Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Naina Kumar
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: January 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this utterly charming debut romance, a teacher with big dreams joins forces with a no-nonsense engineer to survive an ex’s wedding and escape matchmaking pressure from their Indian families. Their plan? Faking an engagement, of course.

Meghna Raman’s parents wanted her to be an engineer, but instead she’s followed her passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. But when she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is suddenly engaged—and not to her—she realizes he’s about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he’s asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she’s agreed. Determined to try and move on and relieve a bit of the pressure she feels, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she’ll even find the engineer her family wishes she became. . . .

Grumpy, handsome engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents’ marriage to know that it isn’t for him. He only agreed to his mother’s matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can’t offer her a real marriage, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth’s wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for the next year.

But as they find common ground, grow protective of one another’s hearts, and learn to fall for the flaws they thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry takes shape. Soon, Meghna and Karthik’s expectations and insecurities threaten to risk something that’s become a lot more real than they hoped.

Say You’ll Be Mine is a delightful trip back to the heyday of swoony romantic comedies from the nineties, but with a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.

WHAT A GEM.

I took a random chance on this one and it was a HIT y’all. I really adored this whole story. Fake dating/engagement has kind of burnt me out lately, and I can happily say this broke that streak for me. I loved the way this was approached and handled.

If I was being a bit nitpicky the FMC, Meghna frustrated me a bit with the red flags here ex boyfriend/current best friend was clearly exhibiting from the get-go. Gratefully, the way it was delt with helped me kind of roll with it all and just let it be.

The romance was the sweetest and best kind of slow burn!! I loved that this wasn’t high unnecessary heat. There was great relationship development and some absolute heart squeezing moments that made me want to hug Karthik myself. I loved this entire progression of the story. I loved the families and friends and how there was just enough side plot without being a distraction from the main couple. Oh, and it’s dual POV! Also recommend the audio. Loved that format.

A fantastic debut, I am a fan and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

• Contemporary Romance
• Language: low
• Romance: 1-2 open; low explicit
• Trigger/Content Warnings: a Dad accused of workplace harassment, cheating (side characters)

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