I love the CMC books and cannot wait for the next one! I am loving the representation and everything I am learning from the South Asian culture.

This book centered around family and the familial dysfunction. Payal and Ayaan had very similar relationships with their families if you looked at it from a glace but when you really studied them you realized why their families had such dysfunction. Payal and Ayaan I felt were destined mates. They went through so much together and oddly enough them being together is what gave them the strength to show their families who they truly are. I really enjoyed the twists and turns this book took and I look forward to the next book from Annika Sharma.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review as always all words are my own.

If you enjoy romance without a ton of smut but just a touch of conversational innuendo for flirty fun and pg intimacy scenes - this book is a good place to start. The author utilized a detailed writing style that made me feel like I was in the scenes with the characters; and there is South Asian representation throughout as well. I personally love a slow burn, however the middle felt a tad dragged out for me. The last quarter of the book however really picks up the drama factor. Just something to add as well- the miscommunication (of feelings) trope is not my cup of tea, however I can see how this factor of the book would appeal to others.

Payal is an only child and slated to inherit her family's company, but she is working on her passion, creating her own fashion line. She uses an app for a hook up and matches with the son of family friends, they have a one night stand that ends in miscommunication and mis understanding. Ayaan is the family mess up looking to prove and redeem himself for past mistakes. They both are told by their family's they must get engaged as part of a merger deal between their family company's. They both see the potential to agree only by getting something out of it and ending it before actually getting married. As they both get to know each other and support the other, the facade may lead to real feelings.

This was fabulous, the culture, values, and diversity was such a breath of fresh air. The friendships and family dynamic were so well explored and written. The characters were flawed and dynamic and I could relate to them so well. I am very excited for the next instalment in this series.

When Payal has a one night stand with Ayaan she doesn’t think she’ll ever see him again. But when their families decide on a business deal that includes an engagement between Payal and Ayaan their fun hookup suddenly becomes a lot more serious. The business deal can benefit both Payal and Ayaan in professional ways so they agree to the engagement as long as they don’t announce it officially for several months and take the time to get to know each other. The more time Payal and Ayaan spend together the more they discover there is more to each other then they thought. Will they learn to love each other and go through with the engagement or will the pressure of their families and companies be too much?

I enjoyed this romance as it delved into pertinent issues we all face as adults when trying to both please our families and find love. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

First I would like to say thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book's synopsis intrigued me, but reading it didn't quite hit the mark. The characters felt flat and there was no chemistry.

Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice
Genre: contemporary romance
Rating: really enjoyed

New book alert! Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This published last week!

The first in the series, Love, Chai, and Other Four Letter Words, was magic for me. I loved that we took a tour of New York City right along with Nash, as well as Kiran’s amazingly supportive and funny friend group, the CMC. When I saw the author picked up where we left off and it was Payal’s turn for love, I just about dropped everything to start this one.

Quick Summary: In this follow-up, we follow Payal and Ayaan, two transplants from England in NYC. The two casually knew each other, as their families run in the same circle. After they bump in to each other and hit it off, a night that started off as fun together ends in disaster… and then their families get involved. Their families agree of a business merger but there’s a catch. Arranged marriages worked out successfully for them, and they feel Payal and Ayaan would be a great wedding match. In order to save her family’s business, will Payal agree?

Thoughts: This series feels like a big, warm hug. We see both Payal’s and Ayaan’s growth as characters, as they struggle with the expectations of both a family business, as well as the traditional beliefs of their South Asian families. Like in the first book, this would be considered a closed door romance. While I’m firmly on #teamsteam, I almost didn’t notice and didn’t miss the spice one bit. Looking forward to seeing who’s next in book 3!

#sugarspiceandcantplaynice #lovechaiandotherfourletterwords

I read Love, Chai and Other Four Letter Words a little while ago, and it was a fun read. I enjoyed the look into Indian American culture and found that Sharma wrote quite well, and drew me into the story.

I was looking forward to this next book in the series and while it was a long wait, it was worth it! Payal and Ayaan’s arranged marriage to save the family company story was a unique twist on the standard fake engagement story. There were a whole lot of different aspects at play here with the Indian culture coming into it, along with some former flame jealousy and we get the Chai Masala Club friends from book one making many appearances and throwing in their opinions, plus the new friends of Ayaan who we like a lot. Great side character arcs!

I definitely enjoyed this storyline and the writing (pacing, character development and relationships, everything, really) better than the first book, and fully recommend it for everyone in the romance reader community! A great one to pick up, with this being released during AAPI Heritage Month!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca, and this is my honest feedback.

loved this romance and finding oneself and the how the couple worked out their problems . loved all of the side characters and the friendships. Good book.

Read if you like:
💍 Marriage of Convience
♥️ Diverse Love Stories
🏡 Meddling Families
👗 Fashion

This one was such a fun and light romance to read! I truly loved the South Asian cultural aspects brought into this romance and that it was a UK transplant in USA story.

The fake dating in this one was so well done and I loved the way they both went in for benefit and ultimately it became so much more than either expected!

Thank you so much Sourcebooks Casablanca for my ARC in exchange for my review!

I am THOROUGHLY loving this series featuring a group of four South Asian college friends who find love and navigate the complexities of parental expectations. In this book we get to know more about fashion designer Payal who is asked by her parents to enter an arranged marriage to save the family business.

She and Ayaan have undeniable chemistry and neither is looking for real love so they agree to go along with the arrangement in order to make their families happy only to find themselves falling in love and believing they just might be able to make something real work.

Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Sonali Dev. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read if you like: Dual POV, arranged marriage, South Asian representation, banter, strong female lead

I enjoyed this one. I don't read very many arranged marriage romances. I enjoyed how the book started out with them knowing each other. I thought their chemistry was really good. The banter is good. I do think that the book is a bit too long, as there were dull and repetitive parts. The writing was good but a little disjointed at times. There were parts that seemed to jump without a transition. Overall, this was funny, charming, and I enjoyed it. I do recommend it.

I really enjoyed this sequel in the Chai Masala Club series. This time we see Payal, working hard to get out of her family's business to launch her own fashion line. A chance encounter then comes back to surprise her in the most unexpected way.

The dynamic between two strong willed characters was fun and refreshing. Bring in misconceptions, friend and family drama... and it's a quick summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick, fun albeit fairly predictable read focussing on two 2nd generation South Indians living in the US, who both come from extremely privileged family backgrounds, are acquainted with each other - and don't much like each other. After a one-night stand they find themselves confronting plans between their families for an arranged marriage, which is a bit of a shock to both of them. Both resolve to go along with plans to achieve their own ends, and back out just in time... and of course we all know how this develops, and ends for that matter. I loved the circle of friends of both of them, but there are some cringey bits around the sex scenes.

This was really sweet and fun! I felt a bit let down in the last part o the novel. It felt a bit too predictable to be honest. There was only one minor twist that I didn't see coming. I am interested to go back an read the first book now.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and couldn't wait for this one to come out. This book wasn't as strong as the first but was still enjoyable.

The relationship between the main characters didn't give me that longing feeling and I felt let down a bit. Their banter was funny and spicy but something was just missing for me. Personally, I am not a fan of miscommunication or third act breakups though.

I thought the author did a great job of giving the reader a look into Indian culture. I loved how colorful and beautiful the writing was regarding the fashion and how yummy the food sounded. I was craving Indian food throughout my reading!

This is a fun read that features fake dating. If you enjoy a light read with mild spice, this book is for you.

SUGAR, SPICE, AND CAN'T PLAY NICE by Annika Sharma is a delightful, beautiful, and emotional read filled with arranged-marriage-turned-real-love, empowered characters, a sweet romance, and complex family dynamics.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

2.5 stars

Because I liked the first book in the series I was very excited to read the sequel as I had really enjoyed the secondary characters. b
But unfortunately, this was not a good reading experience, first of all, both characters here are not very likable, in fact, there are several moments in the story that you want to smack them, or roll your eyes at some action or thought that they had.
The story itself is not that good either, I found it very dragged in some moments and very fast in others, no matter how much time passes in the book, the main couple itself does not have many developmental interactions along the way.
But the thing that really made me dislike this story was that there was a third act break up, which was completely unnecessary and resolved in such a silly and quick way that it didn't even make the fight itself worth it, when this fight happened I could only roll my eyes, I was so irritated that I just kept reading the book because I was close to the end.
In the end, I do recommend this story if you want a quick read that brings a lot of Indian cultures and talks a lot about love, family, and business.

'Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice' by Annika Sharma is the follow-up to 'Love, Chai, and Other Four Letter Words'. We return to our favorite group of friends, this time focused on Payal.

I was really excited for this and it didn't disappoint! I love arranged marriages that start off contentious and lead to real romance. Our main couple Payal and Ayaan are a mess in the best way. They grudgingly enter into an arranged engagement for their families sake and their own self interests. Eventually those self-interests merge and they begin to work together and find out it's not so bad being on each others side. Ah, a great romance!

It is just a tad longer than it needed to be, there was a lot going on that maybe wasn't enhancing the story, but the ending was still so satisfying. I look forward to whatever else (more in this series?!) Annika Sharma writes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sugar, spice and cant play nice was truly enjoyable and a spicy read. Some characters continued to get side-eyed by me, there were heartfelt and gut wrenching moments. Such a gem to add to me repertoire.

I thought the cover was cute and figured I’d give it a try. It starts pretty slow and sort of stays that way which wasn’t my favorite. I was hoping the story would pull me in more than it actually did. I like the idea of the story, I just wish it delved deeper. It’s an okay read with a slower pace. If you’re into that check this book out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.