Karina Mistry has been waiting for this day for years! The day she finally gets promoted to executive chef of Fusion. She's been there for years, starting from the bottom, and has more than proven herself. When she arrives to speak with her boss, the last person she expects to see is Aneel Rawal. She hasn't forgotten how he cheated her out of winning a competition years ago. Now her boss is saying she will once again be competing with Aneel for the job she rightfully has earned.

Aneel can't believe he's once again competing against Karina. He didn't have the courage to ask her out years ago, and now it seems she's hell bent on hating him.

Forced to work together in a tight space, they end up bonding over similar histories. When both of their pasts show up in the present, they must decide how it will affect themselves and their families.

This is the latest installment in the Once Upon A Wedding series by Mona Shroff. I have loved each and every one of her books and this was such a fun and emotional read. I loved how the main characters connected over similar tragedies in their life. Their relationship didn't seem forced and it was sweet to watch them slowly come together. All the family members were so supportive and were great as additional characters. You could really feel the closeness between all of the siblings. The ending was perfect and I cannot wait to read more by the author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for this e-arc in exchange for my review.

This is the 6th book in a series but I had never read the previous books and honestly didn't feel as though it was needed. I was able to get to know these characters fairly quickly and found myself rooting for both Karina & Aneel. They are both chefs and they are forced into a competition - against each other, in order to obtain the coveted head chef position.

I loved the quick wit that both characters had and their personalities? Both strong, both dedicated, both extremely family oriented, both intense! The romance grew gradually and felt very real. I just loved this story and loved meeting Veer as well - such a cutie!

Terrific not-quite-enemies-to-lovers story. The competition angle intrigued me. Karina is the sous-chef at a restaurant, in line to move up to the executive chef position. Then she discovers that her boss decided to turn the interview into a reality show competition. Her rival is Aneel, a fellow chef she faced in another competition years earlier with disastrous results.

I liked Karina and Aneel. Karina is a single mom who wants the promotion to make a better life for herself and her son, Veer. She is intense, talented, and determined. She's not happy about competing with Aneel as she blames him for her loss in the earlier competition. I loved her close relationships with her family and their influence on her life. Aneel wants to advance to the executive chef position from his current role. He's more laid back when it comes to his work, but the intensity is still there.

The tension is tight between Karina and Aneel when the competition begins. Karina still holds a grudge against him, while he resents her accusations. But when they put the past aside, they work amazingly well together. There were sparks of attraction during their first competition that they ignored in the aftermath. Those sparks flare up again as they spend time together. Karina initially fights those sparks, not wanting to let go of the past. However, when Karina needs help, Aneel steps up to support her. I loved watching their teamwork.

I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. Their interactions during the competition are fun, a little snarky, yet supportive and realistic. I especially enjoyed watching them get closer as Aneel helped Karina with her catering efforts. Each has baggage from the past that they must deal with before they can move forward, including a surprise revelation that I never saw coming. I loved the ending and how the competition worked out.

I love the author's depictions of the characters' close family relationships. The love and support are always there, along with a willingness to provide a kick in the pants when needed. I enjoy the glimpses of Indian culture, and especially enjoyed Karina and Aneel's efforts to replicate her mother's chai recipe. The inclusion of couples from previous books added extra enjoyment to the stories. There are some heart-melting scenes with Aneel and Karina's son, Veer.

Shroff has been a favorite of mine since I read her first book. I love how she writes her culture into her books and after I read one I'm always craving one of the foods - this time I really want samosas.

This story had an interesting plot. I went in blind and wasn't expecting a competition but it was fun to watch these two face off. But it was even more fun to watch them fall in love. One of the subplots was deconstructing a recipe and I really enjoyed that even if it didn't go as I expected.

I love how fiercely devoted to their families they both were. But I really loved how they each grew in this story and the theme of forgiveness. Though forgiveness was given faster than I expected I was very glad peace was reached in all examples.

I think watching these two truly discover their passions was amazing. Looking forward to seeing cameos of them in the next book!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I did not enjoy this story as much as I thought I would. And I don't really know why.

I liked both Karina and Aneel, I enjoyed allll of the cooking aspects, but I think the pace of the story was a bit too slow.

I thought it was sweet the way Aneel took to Karina's son.

I will try to go back and read the rest of this series.

There was just something that didn't make me love this book, but I think this is a perfect read for Harlequin fans.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for an e-copy of IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT... to review.

I rate IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT... three out of five stars.

Thank you Harlequin - Romance for this arc.

I was psyched when I saw that this is a new addition to the “Once Upon a Wedding” Series. Newcomers need not fear starting here though. Some characters from previous books appear but in a way that serves the interest of this book rather than just pimping their own.

Karina immediately arrows straight back to the previous contest and begins making insinuations with a lot of anger obviously still boiling in her. Aneel wants to move past that and focus on now but initially Karina makes tensions feel ugly on the set. Still it gives them a plot reason to be enemies. One good thing about this in terms of their relationship is that eventually Karina and Aneel deal with it before the truth comes out.

Aneel and Karina are both talented chefs and ready to take over the helm of the restaurant. Though they have different styles of management, both Karina and Aneel treat the line staff with respect.

Before long they both discover that they have a lot in common. Karina’s husband bailed on her before the birth of their son, Veer, who is an absolute, utter darling. I’m not a plot moppet fan and Veer is never that. Karina’s family are also top notch and all are devoted to each other. The thread of who is the best Marvel character or movie hilariously weaves through the story.

Aneel’s father was a fall-down drunk who his mother threw out of the house after years of begging the man to shape up and trying to get him help. Now the man wants to explain his side and Aneel wants none of it for him or his sister. Important lessons in new boundaries with Saira regarding this are hard won over the course of the story. Aneel watching Karina deal with Veer’s father wanting back in their lives as well as learning that she also lost her mother too early also brings them together.

As I said, food permeates the book. There’s the chef contest as well as some catering gigs that Karina takes on for extra cash which also, she realizes, allow her creativity to run free and gives her more important free time to spend with Veer – beyond watching “Captain America.” The food allows some past characters a little page time and gives us a nice update on them.

The characters in the book seem real to me: making mistakes at times, allowing emotions to overwhelm them, jumping to a few conclusions. Some past relationship wrinkles are never going to be ironed out but people can turn out to be better than a lot of tertiary romance characters have been allowed to be in the past. There’s believable nuance here even if Karina initially harping on the old conflict between them at weird times annoyed me. I’m glad the truth about it came out in the end, happy paths forward appear, family remains vital, and there are several new characters waiting to step into MC roles. B+

In If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Karina Mistry is a talented single mom vying for her dream head chef job—only to find out the final decision will come through a reality cooking competition. Her unexpected rival? Aneel Rawal, the man who broke her heart seven years ago. As tensions rise in the kitchen, so do old feelings, especially as Aneel bonds with Karina’s young son, Veer.

This book blends emotional depth, cultural richness, and slow-burn romance in this heartfelt story about second chances, family love, and following your dreams. With familiar faces from her Once Upon a Wedding series and a standalone plot, this story is warm, tender, and deeply satisfying.

Single mom Karina competes in a reality cooking show for promotion to head chef. She faces off against Aneel, an ex-crush she can’t forgive. Will her career—and her pride—survive the challenge?

This light-hearted romance is very cute. Aneel is adorable with both Karina and her son. All the books in this series can be read as stand-alones.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of If You Can't Stand the Heat by Mona Shroff. I recently attended an author event with Mona Shroff, and she was lovely to meet in person. After meeting her, I heard about this new book and was approved on NetGalley. I haven't read the others in this series, and I don't think it was needed. This was a lovely story that I really enjoyed. 4/5 stars