Would you want to be trapped in a hurricane with your estranged husband, the one who broke your heart seven years ago and you haven’t seen since? Neither does Meena! But when she shows up in Houston with divorce papers so she can finally move on with her life, she has no choice. The storm’s already moving in, the roads are flooding, and there’s nowhere else to go. So she and Nikhil prep the house—and try to mentally prepare themselves to be stuck together.

The tension emanates from both of them. Attraction, heartbreak, hurt feelings, past misunderstandings, so much said and unsaid. As they’re forced to spend time together, Meena starts remembering the good times, why she loved Nikhil so deeply, how he affects her and gets her like no one else. She also feels some of the same frustrations that pushed them apart, and realizes their breakup might not have been entirely Nikhil’s fault…

I loved them both! Their insecurities and lack of communication occasionally frustrated me, but those issues played well into the story and drove them to finally come around to each other. And when they did, it was magic! Also loved the single POV for this book. A dual POV might have given us more transparent insights into Nikhil’s thoughts; however, the author did a fantastic job of leaving a little mystery yet giving us plenty to know where he stands.

Overall, a beautifully written and heartwarming love story, billed as a Sweet Home Alabama retelling. Highly recommend!

Thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for my advance ebook. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for this ARC of Flirting with Disaster.

I have read Naina Kumar's debut book, Say You'll Be Mine. This book captures Naina's ability to write wonderfully developed character narratives. The story centers around Meena, an ambitious lawyer, and Nikhil, a down-to-earth construction worker. Their relationship is built on a precarious time for both and make for compelling read. Meena pursues her career in D.C., which leaves her and Nikhil on a permanent hiatus until she returns to Houston to settle the relationship. Meena returns to Houston only to be trapped with Nikhil during a tropical storm. I love the second chance romance aspect. I think forced proximity worked well here. Both Meena and Nikhil have very nuanced stories as South Asian Americans. I love seeing those rich cultural values and conflicts at play.

LOVED reading this sweet story about second chances! Meena and Nikhil wake up in Vegas, and realize that they are now married! Not really knowing if they are ready for the commitment, they decide to make a go of it. Six years later, we find that their differences in their future plans have caused them to be separated emotionally and geographically. The divorce papers are prepared but not signed. This story is about Meena's visit to her hometown of Houston to get Nikhil to sign the papers during a week that a hurricane hits Texas. It's about how both come to reevaluate their marriage, their current lives, and their future plans. It's about digging deep into what really matters now.

Kumar's writing is so pleasant to read, and the story is full of love and a little romance. I read it in record time, and loved the ending. Highly recommend for a fun beach vacay read!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Flirting with Disaster.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

I enjoyed this and it has many of the same pros and cons as its inspiration, sweet home Alabama. I do hate when a woman gives up her dreams for a man, even if it’s sweet and under the guise of love or discovering something new about herself- I’m always suspicious.

But the fun parts were straight up delightful and I loved this new and fresh take on the second chance romance with your husband!

I adored this retelling of Sweet Home Alabama which is one of my favorite rom coms. The forced proximity during a storm was right up my alley! I thought the miscommunication between Meena and Nikhil actually worked when I usually do not love that. Like I understand why they didn’t discuss their thoughts and feelings.

Naina Kumar had one of my favorite books of this year, so when I heard about Flirting With Disaster, I was immediately sold. It did not disappoint! I absolutely adored this second chance love story in the vein of Sweet Home Alabama.



Meena is a high powered attorney on Capitol Hill, considering a political run. However, in order to this, she has to get divorced from her husband Nikhil, whom she married after a wild night in Vegas years ago. They’ve been separated for six years, but haven’t actually gone through with the paperwork. Meena flies down to Houston to take care of it, but arrives just in time for a hurricane. As she hunkers down with Nikhil, she is forced to spend time with the man she fell in love with so many years ago. As sparks fly and truths come out, Meena has to make decisions about what she wants to do and who she wants to be with.



I couldn’t put this one down! I loved both Meena and Nikhil so much. I appreciated the growth of each character, especially with communication. The forced proximity - a la the closet - really worked well for this one. Their chemistry was off the charts! I also appreciated how the audience got a firsthand view into Meena’s thoughts as she worked through her familial baggage, shame, and her struggles to conform to her parents’ expectations for her. I would have loved to see a dual POV with more Nikhil, but still really enjoyed this one!



Thank you NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine/Dell for the ARC!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fun second chance romance when the second chance is with the person you're already married to!

Flirting With Disaster is a delightful take on the beloved Reese Witherspoon classic “Sweet Home Alabama.” Naina Kumar offers a diverse, Indian perspective that’s both fresh and fabulously relatable.

The story explores the depth and nuance of a long-estranged couple who are finally forced to confront their complicated feelings for one another, while beautifully delving into the colorful chaos of the immigrant experience.

I loved that this novel gave me the opportunity to learn more about the unique pressures and expectations faced by first-generation immigrant children. Kumar flawlessly delivers deep and meaningful insights without ever missing a beat.

In short, this book is a charming blend of romance and cultural exploration that left me both entertained and enlightened.

Naina Kumar’s Flirting with Disaster, her second novel, didn’t quite hit the mark for me the way her debut, Say You’ll Be Mine, did. While I appreciated that the main characters were Indian—an ethnicity I don’t often see as protagonists in romance novels—the story itself felt a bit too drawn out. I found that it could have worked just as well, or maybe even better, as a short story without losing its charm.

That said, this is still a cute rom-com, perfect for unwinding at the end of a long day. The writing is easy to digest, and the novel has a breezy, calming quality. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as her first book, Flirting with Disaster is still an enjoyable read for fans of lighthearted romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for an advanced readers copy so that I may give my honest feedback and review.

This review has been posted on Goodreads.

This book started right into the action of the hurricane. We learn about the characters and their history while the storm kicks up and passes. Second chance love set in Houston with nods to Texas in its good and bad ways! Nikhil is someone I would trust to get me through the storm with his prepping and handyman skills. Meena is driven. They both need to communicate, did I get frustrated because it’s my least favorite trope, of course. A couple giggles and moments of anxious for what happens next. Adorable neighbors, we need more Alan!

Naina Kumar’s found her lane in romance and girl, she is cruising. Say You’ll be Mine caught my eye earlier this year, but Flirting With Disaster…it’s fierce. Kumar’s an author I’ll be keeping an eye on for the foreseeable future.

I’ve never watched Sweet Home Alabama (please don’t judge me lol). For me, Flirting with Disaster is a redemptive romance. Meena and Nikhil are dealing with extensive external pressures that manifests into fears not shared with one another. They only truly address their concerns once forcibly confined to weather a hurricane (I know its extreme but listen to me: it totally works in the romance genre).

Just a quick overview: here are my favourite things: in politics some people talk about ‘the call to serve’ it’s what pushes someone to run for office. Naina highlights and breaks it down beautifully. The career and personal strains it takes to run for any office is filled with sacrifice, and to make it a central point of a romance, was surprising and unexpected. As a political girlie, I 100% LOVE IT.

Kumar also showcases a different family dynamic in South Asian households and I for one, welcome it. While there may be some inconsistencies present in timelines I can look past it to realize the bigger picture, sadly we don’t get to know Meena’s older sister’s name. Maybe there’s a potential book there?

Overall, this is the boost I needed. Thank you so much Dell Romance for the ARC. Y’all are the MVP’s.

Unfortunately I am disappointed in this story. As a South Asian American, there's something so special about reading stories written by other South Asians that you can relate to culturally. That's why I loved "Say You'll Be Mine" by Naina Kumar. It did such a good job of bringing in the Americanized characters but also showing the cultural aspect of Indian heritage. This book is a flop for me. I couldn't relate to the characters and it felt like Naina took every South Asian stereotype and flipped it, making the entire story unrelatable - divorce, zero sense of family combination and community, unexpected pregnancy of a sibling, and more. I'm not saying that none of this can't happen in South Asian stories, but it just reads like a very American story. I'm having a hard time appreciating the writing style, since we jump back and forth between past and present, making it extremely confusing with no notice. I spent majority of this story skimming it so I give it a DNF.

The most heart warming story with main characters you root for until the very end! Flirting With Disaster immediately sucks you into the story and take you through a whirlwind of emotions. Meena and Nikhil have a complex and strained relationship, and the author carefully unfolds the intricacies so by the end of the story no stone is left unturned. The writing was what I can only describe as beautiful. I was highlighting so many quotes! Truly could not recommend this book enough.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

I am a huge fan of Naina's and this book felt like the most natural follow up to her stunning debut!

The Sweet Home Alabama vibes were strong, but it was also giving hints of Dawson's Creek and I AM NOT MAD ABOUT IT. I love second chance/marriage in trouble and this hit all the right notes. When I tell you I've been *waiting* for a hurricane book, and then here this one was? Hello destiny.

The hurricane stuff was spot on (the prep etc, I am a Florida native so I have BEEN THERE), It's very atmospheric, but the romance still shines. Single POV worked beautifully here.

Thank you so much to Random House/Dell for providing me with this arc to review!

Y'all, the amount this book surprised me completely. Flirting with Disaster followed Meena, a lawyer in D.C. as she attempts to finalize her divorce with her husband, Nikhil, after seven years of no contact. Of course, when Meena travels from D.C. to Houston to go see him in person, a massive hurricane hits forcing them to spend a little more time together.

This book has all my favorite things, forced proximity, second chance romance, and beautiful vulnerability from these characters. Getting to see Meena and Nikhil rediscover their connection and love for each other was so beautiful. Kumar does a fantastic job using the setting to really push the love story. I found myself genuinely surprised by the plot, which is not something I can always say with many of the new romance novels coming out.

While I would have loved a little more time at the beginning before getting into the central plot, I found the story super enjoyable, heart warming, and just so cute. I know this is going to be a huge hit when it comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine/Dell for this advanced reader copy. I adored Kumar's first book, Say You'll Be Mine, and I was so excited to preview this text.

Flirting with Disaster is a retelling of Sweet Home Alabama with a Houstonian hurricane spin on it. Meena is an ambitious, new graduated lawyer studying for the bar when she meets Nikhil, a kind and handsome construction worker. When the two get married on a whim in Vegas shortly into their courtship, they decide to make it work. But, less than a year in, Meena gets a big job in DC and leaves Nikhil behind.

Six years later, Meena is on the cusp. of running for a state senate seat in Maryland, but she needs to tie up this marriage. She sent Nikhil papers--but he doesn't respond. Meena, focused sigularly on her goals and not paying attention, shows up on his doorstep in the middle of a hurricane. Once the hurricane hits, they are forced into the same house until the flood waters pass.

This is a sweet second chance romance. It was nice to see how Meena and Nikhil both changed and communicated a better as the plot progressed. Overall it was very enjoyable, and I really enjoyed her portrayal of Houston and their neighborhood there. Personally, I enjoyed Say You'll Be Mine a bit more, but I really liked this one!

I typically don't like a miscommunication trope, but I fell in love with these characters right away and forgave them of anything that would typically bug me!

Naina Kumar’s Flirting with Disaster gave me Sweet Home Alabama and The Notebook vibes.

I was addicted from the first page.

Meena and Nikhil have both been through so much and even though they love each other they lacked the ability to communicate their feelings, which resulted in their separation and possible divorce. But maybe, just maybe, after getting stuck together during a hurricane, they will realize that they still love each other after all this time.

The relationship struggles that Meena and Nikhil experienced are things that I have struggled with before in relationships. They were relatable and by the time I was done with the book I was crying along with the characters.

There's something really special about being only a few paragraphs into a book, but already being fully immersed and invested. I'm not sure how Naina Kumar does this, but she did it with Say You'll Be Mine and she did it again with Flirting with Disaster!!! She establishes characters so naturally that they instantly feel real to me.

I read this book in one sitting, which is rare for me!! I kept telling myself "just one more chapter" but I just had to know what was going to happen next and before I knew it hours had passed. This book had a magical combination of tropes that I love (forced proximity, second chance romance, and more that I don't want to list because they feel like spoilers), and the best part was that none of them felt shoehorned into the story.

I loved Meena and Nikhil so much. THE CHEMISTRY? THE TENSION? my goodness!!! Also their growth??? It was all so good and so well written. And the miscommunication in this book actually made sense to me, it felt really realistic of young relationships and I loved seeing how they changed and grew the years they were apart. I also loved Naina's commentary on politics, community, and Texas.

The pace of this book felt really good to me, no brakes but flowed really well and not confusing. Also, while I do love single POV, I would do some unspeakable things for a Nikhil chapter (please Naina!!! a preorder incentive maybe???). ALSO, I love the side characters! Shake book when? or Ankita from Say You'll Be Mine???

Naina Kumar is truly an auto-read author for me and I can't wait to read anything she writes!

A fun read for fans of Sweet Honey Alabama (or second chance romances regularly)

Naina Kumar wrote a spin on some classic tropes (e.g., stuck together due to a hurricane, have to share a closet for a safe place to sleep, etc). She shows character growth throughout the seven years that the story jumps between. And she captures less savory emotions associated with love (e.g., sorrow when it fails, angst when you don’t know how to help your partner, etc). All of this comes together resulting in an enjoyable and easy to read story.

There are a few things I didn’t love. First and foremost, while Nikhil shows a lot of growth, Meena’s takes longer to happen. Instead, she comes across self absorbed in a lot of the story, unintentionally hurting her loved ones with her actions (e.g., Nikhil, Shake)

I also think the writing could have benefited from telling the story more clearly in two separate time frames and building out the memories some. As is, it could be confusing at times as we switched in time, and were left being told things vs living them with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Naina Kumar, and Penguin Random House for providing me with an advanced reader copy.