First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel is a delightful second chance at love, forced proximity love story. Preeti and Daniel are such loveable characters that I was rooting for them both throughout the entire book. Their love for each other is so powerful that I felt it through the pages of the book.

Preeti is just about to finish her residency and is about to become a real doctor, she should be ecstatic, yet her anxiety is high as she worries about finding a real job in medical practice. Her roommate is on her honeymoon, and Preeti knows she has to find another place to live as the newlyweds will move into her apartment when they return.

When her friend suggests she live in her apartment for a few months to give her time to search for a permanent place, Preeti is happy to put off apartment hunting for a few weeks, until she realizes she has to share the apartment with he ex-boyfriend Daniel.

First Love, Take Two is a story about love, family, loyalty, racism, second chances. Sajni Patel is a talented writer who is able to write about mental health, racism, and cultural issues, with compassion and insight. She balances these issues with a healthy dose of humor and heart. I was drawn into this story immediately and read it all in one sitting. The love between Preeti and Daniel was so real, strong, and palpable, I just couldn't wait until their HEA.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good love story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was EVERYTHING!!!!

It had everything I want in a closed door romance, for a second chance romance, and a bi-racial romance. It was everything everything everything. I couldn't put this book down, I tried to put it aside all of 2 seconds to at least do some kind of work today, but alas, this masterpiece of a book made me want to read it again and again, so I finished it in a day, obviously.

I adore this story, and I think it's because I can connect to it so darn well. Growing up in Canada, you see all kinds of people, meet all kinds of people from different culture, maybe even meet someone you fall in love with that isn't from where you and your family are from. Now, in my culture, it's known for us to want to be with someone who is of the same culture, same language and so on. Arranged marriages are a popular thing in the Middle East so it's not the most surprising thing to me if someone we know has an arranged marriage. Being born in Canada though, my parents have acknowledged that I may find someone from another culture and that's ok as long as I'm happy. I just want to acknowledge how much this book hit home for me, all the feelings and the thoughts that go into a relationship like this and how hard it can feel sometimes.

Sajni Patel did the greatest job with this book, I loved every second of it, Daniel is the best book boyfriend ever, you guys should read this for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Pub for the earc in return for an honest review.

First love, Take Two

My summary: Preeti Patels job is going perfect. Her residency is about to be over and she’s just about to find her perfect dream job. She’s set to get engaged and has the most perfect group of friends. But it’s hard for Preeti to look at the bright side when she constantly has her anxiety bubbling at every given moment. Since her best friend Reema just got married, apparently now everyone’s finding love, Preeti needs to find a new place to live. When a opportunity to stay in her best friend Liyas apartment she immediately grabs at it. Only to find out that her ex lover Daniel Thompson is also staying there. With feelings still present for him Preeti decides to try and sort them out before her upcoming engagement. What Preeti doesn’t know is that those present feelings start to show in many different way, but the real question is; will Preeti except her feelings and move forward or worry more about the possible consequences of her actions?


My thoughts: This book was a huge rollercoaster. There were different things happening at every moment making the book more intriguing. I loved how there was talk of real issues such as the stigma of getting help for mental issues in desi communities and how doctors go through so many different feelings in just a matter of certain hours. I enjoyed the love interest between Preeti and Daniel and thought they were a cute couple but not the CUTEST couple. I think my favorite thing about this book (and the first) was the bond between the 4 girls. The relationship showed a lot between them all and the loyalty and loving ness in the relationship made my heart melt. I definitely would say I enjoyed the first book more then the second and did expect more from this novel since I adored the first book. I also really didn’t like how her “touch aversion” wasn’t brought more to light. It wasn’t looked at as an issue but something “cute and quirky”, when in reality she should have sought out help for that too. I would recommend this book though because the romance was cute and I loved the way certain topics were handled with care. If your looking for a light, cute, second chance romance then you should definitely pick up this book.

Author: Sajni Patel
Genre: contemporary romance
Trigger warning: anxiety/panic attacks and “touch aversion”.
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Forever (Grand central publishing) for providing with an eARC of “Fist love, Take two” via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#FirstLoveTakeTwo #NetGalley

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it did not disappoint! We were teased in the first book in this duology (series?) about Preeti and her lost love, Daniel, and now we finally get to read their love story.

The author did a tremendous job with balancing the lighter (love and family) and heavier (content warning for racism, anxiety, depression and discussion of assault) topics in this book. The discussions of racism and mental health were never overshadowed by the romance and vice versa, and it didn't feel like a last minute effort to make the romance novel more serious. The elements of this book flowed throughout the course of the novel and had a deeply satisfying ending for our couple. As someone who deals with anxiety and has immediate family members who struggle with anxiety and depression, I think the author did it justice and tastefully.

Now for the tropes! This book had ALL of my favorite tropes. Not only second-chance romance, but also the one bed trope(!!), supportive family members on Preeti's side, a girl boss main heroine, and the "it's always been you" trope. This book gave me all the feels.

I do wish, however, that this book had a second POV for Daniel, like the first book did with Jay, so we could have had a more emotional connection to Daniel and see Preeti through his eyes. I also wish we had flashback scenes between past and present to see their relationship develop through the years. I think second-chance romance books thrive in dual timelines, and this book fell a little but short because of the lack of one. Other than that, this book was a joy to read!

Thank you, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley, for providing me with this ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) in exchange for an honest review.

It’s cute and a fun romance. To me it is not as good as the previous book, but there is enough there to read. I’m not invested much into these characters as I was her other book. The writing and plot is interesting enough to read.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Pub for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
I have to admit that Preeti wasn’t a stand out character for me in The Trouble with Hating You, so I was unsure if I would enjoy an entire book about her character. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Following Preeti as she completes her residency, looks for a new job, and pursues a life of happiness was a roller coaster of emotions. If you think this book is just a typical romance, think again.
The author focuses on mental health issues, religion and culture, family drama, and racism. While there are many heavy topics, the main characters provide laughs with witty banter.
I’ve enjoyed learning more about the Indian culture and community within this two book series. I especially appreciate that this book didn’t feel like a repeat of the first. Although aspects of the culture were discussed widely in both, Preeti and Liya’s stories were very different and the author did a magnificent job making this sequel easily stand alone.
I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Awesome! Am loving this cozy romance. So unconventional yet interesting. It was so relatable and realistic. Also set in Houston, this is a must-read for rom-com lovers.

The final third of First Love, Take Two was my favorite. This is when Preeti and Daniel started talking about what broke them apart years before. It is when they began to stand up for themselves; him, his controlling father, her the diabolical aunties at the mandir.

I know Preeti’s anxiety was partly responsible for her delay in confessing to Daniel why she left but I thought this lack of communication went on too long. I think the book would have been better if the author had placed some flashbacks from their earlier love story to bring some joy to counteract the toxicity of the aunties. I really wanted more romance for Preeti and flashbacks would have been a way to do this.

Daniel is an amazing book boyfriend and Sajni Patel does a great job with the friendships and support system Preeti has with her friends.

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

I haven't read any of Patel's books, but "The Knockout" was recommended which I may try. This one unfortunately fell flat for me. The premise really hooked me - here we have a mix of two strong cultures whose families are very involved in their lives, and they have to deal with all the racism attached. Just tackling the racism that they endured as part of their relationship is a big thing. When Daniel talked about it, it came off as too preachy for me. He was telling Preeti how to react and deal with it, but it didn't come off as helpful. Also, I don't know how he was acting so civilized and nice to her, when she had dumped him without a reason 6 years ago! I understand her hesitation to rekindle things, especially when she had to consider the health of her parents, the stigma it creates in their small society and group, how everyone reacts, and breaking off an engagement. I just think the writing style wasn't for me. There was a lot of internal dialogue with exclamation marks, which irked me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever publishing for this arc!

There was a lot that I liked about this book, such as how culture, family, mental health, and racism was handled. These were all aspects that I thought were done well. However, i felt that with it being labelled a “romance” that there would be more actual romance.

I did enjoy some of the characters, but felt kind of on the fence about Preeti throughout the first half of the novel. I think if this had been marketed as more of a personal growth story rather than romance, I may have enjoyed it a little more as the genre seemed a little misleading.

None the less, I read it in a matter of 48 hours, so that speaks for itself!

3.5 stars rounded up!!

I was so excited to read another book by Sajni Patel, I loved her first book, and I am glad to say this one did not disappoint. This was a heartwarming second chance romance book. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and the plot. This book tackles on a lot. It talks about racism, mental health, cultural expectations, and so much more. I think the author did a great job at how she approached all this.

I really loved how badass Preeti was and how independent she is. She is such a strong character, and I loved that. I thought Daniel was just the sweetest, and I loved seeing how much he cared for Preeti. I really liked all the characters and the friendships in this book. If you’re a fan of second chance romances, I highly recommend checking this one out!

First Love, Take Two. I loved this author’s debut last year, The Trouble with Hating You and couldn’t request this one fast enough when the ARCs dropped. Unfortunately though, this one fell flat for me and I didn’t find myself enjoying it as much as I had the first book. There were things I definitely liked in this story: heroine is a doctor, second chance romance, seeing a main character with diagnosed anxiety and a touch aversion, the delicious food descriptions, the stigma around doctors seeing therapists and even the character’s family/culture treating anxiety as taboo, racism (hero is Black, heroine is Indian).

We do see all the friend group from book 1 and events that happened in that book do play a part in this book’s setup/are referenced without a lot of background info (so might have a hard time if you haven’t read book 1). Preeti is a doctor and is currently struggling with what her Indian parents & community are expecting of her love life versus what she wants in life. She is basically engaged without wanting to be and him, his parents and her parents are planning their engagement and wedding events, but Preeti isn’t wanting to rock the boat and let everyone down by putting a stop to everything. She is also in need of a place to stay and ends up shacking up with her ex-boyfriend (and first love) Daniel at her best friend’s apartment (while said friend is away). There is lots of forced proximity and even sharing a bed (closed door steamy times).

I actually felt like the romance took a major backseat to other things happening in this book. Preeti feels overwhelmed by her parents expectations, her community, her aunties (who are awful), and her boyfriend/fiancé & his parents. While all this is going on she’s living and sharing a bed with her ex Daniel and they’re both realizing they never stopped loving one another. I wish we had flashbacks to her and Daniel’s previous relationship because I had a hard time feeling their connection. Daniel’s character I never felt like we know who he actually is and while sure he’s sweet to Preeti in the story, I just didn’t feel their romance at all. The story is very centered around the drama with their past breakup (she left and never told him why for 6 years) and both of their parents/families/communities not being accepting of each other because of their different culture, race, religion. I don’t feel like the ending really even gave a great resolution and I just found myself struggling with this story and all the characters.

Thank you to the publisher (Forever) for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts & review. First Love, Take Two will be published September 21, 2021.

Thank you to Forever Pub for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review!

I love The Trouble With Hating You, so I was stoked to hear about First Love, Take Two! Preeti and Daniel are exes, and it's been 6 years since she broke up with him without any explanation. When Liya leaves her apartment and Preeti is in need of a place to stay, Liya offers it to her. There's only 1 caveat-Daniel is also staying there. And more? There's only one bed.

Like EXCUSE ME, there's a one bed trope FOR THE WHOLE BOOK. Who doesn't want that trope for the entire length of the book?! Preeti is on the way to becoming a doctor, and it was really sweet to see her working towards that. She also really values her parents and their opinions, but doesn't want to hurt them, so as Preeti and Daniel grow closer and Preeti realizes Yuvan just doesn't quite know her the way Daniel does, she's so worried about what her parents might think.

Daniel is also a total hottie, but I really enjoyed the discussions around racism, as well. There are a few moments that people should be careful of, because there is a stillborn birth in the story. It's not described in full detail, but there are a few paragrpahs, and it's mentioned again a bit later.

Otherwise, and absolute wonderful read!

Content warnings: racism, stillborn birth

ooh! a cute sequel! i liked it no more or less than the first of the series. it was like the same level of interesting and fun and i liked it!

it was a bit more “happily ever after” than the first but not in a way that i was incredibly annoyed/frustrated by it. i was actually looking forward to reading daniel’s pov too but considering that daniel is black and the book involved racism, i appreciate that patel didn’t speak on that. it probably would’ve been worse. i’m glad she just stuck to preeti’s pov.

i read this one fast because it was a great balance of lightheartedness and rom com that i like and can easily speed through! patel writes them well!

I went into this book knowing almost nothing about it, but the cover and a brief description sucked me in - and I really enjoyed it!

Preeti, the main character, is a young Indian woman finishing her medical residency and attempting to keep her family and community relationships calm. Through a predictable romcom plot device, she ends up sharing an apartment with her ex-boyfriend Daniel. Will they rekindle their love, despite all the obstacles standing in their way???

There's a few other tropes in the book, but for the most part, it is quite original! The fact that Preeti and Daniel were previously together is a setup that I haven't seen countless times in other books. I really enjoyed all of the discussion of Indian culture and the community of the mandir and how that impacted relationships. Preeti and her parents were sweet to read, along with her group of girlfriends.

The discussion of mental health (anxiety and depression) felt incredibly accurate and was treated sensitively. Daniel as a main character / love interest is a treat. He's gorgeous, rich, successful, ambitious, caring, etc etc...But still believable as a person.

I'd add there is a short scene of infant loss which may be triggering for some.

It's great to see more own voices books written with BIPOC characters. The topic of racism between minority groups is also a feature of this book, and really added to the story.

Writing a book often takes months and years of hard work, and i genuinely do not mean to come off as harsh when i write my review. Thank you to Forever Pub for an ARC of this. I expected to like this book as much as I did The Trouble With Hating You, but it fell felt for me. Without spoiling anything, here are the things I’m not a fan of: Daniel and Preeti’s relationship was more of an idea and a concept of their past rather than something tangible in the present. It felt like Daniel was a concept instead of an actual character, and as the reader I didn’t get to connect with him in the present. He was more a figment of Preeti’s thoughts, and in the present I genuinely didn’t see why he was so important to her. The concept of the story was promising but it could’ve been executed in a better way if the book was told through flashbacks, too. Another issue of mine was the way that the story essentially revolved around racism and I definitely feel as though all the issues brought up were not resolved. The writing was frustrating at times because it took away from an important situation and confused me in multiple places. There were also multiple scenes in which Preeti was,essentially,cheating on her fiancé and they made me so uncomfortable. My last problem was that most of the characters were very indecisive, pushy, obnoxious, and I disliked them intensely. Preeti’s entire story revolves around her learning from her past, but when it came down to it she hadn’t learnt her lesson or tried to be better. All in all I was disappointed by this, but I do definitely appreciate the issues that this book talked about; racism in Indian communities and the phobias surrounding anxiety.

As I was logging finishing "The Trouble With Hating You" into my Goodreads, I saw that Preeti's story was coming out. I ran straight to NetGalley to see if I could get approved for the ARC so you can imagine my delight in continuing in the girls' journeys through Preeti.

All-in-all, I have mixed feelings about this one. It was definitely a step-down from Liya's story but the manner in which some heavy themes (e.g., mental illness, racism, cultural norms) were dealt with really pleases me. It is refreshing to deviate from the stereotypical romance and walk in the shoes of a POC protagonist living in a less than perfect world. The inclusion of these themes did not feel token, and again, I was impressed with their inclusion in the plot.

Since I was so pleased with the underlying themes, it makes it soooo frustrating that I didn't love Preeti herself. She's a quirky doctor but also comes across really immature in how she handles being around Daniel and the way she talks about some things. Perhaps its my own bias and schema of doctors, but it felt inconsistent. Since I read both books back-to-back, I was disappointed in the departure of the dual perspective approach. I would have loved to get a glimpse into Daniel's thoughts about Preeti and his family. We know he and Preeti loved each other years ago but I didn't leave feeling like I knew why they still love the current version of themselves.

I realized after I began that I haven’t read the first book, The Trouble with Hating You, so I wasn’t as connected with the events or relationships as I would have liked but so am definitely going to read it now.

Preeti is finishing her residency and trying to find a permanent job placement, apartment hunting as well as trying to figure out if she wants to be engaged with someone arranged by their families. She doesn’t feel any sparks or closeness with him and, in fact, isn’t over her ex, Daniel who she jilted without explanation six years ago. When forced to spent time with him in closed proximity and her avoidance tactics stall out, she has to come to terms with her past in order to decide what she wants in her future.

This book included a MC with touch aversion and talked about stigmas surrounding anxiety in society, professions and certain cultures. It also dealt with issues surrounding interracial couples and blatant racism. While the book was trying to show Preeti’s growth and reaction to things, I felt like it told us she was changing but didn’t really show us.

While I enjoyed the book, I wish we would have had more of Daniel’s POV. This was definitely more Preeti’s book and, while I did like her, I wasn’t as convinced of the soundness of the relationship. The lack of communication on many parts really bothered me. The descriptions of religious and family culture were really interesting to me and did make me more understanding about Preeti’s actions.

This was an enjoyable, quick read and I’m sure of you’ve read and loved The Trouble With Hating You, you will enjoy being back in this world with these characters.

Daniel’s grandparents made this book for me!! Absolutely loved how open and kind they were. Also, I adore a food centric book and this one delivered.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a heart warming book! I love how Sajni Patel touches on topics of racism and the stigma around mental illness. We also see an inside look on the relationships and differences between desi immigrant parents and their children in regards to traditions on family and marriage and how toxic it can be sometimes.

I loved the tension between Preeti and Daniel after not seeing each other for six years! You can truly feel the heat between the two whenever they were alone in a room together. I also loved how Preeti eventually found her voice and strength to stand up for herself and her family. You see her character development from the beginning of the book as this flighty, meek person to becoming this strong, communicative, stand-up-for-yourself woman!

I will say that the beginning of the book threw me for a loop because of the issue that Liya was dealing with. Not sure if that was mentioned in The Trouble With Hating You which carried on to this book, but I was lost as to what they were referring to since I haven’t read TTWHY yet. They made so many vague references to it and I had no idea what they were talking about so my curiosity was distracting me from being completely immersed in this book. Also Preeti’s lack of communication skills in the beginning really was frustrating to me but that only makes me appreciate her growth that much more.

Overall this was a great read, finished it in a day because I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Pub for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

First Love, Take Two is a beautifully written novel which encapsulates the reader in a world of culture, tradition, food, love and finding ones place in that world. It is a story with deep characters and a wonderful and emotional storyline. Sajni Patel has written a heart-touching novel that touches on real life issues amongst many communities and does so in a way that feels safe to read about.

First Love, Take Two follows Preeti Patel a young Indian doctor who is trying to finish her residency and find a job. She is also trying to fit into her families religious and cultural traditions as much as possible. And also not fitting in where it was ok with her parents, which doesn't go over well with her aunties. Preeti is also in an arranged relationship. Unhappily though she won't fully admit it. Preeti is put in an awkward situation when she is culturally forced to move out of her current living situation.

Enter Daniel. Daniel is a sexy, fit, talented, intelligent and wealthy architect and businessman who graduated from Harvard (and Rice). Daniel is also Preeti's ex and her new temporary roommate. Daniel is also not Indian and does not share the same religious or cultural background, which played a part in their break-up.

How will Preeti and Daniel survive as roommates? Do they still have romantic feelings for once another and if so how do they overcome them? Does first love, take two work?