I enjoyed the journey that this book took me on. Mira is trying to find a good match she has just been dumped by her latest attempt when she is informed that her aunt has passed away. This brings her back into contact with Naveen Desai her aunt's lawyer and a former match that she ran away from. Mira wants nothing else but to get through her aunt's will and have a minute to collect herself. Her aunt's will leads her on a journey into her past back to Vegas where she swore never to return after running away as fast as she could from who she used to be. Naveen is swept along in her wake will this be a new beginning or will the legacies from her past catch up with them both. I loved this book. Mira and Naveen were difficult to get to know at first but that was intentional they were both hiding from themselves and were a bit inscrutable on purpose. There was so much between them but I couldn't help but root for them because they really wanted that connection but feared opening themselves up to getting hurt. There was so much emotion, and action it is a very cinematic type of book and honestly I could absolutely see this as a movie.

Mystery? Hot main characters? Second chance romance? Yes please!! This book truly has it all. Partners In Crime was such a refreshing take at a romance novel. I sat down and powered through this book in one sitting. Not only did I love Mira and Naveen, but the mystery surrounding Mira’s family and past had me flying through the book trying to get to the bottom of it! Not to mention… there were a few *ahem* spicy scenes with Mira and Naveen that had me swooning! Solid 4 star read. I enjoyed it and will be recommending it! Thank you Alisha Rai, NetGalley, and HarperCollins for giving me a chance to read and review this wonderful book!

Before I say anything else, I need to say I love that cover. Animated covers are always amazing but seeing Mira and Naveen in one of the best scenes from the book just hits different (only second to the scene at the club, of course!).

Amira Patel has spent a long time running from her identity as Mira Chaudhary, becoming this 9-to-5 accountant who has her life together, and isn't embroiled in the constant high-stakes of her childhood. But when her aunt dies, leaving her a will that drags her back to her ex, Mira finds herself stuck in those same high-stakes.

Naveen Desai has had a rough couple of years, with the matchmaking service not working out on him, leaving his job, not speaking to his brother and turning away permanently from the bottle. But he's settled now, in his grandfather's little firm, dabbling in family law instead of the high-profile cases that he used to chase.

Mira is, when she shows up, very clearly Naveen's "the one who got away." You can tell off the bat that Mira is someone he's never forgotten no matter how many girls he's been matched up with in the time since them. But while Mira is more stoic about it, Naveen's world carefully implodes when he realizes that the girl he was well on his way to loving had been lying to him the whole time.

Naveen unwittingly gets wrapped up in Mira's family issues, and they're thrown together on a goose chase for a necklace that refuses to be found, and answers to questions Mira and Naveen have been asking themselves for years - Mira about her father and her family, and Naveen about Mira.

I love fast-paced action books so much, particularly ones that require amateur sleuthing and skills. In some scenes, it's clear that neither of them have any idea what they're doing in the world of gambling, cons and scams, but in others, at least one of them has some clue.

I love Mira's take-charge attitude, and I love that Naveen doesn't let her take it too far. He clearly recognizes when she's the one with the better chance, and gives it to her but when he senses Mira running or spiraling, he knows exactly how to bring her back on track.

Not only did this have the second-chance romance, but it also had a healthy dose of Indian matchmaking. Both Naveen and Mira are older than the protagonists I usually read about, and I think that lends to the depth of the secrets they uncover as they go. The references to South Asian culture were sparse, but very much present - you don't forget them, but you're overwhelmed by them either. By all other accounts, Mira and Naveen weren't props for desi culture, and I loved that.

Another thing that might be a little underrated is that the author didn't make these protagonists to be the size-zero bombshells, or the rough-and-tough-eight-pack-bearing heroes either. Both Mira and Naveen are in their mid thirties, and I loved that they were shown to be sturdy without vanity muscles, if that makes any sense! Especially for Naveen, who's described to be strong and muscular - but that doesn't have to equal cut ridges in his abs, and it shows in the book!

There's not much I didn't like about this book, but one downside to fast-paced action can be that when the secrets start unfolding, they unfold too fast? At the end, I felt like there were too many unknown variables, too many people coming back in from places we thought they were permanently done with. It wrapped up very quick for the drawn out action that came before, and even though Mira's head was spinning with all the revelations, I don't think ours was supposed to spin just as fast!

The other thing that felt lackluster was the romance, ironically enough. We don't get too far into the romance save for a couple spicy scenes, but the second-chance of it all didn't shine through as much as I'd initially assumed. Part of me was wondering why they even got back together at the end, even though I knew it was coming!

This is my first book by Alisha Rai, even though the author's been on my list for years, and I'm probably going to binge the whole backlog as soon as I get time, but as for this book...the summary has it bang-on: Indian Matchmaking meets Date Night!

Highly recommend for fans of fast-paced reads that can be completed in one sitting!

[Thank you NetGalley, Alisha Rai and Avon Books for providing this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review.]

I have really enjoyed Alisha’s previous works and this one is no different. I finished this book a little over a day because I wanted to know how it all goes down for our main character, Mira! I love the rekindled romance between Mira and Naveen. I felt like these two were finally getting to see each other for who they truly are and I love the emphasis on togetherness through their wild adventure in Vegas. This is a dual POV book and I really liked getting to read both characters’ changing perspectives on the situation, each other, and their families and future throughout the book. A great book to start the summer!

Big thanks to Avon Romance for the e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. This review is being given honestly and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

CWS: parental neglect, kidnapping, talk of alcoholism, child exploitation and endangerment

Partners in Crime is an action packed second chance romance between Mira and Naveen, two perfectly flawed characters.

I really liked this book and thought it was a lot of fun. Definitely loved how low angst this was (between our MCs) because when they are initially reunited there are a lot of unresolved feelings. Mira is a young professional who is out to find her perfect mate through a popular matchmaker…only she’s three years and 13 men in and on the verge of being dropped by said matchmaker. Naveen is recovering from a couple of things that have happened including a girl he thought he could have it all with suddenly dumping him a few years ago.

Naveen and Mira are suddenly dragged into a ‘family matter’ of Mira’s that leads to being kidnapped and on the run in Vegas while simultaneously rekindling residual feelings between the two. This is full of quite a bit of action and some surprises but was a pretty good romance. Overall, I really enjoyed this and had a good time.

This was such a fun romance. I loved how high the stakes were the entire time and how we got to see the two main characters grow throughout the book. I also loved how it was a second chance romance which really worked well in the plot.

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai is a super fun adventure romance. Mira and Naveen are sent on a wild ride with kidnapping, art theft, jewel theft, a charity party, hidden rooms, cryptocurrency, backroom poker, an inclusive strip club, Aunties and Uncles. It's a really fun story with lots of twists and turns.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was just not for me unfortunately. I wanted to enjoy it [based on the plot] but I found myself tuning out while I was reading it. Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC!

This was so unlike anything I have read recently! This was filled with so much anxiety and twists and turns. I gasped out loud multiple times! What a thrill and a treat. I loved it.

This is my first Alisha Rai book, and I loved it! This is a second chance romance with a lot of twists and turns in the storyline. Mira and Naveen are ex-lovers who have unresolved feelings that must be addressed. When they're being hunted by criminals around Nevada, they don't really have time to sit down and chat.

Mira is a complex woman who has a complicated background. Mira has been utilizing a professional matchmaker for a long time, but all of her attempts have failed. Almost all of them end with her breaking up with them, although her most recent one did not. Naveen had hired the same professional matchmaker as Mira, and the two had been paired up. They were both each others first matches. Mira, on the other hand, abruptly ended their relationship. Since his grandfather is suffering from health problems, Naveen is working as a lawyer alongside him.

Mira's aunt has sadly passed away, so she must now speak with a lawyer to learn about her inheritance. Naveen's law firm happened to be the one her aunt went to. Both of them are caught off guard, but Naveen is more so. Considering Mira isn't her real name, it took Naveen a long time to track down Mira so he could tell her about her inheritance. Now, Naveen discovers that a lot of what he thought he knew was a falsehood.

The events that follow set in motion a lengthy and chaotic voyage. Mira is attacked by two men as she exits the office. Naveen happened to be following her out and saw what was going on right away and tried to save her. Unfortunately, this did not go so well, and they were both drugged and kidnapped as a result.

When they finally wake up, they find themselves in an unfamiliar environment. After they awaken, their kidnappers rush in and demand immediate answers. The kidnappers are on the lookout for a valuable necklace, and they believe these two are the ones who know where it is. They, on the other hand, have no idea what they're talking about. Now, they must work together to stay alive and locate this necklace.

Even though they dated, a lot of the information they didn't divulge when dating is about to come out during this chaotic trip of escaping criminals. Hmm, that seems like a lot of fun, doesn't it?

Sorry to say this didn’t work for me like I had hoped. I didn’t really feel any connection between the hero and heroine. It also took me days to finish. It was just.. bland.

This story wore me out. I felt myself holding my breath at parts while constantly rooting for Mira and Naveen. Some things were predictable, but there were def some surprises.

I don't want to give anything away, but this is def not a typical Alisha Rai book. She ventured into many different tropes to create this story. I def appreciated the variety.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Immediately after getting dumped by her twelfth match, Mira is more worried about getting fired by her matchmaker than anything else. Yet, her day goes from bad to worse (and later, even more so) when she learns that her ex-boyfriend, her first match, and the man she really liked but dumped anyway, Naveen, is the lawyer handling her recently deceased aunt’s will. However, when she and Naveen are kidnapped by a shady figure searching for a very specific necklace that Mira’s father allegedly stole, they have to join forces in order to survive.

PARTNERS IN CRIME was not at all what I was expecting from a book categorized as a romance. The first half or so very much reads like a thriller with dashes of sexual tension. Mira and Naveen are focused on finding the jewelry Cobra is looking for while trying to stay alive and keeping their family members from getting killed. Which, yeah, understandable. So, it does take a while for the romance to get into gear, but I enjoyed it when that point was finally reached. And though I had a few inklings about who exactly Cobra was, I was pleasantly surprised by how completely wrong I was about the reveal. PARTNERS IN CRIME is not that predictable thriller where the reader has the entire plot figured out halfway through the book, but filled with action, con artists, and twists and turns.

As I started reading this I felt like it was a pretty straightforward romance. It was going to be a second chance romance with some spice thrown in. I felt like these things added up to be a great storyline. Then *bam* that 15% mark rolls around and I was NOT prepared.

Naveen and Mari are fun and unique characters. Mari comes from a rough and tumble criminal family whereas Naveen comes from the upper crust of society. They had previously dated years prior but Mari got anxious about their relationship and didn’t want to be with someone like her dad. Naveen was heartbroken by her sudden departure from his life and never fully moved on.

Flash Forward: three years later and they meet again at the law office he is now currently working at with his grandfather. One thing leads to another and shenanigans definitely ensue for these two as they traverse criminal enterprises and try to maintain working as a team.

I really did appreciate them overcoming the short comings from their past and working hard to be better for the person they loved. I just wish I had more flashbacks to when they were dating the first time. I feel like that really would have strengthened their relationship and helped the reader truly fall head over heels for them as a couple. Essentially this book takes place over a three day weekend, I personally need more context for such short span romances.

This book has a lot of great tropes:

Opposites Attract
Second Chance Romance
Heists
One Bed
Spice

So I definitely feel like this book will appeal to people who enjoy those things in their romances. There is a lot of great stuff that happens in this book and I can appreciate the diversity of the characters, because that adds an entire second layer to the story that is so fulfilling. This is a fun romance for a beach day for sure!

I just finished Partners in Crime and y'all its amazing!
Alisha Rai wrote an absolute amazing romance novel!

The writing was well done, the romance was super cute, and it's filled with tons of amazing action/swoony romance! Her writing is so unique to me and very refreshing.
A super sweet, funny at times, brilliant characters and a story I couldn't stop reading!
Spending the night in Las Vegas with Naveen and Mira trying to escape jewel thieves, running away from crime bosses I very much enjoyed these two and myself!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Avon,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This was such a fun, and fresh, rom-com! I knew that this novel would have some aspect of a heist/con considering our main character, Mira, is the daughter of a conman. However, I didn't realize that it would be the focus of the main plot, which was a pleasant surprise! This book was action-packed, and a super fun thrill overall. I could definitely see this being turned into a film with the way the story and action sequences were set up. I only wish that there was a better balance between Naveen and Mira's development from exes to lovers and the heist plot. Because the heist plot took up more of the storyline, I felt that Naveen and Mira's development felt a lttle rushed. I was also able to predict some of the plot twists that pop up towards the end of the novel regarding the heist. Overall this was still a very enjoyable read!

Alisha Rai hits it out of the park with this Rom-Com Adventure!
Meet Mira Chaudhary, a woman with a complicated past that includes Naveen Desai, a lawyer who also has challenges, including being mysteriously dumped by Mira several years ago. When they meet again sparks fly as they try to decipher clues to solving a high stakes mystery that has them running away from danger in Sin City. Together, both characters delve into their individual issues and consider a second chance at love.
I loved the characters in this book, flawed and fully developed with a great supporting cast, I felt as though they could be good friends of mine. Not your usual run of the mill romance, Ms. Rai has come up with something special here with Mira and Naveen’s love and adventures in Las Vegas.
If you’re looking for an action filled second chance romance with steamy chemistry – this is the book for you. I highly recommend and will be looking for more from Alisha Rai.
Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC, I thoroughly enjoyed!

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC! I absolutely loved this book and I’m so glad I got approved - this plot was fun and lighthearted in the heist and comedic aspect, while also managing to make me feel a bit emotional for our mains along the way. I loveeeeeed Mira and Naveen and their chemistry was just so, so wonderful.

The only thing that wasn’t really for me were the sex scenes, but honestly that’s just a personal preference and I’m sure it’ll hit for other people. And this may be something that gets changed when the book gets released, but a character gives a recovering alcoholic champagne near the end? Maybe it was meant to be non-alcoholic but it was a pretty significant detail that the character went to rehab, so it struck out as a bit weird to me and was the only thing that pulled me out of the book.

Other than that though, I loved this so much. I felt like I could just imagine everything happening like a movie as I was reading! I’m definitely going to be rereading this book again in the future.

This is exhilarating action packed, fast pacing, twisty, entertaining romantic suspense you’re easily drawn into and read in one sit!

Mira and Naveen’s unresolved feelings, sizzling chemistry attract your attention. The mysterious, adventurous plot line; the big schemes, unexpected twists you never see it coming, cat-mouse games, two ex-lovers’ heart throbbing escape from criminals are exciting elements that help you enjoy the full wild ride!

This is absolutely different story from the previous works the author had crafted! It starts like a romcom:We witness one of the failed dating attempts of Mira who is provided service of professional matchmaker. She’s broken hearted to be dumped by her last candidate. And we’re also introduced to Naveen: who was one of the dates of Mira( actually he’s the first guy she’s match made), an efficient lawyer,working with his grandfather who is suffering from health issues, forced to get marry sooner in exchange of having six bedroom house ( thanks to her very persuasive and wealthy mother)

Mira comes to Naveen’s office without any knowledge he’s the lawyer of her recently passed away aunt to be informed about her inheritance.

Naveen gets shocked because the woman who dumped her with a text and broke her heart has a different name and this is not the only lie she’s told about her past.

The opening of the story seemed like an intriguing romcom till Mira leaves the office and getting manhandled by two masked men. Naveen who follows her to the garage, tries to rescue her and unfortunately finds himself awake at a strange place, crawling near gagged and zip locked Mira,kidnapped, beaten and drugged.

Two ex lovers turn into partners in crime to get rid of the men who kidnapped them and looking for a valuable necklace that help him solve the entire trouble they got themselves into.

This means they have to lower their guards, talking about the secrets and baggages they’ve been carrying. But as they dig out more about Mira’s criminal parents’ pasts, they realize nothing as it seems and they are at the risk of losing their lives.

This was quick and enjoyable read! I had so much fun and highly recommend to the fan of action packed, heart throbbing thriller and romance fans!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this entertaining digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I really, really liked this book! It hooked me from the first chapter and kept me hooked the entire time! It was too cute!