Bhanu and Sunny are work rivals. They both end up in Hawaii…in the same island and in the same resort. Through series of events, they end up pretending to be dating for wedding. If you are in mood for a quick fun read, this is it!

I really enjoyed this romance and it had all the tropes I love.

The chemistry was there and even though I'm not a fan of slow-burn romance, the writing style kept me engaged and did not leave me feeling disappointed. Even though I don't prefer closed door spicy scenes, the chemistry was clearly there and the lead up was written so well!

I also enjoyed the inclusion of the cultural representation and accuracy of it. The accurate way social anxiety was portrayed.

I loved Sunny's friends and how they were welcoming of Bhanu. I absolutely loved the relationship between Diya and Komo. Diya was hilarious and I loved her personality. And the way she helped Bhanu be prepared for the wedding was incredible. Best sister award!

I really enjoyed the ending and it felt more realistic and not overly dramatic or fake.

Bhanu is taking a vacation to Hawaii to visit her sister and the last person she expects to see at the resort is her grumpy coworker Sunny. Sunny is there for his friends’ wedding, where his ex is also a bridesmaid. When Bhanu sees Sunny’s ex criticizing him for being single, she jumps in and pretends to be his girlfriend. To make matters worse, the resort has a room mishap so Bhanu offers to let Sunny stay with her. Between fake dating for the various wedding events and staying together, Sunny and Bhanu begin to see a different side of each other.

This book made me want to take a vacation to Hawaii with all of the history and scenery. This was a fun story with some of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine and a badass/smart woman in STEM). I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other better and thought the friends’ wedding made for some fun events/storylines. This was a fun summer read!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

My biggest issue with this novel was the immature bickering between our main characters and how juvenile their interactions were. I just couldn't get past it and it was tough to read. I didn't feel much chemistry between them. The burn was just so slow I lost patience. Overall this wasn't a memorable read for me.

Love and Ambition Intertwine in Sajni Patel’s Design of Us

Review:

Design of Us by Sajni Patel is a heartwarming and compelling contemporary romance that beautifully blends themes of love, ambition, and cultural identity. Set in the bustling world of Technology specifically with a software team where Bhanu is a UX Designer and Sunny a software developer, the novel follows the lives of two talented individuals as they navigate their careers and personal relationships.

Me personally geeked out seeing words like Jira, Agile, developer, sprints etc in a south asian romance novel since thats my day to day! Also, it’s summer and who doesn't love Hawaii! I havent been to Hawaii ( yet ) so I lived vicariously through this book. I really liked the Grumpy FMC vibe!

I wish there was a little more romance and chemistry with Bhanu and Sunny which felt like did not happen until the about 70% of the book was finished! If you love workplace romance, summer in Hawaii vibes, fake dating to scorn the ex, sisterhood themes plus of course a south asian romance then check this out!!!!

I am feral for a good fake dating, rivals to lovers story and I thoroughly enjoyed this one! Also learned so much about UX and how much planning goes into building these big websites.

The characters were soo relatable, especially as an Indian woman in STEM. THE NAME MISPRONUNCIATION!! There were also some very important themes of mental health and how it may cause us to misunderstand others because we don’t know what they’re going through. Like Sunny with Bhanu. Their banter and chemistry were fantastic. Also I LOVED the setting. Made me want to go back to Hawaii stat. I appreciated how environmentally conscious the author was in the details.

Thank you to NetGalley for being able to read this early.

I always say this about Sajni Patel books, but I will say it again: I appreciate when the main characters have ACTUAL problems that affect their love life.

Sajni did a great job of putting our two main characters, Sunny and Bhanu, in juxtaposition and making us care about them equally as well. At no point did I feel that I liked one better than the other or that their reasoning was absurd or contradictory to the story being told. The romantic scenes ranged from cute, funny, and extremely sexy and I loved every minute of it. This is what I feel a Enemies to Lovers should be like.

Also for anyone that might want the audiobook, Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adam are narrating it so you're going to have a great time.

DNF @ 40%. I tried to keep reading this book and it just misses the mark for me, which is really unfortunate because I was so so excited to get to this one for this month as a perfect summer romance. I really enjoyed the introduction to different cultures that Patel brought into the book, as it is a Desi romance set mainly in Hawaii, I appreciated how she mentioned local food, customs, and traditions while also providing us with great background on our main characters and their culture. Where it fell flat for me is mainly in the execution, the dialogue specifically does not flow naturally, feeling at times stilted and not realistic, so much so that I would say portions out loud to see if the words rolled off my tongue in a way that made sense, and they just didn’t. I loved the setting and some of Patel’s lush descriptions capture Hawaii so well but are interrupted by thoughts from her characters that we get over and over about their work, how they strongly dislike one another, and these thoughts bring back that stilted language. This is all to say I really wanted to love this book and sing its praises, I loved the premise, I love some of what I read but the further I got the harder it was to look past the flaws. Thank you, Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Berkley Romance, and NetGalley for the e-arc gift! The Design of Us, out now!

In true Sajni fashion, The Design of Us included bickering/bantering between the main characters. This was a slow burn romance that had all the right burn to it, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to do something, anything! The meddling families is a must, to see Bhanu’s sister and parents want to know every detail and knew before her that she was in love with Sunny, was the epitome of a perfect fake dating ruse. And Sunny’s friends and family also being so involved because he was the only single one in the group? Also saying he was in love from the past. Oh this was just so perfect! “Untethering myself from Bane was like sawing my soul in half. And that shit was killing me.” Like 🤧

I think the whole story was laid out so beautifully. Starting off with Bhanu and Sunny’s interactions then them finding out they’re at the same vacation spot in Hawaii, to randomly going on a fake dating bind. I also truly liked seeing them explain their past and present feelings toward things and situations, it allowed them to open up so much and leave it out in the air for the other to decide how they feel. Sunny was so incredible. Seeing how he reacted around Bhanu, and the way he truly did things she appreciated and worked on being a better person in a relationship was so cute. Paying attention to the little things! And Bhanu, I just adored her no-nonsense attitude and how precious she was🥹

This was like The Trouble with Hating you 2.0 and they *make an appearance* here, which I ate up! No, but genuinely, thank you Berkley for the gifted arc, I am so thankful I got to read them, because it’s Sajni, and I truly do love her romcoms. 🫶💜

- Sunshine x Grumpy
- STEM Rivals
- Fake Dating
- Enemies to Lovers

First off, thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review. I unfortunately did not finish this book. The story itself and tropes were all there, but the writing style was not for me. I found myself not picking the book back up after a chapter or two and couldn’t focus. This one wasn’t for me, but I know it will be for other people!

The Design of Us is about two work enemies who cross paths while coincidentally on vacation in Hawaii. They land in a situation where they need to pretend to be a couple until the end of their stay on the island. Will their trip end in love proclamation or an awkward time back at work? Read to find out 😉

Here's my review ~

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Okay, while reading this, I literally thought I was reading about me. Bhanu, the main female character, is probably the first book character I can truly see myself in from her Marvel binging, flirty banter, and social anxiety. The main male character, Sunny, was so adorable! I loved the banter, tension, and fake dating concept. Plus, UGH he had the cutest nickname for her 🫠

I loved this so much and highly recommend it! Perfect for a beach day 🏖🐢💜

So glad I went to an author signing with Sajni and got to hear firsthand about this book! She also lives in Hawai'i so the Hawai'i representation felt very authentic! From ube to warning tourists about caring for the land to honu (turtles) and hospitality/tourism careers to family parties, I felt so seen! I could really picture the setting because I've BEEN THERE (Big Island) and I loved that Bhanu noticed Diya mature just by living on the island and among locals. The main characters weren't my favorite, but their banter was fun and the fake dating scenes were cute. A great beach read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC. All opinions are my own.

Sajni Patel’s "Design of Us" is a delightful destination wedding rom-com that perfectly blends humor, romance, and the classic trope of fake dating. If you're looking for a swoony, light-hearted read, this book is a must!

**What I Loved:**
- **Engaging Characters:** Bhanu and Sunny are the quintessential sunshine-and-grump duo. Bhanu's vibrant personality and Sunny's brooding charm create a dynamic that is both hilarious and heartwarming.
- **Compelling Plot:** The story kicks off with a single impulsive lie that leads to a week of fake dating. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Hawai’i, the plot is filled with witty banter, laugh-out-loud moments, and genuine emotional growth.
- **Cultural and Family Elements:** Bhanu's meddling yet lovable family and Sunny's supportive friends add depth and richness to the narrative, making the story more relatable and engaging.

Thank you @berkleypublishing and NetGalley for the gifted galley of this mesmerizing romcom. This perfect for a beach read or anyone in need of a feel-good love story is available for purchase in your nrearest bookstores!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is exactly what I look for in a summer read! Set in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, two rival coworkers end up at the same resort for different reasons. They are forced to act like they are dating and you guessed it, they end up falling for each other. The slow burn unfolds into a tension you can cut with a knife!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

This book is a fun summer read if you want something relatively mindless, but if you're looking for something more substantial, it's not this book.

A fake-dating trope between two rival coworkers in order to show up his ex at a wedding is not necessarily overdone, but it certainly lacks the creative spark needed to craft a truly masterful story. The writing style for this book was relatively juvenile, focusing on stilted sentences and overwrought explanations before diving into the meat of the story. And I wish there had been more in that regard.

Bhanu and Sunny are not very likeable as characters initially, which makes it difficult for people to root for them at the end. They were fairly lackluster, not super amazing about then that stuck out.

Overall, it's a good book, just not the book for me.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I want to go to Hawaii and gorge on ube now, please.

It just really didn't hit for me and I don't know why... Maybe because I was more invested in her sister's romance? Maybe I didn't like the constant barbs and animosity between Bhanu and Sunny? I did love the references to The Trouble with Hating You and the fake dating elements. May have just been a wrong time to read sort of thing.

I was drawn to this book by its absolutely gorgeous cover art and was not disappointed in the least. I loved the enemies to lovers trope here and the stumble into fake dating. I appreciated the commentary on women in stem and how Hawaii is denigrated by American tourism. The sisters' relationship and banter was A1! The chemistry between our main characters was divine. The mental health rep was approached with tact and care along with issues of consent. This novel just really hit every point perfectly. I enjoyed my time with these characters and can't wait for readers to get their hands on this novel.

The design of Us is fake dating trope done right! This is the story of Bhanu and Sunny who are co-workers but cannot stand each other after a very disastrous first meeting at a party.

But things heat up faster than a tropical sun when Bhanu and Sunny both end up in Hawaii. Bhanu is visiting her sister and Sunny is attending a friend's wedding. After an interesting turn of events, Bhanu and Sunny decide to fake-date each other while they are in Hawaii!. What could go wrong, right?
I had a blast reading this book and here 's why:
(1) Relatable MCs: Bhanu works in UX design and Sunny is a developer. Their conversations are so realistic, I half-expected a Slack notification to pop up. Too often, authors give their characters flashy jobs without doing the homework, but Sajni Patel nails it. Plus, the title The Design of Us is just chef's kiss perfection!
(2) Hawaii: I love Hawaii and I have to say that the writer Sajni Patel was able to capture the soul of Hawaii in her book. I’m two clicks away from booking my next vacation to Hawaii, thanks to this amazing book.
(3) Slow burn: I love a good slow burn and this had all the feels <3
(4) Confident FMC: I loved how sassy Bhanu is. She is at a senior position in the firm and protects her team like mama hen. But she has her moments of weaknesses and vulnerability that make her real.

I usually do not love work place romances but this one hit right on the spot! Do yourself a favor and dive into this gem. You won’t regret it!

I believe this is the fourth enemies to lovers, fake dating at a destination wedding book I have read this summer alone. These are two of my absolute favorite tropes, and a destination wedding is a great set-up for that situation. So, I’m definitely not mad about it. But, I love the things about this book that make it different from the others I have read recently with a similar premise.

The main characters are both in STEM working on the same team. Bhanu is a UX designer and Sunny is a developer. The book takes a look at the conflict in Hawaii between tourism and the local culture as well as touches on environmental issues Hawaiian wildlife faces. Bhanu and Sunny are both Indian, specifically Gujatari, so we get a glimpse of some of their customs as well.

The evolution of the relationship between the two main characters feels really natural. Their dynamic is really fun and the banter is solid. The book overall is a very enjoyable read. Perfect for lying on the beach, or making you feel like you are.

Thank you to Sajni Patel, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Cynical UX expert Bhanu is facing off against her work nemesis, gruff but undeniably attractive Sunny, for a promotion. When they both end up at the same Hawaiian resort, Bhanu impulsively claims to be Sunny’s girlfriend to shut down his ex’s unwanted attention. Stuck playing a fake couple, Sunny and Bhanu navigate meddling families, enthusiastic friends, and the mounting pressure of their work competition. As they let their guards down, will their Hawaiian vacation turn into something more?

This book brings a satisfying, fresh twist to the “fake relationship in a tropical paradise” trope. Bhanu is naturally diplomatic but has a straightforward communication style under pressure, so she can be just as grumpy as Sunny is at times. Plus, her social anxiety sometimes overwhelms her. Sunny, for his part, isn’t really a grump but an introvert whose toxic ex has made him feel inadequate for not anticipating and catering to her every romantic whim. It’s really beautiful how Bhanu and Sunny instinctively support each other through their respective struggles and earn their happily-ever-after.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.