This was fun and a book that really grabbed me and I just loved to see how all the characters interacted with each other

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book based on the main protagonist and only POV of the book - she seemed set in her ways, judge-y, with a definite touch of know-it-all. I pushed that aside and read mostly for the secrets - that was so very desi (kinda meaning 'Indian culture worldwide', I'd say? It's things that totally make being Indian or of Indian origin/heritage so colourful and relatable). Read a lot for the desi-ness of it - the secrets, the parental manipulation and gaslighting, the gossip, the rapid pace of everything (like, miss one episode of this desi soap opera and you'll find it hard to catch up - I'm thinking of the Rish angle in this one!) I love desi culture, being from it myself, and it's good to see characters going through things so relatable to this identity.
And then closer to the end, suddenly, Reena started to make sense... In a way, this kind of 'A-ha!' moment reminded me of an Emily Henry characterization: everything just clicks and makes sense close to the end, and then you're glad you stuck it out because that reveal makes it worth the whole read so far.
It's not getting 5 stars because, yes, the last 15% felt super-rushed, and the secrets started getting a little ludicrous at some point, even for a desi angle
Still, I'm now on the prowl for more by this author! Read it if you love Bollywood vibes and desi world-building, and generally, if you love sizzling chemistry and fake-dating plots

Decided to give Accidentally Engaged a read whilst on holiday and it was a great choice for by the pool. I loved the quick dialogue between the man characters and who doesn’t love references to cooking/baking?!

3.5* rounded down

Be prepared to want bread and delicious food for days when you read Accidentally Engaged!

Featuring food and fake dating, I was all in for reading this! I won’t go into detail on the synopsis as it is readily available, but it follows Reena, Nadim and her overbearing family.

At times I felt like there was more family drama than Reena and Nadim's story/romance, and this made the book feel a bit too long overall. I really liked that we saw Reena’s family and friends and there were plots involving them, but it just felt there was a little too much focus on them at points and at times it overshadowed the reality TV show/fake engagement plot which should have been the focal point. Even with this in mind, the last couple of chapters felt a bit rushed.

That being said, I did enjoy this book and I flew through it. I thought Reena was a great character, and I loved how her relationship with her sister Saira grew and then improved throughout the story. I also liked the friendship and relationship between Reena and Nadim which seemed believable because the chemistry was there. I do wish we had got Nadim’s POV though, or a bit more of them together from her POV.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

This book was just so much fun! Definitely one of the less-realistic romances I've read recently, but I find that somewhat irrelevant because of how much I enjoyed reading the tricky tale of Reena and Nadim. Accidentally Engaged did have a bit of a shaky start, at least for me, with the first chapter reading very much like a Wattpad novel, which personally isn't what I look for in my romances. Luckily it picked itself up pretty quickly after, and I did find myself looking forward to diving back into reading this book. It's pretty much a guarantee that I'll enjoy a romance novel if it features food in some way, so the baking and cooking show elements to this were perfect for me. I also always love a family dynamic in stories, especially between sisters, so it was nice to see the growth between Reena and her sister and them opening up to each other. I did find the chemistry between Reena and Nadim to be authentic, and I'll definitely look out for Heron's next work.

Accidentally engaged is captivating from the beginning as Farah Heron hooks the reader on the truly relatable characters. The author creates a charismatic and creative main character within Reena, by giving her a passion that she is desperately trying to pursue despite her families concerns. Her love interest Nadim appears to be an interesting choice for Reena , especially due to him being selected by her parents. However their bond grows as the book progresses . It was a true insight into a modern relationship as they form a friendship and attempt to help one another through their individual troubles. Farah's writing was so beautiful that it had my heart falling in love with these characters and their story. I cannot recommend this book enough, it ignited my love for romance books again . I had honestly forgotten how addictive they can be , especially one as wholesome as this one.

I wasn't the biggest fan of this story! I'm sure there are readers for this story, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

Umm... I do not like roti but this book made me rethink my relationship with it.

Besides the food, I loved the background of the characters. Both Reena and Nadim's family are South Asian-East African. However, their family dramas took up way too much of real estate in the story. I loved when they started fake dating but besides a few scenes to explore their chemistry(which I felt was cute), there was no banter, little to no sexual tension.

I liked that they talked about their insecurities, family problems, mental health in the open as these topics are often considered taboo in South Asian communities. However, I kept putting the book down because I couldn't believe how Reena's parents fixed her marriage to Nadim. It sounded ridiculous as did their family secrets.

Overall, I would recommend it if you love books about food, minimal sex scenes in your rom-com, family drama, and brown Captain America with a British accent.

Ugh, I absolutely loved loved loved this book and completely devoured it within 24 hours! The chemistry and dynamics between Reena and Nadim were just absolutely to die for - I was obsessed with them both throughout the whole thing and although their meet up was arranged by their parents, much to their dismay, it is so obvious that they would have eventually bumped in to each other at some point in their lives, because they were absolutely meant to be! Their friendship started off quite rocky, the weight of their parents constantly on their shoulders, but once they decided to say screw it and forge their own paths, their relationship was then truly able to progress. I loved how encouraging they both were towards one another, how they always made sure that they were reaching for their goals and getting involved in any way they could to make this dreams become a reality. I think what made Reena and Nadim's relationship all the more perfect was Farah's strong talent in writing the most hilarious of engaging and witty comments. There was plenty of times where I had to laugh out loud and that's not something I find myself doing very often.

I absolutely loved the diversity within the book and it was lovely to learn more about Muslim roots. With Reena's passion being baking, there was too many times where I found myself drooling or heard my stomach growling from the absolute delicious dishes Reena and her family were constantly making. I wanted it all passed to me on a plate, there and then!

Overall, Accidentally Engaged was such a fun read and definitely one of my new favourite books of 2021. Farah provided her readers with strong, inspirational characters, with a mix of family drama, the most mouth-watering and delicious food descriptions and great banter. I 100% recommend this book to everyone!

Reena's set to marry Nadim, the son of her father’s new business partner (who also happens to be her new neighbor...). Reena made it clear she didn’t want to marry him and Nadim respects that. She gets an opportunity to be on a ~family~ cooking show, but the catch is: only couples can enter. After a drunk cooking session with Nadim where they filmed the cooking video and sent it, they somehow ended up as finalists in the contest.

It’s cute how they started to form a friendship anyway and Nadim agreed to pretend to be engaged with her so she could go through the contest. They start confiding in each other and even end up spending time with each other when they’ve had a bad day. But every time Nadim made a move, Reena was wondering if he was truly into it for her and not just to appease their families since their fathers arranged for them to marry after all. I did love how their relationship progressed throughout the book. I also really enjoyed Reena's group of friends - most of the scenes I found fun in this book included them.

At times I felt like there was more family drama than Reena and Nadim's story/romance. The last couple of chapters also felt a bit rushed and the family drama was all pretty much resolved in just one chapter.

thank you to the publisher for providing a copy through netgalley.

There was so much to love about this book, and it’s perfect for fans of the fake dating trope or those looking for a witty contemporary romance!

First of all, Reena was a passionate, hilarious main character and I absolutely loved to read about her. The way her character develops, how she handles her identity and learns to be comfortable with herself was very heart-warming. Nadim was charismatic and although I wish we’d seen a little more depth to his character, I was definitely rooting for them both. The soap-opera-y drama and secrets were really funny and definitely one of my favourite parts.

Quite a few moments left me surprised, and so many made me laugh. There were a bunch of entertaining scenes, but put together, it unfortunately didn’t quite hit the mark. Sometimes it felt like a little too much was going on, but at times, not enough – So one moment I’d be heavily invested, and the next, just skimming through.

In general I think there was a lot of excess dialogue and information, so it was a tad too lengthy to keep me thoroughly engaged.

However, Reena really pulled it together for me – Especially the evolution of her relationship with her sister, which was just beautiful to see develop. Overall this was still a very enjoyable read and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun contemporary romance!

(A big thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!)

Date review published: 05/03/21

After reading Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron, all I can think about is what I wanna eat at the weekend.

Synopsis:
Reena, single at 31, mother to her many sourdough starters, is just trying to make it through life without getting sucked into family drama. This quickly changes when she meets Nadim her charming neighbour with a British accent, who’s basically been sent there to marry her. Despite their chemistry, she tries her best to avoid him — that is until after one drunken night they begin to appear to world as engaged. How does she end up in this situation? Why does she go along with it? Will this alliance be a recipe for disaster?

Grab yourself a copy to find out what happens!

Personal interest: I was particularly excited to read this book because the main characters come from an Ismaili Muslim family with East African Indian heritage. Never in my wildest dreams would characters be featured like those I’ve had interactions and conversations with! Obviously this book does not represent the lifestyle choices of the entire Ismaili Muslim diaspora, and actually contains very little on the community’s religious practices. Mainly, the different cultural elements are employed to enrich the backstory of the characters and to create a foundation for the distinct cuisine that makes up a bulk of this book.

What you can expect:
- A saucy modern rom com
- A short and fairly quick read
- A strong female character who works through her own insecurities
- Conversations about taboo subjects in South Asian cultures
- To be hungry

The Verdict: I personally did not enjoy the novel as much as I thought I would, probably because there’s quite a few sex scenes and I’m more of a PG-13 kind of reader. However, it’s a perfectly good rom com. Think Hallmark but with lots of sex and alcohol.

Overall, I’m glad I got the opportunity to read this work and given the chance would read it again.

Cooking, Baking plus fake relationship trope = catnip to me. This was a cute, diverse, story which made me lol. Nice chemistry between Reena and Nadim but I do think I would have preferred fewer supporting characters. Overall a fun read 2 1/2 ⭐️) I hope to read more from this author.

Spoilers ahead, this book will make you hungry, no seriously the main characters cook and bake and the authors descriptions are so good I could taste the food, unfortunately not literally so yes you will be hungry.
The relationship between Reena and Nadeem I loved so much, they were one of my favourite couples I’ve read, their chemistry, banter, they are so relatable, just a wonderful set of main characters to lead you through a lovely story with a focus on family, marriage and love.
A wonderful story, great characters and writing, thoroughly recommended reading.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Reena is 31, works in finance but only finds joy when baking bread and cooking. She has had 12 boyfriends but her parents are pushing her to have an arranged marriage. She has no intention of getting married.

When Reena comes home from work one day, she meets a sexy guy at the apartment opposite (carrying beers) who asks her out and she swoons at his British accent. Then they realise who each other are.

When Reena is made redundant, she goes to drown her sorrows at the local pub and there Nadim (the neighbour) is sat at the bar after a rubbish day too. Reena has seen a cooking competition for FoodTV and the prize is $10000 towards a course at a prestigious cooking school. However, it’s supposed to feature a couple or family. After a few drinks, Reena and Nadim make and submit a video of them cooking as fiancés and the story continues.

This book was funny, with lots of discussion about family dynamics, Indian families (and immigrating to Tanzania and beyond), arranged marriages, relationships, mental health to name a few topics. The cooking competition and chemistry between Reena and Nadim was entertaining. It was a great read.

I found Accidentally Engaged to be a roller coaster of a read. There were elements of it which I really enjoyed and thought were great but at the same time, there were also elements which I felt didn't really add to the story and the main characters and having them there was unnecessary.

Accidentally Engaged is the story of Reena Manji and how she navigates the many aspects of her life including interfering parents, her work, her hobbies, her relationship with her sister, her friends and her love life. I really liked the authenticity of showing Reena as a South Asian Canadian with East African roots; an identity that straddles three different cultures to form its own unique identity. The chemistry between Reena and Nadim was really great and I thought the way the relationship developed between them was really brilliant too. They were different in many ways yet had so many similarities.

Whilst the characters were all believable and added to the narrative, I did think there was too much going on at times. Reena has so much happening on so many different fronts, it was hard work keeping up with each aspect of her life which was going wrong one at a time. I feel the story would have been even better with focus on fewer issues and subplots and slowing things down a little rather than having things happening one after the other before fully processing the first.

Reena is stuck in a finance career she hates, which she can’t tell her family about as then they will want to help and push her to join the family business. Reena loves to cook, particularly bake bread (yes this will make you hungry!) as it’s the only time she feels truly like herself. The story is about bumping into a new guy in her building, who it turns out her dad has agreed she will marry. Reena point blank refuses to marry Nadim, but through a series of events they end up becoming friends. After one particularly drunk evening they enter a cooking competition to win a scholarship to a prestigious cooking school. The catch is you need to be ‘family’ so in the end they decide to pretend to be engaged.

Okay so I’m no chef but boy did Reena make me want to start baking and get myself my own Brian or Al (if you know you know). I loved all the characters in this book and the journeys they went on. It felt like her family saw her for the first time in her life and they actually started being honest with each other. My favourite revelation was about her mother’s book club - hilarious! Reena was so relatable and so was Nadim. When they both were saying how home is a feeling that can be found with people not necessarily a place, I felt that to my very core.

A couple of things really resonated with me. When they were saying how adaptable they were. Reena described herself as the amiable one, the one that people liked, she changed her interests to match whoever she was dating not because she didn’t enjoy the things that was just who she was.

In the end I really felt Reena had found herself, found her coping skills and had such a great support system. I’ve never been one for quotes but boy did I feel seen when she said: “Never in her life had she accepted the magnitude of her loneliness”

Overall I loved this book - it was funny, lighthearted most of the time but had distinct moments of hitting the nail on the head with some deep topics

If you are going to read this book grab a snacks because trust me you will be hungry

It keep me reading till really late in the night because of all the gossip!

I love how Reena and Nadim relationship grew along the book.
The only thing that I did not like much were all the characters.
But overall I had a nice time reading this story. I love that the food is what connect Reena and Nadim.