I loved "Dating Dr. Dil" and was so excited to read about Bobbi and Bunty! I'm a sucker for anything enemies to lovers so this was so far up my alley. Bobbi is a wedding planner and Bunty a talented chef who are expected to work together on their best friends weddings. That shouldn't be too hard... right?

The banter and chemistry was amazing, I love the way Nisha writes her love interests. I also loved while this books focus was Bobbi and Bunty, that it was also centered around Kareena and Prem's wedding. I enjoyed reading about them again, it was like visiting old friends.

10/10 would highly recommend. I also loved reading and learning more about the Indian culture and food, which was something that drew me into reading the previous book, "Dating Dr. Dil" at first.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Tastes Like Shakkar is Nisha Sharma's second book in the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series. This follows Dating Dr. Dil, and we get lots of time with Prem and Kareena from that book because this is focused around their wedding.

This new book is loosely adapted from Much Ado About Nothing. Benjamin and Bobbi are Prem and Kareena's best friends and wedding party. They have to coordinate to plan the wedding on a quick timeline. I liked this even more than the original Much Ado About Nothing because we get insight into where both Bobbi and Benjamin are coming from any why they give each other such a hard time.

I loved both main characters, and their romance felt so authentic. Plus I am always here to cheer on strong, competent women like Bobbi. Additionally, we get a fun mystery in the form of a potential wedding saboteur. Plus all the aunties return as they try to solve the mystery. There's amazing banter and text exchanges as well as the interstitial Indians Abroad News. And the food descriptions are unbelievable. I got so hungry reading this book.

The romance is a slow burn with loads of chemistry and steam a little kink. This was a special new romance and has cemented Nisha Sharma as an auto-read author for me.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

CW: racism

Nisha Sharma never misses for me. I adored Benjamin and Bobbi's story so much. I could practically taste the food and I adored Bobbi. She is one awesome badass queen. Benjamin would have had my heart the moment he cooked for me lol. They were a fun couple to follow. I am waiting with bated breath for the final installment. Another masterpiece.

Bobbi Kaur is intent on taking over her family’s event planning business and her best friend Kareena’s wedding at the prestigious Messina Vineyards is going to prove to her uncle that she deserves it. The only problem is that someone is out to sabotage the wedding - cancelling cake orders and leaving threatening notes. As much as she hates it, she must work with the groom’s best friend Benjamin “Bunty” Padda to suss out the saboteur and make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. But as they work together, they can’t deny the chemistry that flies between them, even after their disastrous first meeting just under a year before. As their feelings progress, they have to wonder - what happens when the saboteur is caught and the wedding is over?

Wondering what the saboteur was going to ruin next as well as trying to figure out who they were was such a fun element to the story. It gave the same feel as a cozy mystery while in the midst of a romance without any of the murderous high stakes. A fun way to add a little extra flare to an otherwise regular contemporary romance!

The tension between Bobbi and Bunty is absolutely delicious. It’s immediate from the very beginning that the two have insane chemistry and their banter when they supposedly hate each other just aids in proving that chemistry exists. The romance is a slow burn that builds slowly but deliberately, causing even a hater of slow burn romances like myself to eat it all up.

One of the things that didn't vibe with me was the resolution of the issue that caused the third act breakup. It took up a lot of headspace throughout the story because it was one of the biggest reasons Bunty was spending so much time across the country and not allowing Bunty and Bobbi to spend time together. When Bunty drowns in his misery with Deepak and Prem, his eyes are opened to what he did wrong and what he needed to do in order to fix the problem. And then it is suddenly resolved, mostly off page, and basically was not even a huge issue when he finally confronted it which felt sort of anti-climatic to me. I'm not going to complain too much about the idiot man figuring out he was being an idiot and solving the problem, but I think I just expected it to be a bit more explosive than it actually ended up being.

On the other side of the spectrum, one of my favorite aspects of the book was Bobbi’s body positivity and Bunty not giving a crap about “traditional beauty standards” (aka the lies that society and the media have forced down our throats) - it was such a beautiful breath of fresh air. Portraying body positivity in books is not a new concept, but it takes a whole new shape when presented in the context of the Asian community and specifically the South Asian community in this case. While I haven’t struggled with my body image as much in recent years, Bobbi’s unwavering acceptance of her healthy, curvy body was a welcome reminder that what we think of ourselves is more important that trying to fit into someone else’s mold.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

Wedding planner Bobbi wants to create the perfect wedding for her best friend. Unfortunately, she's forced to work with the groom's best friend, chef Benjamin. With the animosity between them, demanding relatives, and someone trying to sabotage the ceremony, can Bobbi and Benjamin call a truce and get through the big day without a disaster?

This book is fun and entertaining from the very beginning. Bobbi and Benjamin have a ton of chemistry, and the heat between them grows the more time they spend together. I love all the characters, especially the aunties, and how they bring the story to life.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I did Dating Dr Dil. I loved the banter and exploration of kink. The representation was amazing and immersive. I also appreciated how the fact that Bobbi was plus size wasn’t a plot point, but rather just a part of who she is as a human

Wow what another banger from Nisha Sharma!! I read Dating Dr. Dil last year and fell in love with her writing and characters, so I was so excited to get to read book two as an ARC. and besties, it did not disappoint!!

this was a "Much Ado About Nothing" retelling so it was hate-to-love, bad first impression, filled with shenanigans and lots of old faithful: forced proximity!! Benjamin and Bobbi's chemistry was electric and I loved seeing them go from apathy to love in this whirlwind slow burn courtship.

Besides the stunning romance, this book was filled with amazing friendships and complicated family dynamics that really raised the stakes in this other wise cute rom-com. Nisha Sharma also snuck in a kinky bondage loving hero and say it with me: THANK YOU NISHA!

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out now!

I adore Nisha Sharma and her writing style!!! Dating Dr. Dil was one of my favorite reads and Tastes Like Shakkar did not dissapoint! I love the nod to Shakespeare in all of these and I cannot wait to see what her friends get up to in the next installment :)

4.5⭐️ bobbi and bunty are finally here and i loved them so bad😭

after many arguments and budding heads for so long, the two decide to call a truce for the sake of their friends wedding. bobbi being the wedding planner and bunty helping out with the wedding menu, leads to some forced proximity between the two, and we all know how that goes

seeing their romance come to be was everything. watching bunty take care of bobbi was great but watching bobbi let down her walls to accept all of it??? unmatched

alongside this budding romance , we have a side plot of figuring out who is trying to stop prem and kareena’s wedding. bunty and bobbi realize they can’t figure this out alone so they call in some reinforcements, the aunties. it was so fun to have them back on page and witness their wild and crazy antics

this book was truly such a treat and I’m so excited for the next one because the way it was set up?? i’m intrigued to see how that one plays out!

big thank you to Nisha for the arc!

This is one of those books that made me want to live in it. I wanted to see Bobbi’s expertise at work, wanted to see the gorgeous wedding attire and decorations she organized. I wanted so BADLY to be able to smell and taste Bunty’s food. I also wanted the Aunties to adopt me. This is just such a gorgeous story that serves up:

✔️Enemies to lovers (more so on her end)
✔️Curvy wedding planner FMC and chef MMC
✔️He falls first
✔️Indian Wedding with suspense over sabotage
✔️Family dynamics and meddling, delightful Aunties

I truly loved Bobbi and Bunty, they are both career focused, smart, so dedicated to their families and friends, and have sizzling chemistry together. They get thrown together to help their respective best friends get married, and the sparks fly. My loves, I was not prepared for the spice levels here, and I’m not talking about the amazing food. Bunty is into bondage and the scenes get red hot. Their relationship is always them challenging each other and at the same time helping each other, and watching them fall hard for each other made my heart so happy. They have things to work through, like the logistics of a possible long term relationship, and they communicate really well and maturely. As a Jersey girl, I also loved the setting and all of the town name drops that I know.

I also really enjoyed the mystery aspect of who was trying to sabotage their friends’ wedding. This was my first book by Nisha Sharma and I am absolutely going to be reading Dating Dr. Dil ASAP and anything else she writes. Many, many thanks to the author, @netgalley, and @avonbooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

The Aunties are back and funnier - and scarier - than ever. I've decided that if reincarnation is real I want to come back as a South Asian Auntie. Seriously, these women are da bomb!

Nisha Sharma takes readers back into the New Jersey South Asian community she introduced in last year's hilarious Dating Dr. Dil for the second book in her If Shakespeare Were An Auntie series. This time, it's the best friends of Kareena and Prem (heroine/hero of Dating Dr. Dil) who are in the spotlight in an enemies to lovers romcom that kept me laughing, and flipping pages, from start to finish.

This book overflows with snappy dialogue, family dynamics, solid friendships, impeccably placed humor, and some sizzling romance. I really enjoyed Bobbi and Bunty together. Their chemistry is off the charts, even when they don't like each other, and threatens to set the sheets on fire when they do. They test their limits with some bondage that may not be everyone's cup of tea. Easy to skip over that part if it isn't or indulge in a little kink if it is. What I especially enjoyed between these two is (1) the sweetness of Bunty's nurturing side which comes through in his determination to feed Bobbi by leaving her baskets of delicious food with adorable notes and (2) the fact that he loves her curves as he continuously shows her (after they clear up that miscommunication from their first meeting).

The supporting cast in this book is all that and more, including meddling friends, meddling family, meddling Aunties. Let's face it, everyone's a meddler in this book but it's done with love and I loved it. Well, except for the wedding saboteur. That's done with malice but never fear, the person is finally caught and dished up their just desserts.

You could read Tastes Like Shakkar as a standalone but I think it's a lot more fun if you've read Dating Dr. Dil first. Whichever order you decide to read these books, they both have my enthusiastic recommendation. I'm already eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.

ARC received from publisher via NetGalley. Fair and unbiased review.

4.5 stars

Nisha has done it again👏🏼

Bobbi has been given the task of planning her best friends wedding & obviously, it has to be her best work yet. There’s just two tinnnng problems standing in that of her making this her greatest planning success… a saboteur & the annoyingly handsome bff of the groom.

Bunty, the aforementioned annoyingly handsome man, is determined to help create the perfect menu for his best friends wedding. Even if it means working closely Bobbi… who obviously hates him.

I ADORED Bobbi & Bunty - their chemistry, the banter, the spice👀👀👀👀👀

Let’s just say… Bunty ties very intricate knots 🪢

If you are looking for good times with good friends and wedding planning…this is for you! This is second in series If Shakespeare were an Auntie. First one was Dr Dil.

Bobbi is a wedding planner planning her best friend, Kareena and Prem’s wedding. She has to play nice with Benjamin, Prem’s friend. Benjamin is a chef with break out restaurant. He has to keep his attraction in check while he works with Kareena.

The aunties are back again!!!! I loved the first book and when I got this amazing opportunity to read book 2, I was all for it! We continue this time with Bobbi and Benjamin!! Their best friends Kareena and Prem (Dr. Dil) are getting married and they want them to plan the wedding (Bobbi is in the business) and create a special menu for it as well (Benjamin is a successful Chef.)

This enemies to lovers trope was perfect because the author made sure we felt the chemistry right through the pages. But they have a problem on their hands and someone is trying to ruin the wedding that they are both working so hard to put together. They call on the aunties to help, and they do more than that….. lol, I love these characters!! They were so much fun.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Rating:4.25/5

Tastes Like Shakkar has it all - family drama, a wedding with its very own shaadi saboteur, and the most delicious food descriptions.

This is how you do a contemporary enemies-to-lovers book! We know going into this book that Bobbi and Bunty cannot stand one another and we were able to see why and I totally understand why Bobbi hates him! And now that they have to work together for their friends’ wedding they have to put their differences aside (as best they can) to make sure it goes off without a hitch. As their relationship progresses we see how they are both dedicated to their work and families and how they carve out time for each other. Their chemistry and banter is EVERYTHING! And the kink exploration in this was *chef’s kiss*

And the setup for Veera and Deepak’s book made my jaw drop.

This was truly the perfect follow-up to Dating Dr. Dil.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for this arc.

Sharma does it again, and has become a auto buy at hot for me. Thank you Netgalley, Avon, and the author for my advanced copy in return for my opinion.

This novel is the follow up to Dating Dr. Dil where we get to follow our former main characters best friends and their love journey. The spin on Shakespeare was excellent here using immigrant children’s work ethic to show their dedication.

I felt that this was the perfect amount of falling quickly but having fallen earlier than they realized. Bobbi and Bunty were great contrasts to each other but also the same exact person. The return of the aunties made me smile and enjoy their meddling just like we got in Dr. Dil.

The spice to plot was just right and boy oh boy did it make this already fiery book even more fiery to me. I want so much more of these two even though I feel like their story is wrapped up well. I would absolutely recommend this to friends.

Happy pub day to Tastes Like Shakkar!

We first meet Bobbi and Bunty in Dating Dr. Dil, the first book in Nisha Sharma’s If Shakespeare Was an Auntie series that came out last year. I was so excited to read this follow up and I think I enjoyed it even more than Dating Dr. Dil. The chemistry between Bobbi and Bunty is immediate - first as “enemies” and then as lovers. I loved Bobbi as a female main character. She is a strong, successful woman who doesn’t back down from any challenges. She works very hard to prove herself to her uncle, the man who raised her and now employs her. Benjamin was a great partner for her. He’s incredibly passionate and while he’s claimed he has no desire to settle down, getting to know Bobbi immediately throws a wrench in his plans. He was so sweet and caring, and I loved how he stepped in to take care of Bobbi when she needed it most.

This book wasn’t all sweet, though. The spice! I would put this on par with Tessa Bailey in terms of steamy scenes (there are about 4-5 scenes) with some added kinkiness. I also loved how we got to see Kareena’s aunties from Dating Dr. Dil come together for more funny moments as they tried to figure out the identity of the Shaadi Saboteur.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for a review copy. I can’t wait to read more from this author and am looking forward to Veera’s story next.

A big thank you to Nisha Sharma, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Tastes Like Shakkar is out and ready to enjoy!!

Tastes Like Shakkar is a sweet and spicy retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and it happens to be a perfect follow-up from Nisha's debut Dating Dr.Dill. All Bobbi is trying to do is plan the perfect wedding for her best friend, it's really to bad that not only is someone trying to sabotage the wedding but she also has to work with the grooms egotistical best friend. Benjamin is a chef that is trying to deal with his families expectations, his own businesses and his growing attraction to Bobbi. Through wedding plans, masquerades, and a mission to stop a saboteur they both realize that the hate they had for each other might actually be a love to last a lifetime.

This was such an enjoyable book to read, its packed full of humor, spice, and romance. I absolutely adored Dating Dr. Dill, and I really loved that I was able to see the continuation of their story. I thought Bobbi was such a strong female character who handled so many hurdles and complications with grace. I loved the side characters especially the Aunties. If you are looking for funny, romantic and spicy novel look no further than Tastes Like Shakkar.

📖: Tastes Like Shakkar
✍️: @nishawrites #nishasharma
🎭: RomCom, Romance, Multicultural Romance, Contemporary Romance
🌶️: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
⭐️: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
📣: If you love enemies to lovers, witty banter, curvy girl love, and romantic comedies of the 90s this is your next read!
⚠️: Fathphobia, Deceased parent, Racial bias (slide left to view in book)

My 💭: This book was literally my favorite book of July. I admit I knew very little of the South Asian culture going into this series. This being book 2 and Dating Dr. Dil (one of my top 10 of last year) being book 1. But, seriously this white girl could have used some aunties in her life at times (just sayin) 😉
This is literally romantic comedy gold and I will be highly disappointed if @netflix does not do us all a favor and get this movie written already. It’s obviously a series #netflix so give us this PLEASE!
I need everyone to read this and to get a true review from some own voices like @readwithchai on how close to culture Nisha Sharma writes.
What I want to say is, I felt like I was watching a guilty pleasure 90s Romcom movie. One with all the humor, banter, secret love, spice spice spice, and the addition of aunties!! Bobbi and Bunty are literally gold and I have this year’s favorite book couple right here. They are thrust together under a truce of planning a wedding for the people they love. Thrust together even though they both hold a grudge and deep hatred (or not) for the other person.
Little do they know that someone is out to sabotage the wedding and in their efforts to make sure nothing goes wrong, they may discover that hatred is just passion pointed in the wrong direction.
I will be buying my own copy of this book!

A delightful follow-up to Dating Dr. Dil! I definitely enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope starring Bobbi and Benjamin and whew, the spice is real! This couple learned a lot about themselves throughout and made for a lovely read. Check it out!