Dating Dr. Dill is the perfect romcom. It was just what I needed to get me out of a slump. I loved and sympathised with the main character and was rooting for her from page one. The perfect read for anyone looking for a cute (and spicy) romance.

Read this if you like:
🇮🇳 Reading Diversely
💍 Discussion of love match versus arranged marriage
❤️ Enemies to Lovers
🚿 Steamy scenes

Book Review:
All in all it was a more quick and engaging read with all the dynamics in the book, but I also felt like that also did some damage to my enjoyment- that sometimes there was too much going on- but life is messy too, so I get it…

I really didn’t like the way Prem started using nicknames with Kareena and refusing to call her by her full name as she asked because “he liked the nickname” it felt very condescending and sexist that he couldn’t just call someone what they asked after multiple asks… I also didn’t like that this wasn’t revisited as this is all he referred to her as but without her consenting she was fine with the nickname.

Prem named his member “Charlie” and the way this was first brought up and continued to be brought up was utterly weird to me especially it was referred to by other things, this felt like it was just there and had no reason and this being removed from the book would have made a huge difference for me…. and I can say I am not a fan of this addition to the book. Just call it what it is and don’t name it… that’s just weird.

I also didn’t enjoy his dirty talk during their first encounter as it felt highly sexist and demeaning her for their joint encounter but it just felt like he was calling her dirty and I didn’t like that feeling.

Other than those things, I enjoyed the story and diversity in this book and being able to be immersed and learn more through this book about the elements of Indian/ South Asian cultures and cultural values.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This was a hilarious good time and a spot-on remix of the Taming of the Shrew. Both main characters are lovable despite their flaws and I found myself rooting for them from the start. I will absolutely be reading the rest of this Shakespeare remix series!

If you haven’t read Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma—are you even a romance reader? The complicated and slow burn love story between Kareena and Prem is everything. The characters are interesting and real. The romance and self-growth is relatable and well-paced. This novel is sweet, sassy, and sexy in all of the best ways. Perfection. (And don’t forget the Taylor Swift playlist at the end.)

Dating Dr. Dil is a really cute and fun romance with a sprinkling of crazy family. While it contains a fake dating scheme for both parties to come into some money, it is original enough to keep you interested. I absolutely loved the look into Indian-American families and the children of immigrants part of the story. There is plenty of spice and characters to love.

If you love romance, Booktok pics, and want to diversify the cast of characters that live in your head (rent-free), then I recommend this one!

This book! 😳😂😍


Now.. what can I say about this five star read that hasn’t already been said? For starters, Charlie. 😂😂 The author really had me confused in the beginning and you all will have to read this book if you want to know what I’m talking about!

This enemies (ish) to lovers romance brings to life the Indian culture & the arranged marriages that are still a part of the culture to this day. I’ve read so many books around this culture and the aunties that I would just love to have in my life & I can’t help but fall more and more in love with these books the more I read them.

Prem and Kareena were such a joy to read and though I wish there’d been more of an epilogue cause they’re my kryptonite but this take on one of Shakespeares tales was a major hit for me and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

4.5/5⭐️
3/5🔥

I am such a sucker for a modern day adaptation of a classic. And this did not disappoint. 👏

I absolutely love when a main character is written for the intended audience - I mean a hopeless romantic that reads romance novels, listens to Taylor Swift and dresses like a sexy librarian? It’s like this book was made for me. 😅

I loved getting to read more about an Indian-American couple, and the difficulties that young women in the community can face. I appreciated having the dual POV in this book especially because we got to see the rationale behind love and arranged marriages.

I thought this book was really cute and fun, and that Kareena and Prem had AMAZING chemistry. And can we please talk about that scene on the hood of her car? 👀 🥵

I’m hoping/praying that this is a series and that there’s are books that focus on Kareena and Prem’s friends, because I need more!!!

This book is great for fans of the Chloe Brown series or Tessa Bailey!

THIS BOOK NEVSKSURNELDHR
I AM IN LOVE!! I AM OBSESSED!! THIS IS ACTUAL PERFECTION. THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ SO FAR THIS YEAR. I'M GONNA TRY TO EXPLAIN WHY BUT HONESTLY YOU CAN NOT UNDERSTAND PERFECTION UNTIL YOU EXPERIENCE IT SO READ THIS BOOK!!

Prem & Rina's TSwift Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3tF...

"If love existed, this woman would have his heart, and he'd willingly take his scalpel to carve it out and give it to her."

General Review:
This is literally perfect in every aspect whether its writing style, plot, characters, pacing, EVERYTHING. You've got an amazing independent woman who knows her worth, a successful respectful attractive man, AND a fake dating trope WITH JUST THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF DESPERATION AND MOTIVE. AND THEY'RE BOTH SWIFTIES. AND THE SMUT IS SO FUCKING GOOD TOO. I also absolutely loved learning about Indian culture too. I went into this book knowing almost knowing about it and then I found that its actually quite similar to my own culture (middle eastern/Egyptian) and it's so intriguing AND I WANNA TRY PARANTHAS NOW!! I also strongly related to Rina and Prem's conversation about their connection to their immigrant family because I too am an immigrant and I love that there's this representation here. I not only fell in love with the characters, and culture, but I found it so easy to connect to it too which is everything I love in a book. Miss Nisha Sharma HAS MADE MAGIC.

Characters:
Kareena - SHE IS WHAT I ASPIRE TO BE. ANNOYING MC?? FORGET THAT. She's gorgeous, has her dream job, knows her worth, and won't take shit from anybody.
Prem - THIS MAN IS PERFECT. He cares and he listens and is so supportive AHHHH WHERE DO I BUY ONE??????? He literally didn't miss one thing she told him even in passing and I wish I had someone who listened to me this much he's also got the perfect amount of seasoning (trauma ;) ) Also I wish I knew what in his life prompted him to call his dick Charlie...you cannot tell me it just came out of nowhere 😭
Bindu/ Dadi/ Rina's dad - I have a love/hate relationship with them because of how much they resemble my own family in the toxicity aspect (especially toxicity that stems from a thousand-year-old culture). I kind of completely hate Bindu though.
The aunties - I LOVE THEM. They seem so fun and supportive and make the best food and have the best gossip and I just need to hang out with them. But also if I were in Kareena's position I would hate the overwhelming meddling.
Bindu & Veera - They remind me of my own best friends and how I can go to them for anything and have these deep conversations and help me figure out anything SO I LOVE THEM TOO. Also, I just KNOW something is going on with Veera and Deepak.

Favorite Scenes:
- Meeting at bar
- Allergic reaction at cafe
- Met Museum
- Shed smut
- Prem going after Rina when he finds out she's at a guy's house
- Going to Prem's apartment for the first time
- Shower scene
- PEPPERMINT CREAMER
- Kidnapping Rina
- "I love you"

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew but make it a contemporary rom-com with 🔥

Kareena has decided it’s finally time to start dating again and find love; then her family drops a bomb on her and it’s now imperative that she find Mr. Right ASAP…enter Dr. Dil! Prem doesn’t believe in love but he does believe in attraction and companionship and in opening a community health center dedicated to serving South Asians, which is now in danger of losing funding unless he can convince Kareena that they’re perfect fake dating partners.

Fake dating, loving but nosy aunties, bratty sister, best friends that support you but also tell you when you’re being an idiot, and absolutely delicious descriptions of South Asian food and fashion!

There was not a single thing I didn’t love about this book; everything from the cover (hello nod to 10 Things I Hate About You) to the friend groups and lovable and tough to like family members to the incredible chemistry and intimacy between Kareena and Prem was beautifully done.

Romance is bad for the heart. At least, that's what Dr. Dil advocates. But it means that he comes across as someone that doesn't believe in true love, which his near-hookup Kareena doesn't appreciate. They agree to a mutual relationship to get married and the funds they need for their dreams. Dreams, however, change, when you open your mind to a new perspective.

This was a fun, super steamy enemies to lovers, fake dating, dual perspective South Asian love story. Somewhat of a Taming of the Shrew retelling, the book features Kareena Mann, a woman who REALLY loves her sweater vests and is looking for a fiancé in order to get her inheritance and Prem Verma, a jaded about love doctor who needs help repairing his image to win back some investors.

I really enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Kareena and Prem. Their initial meeting in a bar got off to a great start until Prem gets called away unexpectedly leaving Kareena in the lurch. From there Kareena's bad first impression of Prem causes lots of friction until she slowly sees the huge heart Prem likes to hide from everyone.

The South Asian culture, cuisine, traditions and all Kareena's Aunties were great fun in this book. I especially enjoyed how the story explores arranged versus love matches and the benefits to both ways. I'm excited that this is the first book in a series of Shakespearean retellings.

My only critique was the way Prem liked to refer to his penis in the third person by the name "Charlie" - it was super weird and cringey and I really wish that had gotten edited out of the book.

Otherwise though, this was a fun read, perfect for fans of Sonali Dev's Rajes series and I LOVED just how much the cover is a nod to the movie poster for 10 things I hate about you! Much thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for my advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, super steamy enemies to lovers, fake dating, dual perspective South Asian love story. Somewhat of a Taming of the Shrew retelling, the book features Kareena Mann, a woman who REALLY loves her sweater vests and is looking for a fiancé in order to get her inheritance and Prem Verma, a jaded about love doctor who needs help repairing his image to win back some investors.

I really enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Kareena and Prem. Their initial meeting in a bar got off to a great start until Prem gets called away unexpectedly leaving Kareena in the lurch. From there Kareena's bad first impression of Prem causes lots of friction until she slowly sees the huge heart Prem likes to hide from everyone.

The South Asian culture, cuisine, traditions and all Kareena's Aunties were great fun in this book. I especially enjoyed how the story explores arranged versus love matches and the benefits to both ways. I'm excited that this is the first book in a series of Shakespearean retellings.

My only critique was the way Prem liked to refer to his penis in the third person by the name "Charlie" - it was super weird and cringey and I really wish that had gotten edited out of the book.

Otherwise though, this was a fun read, perfect for fans of Sonali Dev's Rajes series and I LOVED just how much the cover is a nod to the movie poster for 10 things I hate about you! Much thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for my advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading romance books with great side characters. I also love a good enemies-to-lovers romance! Being in the medical field only makes me love it even more. Is that possible?

I could go into details, but that might spoil all the fun for you. What I can say is that sometimes when you're not looking for love, it'll find you. Now go read this.

I thought this story was overall fun, though I found the writing to be pretty average.

I liked the characters, though I would've liked them to be a bit more fleshed out through their personalities; I think some of the plot could've been cut out in favor of expanding upon their individuality, as I felt their personality traits were kinda repeated rather than built upon.

I also felt the writing was cringe at times with so many millennial pop culture references as well as some non-enjoyable descriptions of p*nis (mushroom head??? please I beg you not) which brought down my level of enjoyment.

I did overall have fun with the story, however, and I think so many moments were extremely well written, but when paired with the other, not s good moments the book turned out to be really average IMO.

✨ Dual POV
✨ Strong female lead
✨ BIPOC Rep: South Asian
✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ Fake dating-ish
✨ Spice!!! 🥵

Blurb: Ok… so you have a woman who needs to get married in a short period of time in order to receive some inheritance but she wants to find a love marriage. Then you have a man who needs to get married because his mom will give him money for his business if he found a wife… also, he doesn’t believe in love. They manage to find each other and hit it off, but of course there’s a misunderstanding and you have an enemies to lovers situation on your hands. So… can they set aside their differences to enter a mutually beneficial partnership to get what they want?!

I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. It is probably the first RomCom in a while that I have rated 5 stars. It was cute, funny, sexy, frustrating, and just all of the emotions! This book is rich in culture, family values/ obligations, and a look inside what it’s like to belong to an immigrant family.

I definitely felt for Kareena in having to date in the current times. The struggle is so relatable with online dating. I really appreciated that she stuck to her values and put herself first. It could have been so easy to give into Prem and go along with his plan to get what they need from their parents. She did not settle though and she put herself out there to find what her parents had which was a love marriage.

Prem…. *sigh* aside from not believing in love… what an incredible man! I love the relationship he has with his mother! Honestly, their messages crack me up and remind me of my own relationship with my parents. ALSO…. His “Rina, honey” gave me strong “Feyre, Darling” vibes!!!! For any ACOTAR fans who love RomComs.

Dating Dr. Dil is an immensely fun read filled with fake dating, annoying yet hilarious family members, and a swoon-worthy desi romance. And for once, the fake dating trope actually WORKED. If you’re a fan of fake dating then you’ll love this read.

When the book starts out, Kareena Mann isn’t having the best day. Her family forgets her birthday AND she finds out that her father is selling their home, the house her deceased mother loved, before she has time to get together money and buy it. Her only way out is to find the love of her life – only then will her father give her the “wedding” money he has saved for her.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prem Verma has been wrangling donors for his local community health center via his talk show all about love, but after a hookup gone wrong, Kareena confronts him on live TV and he loses his donors. His only solution is to convince Kareena that they are meant to be together in order for his parents to fund the center. Basically, both of their families are pushing them into a relationship since they want grandkids. Unfortunately, Kareena wants nothing to do with him.

The beginning of this book is AMAZING. Like, I was hooked from the very first sentence. Between Kareena’s over-the-top yet somehow realistic family (who made me want to slap them and hug them simultaneously) and the instant attraction between the main characters (that swiftly turns to hatred – a classic enemies-to-lovers), the plot had me perched on the edge of my seat.

Plus, Kareena is the dreamer in the relationship, even though she’s also quite practical about her job (and a bit of a loner). She really believes in true love and wants to wait for it, while Prem is more logical and tries to convince her that they need to make the best of the situation. The back and forth is great because their relationship gives them both a chance to grow and change. We get to see them slowly fall in love as Prem takes Rina on all these wildly romantic dates (mainly to achieve his own ends, at least at first) and the tension is palpable.

Things I didn’t like: Prem refers to his – male part – as Charlie. Not once, but multiple times. The sexy scenes were so good but that totally threw me every time he references…Charlie. Why does it need a name? He’s a heart surgeon who doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t have an especially cutesy personality, so this made no sense to me.

I also felt that some of the dialogue was wildly out of place/cringy. There are far too many millennial references (many of which are already out of date) and jokes that just don’t play off well. Every time the characters said something “trendy,” I was taken out of the story. I wish the dialogue had been a bit more timeless or just…not so much.

But the beginning is great, the characterization is good, and the love story, in general, is quite fun and also realistic. I definitely recommend Dating Dr. Dil as a fun read for 2022!

https://fromthereadingroom.com/review-dating-dr-dil-by-nisha-sharma/

Dating Dr. Dil is the first book in the new If Shakespeare was an Auntie series by Nisha Sharma.

CW: death of a loved one (past), grief

Kareena was very relateable as the oldest daughter and romantic. Kareena's family was flawed, her sister was a spoiled brat, her dad was mourning, and her grandma was often caught up in tradition, but that's what made it feel real for me. It was frustrating at times watching how hard Kareena tried to be heard, but I appreciate that at the end her dad finally listened to her. Kareena's grandma using the vibrator as a neck massager had me laughing out loud while reading. Prem was jaded and had a different view of what love looked like than Kareena did. Watching Prem learn to accept love and that sometimes words are necessary was slow-moving but rewarding when he eventually got there. The steam and dirty talk in this one had my glasses fogging up and added an extra layer of connection between Kareena and Prem.

I loved Kareena and Prem's friends and hope we get to see more of them. I also enjoyed how progressive Kareena's aunties were and their meddling. I felt like I was able to learn more about South Asian culture through reading this and it had me craving paranthas.

I hope that we eventually find out who Mrs. W. S. Gupta is, their entries were fun additions.

Thank you to Avon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To stop her father from selling her family home, Kareena needs to get engaged in the next four months. It would help if she were actually dating someone. When she meets Prem, sparks fly. Until one thing after another goes wrong. But he needs her help to rehabilitate his reputation, so they pretend to date. Will their fake relationship turn real?

This is a charming, funny, emotional story. If you like Desi romance, don't miss this one.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I am beyond grateful to have received an ARC and I am still hungover from this book.

Wow! I am still processing how much tension and lust. Nisha Sharma had me not wanting to put this book down. Prem and Kareena caused so much laughing out loud, smiling, and wanting more. This was the first of the If Shakespeare Was An Auntie trilogy and I cannot wait for the next installment. It was funny, hot, sexy, and filled with highly realistic and relatable characters. I never thought I would be be attracted to a man that named his pecker 😅
You will not regret adding this to your TBR!

Man, I wish I had loved this more. This is a story inspired by Taming of the Shrew, which piqued my interest. Kareena is 30 and decides she can finally focus on her love life now that she's got her work situation in order. She does mean LOVE life-though she is Desi, and arranged marriages are accepted and sometimes encouraged, she wants a love marriage like her parents had before her mom died. Her timeline is put on the fast track when her dad tells her that he's planning to sell her childhood home, a home she's always wanted to own because her mother loved it, as soon as her younger sister celebrates her engagement party. Enter Dr. Dil, real name Prem, who she meets one night at a bar and has great chemistry with but then finds out as a heart doctor, he doesn't believe in love, or the lasting feeling of the chemicals that create "love." But they can both play a role for the other in getting things they need, so they decide to sort of fake date, until those pesky feelings get in the way.

I can enjoy the give and take of a good "doesn't believe in love/desperately believes in love" dynamic. The steamy scenes were HOT (though I could've done without Prem naming his penis and talking about it as if it were personified, but also Prem eats ass, so...bit of a good news/bad news situation there...) I also really liked the exploration of culture and expectations, which I think provided a new twist to the Taming of the Shrew inspiration.

Ultimately, though, I just really didn't like Prem as a love interest for Kareena. I felt like he didn't listen to her and didn't respect her wishes. He keeps calling her Rina, even after she corrects him; he just shows up at her house uninvited. He shows up to a cafe where she is on a date-already a bit of a red flag for me-but then acts as a "white knight" when she has an allergic reaction, and when leaving her in the hospital room, secretly tells the nurse to give her an allergy test even though Kareena has explicitly said she doesn't want that, and then thinks to himself how funny that is. Then he shows up to a stranger's house while she was on a date and barges in to "rescue" her because she hasn't texted him back. I didn't like that shit in 50 Shades of Grey, and I didn't like it here. If somebody shows up where you have not asked them to be, unless it is a public place and an accident, I just don't find that cute or romantic. On the other hand, there are definitely readers of mine who will be into this particular combination of tropes, it just wasn't for me. I'd definitely like to read more from Sharma, though.