I so adore Sajni’s love stories. I am always instantly obsessed with her characters and story premises. I loved the nods to her first novel because I have read it so many times. This sort of enemies to lovers was so so good. While Bhanu and Sunny were competitive at work and not close at all I was glad that their banter was friendly and that she swooped in to rescue him from his ex from hell. It was so nice seeing her help his realize how toxic his previous relationship was. The backdrop of the island and it being another character was also fun. I hope we aren’t left waiting for another book from Patel and it would be interesting to see one about Bhanus sister

Look at this beautiful cover! I knew I was in for a treat with this enemy to lovers romance, and I really enjoyed the story between Bhanu and Sunny.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-fake dating
-enemies to lovers
-workplace romance

I paired the book with the audio format and loved the way the story came to life this way.

*many thanks to Berkley Romance, prh audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

The Design of Us by Sajni Patel a true fake dating, enemy to lovers romance. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Sunny and Bhanu. I also appreciated the closed door romance. I felt there was too much description of their jobs it was a little too much for my liking, The location and setting of the book was wonderful and the cover was great. The writing was just a miss for me on this one. I know many rom com lovers will love this one it just wasn’t for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for a copy of the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Design of Us by Sajini Patel!

3.5 rounded up. Super cute and I loved it by the end, but a) the beginning dragged; b) there were some continuity problems that I HOPE were due to my reading a NetGalley proof (he literally meets her mother for the first time on two separate video calls?); and c) writing a good ramp-up to a sex scene and then slamming the door on the actual sex should be punished.

I read ...The Design of Us and it was 4.5 stars

I loved this book! It's a workplace romance using the fake dating and enemies to loves tropes to tell the story of Bhanu and Sunny. Two coworkers that cant stand each other but happen to end up on the same island for vacation. The book is filled with plenty of swoon worthy moments but It was also very funny, I highly recommend the book and I can't wait to read more of Sanji's catalog.

I had high hopes for The Design of Us, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. Bhanu and Sunny’s dynamic started with some promise—an enemies-to-lovers trope set in a picturesque Hawaiian backdrop, with witty banter and an interesting premise. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that the tension between them, which should have been fun and exciting, felt forced and a bit too drawn out.
Bhanu’s quirky personality didn’t always hit the mark for me; I often found her a bit too over-the-top, especially in her interactions with Sunny. And while Sunny’s gruff demeanour could’ve been endearing, I found him more frustrating than anything. The chemistry between them was there, but it felt like the plot was relying too heavily on misunderstandings and the back-and-forth of their forced romance, which, after a while, started to wear thin.
The family dynamics and wedding festivities added some amusing moments, but overall, the pacing suffered. It took too long for the romance to pick up, and by the time it did, I wasn’t as invested as I’d hoped. It’s a cute concept, but it needed more depth and a bit less repetitive back-and-forth to make me care about the characters and their journey.

this is the first of Sajni's romances for me and i really enjoyed it. it was quick and easy to read and i love how the voices of her characters come to life. audiobook was good!

3.5/5 stars 1/🌶️
The Design of Us was a mixed bag for me - cute concept but kinda dragged its feet getting to the good stuff! Loved the Hawaii wedding setup and watching these two UX designers pretend to date after Bhanu's random lie to save Sunny from his ex. The whole "enemies" thing felt pretty weak sauce though - like they were just being dramatic over nothing?

The slow burn between Bhanu and Sunny was SLOW slow (and mostly closed door, heads up), but when they finally started vibing, their chemistry was pretty decent. That Denzel-voice description of Sunny? Yes please! And Bhanu's family added some fun chaos to the mix.
Props for the anxiety rep and cultural elements woven throughout. But real talk - the work rivalry and communication issues felt a bit childish at times. Still worth the read if you're into destination romance with fake dating shenanigans, just don't expect things to move super fast.

I will never pass up a wedding romcom! This one was totally delightful, with some sparky chemistry between the leads and a great setting. Highly recommend!

The Design of Us is an entertaining fake dating romance between coworkers- Sunny and Bhanu. Sunny as the lead developer and Bhanu as the lead researcher. Both are vying for the position of project manager at their company, and while they excel at their jobs, they struggle to get along with each other, constantly bickering. Their rivalry intensifies when they discover they are staying at the same resort during a vacation.

Sunny is in Hawaii to attend his best friend’s wedding, while Bhanu is there to spend time with her sister, who is a local. The situation takes an unexpected turn when Bhanu announces she is Sunny’s girlfriend to save him from his ex’s demeaning drama.

This leads to a series of events involving fake dating, exploring the island together, and sharing a villa and even a room. The story becomes even more intriguing as they navigate their complicated relationship and see what happens when their pretense ends at the end of the vacation.

I loved the concept of a romance between main characters working in the STEM field. The writing is engaging and fast-paced, offering refreshing alternative perspectives from both Bhanu and Sunny. The Design of Us is set in Hawaii that adds its own charm to the story, with a focus on tourist exploitation that pollutes the land and endangers sea life, which I appreciated. It made me want to be a responsible tourist.

Both main characters are Indian, and to my delight, they are both Gujarati. As a Gujarati myself, I was excited to see my culture represented in the story. However, this excitement didn’t last long as there isn’t much focus on Gujarati culture. We get a picture of how Desi parents are, but nothing specifically related to Gujarati culture or food. In fact, the story focuses more on Hawaiian culture. Despite this minor issue, I liked both main characters.

Bhanu (we don’t pronounce the name as it was mentioned in the book in Gujarat, and it’s usually a boy’s name, so maybe it might be an Indian-American thing or a short form of a bigger name like Bhanumati or something) is independent, caring, and a workaholic. However, she suffers from social anxiety that she doesn’t talk about with anyone except her family.

I admired how she helped Sunny despite not liking him or the idea of him staying with her during the vacation. Her love for her family and her passion for sea life and preserving nature made me respect her even more. I loved how, as she spent more time with Sunny, she could see past his grumpy exterior and admitted that he was a lovely person who deserved good things in life.

Sunny is grumpy, stoic, and observant who struggling with expressing emotions. I would rather say he is blunt and hates arguments and drama. I immediately disliked his ex for making him feel like a robot without feelings. It hurt to see how much his past toxic relationship impacted his self-esteem.

I loved how he cared for Bhanu, how he was himself, and how he eventually opened up to her. One memorable scene is when he jumped into the sea to remove trash for Bhanu, even though he hated swimming in the sea. That act spoke volumes about his character. My favorite moments were when Sunny stayed vigilant about Bhanu’s anxiety during the wedding and when he brought her favorite food near the end of the story.

I noticed some reviews mentioning that they didn’t like Sunny calling Bhanu “Bane” throughout the book, but I was fine with it. As I said before, her name’s pronunciation felt odd to me, and after some point, that nickname felt endearing.

The romance is perfect, featuring the work nemesis-to-lovers and fake dating tropes. The witty banter, slow burn, and sizzling chemistry made the story fun and charming. It was heartwarming to read how they realized their bickering was like that of a married couple and how their fake relationship turned into something more than they anticipated.

The climax was dramatic with typical self-imposed miscommunication, but I loved how they finally got together and how things worked out with their job as well.

Overall, The Design of Us is an entertaining, engaging, and delightful work nemesis-to-lovers, fake dating Desi romance.

The Design of Us was such a cute and sweet romance that had Indian/Desi representation. Sajni Patel is an automatic read for me and this was a solid story.

This was an enjoyable story featuring rival coworkers with a penchant for bickering. The female main character's role in STEM and her self-assurance was refreshing. The fake dating trope was well-executed, though the meta elements at times felt a bit excessive. One downside was Sunny's constant use of "Bane" when referring to Bhanu. Sunny, grappling with emotional scars from a toxic relationship, struggled with communication but made sincere efforts. Bhanu, mostly cheerful, also demonstrated the ability to assert herself when needed. Overall, a charming read. Spice: 1/5 (minimal detail, mostly closed door). Triggers: toxic relationships, family hospitalization, panic attacks, brief depiction of injured animal, racism, sexism.

The Design of Us took a lot of my favorite tropes and wrapped them into one story and placed it in the beautiful setting of Hawaii. Needless to say, I enjoyed my time reading this one.

When two coworkers who can’t stand each other find themselves at the same vacation spot, end up in a lie and have to fake date for the duration of their trip, some seriously uncomfortable and funny situations occur. And definitely some feelings.

I think this one flew under the radar this summer. It definitely should have had more praise.

It was a lot of fun, a story of two enemies fake dating and having to share spaces during a holiday and a wedding.
It you want to armchair travel to Hawaii and spend some time escaping the bleak times this is the right book
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was lovely. I appreciated that the reader knows from early on what the "inciting incident" was that caused Bhanu and Sunny to dislike each other. The narrative flow and pacing was fantastic. And I loved how seamlessly they transitioned from bickering to flirting, from dislike to like as they got to know each other more.

This book had a little bit of everything: workplace enemies to lovers; forced proximity and only one bed; fake dating; grumpy/sunshine; and dual POV. Add all that to the beautiful setting of Hawaii and a luxury resort and you have the perfect set up for this book!

Overall, I enjoyed this quick read; there was good banter, cultural representation, a well developed romance, and realistic conflict that didn't rely too heavily on miscommunication, but actual real-world, professional stakes. It won't stick with me, I think, but it was a fun, light read.

Enjoyed this summer-set romance by Sajni Patel! It is a slow-burn romance, in which our main characters have great chemistry. Overall, a great summer romance read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

3.5/5

I just couldn’t finish. I didn’t like the FMC and struggled to understand the MMC. I started and stopped many times. I love this genre but am just not sure about this title