4.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved this read; it was so enjoyable and a page-turner. Meghna's parents want her to be an engineer but she has a secret desire to be a theatre teacher, her true passion...and of course they want her to get married. She's still in love with an old flame, Seth, and she's just found out that he's engaged and wants her to be his best man. Meghna's parents are always pushing to match her with suitable Indian men and she agrees to meet. Enter Karthik, a handsome engineer, who knows he doesn't want to get married as he's witnessed his parents'. He agrees with his mom to meet matches for the next year but never expected to meet someone like Meghna. They then hatch the plan to enter into a fake engagement to get the pressure off and Meghna will have a date for the wedding. There's chemistry and feelings grow. I enjoyed the mix of traditional and modern romance along with Indian culture and family expectations throughout the novel. So good!

This was a solid debut! I am always a sucker for a fake relationship and I enjoyed the slow burn development between the main characters. It got a little repetitive at some points. But there was a lot to like and I will definitely pick up another book by this author!

"You are more than me fiancée. You are my jaan." This is what you call a perfect debut!

The premise of this book intrigued me obviously because of the fake engagement ruse and it just exceeded every expectation that I had. Meghna and Karthik were so relatable in all of their struggles as a "fake" couple who are both warring with their feelings for each other, but also their struggles with their family life and their careers. I don't want to give any spoilers because I had the best reading experience going into this book blindly. It is everything you want in a romance and Meghna and Karthik are impossible not to root for. Naina Kumar wrote with such amazing originality and heart that's so refreshing after reading the same romance tropes and plots being used over and over nowadays. I can't wait for her next book if this is how amazing her debut novel is.

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc!

5/5 stars
1.5/5 spice

This one literally had me giggling and feeling all mushy like a good romcom should. Definitely a nod to those 90s romcom movies but with so much more diversity.

Tropes:
Matchmaking
Fake engagement
Engineer MMC
Teacher & aspiring playwright FMC
Forced proximity
One Bed
Opposites attract
Grumpy/sunshine
Slow burn and tension
Indian culture
Dual POV

I loved the chemistry between Karthik and Meghna right from the beginning. You could see how different they were but also how completely enthralled they were with each other. She was definitely the sunshine character who was naturally social and charming, while he was grumpy and stand-offish. The diversity in romcom like this makes the book so much better and refreshing. It's easy to get lost in the same old stories, but to have a diverse cast of characters integrating a rich culture just brings these romances to life.

Overall, the story was sweet and cozy with very little drama despite the 3rd act break up. The spice was also on the sweet end with an emphasis on the emotional aspect and progressed naturally. Highly recommend for fans of cozy love stories and diverse characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin House Publishing Group for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Trigger/Content warnings:
Emotional abuse from parent, family pressures, sexual content

This is a sweet and compelling story. Learning about the Indian culture and traditions was extremely interesting. Ms Kumar writes beautifully.

I loved this one so much! Naina Kumar's debut is a fantastic and insanely swoony dual POV romance with fake dating/engagement, lots of swooning, and amazing desi culture rep. Meghna and Karthik's chemistry was off the charts, and I also loved their character arcs and all they overcame to be together.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this wonderful book!

CW: Misogyny; emotional abuse; references to sexual harassment and infidelity

Say You’ll Be Mine is such a delightful fake-dating contemporary with characters I absolutely loved. Seriously, this book is so stinking cute!

Fake dating in contemporary can be very hit or miss for me, but this one worked because Karthik and Meghna had fantastic chemistry. And secretly underneath it all, I think they both wanted to find love (though Karthik may disagree). Also, I loved that we also got an “only one-bed” moment in this book because those are so fun in contemporary romances, and it felt like a realistic setup in this.

While this book isn’t the spiciest, it felt so dang romantic! Part of why it worked so well for me was because Karthik and Meghna are genuinely good and caring people, and things clicked quickly with them. Who wouldn’t love someone who listens to what you say, has your back when you need it, and stands up for you to others? I loved watching their relationship go from essentially strangers who get engaged to friends to something more. And ugh, the pining and slow burn! These two fools were both so in love with each other, but both kept thinking the other was acting a certain way to put on a show for their fake relationship and I loved it! Like the whole bit with the engagement ring? I died! That tension is what I LOVE in a fake dating romance and Kumar executed it flawlessly as I kept yelling at them to admit how they feel and KISS ALREADY.

Now, their romance isn’t without its hiccups. However, I appreciate that Karthik and Meghna talk about what they want out of a relationship like adults. Sure the outcome sucks, but I liked they don’t pressure the other to feel the same way, no matter how much they wish they could. And while Karthik and Meghna have to go their separate ways for a bit, it’s for the better when they come back together. I really loved seeing both of them prioritize themselves during their break to pursue what truly makes them happy – and realizing the final piece of the puzzle was each other. It gave me all sorts of warm and gooey feelings!

I’m unsure if I would classify this as a grump/sunshine romance, but there are some similar vibes. It would be more like a creative, outgoing, sees-the-best-in-everyone vibe with Meghna, versus a more rigid, stern, buttoned-up vibe with Karthik. And I adored these two together so much! Despite their slightly opposite personalities, they cared deeply for their family and friends and would do anything to make those people happy.

Meghna was a delight. She loves her parents dearly even if she feels like she’ll never live up to her mother’s expectation of being an engineer since her passion lies with writing. I loved how outgoing and personable she was – I felt like Meghna was the person I could easily become friends with and know she’d have my back no matter what. She’s a genuinely good person – almost too good to the point where she doesn’t realize she’s being taken advantage of by her best friend/ex-boyfriend that she’s still in love with, Seth (we’ll get to him later).

Compared to Meghna, Karthik is a bit cold and a little awkward in social settings. But once you’re in his head, you realize he just keeps a very tight lid on expressing his emotions. His family dynamics are very different from Meghna’s. He loves his mom dearly and will do anything for her because his dad is absolute trash. Poor Karthik is so worried that he’ll end up like his dad that it basically paralyzes his ability to have a romantic relationship, and all I wanted to do was hug this man and tell him, “You are NOTHING like your father.” Watching him soften up around Meghna and realize the extent of his feelings for Meghna made my heart melt.

Now there is a character I absolutely hated in this book, and I give serious kudos to Naina Kumar because I had such a strong, visceral reaction to this fictional character. And that character would be Seth. My god, how I hated this man! I don’t know what Meghna saw in him and I wish she noticed how terrible he was earlier. It was abundantly clear to me that he was using Meghna to further his own career, and taking credit for her work. There’s nothing more that I hate than men like that! I’m so glad Karthik noticed what a sleazeball Seth was as it gave Meghna the push she needed to see that he’s actually a terrible person. When Meghna finally confronted Seth about it, I was cheering her on from the sidelines because yes, girl! PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE.

I was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, to discover that this was Kumar’s debut novel! I loved the writing style and the depth of all her characters, even the secondary ones. The pacing was spot-on, and the romance was swoon-worthy. While reading this, I had all the emotions and fell in love with Karthik and Meghna throughout their journey. I cannot wait to see what she writes next as this gave off the perfect rom-com movie vibes.

If Say You’ll Be Mine wasn’t on your radar, it definitely should be! This was so cute and romantic, and I had a blast while reading it, and I think you will too!

Thank you to Random House – Dell/Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts, ideas, and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved this book! It was such a fun, fast, easy, romantic read.

The beginning of the book reminded me a lot of the show Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. I could picture Meghna and Karthik being set up by their parents, going over the "biodata" and sharing tea and food with their parents at their first meeting.

I enjoyed this Indian take on a traditional romance story. The descriptions of clothing, food, and the engagement party for Meghna's best friend were great and had me looking up words to get some visuals on what these items were and looked like. I loved the inclusion of Indian culture and talk about how it differs in various regions of India. I also liked the comparisons of traditional Indian marriage culture versus modern-day culture. It was interesting to see how families meld Indian traditions with American.

The character growth that took place in Meghna and Karthik was also very enjoyable and seeing them overcome their differences/what they thought they wanted made the journey enjoyable.

I look forward to more novels by Naina Kumar and hope she'll continue to educate us more on Indian culture.

Thank you to Netgalley for this early copy. I flew threw this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this charming romance that taught me a lot about Indian culture. The romance is a slow burn but the chemistry is definitely there. It was a fun read.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, in exchange for honest feedback.

I want to start by saying that I really liked that this book had a different spin on the classic "fake-dating" trope. This was the first book I have read where the main characters fake entering an arranged marriage, initially set up by their parents. Having said that, the fake dating trope fell flat for me - it was like a rollercoaster of will-they, or wont-they? and it was just too much back and forth for me personally. The description of the book called the MMC 'grumpy', so I was really hoping for some Grumpy/Sunshine, but that also fell flat if the author was going for that as an added trope. I liked both of the MC, but beyond that there was really nothing amazing about either of them.
(Without giving spoilers) I also did not understand the whole Julie/Seth/Meghna wedding situation and song writing fiasco, it felt like it came out of left field, like an idea that was thrown in, but it just seemed bizarre, and didn't "fit" within the book to me. There were a lot of other side situations taking place that I didn't get either, like Meghna's friend and brother. I am assuming the author was trying to add some depth to the supporting characters, but the side situations just didn't seem to flow with the book.
2.5 stars from me --- I DID like the unique spin on the trope, and I loved the overbearing Indian parents when they had parts in the book, it added humor that I wasn't expecting to get out of this story. I would still recommend this book to any romance reader friends, it just fell flat for me, so I am rating 3 stars - rounding up from 2.5.

Anytime you have a fake dating trope, there’s a good chance someone is going to fall first, fall harder, or fall faster. That is generally what I like most about fake dating—the “suddenly I’m looking at you in a whole new light” realization. This happens to both Meghna and Karthik in Say You’ll Be Mine, a fake engagement turns amorous story, but the way they handle it drove me crazy. It felt like a good portion of the book, neither of them could express their true feelings and hid behind the “we’ll talk later”, or “nevermind” mindset. And that’s the opposite of what I generally WANT out of my romances—for the MCs to express themselves and their feelings. There were definitely opportunities and just when I thought they were making headway, one of them would chicken out and out the relationship back to square one.

I think my other issue was how much of a doormat Meghna was to Seth, letting him run all over her and her feelings. Sure she finally comes around, but it took quite a bit for her to wake up. I really wanted more for Meghna, more for Karthik, but I think the end result is a little Romance lite™️ with a tad more maturity needed. Readers should know that this is very low steam until the 95% mark—perhaps yet another reason why this just wasn’t for me. The I Love Yous came so late that I had trouble believing that they were real and not just infatuation. I think Naina Kumar has the beginnings of a romance career, and this was sweet for a debut, but it just missed the mark for me with what I look for in a fake dating trope. I received an early copy from Random House Publishing Dell. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the mix of the fake engagement trope with the cultural overlay of a look at Indian culture as both the H and h have to deal with their perceptions of parental disappointment. Meghna senses that her parents, both engineers, are disappointed in her career choice as an English teacher. And Karthik has to deal with his father's antagonism and his mother’s wish that he gets married. So they agree to a fake engagement. Karthik thinks he’ll never get married because he doesn’t want to turn into his father. Meghna wants a date to her ex’s wedding. Of course, they’ll find out that they are attracted to one another as they get to know each other even though he lives in NYC and she lives in Dallas. Of course, they’ll eventually get to their HEA, but I enjoyed following along as they discover more about themselves and each other.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

There's just something I really love about a fake dating, arrange marriage book that I LOVE. This is such a CHARMING debut novel.

This book follows as Meghna receives an invitation to her Ex's wedding, Looking for a date, she allows her mom to introduce her to a guy.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Karthik is feeling the pressure of his parents to get married and settle down, but he'd rather focus on work. The two decide to enter a fake engagement in exchange for Karthik joining Meghna at the wedding.

Over the course of the book, you see the pair slowly get to know each other, become friends before falling in love. I think seeing Karthik fall in love first and really open up about himself was my favorite part of the book overall.

If you're looking for a fun romance book to read, definitely check this one out.

I very much enjoyed this book. I thought the premise of a fake engagement from an arranged meeting was a good way to put the characters together. Meghna & Karthik were wonderful and complex characters. The author really fleshed them out and made them feel real. I enjoyed the developing relationship and the ups and downs. Highly recommend reading this one to see how it plays out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

Naina Kumar's debut romance shines with a delightful mix of tropes – fake dating, family interference, and a touch of miscommunication – all woven into a solid, enjoyable story. The character development of both Karthik and Meghna is a highlight, showcasing their growth throughout the narrative. Despite the slow burn and moments of push and pull between them, Kumar excels at crafting palpable tension and authentic longing, making the eventual realization of their compatibility all the more satisfying. The book adeptly captures the essence of pining, creating an engaging journey as the characters navigate their feelings and relationship dynamics.

Thanks to Netgalley & Ballantine Books for the E-ARC! This was cute. Liked the characters & the setting. Will read more from the author.

This was a fun fake dating/engagement romance with a slow burn. I really enjoyed it - there were characters I loved and characters I hated, but that’s a sign of good writing. There are a couple of interesting side stories too. Highly recommend!

I had such high hopes for this book when I started it. I really was enjoying the author’s writing style and I love nothing more than a fake dating/fake engagement trope. Unfortunately for me there was just way too much miscommunication from the early parts of the book throughout that I could not get on board with this relationship.

This romance was swoony-worthy! Meghna and Karthik both come from Indian families who are pressuring them to make a match and settle down. After an arranged meeting, these two opposites strike a deal for a fake engagement so Meghna doesn’t have to attend her ex-boyfriend’s wedding alone and Karthik can get a break from an onslaught of arranged meetings all over the country and focus on his upcoming work promotion. Meghna is a middle school drama teacher whose parents have a love match and she adores the idea of falling in love and marrying for love. Karthik was raised in a home of an unhealthy marriage ruined by his abusive father so he has sworn off the idea of ever marrying completely.

As the three months of their long distance fake engagement unfold, Meghna and Karthik use phone calls, texting, and weekend trips to develop a close friendship and show up for one another in unexpected ways. Despite the bond and attraction they both grow to feel for one another, their different views on the institution of marriage and career in different cities seem to be a roadblock to any potential real relationship….

Oh man, I really adored these two characters. Despite their opposite viewpoints, there was always respect for one another and open dialogue on the root causes of their differences. That maturity was so attractive to me; add in some seriously fun banter, puns, engagement parties, bachelor weekends, and late-night texting and you get an iconic rom-com for romance lovers. There is pining and unexpected attraction, but my favorite part was watching these two challenge one another into new mindsets and even dreams!

Thanks to the PRH audio program, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Soneela Nankani who did a phenomenal job with both characters POVs, emotions, and personalities. Her emotive narrative had me laughing, sighing, and tearing up! Definitely an outstanding debut and I cannot wait to read what Kumar writes next. Thank you to Dell Publishing, NetGalley, and PRH audio for my early copies in exchange for my honest review.

"Say You'll Be Mine" is a refreshing and engaging story that introduces us to Meghna Raman, a theater teacher and aspiring playwright, and Karthik Murthy, a grumpy engineer. Meghna's world is turned upside down when she discovers her best friend and secret crush, Seth, is engaged—to someone else. Determined to move on, she agrees to her parents' matchmaking attempts, opening the door to a potential match with the engineer they've always envisioned for her.

Karthik, though initially skeptical of arranged setups, finds himself drawn to Meghna's vibrant personality. What begins as a fake engagement to navigate their respective romantic challenges turns into something more profound. As the characters grow protective of each other and discover unexpected commonalities, the chemistry between Meghna and Karthik becomes undeniable. However, their evolving feelings soon face the hurdles of expectations and insecurities, threatening the unexpected real connection that has developed.

"Say You'll Be Mine" not only provides a delightful journey reminiscent of romantic comedies from the nineties but also offers a poignant exploration of the impact of culture and family on intimate relationships. The characters are well-developed, and the narrative skillfully balances humor, romance, and introspection. Meghna's pursuit of her passion and Karthik's resistance to his parents' expectations add depth to the storyline. Overall, this novel is a heartwarming and thought-provoking read, blending nostalgia with a modern perspective on love and relationships.