Taming of the Shrew is one of my favorites of Shakespeare’s plays. So I jumped at the chance to read Dating Dr.Dil by Nisha Sharma. This modern take on the play features a group of Desi living in the North Jersey area. Kareena’s family is a little frantic over her unmarried state in the face of her younger sister Bindu’s upcoming wedding. It just doesn’t look right for the younger sister to get married before the older. Miscommunication, romance, and strong personalities clash in the form Kareena meeting Prem, a TV doctor trying to open a clinic for the South Asian community in the tristate area. After accidentally having an argument go viral, they both need some reputation improvement. So just like in the play, Prem decides to pursue Kareena. This was a great modern retelling. Fake romance turned real is one trope I never get tired of.

Thank you to Avon, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma is an #ownvoices rom-com that is perfect for fans of Sonali Dev and Sara Desai. The story revolves around Kareena, who has been tasked with getting married before her younger sister does. She meets Prem, and they go on a nice date. When she finds out who he is (the host of the Dr. Dil show), she gets into an argument with him live on his show and ends up throwing food at him. Will they find their happily ever after?

Here is a humorous excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Kareena's point of view:

"Kareena tore the eye mask off her forehead and straightened her Taylor Swift concert sleep shirt. She had secured her dream job at a company that developed women-owned businesses in the tristate area before her thirtieth birthday. But of course, one call from a client and her boss energy dissipated like mist. She tossed her phone on the rumpled bedspread and rubbed her hands over her face.
She was thirty and single.
No, no, thirty and successful.
Thirty and financially independent.
Thirty and . . . still lived with her dad and grandmother.
And single. Very, very single."

Overall, Dating Dr. Dil is an #ownvoices rom-com that will appeal to fans of Dial A for Aunties. Just like in that book, the aunties' antics add a lot of humor to the book. One highlight of this book is that this book features Indian-American characters. It's very rare to see characters of Indian descent in contemporary romance novels. I am so happy to support this author, and I hope that more books featuring Indian-American characters will be published soon.

If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would say that I didn't completely understand why they were "enemies" at the beginning of the book. I think it had something to do with Kareena believing in love and Prem not believing in love? I really enjoyed their enemies-to-lovers and fake-lovers-to-lovers plotlines though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

Oy. Ok look I really wanted to like this book. And there were glimmers of a wonderful story here! The pani puri competition and mystery museum dates were adorable, and prem calling out her family for being awful was satisfying but the combination of overdone stereotypical South Asian families and just irritating characters who didn't feel like complete people made this a bit of a slog. Also I love science jokes and the puns did not land.

I hate that prem calls his dick Charlie and knocked off another star for that.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon books for the ARC!!

It is hard to put into words my feelings over this book. I am overwhelmed at how much I loved it. Kareena and Prem's story was just so perfect and I really enjoyed reading about them. This book had me laughing, tearing up, and definitely sweating (this cartoon cover did in fact fool me). The character development is amazing and I loved how Kareena stood her ground with Prem and her family (a bad bitch for sure). Overall such a good spicy romcom that I will absolutely be thinking about forever. I loved the cultural aspects and how perfectly it all came together in this contemporary setting. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this book except I wish there was more Prem and Kareena. BRB while I go read everything Nisha Sharma has written.

Please do yourself a favor and preorder this, or run to get it on March 15. I am obsessed. Now if you will excuse me I have to go find some paranthas near me 😁

Was super excited for this when I heard it was inspired by taming of the shrew. I liked it but unfortunately, didn’t love it and it wasn’t very memorable. The hero’s anti love stance was so boring, and the heroine’s family got on my last nerve. They were users and abusers. Not a fan at all. The heroine was the best part but even she couldn’t carry the book alone. Loved her journey and would have loved it if the book was all about her and her girlfriends because they are the only ones that deserve her.

Cute but contrived, had the potential to be a much deeper story with deeper connections. Still, I’d read more from this author as the plot was solid!

This book was fabulous! Set in Indian immigrant culture, it really explores the difference between a “love marriage” and an arranged one. You can really feel the pull the characters have to their families, and how they feel pressure of disappointing them. There is constant tug from family members to allow them to set up a marriage. It was so striking to see the differences between their culture and my own. I just love to read books that help me grow and learn.

Culture aside, this is also a wonderful romance! I love that there was more at play than just fighting the love feeling. It was about what’s right for the families, them, battling inner demons, and an undeniable pull to each other. It was brilliantly written, steamy, and funny! Highly recommend!

Posted on Instagram today @mz.cookz.bookz and I will review on Amazon and goodreads on pub day!

I'm blushing!! The fluff!!!! Tooth rooting sweetness in this book! Beware! I need more books from this author immediately!

I LOVED this book!!! I’ve read a handful of authors and stories on Desi-American leads and so I can easily say this was my favorite. The plot execution and pacing was perfect, the characters were lovable, and I loved the dialogue. One of my favorite scenes will forever be the coffee shop mishap date where Dr. Dil jumps in! Ah, be still my beating heart….

I also appreciated the use of the Indian-American community as a characteristic of their lives and story. The community can be annoying, confusing, and supporting at times (because yes, they manage to be all three), and the way in which Sharma portrayed it was great. 5/5 stars!! (And yes, can I please marry Dr. Dil now…)

I knew this book and I would be best friends when I was not even a few pages in and found myself stumbling upon a Taylor Swift reference 😂❤️

You're hearing it here folks @nishawrites is a legend! I am in every sense of the word obsessed 😂( let me be dramatic okay)

My desi heart could not be more proud of the perfection that is Dating Dr. Dil

The story follows 30 year old Kareena Mann who well... let's say has been a little unlucky in love. In a desperate attempt to save her childhood home she is roped into fake dating the absolute dreamboat Dr Prem Verma ( their chemistry is next level my friends 🔥)

I really did love our main characters Kareena and Prem but I have no shame in saying the aunties have such a special place in my heart 😂❣️ It was extra special reading about them as I would think of my very own desi aunts haha😂❤️

All the representation we get is just *chefs kiss * my heart is just bursting with pride and happiness! I'm willing to go to extreme lengths for book 2 🤣

This book was hilarious and I really enjoyed it. Until the engagement party. What was that? The tone and writing seemed to shift and I didn’t like it.

Damn. This was a steamy romance. There is fake dating, which is, of course, a cover for real dating, and Kareena and Prem have got passion and drive. They have fun together but yell at each other sometimes, too. There are several great themes covered by Sharma and I found this read to be page turning with a balanced approach to humor and emotion.
Great read! Thanks so much for the ARC!

This is a fun take on The Taming of the Shrew. There were times when I found myself disliking Kareena but, overall, I enjoyed the story. The food, humor, glimpses into an unfamiliar culture, and the friend groups of both Kareena and Prem were gold. DDD strongly hints at a series and if so, I'm ready for the next book.

Firstly I want to say how great it is how much BIPOC representation is starting to happen with traditionally published romances.

That being said, this book didn’t quite work for me, and I’m trouble putting my finger on an exact reason.

It could be the awkward feeling I got because most of the romantic scenes until the back 25% were told in flashbacks. This was totally weird since I felt like the reader was taken through the backseat of the story.

It also could be the fact that I didn’t like either of the main characters all that much, leaving me to barley root for their romance.

Alas, the pining is what mainly saved this book from getting two stars. So, three stars it gets.

Not gonna lie, this one rubbed me the wrong way. I loved the cultural and foodie references, and thought one of their dates sounded amazing (no spoilers but it’s a really fun idea at an NYC museum 🔎👀). And this one brought loads of wide open door steam scenes that I’m not mad about.🔥

But. I definitely got some “Baby, it’s cold outside” vibes. I get part of the fun in romance novels is the chase, but Bro, when she says no, do not show up at her family functions, in her backyard, or wherever she is meeting other dates. It’s 2021. Consent should be written into every single story. If this was a thriller, it easily could have ended in a restraining order. This blatant disregard of consent was a major turnoff for me and actually distracted me from much of the story.

This first book in the Aunties series was great.
Nisha does a great job building on her existing romance world and telling a story that is SEXY! There are so many great elements, but what I think I enjoyed the most was the representation of Indian- American culture.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the advance copy of this book!
I requested this book because I’m always down for a romance where one of the characters is a doctor. My inner Greys Anatomy stan requires it of me. The book isn’t super medical or anything. I’m just always here for a sexy doctor 🤣 Kareena is a lawyer and Prem is a cardiologist. They both are rocking at life except in the romance department.
I absolutely inhaled this book. It’s so good! I loved Kareena and Prem! Their connection was instant even if it took them a while to figure it out. I hope this is a start of a series because I need more of some of the other characters too. 100% down for more books in this friend group. I loved the aunties too, the chaotic loving energy they give off just makes me happy. The book references Taylor Swift a few times and I always love that. There is even a playlist of her songs at the end!
The romance is good. They are clearly meant for each other from the beginning. It gets spicy in a few scenes and it was good 🔥. I feel like books from Avon always come thru with the spice aaaaand a great romance.
This book will be released on 3/15/22! Definitely would recommend adding to your TBR if you love romcoms! Especially ones that are Shakespeare inspired! Taming of the Shrew for this one.

3.5 stars

I think it's possible that not everyone in the world knows 10 Things I Hate About You as well as I do and I think it's pretty likely that most people don't know Taming of the Shrew as well as I do, so I went into this with some specific expectations that were not met. After I got past the fact that this book wasn't what I was expecting going in, I found it pretty enjoyable.

I loved reading such a vibrant and complex South Asian-American community. The Aunties were so fun and all of the food descriptions had be salivating. I did find the characters' motivations kind of confusing and one-dimensional and there was a lot going on for there to actually be not a lot happening.

Interestingly enough, neither of these characters is as unlikable as I wanted them to be for this to be a 10 Things I Hate About You/Taming of the Shrew retelling. As far as I can tell, the main correlation was the fake dating, which isn't actually what those two original source texts are about. But this book is a fake dating book, so if that's your catnip, this might be interesting to you. There is also a fun shower sex scene unlike any I've read before so if that's your catnip, this one will definitely interest you. There's also a small dash of hate-to-lovers which I KNOW is your catnip. None of these, unfortunately, are my catnip, so it didn't really scratch any of my itches.

This was my first Nisha Sharma and I'll definitely be on the look out for more of hers. All in all, I wasn’t wowed, but this one was enjoyable!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC.

CW: dead parent, death of a partner

this is the perfect steamy rom com!! the taylor swift references were *chefs kiss* and made me so much more excited about their relationship. nothing better than two swifties dating.

i loved the insta-love adjacent enemies to lovers tropes. it was so fun and their banter was perfection. there were so many indian food descriptions that made my mouth water.

Kareena and Prem are such an amazing couple and the character development was a high point in the book! the steamy scenes were so hot and good 🥵

overall, i loved everything about this book and i need a sequel for all their friends

this review is going to be very difficult for me to write! i struggled with this book. i didn’t start enjoying until 50% or so, which is a lot for me. i tend to decide whether i like a book or not before 30%, but since this was an arc i wanted to keep trying so i could finish and form an honest opinion.

here’s where the good comes! the second half was so good. it totally compensated the first one for me. kareena and prem were real enemies to lovers, with animosity on both sides, and it was super well done. once they started getting to know each other, their chemistry made the book addictive. and don’t get me started on the steam… oh my god, it was good. it was goooood, guys. i don’t know why but i thought this was going to be closed doors. well, i was pleasantly surprised because it gets really hot!

i am giving this book 3.5 stars because i started enjoying very late. i wish i could have connected with the story earlier. the writing was very compelling, and their personalities were super strong. i also loved bobbi and veera! and the aunties! not kareena’s family. prem gave them what they deserved!

dating dr. dil is out next march 15th! thanks to the publisher for my advance review copy!

rating: 3.5/5
steam: 3/5