diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d048395..76f6e04 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install GitVersion
         uses: gittools/actions/gitversion/setup@v0.9.7
         with:
-          versionSpec: "5.5.x"
+          versionSpec: "5.8.x"
       - name: Setup .NET Core
-        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v1
+        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v2
         with:
-          dotnet-version: "3.1.x"
+          dotnet-version: "8.0.x"
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: dotnet restore src
       - name: Use GitVersion
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 1308177..35cde92 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -16,11 +16,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install GitVersion
         uses: gittools/actions/gitversion/setup@v0.9.7
         with:
-          versionSpec: "5.5.x"
+          versionSpec: "5.8.x"
       - name: Setup .NET Core
-        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v1
+        uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v2
         with:
-          dotnet-version: "3.1.x"
+          dotnet-version: "8.0.x"
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: dotnet restore src
       - name: Use GitVersion
diff --git a/GitVersion.yml b/GitVersion.yml
index 8396552..7b0bbb4 100644
--- a/GitVersion.yml
+++ b/GitVersion.yml
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
-next-version: 1.0.3
+next-version: 2.0.0
 mode: Mainline
 major-version-bump-message: '\+semver:\s?(breaking|major)'
 minor-version-bump-message: '\+semver:\s?(feature|minor)'
 patch-version-bump-message: '\+semver:\s?(fix|patch)'
 no-bump-message: '\+semver:\s?(none|skip)'
-ignore:
-  commits-before: 2023-01-01T00:00:00 # what is this for? should it be removed?
 
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/Helpers/DatafileFixture.cs b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/Helpers/DatafileFixture.cs
index 51e9a65..5119e78 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/Helpers/DatafileFixture.cs
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/Helpers/DatafileFixture.cs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ public IWorkbook GetWorkbook(string dataFile)
         private IWorkbook LoadWorkbook(string dataFile)
         {
             var datafilePath = Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, "Data", dataFile);
-            var workbook = new XLWorkbook(GetMemoryStream(datafilePath), XLEventTracking.Disabled);
+            var workbook = new XLWorkbook(GetMemoryStream(datafilePath));
             var fileName = Path.GetFileName(datafilePath);
             return new Workbook(workbook, fileName);
         }
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests.csproj b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests.csproj
index 7d335d3..5ccf47f 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests.csproj
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.IntegrationTests.csproj
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
     <PropertyGroup>
-        <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.1</TargetFramework>
+        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
         <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="LittleBlocks.Testing" Version="1.0.1" />
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="6.0.3" />
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.4.1" />
-        <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.4.2" />
-        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.4.5">
+        <PackageReference Include="LittleBlocks.Testing" Version="2.0.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="8.0.1" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.9.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.7.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.5.7">
           <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
           <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
         </PackageReference>
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/DataSheetCell.cs b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/DataSheetCell.cs
index 1c39a42..4a32fe5 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/DataSheetCell.cs
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/DataSheetCell.cs
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ public Guid GetGuidMandatory()
         public object Value
         {
             get => _cell.Value;
-            set => _cell.Value = value;
+            set => _cell.Value = (XLCellValue)value;
         }
 
         public bool IsEmpty()
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.csproj b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.csproj
index 1fc227b..18c6c63 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.csproj
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.csproj
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
     <PropertyGroup>
-        <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
+        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
         <GeneratePackageOnBuild>true</GeneratePackageOnBuild>
         <Authors>Mohammad Moattar, Justin French, Aurimas Gecas</Authors>
         <Company>ICG</Company>
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@
         <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/LittleBlocks/LittleBlocks.Excel</RepositoryUrl>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="ClosedXML" Version="0.97.0" />
-        <PackageReference Include="DocumentFormat.OpenXml" Version="2.19.0" />
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="6.0.3" />
-        <PackageReference Include="System.Drawing.Common" Version="4.5.1" />
+        <PackageReference Include="ClosedXML" Version="0.102.2" />
+        <PackageReference Include="DocumentFormat.OpenXml" Version="2.20.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="8.0.1" />
+        <PackageReference Include="System.Drawing.Common" Version="8.0.4" />
     </ItemGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
         <ProjectReference Include="..\LittleBlocks.Excel\LittleBlocks.Excel.csproj" />
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/WorkbookLoader.cs b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/WorkbookLoader.cs
index c2c8e87..f5f85d5 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/WorkbookLoader.cs
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml/WorkbookLoader.cs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public IWorkbook Load(string path)
                 var fileName = Path.GetFileName(path);
                 var stream = FileHelper.ReadFileToMemoryStream(path);
                 
-                return new Workbook(new XLWorkbook(stream, XLEventTracking.Disabled), fileName);
+                return new Workbook(new XLWorkbook(stream), fileName);
             }
             catch (FileFormatException ex)
             {
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public IWorkbook Load(Stream stream)
         {
             if (stream == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(stream));
 
-            return new Workbook(new XLWorkbook(stream, XLEventTracking.Disabled));
+            return new Workbook(new XLWorkbook(stream));
         }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions.csproj b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions.csproj
index 720ac3a..0ae47c2 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions.csproj
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions/LittleBlocks.Excel.Extensions.csproj
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
     <PropertyGroup>
-        <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
+        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
         <GeneratePackageOnBuild>true</GeneratePackageOnBuild>
         <Authors>Justin French / Aurimas Gecas</Authors>
         <Company>ICG</Company>
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/LittleBlocks/LittleBlocks.Excel</RepositoryUrl>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions" Version="6.0.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.Abstractions" Version="8.0.1" />
     </ItemGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
         <ProjectReference Include="..\LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml\LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.csproj" />
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp.csproj b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp.csproj
index 9f095ce..22a451d 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp.csproj
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp.csproj
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
   <PropertyGroup>
     <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
-    <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.1</TargetFramework>
+    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
   </PropertyGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection" Version="6.0.1" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging" Version="6.0.0" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Console" Version="3.1.14" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection" Version="8.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging" Version="8.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Console" Version="8.0.0" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
       <ProjectReference Include="..\LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml\LittleBlocks.Excel.ClosedXml.csproj" />
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/Program.cs b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/Program.cs
index b80a969..3bc548d 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/Program.cs
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.SampleApp/Program.cs
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ private static void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
         private static IWorkbook LoadWorkbook(string dataFile)
         {
             var datafilePath = $"{AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory}\\data\\{dataFile}";
-            var workbook = new XLWorkbook(GetMemoryStream(datafilePath), XLEventTracking.Disabled);
+            var workbook = new XLWorkbook(GetMemoryStream(datafilePath));
             var fileName = Path.GetFileName(datafilePath);
             return new Workbook(workbook, fileName);
         }
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests.csproj b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests.csproj
index 8d3259d..3f29e1b 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests.csproj
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests/LittleBlocks.Excel.UnitTests.csproj
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
     <PropertyGroup>
-        <TargetFramework>netcoreapp3.1</TargetFramework>
+        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
         <IsPackable>false</IsPackable>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="LittleBlocks.Testing" Version="1.0.1" />
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.4.1" />
-        <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.4.2" />
-        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.4.5">
+        <PackageReference Include="LittleBlocks.Testing" Version="2.0.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.9.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="xunit" Version="2.7.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" Version="2.5.7">
           <PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
           <IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
         </PackageReference>
diff --git a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel/LittleBlocks.Excel.csproj b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel/LittleBlocks.Excel.csproj
index dfc500c..3cd6f53 100644
--- a/src/LittleBlocks.Excel/LittleBlocks.Excel.csproj
+++ b/src/LittleBlocks.Excel/LittleBlocks.Excel.csproj
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
     <PropertyGroup>
-        <TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
+        <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
         <Authors>Mohammad Moattar, Justin French, Aurimas Gecas</Authors>
         <Company>ICG</Company>
         <Description>Abstraction &amp; Fluent API for loading and manipulating excel OpenDocument format.</Description>
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <RepositoryUrl>https://github.com/LittleBlocks/LittleBlocks.Excel</RepositoryUrl>
     </PropertyGroup>
     <ItemGroup>
-        <PackageReference Include="LittleBlocks.Extensions" Version="1.0.1" />
-        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="6.0.3" />
+        <PackageReference Include="LittleBlocks.Extensions" Version="2.0.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="8.0.1" />
     </ItemGroup>
 </Project>