this book felt like a refreshing turn in the romance stakes. there was a great idea of who the characters were that formed easily in my mind as i was reading and i felt like they really came to life as i got to know them. like you could actually be getting to know these people. their dynamic was fun to watch play out and it made me smile more than once. and again what they were going through felt natural and real. Kriya and Charles were both strong characters and i liked how they bounced off each other if not too pleasantly at first. but even that i found myself side smiling at with an inner chuckle at where these cuties were clearly going to.
they start out coming to us with two different situations going on that led them to this office together. but both we are invested in from the start and it was good how their troubles weren't just sorted on a say so, these things take work and often more time than we would like. i liked learning from their different perspectives. and somehow for and with each other it just worked. i found Charles particularly endearing.

Kriya and Charles have been work nemeses for over a decade and now they have to share an office. What's worse than having to share an office with the person you cannot stand? When you need their help and they agree to help you without any caveats.

I enjoyed that both MCs were lawyers in their thirties. Their backstories, dialogue, struggles, and misunderstandings felt real. What I loved the most though was Charles' POV. It's clear early on that he is neurodiverse, for example, he seems to come across as robotic at times and has trouble reading people's emotions. This is reflected in the way his chapters are written, they show the scenes as Charles sees them, no excess emotions, little to no adjectives, raw dialogue. I loved it! I want to see more neurodiverse POV like his in (romance) novels.

I wasn't aware that Zen Cho wrote contemporary romance so I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across Behind Frenemy Lines. I'll admit I normally avoid workplace romance as it's often the case that the female main character is the male main character's subordinate which results in uncomfortable power dynamics, which in a way Behind Frenemy Lines explores when Kriya bosses hits on her. However, as Kriya and Charles are both senior associates who specialise in different areas of law, this wasn't a factor in this novel.

I liked that they were mature adults who acted reasonably. Yes, fake dating is an overdone trope but Zen Cho executed it in a manner that was realistic and believable. I enjoyed learning about Malaysian culture and family dynamics and I appreciated how the novel touched on unexpected topics such as professional ethics.

My one gripe is that I was quite satisfied with the ending. It seemed a tad rushed and things didn't quite feel fully resolved.

Overall, a well executed workplace romance that I would recommend to most readers of contemporary romance especially those that are looking for something slightly different from novels that usually feature mostly American/ Western protagonists.

I really enjoyed this! I’ve not read a legal romance before and I thought this had a good premise. The characters are very well fleshed out and I was especially impressed with how Charles was so endearing despite robotic tendencies!