This book was a challenge to suspend my disbelief. The hurricane plus breaking the phone was a little too convenient for me. I thought I would like it because of the cute setup, but it wasn't enough to carry thr stop.

If you absolutely love second-chance romance and go into it for the fun, this might be for you!

Short synopsis: Meena needs to divorce her husband, but a hurricane is forcing them toward.

My thoughts: This is a loose retelling of Sweet Home Alabama, and I ate it up! For a little while, both characters were a bit unlikable, but them both redeemed themselves in such a good way! I grew to really adore Meena and Nikhil and watching them compromise for each other.

There were so many things to love about this story; the canoe trip through the flood, the only one closet moment, the drunk in Vegas wedding, and of course the ending grand gesture scene.

I did a mix of audio and physical reading of this, and I was so mesmerized by the narrator Soneela Nankani did such an amazing job of bringing these characters to life!

Read if you love:
* Marriage in Crisis
* Second chance romance
* Sweet home Alabama
* Forced proximity
* Only one closet

When I heard 𝗙𝗟𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 was a reimagining of 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘢, one of my favorite rom-coms, I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately, I was let down.

If you haven't seen the movie, fashion designer Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) gets engaged to the NYC mayor's son (Patrick Dempsey), and has to return home to her Alabama town to get her high school sweetheart, Jake (Josh Lucas), to sign divorce papers after he's refused for years. While there, she realizes how much she's missed the life (and man) she left behind.

Here's why the book didn't work for me:
👩🏽 The story is told solely from the POV of Meena (Melanie) which made it feel very surface. Hearing from Nikhil (Jake) would have given the story more depth.

🚫 There wasn't much chemistry between the characters.

🗣️ The reason Meena and Nikhil broke up but stayed married without talking was due to a miscommunication that could have been easily resolved (especially since Meena is a lawyer - why would she leave it hanging?) and lacked the emotion of the film.

🙄 The plot required so much suspension of disbelief. Meena plans to spend a day in Houston to get the papers signed but a hurricane traps her for much longer. How does she have enough clothes? She breaks her phone and can't communicate with anyone back home, but what lawyer travels without a computer? It was all too convenient for me.

I did appreciate the South Asian representation and there were some sweet moments in the story. The audiobook narration by Soneela Nankani was also excellent.

I've seen rave reviews for this one so maybe if I wasn't such a fan of the movie, I would have enjoyed the book more.

Thanks to Ballantine and PRH Audio for the copies to review.

very cute and fun! i love a second chance romance and this was no different. a lovely take on sense and sensibility for a new generation.

DNF 70% I grew bored with the lack of conflict. It’s tough to write a second chance romance! I needed higher stakes here

Some books just feel like home, and Flirting With Disaster was exactly that for me! Having lived in Houston for almost half my life, I’ve experienced a few storms like the one described in this book. The way Naina captured the raw intensity of a hurricane—the tension, the forced stillness, and the moments of reflection it brings—was so authentic, and reading this while the rain hit my window this past week was TOP TIER!

From the very first page, I was hooked!!! Meena’s story had me completely in my feels, devouring every page to uncover her past and how her and Nikhil’s connection unraveled over time.

Not only was this a story about second chance love—it’s about balancing ambition, identity, and the undeniable pull of what once was. Meena’s internal tug-of-war between her past with Nikhil and her future with Shake felt raw, honest, and oh so human, and I loved how both men represented different sides of what she wanted in life. I loved watching Meena truly find herself and begin to letting go of the expectations her parents had placed on her from such an early age.

Naina’s writing is stunning—beautifully descriptive, fast-paced, and packed with emotion that had me hooked!!!

This is a MUST READ for anyone who loves second-chance, forced proximity, self-discovery, and accidental marriage!

Sweet Home Alabama is one of my all-time favorite rom-coms so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. The yearning and pining was STRONG on both sides here -- but if you aren't a fan of the miscommunication trope these two will have you pulling your hair out for sure.

Meena and Nikhil accidentally got married in Las Vegas seven years ago. Despite it not being in either of their long-term plans, they are secretly thrilled and excited. But just a year later, they separate -- Meena heading to DC for her lobbying firm job after passing the bar exam and Nikhil staying in Houston working on his construction business. Meena is still heartbroken that Nikhil let her go without a fight, and now she has to return to Houston to get Nikhil to sign the divorce papers she's been sending so she can announce her political, and romantic partnership, with her on and off again boyfriend so they can achieve their dream of running for office together.

But Meena arrives in Houston just as they are bracing for a major hurricane, meaning she is stranded with Nikhil in the house they both used to call home. This forced proximity will give them more than enough time to hash out the details of their separation and be honest about the feelings they have been avoiding for years. But maybe closure isn't what they want after all...

Emotional and a fresh homage to the movie! I really enjoyed this and will definitely continue to look forward to future works from Naina Kumar!

Overall, cute and quick read. Nothing to run to add to your tbr about, but still liked it. Wish it had a little more depth & wished FMC wasn’t so lax about her casual love triangle. Cute but just okay. Thanks Berkley and NetGalley for my digital ARC!

As someone who has never seen Sweet Home Alabama, I enjoyed the concept of this book. It did take me quite a while to finish though as I took a hiatus from reading as it did not keep me entertained the whole time. I think the characters to me were not the most compelling and the story seemed a little predictable.

This is a very raw and emotional second chance romance. I think it's realistic in the messiness that is our emotions and thoughts and being flawed humans overall. That being said, it wasn't my favorite. 🫣

I wanted to love it, but the miscommunication six/seven years later was driving me crazy. I understood that the younger version was less mature, but I was frustrated with the present-day characters. I was especially irritated with Meena. She was so stubborn and ignored all of the obvious signs. Then, she still takes a while to own up to her own flaws and mistaken way of thinking. The way she told Nikhil about Shake was also so messed up. I understand that she's a flawed, realistic FMC, but I kept thinking Nikhil deserved better.

Sweet Home Alabama…. but make it a hurricane. And Texas!

Meena’s burgeoning career as one half of a DC power couple is going great. The only problem? If she wants to take the next step - running, together, for political office with her boyfriend - she’s going to have to go home to Texas and get her estranged husband, Nikhil, who she hasn’t seen for years, to sign divorce papers. She can be in and out, and back to her life, in a matter of hours. Except a hurricane has other ideas.

We’ve got second chance romance, forced proximity, and too many miscommunications to count. Neither Meena nor Nikhil thinks the other person thinks they are the right fit — Meena thinks she’s too ambitious and driven to not disappoint her parents, and Nikhil won’t want her high-powered DC life; Nikhil thinks he’s not career-driven enough and Meena is embarrassed at his job and lack of degree.

There are quite a few things here that I often dislike in a romance (references to climate change and DC/politics stories by people who clearly don’t have much experience with either) I found myself cheering for this earnest couple who simply weren’t ready for one another when they first got together. [author:Naina Kumar} continues to be an author I look forward to reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a born and raised Texan and have gone through my fair share of natural disasters in my community both here and in Louisiana (when I lived there for a bit) I was unsure how I would feel about reading a hurricane being part of the story. Now I don’t have to think about it any further because this book was done just perfectly.

Meena and Nikhil get hitched in Vegas after a whirlwind of a night out celebrating Meena’s accomplishment of passing the bar. They are both young and in love and hopeful of having a future together.

Yet reality happens and we are fast forwarded 7 years to the present day of Meena returning to Houston to get the divorce papers signed so she can move on with her life in Washington DC. She is trying to live up to what will make her parents happy and maybe even herself?
Nikhil is the strong silent type and will do anything Meena asks of him, if it makes her happy. He’s never stopped loving her and maybe she didn’t stop loving him either?

While trying to figure out the next step in both their lives, a hurricane hits Houston and forces them to lean on one another to help rescue a neighbor and boarding up a blown out window in their house.

The tension was there throughout the book and I was on the edge of my seat to see what happens next. I did enjoy the whole book as a whole and I would recommend reading the epilogue!

I really would like a story of Meena’s older sister. And her HEA.

Overall a great second chance romance book. I loved it and am mad at myself that I took so long to finish it.

Would I recommend? Yes!
Would I re-read? Yes I would especially if we get her older’s sisters’ story.

I am not usually a big fan of second chance romance but when I saw that this was compared to Sweet Home Alabama I knew that I needed to give it this one a go. I loved this story. It was so relatable and felt really genuine. I felt that the characters had a strong connection and that despite the years apart that connection never faded it any way. I was glad when Nikhil finally told Meena how he really felt, so that she could really have the reality check that she needed to reflect on where they wen't wrong and how she contributed to the downfall. I liked how this ended and felt that it was perfect without being completely neat and tidy.

I wanted to enjoy this book so badly but I was bored with it, regrettably. I didn’t really enjoy the miscommunication of the couple and the book wasn’t very romantic in my opinion

A second chance romance featuring adults ( and not 20 somethings 😃 ) millennial here, that features a south asian couple that is on the verge of a divorce but get stuck together due to a hurricane.
Love the premise of this book!
So well written
Enjoyable!

DNF @24% I’m just honest to god bored out of my mind and these characters could not be more bland.

The FMC was one dimensional, and there was no “com” in what is supposed to be a romcom. The attempts at are really not packing a punch,

I also find the premise a little hard to believe- you mean to tell me this woman landed from a flight into a hurricane and had no inkling about it???

~2.5, rounded up~
Meena, a successful lawyer on Capitol Hill, returns to Texas to finally get a divorce from her ex-husband, Nikhil, after years of separation. She's now in a relationship with Shake, another lawyer, and is ready to move on. However, when a hurricane approaches, she’s forced to take shelter with Nikhil in the home they once shared. Amidst the storm, old feelings resurface as Meena recalls what she loved about Nikhil, though she’s committed to her steady future with Shake. As the storm clears, Meena must decide if her heart will lead her back to Nikhil or if she’ll stay the course with Shake.
***
This was 'meh' for me - didn't love it, didn't hate it. If you like Sweet Home Alabama, you'll probably find this story delightful. I thought the setting/premise of getting Meena & Nikhil back in the same place to hash out their past was interesting. I think hurricanes and other natural disasters have been an emerging theme in novels for the past year or so, and being from South Florida, I could relate to their situation of hunkering down - which can be so incredibly nerve-racking, and then throw in an old flame? Holy hell.

This book appealed to me as soon as I saw it was being compared to Sweet Home Alabama. I love that movie, so I hoped to love this story too. I can't say I ended up loving it, unfortunately, but I liked it well enough. It was a sweet, second chance story overall. The characters were likable and their relationship was cute in a bland way. It wasn't a ground-breaking book, but it was decent for what it was.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

First and foremost, I want to thank Naina Kumar & Dell Romance for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was super excited to get to read this book, because honestly, it sounded amazing. Second chance romance AND forced proximity? It doesn’t get much better than that.

While the book was still fairly enjoyable, it left me wanting more. While there was tension, it seemed fairly surface level for something that would result in something as major a separation/divorce.

There were also some descriptions of body parts in the book that seemed really odd to me, like saying his nose is in the center of his face and that he’s still the same height as he always was, but that’s probably just personal preference.

Overall, I definitely think that this book will still be enjoyable if you love a good second chance romance, forced proximity, opposites attract kind of vibe.

This was a DNF for me unfortunately. The main character was very aggravating and I could care less what happened to either main character. I DNF'd around the 30% mark, which was unfortunate because I loved the first installment of this book.