An engaging and fun read about families, love and arrangements. The setting of Mumbai was interesting and while I enjoyed the quippy narrative style, I didn't fully bond with the characters.

Thank you to the publisher for my earc of this book!
I really enjoyed this contemporary fiction and thought the author write some brilliant characters, especially when it came to the family dynamics. An enjoyable read.

Let me start by talking about how beautiful the cover of this book is because that was one of the main reasons I wanted to pick this book up.
I absolutely love romance books and whilst I did really enjoy this book, I do not think it is a romance that sticks out from all the other romance books which I read. However, if you are new to the genre or maybe don't read a lot of romance, this book is a really good one.
The writing within this book was easy to read and easy to get lost into the story, which is what I love when reading a romance. I also really loved our main character Zoya and found her to be really likeable and easy to relate to.
Whilst this may not be a new favourite, I really enjoyed reading this book and recommend that people pick this up and give it a go.

Great read, flows perfectly. Well-written and completely engaging. I have devoured this book in one sitting with no regrets. I NEED more.

Absolutely loved this… shows the modern side of India. We are told of some traditions that are still ongoing in the modern world, where Zoya is trying to juggle family tradition and what she wants out of life. A well thought out plot… The family are chaotic , loud and lovable. Definitely one to read!

I loved this book, I am not sure why others are giving it lower ratings I loved every page of this. I loved the characters, Zoya is such a great character, trying to be herself in a world and patriarchal society that wants her to be anything but, I loved the fact this shows her trying to resist but succumbing to the pressure of family, cultural and societal pressures and norms, I’m not saying I loved she succumbed but that the author represents the real ness of the situation, that it’s not a magical fix all, Bhatia shows the true struggle, fight and hard work it takes to be yourself when everything seems to be against you. It’s a wonderful story and I’d love to read another based on Sheila Bua.

This is down as What are We Doing about Zoya but it’s also known as The Rules of Arrangement depending on where it’s published.

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

Incredible!! Would buy this for everyone in my household. Phenomenal writing and the characters are so likeable!

"Be who you are, no matter what your mother or boyfriend or the world tells you. And for God's sake, let's live!"
In a patriarchal society where the thought, "What will people think?" is given immense importance, we have Zoya. Zoya is frowned upon for being overweight, not fair-skinned and in this judgmental society's eyes, shockingly not married. She excels in her career, so much so that she is considered for a high profile marketing job in New York City but in the world's eyes, a career is not important - she should be married, be a good daughter-in-law and housewife. Zoya gives in to social norms, gets engaged and tries to 'fit in' with her fiance and future in-laws at the cost of her own personality and happiness.
This story is not only about Zoya's self discovery, but her Sheila Bua's as well. They both stand up to family pressure to tell the world just who they are.

3.5 stars!

What are we doing about Zoya aka The Rules of Arrangement!

I don’t understand why this book is getting such lower ratings. I just finished reading the book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a Nepali woman who have similar cultures and traditions as of Indian women, I could understand and relate to Zoya’s life in many ways.

As women become of a certain age, there is a pressure of marriage not only from the parents but far relatives and people you don’t even know! The traditions, social beliefs, what will people say etc are so normal to this day and this book depicts it so well.

The writer has done a brilliant job in portraying how women in India are valued along with colorism, social status, body weights. As much as there is no similarities between Zoya’s personality with me I couldn’t help but see myself in her or my friends. This book is more than a romance for me. Everything related to marriage, family relations, culture and traditions were so familiar to me hence I couldn’t help but root Zoya to follow her dreams.

In this time where women are still meant to marry by a certain age, expect to leave their jobs when they get married - what’s the point of studying this hard and the achievements so far? And meant to keep quiet when we have opinions sounds absurd. However, when I know there are still women living like this ofcourse I feel for them and I wish the society and traditions change for them to live their life freely. At the same time, I am so thankful for my parents and my family who have always supported me to follow my dreams. This book has made me realise so much that words won’t suffice to describe the feelings.

The book revolves around the life of 26 years old Zoya whose family and relatives are arranging a marriage. There is also a bit of office romance involved. Thankyou Anisha Bhatia for this amazing book, Netgalley and Headline for the e-arc.

A fun read looking at love and marriage in the rich set in Mumbai, where Zoya dresses scruffily and has a career in a world where that's still not as acceptable as being thin and pale and giving it all up for the barely-met boy of your dreams.

My full review on my blog https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2021/08/04/book-review-anisha-bhatia-what-are-we-doing-about-zoya/

This book was such a lovely read, with a chaotic family that I was obsessed with! I felt so invested in each of these character’s and their lives. This book was empowering, interesting and surprisingly educational!

My thanks to Headline and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Before I start, just wanted to mention that this book appears as What Are We Doing About Zoya on NetGalley and The Rules of Arrangement elsewhere; not sure if this is because of different titles in different places of publication of whether they decided to do a title change at a later stage.

In the book, we meet Zoya Sahani, a twenty-six-year old from a relatively affluent Punjabi family in Bombay/Mumbai, who works in an advertising agency and is doing well at work. In fact, so well that she earns a promotion and her boss, Arnav Bajaj, whom she refers to as the ‘dragon’ may recommend her for a job in their parent organisation in New York if she does well on her next assignment. Meanwhile, her otherwise loving, and educated college-professor mother Geeta wants Zoya to get married (under pressure from relatives and also the social scenario where at her age, Zoya is nearing the shelf). But Zoya is dark-skinned and also overweight which makes finding a suitable groom difficult. But her Bua (father’s sister), Sheila runs a match-making service and gets on the job. Zoya’s first few experiences are predictable (and unsurprisingly hit her confidence) but somewhat to her own surprise, they manage to find a near perfect boy (though from a family of health freaks, rather to her discomfort). Meanwhile, things at her job work out too, and she is offered a chance to go to New York on a three-year assignment; now Zoya must decide whether she wants to walk down the traditional path or take the chance of a lifetime, and follow her dreams. Alongside, she begins to find that her dragon-like boss isn’t such a dragon after all!


While romances/rom-coms aren’t my usual fare, I ended up requesting this on because of the setting in Mumbai with Indian characters—and though this was essentially a romance and one with plenty of humour, it was also much more in that it showcased how women have to give up their dreams, their wishes, sometimes even their identities to conform to social norms that expect one to be married by a certain age.

The book I thought captured (wealthy) Punjabi culture really well—the loudness, the brightly coloured clothes, the bling, and the ostentatious displays of wealth. Also the whole stereotypical arranged married scenario with demands for name changes, to the girl being asked to quit her job (not always the case, but it does happen); boys’ families coming to ‘see’ the girl; and also the interactions and behaviour expected after the engagement—it was actually quite perfectly done. (Of course, I did wonder if to those unfamiliar with the culture or rather cultures in the country, this would end up been taken as representing the whole country or every ‘arranged’ marriage scenario—which is by no means the case.)

But I think more important was the fact that the author showed how amidst these social mores, even educated, usually reasonable people might start acting unreasonably like Zoya’s mother, who seems bent on her being married now rather than waiting as Zoya wishes; her father supports Zoya, but seems to go along with the family’s wishes.

The issue of weight, and to a lesser extent skin colour also come in. Zoya herself, because of social expectations, at times wonders why she isn’t more like her much slimmer (but nasty) cousin, but I was glad to see she remains fond of food throughout not forcing herself into unreasonable diets, and also that her family too (other than said nasty cousin) doesn’t pick on her for this or ask her to eat less; in fact, food, in true Punjabi style, is plentiful and always around.

The characters overall were fairly likeable and well done, as was the romance that apparently everyone, but Zoya herself could see. Zoya because of her name, curly hair, and job in advertising reminded me of her namesake from The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan, but this Zoya was very much her own character. While I liked her fairly well, she didn’t seem to see the obvious—in fact often jumping to all the wrong conclusions. The other characters—the fitness crazy in-laws and fiancé and Sheila Bua—with all of her complexities that Zoya slowly discovers--were also well done.

This was a fast-paced read, and one that kept me reading. The story was overall light and humorous and I enjoyed it for the most part; a bit at the end though I felt may be was a little too over the top for my liking. On the other hand, another scene right at the end was good fun. Four stars from me.

First things first - I’m v confused about the title of this book, in some places it’s What Are We Doing About Zoya and others it’s The Rules of Arrangement, either works for this book but it’s been bugging me that there’s two... after a little internet search, apparently one is US and one is UK. I get it, marketing, but it helps to keep consistent on book sites in each territory!

And now about the book. Marketing expert Zoya lives in Bombay (Mumbai) and at 26, her family consider her to be heading towards “the shelf.” Enter Sheila Bua, Zoya’s auntie and resident matchmaker, whose objective is try and find Zoya a suitable match. Obviously the plot wouldn’t be complete without a few spanners in the works. And that’s where I’ll stop with the synopsis, I don’t want to reveal everything and spoil it for those who haven’t yet read it, because it is a fun satirical look at family and arranged marriage.

I haven’t read a contemporary romance book set in India before and learning more about life and the culture in Mumbai was the highlight of the book for me. Yes, I’m aware it’s fiction but there are some nuances that can only be told by someone who has lived through it, and is from that country or culture.
I would LOVE a sequel told from Sheila Bua’s point of view, she was entirely a more complex character than Zoya, who missed so many hints and clues as to what what going on around her that it became a little far fetched. The main thing that brought the book (way) down in rating for me was the constant reference to Zoya’s weight. It didn’t add anything to the story to constantly fat shame the girl, it was always in a nasty tone and very, very unnecessary. Otherwise, an enjoyable read, even if quite predictable.

I didn’t think I would enjoy this one as much as I did. The story of Zoya being found a husband through the matching making women of society. Loved all about it.

Even when I wasn't reading i found I was wondering what Zoya and her family were up to now, as I was completely hooked on their story.

I always find it refreshing when reading about a different culture so loved this Bombay set book, with not your typical stereotypical heroine.

For Zoya isn't interested in an arrangement marriage and although she will bow to the aunties and family's will and see men, its not a good process for her.

She's the wrong shade of brown, overweight and already too close to 30. And she is doing very well in her career. This is all about her pull between wanting to be a modern Indian woman and the cultural traditions expected of her.

And as we go further into the story we start seeing all sorts of hidden depths and secrets emerge, which I loved discovering. But will Zoya marry the man that asks her, or will the lure of a job a lifetime be too much? We'll I'm not telling you.

I also loved the way some of the dialogue is written, mimicking the sort of speech patterns you may expect from people in India. I found if I read some out loud that it felt as though I was speaking with the correct accent which is rather clever!

This is the first book I've read by the author and thought it was fantastic. I loved every second of the big noisy family, and would be very happy if there was a sequel.

Thank you to Headline Accent and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I loved this book from the first page. Zoya is not a perfect Indian daughter. She's overweight, independent and unmarried in a society that values slim, obedient women.

And at twenty-six, she is hurtling towards her expiration date in Mumbai's arranged marriage super-mart. But when her family's matchmaking finally works, everything seems to be on the up - all until she is offered a dream job in New York City.


Zoya must now make the choice of a lifetime, but not without a few cultural casualties and, of course, an accidental love story along the way . . .

Full of humour I quickly became absorbed in the story of Zoya and wizzed through the book in one sitting!