Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Book Description:
Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall--with hopes that Reena will marry him.
But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.
As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine— secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.
But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.
As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine— secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.
My Review:
I did enjoy reading this book. That being said, I really feel that this book had the potential to be so much better than it was. It was cute, funny and sweet. I really loved the back & forth banter between the main characters. The chemistry between Reena & Nadim really comes through in the story. I was cheering their relationship on throughout the book. I enjoyed the FoodTv contest. I found myself smiling every time they made a new video and really like how their dishes related to their culture/history. I too love to make bread so that was very relatable for me (I could smell the bread when she baked it). I was very hungry & craving bread the whole time reading this book.
However I think all of the drama between Reena's family and Nadim's past was way over the top. All of this chaos sometimes made it hard to follow. So much drama throughout the book but then the ending seemed quite rushed. The plot definitely needed some TLC...kind of seemed all over the place.
In the end, it was nice to see that Reena found her way and started living the life that she wanted. It was nice to see that the family starting to make amends.
** I didn't realize that this book was connected to the Chai Factor. I will definitely put that book on my TBR as I did enjoy Amira's sassiness. **
I do feel like this book was a 3.5 so I am rounding up.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐