I loved this one so much. Sort of cliche but over all great. The main characters we’re cool. I will stay wht stood out the most is the food descriptions. I’m still drooling.

3 word review!

PICK THIS UP.

Samira coming back home to Melbourne after being away in California. In California she had a new start but missed home and family. Coming home means reconnecting with her mom and friends but also the judgment of the Indian community. After her failed marriage due to her husband infidelity and pregnant mistress. Missing her mom and the closeness they had when she was a child. The one-night stand with Rory a hot Australian with Chris Hemsworth voice. What could go wrong. A great was story I enjoyed how real-life topics were talked about while also give us a spicy romance. The author was also realistic in that everything has an easy solution.

The moment I saw this book, it caught my attention. Not only is the cover cute and playful, but the description had me hitting request super fast. After reading just a few pages, I knew I had made a good decision. I was expecting a story full of rich culture, steamy romance and forbidden love ... which there was plenty of. However, it turned out to be so much more. Marsh is a great storyteller, creating numerous well developed characters. I really enjoyed the mix of humor and seriousness that she carried throughout the book. She also tackled quite a few heavy topics: interracial relationships, infertility, cultural judgement, marital problems, pregnancy complications, challenging impairments and parental rifts. Reading her note at the end, she stated that she could relate to several of this issues which explained her connection and awareness of each. I especially admired the part where she shared how about her own stutter. I have a couple loved ones who have lived with this speech impediment. I could easily relate to many of the points that she brought up. It was refreshing to see a main character used to share about this topic. Typically you see this written off to a member of the cast who is shy, overly anxious or to make fun of their intelligence.

Samira was the perfect lead for this story. She was incredibly independent, sassy, successful and just so darn real. She had quite a few issues to work through surrounding some hard past experiences. I loved watching her knock down barriers and find her joy along the way. I love that she fell for a guy a decade younger. Her and Rory were perfect together and their new infatuation was very believable. Mannish was a wonderful side character. He constantly made me laugh. I would easily read a spin off featuring either him for Pia.

You can’t read this book without mentioning the cultural influences. Bollywood fantasies, meddlesome aunties, colorful saris were around every chapter. Best of all the aromatic descriptions of each and every dish or cup of chai was incredibly enticing. My husband and I love Indian food and I can’t tell you how many times I was sighing through a craving as the characters indulged in many of my favorites.

Nicola Marsh is a new-to-me author, but I would definitely read more from this well published, Australian in a heart beat.

After five years in LA working as a physiotherapist, Samira is back in Australia on a six month contract. Reacquainted with her overbearing mother, Samira still feels a lingering resentment after an arranged marriage ended in devastation.

With her mother still meddling in her love life, hoping to see her daughter marry a respectable Indian man, I enjoyed seeing them communicate and reestablish their relationship. And oh my! The descriptions of mouthwatering Indian food deserves praise of its own.

Thirty-seven, divorced, and dealing with fertility issues, I love seeing a woman like Samira represented in romance. After a fateful spilled drink persuades Samira to trust her instincts and spend a night with Rory, the ten years younger, charming Chris Hemsworth look-alike, their passionate (and steamy!) connection comes with a surprise.

With a tendency to distance himself from others, Rory’s quiet, lone wolf persona is the reality of years of hidden, built insecurities due to his stutter. Preferring his isolated work as a stuntman, I loved seeing his fears challenged in both his relationship with Samira and his career in television.

I can’t leave this review without the mention of Manish, the absolutely dreamy doctor Samira’s mother strives to set her up with throughout the story. He was wonderful (I may have been secretly rooting for him)! And what a pleasant surprise to discover he’ll be getting his own book! I can’t wait.

I loved learning about other cultures through this hilarious enemies to lovers book. I can't wait to go back and read the author's backlist of books now.

Samira Broderick used her successful practice in LA to avoid her meddling Indian mother; her arranged marriage had fallen apart as soon as life had been difficult, and her mother arranged it. Returning to Australia for business allows the two to rekindle their relationship, and Samira decides that a fling might also help her get out of her funk. At the same time, Rory Radcliffe avoided letting others know about his stutter by taking stunt roles. With an upcoming reality show host job coming up, he needs a dialect coach, who is none other than the older Samira, his one night stand.

We start off meeting Samira’s mother Kushi, who is so much like the South Asian aunties I had seen in my neighborhood growing up. She cooks a lot of spicy, fragrant foods and is convinced that marriage and children is the way to happiness. After the prior betrayal, Samira has the “love is for schmucks” attitude. But this is a romance, so we know she’ll find the one to make her feel comfortable in her own skin and truly forget the way her ex had put her down and betrayed her. The push for that comes in the form of her cousin Pia, who is a wonderful and funny woman I loved reading. It’s heartbreaking that both Samira and Pia have difficulty getting pregnant when they want to be mothers not just to meet cultural norms, but because they genuinely enjoy caretaking.

There are cultural issues here, as Samira is half Indian and half American, growing up in Australia. She had felt ostracized by some of the aunties, and her mother had hoped marrying an Indian man would avoid further issues in the community. It hadn’t, but it explains why she wouldn’t reveal the dates with Rory right away. For his part, Rory is a great guy that feels bad about himself because of the stuttering, which had led to significant bullying from peers and even his father. He’s always self-conscious, and some of that extends to the relationship with Samira. The ten year age gap comes up, even though it’s not something he is overly concerned about.

There are multiple issues getting in the way of the relationship, such as culture, career, and the family problems that they deal with. All of these are serious issues to contend with, and are treated respectfully and honestly. Samira is troubled by the rapid changes in her life, and how little she can control them. Rory grows up a lot as well, and realizes what is most important to him. Thankfully for the reader, we get our happily ever after.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and Netgalley for a gifted copy of this book.

This one felt very similar to Ties that Tether which I read recently. I actually feel like a lot of books being released this yer has this similar plot. We've got a heroine who has a lot of pressure from her single mother to choose a husband from her own culture and she ends up having a fling with a White man, risking alienation from her mom and the other Indian aunties. I thought it was really cute and I think that a lot of readers will enjoy this one a lot! t feels quick paced and the characters are very likable!

The Boy Toy was the first book I've read by Nicola Marsh and what a wonderful read it was. From the cute cover and title, you might think this is a "fluffy" book, but this is anything but. This is a love story mixed with a story about infertility, arranged marriages, speech impediments and interracial marriages. Marsh does an incredible job bringing perspective to these topics and creating strong but flawed characters in the process - let's be real, the days of reading about a perfect barbie and ken are behind us and we want depth to our characters, which is exactly what we get from Samira & Rory.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

With a name like The Boy Toy, I went into Nicola Marsh’s new novel expecting a sexy romance featuring a woman with a young lover. While I’m excited to report that the romance is, in fact, steamy and yes the story does feature a relationship between an older woman and a younger man, The Boy Toy is so much more than just a sexy read. And it’s that “so much more” that really made this read such a winner for me.

The Boy Toy follows Samira, an Indian-American physical therapist, and Rory, a gorgeous stunt man who lives in Melbourne, Australia, Samira’s hometown. The two of them have a chance encounter while Samira has returned to her hometown for a brief visit to help her cousin with her new business. Sparks fly from the moment they meet, but all either Rory or Samira are really looking for is a one-night stand. After a night of sizzling sex, however, it becomes all too clear that a one-night stand simply isn’t enough. Both are hesitant when it comes to relationships though. Samira is still reeling from the fall-out of a short-lived arranged marriage to an Indian man who ended up cheating on her, while Rory feels vulnerable because he has been battling a life-long stutter that often leaves him feeling like a disappointment to those around him, particularly his father. In reading the author’s note, I learned that she too has a stutter and so she has done a wonderful job authentically capturing how having a stutter can impact your life.

I really loved Samira and Rory together so much. They have so much chemistry and I just loved the way they played off each other. I was immediately rooting for them to have a happy ending, particularly as soon as Samira’s mother and aunties started in all over again with their determination to find Samira a suitable husband, and by suitable, they mean Indian, which Rory is not. I loved the strength Samira displays throughout the story as she stands her ground and firmly tells them she will chose for herself this time. That’s not to say they listen, but she makes herself very clear time and time again. I also adored Rory. He’s such a sweetheart and I was an especially big fan of the scenes where he visits the center where he got help for his stutter as a kid. There are a couple of scenes between him and a little boy with a stutter that will just melt your heart. I also loved that he wanted to give back to this center because it had given him so much.

In addition to cheering on Rory and Samira as they navigate the terrain of a multi-cultural relationship, I also loved the family interactions in the book and all the secondary characters that we meet along the way. Samira’s close relationship with her cousin Pia was one of my favorites in the book, and I also adored Samra’s mother, Kushi, even when she was being pushy about Samira’s love life. And don’t even get me started on Kushi’s cooking skills. The descriptions of Indian food sprinkled throughout her scenes had me so hungry the entire time I was reading! Samira’s aunties were not quite as delightful and loveable as Kushi, but they still added a nice dramatic element to the story. Rory brings his fair share of family drama to the table as well in the form of a very strained relationship with his father. Family friend, Manish, who is Kushi’s choice to be Samira’s next husband, is also a great character. I really enjoyed his friendship with Samira. The scenes with family provide some lovely heartfelt moments as well as some more dramatic moments to balance with the steamy scenes between Samira and Rory.

If you’re looking for a fun and sexy read that features an older woman and a younger man, the challenges of a multi-cultural relationship, and also a fair share of family drama, look no further than The Boy Toy. It’s sure to please!

This book was a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be. Based on the cover, title, and the blurb marking it as a rom-com, I was expecting a lot of fluff and didn’t really get it. There are a lot of heavy topics covered in this book. The romance is great, but this book was not what I was expecting it to be. I feel like the book could use a content warning at the beginning.

After escaping Australia and a judgemental Indian community following her divorce, Samira returns home to help her cousin start up a medical practice. At thirty-seven, Samira is over her mother’s matchmaking attempts and simply wants to work and return to LA.

But when she meets Rory, the hot Australian stunt man, she figures a no strings attached fling could be just what she needs.

I really liked that this book shows an age-gap romance with the female character being older than the male character. It definitely isn’t the norm in romance and I always appreciate seeing it.
I thought Rory and Samira were super cute together. I really liked their dynamic.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC.

I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I am not sure why. Both characters, Samira and Rory, were fine, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to either of them. I also did not feel super drawn to them as a couple.

All the right elements were there, but overall the story felt meh. I pushed through reading but I also could have put it down and not felt compelled to continue reading.

That all being said, it was a sweet story, and if you’re looking for an easy read, this one is it.

This book was everything I needed right now. Perfectly fun for an escape and adorable too. I loved getting lost in this romance for a while. My only complaint is that I read it too fast and should have made it last longer haha. It was sweet, too, though, not just light and fun. I really enjoyed it and think it's a great book to escape with for a few hours, especially this year.

I love reading contemporary romance, but get tired of reading romance novels that follow all the formulaic tropes. I love stories that stand out and don’t check all the same boxes. I am very happy to say that The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh is not the usual romance novel. While it does follow a very familiar path, the immersion in another cultural and a foreign locale makes it stand out for me as a reader.

Set in Australia and immersed in Anglo Indian culture, The Boy Toy is a beautiful love story between two very different people with very different upbringings. Samira, 37, was raised in Australia by her American father and Indian mother. Rory, 27, was raised by his aloof and standoffish father. Both will need to come to terms with their pasts and resolve conflicts with their parents on the way to their HEA ending.

And yes, there will be a happy ending. It wouldn’t be a romance novel without it. Just don’t expect me to ruin it for you. Happy reading!

Recommended for: contemporary romances junkies, those interested in older woman/younger man romance trope

Content warning: steamy, not lewd, sex scenes

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Pub for the digital arc of this title.

I loved The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh. I love romances that address mixed race romance and the obstacles people face between traditional and more modern cultural values. In this case Samira is a mixed heritage woman from a white American father and Indian Australian mother. She returns home to Melbourne after 10 years living in the US in order to mend fences with her mother. Along the way she meets Rory, a stuntman 10 years her younger, and sparks fly.

This book tackles a lot of issues: age gap romance, mixed heritage romance, fertility issues, and stuttering and manages to do a decent job addressing them all in a very thoughtful manner.

I've seen a lot of people compare this book to Tie that Tether and I can completely understand the comparison. I do think that this title is more romance where I felt that Ties that Tether was contemporary fiction with a romance component. This book definitely focuses more on the relationship between Samira and Rory and how it is affected by various external factors.

This is my long winded way of saying that I really enjoyed the book. The author covers difficult topics in a very thoughtful way. She also presents some great main characters and side supporting cast that I can't wait to see in subsequent books. I would call this book medium in the steam factor, If you are looking for a diverse romance, I highly recommend this one.

This was only okay...the steam was great up front but then the rest of the story just lagged. I am so excited to see more diverse romance, but could we please try a little harder to get more engaging stories? This book suffered from some really slow pacing and once again had a cute cover which signaled fun rom-com but dealt with some pretty dark issues.

I really enjoyed this book! It has a lot more depth than I was expecting from the description (although I am TOTALLY HERE for a book that is just a cross-cultural age gap romance).

Samira is a 37 year old Aussie native who returns to Melbourne after a decade of living in LA to help her cousin stand up a new health clinic. Soon after she arrives, she meets Rory when he pretends to be her date to get rid of a gross guy hitting on her at the bar. That turns into a one night stand, and then the next week turns out Rory is Samira's newest client at the clinic. Rory has a speech impediment and needs dialect coaching to prepare for an audition to host a Survivor-esque reality show in the Australian outback.

I won't say much more about the plot to avoid spoilers, but I really enjoyed the family relationships for both Rory and Samira and the cross-cultural challenges they encountered. My one complaint is that throughout the entire book, Rory's speech impediment is critical to his story and development, but he only ever talks with Samira about it on literally the second to last page of the last chapter.

Thanks to Berkley Romance for an early copy of this book which I won in a contest.

Ugh, I'm so disappointed , about half way through something happens that if I knew I would never of requested this book. I did like Rory and Samira I just couldn't get over the plot . Probably because this is the second book it has happened to me with this twist just not for me.

This was a fun age gap romance. I did enjoy it but I didn't love it. I do like how it talked about an abusive relationship and cheating and how a person needs to heal from that but I didn't love the surprise pregnancy thrown in.

37 year-old Indian-American Samira is done trying to find love. Her previous divorce and her mother's incessant quest to find her a husband being the main two reasons for her cynical take on romance. After years of being away, Samira leaves her physical-therapy practice in LA and returns home to Australia where she meets 27 year-old Australian stuntman Rory. What starts out as a one-night-stand gets a bit more complicated when both Samira and Rory struggle to keep it casual and when Samira's meddling mom continues pressuring her to marry an Indian man. Samira is at a crossroads and must decide if a relationship that seemed doomed from the start can actually blossom into something steady..I love multicultural romances. I love getting the chance to experience the ups and downs of love through different eyes. Samira is an amazing character whose tenacity and wit carry the whole story. I liked that the author took a chance making Samira's character older than her love interest and that she (very masterfully) discussed the struggles of fertility and motherhood.

Another thing I really enjoyed was how Rory was presented. Rory's stutter added to his charm, and it was refreshing to have a male character that wasn't described as God's gift to women. 

Overall this book was fun and original (and steamy) and I recommend it for anyone that's in a reading slump and wants a "pick-me-up" book.
.

Samira and Rory have a steamy night together when they meet in a bar, then meet again when he unknowingly hires her to be his dialect coach. Rory's stutter has kept him in non-speaking stuntman roles, but he's up for the TV hosting opportunity of a lifetime. Samira is a professional, so she sends Rory to her cousin's adjacent practice so she can continue seeing him romantically.

Samira's mother is trying desperately to set her up with an Indian doctor, but she's not interested in being set up by her mom again. The last setup ended up in ruins after her husband cheated on her, blaming his infidelity on her inability to get pregnant. She keeps her relationship with Rory a secret from her mother to avoid her meddling.

Samira's relationship with Rory goes well until they hit a couple of snags, including Samira coaching Rory's rival for the TV role. You see each character dealing with their own issues separately and wonder if or when they will breach these issues together.

The author's note at the end of the novel explains that although Marsh is Anglo-Indian with fertility issues like Samira, she identifies the most with Rory because of her stutter. She includes all of these details in Rory's narrative and it seems more authentic coming from an author who has also dealt with these issues herself.

Recommended for romance fans, especially those looking for a cast of diverse characters. Readers of contemporary women's fiction will also enjoy this novel.

(3.5 stars, rounded up)