This book had it all for me and that was it. I had to read this to see what it was all about. I was not disappointed and enjoyed the content. Enjoyed this book. I want to find more of her books.

I loved Priya and Gavin from the very beginning…and loved them even more as I kept reading! This was such a great book, and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Well let just say this was a okay book fo me.
I loved the synopsis when I read it enemies to lovers, well hello, why wouldn't I.
But it was just okay, 3 stars

Suleena Bibra’s assured debut, Two Houses, is an immensely fun enemies-to-lovers story of two auctioneers at rival auction houses, Loot and Carlyle’s, in New York. A fabulous recommendation for fans of The Hating Game (2016) by Sally Thorne.

Full review on Booklist Nov 30, 2021

I am here for the art themed romances!!! So fun, fresh and unique - LOVED it! Kept me entertained and Suleena has a great voice that shines through her writing.

This was a very entertaining book! Priya is working hard at her family’s NY auction house. She is hoping to diversify the collection they have against her father’s wishes. Standing in her way is another auction house. Her childhood nemesis works there and is trying to get the same collection as her. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters were engaging. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

I loved this book and it’s 5 stars for me!!! I especially enjoyed the diversity this book brought to the table. Having a strong intelligent Indian women as one of the main MC’s made me like this book right from the start. I adored Riya and how no matter what her stubborn family or Gavin threw her way she continually fought for what she was passionate about and worked harder than ever to reach her goals and prove her worth to all them, especially her father. So you ask, which of them is going to win the client over? Well I can’t tell you that part and spoil it 😂 but I can tell you it was a great story which was very well written. It held my attention throughout the whole story. The sexy time was hot and very unexpected (and the first scene was funny and steamy, lol). There was a good amount of angst and build up, but it wasn’t dragged out like so many enemies to lovers books can be. It also wasn’t a sexy time scene ever other page which can get boring really fast. It felt like a natural progression, and I liked that a lot. The Family Art Auction Houses plot was a new fresh perspective for a Romance, and even though I’m not an art buff in any way, I still really enjoyed it. The ended wasn’t over the top or unrealistic in any way in my opinion. Riya’s Dad had me in stitches at the end when everything unfolded, and I was laughing out loud. When I’m here trying to stifle giggles under my blanket so I don’t wake up my husband… I know the book is a winner 😂 Thank you @netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my honest review

Oh my goodness, the ways I loved Priya and Gavin. Enemies to lovers, in a way for these two, because they grew up children of the bosses of two competing auction houses. And there had always been (un)healthy competition between them. From the first day of school up until now.

I loved their banter and their pranks, but also their art knowledge, their business knowledge, and their loyalty. Priya especially had to fight on all fronts, because her dad wanted the business to stay firmly in the niche he had created for it - not seeing how beneficial Priya's work was both to her and to the company overall.

The romance was absolutely delicious, I loved seeing Priya falling for Gavin, because she really, really didn't want to.

This is a cute book with a really interesting setup. I love when there's a new type of setup that we haven't gotten much of in the past. I loved having art houses as part of the plot and set up since that's so new to romance. I enjoyed the actual romance in the book, there were a few miscommunications that were a bit OTT but overall I enjoyed this.

For an enemies-to-lovers plot to be successful for me, I need the characters to be at odds, but not cruel. When one character is more unkind than the other, the relationship feels unbalanced and it's hard to believe in the HEA. In Two Houses, we have a single POV only, Priya. She's incredibly driven and faces a lot of bias in her work as an art seller, but she's also kind of immature. Some of the jokes in the book were funny, but there are a lot and they ended up coming off as juvenile half the time. Priya's best friend/coworker/assistant calls her actions "shenanigans" and that's exactly what they are. Sometimes, however, they're cruel and I couldn't get past the combination of meanness and immaturity. Sneaking your competition a laxative during a business event? That's not okay. Stealing clients from each other is one thing, but doing things like that in order to take business is not okay. I wonder if I would have felt differently if I had the male MC's POV, but we're in Priya's head and she thinks all of this is normal and fun.
This book will likely appeal to people who want shenanigans, art talk and business rivalry.

Suleena Bibra's debut romance novel is a steamy childhood rivals-to-more romance featuring a spunky Indian American protagonist and the man she's always at odds with. Reading Two Houses was an immersive experience for this reader. From the beginning, the main character, Priya's voice absolutely sparkles. She's funny, witty, and smart. Add to that her obvious passion for art, it made her a very well-rounded character. Her and the love interest, Gavin, obviously don't get along but there's some fierce chemistry underneath their quips. It's fun watching them dance around each other and push each other's buttons. The house party setting also added a fun element to this book. Their banter, sexual tension, and steamy kisses kept me invested in them as a couple. Plus, Suleena Bibra was not afraid to bring all the heat to this book - there's a very memorable mutual masturbation scene, people! I had a great time reading this book and can't wait to read more from the author in the future!

Loved Suleena Bibra’s debut and the writing style. Priya and Gavin have such witty banter that even after they become lovers, they don’t lose it. Also love the premise of the opposing houses. Also can i tell you how unproblematic this book is and the characters are just are!?

*****The ARC of this book was provided by NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - Carina Press in exchange of an honest review*****

✔ Enemies to Lovers
✔ Different Cultures

As a woman, I felt bad for what Priya was going through. Not that I like her but just the stuff that was happening to her. It took me too long to finish it. I thought of DNFing it so many times. But ended up reading it. I don't regret it as the last half of the book was better than the beginning. Although skimmed a lot, didn't miss anything important. Tt was just an okay read. Nothing special tbh.

I loved the premise of this book. A Romeo and Juliet retelling, but rival families that are auction house collectors? Sign me up. However, the execution of the enemies-to-lovers or rivals-to-lovers trope is so annoying and distracting most of the time due to the superficial nature of their initial annoyance and hatred of each other. The heroine will say how much she hates the hero, but then will describe him as attractive in the same sentence. She's also annoyed with him for his existence's effect on her, like what? I think she's just thirsty for him and she doesn't like to be like the other girls who openly show how they like attractive guys because she really insinuates the I'm-not-like-the-other-girls personality. Because of how superficial these characters are, the romance really did not do much for me. I would still suggest this to readers who loved the enemies-to-lovers trope, maybe they would like this more than I do.

I have seen some mixed reviews about this book, but I think it’s a solid debut from Suleena Briba. Two Houses follows Priya and Gavin, heirs to rival two art auction-houses in a sort of enemies-to-lovers cute story. They have known each other since kindergarten and have been competing ever since – until they realize that rivalry might not be the only thing they are feeling towards each other.

I liked their chemistry and banter, although at the beginning of the books their actions toward each other were a bit much, and the fact they understood each other’s world. At first, I was a little frustrated that Priya just seemed to accept her father’s favoritism over her brother just because she loved them both, but I’m glad we got to see a supportive family all throughout the book.

I definitely think you should give this one a try!

💭What I thought would happen:

I felt like it would be a definite enemies to lovers trope...

📖What actually happens:

Priya Gupta is running her families auction house in NYC yet getting none of the credit she deserves from her family. While the family business specializes in Indian art and artifacts, Priya dreams of taking the business international and being thee most prestigious auction house. The problem Gavin rat face Carlyle poaching all of her potential clients.

The other problem? Priya cannot stop herself from fantasizing about Gavin. When a professional wager strikes between Priya and Gavin, both have a lot to lose but a lot to gain if won. But at what expense will they both be willing to sacrifice.

🗯Thoughts:

After the seventh time within 100 pages when Priya mentions how much she detests Gavin but cannot stop staring at his gorgeous face, I thought okay that is enough of that. It's been done. The enemies to lovers trope was excessively stressed.

If you liked The Marriage Game series or The Rajes series I think you will really enjoy this book! Unfortunately, I was reading The Marriage Game and this book simultaneously and I enjoyed that book more.

I did love the way the novel shed some light on Indian culture but more specifically how women in a family have to work harder to be respected professionally. Priya deserves to take over the Gupta's auction house, not her brother and needs to make her father realize that fact.

Overall, a quick and enjoyable read!

Priya Gupta has dreamed of running the family company, Loot, for as long as she can remember. The only problem? Her father seems to prefer her twin brother Ajay (who would rather become a painter).

Gavin Carlyle is the heir at a competing auction-house of Loot’s and Priya has grown up thinking of him as an annoyance.
Gavin is charming and constantly competing with Priya for clients looking to sell art.

When opportunity strikes for her to land a major collection that would expand Loot’s business from just Indian art, Priya will do whatever it takes. Even if that means spending a week at a lavish country home competing against Gavin for the collection. As the week goes on, Priya starts to see Gavin in a whole new light. Can they ever be more than just rivals?


This was absolutely adorable and I found myself so excited to figure out what would happen next. I relate to Priya a lot— so focused on work and success that you put off relationships. Her and Gavin’s relationship was so swoon worthy and I love how the story ended.

I would recommend if you like:
•rivals to lovers
•competitive banter
•teasing
•irresistible blonde men
•a girl boss women lead

3.5/5 - very witty, sexy banter. The rivalry makes for good tension and humor. Overall, cute and fast read.

I never think about art houses, so the premise of Two Houses alone was enough to get me interested. I was definitely rooting for these two characters and loved seeing them realize just how similar they actually are. Overall, I think this romance is enjoyable and fresh!

QOTD: What’s your favorite enemies to lovers novel?
My A: The Hating Game or The Simple Wild!! I loved both and I plan on doing re-reads of both!
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Enemies to lovers is arguably one of the most common themes in romance novels, yet it feels like it’s done well only half of the time. There were moments I really liked this book, and moments I was dying to just stop reading. One of my personal pet peeves is that an author gets repetitive. When the characters supposedly hate each other while their inner dialogue is all about how badly they want to jump each other’s bones and you have to hear about it every chapter, it gets old fast. BUT! I really enjoyed the banter between these two and Priya’s family was so loveable and Priya’s fun personality was easy to like and read! Gavin and Priya had obvious chemistry and there was more than one moment that left me swooning! All in all a good book, but not the best which makes it worth the read!
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BLURB:
If there’s one thing Priya Gupta wants, it’s to land the collection of the year for her family’s NYC auction house, gaining the approval of her father in the process. Running an extremely close second? For a very small sinkhole to open up under the feet of Gavin Carlyle, her childhood rival turned auction-house competitor, so she never has to see his smug, irritatingly handsome face again. Neither of those options seem likely, especially since Gavin is dead set on winning the same collection—and his pockets are as deep as his family's extensive art world connections. Plus, he has charm to spare. Though Priya would walk over hot coals before ever admitting that. When they are both invited to a posh country estate to spend the week wooing the prospective client, their longtime rivalry creates sparks, all right, just not the kind either Priya or Gavin ever expected.