Name: Hot Desk
ISBN: 9780008436278

Zara Stoneley

Hot Desk

Amanda

This book turned out way better than I expected from the beginning. I'm glad I stuck with it.

I wasn't a fan of main character Alice in the start. She seemed very cranky. But as the story progressed I came to understand her more. I found myself crying with some of the struggles that I recognized personally.

I really liked the love interest Jamie. His character is very supportive and sweet. Almost too good to be true, but in a way that I quite enjoyed.

The story is less about love (although that's there and it's lovely) than it is about one girl learning to set boundaries with her family and friends and the way that ultimately enriches her life and gives her greater relationships.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC

sydney

** spoiler alert **
           *4.5 
i received an arc through netgalley.

this book is so good but once again i was a bit annoyed that they were fade to black scenes but it made sense. i wish we got to hear them say out loud to each other i love you, also i needed an epilogue knowing how everything fully worked out. i would like to believe that they are married and are co parenting alfie but i don’t know

I would give this book 3.5 stars.

I was fortunate enough to receive this book as an ARC from Netgalley.

Alice is a bit of a pushover when it comes to her personal life, but at work she is anything but. This mostly has to do with her coworker Jamie, who is constantly teasing her. What Jamie doesn't seem to realize is that Alice has met him before and they've kissed. When their workplace decides to downsize, Alice is forced to share her desk with Jamie.
(view spoiler)[ 
I really liked this book. I know that some people may not like the stream of consciousness that Alice has, but I think that it is very accurate for a person who tends to overthink. You can see her development through how she thinks about herself and her space. I also liked that events were shown and not described. So in the book we had both what was happening at the current moment and what she was thinking as it was happening. I should also mention that book is definitely a slow burn.

I found Jamie and Alice to be really fun characters. Alice was definitely an overthinker, but she was so realistic. As an overthinker myself, I was able to relate to her on that level. She also had her quirks, like keeping things that have memories behind them. Jamie was also, I feel like, an overthinker because he had many of the same reservations as Alice about their kiss. I liked that he was a dad and that he prioritized his child over his own wants because that is what good parents do. I also liked Alice's family, as they too were very realistic. Especially Sophie because what sister doesn't steal your clothes. 

 (hide spoiler)]

T/w this book contains references to life after the Covid pandemic Same desk, different days. A post-it note is just the beginning... A must read for fans of Beth O’Leary, Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Kinsella!

Anika | @chaptersofmay

Hot Desk is the story of Alice, a designer who is looking forward to getting back to work after the lockdown. But to allow for flexible working, Alice must split her hours between working at home and hot desking with Jamie, the most annoying guy in the office. 

I really struggled to enjoy this story until around halfway through, and by then my enthusiasm was essentially non-existent. My main issue with this story is Alice’s view of the world. If you’re going to include a devastating pandemic in a story, there needs to be a level of sensitivity regarding the tragedy that billions have had to endure. The lockdown was not a holiday for everyone, so if you’re going to feature it in a story, this needs to be compassionately acknowledged. 

Alice’s inner monologues often consisted of shallow complaints, frustration over poor communication (which can be easily fixed in this century), and general immaturity that grew tiresome. A lot of her remarks felt insensitive, especially in the face of a global pandemic. If this story existed outside the world of COVID-19 like a lot of fiction, it would not have come off as superficial as it did. 

The premise of this book is great. Part of it reminds me of The Hating Game, and as it is marketed towards fans of Beth O’Leary, Mhairi McFarlane, and Sophie Kinsella, it sounds like the ideal romantic comedy. But the sluggish pace and lack of engaging dialogue lets this book down. The endless paragraphs of Alice’s observations are tedious instead of hilarious, especially earlier in the book. Her growing affection for Jamie redeemed the reading experience, and it had cute moments that suit the genre. Plus, I liked the way their relationship progressed through notes. An office romance can be an exciting backdrop for a love story, and I wish the author had taken further advantage of this kind of dynamic.

While Alice’s character development is good, her personality and constant moaning is irritating. As a result, I found it difficult to connect to the story or sympathise with her. By the end, I felt disappointed in Hot Desk. 

Emma-Leigh Pedder

3.75 🌟

This was really sweet! An adorable little office romance, with the flirting done through a series of sticky notes and messages left for one another. The setting of this book was done during covid time but used quite casually as a throwaway plot device, which may bother some but I chose not to let it interfere with my enjoyment of the book. 

The romance had a great pace and the characters had really great chemistry even in the parts of the book where they weren’t interacting in person, which is hard to do! I do think the resolution of the ‘problem’ that keeps them apart was a little…unrealistic but I could understand she’d kind of written herself into a corner with it.

I really enjoyed this and flew through the book, it’s a nice quick read 🥰

Thank you to One More Chapter for inviting me to review this ARC ❤️