Loved this! Perfect romantic read with just the right amount of will they won't they drama. I gobbled it up in afternoon on the beach.

I have to say, at the beginning I didn't think I will enjoy this book as much as I did.. Start was slow and some stuff felt so repetitive. Annika and her idea of her life and future, repeating it over and over,just didn't sit well with me. Now I see it was more her trying to convince herself than anything else. Loved Rav from the beginning and I think his intentions were pretty clear from very start, well to everyone apart form Annika probably. Very enjoyable read

Absolutely LOVED this!! You know from the start that this story centres around the 'fake-dating' trope so whilst the ending is predictable, how the characters get there isn't and I just couldn't put it down! I loved how strongly independent a character Annika is and I fell in love with Rav myself!
I found it fascinating how diverse the British-Indian upbringing is portrayed in the book, and loved all the insights into the rich, colourful world of Indian celebrations, particularly all the wedding traditions. I'll definitely be adding Ruby Basu onto my TBR author list and buying a copy of this for myself!

**Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own **

First off thankyou to the publishers for a great romcom .


tropes :: Fake Dating , Enemies to Lovers


I do enjoy a good fake dating story there is times I can be put off them, , but the story was great and really enjoyed it . I know lots of you like fake dating this wont disappoint you .

The characters Annika I loved she fearlessly independent bit of girl power there for you and very happy go lucky a free spirit I would say .Rav a very hot smut worthy entrepreneur he more like I've got me I love me that it happy days , we all know that not true.

I did really love the close family bond that Annika had with her family , she loved them very much she was even willing to fake date to keep them happy , there was a few moments with her family that did tickly me but you could also see the sadness where she maybe losing a family member .

The writing I really was great I really liked the witty /funny charming parts with Rav and Annika belly chuckle from me a few times . we all know I love dance and they a had a bit of this in the story and gave me all the butterfly's .
they only thing and I know its fake dating but you know there is a lot of feelings there so I did find that a little frustrating I just wanted to get in the book and be like you like him she likes you now get married have kids ha !. another than that the story it self was very good and a brilliant romcom ,and if you love a romcom this is for you .


I rated this 4.5 stars

A lovely tale of traditional family culture and all the anxiety and pressures it entails. Annika is not looking for a boyfriend, as she has no plans to settle down, but her parents think otherwise. Rave needs a girlfriensd to win a contract, so together they agree to have a fake arrangement, but what happens along the way surprises them both

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Move over, all other book boyfriends; there's a new guy in town. Let me start by saying, I read this as an ebook on my phone, where usually, I find it not the easiest to engage but I couldn't keep away from this book. I had it finished in just a few hours.

After telling her family she has a boyfriend, Annika needs to deliver; only she doesn't have a boyfriend and she doesn't want one. Enter Rav Gohli: The Gold Standard; the childhood prodigy. Her nemesis. They agree to a fake dating arrangement, that Annika hopes will keep her parents happy, and Rav hopes will further his business. But things don't go that smoothly.

This was an incredibly sweet fake dating story and while there were moments of miscommunication, a trope which can usually be very irritating, here it felt authentic.

This is one of my favourites this year, I need it on my physical bookshelf asap

Firstly thanks to @netgalley HarperCollins & Ruby Basu for this #gifted e-Advanced Reader Copy of The Love Arrangement ❤️

This book centres around the independent & free spirited Annika who is perfectly happy with her life & has no plans to settle down anytime soon…if only her parents felt the same way. But when her father unexpectedly falls ill, she’ll do anything to make things better. Even if it means suddenly blurting out she has a boyfriend.

The only issue is, he doesn’t exist.... Cue the Love Arrangement...the only hitch is she forms it with her childhood nemesis... It was only ever supposed to be a simple, temporary arrangement. Nothing more. Certainly love was never part of the terms and conditions. But Annika’s about to discover that some deals are made to be broken…

What I liked 👍
● I enjoyed the idea 💡 of this one!
● I found Annika to be fun & relatable
● The comedic banter between the two main characters was enjoyable 😀

Rating ~ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

If you enjoy a fun rom com then I'd suggest giving this a try!

🏷 #TheLoveArrangement #NetGalley #romance #BookReview #BookNerd #booksta #bookstagrammerUK #literaryadventueswithgabby

This book has a fake-dating trope and is completely predictable, but I LOVED it. I’ve been in a little bit of a reading slump lately and this book was exactly what I needed.

Your two main characters are Annika and Ravi and I definitely preferred the character of Ravi, Annika was maybe a little too stand off-ish at times. There was only really one thing I disliked about the book and that was just Annika’s lack of faith in herself and in Ravi, she was constantly telling herself things wouldn’t work out and I just wanted her to take a step back and realise that she had to stop procrastinating and just take a chance.

I know I have said how predictable this book is, but even so, I’ve given it 5 stars because I was up until 2 am reading, I just couldn’t put it down - of course, I had to so I could get some sleep (little miss was up at 5.30 am the next morning so I was super tired). Even with the predictability of the storyline, it was such an easy, feel-good read.

The characters are relatable and enjoyable to read about, I really liked how much of an easy read this book was, its a great stand-alone book to just keep going between other books.

Rav and Annika's romance has some enemies to lovers and some fake dating. A really lovely story with characters that I really started to root for, The Love Arrangement is something very special!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book which tells the story of an Indian lady who agrees to date her childhood nemesis in order to get her parents off her back. The plot was a bit contrived but I feel the writing was very good and the situations were not over dramatised . I enjoyed the details on Indian weddings etc. as they were vibrant and interesting. I would read this author again.

‘The Love Arrangement’ is the latest book by Ruby Basu.

Independent and free-spirted Annika has no plans to settle down anytime soon… if only her parents felt the same way. But when her father unexpectedly falls ill, she’ll do anything to make things better. Even if it means suddenly blurting out she has a boyfriend. The only issue is, he doesn’t exist. Then, by chance, she bumps into handsome entrepreneur Rav, and she can’t believe her luck. He’s single, sworn off relationships and looking for a date to attend work events with. He’s the perfect solution to her troubles. Or is he? Because there’s just one slight catch – he also happens to be her childhood nemesis. It was only ever supposed to be a simple, temporary arrangement. Nothing more. Certainly love was never part of the terms and conditions. But Annika’s about to discover that some deals are made to be broken…

Annika aka Nikki teams up with her childhood nemesis Rav to pretend to be a couple to to get her traditional Indian parents of her back and to help Rav with a work pitch. This arrangement works perfectly for both of them but the last thing that Nikki ever expected was to fall to in love with Rav and for the arrangement become real.

I loved Nikki, she’s fun, brave and works hard in her environmental job that takes her away for periods of time. Her brother and sister are married with children and her parents long for her to settle down so to put their minds at ease, she agrees to be in a pretend relationship with childhood friend Rav, a successful man that many women lust after and when Nikki announces their relationship, she is the talk of the neighbourhood.

Nikki is fiercely independent and when she pairs up with Rav, she has to adapt her way of life but this really makes for lovely reading. Rav is an intense man driven by success and Nikki’s warmhearted and bubbly spirit helps him relax and as the pair pretend to be partners at significant moments in each other’s lives, such as family weddings, work events, Nikki begins to see Rav as a genuine boyfriend and how well they work together as a team.

This story is a warm and fun tale, that was great to get lost in. Packed with interesting characters, insights of the bright and vibrant Indian world as well as the hardships of the pressure to settle down, ‘The Love Arrangement’ is a sweetly written story about love and family.

You can pre-order ‘The Love Arrangement’ from Amazon and will be available to buy from 13th October 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley and The Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I didn't felt the chemistry between them. Their relationship felt forced. Also I needed a dual pov. I wanted to get to know him.

I felt that the author was forcing the characters to have sex to develop their fake dating arrangement. I love fake dating trope but this one was really not represented well. Also author stated that they were nemesis but they were never nemesis. Annika just hated him because her parents always compared her to him, so she started to think him as enemy which is ridiculous.

As an Indian I felt many similarities. But for me it was kind of awkward to read Indian Names. Also to be honest I didn't liked the parents of both of them. Rav mom was kind of rude.

I don't think they were attracted to each other. Their whole fake dating relationship was messy. I hated both the MCs.

Excellent story of a couple who pretend to be dating. Annika has no plans to settle down but needs a boyfriend to please her family especially her dad. Entrepreneur Rav needs a girlfriend in order to win a contract so they agree to be together.
A very good story about traditional asian culture and the pressures.
Would recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley & HQ, HQ Digital for a advanced copy.

Hmmm, lots to unpack with this book!

Firstly I loved the cover. It is what drew me in. I love the South Asian rep, in the sense that its brown characters and one has a beard which SO ACCURATELY resembles South Asian men 🤣🤣🤣

The opening was good. I liked the introductions, the family vibes were very important and felt true to the story. I liked Rav straight away, probably more than I liked the main character whose name I have literally forgotten, even though I JUST finished reading this book (!!??)

I got a bit bored in the middle. Bored is the wrong word actually, I just wasn't hooked enough in the middle to keep reading. However the last half of the book was SOO GOOD. I read it in one go because I needed to know how it would end.

A few things I didn't love - the one bed trope. I didnt feel it was relevant and then it disappeared so what was the point of adding it in the first place? Also this is a closed door romance, fade to black, whatever you want to call it. I usually love these, but I felt it cut off WAY too early. I needed a little bit more!!

I also felt like there was a lot going on. Lots of sub plots, lots of things that just were not relevant.

Overall though, I enjoyed it!

I started enjoying this book from the first page. It was so funny and very clever. I have read a book by this author before and enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this one. It didn’t disappoint and was a great read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

An excellent fake date trope story that was strengthened by the cultural element. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought that the character of Annika was well drawn and very original. She's feisty and fun and a little flawed, it's not surprising that the buttoned up, seemingly perfect Rav falls for her, even though the doesn't recognise it.

I loved the gentle humour of Ruby Basu's writing and the insight into another culture. Well written, interesting and a great story.

This book was a really sweet and fast paced romcom. It has an enemies to lovers and fake dating trope, which I love. I did find it lacking in emotion, at least for me. As it was a sweet story of finding love when you least expect it, there was no spark or excitement and zero spice. I was left just feeling kind of "blah".

Thank you to NetGallery and HarperCollins UK HQ for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was just not for me. There was way too much explaining and repetition... we get it... we don't need a man to be happy... we can focus on our career and not want to give it up and settle down for a man.

The love interest just did not do it for me at all, he was rigid and stilted and his interest in our MC didn't feel genuine at all.

It was a DNF as I got about halfway through and I just couldn't carry on.

There was some humour in there and I think the story had potential but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

I love a good fake dating trope and this did deliver. It is definitely a slow burn romance novel which personally sometimes I dislike cause it does drag.

I love the idea that it is also kind of an enemies-to-lovers trope although one sided. I think Niki and Rav were a cute couple but there were some parts of the book where I felt the relationship/chemistry felt a bit forced. It feels like they do fit as a couple but at the same time don't. In a relationship you do compromise but I felt Rav did all the compromising and Niki didn't do any which was a bit strange.

I did love Niki as a character but she needs to understand how to organise her life for the things she wants. It felt like in her mind it was the job or a love life but you can have both if you learn to prioritise and work at it.

Coming from a traditional asian home I expected more of the culture and background to be weaved into the book so was a little disappointed when it seemed slightly geared to a western audience.

I was a bit annoyed that there seemed like plot devices that happened that led nowhere like the two side characters of Tinu and Greg who just drop off in the middle of the book which was odd.

I would recommend the book, it was very easy to read, humourous in some parts and a cute story.

From a cute cover to a well constructed plot and good writing, this book had it all. I thought that the romance was cute, I enjoyed the part where Rav & Annika had to fake date. Annika thinks of Rav as her childhood nemesis but it was all in her head because Rav was a really sweet and understanding guy. There wasn't much of a banter between them but they grew to genuinely enjoy each other's company throughout the entire time they spent together. While it was a fun read, it didn't have anything different or extraordinary and I felt like something was missing. There were certain cultural aspects that I liked but I think the book lacked in humor which is why I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would after reading the blurb tbh.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review