Loved it! Sara Desai is a genius with words. I loved Daisy’s story and her leading man. It was refreshing, hilarious and sweet.

Such a fun and wonderful romance! Perfect to get lost in right now and just enjoy. I love a good fake dating/marriage plot, and this book hit all the tropes just right.

PUB DATE 3.16.21 or BOTM

I read Sara Desai's debut, THE MARRIAGE GAME, last year and it was easily a favorite romance of 2020. There is no sophomore slump because her follow up. THE DATING GAME, is just as entertaining.

This multicultural romance/rom-com had me laughing and swooning. When Daisy Patel finds herself face-to-face with the man who left her dateless on prom night ten years ago the only logical thing is to start a fake engagement. I mean what could go wrong? Or in this case- what could go so very right?

WHAT I LOVED:
WOC in STEM. Yes please.
Strong, independent & feisty heroine.
A hero that needs to redeem himself.
Angst. Gosh- I love me some angst.
Fast moving and well written.
Sexy, funny banter mixed with some real, raw moments. .
A strong supporting cast including a loud, loving set of Aunties.
Family dynamics that make the adventure even more colorful.
It has some serious chemistry and sizzle.

Daisy Patel is a software engineer who has no interest in marriage, yet her family is, after her to find a husband. Liam Murphy, a friend of her brother, will inherit from his family if he marries before his next birthday. He convinces Daisy to become his fake fiancé to satisfy both families. There are skeptics in both families, so the couple has to try extra hard to be convincing. While predictable, the story is highly entertaining.

Yes! My first romance of 2021 and what a fabulous one it was.
Daisy Patel is smart and successful at everything but finding a husband. Since her senior prom date stood her up she has not set her sights on one man. Her aunties set her up with one man after another to no avail.
Then Liam Murphy literally runs into Daisy at work. The Liam that stood her up for her prom years ago and eluded her entire family’s life for the next 12 years without a trace. He instantly pretends to be her fiancé in front of a pushy Auntie and a plan is hatched...to get the aunties off her back.
On the flipside Liam gets a fake wife to get the inheritance he’s owed and his bully brother off his back.
Can they pull off a series of dates to fool their families and friends? Or will they be fools in love?

After reading and loving The Marriage Game, I was so beyond thrilled to be approved to read an eARC of this title thanks to Berkley Romance & NetGalley!

I devoured this book - I don't have a favorite trope, but fake engagements are ALWAYS one I love, and this one was just fantastic. I am all for a strong female lead working in a STEM role, we need MORE books that smart women can connect with and reaffirm that you can have it all - a career AND love.

From the start, I fell for these two characters, from their unique character names to their personalities, Liam & Daisy were perfect. Witty and full of spunk, with enough history to let you know sparks were inevitably going to fly & it was going to be amazing, Desai definitely has a way of writing characters that connects you to them and makes you want to see where they go!

I just loved that this book was flirty and fun but written with such genuine emotion that made it such a relatable story and gave me ALL the feels!

This book was meh. The beginning was more enjoyable, especially the banter between the two leads. I felt that the book devolved into unnecessary drama and took away from the burgeoning relationship. I liked how the female protagonist's family was depicted. I found it hard to believe that the male protagonist would even think that the female protagonist would marry someone else. Does he even know her? Overall it's a solid addition to a romance collection, but not one of the best.

I was excited to see that Daisy was getting a love story, and this did not disappoint! While it did require a little more suspension of disbelief than I usually like giving my romances, it was equal parts steamy, heartwarming, and quirky. Daisy and Liam’s chemistry was undeniable, and who doesn’t love a hearty combination of a few tropes to make something newer and exciting? Long lost love meets fake relationship with a hint of enemies to lovers? It worked for me. Did I find it hard to appreciate every single twist of fate, and every plot line that was tied neatly in a bow by the last chapter? A little bit. However, the Patel family was just as hilarious as ever. Definitely glad to see them all again! This was overall an enjoyable read.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

A totally enjoyable, sexy contemporary romance with zing. Sara Desai knows here way around a multicultural romance and The Dating Plan is no exception. A Bay area Indian-American coder reconnects with the Irish-American bad boy who broke her heart in high school. We know where we're headed on page one, but the journey-- with delightful, meddling relatives; an ill-fated 'dating agreement, and real depth to the characters-- is worth taking. 4 stars in the contemporary multicultural romance category.

We need more feel good, laugh out loud, warming your heart books like this! We need thousands of them! Because dear Sara Desai knows how to create amazing, quirky, adorable, smart, sassy and sexy characters, and absolutely knows how to write pant melting, steamy, hot as hell love scenes!

She has great sense of humor! Your stomach hurts after laughing too much! You fall in love with those crowded, loyal, deeply connected, genuine Indian relatives!

I loved Marriage Game a lot but I have to confess both Liam and Daisy are more adorable characters than Layla and Sam. I loved them more. I enjoyed their short term high school romance. Their extra inflammable chemistry which can easily put the chapters on fire!

Yes, Liam was Daisy’s first real crush, who was her brother Sanjay’s best friend, an inseparable part of their family till he became her prom date and stood her up! At the same day, he ghosted entire family. She doesn’t hear from him for 10 years till she bumps into him at the tech convention: very same day she holds a few feminine products in her hands to display them at her speech, running away from her ex boyfriend and her ex-boss who were making out at the restroom. Did I mention also one of her aunties follow her with a groom candidate at the same conference?

The couple’s encounter ends with a sweet kiss. Liam never gets over Daisy. We have every right to kick his ass because of dumping Daisy at her very special night at high school. But don’t worry! He has a real good explanation. So instead of getting angry at the guy, you want to hug him tightly.

Liam and Daisy agree for fake engagement because Liam should get married till his birthday and stay married at least one year to inherit his grandpa’s distillery and Daisy wants to get rid of her aunties’ and her own father’s pressure who push her so hard to get marry with an ideal candidate.

Both of them know at the beginning, there is a great risk to cross the lines because starting a fake relationship could be threatening to break both of their hearts when they still have deep feelings for each other.

I found Liam and Daisy’s story more emotional, genuine, intense. They really deal with burdens, dysfunctional family issues, abuse, insecurities. Both of them learn their mistakes and changed themselves. Only thing didn’t change is the pure love they feel for each other which makes this book one of my favorite readings!

I was going back and forth between four and five stars but I decided these lovely characters didn’t deserve one star less from the first book! So I’m giving five desi wedding, heartbreak hotel, best Elvis Presley impersonator, quirky, ultra smart heroine vs sexy, bad boy, rebellious hero stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Liam has a lot to make up for with Daisy, and I love every page of it! There’s food, hockey (my IRL team’s bitter rival, but still...hockey), family, friends, and just a whole bunch of awesome! I am loving this author and the world she’s created!

I was so excited to get this one from Netgalley after really enjoying her first book, The Marriage Game, last year. This author doesn’t get enough love but she deserves it!

Besides the author catching my eye for this book, I am always here for fake dating/fake fiancés. It just brings me so much joy and this one didn’t disappoint.

Daisy Patel isn’t looking for love but her family wants to see her get married. They will do anything to set her up even if that means bombarding her at a conference for work. In walks Liam and it’s all smiles from me from that moment on!

Liam has a damaged past and a motorcycle. He may not think he is relationship material but his actions prove otherwise. I loved getting to know him through the course of the book and finding out why he disappeared all those years on her prom night when he was supposed to be her date. I did like that they knew each other and I think it made the romance that much better. He does get his own point-of-view which I liked a lot. It explains more of his background and why he was always at her house instead of spending time with his own family.

When it came to the other characters, Layla is back and she was the main character in the The Marriage Game. It was nice to see her around once again, as well as the whole family. This family is one of my favorite bookish families and they always make me laugh!

The romance in this book is much steamier than her first (if I am remembering correctly, haha). It does start off as hate from one side but it doesn’t take long for them to realize what’s between them. They do have their struggles and communication isn’t always there but I loved it all. They had me laughing, smiling, and even crying. They are just the cutest!

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and am hoping she writes another book because I need more from this family and this writer! If you haven’t read The Marriage Game yet, I definitely would so that way you can read this one too.

I LOVED Sara Desai's first book, The Marriage Game, and I was SO excited when I found out that Daisy was getting her own story! I requested the eArc from NetGalley the instant I saw it, then proceeded to finish the book in under 24 hours! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Contemporary Romance is not my genre, but apparently I enjoy a Contemporary Rom-com!

I love the family dynamic of Sara's books! The interfering aunties remind me a little of my family. I enjoyed catching up, a little, with Layla and Sam (from the first book).

Daisy is a planner, everything has lists, everything is done in a very logical way, if she doesn't have the lists, or if something goes off-plan, she has anxiety attacks. She doesn't plan on getting married, she has been hurt in the past, and isn't interested in long-term, serious, relationships. Her aunties, and her father, have different plans, and keep insisting on introducing her to potential husbands!

Liam has not had the best life, he is a bad-boy turned successful business man, who has avoided the family that caused him so much pain. But now he is back home, faced with an inheritance with a catch. He and Daisy bump into each other, after 10 years of separation, and hatch a plan to get Liam his inheritance, and get Daisy's matchmaking family off her back.

I laughed out loud, on several occasions, while reading this book! I laughed until I cried at least once! I would gladly pick up any book by Sara Desai, since I have enjoyed the first 2 so much.

Such a fun premise!! This was so charming and sweet. The characters were so likable and I was engaged the whole time.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC from @NetGalley!

Daisy is a software engineer who prefers logic and data to understanding boyfriends. Liam is a capitalist. This book is perfect for fans of The Sun is Also a Star and When Dimple Met Rishi!

The Dating Plan is a mixture of Fake engagement/dating + second chance romance+ sibling's best friend romance, all rolled into one.

Daisy Patel: She is an Indian Canadian, senior analyst/developer in a women's hygiene company. She has Mommy/abandonment issues. So, she doesn't form any serious bonds or commitments with people in her life, be it her office colleagues or in her romantic relationships. She doesn't want to get married but at a ripe, marriage age, she is hounded by her aunties. In walks Liam Mur[hy, her childhood crush, the guy who left her on her prom night, solidifying her abandonment issues.

Liam Murphy: He is the bad boy, cool guy. He's Irish, and also has a strong family aspect. He has daddy issues plus some more familial issues. He left home because of certain issues and now, he is back. He needs a fiancee to be able to retain the distillery his grandfather left him, as opposed to it going to his elder brother who plans to uproot their generations-old distillery to save his business.

So, Liam decides to ask Daisy to be his fake fiance, because isn't it easiest to fake it with the person who hates him? It would be easier to break it off with her later on, and Daisy can get all the aunties off her back by ruining herself by being the women whose engagement was broken off.

This was a slightly complex story with multiple issues on the line. However, this book had a strong focus on Liam and Daisy's blooming feelings for each other. Daisy is the rule follower, who creates the dating plan to make their fake relationship believable, and who grounds Liam. Liam is the rule-breaker who helps Daisy break out of her solid shell. This book's relationship was so so so much better than the first book. I wasn't a fan of the characters in the first book. But in this book, I loved the main characters. There was no cheating, no misogyny, no objectifying women, like in the first book. I liked that there was a real conflict, real issues at play. The hero was loyal, adorable, funny, and hot. The heroine was a little bit here and there with her emotions and her issues. But, she was likeable enough.

Chemistry: These two had smoking chemistry. It was so much more believable and hotter than the first book. I loved every time the MCs spent time together. The bar scene was smokin'. Her obsession with Marvel was funny. The hero was one of the best from all those shown in South Asian romances. Liam Murphy is a sweetheart.

Cultural Representation: I have discovered something about this author's way of representing Indian culture. Maybe because she is an Indian Canadian and that is how they do it in Canada. But the author does not give any clarity whatsoever on the religion of the Indian characters. She sort of picks all the good parts of various Indian cultures all across the country, and blends them into a mixture, leaving an Indian reader sputtering and lost. To explain it in American analogy, imagine an American author blending the qualities of a New Yorker, Texas, California, Boston, all into one American Person, as a representation of America. It doesn't work.

The heroine sometimes calls her father "Abba", the author clarifying it as an Urdu word for Dad. However, she is a Patel, with a non-Muslim first name. Why would she call her father "Abba"? Another, there was a scene with the characters buying swords for the wedding of MCs of first book. Again, not all Indians carry swords in wedding. Only Rajputs and I think Punjabis. Patels are none of those. They're Gujaratis. As a Gujarati and being married into Patel, we don't carry swords. I have no idea of the character's mother tongue, in what language do they talk to their families, from what part of India did their family come from, nothing. So, yea. The cultural representation of Indian culture was just a hodge-podge of all Indian culture and languages and customs blended into one. It tastes exactly like that aunty's weird tasting recipes. A disaster.

But if I keep cultural representation aside, I had no issues with the story. The romance was believable and cute and swoonworthy. The family aspect on both sides was strong and something to pine for. It was a very entertaining read. So, I do recommend it if you're willing to overlook the weird mesh of culture.

Rating ~3.5

A sweet tale of first love gone wrong and a chance encounter to make it all right.

Daisy is a planner, who feels more at home with numbers and data than she ever does with people. She almost never allows herself to build connections outside of her own family. But everything changes when her first love, who she spent the better part of 10 years hating, crashes back into her life and turns it upside down.

Liam is a screw-up, or at least that's what he was told his entire life growing up. Now a successful venture capitalist he returns to his hometown and accidentally reunites with the only girl he's ever loved.

As fate would have it, they're both in need of a fake relationship, and who better than each other? It should be a win-win for them both. But, of course, neither one is prepared for the feelings that come unburied as they spend more time together.

Easy, fun, and sexy, albeit a bit predictable, this book a simple delight to read when you're looking for a quick bit to pass the time.

There were a few copyediting issues I saw, such as the ring box switching between blue velvet and red velvet between pages, but I feel confident they will be caught in the final editing of the book.

Cw: conversations about domestic violence and child abuse and abandonment

Synopsis: Daisy was left stranded at prom night ten years ago by her brothers best friend (& love of her high school life), Liam. Fast forward to present time - Daisy is at a convention when she runs into Liam. Different life events all happening at once force them to make a dating plan for a fake engagement. I feel like this is three tropes combined into a book. A little enemies to lovers, a little second chance romance, with a lot of fake dating!

This was my first Sara Desai book and it was lovely! Y’all this book was so fun! A realistic romance? Not necessarily, but the drama made it so fun. I love a book that makes me yelp and laugh out loud. The Steam level on this was just right for me. Definitely an open door romance and it was sizzling hot! Like they broke her bed if that tells you anything. I honestly think this would make a great romcom on screen. I love the way Indian customs and culture were intertwined in these pages.


Also, the food!! Y’all know I love description of food in books. I just tried Indian food for the first time the other day and it was soooo good. Did I take notes while reading so I can make sure I order certain dishes next time? Absolutely. Hold the extra spicy though!

This book! I adored it so much. I felt so seen. These characters were perfect and quirky and funny. This whole book was the perfect balance of everything good. The snack references ( Kurkure for the win!), the Survivor reference, the love of Marvel, it was all so wonderful. Seriously. Read this book.