Reviews

I would recommend Say You'll Be Mine to a reader looking for a predictable fake-dating romance and does not mind communication issues centering most conflicts. I always welcome diversity in the romance scene, and Kumar did a great job interweaving Indian culture into the novel. Overall, I thought the book had a lot of potential, but needed better execution on character development (especially for Karthik) and a plot that wasn't so cliché.

What Worked for Me
There were mini moments of subtle acts of service that made my heart flutter! I'm a huge fan of puns, so their shared appreciation for punny humor was so cute. I would have preferred the title be one of these puns! The fake-dating trope was also less ridiculous in an arranged marriage situation. Meghna and Karthik's characters were both interesting, and I liked the choice of challenges each of them faced, which is why I thought Kumar had set up a strong foundation for this story. I find communication issues in romance really annoying, but in a context where the characters are set up and don't live in the same place, it makes more sense to make internal assumptions rather than putting everything out there, so it's a matter of how much you're willing to overlook that as a reader.

What Didn't Work for Me

The main issue for me in Say You'll Be Mine is what Kumar decided to focus on in the plot. Both Meghna and Karthik had parts of their stories that felt underdeveloped. With Meghna, the choice to make Seth turn out to be such a loser, made me question Meghna's sanity to be with someone like that. If the whole Seth plotline was to be preserved, I would have preferred he have some redeeming qualities or more exposition into their past to have everything make more sense. For Karthik, I completely understood why he felt the way he did about marriage. However, I wanted more on how he worked through that idea of being a mirror of his father, especially after deciding to pursue biomedical engineering and becoming even "closer" to who his father was. In particular, I wanted Karthik and his mom to talk, and for his mom to clarify that she was not the weak woman Karthik kept making her out to be. The book itself is on the shorter side, so I would not have minded extra pages spent on the points mentioned above. However, I also think the book could be the same length with the Ankita/Samir cheating storyline cut.

shefalijain123's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

elenamulligan's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.5

2.5 stars. This one just didn’t do for it me! It had potential but the chemistry was lacking. I’m realizing I prefer first person over third in romance. Also there was a ton of miscommunication which made me angry. Hard to tell if she was aiming for a slow burn or if they just lacked chemistry.

drlori14's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

More...