Reena loves living on her own. Mainly because her family wants to be so involved in her life. Her dad wants her to work for the family business, her mom wants her to get married - ASAP and her sister is just a busybody.
When hunky Nadim moves in across the hall, Reena is hooked. Until she realizes her father has put him in her building as a ‘husband to be’ for her. Reena would be happier just sticking with her bread-making and baking instead. She doesn’t need her family to set her up.
But Nadim grows on her and she refuses to let her family know that we’re right....

Reena is someone who things happen to, she ends up rolling with the punches and consistently bites her tongue. She uses baking as a lifeline, something she can do to relieve the stress and pressures of her life and then she can enjoy her creations afterwards. She finds out that she can enter a cooking competition and get a scholarship to the cooking school of her dreams, but she needs a partner. When she meets her new neighbor, Nadim, across the hall--the man that her parents are set her up to marry--she wants nothing to do with him. Through chance encounters and good odds, they form an unlikely friendship and come together to better their lives and work on their dreams.⁣
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Overall I really enjoyed this book and once I started it, I couldn't stop and finished it in two days. Reena is so relatable, she's constantly deflecting, keeping her feelings in, and baking. She has a whole lot of family drama and complicated relationships but they definitely keep the story interesting and real! I was rooting for her the whole time, hoping that all her struggles and setbacks wouldn't keep her down. As someone who also loves to bake/cook this book was definitely for me! I loved reading about the different Indian dishes, and found it so heartwarming as to how much Nadim loved them too.⁣
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Nadim is super charismatic, and even though we know he has some skeletons in his closet before they come out, he's just extremely likeable, and sweet. When he took care of Reena's sourdough starter, my heart melted. I mean, who could have thought that he makes having a foot fetish sound so endearing?! I was rooting for him to win Reena over the whole time, and loved how well they got along together.⁣
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⁣Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for allowing me to read this eARC.

💕 Yes! This is the book I needed right now. Accidentally Engaged is a true romcom. I absolutely adored it. At the time that I read it, I was in a place where I needed some cheering up and this book gave me all the smiles.
Reena is an East African Indian Muslim woman who’s parents “suggest” an appropriate husband for her, but Reena won’t marry someone who her parents are involved with. Despite being attracted to Nadim, her neighbor who also works for her father and who she describes as brown Captain America, she wants to keep their relationship in the friend zone. However, Reena ends up willing to fake her engagement to Nadim in order to participate in a couples cooking contest.
😃 Reena and Nadim were incredibly fun to read. I highlighted so many lines in this book. I love the way Nadim jokes with Reena. I was laughing out loud and smiling at their tender moments. Nadim is a sweetheart, definitely one to add to the book boyfriend list. The way the author writes about them, their connections were steamy even in a closed-door romance. As funny as this book is, it also packs depth in the pages. Topics in the book include mental illness, parental and cultural expectations, and family secrets.
🌟 It was interesting to read about Reena & Nadim’s Indian-East African culture and traditional food. Reena bakes a lot of bread and now I’m in serious need of some yummy sourdough bread. 🍞 Canada was also a big feature in the book, with the story taking place in Toronto. I think it’s funny that recently I keep hearing about how polite Canadians are and it’s mentioned in this book, too. 🇨🇦

🍛 Be sure to read the author’s acknowledgements for great insight as well as the bonus recipes at the end of the book!

😂 Nadim: “I googled hipster for the North American definition. I don’t think you meant it as a compliment.”
💎 (Reena) “Fusion had its time and place, but with all the crap minorities were facing in the world, she didn’t feel much like making the food she grew up on more palatable to mainstream tastes.”

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the free eArc in exchange for a honest review!

4.5✨ This was such an amazing story! I absolutely Loved all the layers to the plot, it made it feel like it was more than just shallow romance book. Such amazing chemistry between all the characters! I loved everything about this read.

A really satisfying read that delivers HEAs in multiple dimensions!

Now having read the full book, my review of the 4 chapter preview stands: Farah Heron sets up vivid characters, sibling conflict, a hot neighbor, delivers some funny lines, and introduces a realist MC who calls it like she sees it. Accidentally Engaged bursts with personality and is uplifting without being treacly. Although I'm not South Asian, this feels like a more modern, or maybe just more fleshed out, representation of family dynamics than we've seen in other stories. (I'll be looking to see if #ownvoices reviews confirm that). Sure, Reena's parents are still focused on getting their kids married off, but they're also looking the other way on a lot about how the kids are living their lives.

Like Farrah Rochon's The Boyfriend Project, I'd call this one romantic women's fiction. Reena's fake engagement to Nadim is absolutely central to the story, but she's also contending with losing her finance job, following her dreams to win a scholarship to culinary school, and dealing with family drama. In fact, I actually found myself way more interested in the family / community drama than the FoodTV contest Reena and Nadim enter (which is weird, since I'm super into food and cooking).

There is one interaction between Reena and Nadim early on that had me going, Ew, what? There is NO universe in which that is sexy. It's not about kink-shaming or anything like that, you'll know it when you get to it.

Overall, I loved Accidentally Engaged. Definitely putting it on my buy in hard copy list for 2021.

Heat level: Closed door.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this arc ebook.
Reena is a perfectly lovable character that has super overbearing parents. She’s at a job she hates, but find fulfillment outside of work through her bread making. Her father’s newest suggestion of husband-to-be ends up living across the hallway from her and she is blown away by his good looks, Nadim. Reena finds out about this home cooking contest and needs a fiancé to enter, so Nadim joins her so she can enter the contest. As they get closer and closer, things start to heat up!
This was a quick and compelling read that left me hungry (literally, let me get some food!) for more. It was such a sweet story!

Reena Manji loves to bake. Baking bread is a hobby and it brings her joy. What doesn't bring her joy - a) her overbearing Indian family b) her job in finance c) Nadim, her new neighbor who just happens to be the same guy Reena's parents are trying to get her to marry.

Reena and Nadim eventually form a friendship. This friendship turns into a fake engagement when Reena and Nadim sign themselves up as cooking contestants for a show on FoodTV. They have so much fun cooking together that they decide to keep on going with the ruse as well as the cooking competition. But when they're always in such close proximity will the lines start to blur between a fake engagement and a real relationship?

I honestly enjoyed Accidentally Engaged so much. I loved the desi representation and I have so many parts of the book highlighted. I related to Reena and Nadim's characters A LOT - from her overbearing parents, to the food, to small things like going shopping for Indian outfits with your aunts and cousins.

Nadim and Reena's relationship from dislike to friends to lovers was so sweet. These two had such great chemistry and I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. Reading this book made me hungry - so keep that in mind! I loved all of the secondary character's from Reena's best friend to her sister. Overall I highly enjoyed Accidentally Engaged and would give it 4.5 stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

I really enjoyed this book. I imagine anyone who loves food and romances about people who love cooking will find this perfectly delightful. I thought Reena was a great character and I loved her journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend if you are looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f fake engagement
-close proximity
-A British/Muslim Captain America
-sexual tension while cooking
-bread/yeast starters that are kind of pets
-a cooking competition
-family drama and a lot of family secrets
-closed door
-a foot fetish

I related a lot to Reena despite our different cultural backgrounds. A single woman in my 30's, not thrilled with my career, and also a middle child. A couple times it was almost freaky the similarities. Reena was sarcastic, funny and just real. The relationship with Nadim developed organically and sweetly. Coupled with all of the family drama, the plot moved forward in a very down to earth way that I truly enjoyed. Do not read this book on an empty stomach. The food references are amazing and I went back and forth from just wanting some fresh bread to feeling inspired to learn how to make break finally.

The thing that held me back from fully loving this book was the internal conflict with sex. I personally do not love when books rely so heavily on sex being part of the characters relationship but refuse to show it. To be clear I don't mind closed door books, but the steam should reflect that. Towards the end of the book the book also seemed to get very judgey on some sexual issues, which seemed contradictory to how Reena was throughout the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Reena's character growth, learning to trust and her acceptance that she doesn't need a man but wanted one was a beautiful love story filled with food, great friends and family.

Rating: 4
Steam: 2

Trigger: Mental health, depression, mentions of eating disorder, family tensions

Before I started this read, I was in the mood for an adorable, fluffy contemporary romance with a little steam as a transition read for my TBR, and this book delivers on that front. Here, main character Reena sets up a fake engagement with her new neighbor Nadim in order to enter a couples' only baking competition. So, we'll get that ole reliable fake date trope to keep us occupied. Nadim is instantly described as a "brown Captain America" which like solid description lololol with a British accent. He moves to Canada to work for her father and they're set to have an arranged marriage, which she's not interested in. Each chapter reads quite quickly with tone and language that pulls you in. It's captivating and relatable, a book I could hardly put down. It's a fun, indulgent romance read with a number of laughable scenes. Also, OMG the Buffy jokes were on point at the end. LOL, unexpected but like well done. Overall, this book was juicy and dramatic that I got so invested in the storyline and these characters. Then that HEA actually gave me butterflies in my stomach, so yes, it is darn cute. It's just so precious and so much fun.

I was so excited to read this one because I loved The Chai Factor, and I loved Accidentally Engaged even more! It will definitely make you hungry for bread, so be forewarned. Interestingly this book is even more relatable during the pandemic, when the new normal is baking bread and being let go over video conference.

I thought that it was cute when they went the farm to get fresh eggs. I like how the family is multidimensional, and how they decide to resolve their drama. I definitely would have voted for them to win the TV show. The Jeffs sound nice too though.

I am hooked and am committed to reading everything by Fara Heron from now on!

Yessss!! I can honestly announce: we have another winner! This is entertaining, laugh out loud, sweet, emotional!

There is desi wedding, Indian family traditions, noisy parents, vivid characters, lots of yummy foods, a yummy hero with sexy British accent and natural, strong, easily likable heroine!

There are also so many secrets, gossips, dramas but the way they’re coming out is also smart, absurd, enjoyable! Angsty parts don’t tear your guts, thankfully they were well balanced. And conclusion is sweet like dhokla ( I was curious about that Indian desert since I watched Three Idiots)

Reena Manji , 31 , hates her job, is amazing cook, once upon a time a successful food blogger after being sabotaged by her own little sister. She is so pissed off the nonstop intrusions and prying of her family. She wants to be independent, making decisions freely without expecting their approval.

But when her hottie new neighbor Nadim with sexy British accent appears at the hallway with his gorgeous posture and flirty manners, she hardly resist his charm till she learns he is the guy works with his father and he is also the arranged husband they expect her to marry!

Hell no! Even though he is hot as hell, he is sweet, he is great listener and he has great hands to massage her scalp and he is also talented to give fantastic foot massage!

Again hell no! But when they were both drunk, he was so entertaining to join her to shoot a cooking video together which goes viral and they become finalists of a cooking show Reena wants to attend!

Now she has second thoughts because that competition is for couples! She knows she can win it! If she asks nicely to Nadim to pretend like her fiancée throughout the competition she can win the scholarship of the baking school she can hardly pay with her regular pay checks !

Guess what? Nadim says “yes” and they are perfect pretending couple in front of the cameras so nobody needs to know their secret! But when Reena has the noisiest family on the planet , she may realize nothing can stay secret in the family including Nadim’s grandiose secret which can change their blossoming intense relationship.

Overall: I’m rounding up 4.5 stars to 5 I laughed so much till my cheeks hurt like hell but it’s truly worth it stars!

I love Manji family and their scandalous secrets and I loved the chemistry, romance between Reena and Nadim. And I’m a true lover of great food! So this book was like heaven to me!

So much thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing/ Forever for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Reena is used to her parents' meddling in her life. But when they encourage her to marry a business partner's son, Nadim, as part of a business deal, she's furious at them for using her as a chess piece. Of course, it doesn't help that she's attracted to him... and he loves her baking... and is genuinely becoming a good friend of hers. When Reena wants to enter a cooking contest but discovers its for families (couples) only, she looks to Nadim to be her fake fiance. It's all fake, right?

I NEEDED this book in my life. After reading several cozy mysteries and dabbling in YA, it felt good to dive back into a glorious romance. Heron starts to the story at a break neck pace, wasting no time in getting to the real guts of the plot--which I truly appreciate. Reena is a baker, and I loved learning more about the process of making bread and more about traditional Indian cuisine--I also love that there's a Tanzanian recipe included in the back of the book! The food descriptions in this book are just mouthwatering and made me hungry for more. I also loved Reena and Nadim! The book was closed door, but the two of them had some serious chemistry (and some interesting, uh, tastes) that came across on the page. There was so much going on in the story, between the budding romance of Reena and Nadim, the business deals, Reena's family and their secrets, the cooking contest that there's no way you could be bored! It was all woven together wonderfully and it was such a joy to read, even if a little cheesy at times; it brought such a smile to my face. I can't wait to read another of her books!

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for my free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

5 stars - 9/10

Okay, I LOVED this book. Like seriously loved it. Like read-it-in-one-sitting loved it. It has everything that makes a romance fun and exciting, an adorable couple, fun friends, family secrets (some hilariously awful--I'm looking at you, Saira's ex-boyfriend), over-breaking-but-lovable-families, parents on social media, and a cooking competition. This book is fun and swoony but also keeps you on your toes because you want to find out ALL THE THINGS and how everything is related, and it is ALL SO GOOD.

Reena and Nadim are an adorable couple and with like SO MUCH CHEMISTRY. It jumps off the page in every seen and you just want them together (and lice-free) for always. I love how both of their arcs are about them finding away to be what they want to be for their families while still being themselves. And how they do both bring out the best in them.

This book is single POV and Reena's and she is just so relatable and you just feel every emotion, all the good stuff but also all the painful insecure stuff, that makes her journey just perfect.

Also, the family relationships, especially Reena's with her parents and siblings and the arcs those have are just so well done and beautiful. It shows that families can fundamentally love each other but also struggle how to make each other happy and care for and communicate with each other. It's the right kind of family drama, at least in my book and I loved watching the relationships shift and grow and just get better. Especially Reena and Saira, I mean, that was, I just loved how that unfolded.

Anyway, I'm babbling. This was just SO GOOD. Like everything about it. The humor, the story, and my goodness, the characters (also the food, theirs lots of delicious food), OH, and getting to see more Amira and Duncan from The Chai Factor, it's just like EVERYTHING and I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you so much to Forever and NetGalley for letting me read early in exchange for an honest review. You made my weekend.