flirting with disaster centers on meena, a hotshot lawyer aiming to run for congress, who also happens to be estranged from her husband for the past 6 years. she ends up in houston right as a hurricane hits the city, trying to get her husband, nikhil, to sign off on the divorce papers.

as a reader, I was somewhat disappointed by this book, as I had liked the author’s previous book, say you’ll be mine. my biggest issue with this story was the inconsistent characterizations of meena. as a thirty-something year old, you’d expect her to be more decisive yet she constantly flopped back and forward with her decisions and thoughts. a chapter would have her finally making a realization, and you’d think she was going to stick with it, before she quickly changed her mind again. it was frustrating to read and i struggled with how selfish she was at times, although she redeemed herself toward the end.
i did enjoy the commentary on shame and parental expectations that meena faced. nikhil was kind and honestly far better a person than who meena deserved. miscommunication trope was strong in this book, yet it somewhat made sense considering the situation that the main couple had gotten married in. I appreciate how real meena and nikhil both felt, their struggles and insecurities are ones that many people can relate to.

I was provided a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher.

This book made me feel SO MANY FEELINGS. It’s one that I’m wondering if I should sit on and allow myself to process for a bit before rating. The writing is absolutely superb, as evidenced by how much it did make me feel. That said, while second chance has grown on me so much as a trope this year, I still have my qualms with it in terms of my personal level of enjoyment of a book and a big one of those is present in this one. It’s landing between 4 and 5 stars on a sliding scale for me right now with me changing my mind every other minute about rounding up or down.

I’m going gush over the writing for a bit here first. There is so much emotion packed into these pages that I could feel the yearning and angst and turmoil right alongside Meena and Nikhil as they were going through it. They have an intense level of unfinished business between them that has been festering in silence and absence for six years and it’s palpable. The way their past and the breakdown of their relationship is shared is really well done, using retrospective thoughts of Meena’s throughout the chapters rather than flashback/dual timeline. I appreciated that because I got their backstory without feeling like I was being taken out of their present.

So much of the past and Meena and Nikhil’s separation boils down to simply not talking to each other. Which, fair, people have a hard time communicating. It’s not simple, and I’m trying to remember that when I encounter miscommunication in romance novels. It is just so devastating to me here because all I could think about are the years they missed out on together because they wouldn’t or (felt like they) couldn’t talk to each other. The reasons are there and the reasons are make sense. The reasons are valid. But gosh it just hurts my heart.

The only part I really struggled with in this particular book is that even as they’re navigating things in the present, they’re still not using their words. They’re at a point where it feels like an absolute necessity to either lay everything completely bare or truly let it be the end…and they’re still not being fully honest. (This is one of my only frustrations with Sweet Home Alabama as well, so it tracks.) Good news is, Meena and Nikhil equally frustrated me in that regard, so it is balanced well between them. They’re both responsible and have their own share of the “blame” to shoulder.

I feel like I’m rambling at this point, so I’ll wrap up by saying this book really took me on a journey across a whole spectrum of emotions. Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been looking forward to this one since I read the first chapter at the end of Say You’ll Be Mine, and it did not disappoint!

A Houstonian riff on Sweet Home Alabama, Meena is flying back home for the first time in years to resolve her divorce from Nikhil once and for all, hoping to put her whirlwind romance behind her in favor of a stable partner and a dream of running for office in DC. What she doesn’t factor in, however, is that a hurricane has veered over toward Houston, and she’ll be hunkering down with her soon-to-be ex for the worst of the storm.

I loved seeing Meena and Nikhil come back together after having the opportunity to mature and become more confident in themselves. I’m not always a big second chance romance fan, but it was easy to see how the circumstances that had kept them apart originally were surmountable with the improved perspective and communication that time can give.

Recommend for fans of Sweet Home Alabama (obviously), and anyone who’s had to live through a hurricane (but probably far enough in the past that it won’t give you hives thinking about the rebuilding).

Naina Kumar was one of my favorite debut authors of 2024 and Flirting With Disaster just confirmed her place on my Insta-buy author list! Meena has been working on advancing her career in politics in DC, but to start a new phase of life, she must head back to Texas to end her old life....by getting a divorce.

What she thought would be a quick trip to get paperwork signed, turns into so much more after the threat of a hurricane leaves her stuck in the same house as her husband, Nikhil. As the two get reacquainted, the past comes back to light and the future becomes even more tricky.

Flirting With Disaster is a fast-paced novel that focuses on character growth. Once I started this novel, I could not put it down. I quickly fell in love with Nikhil and Meena's story and was rooting for their relationship to be rekindled. Forced proximity is one of my favorite tropes and the way it mixes with the second chance trope in this novel is a recipe for success! I highly recommend Flirting With Disaster to any reader who enjoys contemporary romances with forced proximity and second-chance feels!

Authors take note! We need more Sweet Home Alabama inspired movies. ASAP. From the beginning this was always going to be a win for me. I do wish there had been more time spent on the reconciliation, but nevertheless I truly was smiling the whole time reading this because I was waiting for the Sweet Home Alabama tropes to set in. Side note I really enjoyed the heroine's job, it was different than the cliches.

3.5⭐️

This is a reimagining of Sweet Home Alabama. It follows an estranged married couple, Meena and Nikhil, who are stuck together while they try to survive a bad hurricane after she returns to finalize their divorce. I was excited for the premise, but it felt a bit flat. I know some people hate dual timeline, but I think showing more of their past together would've helped me connect with it more. I needed a little bit more angst. And while I know this is a reimagining, it annoyed me how long the Shake story dragged on. Issues aside, it was a quick, heartwarming read. I loved Nikhil and the growth that both characters showed.

Overall, I'd recommend it if you like any of the following: <i>Sweet Home Alabama</i>, estranged spouses, second chance, surviving a hurricane, forced proximity.

Not quite as strong as Kumar's debut. I loved the premise of Meena being trapped with the husband that she wants to finalize her divorce from thanks to extreme weather, and now that I am belatedly discovering that this is a reimagining of the film Sweet Home Alabama, I can see the strong parallels and now understand the point of including Shake. However, for a second chance romance, this is missing multiple important elements for it to be completely satisfying. Only Meena's point of view is included when adding Nikhil's perspective would have made it so much richer, amping up both the angst and tension, and leaving this out led to much more telling than showing in the story. There are flashbacks included to Meena and Nikhil's first year of marriage together, yet they are woven into the story with little to differentiate them from the present day events that sometimes it took me a minute to orient myself within the timeline. I did admire Meena's political ambitions and how it is plainly stated that Texas is flawed, but it is her home and where she wants to make a difference. Although I found the tale to be well-written and rather engaging, especially in the first half, I was left wanting a bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a DRC of this title.

Deeply emotional and tender, Flirting with Disaster is basically my idea of a perfect second chance romance-- deftly-characterized leads you want to root for and real emotional stakes that explain why these characters could not be together before and are a perfect match now. I know I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time, and I’m so excited to have discovered a new favorite author (after also loving Say You’ll Be Mine). Five stars, and definitely one that I’ll recommend to my friends and patrons!

Naina Kumar with back-to-back winners! She has already become an author I’ll continuously look forward to new books from; her stories bring me so much joy! I love second-chance romance and this was so much fun. Both Meena and Nikhil were lovely to read about and I loved seeing them grow back together under some stressful circumstances. Very funny and heartfelt. 100% chance of a 5 star review!

so so incredibly lucky to have received an arc for yet another naina kumar book, and it 100% didn’t let me down!!! just from a few novels i can already tell shes becoming a real powerhouse and i absolutely her stories. what she has to say about romance and life wow me and her stories are so tender!! love love love

Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for an early e-copy of this book. I loved Kumar’s debut and was thrilled to be able to read “Flirting with Disaster.” The FMC and MMC had great chemistry, and it was a joy to get an inside glimpse at their world. I only wish the book was longer and developed more of their backstory !

What growth! I liked Say You’ll Be Mine, but this book hooked me in a way Say didn’t. While this is single POV, the way she described Nikhil made me feel like I was also in his head.

Naina has done a fantastic job with this “Sweet Home Alabama” retelling. You watch these two people who clearly love each other struggle with how they ended. They were so young, and had no idea how to be in a relationship like this. Marriage takes so much vulnerability and work. They didn’t have the skills. Almost losing each other (for real) brings out the “f*ck it” mentality when it comes to holding back. Why not put it all on the line for the person you’ve been missing for the past 6 years.

The slow burn was full of passion and WANT. I love it when you see an author just crush it. If this is how much she's grown from book 1 to book 2, she's got some amazing stories to tell.

I was called to <i>Flirting with Disaster</i> when the author mentioned it was inspired by <i>Sweet Home Alabama</i>. Think estranged spouses, forced proximity, nosy neighbors, etc - but set in Houston, Texas during flooding season.

Meena and Nikhil were both interesting MCS, and as a second-chance romance lover I of course wanted to see them work it out, but I wish the reader had seen more of Nikhil’s thoughts and feelings throughout the story. With the narrative only being in Meena’s POV, some of the angst wasn’t as angsty as it could have been, you know?

Still, this was a fantastic sophomore effort from Kumar, and fans of second-chance romance will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the ARC!

Thank you so so much to Random House- Ballantine/Dell and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Flirting with Disaster by @nkumarwrites!!

Six years ago Nikhil and Meena got married. Five years ago is when they separated. Nikhil remained in Texas and Meena moved to DC. Since separating, Meena built a relationship, a career, and an upcoming path to run for a seat in Maryland. Except, before she can truly pursue her next step in life, Meena must obtain her divorce from Nikhil.

Meena and Abhishek “Shake” separate; Shake knowing she has not yet wrapped up her divorce from Nikhil. The potential to get back together with Shake and run for seats together takes her back to Texas. Meena was not paying attention/taking seriously the pending weather when she made her plans. With few options and no way to return to DC anytime soon, Meena has to wait out the storm in her old home, with Nikhil.

I felt the Sweet Home Alabama vibes but this story definitely stands apart from it. Meena and Nikhil have incredible chemistry and this book is packed with so many memorable moments and exchanges between these two. I felt all the angst because their story was so beautifully crafted. Both Meena and Nikhil go through a journey and have their own realizations throughout the book. If you love second chances, you must must must check out this book!!

I intended simply to start this book and ended up arranging my day so I had enough time to finish it. This will 100% be a standout book of 2024 for me and I firmly believe that this book needs to be on everyone’s TBR list come January 14, 2025!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for providing me with this e-ARC.

I give this book a solid 4/5 stars. I really enjoyed this story. I am a sucker for second chance romances and marriage/relationship-in-crisis novels, so this is really my cup of tea. I finished this book in one seating because it was pretty fast paced. This book follows Meena (Meenakhshi) and Nikhil whom got married 7 years ago after accidentally getting married in Vegas but have been estranged for 6 years because a series of circumstances in which they did not communicate with each other their wants and needs and everything in between. Meena moved to DC but is back in Houston, TX because she needs to finalize her divorce with Nikhil, however when she flies back to TX, she did not know that there was a hurricane on the way and now she is stuck in TX, in the same house that she shared with Nikhil until it is safe enough to fly back to DC. While they are stuck in the same house they are forced to confront where their relationship went wrong and finally communicate to each other. The story is pretty angsty- and tension-filled because obviously they both still have feelings for each other but there is a lot of unresolved conflict that they just won't address.

I did not give it 5 stars because there was a plot-point where the reason for the divorce is so she can get married to someone in DC and while she isn't "with" him (because he broke up with her) and her and this guy have an understanding that the only reason why they are good together is because they both know they will never be "in love", so it isn't technically cheating but it felt like cheating. So I was not a big fan of the third person in the relationship, like that just made me mad. Another part that annoyed me was the mis-communication, like please it has been 6 years lay it all out now, what do you have to lose?!

Overall, I definitely recommend reading this novel because it was fun.

An adorable second chance romance.

Meena is about to take the political world by storm. She is ready to run for office together with her partner, Shake. But before her dream life clicks into place, there’s just one thing she has to take care of back in her home town of Houston…getting a divorce from her estranged husband. When Meena shows up at the home they once shared, Nikhil is stunned and possibly annoyed since a hurricane is on its way and there’s no time to lose. While they take shelter, they remember what brought them together and what tore them apart.

Overall, this was quite charming - Meena and Nikhil are likable (even though they both need to work on their communication skills) and clearly care for one another. Recommended to fans of forced proximity, second chance romance, and Sweet Home Alabama.

Thank you very much to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Immediate 5 stars. I caught myself smiling so widely at some point during my read and I realized this book is amazing. Listen, it will not be easy as it has angst and sadness layered with the child-of-immigrant guilt but it will be all worth it. This book is stated to be a "Sweet Home Alabama" retelling with South Asians and as that is one of my favorite movies I was ready to eat this book up. Meena is the main character and it is told from her POV. She is a successful lawyer in DC who needs to finalize her divorce from her husband Nikhil whom she has been separated from for 6 years. She ends up back in their hometown of Houston, only to get caught up in a hurricane and trapped in their home. So begins some forced proximity and emotional roller coasters as they work to survive and function together in the same space again. Flashbacks are thrown in to help readers remember along with Meena their sweet beginning and difficult end.

I wanted to love and dislike them both at the same time. They both made mistakes. They both need to communicate. They both need to realize their value but as with all humans, they need time to do that. I just hated that it took 6 years for them to try again.

Meena's main drive in all her decision-making seems to be her parents who want her to not be a "shame" as their eldest daughter was. As a South Asian who has been the "shame" of her family this struck me deeply. I saw myself in Meena and I loved that this book exists to speak of my experience. I love Nikhil and wish we had some chapters in his POV as I really wanted to dig into his head. However, we are just as confused as Meena by why he made that face or why he did what he did.

Naina Kumar did a great job hooking me in and holding my attention. I finished this book in one day and could not put it down. I highly recommend it and can't wait to see this author continue storytelling through the South Asian American immigrant lens.

A copy of this book was provided to me through NetGalley and the publisher and I was honored to write this review of my honest thoughts.

Flirting with Disaster is a book you will want to judge by its cover- it is gorgeous and I was excited to dive into this new rom com from Naina Kumar! If you're a fan of Sweet Home Alabama, you'll love this retelling. While it's one of my favorite movies, I also really enjoyed this version with American Indian characters and political ambitions instead of those for a career in fashion. I loved both of these flawed characters and their love for each other- there is so much chemistry between them that it leaps off the page and I was totally here for it!

From the onset, Kumar’s writing captivates with vivid descriptions and an evocative sense of place. The hurricane serves as a powerful metaphor for the turbulent emotions swirling within Meena: her guilt, nostalgia, and the simmering tension between her past and her present. As winds howl outside, Meena finds herself forced to confront the remnants of her love for Nikhil, years after their spontaneous Vegas wedding set them on a path that ultimately diverged.
Kumar's character development shines through in Meena. She is a woman torn between her feelings for her past and her future with her current partner, Shake. Shake is portrayed as the ideal choice — steady, ambitious, and aligned with Meena's aspirations. Yet, as the storm rages outside, we see her grappling with the undeniable chemistry and affection that still lingers for Nikhil. The dialogues are sharp and tinged with humor, providing a refreshing counterbalance to the emotional weight of the narrative.
One of the book's greatest strengths is its exploration of themes such as identity and the societal pressures surrounding relationships. Meena’s journey reflects the struggles many face when balancing personal desires with professional ambition. Kumar deftly unpacks the notion of ‘what looks good on paper’ versus the visceral pull of true connection. As the characters are sheltered in their once-shared home, you can witness a slow unravelling of preconceived notions and the awakening of deeper feelings. Kumar doesn’t shy away from the raw complexities of love, asking challenging questions about commitment and the true meaning of happiness.
Overall, this book is a compelling tale of love’s resilience against the forces of nature and circumstance. Naina Kumar has woven a narrative that is both relatable and engaging, making this book a must-read for fans of contemporary romance.

4.75 stars. My second chance angst loving heart adored this book. A retelling of romcom classic Sweet Home Alabama, this has the FMC, Meena, looking to divorce her estranged husband, Nikhil, so she can run for political office. However, when she goes to Houston to get him to sign the papers, she gets stranded with him due to a hurricane. The forced proximity was delicious as they work through why their marriage failed. The book had great banter, amazing chemistry between the MCs, and a banger sick caretaking scene.

Thanks so much to Ballentine / Dell and NetGalley for the ARC!!