Reading Accidentally Engaged made me incredibly hungry. In all honesty, it’s the perfect quarantine book. A cooking competition where all entries are video-taped, where we get to know far too much about our neighbors? Like most other people, baking bread has become a quarantine hobby in my family. When I first heard about Accidentally Engaged, which has fake dating (or rather, fake engagement) I instantly added it to be TBR. But when you add into account a Great British Bake Off setting? It instantly shot up to the top of my TBR list.

Accidentally Engaged follows Reena Manji, who is to say the least, a little unlucky. With twelve failed relationships, and a pattern of being laid off every time her workplace downsizes, Reena has found herself turning to cooking (and baking) as a coping mechanism. As our heroine, I found Reena to be someone I could easily sympathize for and someone I really wanted as a friend. After all, all those baked goods, coupled with her witty humor, kind heart, and loyalty?

One of my favorite things about Accidentally Engaged was how there were so many different types of love mentioned, and how they’re all important. Self-love, platonic love, and familial love are just as valid and important as romantic love.

While Accidentally Engaged is a romance at heart, I loved reading about Reena’s journey to finding herself and building a life that she loved. I found it empowering to watch her have honest and open conversations with her family. While I’m Chinese, I found the dynamics in my family (more specifically, my extended family) to be similar to that of Reena’s. There’s a lot of secrecy, a lot of concerns about one’s reputation, a lot of comparing yourself with others, and a whole lot of love.

From the get go, we’re instantly given the impression that Reena’s job isn’t something she’s passionate about. Rather, she’s simply biding her time there. We’ve all stayed at jobs that we don’t love for one reason or another; a temporary place — maybe we’re content with being happy enough or maybe we’re doing it to spite someone. In Reena’s case, she doesn’t want to be involved in the family business and wants to make her life hers, not her parents’.

I loved Reena’s friends — Shane, Marley, and Amira. They all so clearly had her back and wanted the best for her, even if they weren’t there in person, or if they didn’t agree with all her choices. Their unwavering support, and their funny quips made them a true delight. Figuring out how you want your life to be like is an incredibly difficult process, and I’m so glad that Reena had such a strong support system to help her get there.

Our love interest, Nadim, was everything. He’s charming, he’s thoughtful, he’s sweet. He’s got his secrets, but who hasn’t? I found the little moments between Nadim and Reena adorable, and they had so much chemistry. There was a specific moment in Accidentally Engaged that reminded me of Ted and Alexis from Schitt’s Creek and it just made my heart soft.

Overall, I found Accidentally Engaged to be an easy and wonderful read, and one that made me incredibly hungry! I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read — as long as you have some snacks next to you!

Sweet, humorous, and sassy!

Accidentally Engaged is a fresh, flirty, heartwarming tale that takes you into the life of Reena Manji, a hardworking, young woman of Indian heritage who endeavours to do whatever it takes to change all aspects of her humdrum life, including faking an engagement with the man her parents have promised her to and whom she refuses to marry in order to enter a coveted cooking show contest specifically for couples.

The prose is heartfelt and light. The characters are kind, supportive, and eccentric. And the plot is a push-pull tale of familial responsibility, intrusive parents, witty banter, tender moments, goals, expectations, secrets, friendship, chemistry, introspection, honesty, and love.

Overall, Accidentally Engaged has everything you look for in a rom-com as well as the added bonus of a touch of culture, traditions, weighty issues, and delectable goodies. I enjoyed every delicious minute that had me smiling, laughing, and definitely making too much homemade bread.

I adored the cultural representation of this book. Reena and Nadim have the sweetest and undeniable chemistry. I mean, Nadim is literally a hunk who can melt any woman’s heart. Reena is also an amazing woman and one of the best bakers. Both have pretended to be engaged to join a cooking contest that will Reena go to culinary school. All her creations sound yummy and got me so hungry; lesson learned: never read a book that talks about food without snacks. Lol. Besides the likable characters and fascinating love story, I also love that it also talks about family and traditions. Definitely a funny, cute, and unputdownable read! Highly recommended!⁣

This book was such an incredible surprise! The blurb alone had me excited for this story, but I didn't expect to be so completely consumed by it. Farah Heron has taken the fake relationship trope and put a completely new & fun twist on it, resulting in a story that is absolutely addicting and unbelievably fun!

I fully admit that I'm not a huge fan of 3rd person POV writing, so when I first started this book I was a bit nervous since I was really intrigued by this book. But instead of the struggle I normally have with this style I was immediately sucked into Reena & Nadim's story and couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved how this story unfolded, with such a fresh take on one of my favorite tropes, amazing characters & plenty of laughs. I really enjoyed how the author stayed true to her culture & roots, and the included recipes were a huge bonus. I can't wait to try them out!

If you're looking for something fun, flirty, and absolutely adorable this is definitely it. But fair warning - make sure to have snacks around because it will definitely leave you hungry & craving Reena's home cooking!

A wonderfully deep and original romance! Farah Heron is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I recommend!

This is what my heart needed. This is what my soul needed. Accidentally Engaged is so wonderful y’all.

First off, this was such a neat concept! A reality cooking show where they had to be engaged but aren’t engaged but parents strongly suggest arranged engagement. Yeah, it’s perfect. Their chemistry was electric and I did get giddy when they would flirt.

This book is full of surprises y’all. I think every time Saira spoke, I had to kind of whip my head back and think, “OMG! Bombshell!” It was pretty neat to have those little surprises here and there. Some were serious and beautifully addressed (mental health, therapists, food disorders) others were more “laugh out loud” funny. Heron addressed a lot of topics that are very hush, and seeing how hard and awkward the conversations were, felt so real. I applaud this entirely.

Also, I love reading dedications and acknowledgments. Farah Heron’s dedication to her parents really made me tear up. It was the sweetest.

I loved it. I’m going to try a sourdough starter and name him Ted. All the stars, all the heart eyes, all the foot rubs! Thank you Forever & NetGalley for the copy. Accidentally Engaged is out March 2nd.

There is not a rom-com premise I love more than fake dating/engagement tropes. It gets me every time! I loved that from the very start, Reena and Nadim were arranged to be married, and rebelled so much against their parents involvment in the arrangement, that they ended up falling in love and getting married anyway.
I enjoyed the cooking elements of this book the most, especially the Food TV cooking challenge as it’s exactly what I picture behind the scenes of any reality tv food show that I watch. I could picture that being a real challenge and tuning in to see it from home.

The book did make me terribly hungry, given all of the time they spend describing perfected sourdough bread.
I also really liked the evolution of the relationship between the two sisters and the family unit as a whole. It can be hard for families to sometimes transition their child/parent relationships into adult relationships, and I think the author did a fabulous job portraying that throughout the book.

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own. Accidentally Engaged is expected to be released on March 2nd, 2021!

I loved this book to pieces. In Accidentally Engaged, Farah Heron has painted a complex landscape of romanticism and love characterized by subtle shades of meaning and overt humor. I alternated between enthusiasm and delight as I read this book: enthused by the craftmanship of the characters and delighted by their story. There is food and friendship, vulnerability and defenselessness, affection and aloofness, birth family and found family, betrayal and the requisite expiation. And above all, there is love and laughter.

Full Review: https://frolic.media/book-of-the-week-accidentally-engaged-by-farah-heron/

Accidentally Engaged is a cute romantic comedy about a Muslim woman that fakes an engagement to enter a cooking contest for couples.

Accidentally Engaged is cute, funny, and entertaining. Reena is passionate about baking bread and is always cooking. Reena’s parents want her to marry a nice Muslim boy and are always trying to set her up. Their newest option for her is Nadim. Reena and Nadim are both different than their parents realize. They both are passionate about food which causes them to quickly bond. They are very cute together and have great chemistry while filming the cooking show. Reena has no interest in marrying Nadim. There are family dynamics throughout Accidentally Engaged. Reena has a strained relationship with her sister that her sister is trying to fix. Their family is not honest with each other which lead to some entertaining revelations. Reena is a strong, independent woman that doesn’t live by her parents standards. She moved out of their house without being married and continues to defy their expectations. She isn’t satisfied with her career in finance and has to decide if she’d rather do something else. Nadim is always looking out for Reena and is very caring. There are many funny moments throughout the book. I learned some about the Muslim culture. Reena and Nadim are constantly cooking and talking about food so Accidentally Engaged makes the reader hungry. I recommend Accidentally Engaged for fans of cute romantic comedies and own voices romances.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for Accidentally Engaged.

4 STARS.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me an arc via Netgalley of Farah Heron's "Accidentally Engaged"!

I really love romance novels and these types of books, but there were some points where this story line felt like it was trying not to rush and, as a result, dragged it out.

I was really excited to read this book, but unfortunately felt like there were times where it was challenging for me to pick it up. Ultimately, I really enjoyed the story - especially the ending. I wish it had not taken as long to get to the final 2-3 chapters, but they were worth it. I will say, While I loved the story, I do think there were points where it fell flat. It was extremely relatable in the back and forth/hot and cold with not-really-relationships-but-together aspect, but I felt like it was a bit too forced at points.

Reena was extremely relatable, which is something I absolutely loved and made me want to keep reading. I wanted to know how Reena dealt with heartbreak, love, job struggles, and family relationship issues. Her character's story about not wanting to be controlled by her family is relatable (though not to the same extent) and not wanting to be tied to them. There were also points where I felt like Heron was really trying to find conflicts to make the story more engaging, which also felt forced. I also felt a bit apprehensive about the storyline around Nadim and his "past life" and party lifestyle. While I understand where the author was trying to go with this, I do think it was taken a bit overboard and ultimately felt as though it was an "attack" on that type of lifestyle and those that may find it to be the best way they choose to live their lives.

I would recommend Accidentally Engaged to those looking for a light read and feel-good story!

I received an e-galley of Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron from Forever Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Reena is not interested in having her family interfere in her life, so of course her new good-looking neighbour Nadim is the latest eligible bachelor who her parents want her to meet as a potential husband. Reena has got enough on her plate - dealing with meddling family members and losing her job - to deal with this. Before long though, she finds a surprising friendship brewing between her and this charming man who loves her baked goods and the two seem to start genuinely enjoying one another’s company. Reena is going to have to figure out how to come to terms with actually liking the guy her parents want to set her up with, while also feeling like she’s keeping their interference out of her life. Both Reena and Nadim have secrets in their past that they may have to eventually face if they have any chance of becoming friends, or more.

I’m sure that I had known this when I first looked into reading this book but I was still pleasantly surprised that this contemporary romance is set in Toronto, my hometown. I loved everything about this story - the humour, the chemistry between the characters, and the representation in this story. Between all the delicious descriptions of baked goods and the meddling behaviour of family and friends alike in this story, I was thoroughly entertained and amused throughout the whole story. This is definitely one of my fave contemporary romance novels read so far this year.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the e-galley.

To start with, I loved Reena and Nadim. They both were quirky, flawed, and adorable. Reena was a great example of an independent woman but one who still had her insecurities and faults that she hid deep down and I think she was a character that all women can relate to.

I loved how fun and feel-good this story was from the bread baking aspect to the TV food contest, to Nadim’s foot fetish. It felt like a warm hug and a book that you would read to put you in a better mood.

I loved learning more about the African/Indian culture from the food Reena cooked, her meddling parents, her “arranged” marriage, and the secrets that her family kept. I also loved hearing about where she was from and learning about certain aspects of her upbringing and how Nadim and her connected over these things.

Reena and Nadim were both so relatable and loveable that I found it hard to put the book down. I really enjoyed reading about their journey and getting to know the minor characters like Marley, Saira, Shayne, and Amira.

I can tell that every aspect of Reena’s life was well thought out and it really showed in Heron’s writing. My only complaint was that Nadim and Reena didn’t know each other for very long and that they hid their relationship for so long and didn’t take it to the next level sooner.

I know that Reena did not want her meddling parents to become involved and Nadim did not want to rush Reena into anything, but I would have loved for it to not have felt as rushed.

All in all though, Accidentally Engaged is a fantastic read with lots of spunk, humor, weirdness, romance, chemistry and best of all, BREAD.

I was so excited when I received the e-ARC for this book, and I was so disappointed when I read the book. No matter how hard I tried, this book just didn’t resonate with me. The characters fell flat for me, and I kept trying to find ways to like them...and I just couldn’t. The main characters were one dimensional and boring, and I just couldn’t get invested in their outcome(s). I was really disappointed that I didn’t like the book because I was anticipating it so much. I did enjoy learning about the Muslim faith and culture, and I feel like that is a saving grace aspect for this book. I think it’s important to bring attention to other faiths and cultures, and this book a wonderful job highlighting those qualities. For me, as a character driven reader, I just would have liked to see better developed characters in this book.

Reena wants to cook for a living but she doesn't want to disappoint her parents....so what does she do? She gets drunk one night with her super sexy neighbor and they send in a video of them pretending to be an engaged couple so she can make it on a national televised cooking show (you have to be engaged to be even considered to be on the show). Does it work you ask? YES OF COURSE IT DOES!!!!
The more time Reena and Nadim spend together the more they could see themselves falling for one another.
Super cute story that had me wishing I had more of a desire to cook :)

This is the second novel from this Toronto author, her first being "The Chai Factor". This one is another chick-lit- romance. It features Reena, a Muslim woman with Indian heritage, whose single status is of constant concern for her parents. Also of concern is her work life. She has been downsized for the third time now and really isn't thrilled about her work in finance. She would much rather cook and bake bread. Then she meets her new neighbour, Nadim, who works for her father. In addition her father has arranged with Nadim's dad to have the couple become engaged. Reena has no intention of giving in to her dad's manipulations, but sparks do fly between her and Nadim. Things get even more interesting when they decide to be fake engaged in order to enter a video cooking contest in order to win a scholarship to a cooking school. This is a light read and a great recommendation for someone looking for an fun escape.

I want to thank Netgalley, Farah Heron and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sending me an advance digital copy of this book. All opinions will remain my own, as always.

If you weren’t one of the thousands of people who had a sourdough starter during 2020… you will be by the end of this book!  It's described by the publisher as "a delightful romantic comedy featuring a Muslim woman who fakes an engagement to the boy next door in the hopes of winning a couples cooking contest" but it's so much more than that. It's a cute contemporary romance which celebrates diversity that's written by a Canadian author and is set in Toronto (I love finding local and Canadian writers!).  I loved the meddling parents and protective friends but most of all I loved the cute banter between the two main characters (I actually laughed out loud at parts - spoiler: the head lice... the 16 new sourdough starters!). They're two loveable characters who struggle to appease their families while finding themselves and their true feelings for each other... while also trying to win a cooking contest and eating lots and lots of bread.  Overall it was a really cute love story that also sheds light on topics like family dynamics, the pressures of life in your 30's, mental illness and family secrets. I’d recommend this book to friends… and tell them to also maybe grab some bread to eat while reading ;).

While I enjoyed this one, overall it was a bit chaotic. Between family drama, a food focused leading lady and a fake engagement, "Accidentally Engaged" was chocked for all of action - however, it was so busy I didn't really connect to the storyline. While I enjoyed Reena's journey to finding her happiness, I didn't really love any of the characters in this one. I think this one lacked emotion, causing me to feel disconnected from the slew of people shared in this story.

Trigger Warnings: ,mentions of depression, eating disorders, self worth. Oh my gosh, I really liked this book a lot! I really enjoyed the plot, the characters, the romance, and just the cooking vibe of this book! I enjoyed reading about Nadim and Reena together, they had a lot of fun banter, a great sexy romance, and just a fun time baking and cooking together. The fake dating/the fake engagement aspect was super fun, and it had a lot of humor to it as well! Overall I highly recommend this book! If you're looking for a really steamy romance book, I will say this isn't it; it was a humorous novel, with sweet moments, sexy moments, but nothing too steamy! It was honestly a perfect mix of everything you want in a romance novel! I enjoyed this book so much! I highly recommend checking this book out!

Reena's parents are always trying to set her up with a good Muslim Indian husband. Their latest matchmaking attempt turns out to be her neighbor, Nadim, who recently moved into the apartment across the hall. Sure, he's charming, good looking, and has a sexy British accent, but she refuses to give into her parents' meddling in her love life. When Reena has an opportunity to win the grand prize of her dreams in a couples' cooking competition, she proposes to Nadim that they pretend that they are engaged. They have to spend tons of time together to pull off this competition and their fake engagement begins to feel less and less like a lie as time goes on.

Nadim was a charming lovable flirt who had me laughing out loud. I loved that he was silly and made jokes that made Reena lighten up a bit. I also really liked all the food featured in this book. This book had my mouth watering and I was looking up all the different Indian and East African foods that it mentioned. The cooking competition brought a fun and exciting spark to the story that I enjoyed.

One of the parts that really spoke to me in this book was the sense of parental obligation and pressure that Reena felt. Being raised in a family oriented culture where this type of pressure is the norm, it's hard to adequately describe the complexities of the pressure from your parents to do what is expected of you. It's easy for some people to say "Why don't you just do what you want?" but it's really not as simple as that. I think Farah Heron does a great job of depicting this type of obligation people feel to fulfill their parents' wishes no matter how much of an independent thinker they might be.

I liked Reena and Nadim's characters and they had great chemistry. I also liked the build up of tension they had as they headed towards an intimate/romantic relationship. The HEA was fun and perfect for the story. I didn't like that the conflicts towards the end and how the story played out right after the conflicts were revealed. There was too much going on for me - numerous characters involved in several conflicts and over the top drama. There were some tangential conflicts that were tied in that I thought detracted from the story line. Regardless of that part of the book, I really liked this book and it was an enjoyable read.

Steam level: 🔥🔥
⚠️: mental health/depression, mention of eating disorder

Charming and fun, own voice, food romance. Reena is 31, born and lives in Toronto. She is an East African Indian Muslim. Her parents arrange a job for a potential husband for her and move him into the apartment across the hall. When she first meets Nadim she describes him as a brown Captain America. She continually tells him they can't marry because her parents arranged things. But they become fast friends. Along comes a cooking contest with a dream prize for Reena which has the two posing as engaged.

There is so much to love, meddling parents, secrets upon secrets, sibling rivalry and food that made my mouth water. (I didn't recognize half of it.) Nadim is sweet and kind and his love of food and bread rivals Reena's. He was born in Africa, educated in England (yay British accent) and is trying to prove himself to a distant father. Because their past relationships and hookups are mentioned I was surprised that intimate scenes were closed door and not explicit.

The story is told third person from Reena's POV which at times is frustrating. Especially when she postpones conversation needed to clear up matters. Love of family and friends, even when strained or dysfunctional is an over riding theme. Very happy to have read this book and look forward to more from the author. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC ebook in exchange for a honest review.