Hot Desk
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-22 08:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Zara Stoneley
- ISBN：0008436274
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews
Sally Mault
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Too many chapters about the ramblings in her own head， never actually worked out their ages but assumed them to be mid twenties。 Liked the story but it was getting through the unnecessary stuff the frustrated me， nearly put it to one side after first three chapters。
Mackey
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I've hesitated writing my review for Hot Desk because I truly wanted to like it more than I did。 I have love all of Zara Stonleey's past books， she makes me laugh at loud while reading and this one did make me do that too but BUT， in the end， I just wanted to slap the main characters and shout at them to grow up！！ I thought this books was written for a very VERY specific age group and I obviously was not that group， nor is anyone I know including my own adult kids in the group even though one li I've hesitated writing my review for Hot Desk because I truly wanted to like it more than I did。 I have love all of Zara Stonleey's past books， she makes me laugh at loud while reading and this one did make me do that too but BUT， in the end， I just wanted to slap the main characters and shout at them to grow up！！ I thought this books was written for a very VERY specific age group and I obviously was not that group， nor is anyone I know including my own adult kids in the group even though one lives in a house share and two of them did so。 And what was up with the parents who were written as though they didn't have a brain in their collective heads！？ Oooohhh， I hate it when writers make us look like this。 Seriously！？ Just no。 No recommendations here。 Do better next time Zara Stoneley！ Do better！ 。。。more
Helen Dunn
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This was described as a good one for fans of The Flatshare and I LOVED that book so I picked this up and it was a total slog for me。I wanted cute banter via email and post-its and there was like a chapter of that and then everything else was a bunch of stuff that I did not care about at all regarding the ex-boyfriend and a monkey wrench in the leading man's life that felt like it didn't belong。 This was described as a good one for fans of The Flatshare and I LOVED that book so I picked this up and it was a total slog for me。I wanted cute banter via email and post-its and there was like a chapter of that and then everything else was a bunch of stuff that I did not care about at all regarding the ex-boyfriend and a monkey wrench in the leading man's life that felt like it didn't belong。 。。。more
Vicky
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Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc of this book**Now on to this， i was definitely surprised when i got invited to read this from the publishers and i do enjoy the office romance trope which i rarely read those， there were parts that i enjoyed and some not so muchIn an post-Covid world （as the pandemic still in our lives in RL）， while everyone is getting back to work， hot desk is introduced。 Though i haven’t heard of this term， i was surprised that it was happening given the Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc of this book**Now on to this， i was definitely surprised when i got invited to read this from the publishers and i do enjoy the office romance trope which i rarely read those， there were parts that i enjoyed and some not so muchIn an post-Covid world （as the pandemic still in our lives in RL）， while everyone is getting back to work， hot desk is introduced。 Though i haven’t heard of this term， i was surprised that it was happening given the pandemic in the book but though it was mentioned briefly a few times in the book， i would’ve thought a bit more of background as to how the characters did handle it though i can understand why it wasn’t like that seeing how it’s still playing out in real time， but it was interesting to see how hot desk did work。 I did enjoy the characters seeing how you can tell that some characters did have character development play out while some remained the same。 While the connection between Alice and Jaime was enjoyable， i felt that the romance while was indeed a slow burn at times。 I however felt that the writing was mixed and with the second half being a bit all over the place。 Overall i did enjoy this book just felt that my expectations was a bit higher than i expected。 。。。more
Suzi Sherriffs
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A cute romantic comedy。
Keith Chawgo
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Hot Desk is a bit of a hot mess though not from storytelling but mostly being stuck in the neurotic headspace of the narrator。I enjoy the odd romantic comedy and they often make me feel warm and cuddly but in this book we are in a first person narrative with Alice， a neurotic with self assurance issues that seem to take over the book。 The other characters are great and love them and using an office romance through post –it notes is ingenious and really lift this book out of the ordinary。 Unfortu Hot Desk is a bit of a hot mess though not from storytelling but mostly being stuck in the neurotic headspace of the narrator。I enjoy the odd romantic comedy and they often make me feel warm and cuddly but in this book we are in a first person narrative with Alice， a neurotic with self assurance issues that seem to take over the book。 The other characters are great and love them and using an office romance through post –it notes is ingenious and really lift this book out of the ordinary。 Unfortunately， it is the main character who we spend all our time with and I found this difficult。Alice plays the victim card through every situation and although this can be cute and disarming in a third person narrative， it becomes like fingernails on a chalkboard by the time the reader gets half way into the book。 If the reader sticks with it though， there is enough to carry you through whether it is with her relationships with other co-workers， exes， housemates， etc。 Her downward look upon herself though does become taxing。Overall， this is not a bad book and though it does have it paint by numbers routine strongly down pat。 Most romantic comedies do have this template which doesn’t make it any less enjoyable。 There is some originality within the pages but your enjoyment of the book will hang on how you feel about Alice in general。Overall， good ideas， annoying first person narrative by a main character I could not identify with but a lovely ending that gives you plenty of smiles along the way。 。。。more
Anna
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Ugh， I had to stop。 It just。。。 wasn't to my liking。 I don't know if it was the way it was written or what。 I had to DNF it。 Ugh， I had to stop。 It just。。。 wasn't to my liking。 I don't know if it was the way it was written or what。 I had to DNF it。 。。。more
Amy Tippins
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I have mixed feelings about this book。 On one hand I enjoyed the characters and thought Alice was funny。。。 but on the other hand， I'm not sure I was ready to read a book that took place post-COVID。 Alice is returning to work， returning to life after COVID and realizing that she needs to make some changes。 She's endearing and her relationship with Jamie is sweet， but not anything that made this a "must read" for me。 Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK， One More Chapter， One More Chapter f I have mixed feelings about this book。 On one hand I enjoyed the characters and thought Alice was funny。。。 but on the other hand， I'm not sure I was ready to read a book that took place post-COVID。 Alice is returning to work， returning to life after COVID and realizing that she needs to make some changes。 She's endearing and her relationship with Jamie is sweet， but not anything that made this a "must read" for me。 Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK， One More Chapter， One More Chapter for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Lucy Lu
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Such a hot mess！
Julia
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Hot desk or hot mess？ I just couldn't connect to the female MC。 She was too much。 So much inner monologue。 I just couldn't。 When the romance eventually got going， with post-it notes on the shared desk， I wasn't interested anymore。 Hot desk or hot mess？ I just couldn't connect to the female MC。 She was too much。 So much inner monologue。 I just couldn't。 When the romance eventually got going， with post-it notes on the shared desk， I wasn't interested anymore。 。。。more
Rachel Humphries
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I had seen some negative reviews for this book so I started it with some trepidation however I quite enjoyed it so it just goes to show you shouldn't be influenced by others opinions！Alice was weak & a bit of a doormat at first but I liked how her outlook changed throughout the book。 I liked all of the secondary characters （apart from Dave yuk！） & felt the story had a good flow。 I had seen some negative reviews for this book so I started it with some trepidation however I quite enjoyed it so it just goes to show you shouldn't be influenced by others opinions！Alice was weak & a bit of a doormat at first but I liked how her outlook changed throughout the book。 I liked all of the secondary characters （apart from Dave yuk！） & felt the story had a good flow。 。。。more
Gail Atkins
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A chance meeting at the Reading Festival， that led to a kiss had Jamie and Alice wanting more。They share a desk and they share a secret; will either confess to each other that they remember the kiss？
Jennyfer
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In a post-Covid world， Alice is overjoyed to return to working full time in the office once more - until her employers drop the bombshell that they are hot-desking instead of having their own space。 Alice ends up sharing her desk with her work-crush （whom she， like， totally doesn't actually like， if you ask her）， and romantic hijinks ensue。I wanted to like this book， because it had great promise， but I really struggled to get into it。 I found Alice frustratingly obsessive about her desk， and end In a post-Covid world， Alice is overjoyed to return to working full time in the office once more - until her employers drop the bombshell that they are hot-desking instead of having their own space。 Alice ends up sharing her desk with her work-crush （whom she， like， totally doesn't actually like， if you ask her）， and romantic hijinks ensue。I wanted to like this book， because it had great promise， but I really struggled to get into it。 I found Alice frustratingly obsessive about her desk， and endlessly complaining about， well， everything。Told in first person narrative， I found the prose to be quite stilted， as though every second sentence was a two-worded eyeroll， presumably intended to be quirky。The author appeared ro be aiming for a Bridget Jones style， but unfortunately overall it just didn't do it for me。Would best suit fans of the "you're annoying， I like you" romcom style*Many thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review* 。。。more
Heidi
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Including an ongoing event in your novel isn't easy， I get that。 But to make COVID a part of the story reality is such a massive risk。 In this version of the story， apparently COVID isn't a major issue anymore， since people are jumping with joy at the idea of going back to work and when the boss suggest hot desking it's not even a health&safety concern。 Which， unfortunately， pulls you out of the story a little bit， since COVID is still a major issue in real life。 And the author didn't need to us Including an ongoing event in your novel isn't easy， I get that。 But to make COVID a part of the story reality is such a massive risk。 In this version of the story， apparently COVID isn't a major issue anymore， since people are jumping with joy at the idea of going back to work and when the boss suggest hot desking it's not even a health&safety concern。 Which， unfortunately， pulls you out of the story a little bit， since COVID is still a major issue in real life。 And the author didn't need to use COVID as a plot point， they could've found literally a hundred other reasons why people would need to share a desk at this office。 And if this was the only thing that bothered me， this probably would've been a glowing review。 But the main character was so childish。 She talked like a teenager from a bad movie， she kept being weirdly obsessive about all her possessions and how growing up with sisters meant she always had to share and never had anything for herself。 It just grew old very quickly。 A good chunk of this is just the main character rambling about the day-to-day of working in an office， and it resulted in me skim-reading to get through the boring bits。 There were a lot of those。The romance could've been cute， if only these characters could actually manage to talk to each other。 It's an issue in so many romance novels， but it just bothered me so much in this story。 Maybe because their "meet-cute" was a kiss at a music festival years earlier， a kiss that was apparently so great the characters never forgot about it。 Really？ That just doesn't do it for me。 On top of that， I didn't really feel a spark between them， sadly a rather important element in a romance。 （I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。） 。。。more
Leith Devine
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I really wanted to like this book， the premise sounded interesting。 When I got into it， I found that the main character Alice was difficult to relate to and I just didn’t like her。 Too much complaining and whining about Covid and everything else。 Towards the end， we learned more about Alices’s character and that was interesting。 There were some cute parts， that’s why I’m giving it 3 stars。Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book。 Opinions expressed in th I really wanted to like this book， the premise sounded interesting。 When I got into it， I found that the main character Alice was difficult to relate to and I just didn’t like her。 Too much complaining and whining about Covid and everything else。 Towards the end， we learned more about Alices’s character and that was interesting。 There were some cute parts， that’s why I’m giving it 3 stars。Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book。 Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own。 。。。more
Emily Vogelgesang
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Cute and easy story。 Nice writing。
Bubblestarlet
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Easy to read book which turned out to be better in the second half。
Rachel Kubala
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Such a fun read！I love Zara Stonely's sense of humor！ Likable characters with wisdom sprinkled into the story！ I highly recommend this story！ Such a fun read！I love Zara Stonely's sense of humor！ Likable characters with wisdom sprinkled into the story！ I highly recommend this story！ 。。。more
L A King
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This is my first Zara Stoneley novel。 It was zany， up to date and funny。 It was set post covid when office workers started returning back to the office。 Alice， the main character， is quite relieved to be back as she house shares and her room is quite small to work from。 It demonstrates the feeling of isolation at home that some people felt。 Missing work colleagues must be quite a wrench。 Not working myself now， I can only imagine how it must feel for many people。 Once Alice returns the staff are This is my first Zara Stoneley novel。 It was zany， up to date and funny。 It was set post covid when office workers started returning back to the office。 Alice， the main character， is quite relieved to be back as she house shares and her room is quite small to work from。 It demonstrates the feeling of isolation at home that some people felt。 Missing work colleagues must be quite a wrench。 Not working myself now， I can only imagine how it must feel for many people。 Once Alice returns the staff are told that they will be doing part time at home and the other half in the office。 They will be hot desking and sharing the desk with a person working the days she wasn’t。 Although this wasn’t great news Alice could just about cope until she found out who her opposite number would be。 Jamie。 She didn’t get on with him at all。 At a school dance they kissed and then when Alice started working in the same place as Jamie， she wasn’t sure whether she should say anything。 She didn’t。 As we all know in life， we have to do things we don’ want to do。 Alice liked lots of things around her on the desk。 Jamie was a tidy person。 They compromised。 As Alice is getting used to her new way of working her boyfriend， Graham， was being unbearable。 He would not accept that Alice had dumped him。 As the story unfolds， Zara shows us how helpful post-it-notes can actually be。 I loved the characterisation。 Graham was so possessive， a trait I cannot stand。 Therefore， he made me cross and I did shout out loud a few times， when he made me cross。 Jamie was different。 He was very thoughtful and kind。 Alice just needed space， something she hadn’t had whilst growing up as she had siblings and had to share。 There were some good laugh out loud moments too。 Find out what happens between Alice， Graham and Jamie。 It was a book I did not want to put down and have recommended it to friends。 Thank you so much Zara for your wonderful insight and brilliant book。 I will definitely read your other books now。 。。。more
Paperback to Hardback
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I really wanted to enjoy something different from my usual go to genres and I really liked the premise for this story despite not being much of an alone romance reader。 However I had to stop at about 50% as the whole story felt a bit unorganised and the characters felt very shallow and not really developed。 I also couldn't get on with the main character at all， she just came across as whiny for most of what I did read。 I started losing interest and just skimming through the story to make some pr I really wanted to enjoy something different from my usual go to genres and I really liked the premise for this story despite not being much of an alone romance reader。 However I had to stop at about 50% as the whole story felt a bit unorganised and the characters felt very shallow and not really developed。 I also couldn't get on with the main character at all， she just came across as whiny for most of what I did read。 I started losing interest and just skimming through the story to make some progress but couldn't push myself to finish it。Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Gail Walker
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2。5 stars- This book was okay。 It took me some time to get into it as the writing towards the beginning wasn’t great。 It was overly conversational， in a bad way。 It was more interesting in the middle， but then took a weird turn for the last third or so。 There were several little things that didn’t make sense to me:-There is a point towards the middle where Alice orders noise-canceling headphones， but it has mentioned earlier in the story that she already had some-Everyone who sends texts in this 2。5 stars- This book was okay。 It took me some time to get into it as the writing towards the beginning wasn’t great。 It was overly conversational， in a bad way。 It was more interesting in the middle， but then took a weird turn for the last third or so。 There were several little things that didn’t make sense to me:-There is a point towards the middle where Alice orders noise-canceling headphones， but it has mentioned earlier in the story that she already had some-Everyone who sends texts in this book signs their texts at the end with their names （or initial）。 Who does that？ -At the hot desks， there is a pc that both people share， but also they use laptops so they can work from home？ This doesn’t make sense to me -Alice says when working from home in her bedroom， she was worried about showing her unmade bed and clothes on the floor。 Why wouldn’t she 1。 Clean up before going on Zoom and/or 2。 Use one of the fake backgrounds so no one can even see her room？-Alice is a website designer， but says she makes very little money。 I thought website designers got paid pretty well （or is that just a misconception？）- Also， Alice seems to work with her clients extremely independently。 Are there not managers or supervisors that review new clients’ websites before they see them？+When Jamie emails Alice for the first time， he said he hadn’t been in the office Friday morning， but Alice said the note she left him the day before was gone？ Huh？-There we’re basically no physical descriptions for any characters。 Was this intentional？-The main character/author uses the term “housework slut”， in a way that makes no sense。-Alice occasionally， randomly says the word “sugar”， seemingly as a substitute for expletives， but also uses expletives。 It’s weird。-The ending is strangely abrupt。 I felt like I was missing an actual ending。Overall， this book had potential， but ended up being just okay。Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion！ 。。。more
Helen
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Another sure fire hitfir Zara。 When the only personal space you have in your life is your desk。 Family， friends and boyfriend do not respect boundaries and over ride your opinions， you put special items where you know they are safe。 On your desk but due to the financial situation the company downsize。 Keeping your job， but you mix home working with desk sharing。 This is only the start of the story。 Follow Alice and Jamie's story。 Enjoy I definitely did。 Another sure fire hitfir Zara。 When the only personal space you have in your life is your desk。 Family， friends and boyfriend do not respect boundaries and over ride your opinions， you put special items where you know they are safe。 On your desk but due to the financial situation the company downsize。 Keeping your job， but you mix home working with desk sharing。 This is only the start of the story。 Follow Alice and Jamie's story。 Enjoy I definitely did。 。。。more
Naomi （3starsandup）
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Thank you so much @HarperCollins & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review （Release Date | 25 November 2021）SYNOPSIS | Alice has just returned to the office after the COVID pandemic lockdown & she is thrilled to be back in a space that will help her creative brain thrive。 The problem is that her company has decided to cut costs therefore they will be hot desking with another colleague。。。 her hot desk buddy just happens to be the guy she has had a huge cru Thank you so much @HarperCollins & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review （Release Date | 25 November 2021）SYNOPSIS | Alice has just returned to the office after the COVID pandemic lockdown & she is thrilled to be back in a space that will help her creative brain thrive。 The problem is that her company has decided to cut costs therefore they will be hot desking with another colleague。。。 her hot desk buddy just happens to be the guy she has had a huge crush on for over 2 years。WHAT I LIKED:- the concept of leaving notes for each other （very reminiscent of The Flat Share）WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:- that I am meant to believe that both characters have been pining after each other for over 2 years after having one drunken kiss （& no dialogue） at Reading festival- the excessive use of the word "ace"- this is the second book I've read featuring COVID & I didn't like it anymore this time round- the conflicts on both sides added unnecessary drama- I wasn't invested in the romance。 I felt no butterflies。 。。。more
Caitlin
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own。 *SPOILERS*This was bad。 I quite like the premise but how it plays out bothers me。 I did not like the surprise child who was hidden from the dad。 I don’t feel like it was sufficiently wrapped up to conclude either。 I don’t know if I’d read anything else。 I liked Alice。 Jamie was okay。 I left pretty unsure。 It ended very abruptly in my view。
Carly Howe
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Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book， here's my honest review:Unfortunately， this book wasn’t for me。 The story at points felt either too repetitive or too choppy。 I didn't connect with the main character。 She spent a great deal of the beginning of the book complaining about how she didn't like to share。 Because of this， the first part of the book was really slow。 Because of that， I had a hard time really getting into to the story overall。 Even though the story wasn’t quite my style i Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book， here's my honest review:Unfortunately， this book wasn’t for me。 The story at points felt either too repetitive or too choppy。 I didn't connect with the main character。 She spent a great deal of the beginning of the book complaining about how she didn't like to share。 Because of this， the first part of the book was really slow。 Because of that， I had a hard time really getting into to the story overall。 Even though the story wasn’t quite my style it did have some endearing parts to it that would make it a good read for some。 。。。more
Sarah （sarahknowsthestory）
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked the premise of this book， but it failed to deliver。 There were parts I didn’t like， and parts that just plain didn’t work。 Firstly， only one POV in a romance is never fun for me。 I wanted to know what was going on in Jamie’s head the whole time。 Secondly， whilst it became clearer as the book went on why Alice was so protective of her desk space， it was a bit odd at first to see her freaking out about it so much。 I also found her long internal monologues quite distracting， often going on I liked the premise of this book， but it failed to deliver。 There were parts I didn’t like， and parts that just plain didn’t work。 Firstly， only one POV in a romance is never fun for me。 I wanted to know what was going on in Jamie’s head the whole time。 Secondly， whilst it became clearer as the book went on why Alice was so protective of her desk space， it was a bit odd at first to see her freaking out about it so much。 I also found her long internal monologues quite distracting， often going on for multiple pages before returning her to reality。 It was also quite jarring sometimes because she wouldn’t actually respond to the person she was talking to， making me visualise this long awkward silence where she’s talking to someone， they say something and she has a whole freak out in her head then just walks away without replying。 The whole storyline with her ex would have worked better if he was less stalkery or she actually did report him to the police。 I was pretty uncomfortable with a lot of the things he did， but she and her roomies just seemed happy to let it all slide。 Lastly， it is always disappointing when， after a nice buildup and plenty of cute banter， the sex scenes fade to black。 Though enjoyable at times， I thought this was a pretty average contemporary romance， and I am seeing other books using the pandemic as a plot device in cleverer ways。 This is more a book about personal growth and boundaries。 。。。more
Taiyeaba
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book doesn't make sense。 60% of the book settled in flashbacks， inner monologues， thoughts and backgrounds。 Thn halfway when the story seems to be keeping pace I didn't like it。 Not at all。 First of all， stop trying to make him realize how much that kiss meant to you and how you were pining for him all these times Alice！！！ Have some self respect girl！ Jamie didn't care for Alice enough。 She was not important enough for him。 He didn't tell her that he remembered her until that slip up。 And h This book doesn't make sense。 60% of the book settled in flashbacks， inner monologues， thoughts and backgrounds。 Thn halfway when the story seems to be keeping pace I didn't like it。 Not at all。 First of all， stop trying to make him realize how much that kiss meant to you and how you were pining for him all these times Alice！！！ Have some self respect girl！ Jamie didn't care for Alice enough。 She was not important enough for him。 He didn't tell her that he remembered her until that slip up。 And he had no good excuse for doing that。 He didn't trust enough to explain his situation to her。 HE LED HER ON。 He can't get on a relationship but sure acted like he's in one with Alice。 They kissed， slept and got emotionally invested （only on Alice's part） but he can't enter a "relationship" he kept leading her on even he has no interest of staying with her。 And that stupid girl Alice talks about being assertive huh。 Jamie keep pointing out why they should not date and she was like issok I can manage every situation you create cause I have no backbone and I'll have every crumb you toss me。 Girl maybe he doesn't want to be in a relationship with you？ They slept together and the next thing he says going to Spain forever。 He never cared how deep Alice's feeling went for him。 She's disposable to him。 And we reader can see it exactly and had to read Alice pining for him anyway。 It was just pathetic。 Pure pathetic。 。。。more
Megan
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A typical meet-cute office romance。 Nothing really unique about it， just basic standard stuff。 Overall it was cute， but some of the passages got a little long-winded and I found myself skipping ahead to the next bit of dialogue。 Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC。
Helen Anderson
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nice easy read My first impression was oh no not another covid based book， but it ended up being quite funny and totally relatable
Lexi
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Ugh- I’m all for books set in present COVID times but this one just wasn’t it for me…Desk sharing with no sexual chemistry。 I love her previous books so idk what happened with this one。 :（
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Hot Desk
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Hot Desk&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Hot Desk&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0