The book follows two colleagues, Bhanu and Sunny, who both work at the same tech firm and find themselves vacationing in Hawaii at the same time. Circumstances cause them to fake date and the rest, as they say, is somewhat predictable rom-com history. This was a fun and quick summer read. The plot, while predictable, is still pleasant! The characters are well defined and I was definitely rooting for the FMC and MMC to get together. I especially loved the details specific to Hawaiian and Indian culture sprinkled throughout the book.

Where the book falls flat for me is the authors tendency to be prescriptive in telling us exactly how a character is feeling or what they are expecting to happen. I prefer books which read like a slice of life, where the reader puts together the puzzle pieces by being shown what’s happening rather than being told.

Overall, I would recommend this as a light vacation or beach read. Just don’t expect this to something you come back to over and over again.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book was pretty middle of the road for me. It’s your typical workplace rivals to lovers kind of thing. For most of the book I had a very hard time understanding why they were so antagonistic towards each other. But I’ll be honest even when they explained why, I still didn’t understand why these two characters disliked each other so much. I also just never really felt the chemistry or the tension between these two characters until probably about the 60% mark in the book and honestly that feels way too late in the story to finally feel some chemistry between the main characters. Overall I felt it was a fine book. Nothing that really excited me too much as a reader, it didn’t feel super memorable, but I enjoyed it while I was reading it.

DNFed at the 60% mark, because I just could not believe that these two characters actually cared about each other. I enjoyed learning about Desi culture, but I did not think they had any chemistry.

In The Design of Us by Sajni Patel, a single impulsive lie sets off a weeklong escapade of pretend romance for two quarrelsome colleagues at a picturesque destination wedding. Set against the stunning backdrop of Hawaii, the intricately described setting adds depth to their captivating slow-burn love story. The characters are expertly crafted, and the plot unfolds at a deliberate yet engaging pace, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in the narrative.

Bhanu works in user experience at a tech company and beings her A game. In fact, she's hoping for a promotion - the same one her coworker, Sunny, is vying for. When the bickering workplace rivals end up at the same Hawaiian resort on vacation, a reservation snafu leads them to sharing a villa. Not only that, but Sunny's ex girlfriend is less than kind and Bhanu tells her she's Sunny's new girlfriend to get her to lay off. Unfortunately, Sunny is there for a wedding and now all his friends expect the "happy couple" to attend all the pre-wedding events. Excursions, very excitable Indian families, and cultural perspectives on food and customs come into play as this romcom continues.


💭 Things I loved: Bhanu's sister and her boyfriend, both of whom lived in Hawaii, were funny, sweet, and extremely hospitable. Bhanu had social anxiety and was not afraid to speak out about it when needed; also Sunny was very attentive to her desires about being in soci situations. Loved seeing a successful woman in STEM. Overall, a great little summer read. I had a hard time getting into in at first, and some of the character descriptions were a little repetitive. If you're a fake dating, tropical setting, workplace romance fan this is for you!

Bhanu is visiting her sister Diya in Hawaii like she always does. Sitting by the pool, she overhears a woman degrading someone, when she looks she can’t believe it. Its SUNNY! Bhanu and Sunny constantly bicker at work, but he’s a great dev, so she decides she can’t let this woman keep at it when they’ve got a huge project to complete at work. In an attempt to defend Sunny, and get this woman to shut her trap about him not having a plus one for this apparent wedding they’re attending, Bhanu says SHE is his girlfriend. Oh my god the look on Sunny’s face when BANE says this!

This unlikely couple have to blast the acting to convince Sunny’s ex that they’re really together. Apparently something Bhanu is very good at. So good the lines become blurred between what’s real and fake. The banter and bickering becomes a fluent love language as Bhanu realizes there’s more to Sunny than she thought from their interactions at work. He’s funny, charismatic, caring, and that DENZEL VOICE does it for her! Their passionate stares BURN and their foreplay is 🌶️🌶️🌶️

But what will this all mean when the week is over and they have to return back to work? Will the fake relationship end or will the slow burn ignite? 🔥✈️

Bhanu is visiting her sister in Hawaii, she is supposed to be relaxing and not thinking about work, which is hard for her to do, especially when she's up for a big promotion. She's happy to at least be away from her work nemesis, Sunny. The man has a way of constantly getting under her skin.
Sunny isn't thrilled to be spending his time off in close proximity to his ex, Sejal, unfortunately their mutual friends are getting married and they are both in the wedding party. He arrives at the resort and finds out his reservation had been canceled and now he has nowhere to stay, to make matters even worse, he runs into the last person he wants to see on vacation, Bhanu.
I've enjoyed the author's other books but this wasn't my favorite. I didn't care for either of the characters and just didn't feel the chemistry between them. I was annoyed that it took so long for them to finally discuss what caused them to dislike each other, and that just made the story drag. It didn't really pick up pace for me until the last 25% of the book. I did appreciate that the ending wasn't dragged out and that everything worked out well.
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm torn in my review of this because I wanted it to be so good but I feel like it fell short, like everything just needed a but more. The romance was super cute and a lil spicy but I needed more of the romance build-up. The characters were great and I loved Bhanu and Sunny but again, I needed more personality dev from each of them. Not to mention the lack of character description, the only way I think Sunny was described the whole book was that he filled out a t-shirt and had a "Denzel voice" which got really repetitive.

However, I am still giving it 3 stars because ut kept me hooked just enough to not want to put it down and I was hard core routing for Bhanu and Sunny to be together.

3.5 ⭐️

The Design of Us is an easy summer beach read for those looking to turn their brains off and enjoy the ride! The ending was a bit rushed, but overall I had a fun time with this one!

Read if you like:
👥 Dual POV
😈 Enemies to lovers
✨ Fake dating
🔥 Slow burn
👏🏽 Diverse cast of characters

Pub date August 27, 2024.

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the ARC in change for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🫑 (Closed-door romance)

Thank you Netgalley, Berkeley Publishing Group, and @sajnipatelbooks for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rounding off AAPI month with an author I met a few months ago while she was promoting her fantasy book is The Design of Us. Bhanu and Sunny are work nemesis. They're not even frenemies until they coincidentally vacation in the same place, a fancy resort on the Big Island. Bhanu is visiting her sister while Sunny is attending a destination wedding for his best friends. When a booking mishap causes Sunny to lose his reservation, he is not only without a room but at the mercy of his ex-girlfriend who seems to be on a mission to make his life miserable. Bhanu steps in to interrupt her tirade and off we go with fake dating shenanigans.

I love a good enemies to lovers, slow burn plot but this actually got me a little worried in the beginning because I felt zero chemistry between the MCs. Usually when I read this trope, there's something between the MCs that they hate that they are attracted to but in this book, Bhanu and Sunny properly DISLIKE each other (with a capital D). The latter even calls her ‘Bane’ as in bane of his existence. As the story progresses, we see both characters develop feelings for each other at a pace that feels appropriate. Despite their dislike for each other, they were incredibly respectful to their boundaries and learning each other's mental health struggles. This book also moonlights as a guide on how to be a respectful tourist when visiting the Hawaiian islands. Although this was a closed door romance, the tension and payoff were still 👩🏻‍🍳😘.

When Bhanu ends up going to visit her sister in Hawaii the last person she expects to see is her coworker Sunny. They bicker so much at work there coworkers place bets on who will win their vocal sparring match. But when she overhears Sunny’s ex berating him about being dateless to his friend’s wedding Bhanu can’t help stepping in, saying she’s Sunny’s new girlfriend. Now that Bhanu has gotten them into a fake relationship she has to play the part and go along some island excursions with Sunny and his friends. The more time Bhanu and Sunny spend together the less acting they seem to be doing. Can there really be an actual relationship under their farce? Or will Bhanu and Sunny go back to just being belligerent coworkers?

This romance comes with the characters not only slowly falling in love, but highlighting their mental health struggles as well, which Sajni is spectacular at writing. Bhanu is learning how to navigate her social anxiety which I can definitely relate to, and Sunny is once that has trouble expressing his emotions. It is a pleasure to be along with them as they learn to be vulnerable and real with each other. What a difference a Hawaiian vacation can have!

"One impulsive lie leads to a weeklong adventure of fake dating for two bickering coworkers in this swoony destination wedding rom-com by Sajni Patel, author of The Trouble with Hating You."

In "The Design of Us," Bhanu, a sunny UX designer, and her work rival Sunny, with his Denzel-like voice, find themselves fake dating at a wedding in Hawai’i. What starts as a quick lie to avoid his ex turns into a week of hilarious and heartwarming moments. Their dynamic is both funny and sweet, with meddling family, supportive friends, and romantic tension keeping the story engaging.

I loved the premise and the overall cuteness of the story! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes of all time and this book really does it justice. The blend of Indian and Hawaiian cultures adds another layer of depth and brings color to the setting, and Patel explores social anxiety in an incredibly relatable way. I don't think I've ever seen a book do it without internally cringing about how exaggerated it was.

However, some parts felt over-explained, and a little more editing could have tightened the narrative, and maybe helped fix issues with length. The pacing was dragging in the middle. Despite this, Bhanu and Sunny’s romantic journey is charming and a breath of fresh air!

If you enjoy destination weddings, fake dating, and rom-coms, "The Design of Us" is a must-read this summer!

3.75/5

Patel never disappoints! This was cleverly written, with heart and gravity. It was cute, fun and entertaining. And, I’m really interested to know what the author might do next.

I’m so happy I was able to get an early copy of The Design of Us! This book was very funny and I loved Bhanu and Sunny so much. They cracked me up and the sexual tension between these two will have you fanning yourself. I’m a sucker for fake relationships of any kind so I fell into this book immediately. Sunny’s ex could kick rocks and she was so dang toxic. I loved Sunny’s other friends though. I also loved Bane’s family so much. The conversations with the mom and Sunny cracked me up. This was the first book I read by Sajni Patel but it definitely won’t be the last!

Combining fake dating with enemies to lovers, and setting it all in tropical paradise - what's not to love? Bhanu and Sunny have great banter, and Sunny, who hates the ocean, jumping in for Bhanu (and the turtles) is the swooniest of gestures. Plus the food descriptions! This was a fun summer rom-com!

Such a cute story! Bane and Sunny are work enemies turned friends turned to lovers in an unconventional way. The main characters are both so awkward so they work so well imo. I started this book and couldn’t put it down I was flying through it. Quick and easy read.

Thanks to Berkley for an advanced copy of this book.

This is the definition of a 4 stars for me. I have been a Sajni Patel Stan ever since I first read The trouble with hating you back in 2020 so you can only imagine how excited I was to read this and it did not disappoint. I had a freaking amazing time reading this, I mean I read this in my backyard with the sun out but in my heart I was in Hawaii with our MCs. Also I LOVED the little easter egg with the trouble of hating you, no but really I almost threw my kindle across the room!!

So, the book follows Bhanu who works in tech (YAY we love a woman in STEM) and her work nemesis/annoyingly handsome coworker with a Denzel voice, aka Sunny, who both end up in Hawaii for vacation. Although they are there for different reasons - our FMC's visiting her sister and our MMC is there for the wedding of a friend - a serie of unfortunate (is it really though) events has them faking a relationship. Oh, and they also share a room - GOD I love a forced proximity moment!

I can't even begin to tell you how perfect these two were. I loved how obsessed Sunny was with Bhanu and especially how respectful he was with her boundaries when it comes to physical touch. Also, this man very clearly is scared shitless of the ocean yet he dives right in when something's bothering her??? Swoon, like MAJOR SWOON! Idk I might be biased to Mrs. Sharma's male lead but every single one of them seem to work for me.

I thought that it was somewhat a lighter read than The trouble with hating you and First love, take two in terms of themes, so I'd definitely recommend picking up this one if you haven't had luck with her other books. For me? This was exactly what I needed it to be. It's a perfect summer romance filled with funny and heartfelt moments and I'm definitely purchasing a physical copy to add to my shelves.

I enjoyed this multicultural interest rom com. There was good angsty tension between the characters. I love a fake dating situation plus the addition of 'enemy' co-workers to lovers was fun.

Eh, this was fine. Which is disappointing to admit because I really enjoyed the last two books I read from this author. Personally, I don't think first person POV was the right choice for this story as I couldn't tell Sunny or Bhanu apart nine times out of ten. And there was just ... a spark missing from them. I liked them as a couple and Sunny treated her as she deserved (like a queen, okay), but I couldn't get invested in them the way I hoped. I skimmed the last 20% because I was ready to move on.

3.5/5
The Design of Us is a fun little summer rom-com! Bhanu and Sunny - two bickering coworkers - end up at the same resort in Hawaii for very different reasons. After Bhanu tries to get an ex off of Sunny's back by saying that she is the new girlfriend, the fake dating commences for the rest of their trip! While being a bit of a slow burn, I really liked Bhanu and Sunny's dynamic. Once they cleared the air about their meet disaster, they came to realize that they have a great understanding of each other and their friendship/relationship just kept growing stronger. What might have started off fake with each other was fooling all of the friends and family around them. I loved the Hawaii setting and I think that Sajni Patel did an amazing job of adding in bits about tourism (good and bad), the native culture, and a little history. 
Thank you so much to Berkley, Sajni Patel, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!