Loathe at First Sight: A Novel Paperback – August 18, 2020

*SPOILER WARNING* I want to say I liked this book, honestly. And I would have had it been marketed as women's fiction or a humorous but scathing look at (or better yet, satire of) the gaming industry. A story of how difficult it is to be a woman within it. But as it stands it's marketed (and titled) like an "enemies-to-lovers" romance novel. It is NOT that. It's barely romantic. Don't believe me? The MC and LI don't even go on a "date" (it's not a real date) until page 346 of a 354-page book! And they had exchanged exactly three chaste, non-descript kisses before that. Not to say that there couldn’t have been real, emotion, angst, feels, and sexual tension before that and it have worked wonderfully without even a single kiss. It's possible, I've read and enjoyed that. But there isn't any of that either. As someone else noted in these reviews, without rereading the back of the book, you would have a real problem identifying who the love interest even IS for the first, almost 200 pages of the book. (I wish I was joking).Don't get me wrong, LAFS is well written--in the technical sense. The main character, Melody, is a well-drawn twenty-something, Korean American, ambitious woman, whose parents want her to marry and make them grandparents post-haste. She, however, is more interested in happily living her single life with her two BFFs, eating junk and working hard at her new job in a gaming studio. But she is also quite judgmental, snarky and unnecessarily abrasive, while simultaneously being strangely passive at odd times and to a degree that's irksome and stretches credibility. All of which is a welcome departure from Dragon Lady or "model minority" stereotypes of Asian American characters. (I must note, as a non-Asian American, I found myself as someone else noted, a little distressed about the way she portrayed Melody's parents but I guess, it was okay? funny?) Anyway, my point is if instead of romance, you came to this book looking for a somewhat light-hearted glimpse into what it meant to be a woman in the sexist, vaguely-racist, male-dominated gaming industry, this *could* be the book for you. (That said, elements of it rang false to me, considering the book takes place in the post-#metoo era. It's hard to imagine the men described within could *legally* get away with as much as they do in this book- but I don't work in that industry so I digress). You might really like this book and Melody and her journey.However, if you signed up for the "Loathe At First Sight" the title and cover art and blurb promise, prepare to be severely disappointed. While everything written on the back cover technically happens, the devil as they say, is in the details. For instance, that "loathing at first sight" relationship you're promised actually belongs to Melody and a fellow programmer, Asher, who is decidedly NOT the LI. And the LI, Nolan is a perfectly lovely person from his introduction in the story to the book's conclusion. While *Melody* misjudges him initially, but that's entirely her own issue (she's rude to him from the outset for no real reason and he never actually dislikes her for it--again *spoiler*).Overall, my biggest issue with the story, the same as other reviews you will read is, again, that this story is NOT a romance. At best, this is a fun story of a young woman trying to make her way in an unfair, misogynistic gaming culture. The accompanying romance is an incidental B-plot. And I honestly believe Ms. Park's publisher does her a grave disservice by actively marketing it as such.

Great book with interesting scenarios and hard topics. The scene with sexual harassment training got my blood boiling! Great characters and easy read.

While I started this story expecting a romantic comedy, it ended up being more about workplace politics and toxic gamer culture. All of that is well done—although there are several monologues that could’ve been handled in a subtler manner—yet the romantic aspects suffer because of it. The lead is quite charming, but she’s about the only one who feels like a fully realized character. The object of her affection is a bit of a cipher, and whatever sparks they have don’t burn all that hot. Yet despite these misses, the book takes a different spin on workplace dynamics and offers a few instances of breezy fun along the way.

In a perfect world, this book would find its way into the gaming industry, into the gaming fans, and into American culture. Books like this one defy a label or genre because they are so purposeful and so truthful. Really, some laugh out loud moments, cringe worthy situations, and snarky, colorful dialogue. Great read.

Besides being funny and romantic, which it absolutely is, LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT gives us a smart heroine who's easy to love. Melody Joo is a video game producer new to her job at Seventeen Studios. Early on, she jokes with a female coworker about fighting the patriarchy by making a video game about male strippers in a post-apocalyptic world. Although she was only kidding, before she knows it, the idea's been passed to the board of Seventeen Studios, and it's quickly named their next big thing. Melody should feel ecstatic to be running such a high-profile project as a junior producer (and of course, she is deservedly happy), but it's not an easy road. As a woman and Korean-American in an industry known for its bro culture, she never gets the same level of support that her white, male counterparts on other projects get. Everything she accomplishes is through grit, smarts, and savvy thinking on her feet. I absolutely loved her blend of toughness and vulnerability and think readers will really relate to this wonderful character.The story is hilarious and well-written. Plus Melody's blossoming romance with the office intern is all kinds of sweet.

I’m mother of a son who ran an animation company when the culture was male, gross, and crude. I was shocked when they tried out their new releases on me. It’s a good thing I had that experience before reading this book. It is crude, gross, and shocking unless readers are young and familiar with the gaming culture which is far more so than animation was in its early days and may still be. The book is about the enormous challenges facing an Asian woman in gaming. She seems comfortable with that kind of culture or anyway with all of it except its entrenched bias against women and Asians. Readers should be able to put up with profanity and behavior that would shock those in tamer industries. I suspect it also helps to be pretty young to like this book. The plot is okay, but not outstanding. Readers get to know the personality of the main character, a woman who succeeds in gaming. I stuck with the book until the end only to see what ending the author would write. I have no idea why this book is highly rated, but obviously it appeals to some - probably young women trying to break into gaming.

I could not put this book down! I read the entire thing in one sitting as I was so engrossed with the story. Melody was a great main character! She was smart, sassy, blunt, hilarious, tough, hard-working and truly inspirational. The author was meticulous in describing the type of work involved in producing a game which was fascinating. I was swept in Melody's journey of astounding achievements. frustrations, chaos, and of course love.

This was a very cute book. I really enjoyed reading it. I picked this book up because it was written by an Asian author and it was Helen Hoang approved and I'm very happy that I did. I would recommend this book, I would just warn that the video game aspect of the book is the focus and the romance is more of a subplot.

NOT A ROMCOM. It has a powerful message, was still interesting but there's about 5 pages worth of text TOTAL related to the "relationship"Mostly focusses on girl power and inequality in the workplace.

I loved this book, Melody is such a complex, deep, strong and beautiful character. I like that the author Trojan-horsed a story about a realistic woman struggling in a men’s world and how against all odds she comes out on top, as a romance novel. Good rickroll.