First of all, I want to start with the cover. Isn’t it literally one of the cutest you’ve ever seen? I love how the colors mesh up together

What I really like about Riya’s books is that she adds glossaries to her books. This is the second book I read by her, and this one also has like a small guide on some Hindi & Tamil & Teluga terms. That’s how you know that the author also is also an avid reader

Spice and sparks wise, I liked this book more than the first one. It had just the right kind of steam, and boy oh boy was the riz rizzing!!

I love how Aditi’s family is big and loud and protective and supportive because SAME. I like books where there are characters who are family oriented. I relate to that so much and I think it’s important for at least one of the MCs to have that

There were a lot of representations in this book, but the best one is Rian’s background. We don’t usually see that the boys are the ones that are abused in books these days. To read that an MMC is traumatized from things he had to undergo because of his mom was very difficult to read yet very comforting to know that this author is repping this topic!

I also loved the fact that the FMC doesn’t have a model portrayed figure which makes it even more real

I really liked that even after everything Rian has been through, he’s still a gentleman and very supportive and protective of his woman. He’s like showing off that he has her and he’s just so proud of her and I loved that tbh

What I didn’t like was that sometimes the different POVs was kinda confusing and it was kinda slow at first but then it started picking up

Rian and Aditi did not hit it off when they first met in the first book in this series. She read him like a book and he snapped back at her. Then he comes home from Singapore to find out she is the guest his grandmother has invited to stay with them.

They soon become cordial. Then almost friends. Then she asks him for a situationship. He declines but can’t fight the fact that he is captivated by her. Soon he is asking for a relationship.

I really enjoyed this book. Rian and Aditi went through a lot. They had baggage they needed to deal with. Getting to their happily ever after was not smooth sailing. I enjoyed this book just as much as I did the first book. Definitely looking forward to the third book.

I didn't know what to expect, but I absolutely loved this book!
It was sassy, sexy (but not in a cringey way), romantic, and full of the spirit and food of of Mumbai.
What a positive and joyous story, yet it never shied away from some difficult issues.

What a delightful read! The characters were authentically desi and easy to root for. The romance was adorable and more smutty than I expected but I'm here for it!

Bonus points for how well the author captured the essence of Mumbai -- I love books that portray cities so well they end up being their own characters, and that's exactly what this book does for Mumbai. 10/10 no notes.

Pure joy from start to finish! I so loved this book. The characters are vibrant and relatable, bringing a fresh, genuine energy to every page. With witty dialogue, heartfelt moments, and a story that’s as rich as it is engaging, this book is a must-read for anyone craving a romance that’s both entertaining and deeply rooted in cultural authenticity.

Really intriguing take on culture and marriage. Really enjoyed the 2 main characters and found them relatable. Glad to see more representation and diversity in romance.

The tone of this book didn’t appeal to me, and I found the writing confusing. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Before everything else - how cute is that cover?!! Putting flowers in your loved one's hair is such an intimate moment 😭🩷

I loved the desi setting and all the references made! I'm usually a hater of pop references in books because it takes me out of the reading experience often, but in this book, it just added to the experience.

I'll be honest, I completely hated the fact that Rian was overly possessive over Aditi, especially when he wasn't even ready to ask her out. Like dude, the only way you ruining her perfectly good date was acceptable is if you were her boyfriend!

The chapters are labelled as one character's POV but often shift to another's POV abruptly - the labelling is quite confusing and unnecessary. This wasn't exactly an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers book. Both the 'enemies' and 'friends' part were short-lived. Strangers-to-lovers would fit this better.

Waiting to read Vihaan & Vera's story next!

Pub Date: Jul 31 2024

This cover and description really had me hooked on the idea of this book. A grumpy chef who is focused on his goals and has no time for complications and an eternal sunshine doctor who is trying to deal with her career and helping her family from far away.

I really enjoyed the setting and the detailed descriptions of food because wow was there some fantastic food porn in this novel. The relationship both characters had with Nanamma was lovely. Aditi finding someone who cared for her in this new space and Rian having one family member always on his side. She was a joy to read about and her definite "not scheming" to get the pair together. I also really enjoyed the spicy scenes in this book, because boy oh boy they were hot. Rian and Aditi had that perfect chemistry in those moments. Sometimes third act conflicts/breakups feel forced but I actually enjoyed this one and believed this happening in their development.

The pop culture references were either hit or miss for me but that is a pretty consistent feeling I have about them in every book I read.

When it comes to the misses this book at the beginning was mildly driving me insane. The chapters would begin labeled with one POV character and then at a random point in the chapter with no line break it would switch to the other POV. It pulled me out of the story to try to figure out whos head I was in and what had just happened. If there was a label or transition language in any way it would have helped so much.
Additionally I was confused about the conflict between the pair but I believe that may have happened or been explained more in the first novel in the series. From what the characters said I couldn't fully get behind the animosity between them so I liked how quickly it cooled off.

It was very enjoyable by the end and I was hooked once they started to be nicer to each other. I would def try out the prior book in this series and hopefully whichever one comes next.

2.75

I have recently made more of a conscious effort to read more authors of color to diversify my reads. I was excited to be accepted to read this on NetGalley, however this book disappointed unfortunately. I am an occasional romance reader but I am highly critical of romance books:

The plot felt predictable especially when Aditi overheard Leela (typical Bollywood movie 3rd scene break up), the spicy scenes were cringe and the writing was very clunky.

The enemies to friends to lovers trope almost didn’t have a solid backstory and perhaps that’s because this was a second book in a series and I haven’t read the first but it just felt like a trope for a sake of it. I also wasn’t feeling how Aditi asked for a casual fling- just didn’t feel like it came naturally to the storyline.

On the other hand, there were topics that I have never seen addressed in South Asian societies, such as dyslexia and eating disorders- but like someone else pointed out on here felt like it was put in for the sake of it.

I did love the food part of it, and I wish it was more explored with the restaurant. I thought Nannamma was also a fun character and her sneaky matchmaking ways made it fun. I also found the scene with Aditi’s family at the end hilarious, however at that point I was skimming through to finish this read. Someone else pointed out that this felt like a really long book to read and it was probably because they were bored and I felt the same way- I even read another whole book in between!

Omg Riya and netgalley, thank you for the e-arc. I fell in love with Rian and Aditi and their love story was just so special. Both of their struggles made me cry! Aditi’s ex is a scum and I’m sorry but Rian’s mother is a piece of poo poo - that woman made my blood boil. Omg I was FUMING!

Ahhh oh sweet Rian, he deserves everything and more! The grovel was perfect for me and I loved that scene with Aditi’s big family - her dad is so funny hahah the eyeballs with the bleach haha that cracked me up, iykyk! And I love the sweet grandma who is pretty much their wingwoman haha 😁

Haha I really did love this one, can’t wait for Vihaan and Vera’s story! 🤍🤍

I unfortunately could not get past the many different POV’s within the same scene, in the same chapter, many times. It is something I’ve attempted to read in the past and failed and I didn’t realise that was what this book had in it. Also I have read narcissistic personalities before and sometimes I can handle it and others I can’t, with the mother being the narcissist it hit too close to home for me I’m afraid. Thank you for approving me for the arc. I wish the author all the best.

Thank you Riya Ayer, Good Girls PR, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Desi romances will always have a piece of my heart.

And Then They Wed is a desi-romance following Aditi and Rian as they get swept up in their spicy roommates-to-lovers romance.

Here are the tropes:
🪷 Roommates to Lovers
🌼 Forced Proximity
🪷 Street Food Dates
🌼 POC Characters
🪷 South Asian Rep
🌼 Bollywood Vibes

I loved Aditi and Rian’s story. I love how they both overcame their pasts and grew to love each other. This book had pure Bollywood vibes, and I loved that so much. Aditi was a doctor, and as someone aspiring to be in the medical field, I was very happy reading about her.

The setting, Mumbai, stuck out the most to me. Most Desi Romances I read are set in America, so this story was new and different in that sense!

Also, the cover is so so cute!!!

And Then They Wed releases July 31st, 2024. If you love Love, you’ll love this book 💖

First of all this is my first romance read that takes place in India and reading this book written by a self published author makes me even happier to review. Also as always I love seeing a midsize curvy fmc which stops making me doubt myself in the romance world!! Our female main character is also a doctor and through that we see more of Indian societal norms, whether it’s about the size of a person or a woman’s job. Another way through which we also see this is that the male main character has dyslexia and has been treated very badly by his mother throughout his raising.
With these backgrounds, I loved reading about these two characters and how they fell in love with each other

Btw the mmcs grandma is iconic and she makes the book much funnier!

Even though I loved most of this book and loved how cozy it made me feel since it plays in autumn, I have to say that after the 80% mark, it started to draw out. This was also influenced by the third act break up, which I hate with my whole heart.

All in all, it’s a cute romcom set in India and reminds me of my cute Turkish summer romances. Would definitely recommend.

In this novel, second in a same-universe series, Riya Iyer crafts a feel-good romance with South Indian leads whilst also exploring difficult and important topics that add depth to the protagonists. Hints at past (and possibly future) books serve as fun cameos and side characters without taking focus away from the main characters. The chemistry between the leads was evident yet realistic, and the author takes advantage of dual POVs to add layers to the plot. Overall an enjoyable and fun read! Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for this ARC.

Really cute book! I loved the representation in this book. The Indian, dyslexic and the plus size representation. Also loved seeing both of the characters their personal growth and how it led them to each other. Sometimes the timeline was a little confusing and some things felt a little rush while other things felt pretty long. Also I am not the biggest fan of the 3rd person point of view, it just makes the book a little harder to read and harder to get into. over all it was a cute book and I’m definitely interested in reading more of this author! 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC.
Things I liked:
-I enjoyed Aditi's relationship with her family and friends. The dialogue was funny and realistic.
-Representation (Indian culture, food, relationships, etc.)
-Glossary of Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil terms was super helpful

Things I didn't like:
-Different POVs in each chapter - lead to confusion and abrupt switches
-FMC and MMC relationship - their animosity was too much at times. I wanted to reach into the book and shake both of them and say not it tf off already!

I give this book 2.5-3 stars because it wasn't enjoyable. I couldn't engage with the characters and plot enough to stay invested.

I actually really loved so much of this book. I really adore this writing style and the words the author used. I feel like I really felt connected to Rian and Aditi as brown people. I think it is so important for black and brown people to have their simple beautiful love stories and this is one of them. I loved the proclamations and the bollywood tidbits. I think improvement can be made, in the beginning of the chapters the author specifies the point of view, but within the chapter it is ultimately multi-pov. I also think I was not totally in the mood for smut so that put me slightly off, and Aditi was "not like other girls" adjacent smoetimes. But I loved her overall, and I loved that this took place in india.

This book was a ride, if I'm being honest. Their connection on page was there from the beginning. They wanted different things and at the end of the day, love conquers all. I thought there were cute, I liked the silly aspects in this sometimes. The family dynamics also hurt sometimes. I had so much fun.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I adore Riya's writing, and her characters!
We first met Aditi in Riya's first book and her fiery exchange with Rian made me sure that their story was going to be a hot one! I was right!
When Rian returns to Mumbai and finds Aditi in his house, he's confused. When he learns that she'll be staying there, he's furious!
Their hate to love relationship was so addictive, I could not put this book down!
Rian is the perfect combination of assertive and supportive and he knew just how to press all of Aditi's buttons!
Aditi is caring and kind, but she has a firm, no nonsense side to her and it was adorable to watch her fall for Rian, and for him to open up to her.
I loved this book so much and I cannot wait for the next one!