Accidentally Engaged, by Farah Heron

[sophia_sol]

The premise behind this one as to why they have to pretend to be engaged.... and at the same time pretend they're not together.... it's a bit much!

Is it cute how much Reena and Nadim bond over both loving to cook food from their shared heritage? Sure! Is literally everything else about their relationship awkward to read about? Yup!

Anyway I want to know more about Reena's relationship with her sister, I was way more invested in that than in the romance. Nadim was toooooo suave and charming and charismatic and honestly kind of pushy, I do not trust him, he seems too slick. Even after he's been honest about his secrets finally!

Comments

[sholio]

Hahaha wow, pretending to be engaged AND pretending not to be together sounds like one deception too many, even for a tropey romance!

[sophia_sol]

Right? It's a lot!! And the reason why they pretend to not be together is understandable, but the reason they have to pretend to be engaged is one that stretches my willingness to believe a bit much (there's a cooking contest....but entrants must be engaged or married!)

[pauraque]

Okay, tropes are tropes but that really is a stretch. What's the reason they have to pretend not to be together on top of that?

[sophia_sol]

Their overbearing parents have arranged a marriage between them and Reena is fed up with her parents interfering in her life and has told them NO about this. So then she doesn't want to tell her parents that she's seeing this guy because it'll only encourage their over-investment in running her life for her. Which is an understandable emotional response! Of course then within weeks she's genuinely marrying the guy so.