Book Summary: 

Meghna Raman defied her parents’ wishes and followed her life’s passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. When she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is engaged—and not to her—she realizes he’s about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he’s asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she’s agreed. Determined to try and move on, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she could marry the engineer that her parents still wish she’d become.

Grumpy engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents’ marriage to know it’s not for him. He agreed to his mother’s matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can’t offer her something real, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth’s wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for him.

As the two find common ground, grow protective of each other’s hearts, and start to fall for the traits they originally thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry emerges. But soon, their expectations and insecurities threaten something that’s become a lot more real than they’d planned.

My Review:

For Naina’s first novel, Say You’ll Be Mine truly had everything a reader could want! She skillfully brought this story to life, weaving in vibrant threads of culture, tradition, and the hurdles of love along the way.

Plans often go awry, and Meghna’s life is a testament to that. She had envisioned a future where her ex-boyfriend, Seth, would come to realize his error in breaking up with her after their college graduation and declare his love, culminating in a romantic reunion. Instead, she finds herself blindsided by an invitation to his wedding. Adding insult to injury, he wants her to be his Best Man! It’s bad enough that instead of pursuing her passion for theater (or carrying on the family tradition of engineering), she was a teacher in the middle of putting on a play. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if her mother didn’t constantly remind her that her career choice was a disappointment. Determined to avoid heartache and desperate for a distraction, Meghna shocks her mother when she finally agrees to meet with potential suitors (a request she has consistently denied). That’s when Kathrik enters the picture, quickly establishing 1) they are not a match and 2) even if they were, he’s not looking to marry. Just when Meghna is ready to wash her hands of the whole thing, Kathrik reappears with an unusual offer: pose as his fiancé to help him avoid any further matchmaking and in exchange, he would be her date at the wedding. Despite how ludicrous it seems, the thought of facing Seth’s wedding alone propels Meghna to accept this bizarre plan, not knowing the full extent of what she’s getting into.

This book was absolutely adorable! It delightfully blends humor, heart, palpable chemistry, and drama. Meghna and Kathrik serve as great examples of the grumpy and sunshine pairing, but they don’t just stick to their roles. Often in these books the “sunshine” is bright and cheery, nothing sullying the happiness in their life. Meghna was more versatile than that.  She wasn’t always cheerful; she experiences a range of emotions that bring depth to her character.  We didn’t just witness her reactions to Kathrik. We saw them with her best friend, her brother, and Seth – giving her multiple dimensions and the reader a better understanding of who she was. Kathrik, seemingly grouchy, is actually using this front as a means to guard himself. His layers would put an onion to shame!

Say You’ll Be Mine breaks away from being predictable or dull despite employing tropes like the grumpy one versus the sunshine, a fake relationship, and forced proximity. The expected happy-ever-after is there but it’s Kathrik’s character development that makes it such an enjoyable read. Naina used a dual POV approach; however, is through Meghna’s eyes that we understand Kathrik better. While there were an array of characters, the standouts were Eric, Mark, and Paul. Eric was a touch of comic relief and Paul was the persistent anomaly in Kathrik’s life, giving you a peek under the surface. We learned his character is terrified of becoming his father but watching him with Paul, you knew he was far from it.

Riding the line of a clean, close door romance and steamy, Naina does an excellent job fogging up the pages without the need to be explicit. The passion behind the kisses alone heightened the intimate moments in this book.

Kathrik’s internal battle with his father’s influence impacts every facet of his life: his reluctance to follow his interest in biomedical engineering, his choice of college to distance himself from home, and his aversion to marriage stem from the fear of resembling his father (he never wanted to put his partner through what he witnessed with his mother).

Meghna, on the other hand, lives in the shadow of her unfulfilled desires. She still holds a candle for Seth, despite her permanency in the friend zone, settling for being his writing partner and confidant. She forgoes a career in engineering, which disappoints her family, and doubts her writing talent based on Seth’s critiques, leading her to settle for teaching and introducing theater to her students. Her decisions are often to please others, which results in her feeling like she’s not living life on her own terms and frequently apologizing for her choices.

To be honest, the saddest moments in this book were the moments you witnessed the psychological impact of Kathrik’s father and Meghna’s mother. For Kathrik, he never felt like he could disagree with his mother, get angry, raise his voice, or do anything remotely emotional or else he would be just like his father. For Meghna, she was a constant failure and disappointment compared to the achievements of her brother and her family as a whole. Kathrik’s reluctance to show emotion and Meghna’s inability to believe in herself and her talents were the obstacles to overcome in this compelling story and Naina did a superb job with their transformations.

The highlight of the book was the ending. Meghna constantly chased the respect of her mother and to have her not only accept Meghna’s passion but pay tribute to her, it left the reader in the best possible place. Naina hit it out of the park with her debut. I can’t wait to see what else she creates, especially if she zeroes on her talent of character development.