I loved the notes that Alice and Jamie shared and how their relationship blossomed over time.

The only thing I disliked was the Covid pandemic workplace restructuring.

A slow-burn sizzling office romance.

Sweet and heartfelt

A feel good rom-com

Thank you Sara at HarperCollins publishers and One More Chapter for the auto-approval in return for an honest review and NetGalley.

This was good, it was an interesting and funny romance but not one I was entirely invested in which is a shame.

I loved the blurb for this one but it just fell flat for me. The beginning was slow for me when additional characters were introduced but I just could t get into it.

I didn’t get a chance to read this before it was archived but I plan to purchase the book. Review coming soon!

There were many things I really enjoyed about this book. This has been the first book I’ve read that has talked openly about the Covid pandemic and the ramifications that have come along with it, which I found refreshing.

I also immensely enjoyed the interaction between Alice and Jamie in the form of little post it notes left between the two of them at the desk. It reminded me of The Flatshare & The Hating Game.

One thing I didn't enjoy was the inner monologue we had from Alice. I wanted to skip over them,

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book

Quick, fun read. Entertaining characters and plot. Would make a good made for tv type movie. Great family dynamics in the story adding to the fun family drama.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Zara Stoneley and HarperCollinsPublishers for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

Easy to read book, perfect for a summers afternoon. Once I started, I got straight into it and couldn't put it down.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.......in true Stoneley style it pulled me head first into the story with its intriguing tale. I loved the connection between our two leading characters......the little notes added that extra something that kept me wanting more and I found myself reading on in anticipation to see what was left on the desk next. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what Zara brings to the table next.

I thought this was a novel idea, I know how much people absolutely hate the idea of sharing a desk. It is quite a topical idea, being set post-covid. I can well understand Alice’s panic at not being able to keep her things around her, they all bear happy memories that help her think of ideas to help fulfil her customers requirements to improve their websites. Alice is one of four sisters, as a child she had no space to call her own, sharing a bedroom with her sister who had no concept of personal belongings. After university Alice moved into a house share to gain space of her own, but she has the smallest bedroom, and because she is quiet the others are happy to take her food from the fridge, and come into her room without thought. She had just got used to the pleasure of her own desk space after two years of working from home when hot desking is thrust on them. Panic stations!

Jamie sits opposite her in the office, but when they start hot-desking they are sharing the same desk, so negotiations take place as to what remains on their shared space; Alice has ‘clutter’, but Jamie only ever has the file he is working on and a drinks coaster out on his desk. Jamie and Alice have a past - they met, and kissed, at the Reading Festival when they were students, but they were both very drunk. Then they kissed again at a party, but they were both very drunk, and although she recognises him He doesn’t remember Alice … or does he?

A fair amount of the book goes on in Alice’s head, and there is a lot of tension and hysteria in there!
Alice has a few problems to overcome in order to get on with her life, including an ex who won’t take no for an answer; and as she and Jamie move into the friend, maybe more, zone we learn that he has some big issues to sort out as well.

The story ends well, with happy endings all round, but it ends in an odd place, it feels that something is missing. But on the whole a pleasant and amusing read.

The concept for this book was incredible, but the execution just didn't do it in the way that I was hoping. The ending was lacking, but the post-it note concept was cute :)

Trigger Warnings
This book contains:
• Depicts life after COVID-19 lockdown
• Minor unwanted advances appropriately handled and stopped
• Minor child custody dispute.
Characters
Jamie and Alice
Alice is excited to return to work after the second COVID-19 lockdown. She’s desperate to return to some form of normalcy and gain some of her own space back. She’s the second youngest of four sisters who lived under each other’s feet until she finally moved out after uni. At which point she moved into a share house with 4 roommates, got a boyfriend who didn’t mind rearranging and disposing of her possessions and her younger sister kept helping herself to her clothes.
Jamie is a bit of a mystery to us. He sits opposite Alice every day at work, seems to irritate her no end and has questionable tastes in women.
Storyline
After the second COVID-19 lockdown, We Got Designs has returned to the office. Unfortunately, they’ve lost several clients and things are tight financially now. They make a deal with another company to share their office space and have their staff job share their desks with a hot desk policy.
They’re pairing up staff to share a desk on alternate days to help reduce costs without laying off staff. For Alice, she’s been assigned to share a desk with Jamie and lose yet another bit of personal space.
Overall Thoughts
My first thought is that this is THE FIRST BOOK since the COVID pandemic started that actually talked about it. While I know it hasn’t been easy for people (my city has been in lockdown for more than 260 days between April 2020 and November 2021, when I wrote this review, yes I know, major delay in writing this and releasing it, sorry!), I can’t believe that by November 2021 this is the first time any book I’ve read has mentioned the pandemic. I mean, it’s a GLOBAL pandemic that has affected million and millions of people in all sorts of unimaginable ways.
How has no book before this even mentioned masks, social distancing, forced working from home, mass deaths or just generally the way our lives have changed?
I love that the whole premise of this romance was how COVID impacted us, changed us and what we’ve learnt about ourselves and our loved ones. While I know there are lots of ways to address this, I loved how this based those learnings on something that almost all of us can relate to.
Being forced to stay at home for a period of time due to a pandemic. Isolated from everyone except those we share a home with. Not to mention the fear and panic I’m sure many of us felt during this time. It was so refreshing and I’m so grateful we’ll have at least one book out there that depicts the realities we’ve all faced over the past two years.

Great premise and a super fast book to enjoy! I felt like it lacked some depth, but its good if you are looking for a quick, no frills romance summer read.

I could not get into this book. The premise was great, but this was just not the right time for this read. I'll be trying at a later time.

I think the comparison to Beth O’Leary is unfair to Beth. This lacks the same sizzzle between the characters. I liked the premise but ultimately the delivery fell flat.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author.

Fun engaging read with two characters you can't help but root for!

It's a tad unrealistic and not as good as her others.

What a great cover! This storyline had me gripped and I raced through it...well worth reading :) I can't wait to read more from this author! Not my usual genre but just goes to show :)

I had a hard time getting into this and eventually didn't finish it. The premise was really cute but I couldn't connect with Alice. Her inner monologue was tedious and repetitive. In the end this book wasn't for me.

A fun and enjoyable read. Thoroughly entertained and laugh out loud moments. Nothing super deep or revolutionary but it was a good book to escape with!