This was really entertaining and I highly enjoyed it.
I just reviewed Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice by Annika Sharma. #NetGalley
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Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.

When Payal's parents announce that she is to be engaged to Ayaan Malhotra, in order to save their family business, she is far from thrilled. For one thing, arranged marriages, especially ones for business, are an antiquated thought. Second, she has met Ayaan, and he is the last person she would think to settle down with. She isn't even wanting to settle down. Her focus is her up and coming fashion line. However, when she realizes that a merger with Ayaan's family business is exactly what her brand needs, she decides to play along until she gets what she needs. Ayaan has similar thoughts when his family mentions a merger with the Mehras. What Payal and Ayaan didn't expect was that they'd actually end up falling for each other. Unfortunately, their deceptions catch up with them.
I wasn't too impressed with the author's first book in the "CMC" series, but I definitely enjoyed this one more. I liked having characters who knew what they wanted. I also felt a lot more chemistry between the friend group than the first book.
This may be nit-picky of me, but I couldn't get past the fact that she calls her paternal grandmother "Nani"(maternal grandmother). These are trivial things that I expect a South Asian author to at least know and/or explain. The story itself was pretty cliché. Boy and girl are somehow forced together and end up in love until a secret of some sort puts the relationship on trial. It's been done and done too many times. It was nothing new, but it was still a decent romantic read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

After reading and adoring Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words, I was so excited to spend some more time with the CMC group. I loved the 4 friends and the relationship in Love, Chai was so genuine and sweet. I didn't connect as much with the relationship in this book. Payal was very engaging but there was just something missing. I feel like it needed more setting and descriptions. I loved the NYC details in the previous book. I'm still in love with this group of characters and look forward to getting more stories about them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

I was in the mood of reading a light romance so it seemed the right choice at that time.

Payal moves to US from UK for school and stayed there while working on her fashion line. Her family shows their affection by paying for all her expenses, otherwise, they don't have an emotional bond, except for Nani who is close to Payal. Nani is the maternal grandmother but in this book Nani was the paternal grandmother which doesn't make any sense, I find these kinds of blunders in South Asian Rep really nettlesome. Please, do a little research before labeling the wrong label relationships.

Ayaan is also working on his career in NY. He is not the most reliable and stable person. His family is worried that he won't be able to settle down in his life. On the other hand, Ayaan is desperate to prove himself and take the reins of his family business.

Both Ayaan and Payal only met once and it didn't end well. Both of their parents want them to get married for securing a business deal. Payal's father is desperate to save his business and Ayaan's father wants his son to be mature. Trade-off wedding is not something they both want, but there is a silver lining for each. Fake dating sounds like a win-win situation for both.

The story was cliche, the same run-the-mill story. The unique element was cringy writing. I am all for emotional connections and light romance, but I am not interested in learning about the sizes of organs of both genders. I won't ever get it why authors think it is necessary to define everything comprehensively. The cringy writing style took away most of the positive aspects of the story. The story didn't have much to offer so there were filler characters and dragged scenes. I just wanted this book to end, I knew the ending and the cringy writing and one-dimensional characters were getting out of hand.

I could have finished an assignment instead of reading this book.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

While I liked the characters and the writing style, this book was just okay. It didn't really stand out to me.

this was really well done, I enjoyed getting to go on this journey with the characters. Payal and Ayaan were unique characters and I enjoyed how well they were written. I enjoyed getting to go on the plot and throughly enjoyed every part of the journey. Annika Sharma has a great writing style and I look forward to reading more from them.

"Misha was the next obstacle Payal had to overcome in her quest to acquire enough funding to land Besharmi where it needed to be. Funding was required to create samples, hire another tailor full-time, and distribute. A venture capitalist who focused on both technology and fashion startups such as South Asian clothing rental companies and women’s health technology apps, Misha was a Harvard grad with an impressive portfolio working for major banks across the globe before beginning her VC career."