Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Talk about a carb overload without even eating that delicious piece of sourdough! This story is sweet, sexy, gossipy, romantic, and hilarious! Lots of laugh out loud moments and the Indian food and bread! Had me searching for some sourdough starters by the end of the first chapter.
Reena is a cooking goddess with some crazy meddling parents and sister issues. She has just received the news that her job has been eliminated so she is hanging at her apartment trying to figure out what to do next. She eyes her hot neighbor across the hall. He has a British accent and is fit and funny -YUM! Oh Yeah — he also turns out to be the guy his father has arranged for her marriage.
Nadim is super adorable and a great listener with a few quirky “fetishes.” He seems to be enthralled with Reena from their first meet cute. They start a friendship while competing for a Food TV competition. The first date/submission for the contest shows off their natural chemistry. After a night of chatting and drinking, she starts to cook for him and they fake record an episode for the show. While drunk they must have hit the submit button without knowing until they find out they actually make the show. Now they must fake that engagement because it is couples only contestants!
As they get to know each other we are treated to some fabulous Indian cultural experiences thru Reena’s foodie delicacies and the family dynamic. Reena’s family is a hoot! Sister is begging for input on her new recipe book, Mom is a secret card shark groupie and Dad wants Reena to “get to know” Nadim so it can advance his business interests. The only flaw in this story is that I really wanted more Nadim!
There are also some amazing supporting characters that would be great for spin off books. Her bisexual cousin Marley and good friend Shayne with his Food TV producer boyfriend Anderson would both be fun stories. I enjoyed Farah’s first novel, The Chai Factor where we got to meet Amira, Reena’s best friend and her hot guy Duncan. (You do not need to have read that book to get into this story – it is just always fun to get that character’s backstory to connect more to this one.)
Accidentally Engaged is an endearing story about two people pushed together by their parents, but eventually find their own way together. Farah Heron’s storytelling and character development is phenomenal, and I am eagerly anticipating her next installment.
I was provided this ARC from the publisher Grand Central/Forever and NetGalley for my honest review.
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