Workplace romance + women in STEM + rivals to lovers!

When Emma & Charlie are forced to work together in an office competition for a promotion, they are forced to reconcile with the fact they've made a lot of assumptions about the other person.

Read if you love...
- rivals to lovers
- women in STEM
- he falls first
- open door
- workplace romance
- dual perspective
- trust fund FMC + foster kid MMC
- banter

I love a workplace romance + women in STEM, and truly wish there were more books with this! I loved seeing not only what Emma had to endure being a kickass woman at her job, but how she overcame the misogynistic coworkers she dealt with on a daily basis.

Dual perspective added so much depth to both the plot & the characters. We understood why Emma & Charlie both are the way they are, and due to the plot of this, that was so incredibly needed. And honestly made me love them more & root so hard for them!

I loved the side characters in Charlie's sister and her girlfriend, and Emma's best friend. And absolutely wanted more on page time with them because they're wonderful!

The animal rescue & puppies. Cue the melty face emojis.

Recommend adding this one to your TBR!

Content warnings: misogyny within the STEM field; mentions of growing up in the foster care system

Emma and Charlie (rival colleagues) are working toward a promotion - or really competing for it.
The chemistry was there, the banter was great and the story was well written

Charlie and Emma work together and hate each other. Well…at least Emma hates Charlie bc she has to work her ass off for a smidge of respect and he gets respect bc he has a dick. Charlie on the other hand is quietly infatuated with Emma bc she’s smart, kick ass, babe. Emma and Charlie are forced to work on a project together that involves corporate computer systems, blah blah blah…when are these two going to hate f*ck?

The twist of it all is that Emma has never had a big O with a guy and since she doesn’t have and will def never ever develop feelings for Charlie (lies all lies), he is the perfect guy to help her achieve her climax goals. Charlie takes this task very seriously and I am here. for. it. Charlie needs to start a company “Orgasms for Hire” bc he’s very good at his job.

Obvi Emma and Charlie fall for each other. Obvi there is work and life drama. Obvi there is a lot of computer programming happening which is way outside my scope of knowledge, but say one thing about @danimcleanwrites she doesn’t F around when writing about someone’s occupation. It’s 100% profession porn and I support her getting specific with what her characters do for a living. Dani also knows how to write a very steamy romance and I look forward to more from this series! Def recommend this one.

Smut- 3.1 stars
Romance- 4.7 stars
Story- 4.5 stars
Making computer programming entertaining- 6.2 stars

Dani did it again with an amazing work place / rivals to lovers romance!
This was my first book for the month of September and it really set the bar high.
Emma and Charlie were complex characters and didn’t make the best first impression to each other but once they came to a reluctant truce they fell like dominos.
I loved their chemistry and banter. Once they inevitably teamed up they were a force to be reckoned with!
But alone they are rockstars too. Emma constantly had to prove her worth while over working herself. Charlie climbed the latter from the ground up and both made major sacrifices for their job. I loved that Charlie recognized Emma’s work and pushed their co workers to see it too.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC! Dani’s books are always amazing to read.

I have never read anything by this author before, but I really enjoyed reading this book. The pacing was good and the character's were developed very well. This was such a fun read!

*4.5

The beginning was a bit slow and I was confused the whole time on the work aspect. After I got past that it was an enjoyable book. Charlie had so many hangups and didn't think anything could last, it made me want to give him a big hug. He was never going to give up on Emma though.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I adored the characters and real world issues that they faced. I loveeeddd that Charlie is the sweetest cinnamon roll of a romantic lead! It was refreshing to have a rivals story that didn't include a bosshole alpha male.

I had a good time with this one. It was relaxing and entertaining. It just didn't completely hit.

I liked the office banter and the overall vibe. Most importantly, I liked Emma and how she overcame her challenges with intimacy. That felt quite raw and original. Charlie was really great, too, and a total sweetheart. Their interactions were nice, and the chemistry was there.

The thing that didn't work for me was the overall flow of the story. It just didn't completely pull me in and didn't hold me in the story.

Although, I think it's still a good read if you're in the mood for an office romance.

This was a fun work place romance! I loved the tropes they are some of my fav! It was a cute quick read.

NetGalley review
If you loved The hating game then you will love this book.
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to lovers
❤️‍🔥Work romance
❤️‍🔥Enemies with benefits? 😜

Spicy 🌶️

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers Set The Mood Publishing, and the author Dani Mclean for letting me read along with review this advanced book copy. This is the first novel I have read within the out of office series by this author that is a three star book that releases Tuesday September 24th 2024. This novel follows two rivals Emma and Charlie who work at a tech start up. Their current rivalry is working together for one of them to get a promotion. This is an amazing steamy romance that had off the charts chemistry.

Dani is one of my favorite humans. They are such a bad ass writer and I’ve said this before but I feel cozy when I read their words. So talented and such a beautiful storyteller.

Charlie and Emma hate each other, but then get paired up at work in a project to vie for a higher position, things go awry. Sparks fly when they finally have a breakthrough and Emma and Charlie make a pact that will change their relationship forever.

Loved every minute of this book.

If you are a woman who has worked in the corporate world before today, or in the past this book is for you! As a corporate girlie, I felt so represented in this book.

Take it Offline follows Emma and Charlie, who work at a tech company and compete for a promotion. The story follows Emma who still has feelings for her ex Logan, and this is where Charlie comes in, she enlists him in order to help win him back. The book was a great example of rivals to lovers, banter, and workplace romance.

Emma as a character was great. She was a strong independent woman who strived to be more than just a pretty rich girl, she fought to make a name for herself and didn't let anyone stand in her way.

One thing that hindered the book for me was that there was almost too much work talk. I didn't understand a lot of what they were talking about when they were talking about the project and work overall. I still don't know what she does for work.

“My life turned technicolor the second you walked into it. Everything else pales in comparison.”

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Take It Offline is a clichéd romance between lovers and office enemies. On the other hand, I find it more entertaining because of the he falls first cliché. Because he was so terrible, the boss in this book ended up being the main focus of my attention. This may be a real-life experience for women, but in my opinion, it detracted from the story's romance.

Charlie and Emma are colleagues/work enemies at a tech company who are forced to work together for a project. That's essentially the plot in one sentence.

I did enjoy this book and I liked the relationship building but I actually think Charlie was a bit of a dick. What kind of person claims someone else's idea as their own and then doubles down when called out about it?

I liked the way that Emma's struggles as a woman in tech were written and how real that was but I couldn't see past the fact that this guy was douchey enough to claim an idea as his own and let the company praise him for it - even if he is a good brother who rescues puppies.

I think if it hadn't been for that, I would have rated this book higher but that was really the most memorable part for me. Perhaps it's just me embodying petty bitch, but there's no way I would forgive someone for something like that.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book and I could have really enjoyed it with a few tweaks. Admittedly, it was enemies to lovers done right, instead of just some mild animosity.

Tropes:
- Colleagues
- Reluctant partners
- Enemies to lovers
- Woman in tech

An initial rival romance with close proximity. I love the workplace romance trope and this one was satisfying. It’s a romance that bridges 400 pages but there’s a lot going on and it was still a fast paced read for me. I enjoyed this one.

I adored the chemistry in this one. Charlie is insatiable for Emma and I love the way that becomes mutual as she opens herself up to him. The intimate scenes are hot and also honest and raw in places, there are a few moments I know will hit hard for some readers. I loved the way Emma’s inability to come with a partner is approached, the way Charlie makes her realise it truly isn’t anything wrong with her, and that it also isn’t something that is fixed forever.
I did however find it very jargon heavy at times when it came to Emma and Charlie’s work, it took me half of the book to understand what they were doing and I still don’t understand what their job entails. I also found the 3rd act conflict a little abrupt, it is in line with what we k new of the characters but I still was a little shocked when it happened?

As a woman in tech, the complaints about Power BI spoke to me on a spiritual level. Oftentimes romances are placed in fantastical, dreamy settings; it was incredibly refreshing seeing one take place in a place many of us are so familiar with- the office. Our main characters interact in the same manner you likely do with your work arch nemesis, the one you harbor a secret crush on, Take it Offline was a lot of fun and I could see myself and my daily life reflected back at me.

I loved the realistic representation of the gender discrimination faced by women in corporate. It was raw and relatable.

Surprisingly, the smut actually added a layer of depth to the story, something I never thought I’d say about that element in a book! But the work talk? That was tough. Honestly, I don't think anyone would understand that. I really tried to comprehend it, but it just was... Seriously, I don't even know what her job even was. While this shouldn't be that big of a problem, in this case it kind of was because their work played a big part in the story.

Their chemistry was off the charts. I really liked them together. Two other aspects that I'm not a fan of are 1) the insta-love or lust 2) the breakup scene—it just felt like they broke up for the sake of the story, not because there was an actual reason for it. I liked how mature and understanding the FMC was throughout the book tho.

Thank you Net Galley, Set the Mood Publishing and Dani Mclean for a copy of this arc.

This was such a fun, quick, spicy read! We even had peaks of Charlies’s dirty mouth, AKA why this book was so spicy. The enemies-to-lovers vibe was great and absolutely delivered on the tension and chemistry development between Charlie and Emma.

I was so glad when Emma finally came to her senses about Logan and chose Charlie instead, thank goodness. The one downside and the reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was the third-act breakup. It felt like Charlie was just acting dumb about the whole situation, and it seemed unnecessary given how well everything had been developing between them. If you love a good, angsty enemies-to-lovers romance with plenty of spice, this one’s for you.

Overall o enjoyed this read and would be willing to give others from the author. It was a fun and enjoyable read 🩷