Jay is a lawyer and helps out with his widower mom, especially now that his older brother has gotten married and now has a pregnant wife. He's a little skeptical when he's invited over to dinner, and his skepticism only increases when he's literally barrelled over by the woman whose family he's supposed to be sitting down with. As it turns out, he's the lawyer from the firm hired to save Liya's company, but because of that terrible dinner gone wrong, they both hate each other. What I wasn't okay with was when things took a turn for the worst at about 70% in and just... Stayed like that. This turned a corner for me somewhere along the way, and I no longer had any thoughts of setting it aside. I loved the depth and the emotion behind it. It's a slow emotional burn as these two begin their relationship with a series of misunderstandings, but the connection gets a lot richer later on. Jay is definitely the draw here, and I loved that he was a relationship guy - a man who loves his family, and would be completely open to commitment if he felt he was worthy of it. I also loved that he let Liya be her fierce self without trying to rein her in. He does soften her edges a bit, but that just speaks to the connection. I felt for Liya several times, especially later in the book. She's treated so disrespectfully, and I didn't like all of the shaming - I honestly expected her "number" to be WAY higher, given how everyone responds to her. This one's got a bumpy road to happily ever after, but if you can make it past the first third, then you'll find yourself reading a unique and compelling romance.

I think the majority of readers that have finished this book have a problem with Sam, and here I come to tell you all that I actually like Sam. I finished this book because of him. She gripped my shirt, clutching for my waist, as the breeze broke around us. I ran the short distance to the riverside in no time, slowing only when the moonlit gleam on the water’s surface appeared. He does have a point. You must not let your mouth run wild and goad your elders, your parents much less.” As mentioned, second-chance romances is one of my favorite sub-genres of romance. There’s always so much tension between the two main characters after having not seen each other however long they’ve spent apart, and this was certainly the case between Preeti and Daniel. Every scene in which the two were in the same room as one another, you could feel the history between them--and the forced proximity trope in this book definitely added to that. I will say at some points towards the beginning of the story, it was hard to feel the connection that Daniel had to Preeti because we didn’t get to see his POV during this book. In The Trouble With Hating You, we had a dual-POV from both Liya and Jay, which is why their relationship felt more developed as a whole. However, because we only see Preeti and Daniel’s story from Preeti’s POV, their relationship naturally felt one-sided. I would have been interested to see some scenes from Daniel’s perspective as well, especially during Reema & Rohan’s wedding, when he first knew he could be running into Preeti. I do understand why this scene and transition from The Trouble With Hating You to First Love, Take Two wasn’t included in the book, since this scene's focus was on Liya’s confrontation with Mukesh and the aftermath, but considering this could have been the first moment where Preeti & Daniel got a glimpse of each other after being apart for so long, it did feel a little glossed over. The walk up the pebbled concrete driveway was much too short. Leaves crunched beneath my brown Prada riding boots, and the breeze offered a hint of iciness, almost like a foreboding chill telling me to turn around.

Customer reviews

While I think that the stereotype of bitching toxic aunties can definitely be prevalent for some people today, it not as common a thing as literature is making it seem. Especially in America. Times are changing and so is this community. I was so happy to see that at least Patel didn’t fall into the stereotype of strict parents who abhor just the mention of happiness and love. But I am still tired of seeing the toxic light the South Asian community is painted in. Neither my gazlion brown friends nor myself have ever encountered the “toxic, two-faced brown aunty group.” Even if you do encounter one or two, there are so many other people you can turn to. Not every Aunty is toxic, not every parent is trying to shove women into an arranged marriage, not every mandir is a toxic environment, not every practitioner of Hinduism is a hypocrite, etc. These are quite archaic stereotypes, really only seen in extremely conservative families or rural areas (just like it is for all cultures). trigger warnings for physical and emotional abuse, parental abuse, molestation/sexual assault, death of a loved one More times than not, I was happy to come home to an empty apartment. Peace. Quiet. Freedom. I didn't have to answer to my parents or some man, or hurry to make dinner for anyone."

I have to warn you there are so many under belly and naughty jokes, especially Daisy has a real dirty mouth! And our heroine Layla has Fifty Shades of Brown slash Fatal Attraction fantasies take place in the elevator. So you gotta prepare yourself before starting this book. That said, I was a bit disappointed that Jay was (basically) physically perfect. Muscular, flawless skin, etc. This isn't even a complaint on this book in particular. Rather, it's a comment on the romance genre in general. My immediate thought after finishing this book was, "What in the Indian soap opera did I just read???" I don't want to include a spoiler, but I did want to mention touch aversion when it comes to the serious nature in this book. When Preeti's parents presented her with marital choices, it was clear to whom she could grow to like and be comfortable around and who she couldn't. Points in favor to Daniel when it came to Preeti coping with that aspect of her emotional issues. You know that’s not how things work. There’s even more pressure to say yes after agreeing to meet. You can’t use passive aggression to force me to marry someone.”I immediately knew this was going to be an amazing book when Liya and Jay's first interaction was a cliche but cute Bollywood moment where they fell and her scarf got tangled up in his arms drawing them together (I eat Indian soap operas for dinner, do not come for me!") Well, I would never recommend this book to anyone, not only because of the misrepresentation but also the story was not awesome and the characters were just okay. It was almost an instant change for me, I felt the writing, characters, and the romantic plot accelerated into something so much more entertaining and realistic. We got some seriously cute scenes between Liya and Jay (he would bring her coffee and breakfast and they'd eat together in her office 🥺🥺 and then he'd stay in late with her 🥺🥺 and that's basically the cutest thing I've ever read in my whole life 🥺🥺) Their romance was the kind that develops quietly and sneaks up on them both. They have a really good banter which I love. It was so entertaining to read!! They have a lot of funny and swoon moments. I also felt satisfied with their own personal growth — Sam finally found peace and Layla is successful at reinventing herself. I can’t believe you cook like this twice a day, every day.” I dipped a piece of cucumber into the raita and relished the taste. There was something calming about the refreshing crunch mixed with the tangy yogurt.

First of all, let me just say how much I like Sara Desai’s writing. Her writing made me continue to read the book until my brain cells exploded from all those unnecessary sexual innuendos. Her writing AND that pretty cover kept me going for a short while, sadly though, they’re not enough. The premise of the book is not entirely new, however, indian main characters really lured me in. The romance was well established and everything had a reason, and that was well explained, but even though it was told many times that there was a lot of chemistry between the couple, I didn't really feel that.When her friend suggests she live in her apartment for a few months to give her time to search for a permanent place, Preeti is happy to put off apartment hunting for a few weeks, until she realizes she has to share the apartment with he ex-boyfriend Daniel. I liked the cultural representation. They way author showed family bonding and love among the family. But this is only thing I liked in the book.