Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Make Up Break Up

I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the tech start-up world. I loved Annika and June and Hudson. Unfortunately, I found myself a bit bored and ready for the story to be over. This is a good book, just not great.

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lindsm94's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Lighthearted, easy read, but felt that it wrapped up way too easily and ended abruptly.

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plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

For the most part, this was a good romance. I really liked the protagonist Annika and her best friend June and, despite a few hiccups in their relationship, Annika’s father. I enjoyed seeing her passion for Make Up—which is a really cool idea for an app, by the way—and the progress she and June made working on it. I appreciated that so much of the book actually featured them working on the app and brainstorming ideas and planning for the pitch conference, as opposed to those things being sidelined in favor of the romance.

Speaking of the romance, one of my biggest issues was with the love interest, Hudson. I didn’t like his attitude when he was introduced; it took nearly half of the book for him to start growing on me. Then he ruined the progress he’d made when he sabotaged Annika in two different ways that I think seriously crossed the line.

Spoiler

Unplugging her laptop right before a presentation so he could charge his phone, which was barely under 90%? Inviting himself to the table where she and another guy where on a date, just because he was already at the same restaurant for another reason, and ruining said date? She salvaged the presentation, but her date left because he thought that there was something between Annika and Hudson. How obnoxious can he be??? Very, apparently, and I was not a fan.

Things started to improve, and even though I saw none of the things in Hudson that Annika did, I liked the direction the story took. I saw most of it coming, but that didn’t bother me. The final chapters of this book were unexpectedly emotional in more ways than one, and I liked that as well. Annika and Hudson’s make-up scene (see what I did there?) did endear him to me a little bit, and I think, with the story ending how it did, he has potential to be better.

What disappointed me the most was how abrupt the ending was. The aforementioned make-up scene was literally on the last page of the book, so we get absolutely nothing else. I would’ve loved to see Annika and Hudson as an actual couple, what happened with Make Up, if June and her love interest stayed together… so much could’ve been done in an additional couple of chapters. I feel like Menon ending the book where and how she did was a missed opportunity.

Despite those issues, I did enjoy most of this story, and I think Menon has potential as a romance writer. I might read more from her in the future.

Representation

Indian-American protagonist
Indian side characters
Asian side character (nationality not specified, as far as I’m aware)

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spearly's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

"Detest" was a strong word. So were "abhor" and "despise" and "loathe". Annika, being a pacifist, preferred a different term - something her yoga teacher had said that struck a much more civil cord.

"I am elementally unaligned with you, Hudson Craft,"

Make Up Break Up Follows Annika Dev, a young female app developer as she competes with her arch enemy, Hudson Craft, at a pitch competition for a massive investment. The catch? Hudson Craft and his business, Break Up, have moved into the office next to hers. Oh, and they also had sex last summer at a conference. And... he may have stolen her app idea.

As a romance, this was a fairly straightforward book. Very predictable. Nothing butterfly-inducing (for me), which is one of my main criteria when rating a romance, especially the god-tier trope of enemies-to-lovers. Hudson was at least a little cheeky and we saw a bit of his many sides, but Annika felt verrryyy flat. This is clearly a new adult book but if it weren't for the swearing and the sex, I would think Annika was 16. She was petty, stubborn, and most of the time, immature. I didn't really understand her motivations for messing with Hudson, particularly after it's made clear that he

Spoiler

didn't steal her app idea

.

We LOVE to see women thriving in tech... but Make Up Break Up falls a bit short of any truly meaningful commentary on the barriers women face in the tech world. We get a snippet of it when Annika and Hudson go talk about their businesses at a school, but even then, we only get one line saying ~You can do it! Don't let anyone tell you you can't!~. It didn't go into any detail about the casual sexism women in tech face - especially a character like Annika, being a woman of colour. There is a much deeper story that could have been told here - Annika, a young Indian American woman struggling to find investors for her revolutionary dating app, while her white, male counterpart coasts in on an idea she thinks he stole, gets all the funding he needs, millions of downloads and users and dollars. It was really a missed opportunity.

Still, a quick read that had some cute chapters. Didn't end the way I thought it would -

Spoiler

Of course the romance did, but I though Annika and Hudson would join their apps together. Think of it: Make Up helps couples communicate, see a future together through innovative tech, and when all those options run out, there's an amicable break-up tool. Hudson deciding to shut down his app didn't feel like the most satisfying option - I would have liked to see how their very different approaches could have worked together instead to make something neither of them could have made on their own.

3 stars. It's was okay, not the best book I've ever written, but not so unenjoyable that it warrants a 2 star.

(though that cover needs a revamp, bad. This came out in Feb 2021 and it looks like a teen book circa 2014).

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daniellestarredpages's review

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3.5

I gave this book 3.5/5 Stars. To start off, the protagonist Annika was was quite obnoxious. She always believed she was right and refused to see what was right in front of her. When we first started the book it did seem like she was going to be a "Not Like Other Girls" character but thankfully, that was not the case. Despite her being obnoxious most of the time, I wouldn't say she was an unlikeable character. She was ambitious and did her very best to achieve her goals. She had a good friendship going with her best friend June and she was very passionate about what she believed in.

The fact that the third act breaks up happened in the next chapter after Annika and Hudson got together just proved how unnecessary it was.

The writing style was easily accessible, the descriptions were well-placed and easy to visualise and the characters were fleshed out and unique in their own way

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sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review

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challenging sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Slow. Slow. Slow.

Would have benefited from Hudson's POV, but it's all in Annika's POV.

Enemies to Lovers/2nd Chance with each other type (just talk to each other)

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azrah786's review against another edition

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3.5

**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: death of a parent (off page), racism, car accident

Make Up, Break Up is a light and fun read following two rival app developers with a history, who constantly clash as they fight for their opposing apps to gain prominence and success in the tech world.

This is Menon's adult romance debut - though I’d personally say it falls more into the New Adult category – and has much of what I have always loved about her YA romance stories from the strong female friendships to great slice of life elements, but the sexual tension and steam factor have been upped a notch.

The rivalry at the heart of the story and banter and chemistry when the two leads were thrown together was super entertaining! However, I feel like the lack of communication/miscommunication that occurred in the story did drag on a little too much, which sort of let the story down and led to the ending being wrapped up quite abruptly.

But all in all if you enjoy the rivals to lovers and second chance romance tropes then you should check this one out!
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars

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