This is the first book I finished that hasn't come out yet! Look for this in March 2021. Thanks to Readforeverpub for my gifted copy.

This book was so fun and I honestly laughed at almost every chapter (there are some sobering moments and I didn't expect to cry a bit at those but I did).

Reena kind of doesn't have a lot of luck in jobs or relationships. One day she meets her hot new neighbor Nadim (who is totally swoony) and come to find out.... They may have been two parts of an arranged marriage! They start hanging out and even entering a contest.

This was just so great and I loved learning about foods from India and Africa. Reena's family is so quirky and they all hide secrets from each other and you know how it's going to go down with them all being revealed!

What a delightful novel! It hooked me from the first page (as someone with their own sourdough starter the opening was so relatable) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Reena and Nadim were in general easy to root for, although I wasn't as big of a fan of all the secrecy/family drama that accompanied every decision. I definitely had several moments rolling my eyes, waiting for them to have an adult conversation like two thirty-somethings should. However, the cooking competition plot was so much fun and I honestly wish more time had been devoted to getting to know some of the other contestants and bringing it to the forefront. The supporting characters were tons of fun and I'm hoping we get to see more of them in a later book! This was a sweet and pleasant read from a perspective I hadn't really read before. Plus, there are recipes!

AH 👏🏽MAZ 👏🏽ING!

I loved absolutely everything about this book. Their love story was adorable, I loved the little doses of family drama and scandals and the main character Reena's amazing and hilarious network of supportive best friends!

I thought it was fun to see such a well-written Romance novel set in Toronto, Canada and very much enjoyed the diversity in the characters and in the FOOD! The book had me starving on more than one occasion.

Lastly, loved the authenticity of these characters. Especially Reena! In her work, in her frienships, and even in cooking food for TV that wasn't Westernized just for mainstream consumption!

I absolutely loved the book.
Rep: East Africa/Indian Muslim characters living in Canada

Reena: She is working in a job she's not the biggest fan of. So, in her free time, she follows her passion. Baking Bread. She loves everything about it. Her family is a typical Indian family, and I could so relate to it. They're full of secrets, oh-what-would-the-society-say, caring about promotions in work, and all about the "normal" life. I also loved her sister. She was so well thought out too.

Nadim: He is a little bit of a mystery. But, there is no mystery in the fact that he loves her bread. Reena's father gives Nadim an apartment right beside Reena in the hopes that they would fall for each other and get married (for business purposes, ofc). Nadim is just one of my fav Indian Book boyfriends ever. He was sweet, helpful, sexy, brought Reena baked goods, and absolutely swoon-worthy. Oh, did I forget, also a brown Captain America.

Relationship: These two had to fake being engaged because the cooking competition that Reena wanted to participate in was a couples only. Nadim agrees to help her out and oh my god, those scenes where they're pretending. Absolute FIRE. Like Nadim was soo good, and flirty and naughty. He has a past, and Reena has trust issues. She doesn't want to marry a man that her family has found because she knows that if she does, her family would interfere in her relationship till the end of time. These two have a good push and pull, there is angst, past, revelations, and really sweet moments.

I could not stop reading the book and finished it in a day.
My only complain was that the sex was closed door. Like these two had such great chemistry. And every time they kissed, and HEAVILY made out, I hyperventilated. If only the author didn't fade the sex to black, it would have been a five star for me.

This was delightful! Reena is tired of her family trying to control every part of her life and is not happy to discover that her new neighbor Nadim is the latest of her parents' pick for her husband. But there is something about Nadim and they become friends and they accidentally record a video for a cooking contest. When they are selected for the contest they have to pretend to be in a relationship and that's when things get confusing. A story of family, and secrets, and finding a way to trust yourself and create the life you want.

Reena’s family just can’t stay out of her business. So while she hates her career, she sticks it out because she refuses to work with her father or take his hand outs. It gets worse though. Now her father has hired the man he wants her to marry, and moves him in across the hall from her. Reena needs to make sure Nadim knows she will never marry him. They do start a great friendship though. They both have secret, a lot of them, but that’s ok, it’s not like she jus going to marry the man.

Forever publishing with another win! First of all, this is like the third book recently that I have read that was set in Canada and I loved it. @Rhardingwriter start that Canada book! I loved everything about this book! It seriously had it all. Great characters, fantastic friends, over bearing family members, secrets, and hello, lots of talk of bread! The chemistry between Reena and Nadim just flew off the pages, and I loved a look into their culture. The cooking show added such a unique and adorable element to the book that just brought that extra oomph to the story. I also really enjoyed the banter between Reena and Nadim, and that she called his beard a douche beard. I had never heard it referred to as that before, it gave me a great laugh! If you are looking for your next rom com, look no futher than Accidentally Engaged!

Accidentally Engaged is one of the most fun romances I've read this year. I loved the descriptions of food, especially all of the bread making. There are even some recipes in the book of the most important (and mouthwatering) dishes in the book which only made the story even more special.

My favorite thing about Accidentally Engaged was how "odd" Nadim was. He was fun, flirty, and had his own quirks, even a fetish I rarely see in the hero of a rom-com. It wasn't until I *met* Nadim that I realized how different he was than other heroes. In fact, despite his description being breathtakingly gorgeous (I'm a sucker for dimples) he seemed mostly like any other guy of his age if you get to know them.

There were parts where Reena really confused me which only made her seem less like a fictional person. She had a general idea of what she wanted in life and almost had it until a setback threw her off completely. To rediscover her passion and chase after it while falling in love at the same time was exciting to see unfold.

I wish I would have learned more about Reena's sister and friends who only seemed to get more interesting as the story progressed but, in a book of this size, it's difficult to fully know all of them as well as we get to know Reena and Nadim but after reading Accidentally Engaged, I want to read more of whatever Farah Heron wants to give me. Including recipes.

Reena and Nadim have a meet cute right in their lobby. Theirs is supposed to be an arranged marriage but Reena emphatically won’t marry Nadim. However, he is there when Reena needs a friend.

This is a story of complex family relationships complete with secrets, a budding friendship, lots of laughs, and building of trust with family and friends.

There are so many things to love about Accidentally Engaged.

Reena is a smart, funny and talented protagonist, and Nadim is so charming and sweet. In fact, I loved all of the characters, which include Reena's hilarious friends and meddling family. And while the plot is a touch ridiculous, Farah Heron managed to make it work. Of course, attention needs to be paid to the mouth-watering descriptions of the food, which left my stomach growling pretty much the entire time I read this book.

I'm always on the search for sharp, witty rom-coms, and this one definitely fits the bill. I'm excited to see what the author does next!

Reena loves living on her own. Mainly because her family wants to be so involved in her life. Her dad wants her to work for the family business, her mom wants her to get married - ASAP and her sister is just a busybody.
When hunky Nadim moves in across the hall, Reena is hooked. Until she realizes her father has put him in her building as a ‘husband to be’ for her. Reena would be happier just sticking with her bread-making and baking instead. She doesn’t need her family to set her up.
But Nadim grows on her and she refuses to let her family know that we’re right....

Reena is someone who things happen to, she ends up rolling with the punches and consistently bites her tongue. She uses baking as a lifeline, something she can do to relieve the stress and pressures of her life and then she can enjoy her creations afterwards. She finds out that she can enter a cooking competition and get a scholarship to the cooking school of her dreams, but she needs a partner. When she meets her new neighbor, Nadim, across the hall--the man that her parents are set her up to marry--she wants nothing to do with him. Through chance encounters and good odds, they form an unlikely friendship and come together to better their lives and work on their dreams.⁣
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Overall I really enjoyed this book and once I started it, I couldn't stop and finished it in two days. Reena is so relatable, she's constantly deflecting, keeping her feelings in, and baking. She has a whole lot of family drama and complicated relationships but they definitely keep the story interesting and real! I was rooting for her the whole time, hoping that all her struggles and setbacks wouldn't keep her down. As someone who also loves to bake/cook this book was definitely for me! I loved reading about the different Indian dishes, and found it so heartwarming as to how much Nadim loved them too.⁣
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Nadim is super charismatic, and even though we know he has some skeletons in his closet before they come out, he's just extremely likeable, and sweet. When he took care of Reena's sourdough starter, my heart melted. I mean, who could have thought that he makes having a foot fetish sound so endearing?! I was rooting for him to win Reena over the whole time, and loved how well they got along together.⁣
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⁣Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for allowing me to read this eARC.

💕 Yes! This is the book I needed right now. Accidentally Engaged is a true romcom. I absolutely adored it. At the time that I read it, I was in a place where I needed some cheering up and this book gave me all the smiles.
Reena is an East African Indian Muslim woman who’s parents “suggest” an appropriate husband for her, but Reena won’t marry someone who her parents are involved with. Despite being attracted to Nadim, her neighbor who also works for her father and who she describes as brown Captain America, she wants to keep their relationship in the friend zone. However, Reena ends up willing to fake her engagement to Nadim in order to participate in a couples cooking contest.
😃 Reena and Nadim were incredibly fun to read. I highlighted so many lines in this book. I love the way Nadim jokes with Reena. I was laughing out loud and smiling at their tender moments. Nadim is a sweetheart, definitely one to add to the book boyfriend list. The way the author writes about them, their connections were steamy even in a closed-door romance. As funny as this book is, it also packs depth in the pages. Topics in the book include mental illness, parental and cultural expectations, and family secrets.
🌟 It was interesting to read about Reena & Nadim’s Indian-East African culture and traditional food. Reena bakes a lot of bread and now I’m in serious need of some yummy sourdough bread. 🍞 Canada was also a big feature in the book, with the story taking place in Toronto. I think it’s funny that recently I keep hearing about how polite Canadians are and it’s mentioned in this book, too. 🇨🇦

🍛 Be sure to read the author’s acknowledgements for great insight as well as the bonus recipes at the end of the book!

😂 Nadim: “I googled hipster for the North American definition. I don’t think you meant it as a compliment.”
💎 (Reena) “Fusion had its time and place, but with all the crap minorities were facing in the world, she didn’t feel much like making the food she grew up on more palatable to mainstream tastes.”

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the free eArc in exchange for a honest review!

4.5✨ This was such an amazing story! I absolutely Loved all the layers to the plot, it made it feel like it was more than just shallow romance book. Such amazing chemistry between all the characters! I loved everything about this read.

A really satisfying read that delivers HEAs in multiple dimensions!

Now having read the full book, my review of the 4 chapter preview stands: Farah Heron sets up vivid characters, sibling conflict, a hot neighbor, delivers some funny lines, and introduces a realist MC who calls it like she sees it. Accidentally Engaged bursts with personality and is uplifting without being treacly. Although I'm not South Asian, this feels like a more modern, or maybe just more fleshed out, representation of family dynamics than we've seen in other stories. (I'll be looking to see if #ownvoices reviews confirm that). Sure, Reena's parents are still focused on getting their kids married off, but they're also looking the other way on a lot about how the kids are living their lives.

Like Farrah Rochon's The Boyfriend Project, I'd call this one romantic women's fiction. Reena's fake engagement to Nadim is absolutely central to the story, but she's also contending with losing her finance job, following her dreams to win a scholarship to culinary school, and dealing with family drama. In fact, I actually found myself way more interested in the family / community drama than the FoodTV contest Reena and Nadim enter (which is weird, since I'm super into food and cooking).

There is one interaction between Reena and Nadim early on that had me going, Ew, what? There is NO universe in which that is sexy. It's not about kink-shaming or anything like that, you'll know it when you get to it.

Overall, I loved Accidentally Engaged. Definitely putting it on my buy in hard copy list for 2021.

Heat level: Closed door.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for this arc ebook.
Reena is a perfectly lovable character that has super overbearing parents. She’s at a job she hates, but find fulfillment outside of work through her bread making. Her father’s newest suggestion of husband-to-be ends up living across the hallway from her and she is blown away by his good looks, Nadim. Reena finds out about this home cooking contest and needs a fiancé to enter, so Nadim joins her so she can enter the contest. As they get closer and closer, things start to heat up!
This was a quick and compelling read that left me hungry (literally, let me get some food!) for more. It was such a sweet story!

Reena Manji loves to bake. Baking bread is a hobby and it brings her joy. What doesn't bring her joy - a) her overbearing Indian family b) her job in finance c) Nadim, her new neighbor who just happens to be the same guy Reena's parents are trying to get her to marry.

Reena and Nadim eventually form a friendship. This friendship turns into a fake engagement when Reena and Nadim sign themselves up as cooking contestants for a show on FoodTV. They have so much fun cooking together that they decide to keep on going with the ruse as well as the cooking competition. But when they're always in such close proximity will the lines start to blur between a fake engagement and a real relationship?

I honestly enjoyed Accidentally Engaged so much. I loved the desi representation and I have so many parts of the book highlighted. I related to Reena and Nadim's characters A LOT - from her overbearing parents, to the food, to small things like going shopping for Indian outfits with your aunts and cousins.

Nadim and Reena's relationship from dislike to friends to lovers was so sweet. These two had such great chemistry and I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. Reading this book made me hungry - so keep that in mind! I loved all of the secondary character's from Reena's best friend to her sister. Overall I highly enjoyed Accidentally Engaged and would give it 4.5 stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

I really enjoyed this book. I imagine anyone who loves food and romances about people who love cooking will find this perfectly delightful. I thought Reena was a great character and I loved her journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend if you are looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f fake engagement
-close proximity
-A British/Muslim Captain America
-sexual tension while cooking
-bread/yeast starters that are kind of pets
-a cooking competition
-family drama and a lot of family secrets
-closed door
-a foot fetish

I related a lot to Reena despite our different cultural backgrounds. A single woman in my 30's, not thrilled with my career, and also a middle child. A couple times it was almost freaky the similarities. Reena was sarcastic, funny and just real. The relationship with Nadim developed organically and sweetly. Coupled with all of the family drama, the plot moved forward in a very down to earth way that I truly enjoyed. Do not read this book on an empty stomach. The food references are amazing and I went back and forth from just wanting some fresh bread to feeling inspired to learn how to make break finally.

The thing that held me back from fully loving this book was the internal conflict with sex. I personally do not love when books rely so heavily on sex being part of the characters relationship but refuse to show it. To be clear I don't mind closed door books, but the steam should reflect that. Towards the end of the book the book also seemed to get very judgey on some sexual issues, which seemed contradictory to how Reena was throughout the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Reena's character growth, learning to trust and her acceptance that she doesn't need a man but wanted one was a beautiful love story filled with food, great friends and family.

Rating: 4
Steam: 2

Trigger: Mental health, depression, mentions of eating disorder, family tensions

Before I started this read, I was in the mood for an adorable, fluffy contemporary romance with a little steam as a transition read for my TBR, and this book delivers on that front. Here, main character Reena sets up a fake engagement with her new neighbor Nadim in order to enter a couples' only baking competition. So, we'll get that ole reliable fake date trope to keep us occupied. Nadim is instantly described as a "brown Captain America" which like solid description lololol with a British accent. He moves to Canada to work for her father and they're set to have an arranged marriage, which she's not interested in. Each chapter reads quite quickly with tone and language that pulls you in. It's captivating and relatable, a book I could hardly put down. It's a fun, indulgent romance read with a number of laughable scenes. Also, OMG the Buffy jokes were on point at the end. LOL, unexpected but like well done. Overall, this book was juicy and dramatic that I got so invested in the storyline and these characters. Then that HEA actually gave me butterflies in my stomach, so yes, it is darn cute. It's just so precious and so much fun.

I was so excited to read this one because I loved The Chai Factor, and I loved Accidentally Engaged even more! It will definitely make you hungry for bread, so be forewarned. Interestingly this book is even more relatable during the pandemic, when the new normal is baking bread and being let go over video conference.

I thought that it was cute when they went the farm to get fresh eggs. I like how the family is multidimensional, and how they decide to resolve their drama. I definitely would have voted for them to win the TV show. The Jeffs sound nice too though.

I am hooked and am committed to reading everything by Fara Heron from now on!