Author: Sara Desai
RATING:
REVIEW
“She hadn’t come here just for the game. It was about him.”
Trigger warnings: domestic abuse
This book is a pleasant surprise! I didn’t expect to love it so much but it’s definitely an addition to my fave romance books.
Layla Patel is back home to her family in San Francisco. She is strong-willed, intelligent, snarky, and she wants to rebuild her life. She wants to start her own recruitment agency and decides to use the vacant office above her family restaurant.
Sam Mehta is charming (and he knows it), successful and confident, but he’s closed off. His sister suffered through domestic abuse, and he carries so much guilt in his heart from what happened. It led him to turn his back on his family because he thinks he had failed them. He also turned his back on his medical career because his sister’s husband is a well-respected surgeon and he didn’t want to be a part of a system that covered up the incident.
Sam started to lease the vacant office above Layla’s family restaurant. Due to reasons, they get stuck sharing the office. Their friendly office rivalry led to the marriage game wherein Sam helps Layla find a guy to marry among the list her father had prepared. He goes on these dates with her because he gets the office space to himself if Layla moves out. But besides that: he also wants to make sure she’s safe. Along the way, he starts seeing Layla’s suitors as competition as his own feelings develop.
The side characters are a delight as well. Daisy’s antics, Layla’s funny stories about her aunts, the days in The Spice Mill (their family business), and Layla’s conversations with her father shows the Patels’ amazing family dynamic. I also appreciate Sam’s best friend, John Lee. He would always put Sam in his place especially when he doesn’t agree with the things Sam does.
What stopped me from giving this a full 5-star rating is because I didn’t like how shit went down nearing the end. There was some conflict. Sam obviously had too much guilt to work through to the point that it served as motivation to do unjust things. I didn’t like how he handled some stuff, I just feel hurt on Layla’s behalf. The good thing is that he did his best to fix things, not just with Layla but also with her family and his best friend, John Lee.
I highly recommend this!! Since I enjoyed and grew to love the characters, it's actually more of a 4.25-4.5 rating.
ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a pleasant surprise! I didn’t expect to love it so much but it’s definitely an addition to my fave romance books.
Layla Patel is back home to her family in San Francisco. She is strong-willed, intelligent, snarky, and she wants to rebuild her life. She wants to start her own recruitment agency and decides to use the vacant office above her family restaurant.
Sam Mehta is charming (and he knows it), successful and confident, but he’s closed off. His sister suffered through domestic abuse, and he carries so much guilt in his heart from what happened. It led him to turn his back on his family because he thinks he had failed them. He also turned his back on his medical career because his sister’s husband is a well-respected surgeon and he didn’t want to be a part of a system that covered up the incident.
Sam started to lease the vacant office above Layla’s family restaurant. Due to reasons, they get stuck sharing the office. Their friendly office rivalry led to the marriage game wherein Sam helps Layla find a guy to marry among the list her father had prepared. He goes on these dates with her because he gets the office space to himself if Layla moves out. But besides that: he also wants to make sure she’s safe. Along the way, he starts seeing Layla’s suitors as competition as his own feelings develop.
“Layla made him feel things he wasn’t ready to feel. She made him think about things he’d buried years ago. She was redemption made real.”Their romance was the kind that develops quietly and sneaks up on them both. They have a really good banter which I love. It was so entertaining to read!! They have a lot of funny and swoon moments. I also felt satisfied with their own personal growth — Sam finally found peace and Layla is successful at reinventing herself.
The side characters are a delight as well. Daisy’s antics, Layla’s funny stories about her aunts, the days in The Spice Mill (their family business), and Layla’s conversations with her father shows the Patels’ amazing family dynamic. I also appreciate Sam’s best friend, John Lee. He would always put Sam in his place especially when he doesn’t agree with the things Sam does.
What stopped me from giving this a full 5-star rating is because I didn’t like how shit went down nearing the end. There was some conflict. Sam obviously had too much guilt to work through to the point that it served as motivation to do unjust things. I didn’t like how he handled some stuff, I just feel hurt on Layla’s behalf. The good thing is that he did his best to fix things, not just with Layla but also with her family and his best friend, John Lee.
I highly recommend this!! Since I enjoyed and grew to love the characters, it's actually more of a 4.25-4.5 rating.
ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
♡, Z.
♡, Z.
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