I really wanted to love this book. The premise is quite adorable and timely: post-Covid return to the workforce and share a desk with your crush, but it didn't work for me. The main character reads as being completely manic with her internal monologue and memory flashbacks. I found her annoying because of the constant emotional reactions to things occurring only in her head, so the flow of the narrative is put on hold while we patiently have to read through her manic, anxious stream of consciousness before getting back to the point of the scene. I honestly wanted to chuck the book after the first chapter because of it. Unfortunately, the plot isn't unique enough for me to get past my dislike of the main character and I didn't like the male character much better. I made it about a third of the way through before I decided to DNF.


Advanced copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m afraid a quarter of the way through this book I gave up. I started well. Laughing out well at some comedic quotes. However, the character then just grated on me. I was screaming at the book. “ just get a grip” Not one for me I’m afraid.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to see an arc of the book

I loved the cover and also the way this book tackles the pandemic changes to working from home, hybrid working and an unprecedented change to office life. I felt I couldn't quite connect with the characters, there was a lot of dialogue & inner thoughts that felt a bit hectic for me when reading through, I also got quite frustrated with how much of a pushover the main character was through the early part of the book that I struggled thereafter. I wanted more comedy fun moments, although the notes from Jamie were light relief.

Cute premise but clunky execution. The beginning part was a bit of a slog as we are told over and over again why Alice feels that her office is her safe place. I got it and all.the reputation did was make me want to blame Alice for my annoyance as I wondered if the story was ever going to go anywhere. I did like that we were able to see Alice start to set boundaries and work towards her own happiness and appreciated how all of her relationships strengthened because of it. However, I picked up this book for the romance and was hoping for a modern epistolary story, which I got for a bit. I didn't love the other stuff crammed into Alice and Jamie's story. It was too much to be dealt with in so few pages.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute read that was very à la The Flatshare. I loved that the characters were communicating through notes! I think there’s something special that blooms when people (or characters!) use written communication!
All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you to Netgalley for this arc ebook!

Thanks for the advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this, an easy read and loved the premise of the book especially with covid etc. I loved Jamie and the way the story developed.

Great read for an afternoon in the garden

Such a satisfying read. This book is set post-COVID as folks are returning to work in person. Luckily, that aspect doesn’t feature too heavily in the book and instead just helps set the scene for why Alice’s workplace needs to move to hot desking. And while this is a fun office romance, this book is even more about self discovery and self improvement. Alice discovers a lot about herself throughout the book (lots of tangents in the beginning that start to come together) and gets to a really great place of self-love and acceptance and strength that was just so nice to read.

This was only an okay read for me, The lead character Alice’s endless stream of consciousness was a lot to get through and unfortunately I found myself skim reading large parts of the book. I liked Jamie (the desk sharing contract was sweet) and once the notes started (which was about 27% into the book) thing picked up a little. Others might enjoy more (3 ⭐️)

I liked the premise of this with the hot decking and a relationship potentially blooming via post it. There are some rambley bits which I ended up skim reading but the notes were quite cute. A quick easy read for the summer.

Nice, easy, engaging read that gave me all the feels of The Flat Share by Beth O Leary reading the blurb which I loved.

A "new normal" concept of hot desking or desk sharing which many office workers may be able to relate to post pandemic

After the first few chapters, the story seemed to flow better and I flew through it. A perfect read to curl up with this autumn

Overall I enjoyed this almost as much as The Flat Share.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK One More Chapter for my advance copy in exchange for my review.

This book was provided to me via Kindle by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Hot Desk was an awesome read from the start. It’s cute, fun and entertaining. I highly recommend this one.

I do enjoy Zara Stoneley books but I must confess I wasn’t sold on the premise of this however what I expected to be a bit of a shallow read actually had some solid issues amongst it. The main character Alice is horrified at the concept of sharing her desk, this is what I thought sounded a bit weak in honesty, it’s not exactly the end of the world however as the story progresses and more of her personality unfolds you can actually appreciate why this cut her up so much especially when you add the problems with her ex into the mix. Her coworker Jamie comes across really well in his messages but you don’t get to the heart of him until well into the book and he in turn gets a really solid storyline. Overall this does had a solid basis but I’m glad to say there’s still a lot of fun and humour in it too, 9/10

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

If you are looking for a cute, easy read - look no further. This was really cute and fun. Predictable-yes, but still enjoyable.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Hot Desk is such a cute rom com! If you're looking for a fun and easy escape, don't hesitate to get this book!

Very topical little romance focusing on the changing nature of the workplace post- pandemic. Having experienced hot dealing myself I could relate to Alice’s issues with the idea. Great story but reminded me very much of another book about two people sharing a desk and communicating via post-it’s.

Hot Desk follows Alice and Jamie, colleagues who find themselves having to share a desk during the Covid pandemic.

I struggled with this book. It starts with a LOT of stream of consciousness from Alice, which was extremely wordy and felt really unnecessary. I was on the verge of giving up as I was skim reading, but I hate not finishing books - I'm glad I stuck with it as it definitely improved about a third of the way in. The story turns into a sweet tale of self discovery and romance, and I actually quite enjoyed the second half!

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 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.

Overall, a cute fun easy romcom read!

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 🥰

I would just like to say a big thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for very kindly forwarding me an arc copy of this book, for my Kindle, in return for an honest review.

After working from home during the pandemic,Alice finally gets to go back to the office but there’s a little catch - the firm is introducing hot desking or desk sharing and Alice does not like it one bit.

To make matters worse, she has to share her desk with the very annoying Jamie…..

I loved the two main characters, Alice and Jamie and all the little problems that they faced while sharing a desk.

All-in-all it was a quick, easy read that highlighted the struggles with working after the pandemic.

Not sure I liked Jamie and what he did, so I struggled to like the book. But loved the premise of the book.