skepticalmoose's review
This book was a fucking mess from beginning to...well, I guess I can't say end because I didn't finish it. Both MCs are utterly unlikable, the girlfriend was a one-dimensional bitch who existed only to be hated - and mission accomplished, because I hated her, but not as much as I hated the men.
Matthias is supposed to be a sweet upstanding guy, but when he suspects his girlfriend might be cheating, he fucks a waiter in the bathroom for spite while the girlfriend sits alone at a table. And speaking of the girlfriend, we don't even know Matthias is anything but 100 percent queer until Chase sees an announcement for his engagement in the newspaper. I was almost done at that point, but I'm nothing if not determined, so I slogged onward.
Chase wants Matthias back, so he sets out to prove he's still the guy Matthias fell in love with. His first attempt at showing he's not a ruthless prick fails, because Matthias doesn't trust him after he's proven countless times he's completely untrustworthy. So then, like a reasonable person who is not a complete psycho arseholes, he tries again., no wait, he doesn't. He goes full on batshit crazy and sets out to ruin Matthias by taking over his family business, the only thing that means anything to him. And apparently he also seduces Matthias's girlfriend and nearly kills Matthias's beloved father, but I didn't get that far. So Matthias was right not to trust him. Except apparently later on he falls back in love with this monster, so clearly he's as fucked up as Chase. They deserve each other. Better that they stay together than each of them going on to ruin some other guy's life, so I guess that counts as a HEA.
Even if the characters weren't complete shit, I would have hated this book anyway. It jumps around in time like a TARDIS on acid. It's present day, then it's when they broke up, then it's two weeks earlier than present day, then it's when they met, then when they broke up again, then present day, then ten days before present day... And most of the flashbacks were unnecessary. This whole book was unnecessary.
If this was the first book I'd read by this author I would never read another, but I must have liked, or at least not hated, her other books. I don't remember much about them, but they didn't put me off her work, which, in light of this steaming pile of garbage, is a ringing endorsement.
Matthias is supposed to be a sweet upstanding guy, but when he suspects his girlfriend might be cheating, he fucks a waiter in the bathroom for spite while the girlfriend sits alone at a table. And speaking of the girlfriend, we don't even know Matthias is anything but 100 percent queer until Chase sees an announcement for his engagement in the newspaper. I was almost done at that point, but I'm nothing if not determined, so I slogged onward.
Chase wants Matthias back, so he sets out to prove he's still the guy Matthias fell in love with. His first attempt at showing he's not a ruthless prick fails, because Matthias doesn't trust him after he's proven countless times he's completely untrustworthy. So then, like a reasonable person who is not a complete psycho arseholes, he tries again., no wait, he doesn't. He goes full on batshit crazy and sets out to ruin Matthias by taking over his family business, the only thing that means anything to him. And apparently he also seduces Matthias's girlfriend and nearly kills Matthias's beloved father, but I didn't get that far. So Matthias was right not to trust him. Except apparently later on he falls back in love with this monster, so clearly he's as fucked up as Chase. They deserve each other. Better that they stay together than each of them going on to ruin some other guy's life, so I guess that counts as a HEA.
Even if the characters weren't complete shit, I would have hated this book anyway. It jumps around in time like a TARDIS on acid. It's present day, then it's when they broke up, then it's two weeks earlier than present day, then it's when they met, then when they broke up again, then present day, then ten days before present day... And most of the flashbacks were unnecessary. This whole book was unnecessary.
If this was the first book I'd read by this author I would never read another, but I must have liked, or at least not hated, her other books. I don't remember much about them, but they didn't put me off her work, which, in light of this steaming pile of garbage, is a ringing endorsement.
___tamara___'s review
2.0
I liked this. And I didn't like it.
I didn't like it because it challenged my ability for suspension of disbelief. I didn't like it because Chase, as a whole, seemed... not finished.
I liked it because it had potential. And because it kept me reading. And because the writing, though it had faults, didn't put me off. And because I loved their relationship when they were young. And because the evil ex wasn't really evil, just juvenile.
So 2.5 stars, rounding down.
I didn't like it because it challenged my ability for suspension of disbelief. I didn't like it because Chase, as a whole, seemed... not finished.
I liked it because it had potential. And because it kept me reading. And because the writing, though it had faults, didn't put me off. And because I loved their relationship when they were young. And because the evil ex wasn't really evil, just juvenile.
So 2.5 stars, rounding down.
shazov's review
4.0
This book had a lot of ups and downs for me. There were times i wondered if it would ever finish. But then it was so good I didn't want to put it down.
There were moments I wondered how two successful business men could be so stupid and blind...how they could not see the manipulations that were going on around them. And I'll admit that did irritate me quite a bit. But the emotion that was displayed throughout this whole story felt real and honest. And at the end of the day Mathias and Chase grew on me, and that's what is important to me.
So in the end it turned into a good solid book and I'm glad to have read it.
There were moments I wondered how two successful business men could be so stupid and blind...how they could not see the manipulations that were going on around them. And I'll admit that did irritate me quite a bit. But the emotion that was displayed throughout this whole story felt real and honest. And at the end of the day Mathias and Chase grew on me, and that's what is important to me.
So in the end it turned into a good solid book and I'm glad to have read it.
the_novel_approach's review
4.0
I would highly recommend Hostile Takeover to anyone who can handle the back and forth style of storytelling, because it really was a great book, so it’s with regret I’m giving this a 4 Star rating.
See the entire review at The Novel Approach: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2014/02/01/em-lynley-shows-how-to-raid-a-mans-heart-in-hostile-takeover/
See the entire review at The Novel Approach: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2014/02/01/em-lynley-shows-how-to-raid-a-mans-heart-in-hostile-takeover/
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