I had the absolute pleasure of reading this book early, and I loved every minute of it. It made me homesick but also made me feel at home. Dating Dr. Dil follows Kareena and Prem as they navigate their relationship and family obligations and learn how to be true to themselves too. It’s a little bit of love at first sight, sprinkled with enemies to lovers banter, and fake dating that turns into real dating, who couldn’t love that? The descriptions of all the Indian food and outfits were so beautiful and it made me so happy to see it represented so well. I loved the attention given to the characters and their relationships with their families and how it was represented. It was such a joy to read. I loved all the other characters too, their friendships were adorable and the relationship between Kareena and her aunties was priceless. The romance was adorable and it was really nice to see the way in which Kareena and Prem navigated their relationship and made space for each other in one way or another. It was also really nice to see how passionate they are about their careers and that they made it an importance, it was nice to see the balance between the different parts of their lives. I think it was such an adorable and heart warming book and it just filled me with joy and gave me all the warm fuzzies. I really hope that you guys read and enjoy this book.

From start to finish this book had me hooked! I absolutely love Nisha's writing style. From the beginning, I knew that I was going to love these characters. It means a lot to see women characters in POC books with full autonomy of their lives and choices. And seeing Kareena work through that autonomy and what's best for her life was so inspiring. I absolutely adored the love interest, Prem Verma as well. I love that he was written as sort of a tool who knows it all but we still got to see those vulnerable moments in his POV. I think what enjoyed most about this story was that all of the characters felt real. They choices feel like real decisions. Nisha is a wonderful writer and I would recommend this to everyone.

Kareena and Prem meet at a bar, he tells her he mends broken hearts and a few hours later, he leaves her in a difficult situation.

Cut to later when she meets him as Dr dil(heart), all hell breaks loose and their public tiff is caught on camera. Things are about to get very interesting.

Kareena is still single at 30 and that's a glacial age in the desi community in Jersey city. She is a successful lawyer but her family only cares that she isn't married. Her father goes as far as to say that he will set some money aside for her if she gets married.

Dr Prem, the host of Dr dil wants to open a clinic for the diasporic community and needs funding. And his public fight with Kareena hasn't helped. Prem can't stop his attraction to Kareena but she has already written him off as a heart breaker and wants nothing to do with him.

Enter aunties to the rescue who push them closer. Kareena is torn because she remembers her evening with him and their chemistry that was off the charts 🔥.

One thing I thought that was so excellently done in the book was showing misogyny in the desi community. It is very subtle and women are constantly told to give up ambition. Any reasoning you give makes you either arrogant or greedy.
Your identity is so tied up to your marriage, your children but rarely does anyone ask what your hopes and desires are.
If you are lucky, you will get excellent aunties like Kareena has. I thank my own aunties for all the love and support I have gotten.I came up with a new word for aunties interfering. I call it aunterference.

For the rest of the story, we see
--More aunties
--Hilarious newsletters which aunties write
--Kareena's dating drama

It was a fairly hilarious book with some scorching sheet burning. This book was close to my heart and it left a sense of true kinship.

I had a great time reading this book. It was a fresh take for me as a non-South Asian. It was full of laughs and heart. Watch my VLOG - https://youtu.be/_sIFSkpCS8o

Dating Dr. Dil was a really fun book. Prem and Rina had vastly different views on relationships and love. Rina believed in love and finding her soulmate while Prem thought love marriage was an illusion that didn’t exist. They were a feisty pair of characters that fought their attraction while standing by their beliefs and I loved that. But I also loves how Rina stood up for herself and what she wanted. And I loved how Prem cared about his community and their health. They were really well rounded characters and enjoyable to read them go from enemies to love. I look forward to more books on some of the other characters.

QUICK THOUGHTS
The first thing I noticed when I read the first few chapters are the Taylor Swift references. Yes, there's a handful of phrases that Swifties will definitely enjoy while reading.

I can't get enough of the funny banter, the tension between Kareena and Prem, and of course the romance that they didn't expect to be real.

I am optimistic that this will be the NEXT BIG THING in adult contemporary romance so go get your copy now (plus I saw on Goodreads that there will be other books under the same universe so yay to us)

Wow, talk about a steamy story!! Dating Dr. Dil follows Kareena, an attorney who wants to save her family's home after learning (on her birthday) that her father wants to retire and move. The only way she can save it? Get married, of course!
After a whirlwind one night stand with Dr. Prem Verma aka Dr. Dil on his tv show, Kareena gets left at the office, tangled in sweater vest and all, and learns Dr. Dil doesn't share the same belief about love that she does. What he does share? He also needs money and a wedding to save his dream center.
So what do they do? Fake date of course! Except what happens? Oh yeah, they fall in love. Except they don't admit it. Because Prem doesn't believe in a "feeling of love" and Kareena does.
Wooooooosh, talk about a steamy story that digs deep in the emotions. And I loved it. I loved Kareena, her strongwilled personality, her love of romance novels and Taylor Swift, and how hard she works for what she wants. And their relationship!! It was so well done. I just loved all the steam, the banter, the sexiness, gush. I'm gonna be thinking about this book for a while.

Kareena Mann, a successful 30-year-old lawyer, dreams of having a love marriage like her parents. She refuses to settle for less than she deserves. Her goal is to get married and take ownership of her widowed father’s house, the one her mother designed and filled with lots of love when she was alive. Kareena realizes she is running out of time when her father decides he is retiring and wants to sell the house after her sister gets married. He’ll gift the house to Kareena on one condition, she’ll need to be engaged to her soulmate in 4 months. Only that becomes even more of a struggle when an on-air argument with Dr. Prem Verma on the Dr. Dil show goes live. Kareena’s aunties convince her that Prem is just what she needs and they can both help each other, as Prem’s donors backed out on a business offer because of their live fight. Prem and Kareena have differing views, but will they both end up being what the other needs?

Dating Dr. Dil blew me away! I loved this book so much! Nisha Sharma does a wonderful job building chemistry between these two characters. This has been one of my favorite dual POV books this year because I feel like I really got both sides of the story. The frustration, angst, and differences on both sides pulled on my heartstrings. This enemies-to-lovers story was thoughtful and hooked me from start to finish. I really enjoyed the South Asian cultural references. To ensure I could paint a clear picture in my mind, I Googled a lot of the terms I was unfamiliar with, but I love it sparked the interest to do so. I definitely found myself looking forward to trying all the food mentioned!

The relationship between Prem and Rina was sweet, yet spicy, and I laughed and smiled to myself a lot while reading! There’s so much more I want to say, but I do not want to spoil it for others. I will post another review on my bookstagram page on publishing day, but this 5-star read was everything I was looking for in a romance book. I would highly recommend it!

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

This is absolutely one of the books that booktok will obsess over because it’s SO GOOD! These characters have my whole heart and Nisha Sharma could write anything and I’d need 5 copies. This had me BLUSHING! Prem is so sweet and thoughtful… and maybe a little dumb, but he gets there in the end. I love Kareena, she was such a strong character and I’m so happy she got the ending she did, because she absolutely deserved the world. I love getting to learn more about another culture through a story as beautiful as this. I cannot wait to (hopefully?) read about the other characters in this book because Nisha definitely set it up for more!

Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this early!

#NetGalley

I enjoyed reading this book.  I live in a city with a large number of Indian immigrants and have worked with many second-generation Indo-Canadian women.  This book has provided me with a better understanding of what it is like to be a part of this community.

Dating Dr. Dil is a celebration of family and relationships.  Kareena is a successful thirty-year-old woman living in her family home and grieving the loss of her mother.  She remembers her parent's marriage as one based on love and this is what she hopes for in a partner.  Her younger sister is recently engaged which asserts more pressure on Kareena to find a partner.

Prem is also known as Dr. Dil who hosts his show which sheds light on some of the unique health challenges of the Indo-American community.  As a nurse, I find this is such an important part of this book as the medical world begins to acknowledge the need to individualize health care instead of using a model where one size fits all. He hopes to open his community health centre specializing in the care of those in his cultural community.  His parents had an arranged marriage and he doesn’t believe in love.

When Kareena and Prem meet there is intense physical attraction.  But is this enough when Kareena wants a relationship built on love and Prem can’t offer this.  The book asks the question, do parents’ relationships affect their children’s ability to find love?

This is a fun, steamy look at dating and finding a soulmate.  I was engaged and entertained throughout the book and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

DATING DR. DIL
4⭐
MY THOUGHTS -
The highlight for me is how this book has a woman who turns 30 is judged for still being single..this is still the mindset ..unfortunate but true!!
The enemies to lovers in this case was justified quite well with their differing view points.
Loved the whole Indian references of food - esp Pani puri ( my husband can out do our entire family) , the bollywood theme parties and the whole Indian dress up references.
The aunties stole the show for me how they rallied behind Kareena throughout the book was so good .
I had an issue with Prem repeatedly calling Rina, honey together either is also fine!!
Wish the book showed more resolution in the end between Kareena and her dad and with her sister.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked—no LOVED—this book...until a little more than half way through. Then it just went completely off the rails for me and never recovered.

DATING DR. DIL has a lot of good parts: great stories framed in Indian-American culture, laugh-out-loud moments, a strong and smart female lead, and a doctor who starts out dreamy and then fizzles...along with the writing.

Okay, let's address my first major problem with DATING DR. DIL. The male lead, Prem, is a HEART SURGEON. He's a grown-ass man in his mid-30s who owns a cushy NYC penthouse apartment and is very successful. He also refers to his own dick, by name, in the third person. YOU READ THAT RIGHT. With no explanation offered whatsoever, Prem unironically repeatedly refers to his penis as Charlie. This appears in the book 7+ times. And just in case you think this might be acceptable, I present the following excerpts from the book (prepare for the ew-factor):

Immediately after sex:
<i> "He was already ready to go again. Normally Charlie needed a moment to catch its breath, but nope. Not this time. "</i>

Or this gem:

<i>"He shifted, drawing up his knees to hide the fact that Charlie wanted to come out to play." </i>

And don't forget the awkwardness of this sex scene moment:

<i>"Prem felt Charlie tighten, but he wasn’t ready. Not yet." </i>

Or during sexytime in the shower:

<i>"...she squeezed a healthy glob of soap into her palm and began sudsing him up starting with his shoulders and moving over his chest down toward Charlie."

Besides the really awkward Charlie moments, Prem was kind of a jerk. There is a major conflict scene towards the end in which Prem confronts the female lead's family at a huge party (for the sister's engagement) and says the following to her sister (whom he has met twice, at most):

<i>“What, you think because you’re spoiled, you can treat people like garbage? Your sister is twice as beautiful as you’ll ever be, and she isn’t a bitch.”</i>

Ummmm....yeah. Not cool. For my taste a male lead needs to be respectful towards ALL women not just his woman. I really hated this part. You can stand up for your love interest by expressing disappointment in her sister's actions, but you are not gonna call any female a bitch at her own engagement party in front of her future in-laws. That's immature and awful.

There are also quite a few problems with the writing itself: often repeated phrases, continuity issues, serious holes in the plot, and even a scene where Prem runs his hands up the female's BACK to grab her boobs. The boobs located on her back, apparently. Story errors like this happened over and over again.

This book had so much promise, but it just did not work for

I LOVED this book omg. This is quite possibly my favorite romance novel of the year. I loved the Indian representation, the funny aunties, the romance between Kareena and Dr. Dil. The steam was amazing, wowie. I couldn't put this one down. It was perfect and will be reccomending to all my friends.

A special thank you to the publishing for sending me an ARC of this amazing book! Here is my review below:

When I heard about this book, a romance novel with actual representation from a culture that is not appreciated enough, I was so excited to read and this book did not disappoint! We meet Kareena, who is an independent woman who just turned 30, and is living with her culturally conservative South Asian family. She left her high paying attorney job to do something that she always dreamed of, and she is single, which is widely looked down upon by her culture and family. Kareena is waiting to meet a love match, to her family's dismay. She encounters Dr. Prem Verma, a cardiologist with a talk show all about how love is not real and won't make a marriage last. This leads to obvious problems between the two.

Reading about the South Asian culture, which has similarities to my own, was an experience that I haven't had during my reading journey. For the most part, romance books involve two white characters, or one white and one mixed character and their familial roots aren't usually brushed upon. This book, however, details the culture, the foods, and the expectations both of our main characters face when it comes to their life choices. It was a very refreshing take on the enemies to friends to lovers and the fake relationship trope that we all love to read so much.

While this book was a fun read, I did note two things that I did not enjoy. First, some of the dialogue with Prem and his buddies seemed a bit feminine to me. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Taylor swift and any man that appreciates her is amazing to me, but some of the things he said to his friends seemed like it was coming from a female character. I only noted this in his conversations with his friends, and not when he was with Kareena. Another thing I would've liked to read more of was about Kareena's job. It's emphasized that she's doing amazing work for women in her community, but then it's never really brushed on or detailed about what exactly she does?

Other than that, this book was amazing, fun, and steamy. It was hard for me to put it down, but I eventually had to get some sleep! I'd give it 2.5/5 chili peppers and this book is definitely 18+.

So I unfortunately had to DNF at 20%. This was a new to me author. This just missed the mark for me. I was very hopeful for this book and sadly it just didn’t cut it. The fake dating trope is one of my favorites. Both Prem and Kareena need money for different reasons and in order to get the family money they have to be engaged. After a series of events the aunties try to set up a fake dating experience in order to make sure they both get there money. The rest is history. I wish I could of liked this more but it just didn’t work for me. Thank you to Avon for this arc.

What a fun rom-com by a new-to-me author! I loved this story that features some of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers with a dash of fake dating. Kareena is pressured by her family to get engaged when her younger sister is planning her wedding, not only because she is the oldest, but because she wants to keep her family home. Prim is pressured by his family to get married to invest in his business venture to help his community to have access to healthcare. Sounds like a match made in convenience when they realize they could convince their family they are in a relationship and both get what they want, right? One small problem, Prim aka doctor heart does not believe in love, and that’s about the only thing Kareena believes in! I love this cast of characters, including the well meaning meddling aunties! Prim and Kareena have such wonderful chemistry and I loved their story!

Ah, enemies to lovers with some fake relationship. Two of my favorite tropes for a reason. The tension, the sarcastic banter, the realization that they don't hate each other, the moment they realize their relationship is not really fake. This book did it perfectly!

Kareena and Prem are both South Asian. Kareena is a lawyer who is not super interested in relationships. She doesn't want an arranged married unless it's real love. Prem is a heart doctor and host of a show. He believes love is not needed in a marriage.

I absolutely love the aunties. They are hilarious. Kareena needs to get engaged within 4 months so her dad will give her the money to buy a house. The house she wants is the family home he is selling. She has very fond memories of her late mother in the house. Prem has been single for over 3 years and his family is pushing him to find somebody. They think it's time. His mother is willing to pay him if he gets married.

They meet, they hit it off, and it all goes wrong. She goes off on him on TV, only to go viral. I get 10 Things I Hate About You vibes from this book since both are based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. 10 Things is one of my favorite movies ever. We miss you, Heath.

The chemistry between these two is insane. They try so hard to fight it. There are some VERY spicy scenes.

I will be buying a physical copy of this book. It's one of my favorite reads of the year so far and will likely be in my top list as the end of the year. I'm so excited that there will be more in the series. Highly recommend! Get this book March 15th!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher Harper Collins for the ARC!

Loved this fun and funny romance between a staunch romantic and a love phobic. How does one blend oil and water in amour? You'll love these characters as you discover how. Out March 15.

Thanks to the author; Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon; and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#datingdrdil #nishasharma #netgalley
#AvonHarperVoyager

I ultimately ended up DNF’ing at the 30% mark. This one just didn’t work out for me. There was a ton of cultural references, which I was completely fine with (such as the arranged marriages vs. love marriages), some cultural terms/lingo (some explained and others not which was incredibly frustrating), however, this book felt like “insta love” and was incredulous. The two main characters Kareena and Prem need money for different reasons, and each has a parent that has money to give, but is unwilling unless they are engaged. Once this groundwork is laid, it seems out of this world that the perfect guy magically falls into Kareena’s lap that night at the bar. They make out and then the encounter goes south, leading to a blow up on Prem’s “Dr. Dil” show, and then the meddling aunties try to stage a “fake dating” arrangement so that both Kareena and Prem can get money. I just couldn’t continue on with this because it was so far fetched. Thank you to Avon books for the eARC. I was really looking forward to this one, but it fell flat from the beginning.

It took me a while to get into this story. I didn't really like either of the main characters, but in the end it was a fun read. I liked the Aunties.