3.5 stars

A sweet story about finding love where you least expect it, learning how to show up for your partner and yourself, and pursuing the life and dreams that make you most happy, regardless of what your parents or society expect of you.

I was a bit frustrated at first at how difficult it was for Meghna and Karthik to understand one another. It seemed like they were constantly misinterpreting one another’s expressions and words, assuming the worst of one another. Of course, it didn’t help that Karthik’s fear of losing control, like his father, made him constantly on guard, with his shields up to block any possible connection. I don’t blame Meghna for not understanding what Karthik was feeling at any given moment when he seemed to constant be swinging between loving and robotic.

I loved when they finally started sharing true things about their lives with one another, talking every day, and becoming vulnerable with each other. I was so worried and frustrated at the end of the wedding because it was clear how much they both cared, and somehow neither of them could see the truth. Luckily, they were both encouraged to risk rejection by being upfront and honest with one another about their feelings. Guess what: when you’re honest, good things can happen! Also, good job getting into therapy, Karthik!

As for the rest of the characters, I’m so glad Meghna finally realized how much of a jerk Seth had become. Maybe he truly wasn’t like that when they were in college, but he had become a self-centered, egotistical person. I knew he’d been using Meghna for her songwriting talent but I was totally surprised to find out he’d been using Julie, as well! Luckily, she seems like an awesome person he absolutely doesn’t deserve, but might give him another chance in the future if he can change his ways. I feel bad for Julie that she felt she had to go through with the wedding, but maybe something will work out for them. At the very least, Meghna and Julie will be getting the songwriting credit and residuals, and I loved Meghna telling Seth that they are no longer friends.

I wish we’d been able to get to know Ankita and Samir better - what little time we spent with them didn’t make me root for their relationship, to be honest. I was mad for Meghna’s sake that they never told her about their past relationship, and we never really got an explanation for why that was or why their relationship didn’t work out in their youth, other than “kids, right? So dumb.”

I also wish we could have spent more time with Karthik’s mom. He spends so much time protecting her and watching out for her, and I can’t tell if she actually needed that or if he was being overprotective. They are clearly very close, but he seems to always walk on eggshells around her. It’s hard to believe Karthik’s dad was ever not a sexist, abusive ass, but according to his mom, he wasn’t always that way. I don’t know that I believe her, but I do believe Karthik is not destined to be like his dad, just because he looks like him and gets mad sometimes. Also, nothing and no one is ever black and white, and I appreciate that we got to see multiple examples of marriages, both good and bad. Meghna’s parents always seemed to have the perfect love story, so it was refreshingly honest to hear from her dad that it wasn’t actually perfect: they didn’t expect to fall in love, and it wasn’t in their plans, but they chose to make one another their life. (That’s the part that made me cry.)

I had a few issues with the perspective and writing style - maybe it was the formatting in the proof ebook I read, but the perspective switches between Meghna and Karthik weren’t marked in any way, and it was hard to tell from context who’s perspective we were reading in. I love dual perspective stories because there’s something thrilling about having more information than the main characters, but that only works if you know who the person thinking is.

Spice level for this one is 🌶️🌶️🌶️.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This was a great time! It is a fake engagement story with great banter and tension. There was a lot going on with side characters, but I was able to stay in the story the full time. I stayed up late finishing because I wanted to see how it ends.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and the bits of Indian culture that were thrown in throughout.

What kept it from being 5 stars: I wish they both would have had a little more guts and communicated more. Minor pain point in an otherwise stellar debut.

Say You'' Be Mine takes you through a cute fake engagement to romance story. It brings light to family expectations with cultural marriage arrangements pressures and ones ability to find love on their own.

Meghna and Karthik, the main characters, meet through their mothers hoping they will marry. However the idea of marriage for both is completely different due to how they were raised. Both find a reason to agree to a fake engagement. Meghan needs a date to her old college friend's wedding and Karthik wants to free up his weekends from meeting potential wives with his mother.

Its fun to see them get to know each other under the false pretenses that they are engaged and maneuver through events while trying not to fall for each other.

My favorite part of this story is how Karthik sees Meghna for who she is and know what she needs before she does. He just needs a little more aggressive. He makes many grandiose moves, but holds back when speaking his mind. Then they fall back a few steps.

Great debut book from Naina Kumar. Its smart and funny and take you on a short romantic journey. Can't wait to read whatever comes next!

What a fun read. I really enjoyed the character’s relationship and the protectiveness. Great story and a quick read!

Two of my favorite tropes, a fake engagement, and opposites attract, are well represented in this debut novel. Throw in a nice, slow burn romance in which the two MCs actually get to know one another before falling into bed, good chemistry, a little forced proximity, and strong Indian cultural representation, and you've got an excellent and engaging romance.

Both Meghna and Karthik were engaging characters, but Karthik was the one who had the most growing to do in order to overcome his aversion to marriage or to any kind of serious, committed relationship. Meghna had her parents' loving example to follow so she knew that a committed relationship was what she wanted and she wasn't willing to settle for less. Her heart was bruised by her long-time best friend/crush when he got engaged to someone else, but she was determined to move on and find someone who she could give her heart to. It was great to see Meghna figure out how to stand up for herself and to see Karthik open up and start to form deeper relationships with others instead of continuing to shut himself off. The writing and pacing in this debut novel were also very good. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Meghna is a 28 year old teacher whose parents wanted her to become an engineer & since that didn't work out the next best thing is for her to get married ASAP, but she's stilll crushing hard on one of her college friends. Karthik is an engineer who's written off marriage because of his own parents' marriage.
In an attempt to get over her crush, Meghna agrees to be set up with someone. Karthik similarly agrees to be set up as well to placate his mother. Little did they both know they'd end up in a fake engagement! They each have their terms and are determined to get the people in their life off their back about marriage. What they didn't know was the amazing adventure they were about to embark on together!
Meghna is hilarious and I loved the banter between the two love interests. This had me laughing actually out loud and at the same time screaming at the characters for the miscommunication! Those who don't like miscommunication might not enjoy this. I just wanted them to tell each other how they felt already! The sexual tension between them is HIGH and it makes for a perfect slow burn romantic comedy. The character development is immaculate and I was cheering for them the entire time. The Indian representation was top notch and I even learned a little bit along the way. All in all, this is a fantastic debut book and that will have you laughing the whole way through with moments of sexy flirtatious exchanges.

3.75/5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I just wrote a really long review and it was deleted before it posted, so I’m angry and will post a new one tomorrow. 😮‍💨

Please see the Goodreads link for a full updated review!

This was a well-written, entertaining book. It was sweet, charming and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and will look for other books by this author.

Meghna has agreed to be her best friend (and secret crush)"s best man. She also finally agrees to let her mom set her up with a potential match. Karthik is against marriage, but he has agreed to his mother's matchmaking in order to make her happy. When these two meet, they realize a fake engagement is beneficial for both of them. As they start to spend time together, they learn whether it is possible to "accidentally" fall in love with someone.

I loved this book! Meghna and Karthik have such great chemistry and the growth that these two have both on their own and together make this such a worthwhile read. Yes, you get so frustrated at times because they misunderstand and miscommunicate with one another, but that is real life as well. Karthik has a lot of heavy family issues happening and it is easy to see where he comes from with his views on relationships but I do approve of how it is handled and how he seeks out therapy in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

💍 Say You’ll Be Mine 💍

“These days, I’m more interested in the quiet kind of love. The kind that takes time. And effort. And patience. The kind that sneaks up on you. Slowly.”

Oh my heart, what a beautiful love story!

Meghna and Karthik enter a fake engagement as a result of an arranged marriage introduction. He’s trying to get his mom off his back, even though he never wants to marry. She’s looking for a plus one to her ex-boyfriend’s wedding that she’s possibly still in love with. As they spend more time together, they start to see each other differently. It’s the power of someone who knows you and loves you as you are. Someone who encourages you to go after what you’re passionate about and puts their wants second to support you.

I absolutely loved Meghna and Karthik’s story. It was such a realistic portrayal of falling in love as you are getting to know someone. Their antics were so endearing and I especially loved the stoic engineer in Karthik learning to feel as he spends time in the sunshine of Meghna’s personality. I’m still in awe that this is a debut.

Check this one you if you’re looking for:
💍 Fake engagement
💍 South Asian representation
💍 Grumpy sunshine
💍 One bed 🛏️
💍 Heartwarming love story

Say You’ll Be Mine is on shelves January 16, 2024! My opinions are my own

I love Megna and want to be her friend! Karthik grew on me as the book went on and I got to learn more about him... he really is a sweet and caring person. What starts off as a fake dating/arranged marriage situation just gets more complicated from there as the feeling turn real but communication is still not great due to the long distance between Megna and Karthik... but he shows up for her and ended up needing her more than she needed him.

And can we have a second book about Samir and Ankita??

Thank you to Ballantine for the widgets for Joyful Chaos and to PR Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Meghna's parents and Karthik's mom want them each to get married. So they arrange for a meeting between the two families. And despite an awful first meeting, the two ultimately agree to a fake engagement.

I enjoyed both Meghna and Karthik's character arcs and growth. Fake dating is always one of my favorite tropes, and this was interesting with the fake engagement and the long distance. I also found it neat how the story played with a grump-sunshine idea that didn't fit the usual.

This was a really sweet story with interesting subplots that kept me as engaged as the romance. I loved the incorporation of theater and Broadway musicals but equally enjoyed learning a bit more about engineering. And I especially appreciated the subtle ways in which the book made clear how diverse the Indian diaspora is. There were also fascinating secondary characters including her best friend and brother and his intern, Paul. I am hopeful for more romances featuring these others.

Soneela Nankani was a spectacular audiobook performer. I especially appreciated listening to her throughout.

4.5 stars rounded up

Title: Say You'll Be Mine
Author: Naina Kumar
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Say You'll Be Mine" by Naina Kumar

My Thoughts:

Say, You'll Be Mine is an intriguing, unique, sweet romance book featuring Meghna, a teacher and aspiring playwright, and Karthik, an engineer. Their romance started as a farce due to wanting their parents to let up on them finding someone; they decided this was the best way to go for both of them. But will this stop their parent's matchmaking efforts? However, will this work out for them, with both seeming to need help in the love area, Karthik having no interest in getting married, and Meghna wanting to get married? We find Karthik has a lot of daddy issues, and Meghna seems to have feelings for a friend who is now engaged to someone else. Be ready for an interesting fake engagement, chemistry, friends, and family drama that will keep one's attention turning the pages to see what is coming next.

As time goes on in this story, what will happen between them? This is where you will have to pick up this good read to see how this author brings it all out ...as sparks begin to fly between them.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publishing teams for the ARC!

I loved this read so much! It was simultaneously heartfelt and laugh out loud funny, with character struggles that were relatable. The side characters had so much personality and I was rooting for the main characters and their journey the whole time.

4.25/5 stars

Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar features a fake engagement born from meeting for an arranged marriage between Meghna Raman and Karthik Murthy. Meghna, an aspiring playwright/current English and theatre teacher, longs to be married, but she is hopelessly in love with her best friend, former ex boyfriend, Seth; however, she suddenly finds out that not only is he getting married, he asks her to be his best man. Karthik, a mechanical engineer, adamantly believes that he is not cut out for marriage. Outwardly, he is grumpy, stoic, and oftentimes seemingly rude, but he does everything in his power to make his mother happy and to not become like his misogynistic, angry father. Both Meghna and Karthik field the pressure from their parents to get married by agreeing to meeting people set up by their parents (albeit Karthik has had met *many* women while he is Meghna’s first). Together, the puzzle pieces take some time to connect, but when they do, *chef’s kiss.*

Meghna and Karthik drove me crazy LOL. I’m not usually one to have issues with the trope of miscommunication, but the sheer amount of times that I wanted to shake some sense into these characters was so many lmao. (Like really— I was constantly internally absolutely shouting at them to just *tell each other how they feel* LOL) However, the ways that they read and reacted to each other felt so *real* and so *human* to me. In the beginning of their fake engagement, I expected Meghna to give Karthik the benefit of the doubt more often than she did, but her judgments of him and acting in accordance to her suspicions felt true in the way that women must take extra precautions for their physical and emotional safety. I wanted her to give Karthik a chance earlier, but I understood her and really admired her for holding true to her boundaries (and honestly would have probably also done the same if I was in her situation lmao).

I loved the pining! The banter! The Indian-American representation! While I cannot directly speak of the Indian-American experience, I can understand what it means to be a late 20s child to Asian immigrants who want the best for you but go about it in a way that certainly doesn’t follow in a way that I might have chosen but still wanting to appease them. The way that Meghna’s mother constantly cuts at her to steer her career away from the arts and humanities to engineering is something I see often with fellow Filipinx-American friends and relatives whose parents push them towards nursing.

I had a lot of fun reading how Meghna and Karthik came together and helped each other grow towards their own happiness in their career and life choices as well as each other. I’m excited to read more of Naina Kumar’s books! Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the ARC!

Say You’ll Be Mine is the romance read plucked right out of my dreams 😂❤️
I’m forever grateful to the kind people at @randomhouse for sending me this early copy!

It always makes my heart burst with pride when I read about desi characters written by authors of colour … and Say You’ll Be Mine is no exception!
Not only is it a brilliantly written read filled with everything that makes the perfect rom-com, but all the representation we get to see is just 🥹🥹🥹
There is nothing quite like an Indian family and their matchmaking attempts 😂

If you’re a romance reader or just need a little joy in your life ( 😂 ) you should absolutely pick this one up!

Say You’ll Be Mine releases tomorrow !!! (January 16th) and I hope you all love this one as much as I did!
I can’t explain how much I loved it without babbling away, but I sure hope this was convincing enough🥰 (it even became my emotional support book on my flight away from Texas, after ending my au pair year with the twins 🥹❤️‍🩹)

@nkumarwrites I can’t wait for all the epic stories you’re going to tell ❤️

This book was quick, witty, and fun while still having a strong, heartfelt theme. The author had a good balance of dialogue and inner thoughts and i appreciated the summarizing of some conversations instead of pages of one insignificant convo. I would be super excited to read more if this author’s work!

so much love for this book!

the story was charming, had the perfect amount of tension, and was so heartwarming! i love having the author’s cultural perspective playing big role in the plot and character development so seamlessly and beautifully.

i think some of the subplots dragged on a bit, but overall i loved this book! the perfect, heartwarming romcom. it’s an amazing debut novel and i can’t wait to read more from naina kumar!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

This is a super fun, quick feel good romance. I enjoyed it and it kept me engaged the whole time. I mean, I read it in a single day! The characters were good, I love reading a book with a diverse cast. Fake engagement, meddling families, a little spice - all things I like! I don’t love miscommunication and the third act breakup, yet that tends to be par for the course with romance novels. I definitley would recommend this, especially if you’re looking for something in line with Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, etc.

A romance with an engaging and entertaining cast of characters that you will tear through and the beach?! Yes please!

Meghna is a teacher in Dallas who feels like she’s fallen short of her parents’ expectations by not becoming an engineer. She has been working on writing her own play for years, and dreams of someday making that her career. She still has feelings for her ex who has become a close friend… until an invitation shows up for his wedding and he asks Meghna to be his best man. So when her parents suggest arranging a meeting with a potential guy, she agrees feeling like she has nothing to lose.

Karthik could not be less excited about this meeting. It’s just one in a long series that his mother has arranged - all of which he has accepted to appease her, but had no desire to actually date let alone marry any of these women.

While that first meeting was awkward and a bit strained, there was clearly a spark. And when it becomes clear that Karthik needs to prove he can commit, well he claims to be engaged to Meghna.

What a debut by @nkumarwrites ! I am a sucker for romances with a strong supporting cast, and this one certainly delivered. I also love books that really delve into the culture of its characters, and it was done so well here. Lots of my favorite tropes too - just a real delight of a book.

Big thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for an advanced copy of this one! Say You’ll Be Mine by @nkumarwrites is out TOMORROW!!

Will post on goodreads, retail sites and my bookstagram @scottonreads