Reviews

Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

tamunra's review against another edition

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emotional funny relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A cute novel. Slow burn, fake-dating romance - right up my alley. 

I found it a little difficult to believe or expect that Meghna and Karthik would actually enter into this fake relationship. As in, I had to reread it to really buy into it. But I liked them both, which isn't always the case in these books! 

Aside from the relationship, I loved how Meghna and Seth's fiancee put Seth in his place. 

I agree with reviewers who say that the third act breakup was a bit much. 

Overall, this was an easy, satisfying read, and I'll look for more of Kumar's novels in the future. 

liamliayaum's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mec4's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Cliche and predictable, but a very easy and light hearted read 

karduran's review against another edition

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4.0

This was so sweet! 6/10 swoony.

rosabuds's review against another edition

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Main female character was so whiney I couldn't take it

akacya's review against another edition

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4.5

2024 reads: 232/250

when meghna finds out that her college boyfriend (and, unfortunately, current crush) seth is engaged to someone else, and he asks her to be his best man, she’s determined to move on. she agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. this is how she meets karthik, who’s handsome enough, but has a sour attitude towards marriage and life in general. however, karthik would love to get his mom off his back, so he proposes a fake engagement to meghna. and, while meghna doesn’t like the idea of lying to her loved ones, she realizes this just might be what she needs to show seth she’s moved on. the deeper they get into this fake engagement scheme, though, the more meghna and karthik start to have real feelings for each other…

this was such a lovely romance, and i had a hard time putting it down. i loved meghna and karthik so much! meghna is an english teacher who’s passionate about theatre, directing the school play and even writing her own play on the side. she feels like she disappointed her parents by following her passion, and that maybe she’ll make them proud with an engagement.

karthik is an engineer who’s deeply affected by his father’s actions. because of his father, karthik is sure he could never treat his future wife how she deserves to be treated, making him wary of marriage. he agrees to let his mom try to match him to please her, but he never expected to meet someone who makes him feel the way meghna does.

while i loved the main plot, i also loved that both characters had other things going on with their family and friends as well. this made the story very well-rounded, in my opinion, which captivated me even more.

i’m actually very upset this is naina kumar’s debut because i want to read more from her ASAP! with that said, i know her next book will be well worth the wait!

ricelatte's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

kmj2020's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

sherwoodreads's review against another edition

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A respectable debut romance brings in Indian culture, which is a strong plus. Meghna, our heroine, became a teacher instead of the engineer her parents wanted. Karthik is being hassled to marry. It's pretty much the typical fake dating setup, both wanting to get their families to back off.

Complications are Meghna's friend having kissed Meghna's brother when she's engaged to a great guy, and the tension in their friendship, and the fact that she's to be "best man" at a guy friend's wedding--to someone else, which hurts Meghna. And Kathnik sees what's going on there.

Strengths? The cultural details and family dynamics. Could be stronger? The whole novel kind of ticks the plot boxes for fake dating to romance. Maeghna's friend's issue felt tacked on, and I wanted to skim, and I saw the problem with Seth from the gitgo. The inevitable Dark Moment could have been prevented with five minutes of talk, but at least it was worked out fairly quickly. Overall a fun read!

bookish_calirican's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0