Review: Office Hate by Rachel Van Dyken

 

Print Length: 157 pages

Publisher: Van Dyken Enterprises LLC (May 13, 2021)

From Goodreads.com:  Have you ever hated someone so much that you actually wondered if prison would be worth it?

I have.
And I had to bear witness to Mark's cocky smile for four miserable years watching girl after girl tumble in and out of his bed while he had nothing but scorn for me.
After we graduated college and, thank God, finally parted ways, I thought that I was done having to deal with the enemy. And then I got fired, sending me careening right into a local bar—and Mark's bed.

My nightmare came true as we both soon realized that we would be fighting for the same job at Emory Enterprises.
We had to live together under the same roof, and as the challenges got weirder and weirder, we got closer and closer—united by the trauma that is CEO Max Emory.
When I signed up for this internship, I envisioned coffee runs, not gecko sitting—long story.
Soon one thing led to another, and somehow my enemy quickly turned into my best friend.

But what happens when the games are over? Furthermore, how do I tell the guy I used to hate that he owns my heart when I wasn't even aware I'd given it away?

Prison time or Mark?
A few days ago, I would have chosen prison.
Now? He's all I see.

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This review is a hard one for me to write because I have a lot of mixed feelings about this story. On one hand, there were numerous moments that made me laugh out loud (example when Max calls TikTok "Tokking on the Tik", or when Mark declared it wouldn't surprise him to see Max ride in on a velociraptor). Then there were moments that made me roll my eyes and wonder if Max wasn't really an evil genius, but rather simply completely batshit crazy as some of his demands and the things he said to his employees and interns were just ...... out there. Like grounds for a lawsuit out there. 

Speaking just on Mark and Olivia, well I had some mixed feelings about them too. The biggest one being I never actually bought into them supposedly hating one another and therefore, can't in good conscious call this an enemies to lovers story. A romantic comedy on the other hand? Absolutely. I feel like if these two truly hated each other the way they said they did, they wouldn't be constantly thinking about sex/having sex. I also wouldn't see them working so well together especially when at the time they thought they were competing for the same job. In some instances I understand that working together was part of the "Emory Games", but one instance sticks out which all I can say without spoiling anything was it had to do with a tie breaker, and I honestly can't see it going down the way it did if these two truly hated each other. Even after they endured a five year separation, as soon as they are reunited, they so easily fall back into old habits that once again, I wasn't buying that they hated each other. 

That being said, if you are a fan of romantic comedies then I am sure you will enjoy this one. I would read more from this author. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                                                      Office Hate is available from Amazon.com

                                                                           (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)