Thank you to the publisher and author for letting me to read this eARC via Netgallery for an honest review.

I was ready to read the next installation of the CMC. I really liked the characters and glad to see more of Payal's story. It was light, fun, easy to read rom-com. It was a predicable read, however; it was still very enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this romcom by Annika Sharma. Payal and Ayaan were such lovely characters. I loved getting to see a glimpse into South Asian culture!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is book 2 in Annika Sharma’s Chai Masala Club series - I do recommend you read these in order because there are a few references to book 1 that will be spoilers if you haven’t read it yet.

This one is an antagonists to lovers, closed door romance so appropriate for anyone who doesn’t want on-page sex. Our protagonists are both London-born, and find themselves in New York for various reasons. This book offers look into modern immigrant South Asian culture. It feels very much like a Bollywood romance - the twists and turns and drama are all dialed up to 11. There’s a lot going on in this book - family drama, work drama, relationship drama. I love the lush descriptions of clothing and food - this book will probably make you hungry.

I did feel it was about 50 pages too long, I did skim pages across some sections, which is why I’m giving this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really, really wanted to like this book but the writing irked me and I couldn't stick with the characters. The two stars are for the Indian representation and the scope and depth the characters could have had but didn't.

Payal and Ayaan did not have the chemistry to keep me hooked on their dilemmas. And I have read plenty of books with stellar plots but less-than-average execution in terms of writing to know that I would have ignored the writing to an extent if the characters resonated with me, but they did not.

I have, however, read great reviews of the first book in the Chai Masala Club series and I am going to give it a try.

Again, I did really want to love this one and thank you @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!!! I genuinely enjoyed this book SO MUCH!! I knew I would, I love these characters, how real and raw they were. I love almost every single aspect of this book, devoured it in only a few days its so worth it. My only complaint would be that it feels like this book was written with white people in mind, giving us information that an Indian person would already know and doesn't need explained. Other than that this book was amazing and I loved every second.

It's rare to find a romance where I enjoy the dynamics of the main relationship, family relationships, and friend groups and this one did it! I'm executed to see where the author takes the rest of the series, and will be watching for the successor novels. Quick read and kept my attention.

Great book! I knew The couple would end up together because it’s romance. I still loved the story and how the characters grew.

This was really entertaining and I highly enjoyed it.
I just reviewed Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice by Annika Sharma. #NetGalley
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Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.

When Payal's parents announce that she is to be engaged to Ayaan Malhotra, in order to save their family business, she is far from thrilled. For one thing, arranged marriages, especially ones for business, are an antiquated thought. Second, she has met Ayaan, and he is the last person she would think to settle down with. She isn't even wanting to settle down. Her focus is her up and coming fashion line. However, when she realizes that a merger with Ayaan's family business is exactly what her brand needs, she decides to play along until she gets what she needs. Ayaan has similar thoughts when his family mentions a merger with the Mehras. What Payal and Ayaan didn't expect was that they'd actually end up falling for each other. Unfortunately, their deceptions catch up with them.
I wasn't too impressed with the author's first book in the "CMC" series, but I definitely enjoyed this one more. I liked having characters who knew what they wanted. I also felt a lot more chemistry between the friend group than the first book.
This may be nit-picky of me, but I couldn't get past the fact that she calls her paternal grandmother "Nani"(maternal grandmother). These are trivial things that I expect a South Asian author to at least know and/or explain. The story itself was pretty cliché. Boy and girl are somehow forced together and end up in love until a secret of some sort puts the relationship on trial. It's been done and done too many times. It was nothing new, but it was still a decent romantic read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

After reading and adoring Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words, I was so excited to spend some more time with the CMC group. I loved the 4 friends and the relationship in Love, Chai was so genuine and sweet. I didn't connect as much with the relationship in this book. Payal was very engaging but there was just something missing. I feel like it needed more setting and descriptions. I loved the NYC details in the previous book. I'm still in love with this group of characters and look forward to getting more stories about them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

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.

Ayaan is also working on his career in NY. He is not the most reliable and stable person. His family is worried that he won't be able to settle down in his life. On the other hand, Ayaan is desperate to prove himself and take the reins of his family business.

Both Ayaan and Payal only met once and it didn't end well. Both of their parents want them to get married for securing a business deal. Payal's father is desperate to save his business and Ayaan's father wants his son to be mature. Trade-off wedding is not something they both want, but there is a silver lining for each. Fake dating sounds like a win-win situation for both.

The story was cliche, the same run-the-mill story. The unique element was cringy writing. I am all for emotional connections and light romance, but I am not interested in learning about the sizes of organs of both genders. I won't ever get it why authors think it is necessary to define everything comprehensively. The cringy writing style took away most of the positive aspects of the story. The story didn't have much to offer so there were filler characters and dragged scenes. I just wanted this book to end, I knew the ending and the cringy writing and one-dimensional characters were getting out of hand.

I could have finished an assignment instead of reading this book.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

While I liked the characters and the writing style, this book was just okay. It didn't really stand out to me.