Delightful, exciting, heart-pounding read about Payal and Ayaal's journey. Author Sharma sets the scene perfectly, from NYC to London, putting her reader in the front row for the fashion event of the decade! Payal is an up and coming designer with roots in the UK and India. Her designs are so artfully described, I felt as though I was standing over her shoulder as she sketched them. The book was filled with rich details, very accessible even for someone with little knowledge about the cultures described. I loved being pulled in to each character's friend group and family, with supporting cast members standing alone as full people, not just in the background. I loved this book and am looking forward to the opportunity to read what's next for Sharma. Huge thanks to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice.

Payal and Ayaan find themselves in the middle of a trope- and the subjects of a forced arranged marriage- in this novel that made me keep asking why Payal, in particular just tell her parents no. Well, she didn't because there wa something about Ayaan. who has borne the burden of something he did as a kid. So why does he agree? Well, because it's Payal, I wanted to like this but it just didn't lift the way I'd hoped. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

This book was just ok to me. I could not really connect with either of the main characters. They did not feel three-dimensional to me, and I think that’s what made it difficult to get into the story. The first 10% of the book I honestly did not know if I was going to keep reading, because the pacing felt off and both Ayaan and Payal felt far away - very out of reach, when I feel like I should be able to truly be a part of their stories and POVs. I also thought the third act breakup didn’t make sense?

What I enjoyed about this book was the South Asian/Indian heritage and friendships of both Ayaan and Payal. I love that Payal loves her culture and uses it in her designs. The way that they were described (along with the characters’ descriptions) made it easy for me to visual all of the details. And I liked the how all of their friends were considered found family to them and cheered them on but also held them accountable.

I think that this could be a really cute contemporary romance. It definitely has a lot of potential. However, I am not the biggest fan of second chance romances or the people in the romance already interacting with each other from the beginning. That's just not a trope I jive with so I had to put this one down. It also seemed pretty slow paced and I wasn't the most inclined to see where it was going.

This book presented an interesting concept and introduction, but as the story progressed, I feel like the character development was left behind. Our main characters didn't have any chemistry, in my opinion, and the writing was too descriptive for my liking. It is just not for me. However, I can still see this being enjoyed by other readers.

<b> 'Sugar, Spice and Can't Play Nice is a prime example of a read that is both fulfilling, romantic and educational. Annika Sharma promotes culture in an inclusive and admirable manor through a heart-warming and true to life story all can enjoy' - The British Bibliophile </b>

Sugar, Spice and Can't Play Nice is the second book in Annika Sharma's 'Chai Masala Club' series. A series dedicated to the lives of the Chai Masala club and the trials and tribulations of navigating their own lives while still tied to their cultural roots, detailing the delicate balance of modern day life while respecting their backgrounds.

The series began with Love, Chai and other Four-Letter Words, which first introduced to me as a reader, one branch of the South Indian cultural background. Annika told the story of Kiran and Nash, two polar opposites brought together on the common ground that is New York City. Here is where we were fist introduced to one of the main characters that would feature in this novel, Payal Mehra. The common ground previously seen in Love, Chai and other Four Letter Words is swapped out for neutral ground. Specifically, London.

Payal's character is one of great determination and independence. Knowing what she wants to do with her life and what she has to do to get there, her hard work seems to be for nothing as on the verge of her career breakthrough she is put into a corner with little to no ways of escaping out of. A different kind of contract. One specifically of marriage. But is all as it seems?

Ayaan Malhotra, a fellow Londoner and son of a family friend to the Mehras, is also backed into a similar corner to Payal when mention of marriage arises. Second-fiddle to his 'golden child' brother and desperate to prove himself to his parents, he agrees to the marriage under a condition which will end up being beneficial to him. He demands 50% of his parents' company, and soon the prospect of marriage doesn't seem so bad as he now has something to fall back on as well as the opportunity to make his parents proud of him at last.

Payal and Ayaan, despite coming from the same culture, could not be more different but also similar to one another at the same time. They are both aware of what they have to do for the ones they love, for their pride and culture, and what personal sacrifices must be made to appease those who are putting them into their respective corners. There's only one way they can do this, and that's as a unified united front. Only, that's not as easy as it is on paper.

Many roadblocks come up for the pair along the road to a satisfying conclusion, namely; a meddlesome grandmother, a spurned ex-girlfriend, two families with stakes of their own, a fashion brand on the line, and, unexpectedly, actually liking each other. Its a test of their grit, determination, steel and everything else in their arsenal to see if they can come out the other side with the rewards they both have their eyes set on, or if they'll end up in a place ten paces behind from where they started in the first place.

As a reader who is still not as widely exposed to stories centred around south asian culture and background, I am continuously learning and in awe of every aspect that I have been blissfully exposed to in this novel. With the experiences of the culture differentiating from author to author, person to person, each branch of the cultural tree is further grown and expanded which is the case here with Ayaan and Payal's story. I grew to know so much about the south asian culture from Love, Chai and Other Four-Letter Words, and that growth showed no signs of stopping with elements woven into this story. There's always something we will never know, something to learn and add to our knowledge, and I look forward to more from Annika continuing this enlightening pattern.

Annika does her culture and people proud with what she has written for us all here to read. Where this might not be everyone's cup of tea, I think this bland of chai has hit the spot and has quenched my thirst for romance, culture, and everything that comes with mixing modern with traditional to create this signature blend of bookish delight.

I'm hoping to hear more from the Chai Masala Club, I hope that is the case among my fellow readers as well.

3.5 stars

This was a cute book! I love all of the tropes in this book, and always enjoy reading about cultures different than mine.

{READ THIS IF: you like arranged marriages, you like interests working together, you want to learn about other cultures, rom-coms are your thing}

Unfortunately, I had a bit of a tough time getting into this one, despite it having some of my favorite tropes. I think it would be more up the alley of a reader who is really into fashion and what the characters are reading, as that sub-plot and descriptions ended up being distracting for me.

I think the CMC is such a cute concept and Payal is one of my favorites so I'm glad she was 2nd (hoping for Akash next, to be honest). I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first, I think the author is getting closer to her style and this flowed a bit better. It definitely still had it's *rolling eyes* moments but I guess that's fairly common in quick, love stories like these. Nevertheless, it was a fun read and it was entertaining getting to know Payal and Ayaan more.

**Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you took all of the best romantic comedy tropes and then combined them and ate them with something spicy and delectable, this is something close to that experience. A promising hookup turned awkward early breakup that turns out to also be an arranged marriage by complicated families that each secretly decides is a fake relationship that they are each using as a means to an end, featuring two likeable leads who make mistakes but are doing what they can for their own lives and their families' wellbeing. Plenty of steam and snark doesn't hurt as we follow their relationship arc.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this opportunity.
I was really looking forward to this one, seemed like a simple enough enemies to lover trope set in with a desi vibe. However, I found it took me a good while to get hooked on to the story. It was too wordy, repetitive and unnecessarily long. On top of that what really bugged me was misuse of the simple term "Nani" which is Hindi word for maternal grandmother to be used in the book to refer to the paternal grandma.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential. There were parts where I was really rooting for this to work out well. I did really enjoy the dual POV storytelling. However, in the end the writing, plot holes were significant enough for it to lose points for me.

I was really excited to read this novel as the description sounded like it would be a fun and fast paced read. Sadly, it fell slightly flat for me.

I didn't realise that this novel was part of a series until I was part way through - there were some references that I didn't fully understand thought it can be read quite easily as a stand alone.

I did enjoy reading something that is outside of my normal book choice and liked the cultural insight.

Payal's parents insist she marry Ayaan in order to save their family company. She would get resources for her indo-western fashion brand and Ayaan would get to become CMO of his parents' company. They decide to get engaged but don't anticipate the challenges of keeping their agendas to themselves; with a meddlesome grandma, a spurned ex-gf and two families with agendas of their own, and unexpectedly liking each other.

I loved the strong and fierce FMC in Payal. I really wish I could see the outfits that she styled in real life - they sounded stunning! I loved the family dynamics - I felt they were quite reflective of the South Asian family dynamics (other than bartering their kids for business success). I liked the settings in both New York and London. I felt the book was a tad too long, which made it not as unputdownable as Sharma's first; but I still enjoyed it overall.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the e-galley.

Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley provided an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This is an enemies to lovers, low heat romance. The main characters, and virtually every side character, are of Indian descent. Desi culture and experiences were central to the story, and I truly enjoyed that. There is a lot of angst in this book, and too much time is spent unpacking relatively small misunderstandings while rushing through resolution of the really big problems.

I didn’t love this story, but I did like it. I give it a solid 3 stars.

Something about this book rubbed me the wrong way. The characters have a failed hookup and then their families decide they need to get engaged to save the business of one of their families. Even the female lead Payal tells her parents they basically sold her off for their business. Yet the two leads still manage to fall in “love” while being forced into a fake engagement. The families never acknowledge fully the wrong they did by setting up these two. Everyone was just pressuring them to get married. The whole thing was uncomfortable really.

Outside of the plot the writing was decent and the alternate points of view worked well. Two stars for the writing but one star for the story.

I felt captivated and excited by the beginning of the book and the characters immediate chemistry. And the premise of the story engaged me, but as I kept reading I found it increasingly harder to stay engaged and like my mind wanted to wander. After trying for a couple of weeks I decided to DNF at about 40% as ultimately I found the book a little long, wordy, predictable, and repetitive, and I didn’t feel desire to finish.
I will hold off posting my review until after the book is live.

This was an okay read for me. When Indian authors makes mistakes such as calling their paternal grandmother "Nani" when that actually means maternal grandmother is a little unacceptable to me. These things can be easily googled. Hopefully it will be fixed in the final publishing of the book. Actually mistakes like these puts me off from a book but this was a decent read.

This book was a cute, run-of-the-mill arranged-marriage-for-business kind of story. Enjoyable, but not extraordinary. I enjoyed the characters, I always enjoy the representation, and overall I'd say this is a light, fun read if you're looking for a relaxing arvo - but it wasn't groundbreaking.

Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice follows Payal and Ayaan as their lives intersect in a way they never saw coming. After a hookup gone wrong, both somehow find themselves at the mercy of their family and cornered into making the biggest choice of their life. They have to marry each other so that Payal can help save her family's company. Both of them try to grasp what this will mean for them personally, and struggle immensely. Can an arranged marriage lead to love? Are these two right for each other?

Through the course of this novel, we see a huge amount of growth from every character and not just the main two. Every side character goes through their own period of growth that the reader can appreciate. For me, as a bi-racial woman whose mother is Indian - that this book went a little deeper for me than it probably would for some others. Reading about your culture is always an odd phenomenon as you start to see similarities in your own life on the page. The way that this book was written was instantly relatable to me on so many levels - especially when family was mentioned. The dynamics were recognizable and relatable, the pace of the book was well spaced out and I have to mention the fact that the cover is absolutely gorgeous. Payal and Ayaan's story kept my attention for the entire book and was captivating.

I want to sincerely thank NetGalley and Annika Sharma for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5- ⭐⭐⭐💫

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book a lot. I loved how independent and confident Payal was. The family dramas and strained relationship with parents was something that was nicely written.
I adored the easy going relationship between Payal and Ayaan. Absolutely loved their friend groups and all the funny moments.

I think I'd have given it 4 stars if not for the fact that we Indian call our paternal grandmother "Dadi" and maternal grandmother "Nani" but here in this book Payal called her paternal grandmother "Nani " which I'll be honest really bothered me but after a while I got used to it. Also, there were way too many sentences that end with exclamation mark and it made the conversation a bit cringey but other than these two thing, I had a nice time reading this book.

Overall it was a fun and easy read.