I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book. I enjoyed it a lot!

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House and the author for the digital ARC of this book. Meghna and Karthik are set up by their Indian parents who are hoping their match making results in an arranged marriage. Trying to appease both sets of parents, they agree to meet but a love match is not in the stars. However, Meghna needs a date to accompany her to the wedding of Seth, her long time secret college crush, and Karthik wants to stop the endless set-ups his mother has arranged. What could be better than a fake engagement with a set end time? As time passes, Meghna and Karthik grow closer and, unknown to the other, soon fall in love. The characters, both main and minor, are very well developed and multidimensional. They grow and evolve throughout the book. Definitely an interesting look at the Indian culture and the way family influences decision making, both large and small. I can definitely see this as a series as well as a movie or small screen mini series. The cover is absolutely beautiful, the graphics and colors are eye catching. A delightful debut!

Karthik Murthy has no plans to ever get married, especially after seeing how his parents' marriage turned out. His mom, however, is adamant about finding him the perfect girl, unable to refuse her, Karthik agrees to meet these potential matches for a year, he has no plans of actually saying yes to any of them.
Meghna, has gone against her mother's dream of an engineering career and is currently an elementary teacher, she dreams of one day becoming a playwright. When her best friend, and secret crush, Seth, announces his upcoming wedding, Meghna is devastated.
When Karthik suggests a fake engagement to get his mom off his back, Meghna sees it as the perfect opportunity to make Seth jealous.
This was an obviously predictable but cute and sweet story. Both main characters were likeable and I also enjoyed the additional characters as well. I did wish we got to know more about Samir and Ankita as well as Karthik's parents. I can see those things possibly being in a second book, perhaps? I thought this was a great debut novel and look forward to more from this author!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this one! I could see how it was influenced by When Harry Met Sally but I loved that it had its own twist on things. All of the characters were so well written that I found myself really sucked into the world and routing for everyone. The banter was so! good! I was obsessed with Meghna and Karthik. I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of the fake engagement but this was all done so well. I’m really hoping this becomes a series since i’m interested in seeing more from some of the characters!

When Meghna, a teacher with a playwright's ambitions, encounters Karthik, a serious engineer without any notions of marriage, they decide to enter a fake engagement with the intention of avoiding further parental scrutiny. They travel to see each other to play the part of doting fiancee and their fake arrangement doesn’t seem that far out of the realm of possibility. After a few interactions and several conversations, their burgeoning friendship allows for a peek into what could be if both Meghna and Karthik can get out of their own ways. The author crafts witty, sexy banter and establishes a slow burn that has the potential to combust with any number of outcomes. The book is culturally rich and delightfully fun— it’s relatable to anyone who tries to meet other people’s expectations at the expense of their own peace. I cannot wait to see what this author does with her next book! Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book!

I have always found the idea of matchmaking so interesting! This was a cute and funny story. As a teacher, and wife to a theater teacher I loved this representation from Meghna. And I loved the grumpy-sunshine duo of her and Karthik. I really enjoy rom coms that go below the surface and also deal with familial issues as well. This is a great read for Valentine's Day! Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Say You’ll Be Mine
Stars: 4 x 5
Author: Naina Kumar @nkumarwrites
Publisher: @randomhouse /Ballentine/Dell
Thank you @netgalley for this ARC

Meghana is being pressured by her parent to get married. She is an English/Theater teacher and he mother does not like her choice of profession. She feels that is more to life. Karthik is a grump of a man who is content in his life but his parents want him to get married. He does not want to get married. He just wants his parents to stop
pressuring him about it. Karthik gives into his mom and tells her that she can set him up with some women. This is how Karthik and Meghan meet. After meeting up and talking a while they determine that neither of them wants to get married. They come up with an idea to have a fake engagement. This will agreement will hopefully stop their parents from pressuring them so much. Meghana also wants to make her ex jealous and when she is invited to his wedding she takes Karthik. At the wedding she introduces Karthic as her fiance and this has no effect on her ex. She is devastated. As time goes by Karthic and Meghana have to spend time and slowly they get to know each other. As time goes by they become close and slowly they realize they are in love and perfect for each other.. I learned so much about the Indian culture in this book too.

This was an adorable, charming and unique book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also happens to be my book club’s BOTM for February.

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A great read. Meghna and Kathik meet as part of arranged marriage meet ups. Will it lead to more.for them? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

Thank you to Random House Ballentine and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I really loved this book! Karthik and Meghna are so cute and wonderful. I loved Karthik's personal growth, especially how it didn't really rely on Meghna doing a ton of labor. Fake engagement troupes can seem so odd, but I appreciated how Kumar grounded it in the Indian culture and allowed these two to be themselves as they figured out that they were total dummies for each other. The subplot with the former boyfriend was a little frustrating at times, but I loved how Karthik spoke up when he saw Meghna being treated poorly, even when he didn't know the whole story.

Overall, I had a hard time putting this one down, it was such a great comfort read. I can't wait to read Kumar's next book!

Read this book if you like:

*m i s c o m m u n i c a t i o n
*fake engagements
*handsome engineers
*when he falls first
*characters not communicating
*dual POV
*one bed
*idiots in love
*some more miscommunication

Do not read this book if:

*you do not like the musical "My Fair Lady"
*you're a grumpy person who hates love

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️

A nice book with good characters you can root for. I don't think this is reinventing the wheel for the genre, but it was nonetheless fun to read along with Meghna and Karthik, refreshing when Meghna stands up for her talents and beliefs, and satisfying to see the different ways the main characters are fulfilled in love, career, and family. I also enjoyed the roles and arcs for the parents!

Meghna and Karthik decide to join forces to survive an ex's wedding and to escape matchmaking pressure from their Indian families. What is their plan? A fake engagement!! However, the more time they spend together they grow protective of one another's hearts and an undeniable chemistry takes shape. Will they let their insecurities and expectations ruin something that has become a lot more real than they hoped?
I just wanted to lock them in a closet together so they could make out the entire book. It was super slow burn, but the fake dating kept dangling that romance carrot to keep me engaged. They went through a lot and there was a lot of misunderstanding around the third act breakup that was a bit much, but overall I was rooting for them to finally be ready for each other.

This was such a sweet and heartwarming romance. It was definitely perfect for a Valentine's read! Meghna and Karthik were great together, and you could really feel their love building. I love a fake engagement trope, and this book features one along with an only one bed trope, and that's a favorite, too!

I did think that some of the conflicts were glossed over. However, that can be fine sometimes. When you just need a book that makes you happy, and that's exactly what Say You'll Be Mine does.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar is a charming debut romance. Meghna is an elementary and theater teacher who is also an aspiring playwright. Her ex boyfriend, writing partner and current crush, Seth, has asked her to be the best man in his wedding party. In an attempt to make him jealous and move on, she agrees to let her parents set her up. Karthnik is a successful engineer never aspires to be married but is appeasing his mother’s attempts at matchmaking. Karthnik is surprisingly smitten with Magna upon meeting her, and they agree to a fake engagement to make both of their Indian families happy and to help Magna with a date to Seth’s wedding.

I love a good fake dating trope and this one didn’t disappoint. It’s charming, fun and whitty. You’re going to want to get a copy of this.

Released January 16, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Many thanks to NetGalley, Naina Kumar and the Random House Group - Ballantine for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For Naina's first novel, Say You'll Be Mine truly had everything a reader could want! She skillfully brought this story to life, weaving in vibrant threads of culture, tradition, and the hurdles of love along the way.

Plans often go awry, and Meghna's life is a testament to that. She had envisioned a future where her ex-boyfriend, Seth, would come to realize his error in breaking up with her after their college graduation and declare his love, culminating in a romantic reunion. Instead, she finds herself blindsided by an invitation to his wedding. Adding insult to injury, he wants her to be his Best Man! It's bad enough that instead of pursuing her passion for theater (or carrying on the family tradition of engineering), she was a teacher in the middle of putting on a play. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if her mother didn’t constantly remind her that her career choice was a disappointment. Determined to avoid heartache and desperate for a distraction, Meghna shocks her mother when she finally agrees to meet with potential suitors (a request she has consistently denied). That's when Kathrik enters the picture, quickly establishing 1) they are not a match and 2) even if they were, he's not looking to marry. Just when Meghna is ready to wash her hands of the whole thing, Kathrik reappears with an unusual offer: pose as his fiancé to help him avoid any further matchmaking and in exchange, he would be her date at the wedding. Despite how ludicrous it seems, the thought of facing Seth's wedding alone propels Meghna to accept this bizarre plan, not knowing the full extent of what she's getting into.

This book was absolutely adorable! It delightfully blends humor, heart, palpable chemistry, and drama. Meghna and Kathrik serve as great examples of the grumpy and sunshine pairing, but they don't just stick to their roles. Often in these books the “sunshine” is bright and cheery, nothing sullying the happiness in their life. Meghna was more versatile than that. She wasn't always cheerful; she experiences a range of emotions that bring depth to her character. We didn’t just witness her reactions to Kathrik. We saw them with her best friend, her brother, and Seth - giving her multiple dimensions and the reader a better understanding of who she was.

Say You'll Be Mine breaks away from being predictable or dull despite employing tropes like the grumpy one versus the sunshine, a fake relationship, and forced proximity. The expected happy-ever-after is there but it's Kathrik's character development that makes it such an enjoyable read.

Riding the line of a clean, close door romance and steamy, Naina does an excellent job fogging up the pages without the need to be explicit. The passion behind the kisses alone heightened the intimate moments in this book.

Naina hit it out of the park with her debut. I can't wait to see what else she creates, especially if she zeroes on her talent of character development.

I adored this rom com! A little spicy and a lot of fun. Meghan and Karthik are a great match throughout this novel. We'll paced and plotted. Swoonworthy and not to be missed.

A spectacularly well-executed fake dating story with a cultural twist — I loved SAY YOU’LL BE MINE and Naina Kumar is now an auto-buy author for me. I connected immediately with both Meghna and Karthik and loved their journey towards not just faking an engagement but being together for real. The stakes for both characters were clear and strong (not always the case for me with this trope) and their relationship built beautifully over time as both softened towards each other. Their support of each other was just the icing on a very well-baked cake.

At this point (mainly due to trad pub), fake dating has been regurgitated so many times. Despite that I still requested this book to see if it did it in a unique way amid the backdrop of a desi south Asian culture. It tried, but ultimately it still felt lacking. For a fake dating to genuinely work, the stakes need to be higggh. Otherwise why are 2 adults faking a date when they don’t need to. Granted it’s easier to navigate that dynamic in a toxic, immigrant culture. I think this book rushed too quickly into the fake dating dynamic. The entire premise of the book cannot hinge on the fake dating aspect. Apart from the main characters, there was a lot of stuff going on with the best friend, Seth, and her brother that Karthik and Meghna, both characters I liked, got lost in the chaos.

I love a good fake dating troupe and this book did NOT disappoint. I wasn't sure how I'd feel starting the book but I quickly fell in love with Meghna and Karthik's story. I enjoyed watching their love story unfold and I couldn't help but enjoy they families as well. I love that Naina Kumar used arranged marriage as the jumping point for her story. I will definitely be reading more books by this author in the future! This is a definite feel good 4 star read for me!

Meghna Raman and Karthik Murthy are from Indian families who arrange for them to meet. Karthik has no intentions of marrying at all as he fears he will become his cold, uncaring father. While Meghna cannot wait to marry, but wants to marry ‘the one’.

When an opportunity arises for them to fake an engagement for mutually beneficial terms, Meghna doesn’t jump on it, but is slowly convinced.

I enjoyed the story once I got past the first 5 chapters. I definitely learned more about the Indian culture beyond arranged marriages and that was enlightening.

After much turmoil, drama, and misunderstandings, Meghna and Karthik find their happy ending with each other.