I dont this book was for me. Too much sexual references. Very Disappointed. DNF.

I was in the mood of reading a light romance so it seemed the right choice at that time.

Payal moves to US from UK for school and stayed there while working on her fashion line. Her family shows their affection by paying for all her expenses, otherwise, they don't have an emotional bond, except for Nani who is close to Payal. Nani is the maternal grandmother but in this book Nani was the paternal grandmother which doesn't make any sense, I find these kinds of blunders in South Asian Rep really nettlesome. Please, do a little research before labeling the wrong label relationships.

This was an amazing read. I enjoyed the fact both Payal and Ayaan came to the table seeking a fling but finding a true connection. The banter Ayaan and Payal both had with their groups of friends was sweet and funny! Also, the third-act breakup was handled so well! It actually had a plot twist that I didn’t see coming. I appreciated how the main couple bonded through shared family experiences and that though they did sleep together at first, there was a slow burn element after the arranged engagement went underway.

While this book was a closed-door romance, readers should be aware that there is plenty of sexual discussions and jokes. Proceed with caution if that’s not your thing.

The writing was so lyrically lovely and the balance between romance and women’s fiction was so refreshing. I was truly rooting for Payal and Ayaan!

At first when starting to read this book, I wasn't sure that I liked either Ayaan or Payal, but by the end of the book especially after the fight between Ayaan and Payal towards the end, I truly felt the love between Ayaan and Payal grew from that first hookup to Payal's fashion show. I really enjoyed Ayaan and Payal's friends and how much they stuck up for Ayaan and Payal respectively but also were okay with meeting their respective other. Ayaan's friends were particularly funny and insightful in regards to Ayaan and how he while he was very accomplished in work life, they nudged him into being more grownup in his personal life. They were also really good with helping Ayaan especially after Arun's continuous belittling of Ayaan.

Also the scene with Jess, the fashion student, and how Payal dealt with her casual racism was perfect writing! The way that Annika Sharma wrote this scene was sublime and in my opinion could not have been written any better.

Because of the buildup in the story and character development, I'm giving this 4/5 ⭐️ .

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for giving me a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I couldn’t do this book. At all. It was really boring and I felt like the characters had no depth whatsoever. From the first chapter, I wasn’t into the book. It laid Ayaan out as a messy, chaotic person and Payal as a calm, organized person. I already felt like this was really basic and obviously setting up for an opposites-attract trope. But then chapter 2 happened and honestly, it threw everything that I thought was true about Payal out of existence. She was not what I expected. She didn’t seem too innocent and calm anymore. I thought that I would like that and keep me entertained but I just thought it was boring. Their conversations together really had no depth to them at all and everything was really surface-level.

Ayaan is also my least favorite character in the world. I think he was meant to be written like that, but it was annoying. He’s really objectifying and I couldn’t handle it.

I was excited about this book based on the synopsis but it was written so poorly that I’m really disappointed.

Whether you love an arranged marriage plot or are looking for a palate cleanser, Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice will do the trick.

The second book in a series of interconnected standalones focusing on a group of friends from Indian backgrounds who live in New York City, the story focuses on Payal, a posh British-Indian who is launching her own fashion line, and Ayaan, a family friend who is a bit of a black sheep and has more than a bit of a playboy reputation.

After a one-night stand ends in disaster for them, Payal and Ayaan are informed by their families that as part of a business acquisition, the two of them need to agree to an arranged marriage. And though neither of them *wants* to marry the other, they both temporarily agree – but throw in their own stipulations.

From there, you go on a bit of a slow-burn journey as Payal and Ayaan start getting to know each other in earnest, and though nothing about the plot will surprise you, it’s still a very nice time as these characters warm to each other, navigate their families, and help each other grow.

I especially love that Annika Sharma writes this big cast of diverse characters from the Indian diaspora with so much care and nuance, really showcasing the breadth of experiences and differing expectations that people who grew up in different places have – as well as the rich cultural commonalities and understanding that bring these characters together.

Overall, this is a fun, quick read that also serves up some drama and a teeny bit of angst – and that features The Penrose, one of my favorite Manhattan spots when I lived in NYC.☺️

3.5🌟
0.75🌶️

👗An enormous thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy! Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice will be out May 2nd!💕

An entertaining and well plotted rom-com featuring lovely characters. I had fun, learned more about their culture and enjoyed the romance.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Book Name: Sugar, Spice and Can’t Play Nice
Series: Chai Masala Club #2
Author: Annika Sharma
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Payal is an up and coming fashion designer that creates beautiful pieces where she melts her Indian heritage with a more modern twist. She is living away from her family in New York, as she tries to break into an industry that hasn’t typically celebrated minorities (unless it’s exploitative).
When she is call back to England by her family she is given the news that they have arranged for her to be married as part of a business merger between her family and the family of Ayaan. He’s also living in NYC and has been, up until this point, a bit of a playboy and disappointment to his family.

I really enjoyed the look into a culture I don’t know a lot about and seeing not only the family dynamics but the engagement and wedding culture too. The big celebrations that Indian weddings seem to be are so fascinating and colourful!! Also it has made me so hungry for Indian food, ugh.

The character arcs that they both had were great and it was good to see them both learn a little something along the way. I liked their friendship groups and how supportive they were while also holding them to account when they were being pricks.

I felt a little bit let down by the relationship between the two MCs and didn’t really get that typical longing feeling I get when reading romance. They were so against the whole thing for so long that it made it hard to get invested in them being together. I wasn’t cheering for them like I wanted to. I did love how horny they were though haha. Though there wasn’t really any on page spice, they were funny with their horny banter.

Delightful, exciting, heart-pounding read about Payal and Ayaal's journey. Author Sharma sets the scene perfectly, from NYC to London, putting her reader in the front row for the fashion event of the decade! Payal is an up and coming designer with roots in the UK and India. Her designs are so artfully described, I felt as though I was standing over her shoulder as she sketched them. The book was filled with rich details, very accessible even for someone with little knowledge about the cultures described. I loved being pulled in to each character's friend group and family, with supporting cast members standing alone as full people, not just in the background. I loved this book and am looking forward to the opportunity to read what's next for Sharma. Huge thanks to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice.

Payal and Ayaan find themselves in the middle of a trope- and the subjects of a forced arranged marriage- in this novel that made me keep asking why Payal, in particular just tell her parents no. Well, she didn't because there wa something about Ayaan. who has borne the burden of something he did as a kid. So why does he agree? Well, because it's Payal, I wanted to like this but it just didn't lift the way I'd hoped. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

This book was just ok to me. I could not really connect with either of the main characters. They did not feel three-dimensional to me, and I think that’s what made it difficult to get into the story. The first 10% of the book I honestly did not know if I was going to keep reading, because the pacing felt off and both Ayaan and Payal felt far away - very out of reach, when I feel like I should be able to truly be a part of their stories and POVs. I also thought the third act breakup didn’t make sense?

What I enjoyed about this book was the South Asian/Indian heritage and friendships of both Ayaan and Payal. I love that Payal loves her culture and uses it in her designs. The way that they were described (along with the characters’ descriptions) made it easy for me to visual all of the details. And I liked the how all of their friends were considered found family to them and cheered them on but also held them accountable.

I think that this could be a really cute contemporary romance. It definitely has a lot of potential. However, I am not the biggest fan of second chance romances or the people in the romance already interacting with each other from the beginning. That's just not a trope I jive with so I had to put this one down. It also seemed pretty slow paced and I wasn't the most inclined to see where it was going.

This book presented an interesting concept and introduction, but as the story progressed, I feel like the character development was left behind. Our main characters didn't have any chemistry, in my opinion, and the writing was too descriptive for my liking. It is just not for me. However, I can still see this being enjoyed by other readers.

<b> 'Sugar, Spice and Can't Play Nice is a prime example of a read that is both fulfilling, romantic and educational. Annika Sharma promotes culture in an inclusive and admirable manor through a heart-warming and true to life story all can enjoy' - The British Bibliophile </b>

Sugar, Spice and Can't Play Nice is the second book in Annika Sharma's 'Chai Masala Club' series. A series dedicated to the lives of the Chai Masala club and the trials and tribulations of navigating their own lives while still tied to their cultural roots, detailing the delicate balance of modern day life while respecting their backgrounds.

The series began with Love, Chai and other Four-Letter Words, which first introduced to me as a reader, one branch of the South Indian cultural background. Annika told the story of Kiran and Nash, two polar opposites brought together on the common ground that is New York City. Here is where we were fist introduced to one of the main characters that would feature in this novel, Payal Mehra. The common ground previously seen in Love, Chai and other Four Letter Words is swapped out for neutral ground. Specifically, London.

Payal's character is one of great determination and independence. Knowing what she wants to do with her life and what she has to do to get there, her hard work seems to be for nothing as on the verge of her career breakthrough she is put into a corner with little to no ways of escaping out of. A different kind of contract. One specifically of marriage. But is all as it seems?

Ayaan Malhotra, a fellow Londoner and son of a family friend to the Mehras, is also backed into a similar corner to Payal when mention of marriage arises. Second-fiddle to his 'golden child' brother and desperate to prove himself to his parents, he agrees to the marriage under a condition which will end up being beneficial to him. He demands 50% of his parents' company, and soon the prospect of marriage doesn't seem so bad as he now has something to fall back on as well as the opportunity to make his parents proud of him at last.

Payal and Ayaan, despite coming from the same culture, could not be more different but also similar to one another at the same time. They are both aware of what they have to do for the ones they love, for their pride and culture, and what personal sacrifices must be made to appease those who are putting them into their respective corners. There's only one way they can do this, and that's as a unified united front. Only, that's not as easy as it is on paper.

Many roadblocks come up for the pair along the road to a satisfying conclusion, namely; a meddlesome grandmother, a spurned ex-girlfriend, two families with stakes of their own, a fashion brand on the line, and, unexpectedly, actually liking each other. Its a test of their grit, determination, steel and everything else in their arsenal to see if they can come out the other side with the rewards they both have their eyes set on, or if they'll end up in a place ten paces behind from where they started in the first place.

As a reader who is still not as widely exposed to stories centred around south asian culture and background, I am continuously learning and in awe of every aspect that I have been blissfully exposed to in this novel. With the experiences of the culture differentiating from author to author, person to person, each branch of the cultural tree is further grown and expanded which is the case here with Ayaan and Payal's story. I grew to know so much about the south asian culture from Love, Chai and Other Four-Letter Words, and that growth showed no signs of stopping with elements woven into this story. There's always something we will never know, something to learn and add to our knowledge, and I look forward to more from Annika continuing this enlightening pattern.

Annika does her culture and people proud with what she has written for us all here to read. Where this might not be everyone's cup of tea, I think this bland of chai has hit the spot and has quenched my thirst for romance, culture, and everything that comes with mixing modern with traditional to create this signature blend of bookish delight.

I'm hoping to hear more from the Chai Masala Club, I hope that is the case among my fellow readers as well.

3.5 stars

This was a cute book! I love all of the tropes in this book, and always enjoy reading about cultures different than mine.

{READ THIS IF: you like arranged marriages, you like interests working together, you want to learn about other cultures, rom-coms are your thing}

Unfortunately, I had a bit of a tough time getting into this one, despite it having some of my favorite tropes. I think it would be more up the alley of a reader who is really into fashion and what the characters are reading, as that sub-plot and descriptions ended up being distracting for me.

I think the CMC is such a cute concept and Payal is one of my favorites so I'm glad she was 2nd (hoping for Akash next, to be honest). I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first, I think the author is getting closer to her style and this flowed a bit better. It definitely still had it's *rolling eyes* moments but I guess that's fairly common in quick, love stories like these. Nevertheless, it was a fun read and it was entertaining getting to know Payal and Ayaan more.

**Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you took all of the best romantic comedy tropes and then combined them and ate them with something spicy and delectable, this is something close to that experience. A promising hookup turned awkward early breakup that turns out to also be an arranged marriage by complicated families that each secretly decides is a fake relationship that they are each using as a means to an end, featuring two likeable leads who make mistakes but are doing what they can for their own lives and their families' wellbeing. Plenty of steam and snark doesn't hurt as we follow their relationship arc.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this opportunity.
I was really looking forward to this one, seemed like a simple enough enemies to lover trope set in with a desi vibe. However, I found it took me a good while to get hooked on to the story. It was too wordy, repetitive and unnecessarily long. On top of that what really bugged me was misuse of the simple term "Nani" which is Hindi word for maternal grandmother to be used in the book to refer to the paternal grandma.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential. There were parts where I was really rooting for this to work out well. I did really enjoy the dual POV storytelling. However, in the end the writing, plot holes were significant enough for it to lose points for me.

I was really excited to read this novel as the description sounded like it would be a fun and fast paced read. Sadly, it fell slightly flat for me.

I didn't realise that this novel was part of a series until I was part way through - there were some references that I didn't fully understand thought it can be read quite easily as a stand alone.

I did enjoy reading something that is outside of my normal book choice and liked the cultural insight.

Payal's parents insist she marry Ayaan in order to save their family company. She would get resources for her indo-western fashion brand and Ayaan would get to become CMO of his parents' company. They decide to get engaged but don't anticipate the challenges of keeping their agendas to themselves; with a meddlesome grandma, a spurned ex-gf and two families with agendas of their own, and unexpectedly liking each other.

I loved the strong and fierce FMC in Payal. I really wish I could see the outfits that she styled in real life - they sounded stunning! I loved the family dynamics - I felt they were quite reflective of the South Asian family dynamics (other than bartering their kids for business success). I liked the settings in both New York and London. I felt the book was a tad too long, which made it not as unputdownable as Sharma's first; but I still enjoyed it overall.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the e-galley.