Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman
In the post-pandemic publishing industry, two rival editors are forced to share a “hot desk” on different days of the week, much to their chagrin. Having never set eyes on each other, Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath begin leaving passive-aggressive Post-it notes on the pot of their shared cactus. But when revered literary legend Edward David Adams (known as “the Lion”) dies, leaving his estate up for grabs, their banter escalates as both work feverishly to land this career-making opportunity. Their fierce rivalry ultimately forces each to decide how far they’ll go to get ahead, what role they want to play in the Lion’s legacy, and what they mean to each other.
As their battle for the estate gets more heated, Rebecca learns of a connection between her mother, Jane, and the Lion. The story travels back four decades earlier to when Jane arrives in Manhattan and meets Rose, soon her best friend. Jane and Rose are two strong, talented young women trying to make their mark in the publishing world at a time when art, the written word, and creative expression were at their height. But one fateful day during the April blizzard of 1982 will change the course of Jane’s life, and of their friendship, forever...
Review: Thank you to Goodreads giveaways for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath work for rival publishing companies that in the aftermath of the pandemic are part of a new desk-sharing partnership. The pair are resentful of their unknown desk partner and alternate days in the office to reluctantly share the space. When literary giant Edward David Adams dies, both Rebecca and Ben see his legacy and estate as a serious career opportunity and compete for rights to publish his remaining work. Ben has a tenuous relationship with the literary giant's son. And unbeknownst to her, Rebecca also has a personal connection through her mother, who worked in publishing as a young woman. In alternating chapters, readers go back in time to the 1980s to learn about Rebecca's mother Jane's publishing experience and what led her to leave the profession altogether.
This was a really unique premise. I loved all the bookish people that filled this novel. There are so many amazing references to different novels, reading, and writing! This also had amazing banter. I liked the way the book incorporated text messages into the dialogue in a way that reflects modern communication. The chemistry between Rebecca and Ben was so good! I love their dynamic and the way their story unfolds. I also thought it was a neat connection that Rebecca's mom also worked in the industry years before, so we got to see how it had changed over the years. This book is very funny, such as the comedy of errors scene when Rebecca has a horribly embarrassing zoom call with a committee from work and basically everything that can go wrong does. Or Rebecca's boyfriend who is tragically incapable of using a semi-colon correctly.
I do think this book had a bit much going on. It's a family mystery, a tale of friendship, an insightful look at consent and assault within the workplace, a post pandemic recovery story for the publishing industry, a workplace rivalry, and an enemy-to-lovers love story. There are also themes of finding your true path, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, mother and daughter relationships, and workplace etiquette and behavior. I think I mostly wanted this to be a work rivals romance but that is truly just one of the subplots, albeit one of the major ones. In fact, Rebecca and Ben don't meet until two-thirds of the way into the book. It is totally fine for their connection to be a subplot, but the problem is that the book is teasing at their relationship from virtually the first page. And I think their connection is the strongest element of the book (even while I deeply appreciated the depth to the rest of the story too), so I wish it could have been brought forward in the plot a tad more. But all in all, an enjoyable and unique read.
Stars: 4
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