Adorable and endearing Indian romance, which is just as heartfelt for anyone who doesn't know all the Indian traditions. As a friends to lovers trope, this easily pulls you into Meghna & Karthik's story as they meet with the goal of an arranged marriage. Meghna desperately wants love and is stunned by her best friend and ex-boyfriend getting married to someone else. Karthik wants his mother to stop setting him up with meetings as he has no intention of ever getting married. A deal between the two is hatched, and an entertaining tale ensues. This was my first book by Naina Kumar, and I really loved how she blended the Indian customs with modern day stressors and dilemmas. You can't help but root for a happy ending, and this definitely leaves a smile on your face. Thanks so much to Naina, Kumar, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc!

Meghna, sunshine, middle school teacher, wants a love match, grumpy Karthik made a promise to his mom to entertain an arranged marriage, meeting possible matches for the next year (we're talking they're flying back and forth across the country every other weekend), even though he has no intentions of actually getting married. Karthik and his mom end up at Meghna's parents. Immediate mutual attraction between them but they agree that because they don't want the same things to continue on with their individual love (or lack there of) quests.
Fast forward to Karthik scheming that if he had a fiancé, his mom wouldn't push for more meet cutes and cross country trips. He calls and proposes to Meghna that they fake being engaged. Perfect timing for her once she actually considers it because she just got asked to be the best man in her friend Seth's wedding. The friend that she has been in love with since college.

What I think was supposed to be an enemies to lovers was more of fake engaged to friends to feelings and their friendship was just so so sweet (I mean, when Karthik went to see Les mis to connect to Meghna 🥰🥰 made my theatre loving heart positively meellllltt!) I loved their intentionality and growth throughout the book. It felt realistic and overall relatable, and the girl power moments were the icing on the cake. Hoping for a follow up book on her besties story!


Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I picked Say You'll Be Mine because I really enjoy fake dating and arranged marriage books! I liked the characters a lot in this one but the romance didn't totally work for me.

I thought this story was well-written and the characters were interesting. I sympathized with Karthik's family situation and was interested in Meghna's relationship with Seth. Unfortunately, I wasn't super invested in Meghna and Karthik's relationship. I liked that they treated each other well but I felt like that was what bonded them. They were nice to each other and they hadn't experienced that much in relationships. I was happy for them but not super invested.

Interestingly, I was much more interested in the side relationship between Meghna's best friend and brother. I wish we had gotten their POV as well or that had been a sequel! It wasn't written in a way that lead me to believe it would be though.

Overall, I liked this story but didn't love it. I won't reread it but it may just not have been meant for me.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a cute love story! N. Kumar definitely follows the formula for how to write a feel-good romance, but also injects culture and honest dialogue about societal and familial expectations, as well as an individual’s expectations for themselves when feeling loneliness and wanting to feel love.

It was lovely to experience Meghna & Karthik as individual characters, but also to experience and have side stories about their family and friends surrounding them.

*Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me of an ARC of Say You'll Be Mine. I wasn't expecting myself to be approved so I was surprised when the notification appeared on my phone, and I'm glad to say that I enjoyed every single second of me reading this.

Say You'll Be Mine follows Meghna and Karthik, who got introduced to each other by their mothers in hopes of a potential match. They both decided to fake an engagement to escape more matchmaking from their parents and to help Meghna survive an ex-wedding who she may/may not is still in love with.

I really loved this for numerous reasons. Say You'll Be Mine is a classic fake-dating rom-com - it has all the shenanigans that comes with fake dating and even though I probably have read a few similar ones, I had a blast reading it. And the characters too! I would say the characters felt a little stereotypical at times (Asian parents their children to be engineers instead of writers, etc) but I really loved Meghna and Karthik and enjoyed their character development so much. One thing I appreciated was that despite Karthik being described as a "robot" or rigid in the beginning, he wasn't an asshole to Meghna or the other characters as a lot of romance authors seem to confuse grumpy with being rude to everyone.

I also really loved the romance. Great development without rushing into the romance quickly (I would even say it's a little slow burn?) and I really just loved the moments we had of Meghna and Karthik together - of how they were there for each other, was not afraid to call each other out and seemed protective of each other. I also liked how they pushed each other to be their best despite not realizing it. There was some miscommunication I would say but it didn't frustrate me because I also liked how they communicated and talked with each other.

Anyway this was a solid rom-com and I would definitely recommend this to everyone in need of one. Honestly this book would be so good as a movie that I kinda need it to be one.

Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar is an absolute delight!

This adorable rom-com has such a strong voice, immediately after I opened the book I was drawn in to Meghna and Karthik’s world. Each character was well developed, after finishing this book I feel like I’m saying goodbye to good friends.

Say You’ll Be Mine is so heartfelt I laughed and cried along with the characters.

Meghna and Karthik were such real characters dealing with relevant problems and situations. I couldn’t get enough. They are in the running for my favorite couple of 2024! Karthik was swoon worthy!

Say You’ll Be Mine was full of fun tropes: Fake dating and only one bed (multiple times!!).

What a wonderful debut! I look forward to reading whatever Nania Kumar does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Fake Engagement
- He Falls First
- Slow Burn
- Dual POV

I’m blown away that Say You’ll Be Mine is a debut. Naina has created a sweet and fun strangers to friends to lovers story that is filled with mutual pining, banter, tension and a dash of spice.

Meghna and Karthik have undeniable chemistry and what started off as a mutually beneficial agreement, slowly built into a very sweet and loving relationship. If I’m being honest, a slow burn is always my favorite and this book is a perfect example of why it works so well.

The cherry on top of this great read was being able to learn more about Indian culture and family dynamics.

Make sure to pick this one up on January 16!

I need this book to come out ASAP so I can’t recommend to my friends. Especially my brown friends that love romance. I know seeing them selves represented like this would be great. I plot really had me. I love that I grew to know the characters and everytime I thought it was over, Karthik messed up up in a way that was understandable and not horribly annoying. I truly loved reading this. Honestly for a debut book, this is pretty good. So like am I getting a second book about best friend falling for the brother or what? Because the way this was written made it seem like there is a lot more to tell and I would not mind reading their journey.

Read this if you like:
•debut novels
•fake engagement
•only one bed
•slow burns

This book was fantastic. The tension and friendship was so sweet. The way Karthik was always rooting for her to stand up to her ex too was chefs kiss.

Thank you Ballentine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. It was a fun spin on the fake dating with the arranged marriage aspect thrown in.

Read this for:
- Fake dating
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Only one bed
- Wedding related
- Indian culture

Meghna Raman is tired of disappointing her parents with her career and is over her lackluster dating life. She agrees to an arranged meeting by her parents to meet Karthik Murthy. Immediately Kathrik makes it known he wants nothing to do with marriage. But then Kathrik realizes he could get his Mom off his back, and stop his commitment of a year of meetings if he just happens to be engaged.

Meghna decides it would be great to do something her parents would love as well as have a date for for ex's wedding where she's the best man and still has feelings for him. They team up for a fake engagement. The only problem is that they start to get to know one another and Meghna is able to get under the hard grumpy shell of Kathrik.

Kathrik comes from a very challenging toxic family history, and Meghna is starting to shift everything he thought he desired in life because he can't stop wanting to be around her. It was sweet and tender to see how Kathrik slowly opens up and becomes vulnerable with Meghna. I loved the way Kathrik championed Meghna and believed in her so much that she took action to do things she always wanted to do.

This one really had you in your feels once you saw both of them falling for each other. I look forward to seeing what Naina comes out with next!

Thank you Dell/Random House and NetGalley for providing the Joyful Chaos Book Club with ARCs in exchange for our honest reviews.

This was a really sweet romance and absolutely perfect for people who like a heavy build-up. There were so many moments where I wanted to scream at the main characters to just confess their feelings already but the payoff in this book is really worth it. I like a romance where the love story also adds to the character's sense of self and growth rather than just two people coming together and "Say You'll Be Mine" delivers on that front too. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advance copy!

This was such a sweet story. This was unique in that the characters are of Indian descent (Hindi and Tamil) and the author shows the slightly different perspective that comes with that. Love is universal but the arranged marriage subplot and the pressure of being the child of an immigrant added to the story.

Karthik and Meghna were frustrating at times while they fought their attraction to each other but I love a good fake engagement plot and this book delivered. The only thing I didn’t love was the subplot with Seth and Julie and how that story unraveled. It actually made me sad to imagine marrying a man who I knew was a liar just to save face. But maybe it was a more realistic take on the story. I’m sure crazier things have happened with minor celebrities trying to keep up appearances.

Overall, very impressive debut novel.

I rated this book 3 stars because it's time I finally admit that I just don't care about the fake dating trope in contemporary romances. The stakes always seem so very low to me. It's a trope better suited to historical romances but as is the case with this book, the whole idea seems so absurd and unnecessary. I think fans of the fake dating trope will love this but it's just not for me.

In this particular book, Meghna and Karthik have been set up by their respective mothers. This is very on par for the South Asian community so I was really excited for this book based on the representation. When their first meeting is not the stuff of true love, Karthik proposes - or rather fake proposes. He needs his mom off his back and also I guess to prove something to his dad and Meghna, who has been pining for her long time best friend, needs a date to his wedding. Two birds, one stone. As is the case with this trope, a fake engagement quickly turns to real feelings even though Karthik has made it abundantly clear that he has no intention to ever marry.

A lot of the issues with Meghna and Karthik hinge on their poor communications. Add in a toxic best friend, a really toxic parental relationship, allegations of sexual harassment (by a minor character), and Meghna's brother hooking up with her other best friend who also happens to be engaged to someone else, there's a lot going on in this book. And because there's so much extra stuff, the development of the actual relationship between Meghna and Karthik sort of gets lost in the shuffle.

One thing that this author did really well though is the micro aggressions - like Meghna's toxic friend being unable to pronounce her whole name and insisting on shortening it to Meg. Little things like that are a good clue that Seth is every bit the asshole that Karthik has already pegged him to be. It takes Meghna a little longer to come to this realization which is a source of frustration both for Karthik and for me, as a reader.

All in all, the book works for fans of this trope, unfortunately, I'm just not a fan of this trope.

Content Notes: toxic friendship, toxic father relationship, allegations of sexual harassment, cheating between minor characters

Let me start by saying I absolutely LOVED this book and couldn't put it down! The characters are so likable. Meghna fell in love with her bff Seth in college and was devastated when he broke up with her after graduation; now he’s getting married and has asked her to be his best man. So she agrees to let her mom set her up with a potential husband. Karthik has no interest in EVER getting married, but he’s agreed to let his mother take him on a year’s worth of meetings if it means she’ll stop asking after that. Together, they come up with a plan: They’ll pretend to be engaged, ie: go to work parties and wedding events together, and it’s a win-win for both of them. But from the start, Meghna finds Karthik insulting and robotic. Quickly they each realize their fake engagement is leading to some very real feelings. I’m looking forward to whatever Kumar releases next!!
Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very sweet debut! I appreciated the diversity and learning more about the Indian culture. The characters were likeable and I rooted for them. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This was such a great charming and unique contemporary romance book! I loved that it represented the Indian culture too. This had so many tropes in it: fake engagement, one bed, friends-to-lovers, close proximity, miscommunication, slow burn romance and dual POV. Even with all of this going on, it all works well in the book. I was even entertained by the side characters romance plot. I am not a fan of the miscommunication in this book but I was rooting for them to just be real adults and talk about their feelings. Also, I did not like how Seth treated Meghna. It was such a toxic relationship that I hoped she would see earlier in the book. Everything he did and said drove me insane! Overall this is a great debut novel and hope to read more about the other characters, maybe Anika and Samir will get their own book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary ebook in exchange for a honest review.

If Meghna and Karthik are not quite a match made in heaven, I nonetheless enjoyed their arranged (fake) engagement-to-real love very much.

Meghna is stocked and horrified to learn her longtime best friend and writing partner Seth is engaged to be married, so she agrees to let her mom set her up with a potential husband. Karthik has no interest in ever getting married, but he’s agreed to let his mother take him on a year’s worth of rishti meetings if it means she’ll stop asking after that. They strike a deal: They’ll pretend to be engaged, going to work parties and Seth’s wedding events together, and it’s a win-win for them both. But if they don’t get off to the best start – Karthik is insulting and robotic – they soon realize their fake engagement is leading to some very real feelings.

Tropes abound in [book:Say You’ll Be Mine] – secretly carrying a torch for the best friend, refusing real relationships because of one’s parents’ screwed up marriage, fake dating to get pushy parents to let up, grumpy-sunshine – and it makes for a fun read. I wasn’t totally sold on Meghna and Karthik as a pair: I found myself wondering, they are this bad at communicating that they both repeatedly miss the signs that the other has developed real feelings, how can that possibly be the foundation of a solid lifelong partnership? I could also spot the reason for Meghna’s change of heart around Seth coming from a mile away – it’s a shame she can’t see it too, until Karthik practically hits her over the head with it. I would have liked to see a little more “self” in Meghna’s self-actualization.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 3.5 stars rounded up for entertaining ammas and musical theatre references.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House for an early copy.

3.5 rounded up to 4. I really enjoyed this debut novel and think it had tons of potential to be a 5 star read. Unfortunately the miscommunication trope was present throughout the book, starting from the first few chapters. It would have been a lot more enjoyable if the characters weren’t just assuming incorrect things about the other and had simple conversations to talk out their fears and thoughts. Also found the characters hard to relate to and unlikable for the first 65% of the book, much of which could have been avoided if they just talked. This is part of why I don’t love 3rd person in romance because it’s even harder to connect to and learn about the characters.

An absolutely stellar debut! I was pulled into the story from the very beginning-- I love a fake dating trope and the circumstances surrounding the main characters made for a very fun read. I especially enjoyed the way Meghna and Karthik's relationship evolved over the course of the novel, it was such a sweet story! Can't wait to see what Kumar does next!

Say You'll be Mine is humorous, riddled in chemistry and a slow-burn toward a happily ever after.

This debut novel features one who is looking for a partner, and the other whose forbidden his heart from love. To get their parents off the marriage train, Meghan and Karthik fake an engagement. As they slowly learn about each other, these love interests realize they have more in common than they realized. Can Karthik change his perspective on to welcome what the heart desires?

Kumar opens the eyes of the reader to Indian culture and family expectations. It was truly educational and incorporated in the story well. This romcom is an absolute delight!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the complimentary copy.