’ read, with the excellent premise of a romance based on those sharing a hot desk and communicating via the cute medium of post it notes.

But I struggled to get past the covid references which felt too real (even with the appreciated forewarning from the publisher) and the pace felt slow, which made me struggle to see the lighthearted elements of the story, get that warm feeling from the setting and really connect with the characters.

Though this one unfortunately didn’t do it for me, I did really love the premise and would definitely give another of the author’s books a go - she can clearly write and I’m sure I’ll fall for the next romance she writes with another unique premise.

With thanks to the author, Zara Stoneley, and publisher, One More Chapter, for this review copy. Views my own. 3*

This was a DNF for me.

I started reading it, thinking it would be a lighthearted book, but it was sadly very boring and overly wordy. As someone who spent four years living in a flat in London with 3 other girls, working in a job with a hot desk policy (all pre-covid) I didn’t feel that the book was giving me anything new. I’d been there and done that; the only difference is that I am not writing it down in a droning inner monologue. It’s life - move on.

The MC was irritating and a bit selfish (and her organisation wasn’t putting its employees first. I was heavily involved with our organisation’s post-covid hybrid working policy and I find it shocking that no employees at her organisation were consulted beforehand… not to mention the tax complications surrounding hybrid working!

With some editing (especially of her thoughts and feelings) this could be an OK book… however, I didn’t feel the need to find out how long it took for a whiny woman to get with some guy she was going to have to share a desk with.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an ARC of Hot Desk by Zara Stoneley!!!

I just didn’t like this book. I wasn’t able to empathize with the main character. She’s upset because of working at home. She’s upset someone touches her desk. She’s upset because she lives with 5 people and is never left alone. I was honestly already over before the hot desk plot started.

I really liked the idea of the book, but this one just doesn’t do it for me.

I loved the idea of this book and that it is the first book I have read that is set post Covid.
However it didn't do it for me, far too much of the book is Alice self analysing and I just couldn't warm to her and Jamie is just too perfect.
I struggled to finish this to be fair

It took a bit to get going, but once it did it was well worth the wait! A lovely romance, with a light-hearted feel of how covid hit some offices. You've got to smile

Alice is in a quandary - it seems everyone invades her space, with the result she has no privacy at home nor in her relationship with Dave, then she has to share her work space as well! She decides to try and finish with Dave and be more assertive, but Dave has other ideas. An original and enjoyable novel.

Unfortunately although I liked the synopsis the book didn’t do it for me. It was slow going and the characters not always believable. I always like to encourage authors so keep going and just because I wasn’t a fan I’m sure others will like it. Thanks to Zara, her publisher and NetGalley

I loved the last Zara Stoneley book I got from Netgalley so I was so excited to see her back with a new book. Unfortunately I didn't love this one as much as I loved the last one. First off the formatting was so off on my kindle it was so hard to read and comprehend. I know this isn't her fault, but it really did affect the reading experience. For the first 30% of the book all we hear about is how Alice is so mad she has to go back to working remote after the pandemic, and honestly I just cannot relate to that. I've been working remotely for over a year and a half now and love it. I get it not everyone feels that way, but 30% of the book was a lot of chunk to waste on her feelings and her anxieties about working remote without barely any plot happening. Overall, the book felt long and there was maybe 1-2 too many plot lines that were just not needed. Had this book been about two people who shares a desk, who don't like each other and end up liking each other through the cute things, develop a crush and end up dating/falling in love would have been a cute story, and thats what I thought I was getting. But then add in a psycho ex-boyfriend, a surprise kid, a ton of crazy roommates and family who has no boundaries, and its just like too many plates spinning. It took away from the cute relationship forming between Alice and Jamie. I think had this been simpler I would have found it more interesting all the side characters took over Alice and Jamies story.

The first book I have read by Zara Stoneley.

This was a fun rom com that I really enjoyed. It took me a little while to get into it however once I got into it I was hooked. I loved all the characters and thought it was quirky and fun.

I really enjoyed this book. As much as I hate covid, it was nice to read a cute office romance set in our post covid reality. We met Alice as they are just heading back to work post pandemic. Alice hates working from home, while Jamie Loves it. Alice and Jamie end up sharing a desk and flirting through post-it notes (how cute). We get to see Alice starting to put her foot down with ex's and family. Which in all honesty we all need to do. It's a slow burn romance and I really liked it!

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this!

I really didn't like this book at all. Had I known that it was set in Covid-times, I would NOT have read this, as it was really triggering. I see that there's a trigger warning on the description now, but it wasn't there when I downloaded the book. The author obviously wrote this a while ago, so it's not her fault that her timeline of events was totally impossible (life was NOT back to totally normal in April 2021), but the book would have been so much better if it did away with the Covid mentions entirely. The description also says it begins with a post-it, but the post-its didn't even show up until about 1/4 of the way through the book. I slogged through it until the (predictable) end, but I didn't enjoy it. The relationship between Alice and Jamie felt SUPER juvenile and cheesy, so I just could not get invested in it at all. Sorry, I can't recommend this book at all.

This book wasn’t for me. It was difficult to get into but around 50% i started to get into it but it quickly fell back to being difficult. The beginning confused me because i kept getting Dave and Jamie mixed up. The post it note messages were super cute but the book was just lacking.

*Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest response*