This was <i>such</i> a fun one. I've been a fan of Alisha Rai's for a while, and when the synopsis of this dropped, I was all in. It's very, very different from her previous books, and I demand more. It was such a wild ride, and I didn't want to put it down.

Full of hijinks, con men and con women, jewel thieves, and set against the backdrop of seedy Las Vegas, it still manages to handle both MCs emotional growth, development, and have them both come together as a team and couple. I really loved both Mira and Naveen as individuals, and how they reflected on the changes each had gone through since their first meeting. I also really want each and every character in this to have their own book (especially the uncles).

More a romantic crime adventure than a straight up romance, if you like the <i>Oceans Eleven</i> movies, with an adorable romantic interest, this is totally up your alley. 4.5 stars rounded up.

<i>I received an ARC of this from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A thrilling story that kept me on my toes. Mira is a girl with a troubled past who ends up caught up in a deal gone wrong after her father and aunt’s passing. Naveen gets pulled into the situation after discovering that he is Mira’s aunt’s attorney. The couple has to work as a team to make it through a tough and dangerous situation as well as keeping their families safe. As the two are ex-lovers, their closeness rekindles their love. A wonderful second chance romance with a twist and lots of surprises.

My favorite Alisha Rai book so far! A fun, sexy heist book with stolen jewels, lots of costume changes, and plenty of misdirects.

Mira left hervdysfunctional family behind and restarted her life, including having a successful job. But she wants more than success, she wants love and happiness. She hires a matchmaker with a 100% success rate to help her find a husband. But Mira may not be lucky enough to benefit from this matchmaker's perfect record.

Naveen is the the first match Mira was set up with, but she rejected him. Little does she know three years later he's about to re-enter her life as the attorney responsible for executing her aunt's will. What should have been a simple professional meeting suddenly turns into kidnapping, a chase through Las Vegas as high-stakes gambling to save their lives. Mira finds herself confronted with her family's secrets as both of them are in trouble, but will her own guilty feelings and her past come between a second chance at love with Naveen?

This was the first book I've read by Alisha Rai's, and I loved it! It was fast-paced and exciting. I found myself pulled in to the story, waiting impatiently to see what happens next. A very entertaining read that I definitely recommend.

It was a super fun, fast paced and a second chance romance read that I find myself really immersed in. Characters were fun and definitely enjoyable. All in all, it was an afternoon well spent.

Mira Patel has a successful life and has put her dysfunctional family solidly in the rear-view mirror. But, feeling that a solid career is not enough to create the stable life she needs, she engages a matchmaker to help her find a match. But Mira may very well turn out to be the only blemish on the matchmaker's otherwise perfect record.

Naveen Desai is the first match she rejected (and he thought they were doing so well!), and it turns out he's about to re-enter her life as he is the attorney responsible for executing Mira's aunt's will. What should have been a normal, professional meeting in Los Angeles suddenly spirals out of control and turns into a long chase through Las Vegas to escape death and worse. Mira's family's secrets are getting both of them into trouble, but will her own guilty feelings and her past come between a second chance at love with Naveen?

An adventure and an enjoyable read! Alisha Rai's writing is a new voice for me, and I loved it! I have seen it compared to the idea behind Date Night, and I agree with the caveat that it put quite a new spin on the concept. It was fast-paced and exciting. I found myself pulled in to the story, turning the pages to see what would happen next. The plot unspools gradually and engages the reader, revealing secrets over time. A very entertaining read that I definitely recommend.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley and the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Thank you to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title before publishing!

This was a completely unexpected blast of a story. Not that I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but that I had somehow overlooked a large amount of the synopsis and missed the action-adventure plot. Which, arguably, is the bigger plot all together! And I’m not mad about, just not what I was expecting from a romance. Let’s get into it:

This was a wildly unique rom-com in that it wasn’t just a rom com at all. This pair is tangled up with hard core criminals, family secrets, lost fortunes, and near death experiences left and right. It was a very fun take on a second chance romance, and It still had a way of making me chuckle here and there. I really enjoyed both of these characters, and they are very distinct from one another. I loved Mira’s grit, compassion, bravery and impulsivity. I loved Naveen’s unshakable composure, insight into emotions, and commentary on mental health, as well as his locality to Mira and his family. It’s rare that I feel this strongly about both protagonists, and it was a fun breath of fresh air.

This moves really fast, it’s hard to even notice that a lot of it happens in the span of a day. The downside of this is that it really didn’t leave much space for the actual romance. Don’t get me wrong, these two’s feelings for one another are well displayed, but not necessarily *felt*, at least for me. The steam was fun as well, but felt like it came and went fast without the tension filled build up I tend to be looking for in a romance.

That being said, I’m super glad I read this. I had a lot of fun with it and it was unlike anything else I’ve read. I also so adored the therapy commentary, and I can tell that this author is deeply intuitive to her own emotions just through her writing alone. I love love LOVE seeing therapy so normalized in this manner, and I found so many insightful nuggets hidden throughout. This is a solid 4 stars for me, despite that the romance wasn’t exactly what I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

5⭐️

I had so much fun reading this book. It’s a romcom with the setting of a dark romance. It is the duo I never knew I needed, but now that I have it my life will never be the same.

Mira and Naveen were just so lovable together and individually. Mira is an absolute badass who umm can play poker?! Naveen and I had the same reactions that scene because Mira is HOT!! Both characters had such amazing development throughout and learning about Mira and Naveen and their pasts was also just so heartbreaking. I loved reading about how to two of them grew together in this book from being kidnapped together to forced proximity to willingly sticking with each other. They were useful to each other because of the different ways in which they saw the world.

Both characters had complex family dynamics (Mira more so than Naveen) and it was really interesting to see them navigate it. Naveen has a complex history with his brother and his family and the firm. Mira’s complex family comes from how she was raised learning poker and to be there for her dad and make money. She spends a lot of the book figuring out her own emotions as her childhood and relationship with her sister is something that she’s pushed away for so long and being in Las Vegas brings back things she does not want to remember.

Would definitely recommend!!!

ARC e-book via NetGalley
Provided by Avon & Harper Voyager
Publication: 18 Oct 2022

I had read Alisha Rai's "Modern Love' trilogy (The Right Swipe; Girl Gone Viral; and First Comes Like) and really enjoyed it, so jumped at the chance to read her next book.

I was expecting a fairly 'standard' rom-com style plot, so felt a little surprised when we took a screeching turn into a crime-laced caper, but I just went along for the ride and had a fun time along the way. (This situation was of my own making - going in, on purpose, with zero reading of the blurb in advance!) The characters of Mira and Naveen were interesting; I particularly liked that Mira had a career as an accountant (I think bakers, cupcake makers, influencers and event planners, though fine careers, are significantly over-represented in this genre & I always do a little silent cheer when I encounter an engineer, accountant, scientist etc as the female romance lead. #goSTEMCareers ). I also knew I was going to get along with Mira when I read the line, "Mira didn't fuck with clothes that didn't have pockets." (Ch. 1). Right on, Mira.

I liked how they are a little bit older (mid thirties) and this is a 2nd chance romance -- the piecemeal filling in history of their 1st go-round as they are on their current caper is well done. Both main characters had their flaws and there were plenty of gray areas in their and other characters' behaviors & backgrounds which was great. However, sometimes Mira and Naveen's actions & reactions to the really harrowing situations they got into seemed unrealistic and at times feels like their rekindled relationship is missing a little something - growth/oomph/spark?

The whole kidnapping-stolen-jewels-on-the-run plot line is wild, fun and exciting, and becomes a bit over the top? madcap? Particularly at one point near the end... (you'll know it when you get to it). It stays juuuust this side of slapstick (e.g. "Dial A for Aunties"), which is good because I hated Dial A... I found the string of 'clues' at times a bit foggy -- not really as taut or logical as I wanted -- (like they really knew how to get to the next point/person/contact based on a vague line in a note), whereas other obvious clues were missed.

Overall, most of my negatives are quibbles, and the bottom line is, this was a fun read: just take your disbelief, suspend it, and read on for a big dose of zany-wild-crazy-crime-spree and a bit of romance. I think fans of Rai will enjoy it but maybe not rank it as their all time favorite of hers. That's how I felt, and I will definitely pick up Rai's next book - excited for her YA coming out later this year and hopeful this one will spin into a series -- maybe we will get Alan's story next? or Sejal?

*2.5

I really wanted to like this book but it just fell so flat. I did feel as though the characters really had any chemistry and I think the story focused too much on the mystery and not enough on the romance. Also why did the author use the phrase pregnant pause so much.

I received an arc through netgalley.

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Don't let this book cover fool you; this book is a Romantic Suspense.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Mira Patel has just been fired by her matchmaker, and dumped on a lunch date, and then walked into an attorney's office for her aunt's will reading only to see her last relationship who she ghosted is standing there. He's the attorney. Quite the day for Mira.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Naveen was in love with Mira who he met through their matchmaker, but after taking her to meet his family, she bailed and ghosted him. She is going by a slightly different name now, so he didn't recognize her name on his schedule. But the feelings came back with a vengeance. And as she left his office, he follows her down, not wanting to end like this, when he walks into a kidnapping. And they drag him along with her.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Mira is hiding. She's hiding from herself and everyone else in her life. Her father was a crook. And he had no qualms about using his daughters in his scams. Mira was very good at what she did, and while she knew it was wrong, it was kind of thrilling, and her father gave her praise and positive attention so to a little girl, it was fine. Until it wasn't.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Naveen didn't know any of this. So when some of it comes out during the kidnapping, he's blindsided by his attraction to Mira and realizing he never really knew her. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Mira for her part, left him because she was falling for him and didn't want to drag her life into his happy family. She was realizing that she couldn't lie about her past forever, and she didn't want him to know. And once they were sitting in a crappy shack in the middle of the desert outside of Las Vegas, she wanted to talk her way out and try to save Naveen. But his sense of chivalry kept getting in the way. Next thing they know, they're knocking out an on the take FBI agent, shooting a bad guy, and stealing their car. They know what the kidnappers are after, and the best plan they have is to go find it first. If they can find the necklace her father stole, they can get it to the kidnappers and save themselves...and their families. Mira's sister has been kidnapped, and there's someone watching Naveen's family as well, so neither one of them will be safe until the necklace is found.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>What follows next is a combination of a Rom Com and a Romantic Suspense. I wish I could explain it better, but Alisha Rai has mastered the fun and funny Romantic Suspense. I won't spoil what happens, but imagine if Ocean's Eleven met True Lies and created a magical baby. That would be Partners In Crime. I hope she writes more like this one, because while I've always known she was a great writer, I love this new Funny Romantic Suspense genre she's writing.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>***ARC courtesy of Avon via Netgalley</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

What a fun read! This title drew me in, and I've read some of Alisha Rai's other books. Out of all of Alisha's books, this one is my new favorite! This is such a clever novel and I think the way Alisha Rai drew together so many threads and subplots is nothing short of genius. I enjoyed every single page, and the twists and turns made me gasp and laugh and kick and scream all the way until the very end. There were so many things I didn't see coming, and I think that is a true testament to how well Alisha Rai combined the mystery thriller and romance genres in this novel.

Solid heist story line with some interesting side characters. I am not always a fan of second chance romance but it worked well here.

There’s nothing quite like pivoting your expectations of a book when you’re already five chapters deep in it. That’s exactly what happened to me with this read. Based off the cover, I went into this novel expecting the plot focus to be on romance. But when looking at the synopsis, it’s clear that this novel is more of a comedic thriller than a romance novel. Those two pieces clashed and truly threw off my expectations for this story to the point that I considered DNF’ing this novel.

Labeling a strength to this novel, it would have to be the characterization—despite me not truly feeling the chemistry with the second-chance romance. Mira and Naveen had distinct character voices, which made it easy to determine who was leading the narration in each chapter. Also, there was some personality and life experience mirroring (such as, both main characters being estranged from their siblings) that didn’t muddy up the story, even if those backstory plots grew repetitive over time.

Emotions wise, I didn’t feel much from (or for) the characters, especially when it came to Mira’s grief over her aunt. Her arc was learning how to stop bottling up her emotions and learn to feel them, sure. But I can’t help but feel that was at a detriment to the tone and the reader’s ability to connect with Mira as a character. And I will admit, I wasn’t completely feeling the chemistry between Mira and Naveen. That’s a result of the plot spanning a forty-eight-hour period more than anything else.

The other thing I noticed about the characterization was the overall lack of change either character went through. The changes were self-contained and focused on inter-personal relationships. For example, the change that Mira went through was mostly in terms of how she viewed her sister. (Mirrored in Naveen with his brother Kiran.) Both sibling forgiveness arcs felt empty because it was a resolution Mira and Naveen came to without interacting with their estranged siblings (well, until the very end). For a book based in crime-adventure, I would’ve liked to see more agency and growth from the main characters. Sure, they grew as individual people, but I wanted to see more emotional fall-out and change from the various situations they were in.

Story structure wise, this was set up as the A-plot being the romance and the B-plot being the crime plot. But somewhere along the way, the two plots flipped with the B-plot being the more dominant plot. Which was fine, but it subverted my expectations of this book and I never quite recovered from that. It made it more difficult to invest myself in the plot of characters when the cover and synopsis prepped me for a romance novel, but the greater plot was focused on this criminal adventure.

One last plot note. The use of two fake-deaths (which were revealed close to each other) was a bit much. I know Auntie Rhea’s death was the plot point to kick-start this story, but I can’t help but think that it would’ve been better if she had simply went missing. Not only would that have added some more tension to the story, but it would’ve added a distinct set of emotions for Mira to (or not to) work through. I was also wishing the reveals were set up a little earlier on in the plot; for example, the Cobra being set up as a woman only happened a chapter prior to her identity reveal.

This is a nit-picky thing, but the author really enjoys using the word “pregnant” to describe pauses or silences. Using that descriptor once or twice is okay, but it was used eight times. For me, personally, it felt overused.

In the case of this second-chance romance, the story was mostly a miss for me. There were many moments that could be considered comedic or romantic, but the story was missing the emotional backbone to truly invest me in the story. This story had big shoes to fill and it’s just not there yet.

Note: There is a difference in available synopses. The Goodreads synopsis, as of July 15th, 2022, had incorrect details. (Such as, Naveen being an English professor and not a lawyer.) The Netgalley synopsis is correct to what I read in this novel. If you are interested in this novel, I would visit that page to get more accurate marketing.

TW: negligent parenting (off-page), sex

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This was such a fun and fast read. I loved the second chance romance where both of the main characters clearly were better for each other in the present. It even had a bit of a mystery in terms of the necklace. Fun fun fun!

The twists and turns of this storyline kept me hooked. The spicy scenes were well paced and the world building/ background to the characters was just enough. I enjoyed the book just wished she used other words aside from pregnant to describe the prolonged pauses.

Ugh, this book is fantastic! When you start it (and you should absolutely read this one) strap yourself in for a wild ride. I honestly never really knew where the plot of this book was going, which kept me engrossed. There's delightful chemistry between Mira and Naveen. I feel like this is a good bridge to romantic suspense for rom-com lovers. You get plenty of banter, but also a mystery to solve and danger throughout.

I really enjoyed the characters: Mira and Naveen both had really great back stories and it was obvious that they both had lingering feelings from their prior breakup.
They were so sweet with each other, and I loved watching how much he cared about her and how they would both risk their own safety for each other.
That being said, I felt like the romance didn't get to really shine as much in this novel. Most of the book took place over the course of two days, and while we got so many sweet scenes with them, it was hard for them to shine as much as they could have because of the plot.
I like heists and don't mind a bit of action, but I felt like I couldn't immerse myself fully in their relationship because of all that was going on. Which was sad, because as I said, I really enjoyed the main characters!
Her motivations for breaking up with him in the first place were heartbreaking, and watching them be vulnerable together was so beautiful.
I really enjoyed the last chapter and the epilogue since I felt like it really showed some of the romance that wasn't as present in the book, like I said, due to the high stakes situation.
Overall, it was cute and a fun read.

This book was a thrilling wild cap adventure right from the first chapter. I adore Alisha Rai’s books and this book didn’t disappoint. It was a joy to read and if you enjoy movies like Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job, you will love this one. I absolutely loved how awesome Mira is and how much Naveen adores the very things in her that she wants to hide but make her magnificent. The mysteries in the book are really well written and kept me turning pages and wondering as I read this one through the night. I highly recommend this book and it is going on my favorite books of this year list for sure.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!