This sweet romance will have readers rooting for Reena and Nadim. Both characters undergo enormous personal growth that helps move the story forward in a way that is organic. The uncovering of multiple family and personal secrets help the reader empathize with the characters. An own voices romance featuring Indian/East African Canadian voices.

A cute idea with likable main characters. The ending felt rushed and the problems were magically solved.

Reena is an aspiring baker and food blogger stuck in a dull job as a retail analyst. Her traditional Muslim parents want her to marry a nice Muslim boy, so much so that they arrange it so that just such a guy, Nadim, moves in next door. Reena is not interested in that kind of interference in her life....even if he's super hot. When Reena is laid off from her job, she and Nadim drunkenly enter a next-foodTV-star contest.....and their chemistry is clear for all the world to see.

Reena and Nadim are delightful and sincere characters, easy to root for. The plot, especially toward the end of the story, felt a bit thin--the solution seemed obvious to the reader if not the characters.

All told, a very charming, up-to-the=minute contemporary romance.

I ABSOLUTELY fell in love with this story. As a member of minority and growing up as a South Asian in Toronto, I was able to relate to the characters in many ways. Not being a norm to talk about mental health in our culture, and having way too involved parents who do not understand modern day society, were some issues that the book mentioned that I have personally experienced. Reena reminds me of myself in so many ways; trying to figure out her identity outside of her parents' nest, and still figuring out where she stands in her career. Nadim is the perfect person for Reena, who was there for her when she was at her lowest. I loved how the couple bonded over cooking. This novel is needed for our society today, to remember what multiculturalism is and to be accepting of all cultures. A wonderful story indeed, I will definitely recommend this to many people.

This book was a surprise. I had my expectations of what this book was going to be about and I was wrong.

Reena's parents want her to marry Nadim. Even though she finds him attractive and charming, having her parents be right makes her fight her interest. Then she finds out about a cooking contest that requires her to be part of a pair and decides to pretend to be engaged with Nadim to enter. This way she can get to know him without her parents' interference.

This book is part romance and part family. Most of the conflict comes from Reena juggling the lies she told her family and trying not to falling love with Nadim even though that's hard to do. Nadim is very sweet and them together is fun. Really made me want to eat some bread.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

An arranged marriage set up that becomes a fake arranged marriage set up that becomes a secret dating thing that leads into love ... what is not fun about that?
This books had me in splits and rooting for Reena and Nadim from the first chapter. And did I mention Accidentally Engaged has a #bookswithcooks setting?
Are you hungry now?

I really enjoyed this book. I love a good fake relationship book. This starts with Reena meeting her new neighbor Nadim and then finding out that their parents have arranged for them to be married. She immediately declares that she will never marry him. Reena's parents are overly involved in her life and she really seeks to be independent. Although she is worried about their meddling, she and Nadim begin a friendship. Part of this friendship involved them making cooking videos for an online show that Reena wants to win so that she can win a scholarship to a prestige cooking school. Her true love is cooking and baking and wants that to be her career. Familial judgment and expectations have prevented her from exploring that as a career path.

I enjoyed reading the development of the relationship between Reena and Nadim. It truly felt like they went from friends to lovers. The parts where they filmed the videos felt sweet and fun and I could see how they cared for each other.

There are a lot of secrets in this book. And that led to a lot of conflicts. It felt like a bit too much for me. I would have preferred a few less. The ending felt a smidge abrupt. In my opinion there was some low key body/fat shaming from Reena towards herself, I could also do without that.

Overall I was very invested in Reena and Nadim getting their HEA. I felt the story was a little bogged down with the conflicts.

(CW: body issues, discussion of mental illness, sister with eating disorder)

Accidentally Engaged has elements readers have seen before. Fake fiancé, overbearing relatives, arranged marriage to name a few, but Farah Heron makes them fresh by having a relatable main character in Reena, a wonderful book boyfriend in Nadim, a setting in Toronto, and a look inside the Indian East African culture.

Reena and Nadim’s chemistry is instant. Nadim becoming a sourdough starter baby sitter is my favorite scene. All the food and bread talk will make you so hungry while reading Accidentally Engaged so be forewarned.

I would recommend Accidentally Engaged. Food, fun, heat and heart.

5⭐
PG-13: you could lend it to your mom without blushing TOO much

This book. THIS BOOK. Where do I even start?? First, thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC because I enjoyed every single moment of it. This is the type of romance book that I love to read. And I loved this book.

Reena is the middle child of a tight knit Indian-Tanzanian-Canadian family who is holding tight to the independence she's fought hard for when Nadim moves in next door. And this neighbor who happens to have moved in next door? He's going to be working for Reena's dad who has promised Reena would marry Nadim. Reena has zero interest in an arranged marriage and just wants to figure out how to turn her finance job into a job that brings her closer to baking bread. But then one cooking competition video changes everything as Nadim goes from charming annoying neighbor to fake fiance.

I loved seeing the culture and family dynamics showcased throughout this book that I once only really learned about from my Indian friends. I think have a few friends would relate to the feelings of a close knit community, hiding a relationship due to family expectations and trying to balance tradition with modern desires. And I am so glad a few recipes were provided at the end of this book because my mouth was watering reading about the food in this novel. As a sourdough baker, I couldn't help but relate to Reena's challenges with finicky starter and laugh at Nadim when he didn't want to throw away discard.

And as much as I loved the culture and the food, I think what stood out to me most was the real challenges that the characters experienced. Yes, there were definitely a few times where a conversation probably could have fixed a few things. And yes, Reena could probably use some therapy. But these were real characters I could relate to and I felt connected to not just Reena and Nadim but their family and friends as well. The end wrapped up kind of quickly, but it didn't matter because I was cheering for these characters to find their happy ending. And of course, this is a romance so they did and it was lovely.

I truly loved this book and will be recommending it to friends and family to add it to their TBR, pre-order it, and recommend it to their library for an excellent spring romance.

A delightful and cute rom-com of Reena and Nadim with all the Indian food and the desi meddling family.

Summary: Reena is currently in a job she is not really enjoying and is actually aspiring to become a baker/chef. Nadim is in Canada to work with her father and is also a potential groom for her. Though she is attracted to him right away, she is not ready for a relationship at the time. But when an opportunity presents itself which might help her get closer to her dream job, in the form of a cooking competition for couples, she decides to get into a pretend-engagement with Nadim. With all this, there is also a major scandal and secrets that Nadim hasn't been open with, which is another huge can of worms. With a meddling family, though with best interests, and their true feelings coming out, will they simply continue to pretend or make it true?

Thoughts: I loved everything about this book. It definitely made me get some sourdough bread and samosas right away. Being an Indian, I just loved how the food was described even those that I eat pretty regularly sounded amazing. Reena and Nadim made an adorable couple and have crackling chemistry which I definitely enjoyed. There was angst and steam and it was closed-door but cute. The Tanzanian-Indian culture was completely new to me and I got to learn so much about it.

Having seen a couple of my friends keep a sourdough starter, name it and literally feed it like a pet for years, I felt the connection to the book quickly and once there were more food references, I knew I was absolutely going to enjoy it. It was nice to see all the friends and family also introduced with some character development instead of just being referenced when the plot needed. With such a fun book, the author also managed to include the mental health issues within the plot.

Thank you Forever and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reena is so tired of her family getting over involved with her life, so when she finds out the hottie next door (Nadim) is actually the guy her parents are trying to get her to marry she is over it. But then the opportunity of a lifetime comes up and Reena can get a scholarship to baking school if she wins the latest cooking competition. The problem is she needs a husband or a fiancé or some sort of family to participate with her. Luckily Nadim steps in and offers to be her fake fiancé and film the show with her. Only at some point the feelings stop being fake and start to be real.

Wow I cannot wait until everyone gets to experience this book. I loved it so much. It is heart warming and hopeful and so dang funny. I loved the Manji family and all of their quirks and secrets. They felt so real to me. And the romance felt very natural. FYI book is low on the steam level, so it really is a sweet love story. The food references made me hungry so grab a snack when you read it. AND it featured recipes at the end which always makes me happy! I’m very eager to pick up Farrah Herron’s first novel, the Chai Factor after reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Add this one to your cart - it comes out March 2, 2021

Reena Manji is a financier but her secret passion is bread. She has a bread starter that is like her family and takes it everywhere. But Reena wishes she could escape her real family. Her parents are determined to interfere with her love life and set her up with a Muslim husband. Reena will not be a part of their matchmaking and does not want to be with anyone who works for her father, no matter how handsome or wonderful Nadim's accent. But when she is offered the opportunity to participate in a cooking contest meant for couples, Reena finds herself in a fake engagement with the very man she refused to marry!

Farah Heron told a story of love filled with so much drama that I could hardly keep up. I enjoyed the food and the culture. Both of the main characters were flawed but somehow managed to find themselves once they found each other. The family dynamic was so complicated and knotted, I didn't know if the author would have been able to unravel the storyline to a satisfying, realistic ending, but she did. My favorite scenes revolved around the cooking show. I found Nadim and Reena's banter refreshing.

The conflict with family and family acceptance is powerful and greatly described. There were a kitchen sink full of secrets that had me raising my eyebrows on several occasions. Saira was one of my favorite characters and her story was quite colorful but I loved how the author ventured into somewhat taboo subjects such as mental illness.

Thank you #Forever and #Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sorry I just could not get into this book as I did Heron's debut THE CHAI FACTOR. I could not connect with the main character and I did not want to connect with her love Interest.

Thanks anyway for the ARC.

Oh my goodness. This was so sweet! I loved the premise and the evolution of the relationship!! This was very fun to read.

This is the first book I read by Farah Heron and I am literally obsessed. This book is not even out and it will come out next year, but I am happy to say that it is in my top 5 of favourite books in 2020. I just loved everything about this book. I love how this book included mental health awareness, diversity, a fetish (which is the first time I see a mention of a fetish in a rom-com book, it gained points for originality). The characters were funny, sassy, likeable and REAL. I'm not gonna lie, I read 70% of this book in one day. The plot was nicely executed, it kept me on my toes and I kept wanting more. The family has many secrets and everything was nicely tied up in the end.

I am grateful to have learned more about Indian culture and Indian food through this book. There was also a great balance between the comedy elements and the more serious content of the book.

I loved how sweet Reena and Nadim's relationship was and how real and scary their emotions were for each other. There was definitely chemistry between the characters which made it easy for me to root for them.

After reading Accidentally Engaged, I'm looking forward to reading more of Farah Heron's work.

Thank you NetGalley for letting my read this book before it's publication date!

Thank you Forever for my review copy. All opinions are my own.
.
Back me up y’all. 2020 has been hard. I have found myself slowly sliding into unhappiness. With the world. With people. With myself. I picked up Accidentally Engaged to pull myself back. To remind myself what I love. Plain and simple. I love reading. I forgot how much I need to dive into someone else’s world. This one fit the bill 🙌🏻.
.
To speak on the actual novel....this was lovely. We had it all. A fun, but real female character who spoke to me through her love of carbs. A hot man with a British accent and that dimple. Fantastic supporting characters that were not afraid to highlight their crazy (yes, please). Solid fake relationship buildup. It was a win.
.
If you are looking for hot and steamy....this is not a good choice. It is absolutely closed door. However, I would sincerely recommend....it made me smile and transported me to Canada and out of 2020 for a bit ♥️.

This was cute, short, and sweet. Exactly what you want in a rom-com book like this one. I definitely would read more books by Heron in the future!

This book soothed my 2020 battered soul; it was such a treat to read. So much to love about it!

Reena, a middle child, with a very (overly) involved Muslim family works at a finance job that she doesn't love. Which makes it all the more insulting when she's laid-off. Her real passion is cooking but her younger sister managed to sabotage Reena's successful food blog and cookbook deal.

She comes home to discover she has a new neighbor - he's a brown Captain America with a gorgeous British accent and tons of charm. MeOW! Until she finds out that Nadim is the Good Muslim man she's supposed to marry to help her family's business. Hell, no! But, he's so dreamy...

After maybe one drink too many, Reena and Nadim shoot a cooking video and enter a contest. The prize just happens to be a scholarship to the very culinary school that Reena was thinking of emptying her savings to attend. The catch? It's a contest about family cooks so Reena and Nadim need to be faux engaged.

But she still tells her parents that she's not marrying Nadim. Even though she likes him. A LOT.

Reena is so relatable as a thirty-something woman trying to figure out her career, dealing with the stress of being laid off. Again. Not wanting her parents' help. Not really wanting to stay in finance but not sure about following her dream of culinary school. Wanting a relationship but not because her parents arrange it. Trying to figure out her relationship with her sister. Feeling like a failure compared to what looks like her older brother's perfect life.

Accidentally Engaged didn't just deal with career woes and a pushy family. Farah Heron also addressed mental illness, stress, and depression.

The writing is so engaging with so much sparkling banter. Reena's friends are warm, supportive, and funny as hell. Shout out for the LGBTQ+ rep.

And the connection between Reena and Nadim is H-O-T! Super-steamy scenes ensue.

I loved learning about East Indian/African food and traditions. And OMG. Reena's bread baking had me absolutely salivating. I wanted one of those sourdough starter babies!

If you're a fan of Sara Desai or Sonali Dev, READ this! And then read the first book, The Chai Factor. Do it! Food, eccentric family antics, and a sweet, steamy romance - the perfect read.

Accidentally Engaged was a delightful and heartwarming read. Farah Heron wonderfully infused the book with elements of South Asian culture, tackling serious issues such as mental health and family dynamics/relationships while also providing moments of humor. The banter in this book was highly amusing, the chemistry was palpable, and the cooking competition plot was such fun! I adored the development of Reena and Nadim's relationship as the story progressed, and I loved learning more about their cultures (and foods!) along the way. It may have seemed over the top to some readers, but I could definitely relate to the amount of family drama and secrecy Reena has to deal with. I especially loved that mental illness was addressed in this book, as it's a topic that so often has stigma in Asian cultures/families. In addition to the romance, something that really shone for me was the authenticity of the characters. With Reena especially, it was wonderful to delve into her friendships and her relationship with her sister! Many thanks to Forever and NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book deserves all of the fantastic five stars I rated it. Heron did an amazing job of balancing out the fun flirty moments with the deep serious moments and even intertwined aspects of South Asian culture throughout the story.

What I loved about this book:

1. Heron absolutely nailed the plot of this book and wrote absolutely lovable characters. I loved Reena's character and all her swoony interaction with Nadim. Their friends to lovers to fake relationship romance highlighted their great chemistry and I was absolutely rooting for them to find their HEA. I may have shed a few tears towards the end of this book, but I spent a majority of my time giggling and swooning.

2. The Manji family and all of their secrets took denial to the extreme, but it was also hard not to laugh a bit when I learned the lengths they went to keep them. You will definitely laugh out loud when they all come spilling out While Reena's sister had a few struggles of her own she was working through, it was nice to see her prioritizing the repair of her relationship with Reena.

3. I loved how aspects of both Reena and Nadim's culture were intertwined throughout this book. I loved learning more about their heritage and I definitely loved all the yummy food I got to read about. This book may have inspired me to get my own sourdough starter, but I promise not to make the same mistake Nadim did. If I do, starters for everyone. 😂

This laugh out loud amazing romance read is definitely a book you won't want to miss. Make sure to add it to your want to read list on Goodreads so you get all it's updates. This book is expected to publish March 2, 2021.