Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Berkeley, for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

For me, there was too much user experience jargon and talk rather than the story of Bhanu and Sunny. Having read the author’s past works, I had high expectations and this did not read as cohesive as past works. There could be some editing to this advanced copy to help pull the story together more. All in all, Sajni Patel is a gifted author that I still enjoy, it is just this title did not seem to have the same signature style I enjoy from her.

4.5 Stars

Imagine this: stuck in Hawaii with your work nemesis, fake dating at a destination wedding. Sounds like the beginning of a rom-com, right? Well, that's exactly what happens to Bhanu and Sunny in this delightful read.

So, what did I love about it? This book is like a rom-com dream come true, blending enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and opposites attract tropes flawlessly. Bhanu and Sunny are not your average characters; she's a boss queen with sass, and he's got that cool, calm demeanor "with a voice like Denzel Washington". Plus, the Desi representation adds depth and richness to the story, which I totally vibed with. And let's not forget the serious stuff – it tackles workplace dynamics, toxic relationships, and microaggressions in a relatable way.

But hey, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. For me, the constant reminders of Sunny's "Denzel voice" got a bit repetitive. And while the romance is cute, I wished for a bit more development, especially early on. Plus, the resolution of conflicts towards the end felt a tad rushed to me. Like, communicate more, people!

Overall, "The Design of Us" is like a breath of fresh Hawaiian air – fun, romantic, and just what I needed to escape reality for a while.

Thank you to Sajni, Netgalley and Berkley for an arc of The Design of Us in exchange for an honest review!

A STEM Enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, fake dating, grump-meets-sunshine blended together so well!! Bhau and Sunny were such a fun couple and overall I really enjoyed the story. My only gripe was there was a sort of third act breakup that was frankly too much for me, it was over such a minor thing and literally two sentences would've fixed it, I just feel like it was unnecessary drama.

The Design of Us was a cute vacay, work rivals fake dating romp. I really loved the palpable tension and cheeky banter. ARC review: this is an honest review for an arc received from Berkley via Netgalley!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC!

I read Sajni Patel's book, The Trouble With Hating You, a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I love reading books that have a diverse cast of characters. I feel like this book had tons of potential, but it ultimately missed the mark for me.

I loved that this story takes place in Hawaii. I thought the setting was well written and the food descriptions were on point. It made me hungry!

I didn't love that this book felt LONG. I just kept reading and reading but it felt like nothing was happening. I think you could easily cut out 50 pages. The reader does not need to know every single thing a character does like throwing out trash or using the restroom. I felt that so many mundane activities were described for no reason. I also didn't love that it was so slow burn and then fade-to-black. I was hoping the chemistry would heat up, but I was never sold on the authenticity of the romantic relationship.

Despite being co-workers, it felt like Bhanu and Sunny could've just been random strangers meeting at a resort. The subplot about being co-workers felt under-developed. Maybe, if there were flashback scenes to their interactions at work before vacation, it would've made more sense.

There were also a few minor elements in this book that gave me the ick. For example, both characters were vacationing in Hawaii but refused to swim in the ocean... like what's the point then? Bhanu's obsession over ube was very annoying. I also didn't love that Sunny's voice was described as being Denzel-like multiple times throughout the book. We just need more descriptors there. Lastly, it was a huge turn off to read that one of the characters was reading The Trouble With Hating You. Imagine putting your own book in another book you wrote... that's just tacky.

Overall, I wanted to like this book. I think there are a lot of good ideas here, but it didn't do anything for me. I couldn't wait to just be done reading this book.

I absolutely devoured this book. I loved loved loved it! I will definitely recommend this to my patrons at the library.

Workplace nemeses, Bhanu and Sunny, never get along always bickering on Zoom calls so much there's a running pool about their verbal sparrings. But when they coincidentally end up at the same Hawaiian resort on vacation Bhanu to visit her sister and Sunny to go to his friend's wedding, things go from bad to worse. Sunny's ex gf public criticizes him flaunting her new bf so Bhanu jumps in claiming to be his new gf.

Now the web of lies must continue as Sunny's friends invite her to all the pre-wedding activites. But as the days go on, Bhanu and Sunny realize there might be more to the sizzling heat in their constant arguments...

This book was so good!! Sometimes, short timeline romance seem way too rushed/unrealistic with the main characters falling in love within a breath which prevents readers themselves from falling in love with the characters and the couple, but not in this book. Bhanu and Sunny's romance builds as they slowly open up and show genuine care for one another. I loved their love!

I also like how the serious topics were discussed throughout the book such as the often frustration around the lack of effort to correcly pronouce Bhanu's name, how Bhanu had to work harder to be heard in a male dominated space, Sunny's feelings of hurt towards his family's relationship with his ex, the toxicity of being in a relationship where the other person wants you to be someone different and never measuring up, social anxiety, respect towards the island and understanding of the effects of tourism, etc. Each serious topic was apart of them and the story, but the story didn't harp on about one topic and make it anyone's full personality. People are multidimensional and the author did a good job highlighting that.

Lastly, I want to say how much I loved Bhanu! I love her concept of love and her "silent" confrontation method and how she never felt embarrassed about who she was!

If you like rivals to lovers, fake dating, vacation romances, you should read this book!

Rating: 4/5
Spice Level: 1/5 (Closed Door Romance)

Note: I got this book for free from NetGalley, but this review is my own and left voluntarily.

2.75 out of 5. It was a cute, serviceable romance but it really just did not engage me in ways that I wanted to. The Start is too descriptive, it was a little toddler like, and it took too long to get into it. I really enjoyed her other books, the Trouble with Hating you and and First Love take Two, but this one just did not measure up to the same level for me. Its cute, it just doesnt do much more. I think my biggest qualm with the book, looking back is that this is very much a congelation of tropes and its a lot in just one. We have enemies to lovers, shared bed, fake romance, vacation, its a whole kitchen sink. However the key thing, the enemy to lovers is just not so well developed. We look back at why they hate each other and its just weak - its obvious they liked each other from the start. Once their romance starts evolving, I started enjoying the book more.

I just finished reading The Design of Us and I have to say, it's such a sweet romance novel! The story follows Bhanu and Sunny, who are rivals at work. When they unexpectedly run into each other on vacation in Hawaii, they're not exactly thrilled. However, things take an interesting turn when they end up pretending to be in a relationship just a few minutes later! This is where the story gets really interesting and I was completely hooked.

I love the fake relationship trope, and Sajni Patel did a fantastic job of making this book feel fresh and original. The relationship between Sunny and Bhanu is both amusing and relatable, and the story flows effortlessly. The Design of Us is 5-star read and I highly recommend it to everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel from start to finish, and I can't wait to read more from Sajni Patel in the future.

I’m a huge fan of Saint Patel’s romance, and this was no different! Love some good bickering, and always here for a destination romance setting!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me. After Trouble With Hating You, I was really excited for this newest book from the author. However, this book did not feel believable and polished the way TWHY was.

I did not find myself believing the relationship between Bhanu and Sunny, and while this is a fake-dating scenario, you do hope that once they develop feelings for each other, you can feel that natural progression. This, however, didn't feel that way to me.

From the beginning, I had trouble getting into the book, and part of that had to do with the tone of the writing. It felt like a stream of internal thoughts, and while that can be effective in some cases, here it just made the writing feel juvenile, which in turn made it hard to connect with the narration.

I really wanted to like this one, and I do think that many people looking for that enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, workplace rivals situation may really love this one!

Rating 2.5 ⭐️s, rounded up for NetGalley.

ARC review: this is an honest review for an arc received from Berkley via Netgalley

The Design of Us was a cute vacay, work rivals fake dating romp. I really loved the palpable tension and cheeky banter.

Tropes: fake dating, rivals to lovers, destination wedding, workplace romance, only one bed, meddling (with love) sister, uh oh my ex is here.

The spice was swoony but didn’t use explicit descriptions- or describe the actual acts- but the build up of tension was still great!

Only (small) things that took me out of the story was the overly long descriptions of some of the UX concepts or backstory items - however, as this was an uncorrected proof, that may be a non issue in the final copy!

i think this is a solid romance novel, its like what the spanish love deception wanted to be. i loved the desi representation and i feel like i havent read a lot of diverse romance novels that were actually good so this really has me leaning towards yes. the tension is tensioning and i love how they slowly get to know each other and how they actually feel like enemies instead of just people who are lusting over each other. one thing was this is that i wasnt really convinced that their first interaction would warrant like a shift into being enemies, but i just went with it because i was trying to see where the story was going to go. i liked the resolution and im kinda glad it wasnt this whole big thing that led to toxic behavior... but it did annoy me that it took so long for her to respond back to him. overall its a really cute and light read with great rep, just thought there were some hiccups along the way

one thing about this is this author keeps on mentioning grumpy and sunshine and im like i get the irony of this trope already... lets use some new words...

another thing but idk if its just me but idk if their journey and the ending should warrant "i love yous" to each other, and even if it did, i think i wanted more toiling over of like wow i think im in love with this person. i got it more from sunny than bhanu

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for giving me an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Design of Us by Sajni Patel is a delightful romcom about workplace rivals who end up fake dating while vacationing in Hawaii. As a woman in STEM, I loved reading about a UX designer and dev falling in love. Of course, I wouldn't go for it in real life but it's fun seeing their petty grievances and how they find each other attractive despite being annoyed. I loved Sunny and Bhanu's relationship. Bhanu was the ultimate sunshine who has social anxiety and I loved seeing the real her once she gets into the whole fake dating shenanigans. Sunny was such a sweetheart, who truly deserved the best after his stupid ex left him doubting himself. It was nice how they grew during their fake dating. And the food made me want to immediately try them all as I've never tried any of the flavors discussed. I already crave for summer to try out various cool foods. Overall, this was my favorite of Saji Patel's books that I have read so far. If you are looking for a delightful romcom, this is for you!

fake dating will forever be fun to read about! i really enjoyed this opposites attract romance, it took me a little while to get into it but there were a lot of cute moments! I really liked the discussions on their love for their culture and traditions. Overall, a great read!

I received an E-Arc from Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an honest review!

Loved this story, Sajni!!

Thank you so much for letting me read it!

Oh my gosh…I laughed and squealed with delight reading this story! A rom comedy of two work co-workers which are enemies in a way. Both the main characters end up fake dating while in Hawaii! Cue the drama and more! (Hawaii is on my bucket list to visit one day!). It’s a must read if you enjoy all the themes I have mentioned.

The story was fast paced which I enjoyed personally. Some people don’t like that but I don’ t mind. I could see this book being played out as a movie. (I watch way too many rom com movies too!).

There were quite a few funny remarks of all kinds between Sunny and Bhanu. I loved that. I loved how their connection slowly began to develop. It just clicked in a sense. It gave me the feels from the movie “The Proposal” sarcastic vibe. Enemies to lovers type of moments!

I do love the family dynamics from Sunny and Bhanu along with the fact they take their career seriously too! I wish both main characters talked to each other more about their families. I do love Bhanu’s sister! She’s a riot.

Hiking, swimming, dancing, and food were all the cute moments in this story that I can remember. I’m not giving it all away because you have to pick this gem up to read for yourself! Do they get their happy ever after or not?

It comes out in July 2024!

Psst..isn’t the cover so pretty?

Chapter 1 was so heavily narrative and mundane, I couldn’t get into it. I stopped, but I’d anticipate three to four stars for the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

After a bit of a rough start this one ended up being really fun! Enemies-to-lovers is a favorite trope of mine and boy oh boy did Sunny and Banhu love to hate each other! I’ll admit their reason for being enemies is pretty immature and I’m not a fan of love interests having to compete for a job (this happens in a surprising number of romance novels!).

The main reason I didn’t enjoy this more is because a significant chunk of the book is filled with work chatter. While this is totally understandable considering this is a workplace romance, it’s a personal pet peeve of mine when the plot goes overboard on the specifics of a character’s job. Also, we are in the characters’ heads a lot and occasionally the thoughts or dialogue felt too detailed to the point of being simplistic. There’s quite a few paragraphs explaining something mundane that does nothing to move the plot forward.

Overall, this was cute and I loved getting to travel to Hawaii through the pages of this story. While this won’t go down as an absolute favorite romance of mine I did have a lot of fun with it.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own! Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader.

Thank you to Sajni, Netgalley and Berkley for an arc of The Design of Us in exchange for an honest review!

Special thanks to Sajni for personally getting me the ARC!

The Design of Us is a fake dating romance sparked between two co-workers who dislike each other but must put their differences aside to commit to the scheme initiated by a white little lie.

As many of the romance genre loving girlies, I was super thrilled to hear that Sajni was writing another contemporary romance given how much I LOVED "Trouble with Hating you" and when I saw that this book would have the "dislike to like" trope I was more than thrilled to go into it.

But The Design of Us is much different than the Trouble with Hating you," The nemesis aspect falls short in this novel along with a couple of other things which I will go into further detail about.

The dislike to like trope is one that I personally enjoy if written correctly, in most cases, I am guaranteed enjoyment of the trope if there is a valid reason. In this case... There wasn't one.

We have one entire interaction that fueled this "dislikeness" over these characters, but it isn't even a proper one. It's based off a couple of exchanged words that led towards these MC's disliking each other. So basically, they disliked each other for a misunderstanding over a tone of voice... which just seems so unnecessary.

I want to start off with the overall feeling of the book, unfortunately the whole book felt childish (for lack of a better word).

The interactions between both MC's felt forced nor did I feel or see any chemistry between them. Despite their lack of chemistry, their personalities are very similar. Which normally would be a good thing but in this case, it made their relationship to what I consider "unfitting."

We barely had any relationship building and once the conflict hit, I just couldn't bring myself to care for their relationship.

Apart from the relationship and the characters, the writing felt very YA. It was also simply very descriptive; I was consistently being told what the main characters were doing rather than shown.

Overall, The Design of Us had its cute moments but it wasn't a book in which I can see myself rereading or remembering much about.

Bhanu does UX design, and Sunny does coding for the same company. They're both going for the same promotion, are infamous for bickering, and are such workaholics that they're practically forced to take their vacations.

Some time away from work and each other should be great, right?

Until they meet each other at the bar of their Hawaiian Resort.

When Bhanu saves Sunny from the ire of his toxic ex by claiming that they're dating - and offering him space in her villa when he finds himself without a room - the two have to pretend to be in a relationship as not to make waves during his friend's wedding weekend.

As the two spend time together, open up to each other, their animosity melts away to understanding.

Will these new tender feelings be able to exist and be explores once they leave the island?


Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship, and Forced Proximity!

Both characters are successful in their careers with realistic goals and prospects for advancement!

Both characters have healthy relationships with their families. Some annoyances exist, but nothing too angsty.

Both characters are Desi and seem to love and respect their culture and traditions

It's a fun take on some classic tropes. It's not breaking the mold, but is such a great example of a light-hearted contemporary adult romance.