I was disappointed by this, perhaps I should have read more reviews. From the description, I thought I was getting a heartwarming contemporary romantic comedy of the coworker slash friends to lovers tropes. Instead I found myself dumped into a drama rife with beyond normal realistic lives- an incredibly toxic work environment, with disrespectful colleagues as the least offensive issue. If I were faced with any one of these circumstances, surely I would need some therapy, but the author has piled on so many turbulent events, treachery, professional and sexual harassment, not to mention substance abuse... it became hard to handle, and I found that I did not hold much empathy or respect for how the protagonist handled all of it. Maybe that's just my background and perspective on life and healthy decision making, but it nonetheless made the "switch flipped" moment at the end even harder to buy. I kept reading rather than give up half way through because I kept hoping for a brighter turnout, for an upstanding person or influence to set Vi on a better path or coach her out of the viscous cycle of her own inner voice and misguided choices. But that satisfaction never came, and I didn't like how anything was "resolved", if it can be called so.
I am glad this was only a borrow and not lost money, or I would feel I had been sold on false premises. A friends to lovers journey yes, but not in anyway heartwarming. Web of secrets, gossip, and angst: check, check, and check. Kickass career women, well, perhaps Stella is, but not the star of the novel. But it never inspired me to laugh out loud, only to cringe and gape/frown in horror.