“Love is always better with cheese.”

Nisha Sharma has done it again! Dare I say that I loved Bobbi and Bunty even more than Kareena and Prem from Dating Dr. Dil? Dating Dr. Dil was one of my favorites of 2022 and Tastes Like Shakkar did not disappoint as book two in the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series.

Tastes like Shakkar follows Bobbi and Bunty, best friends of Kareena and Prem, as they work together to plan the latter’s wedding. The catch? They kind of hate each other after a meet-disaster nearly a year ago.

I love how Nisha weaves together strong and fierce friendships within this series. The themes of family, friendship, and a bit of mystery with a shaadi sabateur made this such a lovely read. And the romance was wonderful, too - and yes, this book is spicy and has a bit of kink, as well.

I could so relate to Bobbi’s difficulty in asking others for help - “…I’ve always had to do anything that I’ve wanted by myself. And I know if I have complete control, then it’ll be done the right way.”

Thank you Avon books for the advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

Nisha Sharma does it again! I'm really loving this companion series, especially getting to see how past characters are doing and which couple is up next for their HEA. As far as the "let's help our friends get married trope", this has to be the most unique one I've encountered with the mystery element of who's out to sabotage Kareena and Prem's wedding. I enjoyed the chaos and shenanigans of this book a lot, and how Benjamin and Bobbi have to team up to make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. Their love story was so sweet, I enjoyed watching them bicker and then slowly break each other's walls down and fall for each other. Also, I LOVED the kink in this. It was so unexpected, but I was so here for it. I don't see that a lot in traditionally published romances, and now I want so much more casual kink in my Romance books. Overall, I loved this book a lot and I'm so excited for Deepak and Veera's romance!

Thank you @avonbooks @netgalley for a copy of this book. I loved Dating Dr. Gil and was excited to read Bobbi and Ben's story. This was a total enemies to lovers story at it's finest. I love seeing their relationship shift and all the sweet things that Ben did for Bobbi. There was an element of mystery to the story which was added an interesting subplot. I love the friendships in the story which brought a lot of depth. And be prepared to be hungry while reading this.

This the second book of the series. It was a delight read for me. It was a story about Bunty and Bobbie. I love their chemistry. And I love how Nisha Sharma shows the marriage culture of other southeast asian culture specially the Indian's.
Thank you Netgalley for the Advance Ereaders Copy

Another hilarious book loosely based on Much Ado About Nothing. I enjoyed this romantic tale about the side characters from Dating Dr. Dil.

I’ve only read two Shakespeare plays and “Much Ado About Nothing” is not one of them. Nonetheless I was throughly entertained, the shading saboteur was a highlight. Bobbi and Benjamin were fantastic together, started off as enemies who called a truce in order to work together w their friends wedding.
The writing was so good, very light and buttery to read through. I loved the family dynamics represented, made the story compelling and real. Being a child of immigrant parents is tough, trying to live up to the parents ideals and the pressure is frustrating. Sometimes we tend to lose ourselves to please the parents. Nisha Sharma outdid herself with bringing together Shakespeare, family and romance together.

Absolutely gorgeous
Love the story!!

Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I loved learning so much about the chaos of weddings and the South Asian cultures!

Bobbie is set to plan her best friend, Kareena's, wedding and is forced to work with Benjamin - the groom's best friend and the one chef Bobbie cannot get to cater a wedding for her. Amidst all of the chaos of planning the wedding and figuring out her feelings for Benjamin, Bobbie must deal with someone trying to sabotage Kareena's wedding.


It took me a little while to get through this book. Bobbie and Benjamin didn't really have a ton of chemistry (to me) and it felt like the spice was forced. I also have a lot of frustration when grown adults have 1 miscommunication and become enemies, then never try to talk about what happened.


The mystery aspect of who was trying to sabotage the wedding was fun and was one of the biggest reasons I kept reading. I enjoyed the South Asian cultural aspects and the group dynamics that the friends had.

While this one wasn't my favorite, I'm still looking forward to Deepak and Veera!

Thank you to #netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for an #eARC of this book! All opinions are my own!

I am a Much Ado stan, so I knew I would love this. Of course I did. Nisha writes so well and is also genuinely funny. My only complaint is I need y'all to give my girl better covers. It's what she deserves, and I'm trying to sell these books.

I, once again, read a series out of order. This is the second book in a series by Nisha - the first is Dating Dr. Dil which is on my TBR and I keep putting it off but now I have to read about Prem and Kareena because I am all out of order!

In book two, we watch Bobbi Kaur, Kareena’s best friend and wedding planner, and Benjamin Padda (also known as Bunty), Prem’s best friend and a Chef/restaurant owner, become enemies to lovers. Bobbi also represents plus sized South Asian women and her inner monologue frequently refers to how she’s dealt with fat shaming within her culture because she’s not the “traditionally beautiful Desi woman”.

Watching Bobbi and Benjamin’s relationship bloom was fun but honestly the star of this show was the hunt for the shaadi saboteur (I used google translate and I think this is Hindi for wedding saboteur) and the aunties! I have a love for the aunties in South Asian romances. And when I read the acknowledgments (I always read to the very end) and saw that Nisha named the aunties based off of fellow South Asian authors, I immediately had to add them to my list of authors to check out!

This book was a load of fun. I laughed a lot throughout and I loved learning about all the different things that go into planning an Indian wedding. The decorations, the outfits, the traditions, and it lasts for days! It honestly sounds so beautiful and like an experience you would never forget.

I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the advanced copy of Tastes Like Shakkar, for my honest review. Loved the opportunity to read one of the authors on my must read list! Now to finish Nisha’s backlist!

This book is trying to do a LOT. And you know? It mostly succeeds.

[b:Tastes Like Shakkar|62800940] is the follow up to [a:Dating Dr. Dil|57007401]. Wedding planner Bobbi and in-demand chef Benjamin (aka Bunty] are thrown together as they are forced to work together to plan the menu for Kareena and Prem’s nuptials, and not only do they loathe each other (well, Bobbi hates Bunty, but the feeling may <i>not</i> be mutual), everything just seems to go wrong. Could someone be trying to sabotage the wedding?

Sharma pulls from the original enemies-to-lovers, <i>Much Ado About Nothing</i> for the second installment of <b>If Shakespeare Was an Auntie</b> (a great concept, if only it didn’t pain me every time because of bad grammar!). Bobbi and Bunty stand in for Beatrice and Benedick, though their bickering, while sharp, isn’t really Bard-worthy. They also lay down their proverbial swords quite early, and the book turns its focus to whether (a) Bunty will choose Bobbi over loyalty to his overbearing father across the country, (b) Bobbi will convince her uncle to trust her with more responsibility at his wedding planning company, (c) they will catch whoever is trying to sabotage the wedding, (d) they’ll get the (maybe) racist event coordinator at the fancy venue to stop undermining the wedding (….yyyeah). Oh, and also, Bunty is into bondage. Whew!

This was a wild ride, if overstuffed. I was drooling every time we got to hear about more of Bunty’s amazing cooking - I’d have loved to hear more, and more about his dreams for expanding his restaurant empire. Nor did we get to spend enough time with Kareena and Prem to truly see their best friendships in action (rather than be merely told). Still, Bobbi and Bunty were a lot of fun together, with super hot chemistry. That will make up for a lot of sins.

[b:Tastes Like Shakkar|62800940] by [a:Nisha Sharma|3003728]
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫 3.5 stars rounded up
🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ Yeowww I’m never going to look at Indian wedding chairs the same way
🤡 The shaadi Saboteur was seriously cruel to do that… thing with a clown
🫓🥘 Chapti > Roti > Naan
👵🏽 Needed more aunties

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Great!! What a delight. A sweet, sexy, and very funny modern take on Much Ado About Nothing!! The MCs are a wedding planner and chef with great tropes including, light enemies to lovers, forced proximity, found family,

Tastes Like Shakkar follows Bobbi as she plans her best friend’s wedding and find love on the way. I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy reading about other cultures, especially their wedding traditions. While the family happiness vs personal happiness issue is unfamiliar to me, I realize that it is a very big and tough issue for immigrant American families. I would recommend this book to friends.

I think this one was about 3.5 stars, rounded up. I love the premise, just like the first, where it’s based on Shakespeare. I will say I got a bit less of Much Ado About Nothing from this one than I did Taming of the Shrew from the first. There was more toward the end but I guess it felt like a stretch? Also the aunties were not in this one enough and I missed them.

As with the first one I love how Sharma addresses problems in her culture that the next generation is working on healing, while at the same time celebrating family and community strength and all of the wonderful things about it too. I have no doubt her desi readers are delighted to feel like she understands them so well. And I love the glimpse into and the education on everything India and India’s diaspora.

As far as the romance goes, I did like these two together. But I didn’t love them, I guess. I’m not sure if it was their dynamic or the way Sharma diffused the tension too soon rather than letting it build more slowly and gently, that made me not feel as invested in them as a couple. I loved Bobbi, I have to say. But Bunty irritated me.

All in all, I do love the series, and I must add that the pacing in this was excellent, quick and forward and a fast read.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Tastes Like Shakkar is the second in Nisha Sharma’s If Shakespeare Was an Auntie series. It can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend the first one, because the supporting cast, from the aunties to the group of friends, make the series a lot of fun. I particularly liked the little interstitials from the aunties this time around.
While I was initially skeptical of the premise, this book ended up making it work for me, in terms of actually understanding what makes enemies-to-lovers work. Benjamin and Bobbi had an unfortunate, awkward encounter that set the tone of animosity for their relationship going forward, in spite of them having mutual friends who end up together (the couple from the last book). But while they got off on the wrong foot, it was very much a case of “right person, wrong time,” as well as a bit of initial misconceptions that got in the way. Benjamin and Bobbi are actually very similar, especially in their loyalty to their friends, as well as their vulnerabilities, like Bobbi being a bit of a perfectionist to a fault and Benjamin struggling to put himself first every once in a while. Also, props to Sharma for the depiction of a plus-size desi girl!
I really enjoyed this one, and I’m excited for what’s to come for Veera with the next book! I’d recommend this if you enjoy multicultural contemporary romances.

A great continuation to the "If Shakespeare was an Auntie" series!

The book begins with some absolutely incredible banter. Bobbi and Bunty do NOT get along but are forced to work together for the best friends' (main couple from book one) wedding. Bobbi is a wedding planner desperate to prove herself and take over the company when her uncle is ready to step down. Bunty is a chef and owner of Indian restaurants.

But even if they work through their differences and admit to their mutual attraction, wedding planning won't go smoothly. Someone is sabotaging it left and right. Of course, they enlist the help of the notorious aunties to help catch the saboteur.

I loved all the chaos, however, as I'm going through a stressful time at work right now, Bobbi's work stress really hit hard and made the book harder to read. I generally prefer contemporary rom-coms to focus less on work, so that could be a me thing. I loved Bobbi and Bunty as a couple and their chemistry. Honestly could've used more banter. And I'm absolutely flabbergasted by how many times characters would book last minute flights. Like who can afford that? Overall, an engaging plot, lovable characters, and some spice.

I don’t know what it is about this series but I love it. Bobbi and Benjamin’s love/hate relationship was such a fun dynamic and I love how they knew that had to come together for their friends. I also loved the “mystery” of the saboteur. I am also still loving the Aunties and their involvement, you can tell while they are nosy they truly do have the best intentions. I do also love the text conversations.

I liked the connection that Bunty and Bobbi had, it felt real. However, I wanted to see it a bit more. I loved all of their text conversations, it was nice to see them becoming friends. I think that the ending really suits them but I want a bonus chapter possibly about him proposing.

I received an arc thorough netgalley.

Tastes Like Shakkar is a charming romcom set in the same world as the author's previous book, Dating Dr. Dil. While I personally enjoyed reading Dating Dr. Dil first, it is not necessary to enjoy and follow this story.
Right off the bat our two main characters are attracted to one another. After a conversation, their first impressions of each other are lacking. They are then looped into helping plan their best friends' wedding and they can't fight their attraction. There is a lot of banter in this hate to love romance. I enjoyed the focus on their careers and the build up of their relationship. The spicier scenes were also well written. I look forward to reading more by Nisha Sharma.

Tastes Like Shakkar is the second book in the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series. Dating Dr. Dil was the first book. This can be read as a stand alone even though the time line picks up after the events of Dating Dr. Dil.

Our couple is Benjamin and Bobbi - best friends of Kareena and Prem. The book starts off with how they first met 10 months earlier - both were definitely attracted to each other but Benjamin says something without thinking that leads to Bobbi to not like him. Later they find themselves working together on planning Kareena and Prem’s wedding and trying to figure out who is trying to sabotage the wedding plans.

I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed Dating Dr. Dil, maybe even more! Benjamin and Bobbi are great together and so similar - work is their primary focus and they tend to put other people’s needs first. Watching them work through that and a long distance relationship was really sweet. And the epilogue sets up the next book in the series, which I am looking forward to reading!

I recommend this for readers that enjoy:

💚 Enemies to lovers
💚 Long distance relationship
💚 Found family
💚 Open door romance

Tastes Like Shakkar is out on August 1! Thanks NetGalley and Avon for the advance readers copy. All thoughts are my own.