Accidentally Engaged, a witty, flirty rom-com, follows Reena, an independent, sassy, aspiring home cook and Nadim, the charismatic forced potential 'Good Muslim Husband' prospect.

I enjoyed the dynamic and chemistry between Reena and Nadim, how the relationship progressed, both characters growing and their journey to follow their passion and goals, The writing was engaging and witty, there were a few times I actually laughed out loud. I liked the diversity of the characters, it felt like each had their own distinct voice and personality. The depiction of South Asian/East African culture was amazing, it felt so honest, a true insight into the experiences rather than being white washed.

The story did drag in some parts and I found the secrets of the family, a bit too far fetched. Some of them really did come out of nowhere. I hope I don't come across as judgemental when I say this and I was conflicted if I should mention it. As for Muslim representation, I felt a bit alienated by some of the actions portrayed. All of the characters drink (I am fine with Muslim characters drinking in stories) and I understand that everyone's relationship with religion is individual and therefore practices differently. But I felt it was a bit excessive, how much importance was put on alcohol between everyone, repeatedly hearing how assimilated it was with their everyday life and their need for it. I wished there was a bit more clarity throughout between the Reena's viewpoints on faith and how she feels about it, more in-depth of relationship with alcohol vs. what is actually practiced.

In all, an adorable and entertaining read. Thank you to the author, Farah Heron and publisher, Little, Brown Book Group UK for the e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

dnf @ 40%

I can really see why so many people would love this book, however, it wasn't quite romance focused enough for me. There were a lot of side characters, that overwhelmed the story at times.

I really loved how they were Tanzanian-Indian, this felt very real to me, as my partner is Chinese-Mauritian. There is a lot of focus of people/families moving from one country to another, but rarely to another country again! So I appreciated seeing that represented.

I will definitely consider picking this up again in future, however, it's not a read for now for me. I would recommend this too people who want reads about a large group of friends and family, who cared less about the romance being the largest focus.

Farah Heron’s ‘Accidentally Engaged’ was such a perfect romantic comedy for the weekend. I really enjoyed both the storyline and characters.

Reena is a great, strong character, who is in some ways insecure due to the meddling nature of her Muslim family who wants her to marry someone preferably from her culture. Except that Nadim isn’t as the other prospects her parents wanted her to meet. He’s funny and nice, and he has moved in just next door.

‘Accidentally Engaged’ is more than just a romantic comedy. It’s predominantly a story about connecting to your roots through food, and about the shared love for home-cooking. Cooking and baking are the predominant features in ‘Accidentally Engaged’ with Reena loving to prepare freshly baked bread and then entering the cooking competition with Nadim – a cooking competition where they need to pretend to be engaged (as contestants should be well-established couples) without their families knowing.

There’s a lot of family meddling and complicated past and drama in ‘Accidentally Engaged’, but all of that is accompanied by delicious food and a lot of good banter.

Overall, ‘Accidentally Engaged’ was a joy to read. Farah Heron’s book has a great cast of characters, complicated family dynamics, and deals with some important issues, such as mental health. I definitely would recommend it!

Unfortunately this wasn't for me as I just couldn't get into it. I liked the premise of the story but I felt it introduces too many side characters whose love lives I was supposed to care for, and it was almost as if the author tried to fit in every gender, race, and sexuality so as to be woke enough, yet it came across as forced rather than natural, almost as though they'd formed a club, one lesbian, check, one gay guy, check, one Asian girl, check, one black guy, check etc, I really wished I could've made it to the meat of the story but there was just too much waffle to get to the story properly starting that I lost patience. 2* for the authors attempt

Reema meets new neighbour Nadim here is a spark between them, but then she finds out he is yet another man that her parents are trying to set her up with and wants nothing to do with him. but as they end up spending time together anyway, they start to fall for each other. Nadim is keeping secrets so what will happen when they are revealed.

Interesting to read about different cultures. I haven't read the first book, but I would like to go back and read now.

This is the first book I've read by this author & it certainly didn't disappoint. It was fabulously funny, very foodie, with a hint of a foot fetish thrown in for good measure 👣

Reena's parents are arranging her desi marriage, then she realises the handsome stranger across the hall of their apartments is to be her chosen suitor. After deciding she's NOT marrying him, she decides to enter the cooking competition, then realises she needs to be part of a couple to enter. Can Reena & Nadim keep up this pretence, cooking up a storm purely for the camera or will she end up eating her words?

Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 5 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

absolutely love romances set around food so was ecstatic to get my hands on this book by Farah Heron. The book promised a blend of romance, family dynamics and food so I was super excited to get to know our protagonist and her love interest. Also, it has such a cute cover!

The protagonist is Reena Manji, a single woman who isn’t enamoured with her job but has a passion for cooking and baking in her free time. Her family also makes up an important apart of the book – her Dad is a rich business man who wants her to work for the family business, her Mum just wants her to marry someone as soon as possible, and her sister Saira is suffering from a mental illness after a disaster relationship. Reena and Saira’s relationship is complicated, which the book definitely takes a dive in to.

The love interest is Nadim, a guy who just so happened to move across the corridor from Reena. Oh, and it turns out he works for her father and is expected to marry Reena. Both Reena and Nadim just want control over their own lives and find that they have a lot in common, especially their love of the food from their culture. So when Reena gets an opportunity to enter a cooking competition, but needs a partner to do it, she and Nadim pretend to be engaged.

My favourite things about this book were the family dynamics (equal parts emotional and hilarious), and the food. I was introduced to so many new foods throughout the book. I loved the plot centring around a competition that involved making videos, and how it showed Reena and her friends working together to create something really cute. Reena and Nadim had such natural chemistry throughout the book, and it was interesting to see how they overcame the challenges that family and culture threw at them.

Overall, a really fun romance (though the sex scenes are fade to black), where I really enjoyed learning a little about Indian/Tanzanian culture and food.

Will you be picking up Accidentally Engaged? It comes out next month!

Fake relationships is one of my favourite tropes. Amateur cooks on TV great. Family meddling in their adult family members life fun.

I enjoyed this light frothy romance. I would say fairly closed door.