Tastes Like Shakkar is a sweet rom com based on Much Ado About Nothing. Although, I hadn't read Dating Dr. Dil, it was easy enough to go into this book blind. The story focuses on the best friends of the MCs in Dating Dr. Dil. Bobbi and Benjamin have had terrible first impressions of each other and their contention has only escalated over time. They get looped into working together to help with wedding preparations of their best friends.

Bobbi is a wedding planner and Benjamin (Bunty) is a restaurant owner and chef. They are both deeply committed to their careers and quite successful. At first, it was hard to like Bobbi and Benjamin, but they both grew on me. It was clearer why they both had put up walls or previously acted in a prickly manner. There was a big focus on their careers. The wedding and food descriptions were sumptuous, but I could've used less. It was pretty spicy at parts. I enjoyed the build up of their relationship, the ancillary characters, and the hijinks. It ended up being a super fun and sweet read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

3.75 ⭐️ So much fun!! This book had me hooked from the start!

”There isn't a single dish that I could create that would taste as good as the both of us together.”

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ modern spin on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
✨ indian wedding planning
✨ punjabi main characters
✨ she's a loyal, controlling wedding planner trying to plan her best friend’s wedding
✨ he's an egotistical and irritatingly sexy chef who's supposed to help her with the menu since he’s the groom’s best friend
✨ first impression gone wrong
✨ hate to love (on her side)
✨ forced proximity
✨ similars attracts: stubborn, workaholics who don't want a relationship
✨ "you make me crazy"
✨ amazing banter
✨ he falls first
✨ found family
✨ plus size fmc
✨ 2.5/5 spice
✨ kinks: praise, bondage, cl*t slapping, minor exhibitionism, toys
✨ taylor swift references


My Thoughts:

Okay, so I liked this book! I really did. Especially the first half!

We start off with a bang in the prologue where Benjamin and Bobbi meet 10 months ago. There's so much sexual tension between the two and they share an almost kiss! But thanks to four stupid words (said by Benjamin, of course), Bobbi currently hates him. This is a hate to love (on Bobbi's end) romance, where no matter how hard Benjamin tries, he can't seem to do anything but piss her off. I LOVED their vexing banter and how hard they fight their attraction to one another. But thanks to their friends forcing them to work together, they are unable to resist.

Benjamin and Bobbi were also extremely likable and very similar characters! Bobbi is such a loving and loyal friend. She does everything with 100% of her entire heart and won't stop until it's done to perfection. That's what also makes her an incredible successful wedding planner. I also appreciated that she was plus size and extremely confident in herself! And we were able to learn a bit more about perceptions of being plus size not only by American standards but those of Punjabi men and women.

Benjamin is also an incredibly kind and loyal friend. He is extremely confident and straightforward, but plays mediator for his family, which tends to pull him between his passions and 'responsibilities'. Throughout the book, Benjamin realizes he needs to prioritize himself and his happiness instead of being manipulated and controlled by his family. Watching him grow and go through this journey was a very cathartic experience for me.

On a side note, one of the main themes of this book is community whether it be your friends or family and I love that!

I also really enjoyed that the non-romance plot was centered around Prem and Kareena's wedding! These two are just the cutest! Seeing their love story unfold in Dating Dr. Dil was a delight, so to see their wedding play out was a special treat. Maybe in the next book, we'll see them having kids. 😍

So why am I giving this book 3.75 stars?

I did not vibe with the spice AT ALL. The dirty talk was not my jam. The writing felt really formulaic and just didn't suck me in. I'm also not a huge fan of the endearment 'my queen,' so that gave me the ick. And my biggest issue - the bondage. It felt like it was randomly thrown in. It wasn't introduced in a realistic way, so these scenes didn't quite make sense from a character perspective. You're telling me that the first time Benjamin and Bobby really have the chance for some p&v penetration, he's bringing ropes, explains bondage to her, and then ties her up and face f*cks her instead of giving her pleasure first? It felt like he was just taking the entire scene and gave me the ick. I mean, sure, they've done other stuff before and had phone sex, but this is the very first time they're meeting in person in a not-quickie situation, and instead of either going fast and hard or slow and deliberate, his first move is to face f*ck her. I just couldn't believe it. There should have been one scene before this where they come together where it's just them. Oh, and then, he has an entire flask of whiskey that he pours all over her body and licks it up slowly. Again, just not my thing, and the way it was written didn't convince me it could be.

Also, once they're officially together, things moved a little slow and I lost a little interest. It wasn't horribly slow but enough that around 75% I skimmed a bit of non-dialogue to figure out the wedding mystery drama.

Overall, this was a fun addition to the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series and I cannot wait for Veera's (and presumably Deepak's) story!

Tastes like Shakkar by: Nisha Sharma
4/5 stars

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity

Bobbi and Benjamin (aka Bunty) are one of the best book couples I’ve read this year.
Bobbi is a wedding planner, with a near-perfect execution record. Benjamin is a chef trying to break out of his father’s traditional clutches.
A year after an almost-sexy encounter, they’re consistently at each other’s throats. But they have to put aside their not-so-differences to plan their best friends’ wedding in four months - which someone is actively trying to sabotage.
Their bickering had me laughing out loud throughout the whole book. The entire spectrum of emotions was there, honesty. Leg-kicking, chef-kissing(no pun intended), and stomach-clenching.
The story/plot itself came together perfectly and I was right there with the characters, hanging onto every word as I read.

This book goes above and beyond for representation. Nisha keeps improving with each book, and the care she puts into her art form is evident. I loved every page of this book -- from Bunty's very real and relatable struggle with his parents and cultural expectations, to Bobbi's fierce independence, I loved the dynamic between the two characters. Additionally, having the other cast members in the book was like revisiting an old friend. I really enjoyed it, and diverse stories must be prioritized!

This book was amazing!! It gave me those same vibes that i loved in dating dr. dil but a bit more spice!! Bobbi and Ben strongly dislike eachother and constantly banter when they are by each other after a run-in they had with each other. It gives this enemies to lovers vibe that has great banter and it gives the reader this great experience to see that banter's nature evolve throughout the book. We also get some forced proximity with them having to work together on Karenna and Prem's wedding. And lastly some bondage kinks that were very well executed! Ben and Bobbi are two independently strong characters and it was beautiful to see them change throughout the book together. They both definitely were working through their own things and learned a lot about themselves with the help of the other. I am also just obsessed with the aunties and their personalities. Also the way they care for everyone and really how everyone cares for each other. It what keeps bringing me back to these books and these characters. I cannot wait for the next one!!

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “You know what would improve Much Ado About Nothing? Spicy scenes.” then Tastes Like Shakkar is extremely for you!

The second book in Nisha Sharma’s If Shakespeare Was An Auntie series of interconnected standalones (you don’t have to have read the first book, Dating Dr. Dil, which is a reimagining of The Taming of the Shrew, but it helps a bit with establishing some of the minor characters), this story follows Bobbi, an in-demand wedding planner, and Benjamin, a popular chef, who run in the same friend group and *cannot* stand each other in the most electric way, but who have to work together to plan their mutual best friends’ wedding.

In true Beatrice and Benedick fashion, the tension between these two basically lights the pages on fire as you read, but there are also big emotional arcs here that center around family, career, and how to balance everything when love is in the mix.

Here’s what else to expect:

🔥intense dislike to lovers
👩‍❤️‍👨 characters in their 30s
💋 curvy FMC
✈️ some angst
🪢 ropes
💒 a wedding mystery

All in all, Tastes Like Shakkar is a fun, fast, and spicy read – I had a great time with it, and am looking very forward to the next installment in the series!

Two things immediately drew me to wanting to read this Tastes Like Shakkar: Nisha Sharma’s first book, Dating Dr. Dil, was SO GOOD, and Tastes Like Shakkar was influced by my favorite Shakespeare play, Much Ado about Nothing.

The book follows the journey of a talented wedding planner, Bobbi Kaur, and up-and-coming restauranteur, Benjamin “Bunty” Padda. Through mutual friends, Bobbi and Benjamin have met before, and circumstances didn’t make for the best of introductions, leaving the two with a strong mutual distaste for one another. When friends Prem and Kareena get engaged and enlist Bobbi to make their wedding dreams come true, Bobbi and Benjamin find themselves crossing paths more and more. When an unknown individual begins to sabotage elements of the wedding, Bobbi and Benjamin are forced to work together along with the Aunties to discover who the “shaadi saboteur” is. In true Enemies-to-Lovers fashion, Bobbi and Benjamin find themselves with more common ground and admiration for one another as the story moves forward.

Tastes Like Shakkar DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I’m not even going to apologize for yelling in all-caps because that’s how much I loved the book. Bobbi is a plus size woman who is openly confident in her body, and as a plus size woman myself, I loved reading about a plus size character who wasn’t trying to diet or felt unworthy because of her size. Bobbi was sexy and flirty, and exactly the kind of plus size representation we need in books! There is also some kink representation in this book (bondage) that was written beautifully without feeling like it was just tossed in for the sake of being there. The couple talked through their scenes, and enthusiastic consent was provided.

And the spicy scenes as a whole?!? Wowza! They were the perfect balance for the book—enough to get you engaged but not too much that it distracted from the plot. I’d say a solid 2-3 chili peppers on the spice scale.
I would gladly read this book again, and I look forward to hopefully grabbing the audiobook performance once it’s available! Tastes Like Shakkar will have you feeling all of your feels, including wanderlust for traveling to India and trying all the incredible food and fashion from the country.

An ARC was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the book. Thank you!

Tastes Like Shakkar is a fun story with great chemistry between Bobbi a wedding planner and Benjamin a Chef. There is mystery and complicated family dynamics. It’s an overall fun read and definitely worth checking out.

I liked Prem & Kareena but I LOVE Bobbi & Bunty!
This book is a great example of how to do the miscommunication trope right!
Bunty inadvertently hurt Bobbi personally and cost her an opportunity to impress her boss. Can he convince her he’s not an a$$hole? Will he realize how much she means to him in time?
Bobbi thinks Bunty is a dick. A hot one who can cook, but a dick. Can she put aside her complicated feelings for him to give her best friend the wedding she deserves? Will she win back her bosses high regards?
There should have been too much going on here… A romance. A shady saboteur. A wedding. Family drama. Interfering aunties. Spicy open door scenes. And more… BUT I loved every minute of this wild wedding whirlwind! It left me hungry and hot under the collar. Can’t wait for the next installment in the Shakespearean Aunties series.

An absolutely fantastic follow up to Dating Dr Dil!

Tastes like Shakkar gives us the frienemies to lovers story of Bobbi and Bunti, whose chemistry is explosive! This book packs heart AND heat! The spice is definitely kicked up a notch in this one, exploring kink, and with amazing fat representation!

This is the second book in the if Shakespeare was Aunitie Series, by Nisha Sharma. It is as delightful as the first book and it was so much fun to see more from characters that we met in the first book. Kareena and Prem are now getting married with Kareena’s friend Bobbi as the wedding planner. Bobbi is expected to work with Benjamin, Bunty, who is a restaurant tour and one of Prem’s best friends. Of course both Bobbi and Buntyare attracted to one another. They both are also dealing with family issues because of their family businesses. On top of that there is a saboteur who is trying to mess with Kareena and Prem’s wedding. As there are more wedding activities and they work together to both find the saboteur and plan a perfect wedding for their friends Monty and Bobby start to act on their attraction. I found the chemistry between Bobbi and Bunty to be amazing and I was along for the ride when it came to their relationship . I loved the backdrop of trying to find out the person who was trying to wreck the wedding. I love the fact that not only do we see the female friendships, but also how strong the male friendships are as well. Also, I love that the aunties are back, and as usual, have inserted themselves into everything. it’s a perfect romcom for me because there is plenty of romance along with shenanigans. I found myself entertained from beginning to end, and cannot wait until the next book.

Book Name: Tastes Like Shakkar
Author: Nisha Sharma

ARC
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an ARC of ****Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma****

Stars: 4.25
Spice: 4

Book 2 of the Character Anthology Series:
(don’t need to read Dating Dr. Dill to enjoy)
Fast Paced
Dual POV
Contemporary Romance
Indian Representation

- Topics
- Body positivity
- Racism
- Worth and Work
- Much Ado About Nothing Retelling
- Tropes
- Enemies to Lovers
- Pride and Prejudice Vibes
- Insults as a Love Language
- Miscommunication
- Sabotage
- Fight the Feelings
- Mystery
- Enemy of my Enemy is my Lover?
- Thoughts.
- Dressing Room Scene
- Cooking Lessons😍
- Comedy of Errors.
- Ropes
- So Good
- Perfect End of Summer Read

Bobbi Kaur is determined to plan a celebration to remember for her best friend’s wedding. But she has two problems that are getting in her way: 1. The egotistical, and irritatingly sexy, chef Benjamin “Bunty” Padda is supposed to help her with the menu since he’s the groom’s best friend, and 2. Someone is trying to sabotage the wedding. With aspirations of taking over her family’s event planning business, Bobbi knows that one misstep will only give her uncle another reason not to promote her. Bunty will do anything for his best friend, even though he has his hands full in finding a new location for his next restaurant while also playing mediator between his brother and father, the celebrated Naan King. When Prem asks Bunty to help with the wedding menu, he agrees, especially since it puts him in close proximity to the delicious Bobbi Kaur. When a mystery shaadi saboteur starts leaving threatening notes, and messing with events, Bunty and Bobbi have no choice but to call a truce and face the volatile attraction they have for each other. Through masquerade fundraisers and a joint bachelor-bachelorette trip to Vegas, this chef and wedding planner explore their growing connection all while trying to plan a wedding at Messina Vineyards in a time crunch. But once the shaadi saboteur is caught and the wedding is over, will their love story have a happily ever after?

Dating Dr. Dil was one of my favorite books last year. I was worried the sequel wouldn't hold up to the original, but Tastes Like Shakkar was so good! I was in a rut of middle of the road books and this one lifted me out of it so fast. I loved Bobbi and Bunty's relationship. The enemies to lovers, the hot sexy chef vibes. CHEFS KISS! I enjoyed the added mystery plot line. Who was sabotaging the wedding was so much fun. I was guessing people the whole time and I never guessed the correct saboteur! Lastly the family drama between both hero's and their relatives was so relatable. They both needed to put themselves before their families and I can totally relate to the struggle of putting your own needs first.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 8/1

I recently read Dating Dr Dil & loved it so I was so excited to receive an arc copy of this book & it did NOT disappoint! I absolutely loved Benjamin & Bobbi and watching them fall in love while they plan Prem & Kareena’s wedding. I thought the little text exchanges were cute & how Benjamin always left Bobbi little notes of things. I cannot wait to read Vera’s story next!

Thank you to Harper collins & Nisha for the arc!

not as good as the first book but still extremely fun and worth the read. rope play, long distance, enemies to lovers, I think the reason I didnt like this as much is because of the long distance, so much of the relationship was over text and not in person.

Omg I loved this! ♥️
This is a Much Ado About Nothing retelling. I loved how it started with Bobby and Benjamin interested in each other but then becoming enemies over one comment.
Bobby, who is an amazing event planner, is organizing Kareena and Dr Dil's (Prem) wedding.
Anything that can go wrong does go wrong and they don't know who is trying to sabotage it.
Loved getting to see the characters from Dating Dr. Dil again! Loved all the food and wedding planning, the banter and the Aunties.
Bobby is such a strong, smart character that knows her worth and doesn't let anyone put her in a corner. She's fing amazing.
This book also broached a lot of serious discussions around familial responsibilities and the worth or value of a person based on their work product. I'm a helper and always asks what is needed so I get that.

Loved the curvy rep and OMG the bondage kink. 🔥🔥 Wasn't expecting that. Loved it!

Thank you avonbooks for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! If there’s one thing I like, it’s reluctant attraction from supposed rivals. I love a couple that are so attracted to each other and so mad about it at the same time. Once they start to warm up to each other, they morph into a very healthy, communicative couple which is so refreshing! I also loved the spice - it wasn’t extremely spicy, but I thought the spice was relevant and very well done. The book made me laugh out loud several times, and the found family dynamic was just perfect. In conclusion, I love this book and I can’t wait to read it again!!

Thank you Net Galley and Avon for this advanced reader's copy. My pre-order was in before I got the eARC, and I can't wait to have a physical copy. This is a 4.5 rounding up to a five for other apps.

Bobbi is 30. Shes competent, capable, and career oriented. She's one of the best wedding/event planners in New Jersey/New York. She has one white whale, get Benjamin"Bunti" Padda to cater a wedding. When she can't, her uncle doesn't trust her to run the event business. A year later after many frosty moments (we see mostly in discussions), their best friends insist on having Bunti and Bobbi collab on their wedding. Sparks fly, and the two must navigate their new relationship and figure out who's trying to sabotage the wedding.

This book was as good as Dating Dr Dil. Sharma is one of my favorite romance writers. Her MCs are aware, well crafted, and connected to each other and their families and friends. I value how much they are not in isolation with other, bit they are connecting within their community. The characters are Desi, bilingual, and this never leaves the page.

The spice (light kink , huge consent) was delicious and it demonstrated the care amd respect the MCs have for each other. bunti loving and appreciating Bobbi as a fat woman was so well done.

This is a Much ado about nothing retelling. I love MAAN but Benedicts anti woman bias is rough. I had wondered how Nisha would de macho-ize Benedict and she did it beautifully.

My only issue was I got confused by one of the side plots with the other event planner.
Spoiler


I read this in two sittings,smiling, laughing, and blushing the whole time. I can't wait for book three, and I love this series and this book so much

I had so much fun reading this book! There was so much I enjoyed in this book like the main characters, the FOOD descriptions 🤤, the nod to Much Ado About Nothing and the plus sized rep just to name a few!

In this book we meet Bobbi Kaur and Benjamin “Bunty” Padda. Bobbi is determined to plan a celebration to remember for her best friend's wedding. But she has a problem getting in her way: The egotistical, and irritatingly sexy, chef Benjamin is supposed to help her with the menu since he's the groom's best friend.

Bunty will do anything for his best friend, even though he has his hands full in finding a new location for his next restaurant while also playing mediator between his brother and father, the celebrated Naan King. When Prem asks Bunty to help with the wedding menu, he agrees, especially since it puts him in close proximity to the delicious Bobbi Kaur. When a mystery shaadi saboteur starts leaving threatening notes, and cancelling cake orders, Bunty and Bobbi have no choice but to call a truce and face the volatile attraction they have for each other.

I loved how thoughtful Bunty was with Bobbi and how much he cared for her well-being. When he had groceries and meals sent to her house because she was working hard and he wanted to make sure she ate had me TEARING UP! I also just adored Bobbi and her fierceness. Their interactions together were SO great. I loved their banter and when they cooked together in the kitchen… that was perfection!

The spice in this book was much better in this book than in Dating Dr. Dil in my opinion. I loved the inclusion of some kink like the bondage it was fun. I also loved the whisky part 😉 IYKYK. I do wish some of the spice was a little longer or more elaborate. I felt like they were very quick.

Overall this was sweet, spicy and I highly recommend!

Tastes like Shakkar
[Nisha Sharma]

5/5

REVIEW - Wow! Where to begin here! I absolutely loved this book! I really enjoyed Dating Dr. Dill, but Tastes like Shakkar takes the cake!! There were so many things about this book I loved. An amazing friend group of both guys and girls, enemies to lovers, Taylor Swift references, a play on the iconic scene from the movie Ghost(!!!), a little mystery, and some very surprisingly spicy smut! I couldn’t get enough of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy for my honest review!