Make Up Break Up, the sparkling and heartfelt romantic comedy debut from Lily Menon 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 … 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.
Which wouldn’t be a problem if they’d gone their separate ways after that summer fling in Las Vegas, never to see each other again. Unfortunately for Annika, Hudson’s moving not just into her office building, but into the office right next to hers. And he’ll be competing at the prestigious EPIC investment pitch contest: A contest Annika needs to win if she wants to keep Make Up afloat. As if it’s not bad enough seeing his irritatingly perfect face on magazine covers when her own business is failing. As if knowing he stole her idea and twisted it into something vile–and monumentally more successful–didn’t already make her stomach churn.
As the two rival app developers clash again and again–and again–Annika finds herself drawn into Hudson Craft’s fast-paced, high velocity, utterly shallow world. Only, from up close, he doesn’t seem all that shallow. Could it be that everything she thought about Hudson is completely wrong? Could the creator of Break Up teach her what true love’s really about?
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Overall this book is fun. It’s a sort of enemies to lovers / second chance romance. Annika and Hudson met at a conference in Vegas and spent an amazing week together. They went their separate ways until nearly a year later when Hudson’s company moves into the same building as Annika’s. Both have a relationship app that come from opposite sides. Annika’s app is geared towards helping people with communication so they can get through troubles in their relationship and stay together. Hudson’s app helps people break it off with one another quickly and easily.
This book had a lot of strengths. There is definite chemistry between the two characters. I liked how both were heads of their business and had real goals. The banter was mostly great. I really liked Hudson. You could read between the lines to see how he really felt about Annika and I found him mostly fun and sweet.
Annika was a bit tougher. I didn’t like how she treats anyone. She is fairly self-centered through the entire book. She uses her best friend mostly when she needs something done for the app or to help her carry out her pranks. Annika also comes across as a bit condescending and judgmental…especially with Hudson. He gives up a lot in the end and it just didn’t sit quite right with me. I understand that they author was trying to make a point in what he was gaining but it didn’t come off all together for me. In addition, when they hooked up there was zero mention of protection. This omission reads as super irresponsible and not what I want to see in a contemporary..
That being said, this book was enjoyable. I did laugh and found myself wanting to keep reading. I think with a bit more polishing this could be a great book and definitely am interested in reading more from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an ARC of this book. The opinions here are my own.
** spoiler alert **
I’m a big fan of rivals-to-lovers. I love the banter, the sabotage and the tension that builds until they just can’t stay away from each other anymore. Make Up Break Up is a story of Annika and Hudson, app developers who had a weeklong fling in Vegas in the past but now are rivals competing for investors. Their apps couldn’t be more opposite of each other, just as Hudson and Annika’s personalities are quite different. There was definite build up and steam, but unfortunately, this book just wasn’t a big hit for me.
I love a good enemies to lovers trope, but when it’s all based on an assumption or miscommunication, I want that part cleared up before the last chapter of the book. It gets old when you as a reader know the truth and have to endlessly read the MC pushing the LI away for reasons that you know aren’t true. I would have preferred for their misunderstanding to be resolved sooner. When Hudson finally tells Annika how she hurt him, WAY later than he should have, she doesn’t seem too remorseful. She instead seems selfish by explaining that she did what she did because she assumed he wouldn’t return her feelings. I’m all for female power and women not giving up their dreams for a man, but I’m not okay with him sacrificing who he is in order to earn her affection.
There were some funny moments and I could picture Hudson being sweet and charming. This book was just okay for me, but I would give the author another chance and read the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
I am SO disappointed in this one. I was super excited for it–I love a romcom led by a woman in STEM, since they are so few and far between, and I love Menon’s YA books (When Dimple Met Rishi, etc.), so I could not wait to read this one when I heard about it! But it just didn’t live up to expectations. And in all honesty, just didn’t graduate from YA. It felt like the author took a YA plot, aged them up 5-8 years, threw in sex, and called it a day. The “enemies-to-lovers” portion–normally my favorite trope–felt extremely juvenile. We kept HEARING about how good a person Annika was, but we never really seemed to SEE it. She seemed incredibly self-centered, immature, and a little mean. It was hard to root for her; didn’t seem like she deserved Hudson, who other than one time unplugging her charging laptop (after Annika had pulled a number of pranks on him), seemed like a genuinely good guy.
I also want to take a minute to rant about the business aspects of this book:
– June (Annika’s business partner and friend) is loaded. She OFFERRED to be an investor in the company–which Annika was on the verge of losing–and Annika said no because she’s too prideful. Um, hello??? Your BEST friend, ONLY employee is RICH and offering to invest in your business and you say NO??? WHY???? It’s okay to ask for and accept help! Especially when it’s in the form of an investment and not an outright gift.
– Eventually Annika’s father offers to invest (which she knows would probably turn into a gift) AND SHE TURNS HIM DOWN. Girl, people take money from their parents all the time. It’s called privilege, and let’s be real, if you have it, use it. INSTEAD OF GOING BANKRUPT AND GETTING EVICTED AT LEAST???
– Also how is Annika paying for things like her rent, food, drinks, a mariachi band, gas, etc. when she’s getting evicted? The business is struggling but Annika doesn’t seem to be and it makes no sense. The finances in this book are so whack.
– SPOILER. SPOILER. SPOILER. WHY THE HECK WOULD HUDSON “SHUT DOWN” BREAK UP??? You SELL it for millions and walk away rich but without being the face of the company any more! Then you can take care of your family AND find your joy as a sculptor! Like what the heck, this makes no sense. Also, I think we all thought the natural conclusion of this book would be that the two companies would merge. It’s unrealistic to think all couples will and should “make up” and how great would it be if there was an app that offered both? This plotline was offered on a silver platter and why the author didn’t take it, I do not know.
In sum, the ending was just off-the-chart bizarre, implausible, whatever you want to call it. I still don’t understand how these two spent seven days becoming friends and eventually hooking up at a conference and never exchanged cell numbers or became Facebook friends. Makes no logical sense, as was the case with most of this book.
Look, I loved the premise. The beginning of the book was fine. But then it got so much more bizarrer and bizarrer, I couldn’t take it. If you are looking for a book along these lines–enemies-to-lovers, women in STEM, second chance, dating app romance–I would recommend The Right Swipe.
Thanks to St. Martin’s for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!
3 stars – 5/10
The premise of this book is oh-so-appealing. I love enemies-to-lovers and reading about a female in STEM is incredibly cool.
What started out with great potential fell flat for me, unfortunately. I didn’t buy into the “enemies” part of the book on behalf of the hero, Hudson. At every point, he seems genuine and misunderstood. Annika’s reasons for hating him were easily resolved with a little bit of communication and a lot a bit of practicality.
Frankly, I always struggle with an angry MC. Annika has so much going for her – a great dad, an amazing best friend and business partner, innovative creativity – and yet she’s perpetually driven by her anger over a guy she hooked up with for a week. I also didn’t understand her prideful refusal of accepting financial backing from her wealthy business partner. It’s never made clear why they both are not taking a fiscal risk over Make Up.
The setting is perfect and the supporting cast is top notch, which is what kept my attention to the end. I think with an MC I could connect with, I would love to read more from Lily Menon.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Oh, the things when tell ourselves, after having been hurt in the past, and assume things would never work out for us.
I love that Anikka wasn’t too much of a wilting flower, that she was strong in her belief that others could be truly happy if she helped them, but she should have tried harder to believe in her Self.
As for Hudson, I was flip-flopping with his character. He changed his attitude back and forth so much my head spun.
All in all, this was an enjoyable, if at times frustrating, story. Ah, the joys and sorrows of Love.
I received an e-copy of this story for my honest review.
This book was everything I never knew I needed in a rom-com. I hope they end up making some kind of film version of this one.
First of all, I love a good second chance romance, and that’s exactly what we get from this book. But to add just a little spice to the mix, it’s also an enemies to lovers! You’re probably wondering how that could be, but I’m telling you it is! In addition to that, there is an excellent side romance going on.
I loved that this story brought in app development as a big part of the book. I also was extremely excited to see a woman run company and a woman developer in this book. I would love to continue to see such positive role models for younger adults who may be reading this type of book. Not only that, but the main character stood by her values and morals even when it meant possibly losing the guy. She didn’t just fold on her own beliefs simply to get a relationship.
I think fans of either of the romance tropes I mentioned, fans of rom-coms in general, and fans of movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days would absolutely adore this book.
I started reading this book and then put it down because I just couldn’t get into it. I was hoping after coming back to it I would be able to really get into the book. I’m so sad I wasn’t able to. This book had so much potential but I just couldn’t make it worm for me.
Having met at a conference, Annika and Hudson find themselves competing for funding with their apps that couldn’t be more different. Annika’s app, Make Up, tries to help people in struggling relationships regain what they’ve lost and stay together. Hudson’s app, Break Up, offers the services of an impartial third party to break up with your significant other. Both have strong feelings for each other but Hudson’s app makes Annika sick and she can’t be with someone who does that for a living.
A geeky love story. Two tech developers do battle for dominance. With witty repartee and sneaky tricks they try to get one over each other. All the time what they are really fighting is the attraction they feel for each other. There are also secondary characters who add layers of flavor to to story.
I LOVED THIS debut adult romance by Lily Menon, a pen name to NYT bestselling writer Sandhya Menon (When Dimple Met Rishi and others)
Annika Dev a UCLA graduate is the CEO of ‘Make Up’ a technology company that made OLLI and Original Love Language Interface designed to fix communication issues between couples inspired by her parents’ loving relationship. however, the only thing keeping their company afloat as they drown in debt and risk eviction is the hopes for being chosen in the upcoming EPIC pitching event to get funding. though Annika’s father and best friend and Company CTU June are wealthy and can help, Annika is adamant she does this on her own.
A new office tenant moves in, and it’s none other than Hudson Craft, a handsome summer fling and who might have possibly stolen Annika’s idea to developing his own app called Break Up. With over a million downloads, Hudson’s company was on the rise. The premise of the company was to make breaking up more efficient with less drama, and where a break up will be delivered by a “terminator”.
I thought that the characters were fun especially Annika’s friend June, and Annika’s dad, a famous anesthesiologist whose life has been upended from the death of his wife to cancer. Annika’s character as a CEO of a technology company and representing STEM is a real plus for me. Also, the fact that Annika was brave enough to pursue her dreams rather than succumbing to her father’s wishes for her to take medicine as something to fall back on when her passions fail, was really well done without making the father the bad guy. It was handled so beautifully in the story.
The relationship between Annika and Hudson was steaming hot and there were still some lingering attraction between them since the fling in Vegas. The competition was hot and the attraction between Annika and Hudson were even hotter.
The audio narration by Natalie Nauru really brought these characters to life, giving each a distinct and clear voice. I can always tell a great narrator when I can listen at 2.5x speed and still understand it very clearly. The audio was fabulous and really added to my reading experience.
Overall this was an amazing read I highly recommend.
I was very excited to read this book. However it never grabbed my attention and I had to struggle to finish it. Annika and Hudson’s story is a combination platter of second chance, enemies-to-lovers and opposites attract tropes. This should have been an explosion of goodness but just somehow fell flat. I got no sparks of any kind from these two and I found their childishness annoying. Of the two, Hudson was the most likable but if I am 100% honest, I did not care for either. I am freely posting a objective review.
This book was hysterical! A summer read for all seasons. So what happens when your one week fling that you were never supposed to see again not only moves into the office next door, but has stolen the idea for your app, turned it on its head to become much more successful than yours so he can enter enters the Pitch Fest and win a huge cash prize and is everywhere you are, but who is the antithesis of everything you believe in? Hilarity, pranks, torturing each other that’s what. If you’re in need of fun read that will make your cheeks hurt from laughing this is the book for you. Annika believes in true love, soul mates and that it takes some work to make a relationship successful. Hudson appears to be a “hit it and quit it” and get out without leaving a trace kind that you were even there kind of guy. Seemingly heartless, calculated, and only interested in new shiny expensive shallow things and people. Is that really who he is? Annika starts to question her beliefs when starts to get to know him. What is real and who is Hudson really? Can they find a way to work it out together?? I’m not telling because I don’t want to ruin your read. It’s an enjoyable entertaining read well worth your time that all leads up to a riotous and very sweet HEA.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity.
Months ago, Annika and Hudson had a one-night stand at a conference in Vegas. Now, they’re competing for the same grant to fund their app development companies. Amid the sabotage, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings, can they find their way to love?
This is a delightful novel—witty and charming and fun. It reads like YA but with the characters in their twenties.
I received an ARC from the publisher, and this is my honest and voluntary review.
4 1/2 STARS – This was a great read. Annika and Hudson are both young CEO’s of app startups. They share a week together in Vegas and then meet up again in LA. I thoroughly enjoyed their story and the tears with the last portion of the story. Definitely recommend.
I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. Thank you!
Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon is the story of Annika and Hudson, two young people who had two different businesses. Annika had developed the app Make Up, which had the goal to reunite people and to give them a second chance at a relationship, and Hudson who developed the app Break Up, helps people to break up easily just with simply massages without the emotional baggage.
Annika and Hudson spent together a beautiful week in Vegas but now they were enemies and they want to win Investment Pitch Contest, which will help them with their business and Annika wants to prove to the Hudson that not everything is about money.
They prank each other and it was funny but they wanted to prove to each other that they were the best and they will succeed in their business. They had two different businesses but both of them want to change people’s lives.
I loved Hudson and Annika and I loved that both of them wanted to succeed in their businesses. I loved their chemistry and their banter and their jokes. I loved that they were vulnerable and they fought for their feelings. I really liked Make Up, Break Up by Lily Menon.
This was such a fun and unique romance.
With technology running our lives these days, and having an app for everything, I was excited to read a romance about two rival app owners. One owner’s app, Make Up, tries to bring couples together while the other owner’s app, Break Up, breaks them up.
At a tech conference a few years ago, Annika and Hudson, had a week long tryst that meant more to both of them than either of them admitted. Flash forward to the present, and they are both trying to pave the way with their new apps. Annika believes that Hudson stole her app idea from that week together. He has been super successful with is app while she is about to be evicted from her office space because of not being able to afford rent. Then, he moves in right down the hall from her!
This was such an enjoyable enemies-to-lovers romance with so much chemistry! I loved the side characters just as much as Annika and Hudson. Both of the main characters are strong, determined, passionate, and vulnerable when it was needed. I loved watching them navigate everything that happened to them on their journey.
I just recently learned that this is Sandhya Menon’s pen name for her adult novels and I have never been more excited to pick up the young adult books of hers that have been on my TBR forever.
Grateful to have received a complimentary ARC copy to honestly review.
I’ve been in a weird funk lately, the last books I’ve picked in the romance genre have not been winners for me and I was a little scared of starting this book. Fortunately, I enjoyed Make Up Break Up. I wouldn’t say this is an enemies to lovers romance, I think about it more as a rivals to lovers romance.
First of all, I loved Annika! She was fiercely independent, very determined, totally in love with her job and her app, super smart and I loved how she fiercely disliked Hudson. Annika wasn’t the easiest of characters. The fact that she was super focused on getting investors made her seem a little self centered sometimes, but I think it made perfect sense considering how passionate she was about her app and how she saw Hudson’s app. Honestly, that just made me loved her character more.
Hudson was much more than a hot guy. He was definitely a visionary and a workaholic, very funny, charismatic, loyal to his family and very determined to remain successful. I loved the way we could see that he was also sweet and had a vulnerable side. It would’ve been perfect if we got interactions with his family in the story.
The tension and the chemistry between Annika and Hudson was freaking amazing and I couldn’t put my kindle down so I read it in one sitting. There were a lot of funny moments (the pranks were hilarious), a lot of will they/won’t they moments and I enjoyed every single part of their story. Even though they had a fling in the past, the slow burn through the book was so well done.
I really liked the tech setting too: the development of the Make Up app, the PR surrounding the tech world, the struggle to get investors, the financial issues and the fact that sometimes apps aren’t exactly used how the app creator thought it would be. The secondary characters were also great and added different layers to their story: June, Annika’s best friend and developer; Ziggy, Hudson’s VP and Annika’s dad. I hope we get June and Ziggy’s story too.
I wasn’t exactly a fan of the direction that the story went regarding the EPIC investment pitch contest, I was expecting something else entirely. I still loved how this book ended, even though it felt a little rushed. It would have ended smoother with an epilogue. Overall, a cute, entertaining, sweet, funny, charming, refreshing romance in a tech setting.
Two, young entrepreneurs battling it out with their latest apps MakeUP and Break Up! It was interesting to find out Annika and Hudson had a prior short relationship in Vegas and she thought he stole her app idea.
The chemistry between them made the story really interesting It seemed like one step forward and two steps back and I was never sure what would happen next which I really liked. I also liked the emotions behind Annika and Hudson and the depth of their characters. I look forward to reading more books by Lily Menon. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
I was really excited about this book the moment I read the blurb, and it was a cute & fun story. I loved the idea of a romance between rival app owners – one whose mission to is to bring couples together, the other to break them up. I really loved the enemies to lovers & rom-com mash-up, although the “enemies” part wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
While I enjoyed the storyline I have a love-hate relationship with Annika. I loved her passion & determination and the fact that she was fighting to make her business a success. What I didn’t love was how she perceived her relationship with Hudson and seemed to create conflicts in her head. Her character was a bit indecisive, and I think having the entire story told from her point of view made it a little hard for me to invest in their happiness. I think getting Hudson’s POV, even for only a few chapters if not the whole thing, would have developed the story a lot more and made this a complete hit for me. That being said I think it’s a fantastic debut novel, and I can’t wait to read more from Lily Menon in the future!
After reading several suspense novels, I decided to take a break and read something light and fluffy. Make Up Break Up was just the book to read. It is filled with miscommunication, sexual tension, women in STEM, and a happily ever after ending.
Annika has a brilliant idea for an app and is working hard to develop it, along with her best friend June. These two women embody women in STEM and there is even a part of the story where they speak to some high school students and encourage the girls to pursue their dreams in coding. It is really a great message that nothing has to hold you back other than yourself.
Hudson has created an app that is the opposite of what Annika is creating. His app will send someone (a terminator) to end a relationship that you don’t want to be involved with anymore. I wondered how and why he came up with this app and the answer to that is near the end of the book so you will have to read it to find out.
Annika and Hudson had met in Vegas at a conference and sparks flew during that week. But then they went their separate ways until Hudson ends up as Annika’s neighbor in an office building in Los Angeles. Hilarity ensues between these two with the pranks to knock each other off their game. But what they didn’t expect was to feel those sparks again.
I am not sure how much I liked Annika. She is a tough woman with a passion for her app, but some of her actions are childish. Granted she is in her early 20s, but it still seemed a bit immature. Not that Hudson was much better. It is also a little vague as to how she can afford this nice office in Los Angeles. There are conversations with a banker so it is assumed she has a loan from that bank. but it isn’t ever really confirmed outright. June is her partner in crime, a master coder, and apparently very wealthy. I was surprised that Annika refused her help monetarily to get them out of the hole they currently are in, but if she did accept the financial help it would have taken the story in a different direction. I did feel like Annika did start to mature towards the end of the book when certain events occurred.
Annika has a great relationship with her father other than he wants her to attend medical school and become a doctor. That is not her passion and I wondered if her father would ever realize that becoming a doctor is not her dream. Small spoiler, he does but it takes a long time. But the journey to get to that point is two-fold for him and an intriguing subplot.
Hudson has his own issues too. He has become very successful with his app, but he isn’t happy. There are underlying issues that Annika helps him uncover at various points during the story. Hudson does seem too perfect, but in reality, he is just as flawed as Annika, and perhaps that is what makes these two a perfect couple. Once they can get past their hangups.
The book made me chuckle and there are a few “oh no” moments, but we get our HEA and all is right with the world.
We give this book 3 1/2 paws up.