This was fun. And awkward. And lovely. Set in America with the main characters, Meghna and Karthik, both being from an Indian background, the book is set around the idea of arranged marriage. Although with modern parents who are not forcing the issue. With misunderstandings, confused feelings and so much that made me smile, this was a five star gem. #netgalley #sayyoullbemyjaan

I just loved this book! Tender, romantic, funny…….beautifully written and left me with a big smile. Highly recommended

This is a light hearted lovely easy read! Throughly enjoyed the dynamics between the characters! Look forward to more from the author.

Delving into a narrative told through the lens of Indian arranged marriages brought a refreshing perspective to my reading experience. The plot, centered around the initial meeting and the subsequent faux arrangement between Kaarthick and Meghna, captivated me. The supporting characters, particularly Meghna's dad and Kaarthick's mom, added depth and charm to the story.

I found myself racing through the book, thoroughly enjoying the journey it took me on. While the overall storyline might be anticipated, the heartwarming nature of the narrative made the read exceptionally delightful. The nuances of the characters, the cultural context, and the unfolding of the arranged marriage theme contributed to the overall charm of the story.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I have not loved reading a book so much in ages. At first I thought hmm this doesn't seem like my cup of tea cause everything is moving either too quickly or too slowly which is throwing me off. But after reading the full book the pacing made so much more sense at the start and I loved then how the fast paced stuff was over we could focus on our main characters falling in love and it was adorable and cute and I loved it!

Definitely would recommend.

Romcom, Cute, Sweet.

I was looking for a nice romance to start January with and when I saw this lovely cover on NetGalley and read the blurb. I knew I had to request it.

This book has some lovely tropes in it, including only one bed and fake dating/engagement. I think the book may to be titled Say you'll be mine in some places.

I love the evolution of the characters relationship throughout the book. The characters really grow into themselves in my opinion with a lovely bit of romance added in. It was a 4 🌟 read for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a gifted copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Say you'll be my Jaan is due for publication tomorrow January 18th.

The overall storyline of this is a standard rom com, but with lots of differences and twists and turns to make it really enjoyable and not predictable. I liked Meghna from the start and her relationship with her parents, friends – and then with Karthik himself. The only person who I didn’t like – which I think is really the point – is Seth!

Meghan’s is an English teacher, who loves the theatre and musicals – whilst Karthik is an uptight engineer – and both of them have felt the pressure of parents who had career plans for them that they hadn’t followed. Their respective careers are an integral part of the storyline and how things change over time – along with their marital status.

No spoilers here – but there are lots of plot twists to keep you intrigued. The book also manages to be quite sexy in a few places – but without anything too graphic – very cleverly and respectfully done.

There are a number of word puns in a mixture of English and Hindi – I am looking forward to wowing my Gujarati friend with these when I see her in a few weeks! The title being one / Jaan (Jaan means ‘life’) – although I do notice that the book is called ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ in America, which is a bit of a shame as the puns are definitely part of the storyline!

A big thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my ARC. ’Say You’ll Be My Jaan’ is out today – so you can buy it right now!

A gentle romcom which also gives an insight into Indian culture. I really connected with the Meghna and Karthik who have a fake engagement to stop their parents trying to get them an arranged marriage. Alongside this are various family dynamics and friendship dilemmas.
A great first book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meghna and Karthik decide to have a fake engagement to get their parents off their backs. Meghna is hung up on an ex, and Karthik has no interest in marriage.

I loved this story and can't wait to read Naina's future books. I really enjoyed the inclusion of Indian culture, and the characters felt so real. I am not usually into ''fake relationships turned real'' but Meghna and Karthik sold me on this trope.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fake dating, slow burn romcom from Naina Kumar. This was really enjoyable and I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys a gentle romance. Combining the modern world with a glimpse at Indian culture and the practice of arranged marriages, this was a lot of fun and kept me interested. Lovely.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC of the eBook

I have been really excited to read this book since I was provided a copy, but i hadn’t got round to it until now and it was worth the wait!

This book was giving ‘Wedding Season’ vibes (a great movie on Netflix if you haven’t watched it). As a brown girlie I always love seeing any aspect of South Asian representation, and I think the approach around arranged marriage/pressures etc wasn’t too stereotypical and felt fairly realistic.

Do we have the classic romance fake dating tropes? Of course! It’s one of my favourite dynamics to read so I loved this!

Overall, I just really enjoyed the vibes of this book! I would recommend it to anyone wanting something lighthearted and fun, coming out in the UK this next week!

Meghna is a drama teacher whose mother would have preferred her to be an engineer. When her best friend and secret crush Seth asks her to be his best man at his wedding, she finally agrees to allowing her mother to arrange a match.
Karthik is an engineer whose mother has him on a tight schedule of suitor meetings but he actually doesn’t want to ever get married.
Meghna and Karthik strike a deal for a fake engagement so he gets a break from his mother’s matchmaking and she gets a plus-one to Seth’s wedding.
This was a charming debut, which injected a fresh take to the rather cliched storyline of Indian arranged marriages. The main characters were easy to warm to.

Say you’ll be my jaan is a debut novel following Meghna and Karthik. The novel is well written and the characters well developed. Even the side characters felt fleshed out. Meghna and Karthik agree to a fake-engagement so Meghna will have a plus-one to her best friend-cum-ex-boyfriend’s wedding and so Karthik can please his mother and have a reprieve from his mother finding him a bride.

There were times Meghna grated on me and it felt like she didn’t want to see the truth much of the time and when it was pointed out to her, she reacted badly. I think that did give the characters an authenticity though. Karthik was an excellent character and had many nuances.

Generally I liked the story but it hinged on SO MUCH miscommunication right from when the characters first meet and it drove me nuts wishing the characters would just say how they feel, especially as it’s dual POV.

Overall, I enjoyed learning about Indian culture and I liked the romance develop between the two characters. Both had things they needed to work on and it was nice to see that recognised. I especially enjoyed the mention of therapy toward the end and how EVENTUALLY they learned to communicate. There was too much miscommunication for me with the last ~10/20% of the novel only existing because of a miscommunication.

3.5 stars 🌟

Tropes:
💗 Slow Burn
💗 Dual POV
💗 One Bed
💗 Forced Proximity
💗 Fake Engagement
💗 GrumpyXSunshine

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story that made me smile and I found fascinating as it talks about a different culture and how people can share the same feelings all over the world.
Well plotted and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

As soon as I saw the desi title and desi author, I couldn’t not read it as a Desi girl myself! Here I am living my love story dreams through this book.
This book had it all!! The one bed trope and fake engagement, two of my favourites, of course. There’s clearly a theme for 2024 and it’s fake engagement and I love it every time!
The story follows Meghna and Karthik and how they navigate through this fake relationship. It’s so heartwarming to see them start to build this friendship from being complete strangers arranged to meet traditionally through their parents and it’s really cute to see how this developed into something more.
As with any romance, there is miscommunication between the couple, and this one is no exception, but I felt like it was executed well. It wasn’t like some when it’s so frustratingly annoying that you want to lock up the two characters in a room just to talk to each other.
Anyways, I digress. Meghna and Karthik were good for each other in almost every way and it was refreshing to read a love story that felt so real. It was the perfect holiday read and I’m looking forward to more!
All round really fun, enjoyable, cute debut rom-com!! I loved it 🥰

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! Jan 18th couldn’t come soon enough!!
#BeMyJaan #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, I loved how the fake engagement turned into real genuine love was done in this book. Meghna and Karthik had so much chemistry from the second they met.

A really good debut novel, looking forward to reading more from this author!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Meghna and Karthik are two people who couldn't be more different. After a meeting arranged by their parents, they agree to fake an engagement and chaos ensues. I really liked this book! I thought it was a very cute, lightheaded romance . It had everything I wanted from a fake engagement trope and definitely had a strong grumpy x sunshine vibes.

It's so rare to see Tamil representation in a book, especially a romance, but this encapsulated parts of the culture so well. Given this is my own ethnic background, there were so many small things that meant so much to me. The reference to 'Bombay Toast' instead of 'French Toast' filled my heart with so much joy as I grew up eating this. Representation matters so much, and it makes me so happy that stories with people who look like me are getting a platform, too!

There were a few times when I felt the dialogue or inner monologue dragged a bit, but overall, I thought it was great. The chemistry between Meghna and Karthik was great, and I loved that they both had their own issues and hold ups that weren't just a miscommunication but genuine issues to work through. Overall, it was a fun and lighthearted read that I'd definitely recommend

A big big thank you to Penguin General U.k and everyone else involved .

OH MY GOSH !! this book has my heart i'm finding it hard to put into words it is brilliant pure perfection .
I've never read a book which has arranged marriage It really opened my eyes , i went through so many different emotions , I definitely went on a roller coaster ride but in the best way .

i thought the plot was so cleverly thought out ,this Rom-Com has my heart , i loved the fake dating there was times that had me in fits of giggles it was warm and cosy and full of wit just perfection to me .

i love love love all the characters they all brought their part and made the story so relatable .

Naina writing is perfect she knows how to grip here audience she makes every page ooze with excitement Everything flowed so well she now one of my favourite authors , this book is already in my top 2024 reads .


im giving this book 5 lovable stars

There’s much to love about this story- women’s lit meets contemporary romance, the neo-traditional Asian-Indian American culture representation. 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐚𝐧 by Naina Kumar is a beautifully written and refreshing fake dating/ engagement romance between two equally delightful main characters.

Meghna and Karthick are endearing in their own way. Free-spirited Meghna ends up fake-engaged to a reserved Karthick- she wants the love her parents have for each other while he wants to avoid what his parents have. An unexpected matching leads to a fake engagement and everything spirals from there. They each discover things about themselves and each other and unknowingly propel the other to self-discovery and growth. Taken up with their fake engagement roles and their looming “end date”- their undeniable attraction and deepening feelings get crossed with their need for self-preservation.

Normally I tend to struggle with the 3rd person POV in Romance but this one worked for me. There was showing as there was telling and emotions were kept off the pages without being too angsty. I enjoyed Ms Kumar’s style of writing- the pace and flow felt natural and easy to read and worked well in the time frame. The story itself covers some relatable topics, especially for young Asian-Indian Americans, some were explored more than others. The good, the bad and the ugly parts of familial relationships, friendships, and the painful reader experience of watching two characters fall in love and fail epically to effectively communicate… but there’s ice cream and a super-sweet HEA!

I received this ARC from Penguin publishers via NetGalley


RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FORMAT: ebook ARC

Thank you to and for letting me have an ARC copy of Say You’ll Be My Jaan in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A delightful spin on fake dating/fiancé for an arranged marriage with rich insights to Indian culture and family dynamics with complex, well-developed characters working with a cute sunshine x grumpy dynamic. I couldn’t help but instantly love Megha and Karthnik, who are clearly both products of their upbringings, Megha full of warmth and love from her close-knit family and Karthnik scarred and scared by his parents’ marriage.

The writing is edgy, with a fresh narrative adding emotion and tensions to the plot. The miscommunication within the story is handles very subtly and reflected the characters flaws, to keep it soft hues around the edge of the story, without being the main force pulling the Megha and Karthnik together. A clever strategy, enriching the story plot with unique nunances for a refreshing way. Organically moving together to allow the characters to grow and the plot unfurl interesting obstacles to carry the story forward; the story carries some heavy punching twists and deeper pains Karthnik and Megha need to heal and learn from in order to come together. I loved the grounding the friendship that grew between the characters, bringing them closer and supporting them both through highs and lows of the story.

The pacing is a steady like a meandering river, bring new sights after each river bend. Taking the familiar building blocks of a romance story, spins it on its head and giving the reader new waters to explore and dabble in with a character-centric focus to deliver the whole package of a great story with hearty plot and dynamic character with bite. Naina Kumar is a fabulous new voice for contemporary romance, I can’t wait to read her next book.