Book Review: Hot Desk

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... (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Jami Denison:

As an aspiring author, I’m always interested in books that offer a behind-the-scenes look at that most elusive of creatures, the publishing house editor. What’s it like to live in New York City, work with fabulous writers, shape the next generation of books? 

In debut author Laura Dickerman’s novel Hot Desk, the job comes across as pretty cool—if not low-paid. Her editors are Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath, who work for separate publishers but are forced into alternating a desk because of a subleasing agreement. Rebecca gets it on some days; Ben on others, and the two begin to fight via Post-It notes and Slack messages over who needs to water the desk cactus. When Ben’s literary hero dies, he and Rebecca both pursue an opportunity to buy “The Lion’s” estate and newly found novel. Which editor will win? And will they fall in love in the meantime?

Rebecca and Ben’s storyline is adorable, offering all the notes that rom-com fans expect—the meet-cute, the misunderstandings, the wacky friends, the funny dialogue. This plotline is a fun offering for chick-lit readers.

But it’s not the only plotline in the book. Rebecca’s mother Jane had a past with the Lion, and in sections that read like historical fiction, Dickerman details her story. In the early 1980s, Jane goes to New York to pursue her dreams of writing, as an intern on staff at the Lion’s literary magazine. In awe of the Lion, charismatic and charming, her story evolves in an unsurprising way. 

Tone-wise, the 1980s sections of the book are so different from Rebecca and Ben’s storyline that, even though they are connected by a plot, it feels like reading two separate books. Dickerman delves deeply into some painful issues in Jane’s story, but when they are revealed in the present day, the rom-com tone she adopts forces her to treat them lightly. For instance, when Ben learns the truth about his hero, he immediately reacts how a rom-com hero should act—but a character in historical fiction might be given space to wrestle with his emotions and decisions in a more realistic way.

Even though the two parts of the book didn’t really come together seamlessly, I still enjoyed Hot Desk in its entirety. And kudos to the editors at Gallery Books, who didn’t shrug their shoulders with “I don’t know what shelf this belongs on” and published the book. 

Allyson Bales:

I have to say that this book really, really surprised me in the best way!

It may be the baby brain and the anticipation of all the things I need to get done before the baby arrives soon, but this one started off a bit slow for me.  Right away I really adored Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath but struggled to connect with the story.  I think I went into this thinking right away it was going to have the same vibe as The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary.  At first it didn't, but over time it really did...and so much more!

I have always been really interested in the publishing industry.  I think anyone that is a part of Bookstagram or gets to be lucky enough to read books early secretly wishes on some level that they were a writer or working for a publisher.  I know I sure wish that despite loving my job, and it was so interesting to read about what a career in the field would be like.  I also really enjoyed the dual timelines and reading about what was happening in the publishing world in the eighties.  The dual timelines really uniquely introduced the reader to a lot of side characters and Dickerman does a phenomenal job of flushing them all out!

I really enjoyed how layered the characters were and how much you get to see them grow and evolve, especially Rebecca.  I love that she starts to ponder what her passions are in life and what she is really meant to be doing.  I also really resonated with the exploration of friendship and secrets and how sometimes you think you know what happened but you really don’t.  

Lastly but certainly not least was the dynamic between Rebecca and Ben.  This layer of the story had me feverishly turning the pages!  If you are a fan of enemies to lovers, you are in for a real treat! They are sharing a desk and both have a lot to prove and even more to learn!

I really think this is going to be a book loved by so many and one you should absolutely be adding to your fall TBR!

Thanks to Gallery for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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