These titles are fun and easy reads. During the pandemic it's nice to be able to live in a romantic fantasy.

I liked this book but I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to. To start, I want to say that I found the basis of this book very appealing and I thought this delivered as promised. The struggles and trails faced by the characters in regards to family ties and mixed cultures. I will also say that I really liked Rani. She seemed sweet and I could relate to her "been burned before" attitude. As for Arjun, I did not appreciate his withholding of such an important detail and to be 100% honest, this ruined this couple for me. Still that is just my own opinion and if it turns out to not be a big issue for you, you might really enjoy this book. Honesty and trust are a huge deal for me though and I just couldn't get over it.

Business and Romance Collide

Rani Gupta, a talented architect, needs to succeed in her career. She was married in a traditional Indian marriage that ended in divorce followed with a romance with a co-worker that almost got her fired. It resulted in her having been passed over for promotion several times.

Now she has a chance to show what she can do. When her designs for a hotel owned by an Indian businessman, Arjun Singh, spark his interest and win her company the contract, she vows to keep their relationship strictly business. The unfortunate fact is that neither can deny their attraction and soon things move into dangerous waters.

The multi-cultural background for this novel is very interesting. Traditional Indian marriage arrangements are contrasted with the more informal arrangements in the United States. I admired the characters and their desire to chart their own path, particularly when family pressures were severe. It’s a good insight into the problems faced by people from one culture trying to adapt to another.

I liked Rani. She was likable and wanted desperately to succeed in her chosen field. I wasn’t as taken with Arjun. He is very sure of his appeal and keeps secrets the end up making problems for the couple.

If you’re interested in the problems of a multi-cultural romance, this is a good choice.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

Growing up in a dual culture home I was thrilled with Rani! Identity struggles, making a mark, having to choose a side... she’s a different culture from my own, but her issues were understandable and very relatable. I was also pleasantly surprised with her job as an architect/designer, something I haven’t really come across before. I loved Rani’s tenacity and determination to forge a path and rediscover the person she really wanted to be and ended up appreciating why she made her final decision.

Arjun had a similar dilemma with his Indian parents, but he really waffled. His heart said one thing while his upbringing said another leaving him stuck. Between this couples’ two families, I was hard pressed to say who I felt more sympathy for. I finally decided both were caught between a rock and a hard place, but was loudly rooting for concessions and compromise from ALL parties involved!

Marriage By Arrangement is the first time reading Sasson but won’t be the last! I liked her writing and characterization. The descriptions of Indian culture, families, protocol, and yes, the food! added an enriched layer to the story I truly enjoyed.

I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley/Harlequin and this is my honest review.

It was neat to read a book by an Indian author that incorporated so many aspects of Indian culture. I appreciated the authentic glimpses into family life, traditions, religion, language and of course arranged marriage as the title suggests.

I could have lived without the sex scenes, but honestly they can easily be skipped and there is still plenty of good writing and a fantastic story. I loved the love story and all of the aspects that go into their love. So much of their story is about compromise, commitment, and learning to stand up for yourself.

I loved that Rani knew what she wanted in life and was strong enough to persevere and work for what she wanted. Her work ethic was amazing.

I really liked Arjun when he knew where his priorities were...

This book was a little outside what I normally read. I definitely did not need the sex scenes or cussing, but the story itself was amazing. So don't read this if those things will offend you.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This is my first book by Sophia Singh Sasson.

Rani Gupta is a Las Vegas architect scarred by divorce who is trying to move her life forward. She is reluctant to when she meets Arjun Singh, a hotel owner known as India's hottest hottie.

He is wealthy, kind accomodating and loves to eat out at the most exclusive restaurants. She lives in a small 5th floor apartment.

I was curious to find out what would happen .

Can she open her heart again or will she get more than she bargained for?

Seems too good to be true. Will things go as planned or end in disaster for them both?

The writing was quick and the hotel interior design was particularly spectacular and luxurious, as was his apartment. However, I felt that the chemistry between then came late.

I liked Rani and Arjun, but Rani was the one I was rooting for more.

Sophia Singh Sasson brings her native India to life in this through both characters' family struggles and the food and colours were so vivid. I was hoping for more romance earlier on though.

An enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

Thanks to Sophia Singh Sasson and Harlequin for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntery review.

4 stars

Rani is an Indian-American interior architect hired to work Arjun's new hotel in Vegas. Aside from their Indian heritage, they don't have much in common. After a failed marriage with Rani is focused on her career to be totally independent. This book is a quick read. I loved Rani, who experienced the classical issues of growing up in a different country from where your parents are. The author perfectly described how difficult it is to combine modern life and tradition without feeling betraying your family. I wished the author would have given more insights into Rani's professional life. Nevertheless, Arjun's attitude wasn't the regular wealthy businessman, and I was happily surprised by the end.
The last comment, even though marriage is continuously present in the book, I found the title misleading.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for the free eARC to review.

Marriage by Arrangement is the first book in Sophia Singh Sasson’s Nights at the Mahal series, and I just fell in love with her world. There is deep research and there is innate knowledge, and Sasson skillfully blends the two in her memorable worldbuilding.

Rani and Arjun’s relationship is one of recognition of the other’s talent and success, how much they enjoying talking with each other on a wide variety of topics including their families, and how those frissons of attraction are quickly coalescing into a firehose of desire. Underlying that is a current of awareness of their common heritage that seeks to further bind them together. However, Rani’s previous experience with marriage to an Indian American man that had failed had made her very cautious about entering into another relationship with an Indian man. She is thus relieved when Arjun says that he wants only a temporary fling while he is in Vegas for the completion of his hotel. What he fails to tell her is that he has an arranged rishta waiting for him at home.

Sasson takes great care to show the reader the difference between Rani’s family’s middle-class Indian values and Arjun’s family’s khandani parampara — the dynastic, wealthy, upper cast Indian values. And Rani is caught among these two value systems and her own American upbringing as an, what Arjun calls, ABCD (American-born confused desi).

Full Review: https://frolic.media/book-of-the-week-marriage-by-arrangement-by-sophia-singh-sasson/

In Marriage by Arrangement, Sophia Singh Sasson brilliantly mixes up the conventions of the genre to deliver a perfect series romance. I loved it! The author skillfully, seamlessly includes Indian traditions and customs which add richness to the story. The main characters are complex and layered, the plot is a page-turner, and the conflict is resolved believably and movingly. Overall, an outstanding read . This is my first by this author; she's now an auto-buy for me. Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Desire!

"Marriage by Arrangement" by Sophie Singh Sasson follows the relationship between Rani, an Indian American who is an interior architect, and Arjun, and Indian who is a billionaire hotelier. We are introduced to Rani as she is working her way back up the corporate ladder in her architect company. She previously was a senior architect before she was married, but was forced to quit by her in-laws, so she could run the household. Rani's previous marriage plays a huge part in how Rani sees herself and feels towards Indian marriages by a whole. In fact, she swears off getting involved with another Indian man when she meets Arjun.

Arjun is a billionaire hotelier from India who is working on opening his first US hotel in Las Vegas. Arjun is stuck between trying to modernize his family while also trying to keep their traditions alive. The two characters cross paths when Arjun hires Rani to lead the interior architect design for his hotel. The chemistry between Rani and Arjun is palpable from the second that they meet in the board room. I loved that they both seemed to feel the attraction the second they met, but waited a while to act on them. This was much more realistic than most other romance novels. Unable to resist their attraction anymore, Rani and Arjun agree to enter into an affair that will last until the hotel is complete.Their relationship is tested as they both start to have feelings toward each other and Arjun's secret arranged marriage is revealed.

I loved the glimpses that we got into what living in a traditional Indian household is like, even in modern times. You could feel that both characters deeply loved their families and wanted to please them, while also trying to stand up for what they believed in.

I do wish that Rani discovered her self worth more before then end of the book. She was told and shown by Arjun that she was beautiful inside and out and that she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. But even towards the end of the book, she still seemed to doubt herself.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I didn't like how abrupt the ending was. It would have been nice to have an epilogue following the last chapter to wrap things up a bit more. But, maybe that will come with the next novel that will focus on Divya's story.

I've never read anything by Sophia before but I'll be sure to pick up whatever else she writes. I loved this book! The culture, the romance, the explanation to a non-Indian person was perfect. I'm so grateful for a better insight into the vibrant Indian culture and family life. This was A+

2.5 stars, rounded up because of the familial and cultural dynamics

I requested this book because the cover was absolutely diVINE. The cover models are on-point and their poses and everything are just seductive and eye-catching. While the story was a quick read, the writing was a bit old-school? In that a lot of events and feelings happen quite quickly without a build-up, and the characters have pretty repetitive thinking/introspection.

By old-school, I mean that it utilizes cliches that I haven't seen in a while and actually inserts it into characters' thinking. For example, Rani, the heroine, will think of Arjun as India's "hottest hottie" (oh my goodness haha I can't) and constantly wonder how someone common like her can attract someone as wealthy and attractive as him. My main problem is that she never really lets go of this thinking and realizes her worth... a lot of her happiness near the end of the book is tied around being in a relationship with Arjun and having him support her, instead of intrinsically uplifting her own self-image.

"For years she'd been beaten down, first by Navin convincing her that she was screwed up inside, and then Delia making her doubt her abilities to lead this project. It was nice to hear someone build her up rather than cut her down."

At the end of the day, I just think Rani deserved more, and she deserved better. She has a lot of talent as an architect/interior designer, but has to deal with the consequences of getting a divorce, which is looked down upon by her traditional Indian parents. The reason for the divorce was basically being manipulated by her in-laws and having a complacent husband. Arjun, on the other hand, also has super traditional parents that expect him to uphold his arrange marriage to a character that never appears in the book. While he lives in India, he meets Rani in Las Vegas to work together to build his new hotel. They embark on an affair as they get closer and closer to each other due to work.

The chemistry? Not quite there for me. Arjun as a love interest? Also a pass. I dislike how he didn't tell Rani of his arranged marriage and thought it was okay. I admit, he had his times through his apologies and his Big Moment towards the end but I expected a lot better. He definitely could have done a better job in empowering Rani and making her realize she's awesome as she is, even without a man by her side. Additionally, she tells him that it's against her company policies for them to be together romantically, but still decides to pursue her without thinking of possible repercussions on her end. And THAT is so selfish!

"She wanted to tell him how much this had meant to her. To know that she was capable of enjoying sex like a normal woman. That nothing was wrong with her. She could arouse a man like him and have the kind of mindblowing orgasms that other women always talked about.
Most of all she wanted to thank him for showing her that she wasn't broken."

Problems with this quote:
1. Why did HE have to show HER? Super grating, especially when you remember that their relationship is based off of insta-attraction/lust.
2. Goes along with the assumption that you have to like sex to be a "normal woman." This is false and asexuality erasure. :(

The saving points of this book were its wholesome romance at its core, and the relationship dynamics of both Rani and Arjun's parents. For Rani, it was steps towards reconciling with them, and for Arjun, creating progressive steps past an old way of thinking. I think the little bits of Indian culture that the author inserted were also delightful additions, including the food and architectural designs!

Overall, my feelings on this book are "sweet but not spectacular." The intentions of both characters are good but the delivery left me a bit adrift. I think if you're looking for a super light and quick romantic read, specifically between two characters with a working relationship, check this one out! But if you want something with a bit more substance, it's a struggle to recommend.

DNF. I really didn't like the writing and seeing so many Mean Women in the sidelines isn't my thing. Also the fake relationship hadn't started by the time I quit (40%) and that was a disappointment bc the blurb wasn't accurate. This might work better for someone else.

"Marriage by Arrangement" is the first book in the <i>Nights at the Mahal</i> series. Set in Las Vegas, we are introduced to Rani Gupta, an architect who has vowed to never put love over her career or freedom again. Meeting hotelier Arjun Singh, India's sexiest bachelor, is going to throw a wrench in those plans.

I thought this novel was a fun, easy way to spend a weekend. I enjoyed spending time with both characters as well as learning more about traditions and customs in Indian culture. Even though Rani is presently living in the United States, the writer depicted just how tightly she was still bound to the traditions and customs of India. After her first marriage ended in divorce, her parents refused to talk to her since divorce is still frowned upon in the country. There were some secondary characters that ended up not going anywhere and while I would have liked to spend more time with Arjun's sisters, I think I'll get that in the second book. The title is also misleading. We didn't get to the arranged marriage until we were well into the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Desire for this advanced reading copy, scheduled for release on August 4th, 2020.