Say You'll Be Mine

by Naina Kumar

In this utterly charming debut romance, a teacher with big dreams joins forces with a no-nonsense engineer to survive an ex's wedding and escape matchmaking pressure from their Indian families. Their plan? Faking an engagement, of course.

Meghna Raman’s parents wanted her to be an engineer, but instead she’s followed her passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. But when she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is suddenly engaged—and not to her—she realizes he’s about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he’s asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she’s agreed. Determined to try and move on and relieve a bit of the pressure she feels, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she’ll even find the engineer her family wishes she became. . . .

Grumpy, handsome engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents’ marriage to know that it isn’t for him. He only agreed to his mother’s matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can’t offer her a real marriage, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth’s wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for the next year.

But as they find common ground, grow protective of one another’s hearts, and learn to fall for the flaws they thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry takes shape. Soon, Meghna and Karthik’s expectations and insecurities threaten to risk something that’s become a lot more real than they hoped.

Say You’ll Be Mine is a delightful trip back to the heyday of swoony romantic comedies from the nineties, but with a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Fake Dating, Adult

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2024

About the author

Naina Kumar is the USA Today Bestselling author of Say You’ll Be Mine and Flirting with Disaster. A former civil rights lawyer, she now spends her days writing and reading about love. Her books have been featured in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She lives in Texas, and if she’s not at her desk writing her next book, she’s either taking her rowdy rescue dog on a walk or shopping at HEB. 

Sign up for Naina's newsletter here: https://nkumarwrites.substack.com

Content warnings for all of her books can be found at her website: nainakumar.com/home/books

Reviews

[chan ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this debut! i could really feel why these two were compatible and their struggles to be honest with each other and work thru their own personal issues felt super realistic to me. there were also a couple big gesture moments that made this memorable!

my only complaint is that this didn't have the "wow" factor that i really look for in romance. i like things a little over the top and wildly swoony (maybe even a little unrealistic). but on a technical level, this really was excellent & i'm excited to read more from this author in the future

[DIVINITY🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Say You’ll Be Mine is a lovely debut novel by Naina Kumar. If you love contemporary romances with rom com vibes sprinkled with Indian culture you will absolutely love this romance! I will for sure keep an eye out for new books in the future released by this author 💕💗


Summary: Meghna is under pressure by her parents to get married. Her mother is disappointed in her career choice as an English\theater teacher and always makes comments regarding her career. One day her mother offers to set up a meeting to meet a single bachelor by the name of Karthik. He’s a grumpy, hot engineer who is also under immense pressure by his mom and dad to get married and settle down. After an argument with his father, Karthik proposes a fake engagement to Meghna to get his parents off his back. Meghna agrees only if he will accompany her as her wedding plus one.

The romance is a gradual build which I loved! They took time to get to know each other and it felt authentic not rushed or insta love. They supported each other with their careers and gave each other advice. I loved how we could see Karthik opening himself up and falling in love throughout the fake engagement 🥹 There were moments when he was getting jealous and I was so here for it 🤭

My only dislike was there was a LOT of miscommunication where both of them weren’t discussing how they truly felt and both were hiding their feelings.

Tropes
-GrumpyXsunshine ☀️
-Fake engagement 💍
-One bed
-he Falls first ❤️
-slow burn romance 🔥

Things I loved
💘Indian representation and culture
💘Dual POV
💘the pining and the banter..oh my godddddd
💘I adored the side careers and I’m super invested in what will happen to Ankita(fingers crossed she will get a book)
💘Discussion of therapy towards end of novel- Karthik had a lot of daddy issues and needed therapy working through those issues.
💗HEA

Spice Rating
🌶️ scene happens toward very end of novel.

Thanks to Netgallery for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Whitney Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an impressive debut novel! I enjoyed the Indian culture that shined bright in this one. Meghna and Karthik decide on a fake engagement, each for their own benefit, after their super involved parents try to set them up together. Karthik is firm that he never wants to get married, and Meghna is open to that part of her life starting. The book then follows them through their fake engagement, and each of them go through some personal struggles along the way. There is a grumpy/sunshine theme throughout the book with Meghna being so sweet and fun and Karthik being more serious, and super career driven. There's a tiny bit of spice but nothing over the top. The only downside for me with this book was that although it's a slow burn, I found it to be actually too slow at a few points. Overall, it was an entertaining, fun book and I will definitely be on the lookout for the authors future books, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you, Random House - Ballantine, and Net Galley for a copy in return for my honest review!

[K.J. Charles]

Pleasant contemporary romance using an arranged marriage as the spur for a fake-engagement set-up, which makes considerably more sense than most fake-engagement set-ups. The characters are likeable and good for one another. It didn't really catch fire for me at any point, possibly because both of the characters have most of their conflict and their debates internally rather than with one another: there's a lot of misunderstanding to keep the conflict going rather than direct clashing. Still, a solid debut.

[Hannah B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just wanted to lock them in a closet together so they could make out the entire book. It was super slow burn, but the fake dating kept dangling that romance carrot to keep me engaged. They went through a lot and there was a lot of misunderstanding around the third act breakup that was a bit much, but overall I was rooting for them to finally be ready for each other. The Seth (I think that was his name lmao he’s irrelevant to me) thing dragged the plot down, but I’m glad she stood up to him on the page. I hope there’s a book 2 for the secondary relationship??? We saw some of it in the epilogue but I’m still hoping!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶️.5/5


Thanks so much to PRHaudio for an ALC. All opinions are honest and my own.

[Cristine (aaron warner’s version) ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

And that wraps up my 2023 reading journey!

[Mai ༊*·˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 ★— I’m seemingly on a roll with contemporary romances right now, and this one was a lovely little respite, though I did have a few gripes that nagged at me while I was reading.

But, let me start with the positives:

• I really enjoyed the prose and the overall progression of the leads’ relationship. They were attracted to each other, got along well, and there was this nice ease to their connection once they moved past their initial impressions.
• A fake engagement after one meeting makes way more sense in a culture where parents already help arrange introductions, where proposals can be longer, and where meeting potential spouses through family isn’t unusual. This book made me appreciate even more how well the fake engagement trope works with both main characters being Indian.
• Very realistically portrayed parental struggles. The FMC has a good relationship with her parents but still deals with their lingering expectations, while the MMC has a much more complicated dynamic with his. The book does a great job showing how both of these family relationships shaped Meghna and Karthik’s expectations in a really believable way.

Now, what got on my nerves:

• I didn’t love the side plot about Meghna’s best friend or how it evolved. I honestly didn’t enjoy following it much.
• It felt like Karthik and Meghna made two steps forward and ten steps back multiple times, and after a while it got tiring. The author does establish their fears and insecurities well, but sometimes it felt like all they needed to do was finish a sentence to avoid a miscommunication that completely derailed their progress. And that device was used so often that I got a little worn out by the end, especially because when these two were actually together, the chemistry was really good.

But overall, this is a really cute take on a fake engagement, and I genuinely enjoyed it!

🎧 Audiobook Note
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
I listened to the beginning before switching to my physical copy, and I really liked the narrator. She did such varied voices for the parents, Karthik, Meghna, and the rest of the cast that it made it super easy to fall into the story.

[elyssa ꫂ ၴႅၴ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You are more than my fiancée. You are my jaan." This is what you call a perfect debut!

The premise of this book intrigued me obviously because of the fake engagement ruse and it just exceeded every expectation that I had. Meghna and Karthik were so relatable in all of their struggles as a "fake" couple who are both warring with their feelings for each other, but also their struggles with their family life and their careers. I don't want to give any spoilers because I had the best reading experience going into this book blindly. It is everything you want in a romance and Meghna and Karthik are impossible not to root for. Naina Kumar wrote with such amazing originality and heart that's so refreshing after reading the same romance tropes and plots being used over and over nowadays. I can't wait for her next book if this is how amazing her debut novel is.

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc!

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

he went to therapy 🥹

[amarachireads · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nice debut romcom by Naina. This had humor, tension, chemistry and all the pining. The main characters Meghan and Karthik meet when their parents kind of throw them together. Karthik is not ready for a relationship but suggests fake engagement/dating to get their parents off the issue of marriage. There is wedding in this, parents that expect a lot , self discovery and lots about Indian culture. Overall this is a cute and cozy slow burn romance that has good character development and heartwarming moments.

Read if you like:
- Slow burn
- Indian rep
- Good character development
- Some steamy scenes
- Strangers to friends to lovers
- Fake engagement/dating

[Ayushi (bookwormbullet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Dell at Penguin Random House for providing me with a physical ARC.

THIS WAS SO CUTE ADKGSKGL. If you loved the movie Wedding Season on Netflix, you'll love Say You'll Be Mine. It just makes me so happy to read about my favorite rom-com tropes in Hollywood but have them feature an all South Asian cast with North and South Indian rep 😍. I'd rate this somewhere around 4.25 or 4.5 stars!

[♡Cel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend!

This was a really fun engagement of convenience/fake dating gone right book! I loved the development between the FMC and MMC! What was really special was getting to see them also develop as people on their own as a result of having met each other, they really helped each other grow.

Other than the romance being absolutely perfect the book really was just fun, I had a good time while reading it & couldn't put it down!

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am surprise on how enjoyable Say You'll Be Mine. I thought I am not going to like it but I love it. The writing, the pace, the loveable characters are all mix very very well.

Miss Kumar certainly knows what makes her story bites. I love it.

4 stars

[akacya ❦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[tia ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am officially a Naina Kumar fan!!! This debut is a sweet fake engagement story with so much heart and culture blended into it! We’re following Meghna, an English and theatre teacher who aches for more, and Karthik, a man who doesn’t WANT to ache for anything more. Watching their story play out was PRECIOUS - their pining, the fake engagement mandatory-but-not-really practice kisses, their acceptance and understanding of one another’s personalities and quirks! I love how the familial relationships of both main characters was integral to the story. We got so much HEART weaved into the book because the characters had so much depth behind them that they became so much more real than your typical romance characters.

The author did a phenomenal job of breathing the cultural of both families’ into this novel, and it’s so easy to tell there was a lot of nuance in it! This is coming off of just finishing The True Love Experience by Christina Lauren, in which they had an Asian female main character for what it seems like no rhyme or reason - they just slapped on a Chinese last name with little to no nuance to the culture lol. Say You’ll Be Mine felt like the EXACT opposite in the best way!!! There was so much intention behind Meghna and Karthik.

I think what stood out to me is that the two main characters made each other stronger. Inevitably, they changed each others’ lives and made them more passionate and headstrong about aspects outside of their romantic endeavors.

I’m looking forward to whatever Kumar releases next!! Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

[hannah jenks · Rating 4 out of 5]

why didn’t Julia and Meghna simply become a multi platinum songwriting duo is my question

[niyya نية · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg this was so cute 😭😭 GET ME A KARTHIK PLEASE AND THANK YOU🙏🏽🙏🏽
would have been 5 stars if the miscommunication didn’t drive me crazy

[Shay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was kinda bored and I wasn’t rlly invested and attached to them at all

[Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny and bingeworthy debut novel about two strangers who decide to get fake engaged after being set up by their parents. Karthik wants to get his parents off his back while Meghna needs a plus one at her best friend’s wedding.

I loved the Indian representation and learning more about the culture, especially when it comes to matchmaking and wedding antics. Both main characters showed a lot of growth and I found their relationship to be believable. I will say there were a lot of side plots, and I am not sure if all of them were necessary to the story.

If you like audiobooks, Soneela Nankani was amazing and had me laughing out loud.

Read if you like:
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Wedding antics
-Fake engagement
-Indian rep and culture
-Meddling families

Thank you Random House and PRH Audio for the ARC/ALC. Pub Date 1/16

[Maren Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book SCREAMS debut. It is so obviously a first novel. Things jumped too quickly, and the dialog was weird and all of that. But it was fun. So this author has potential. This book, though... not doing it for me.

[Azanta (azantareads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars, this was so so so excellent and so well written. i loved them 🥹 the only issue i had was the amount of miscommunication between Karthik and Meghna but otherwise, loved it, spectacular, give me 14 of them

[Avani ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book! The characters were so much fun to read about and even the writing style was very smooth. I loved the funny parts as well as the proper amount of spice that it contained. I think this is the perfect book to start this wedding season (indian) and see the whole family dynamic, as well as the relationship grow between Karthik and Meghna.

[rach⭑ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭑

This book was SOOOOOO cute. I loved this 🤭

[Cindy ✩☽♔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for fans of When Dimple Met Rishi x The Bride Test

What can I say except I ate this book up? I finished it essentially one day. Since I started it late at night I stayed up until 3 am to finish.

Could I probably have put it down? Yes, probably. But did I want to? No.

This was a charming and compelling contemporary romance with a little bit of everything: fake dating/fake engagement, one bed/close proximity, slow-burn romance, and dual POV. I loved the inclusion of Indian culture and foods. I love how our couple grew together and made each other better.

What am I docking one star for then you might ask? The miscommunication! Good god, I was shouting at my phone telling them to JUST BE HONEST. Both of them were so afraid, each for their reasons, afraid to put themselves out there, afraid of what might happen down the line, etc. It was almost down to the end before they finally got themselves together. Thank goodness for their supportive friends and families who helped them get their shit together.

But as someone who dislikes the miscommunication trope, still thoroughly liked this book. And I think that says a great deal in favor of it. (It also doesn't hurt that the male lead is said to be as handsome as Fawad Khan 😉😆)


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Cait | GoodeyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A GEM.

BLOG || INSTAGRAM

I took a random chance on this one and it was a HIT y’all. I really adored this whole story. Fake dating/engagement has kind of burnt me out lately, and I can happily say this broke that streak for me. I loved the way this was approached and handled.

If I was being a bit nitpicky the FMC, Meghna frustrated me a bit with the red flags here ex boyfriend/current best friend was clearly exhibiting from the get-go. Gratefully, the way it was delt with helped me kind of roll with it all and just let it be.

The romance was the sweetest and best kind of slow burn!! I loved that this wasn’t high unnecessary heat. There was great relationship development and some absolute heart squeezing moments that made me want to hug Karthik myself. I loved this entire progression of the story. I loved the families and friends and how there was just enough side plot without being a distraction from the main couple. Oh, and it’s dual POV! Also recommend the audio. Loved that format.

A fantastic debut, I am a fan and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: low
- Romance: 1-2 open; low explicit
- Trigger/Content Warnings: a Dad accused of workplace harassment, cheating (side characters)

[Laura • lauralovestoread · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the bright, happy cover to the playful writing that grabbed me right away, I loved this adorable romcom!

Say You’ll Be Mine featured a fake engagement which is one of the best tropes, with a take on the Indian custom of matchmaking which was so fun. I loved the insight into more of the Indian culture and family expectations.

Meghna and Karthik have such an immediate chemistry that made it fun to see them grow and develop actual feelings from their initial fake engagement to appease their families. I loved the character growth as well, and to see them stand up for themselves and become protective over one another.

This was such a sweet story from start to finish that also managed to pull at my heartstrings, and allow the characters to reside in my heart. What a great debut!

WHAT TO EXPECT
-romcom
-grumpy x sunshine
-slow burn
-fake engagement
-one bed
-Indian culture
-opposites attract
-Mom’s matchmaking
-a funny, heartfelt story

🎧Again I loved to pair the book with audiobook format to allow myself to read as much as possible, and I would highly recommend them both. The narration was wonderful, and I didn’t want their story to end.

*many thanks to PRH and PRH Audio for the gifted copy for review

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

LOVED this charming romance between two characters who have matchmaking parents so they decide on a fake engagement. But rather than just having the whole book about how they are secretly hot for each other, Say You'll Be Mine has them work through the issues that are keeping them from falling in love.

This is how you write realistic, flawed characters in a romance while not making the story non-romantic and completely depressing. Meghna is a happy and giving person who has to learn to stand up for and believe in herself and Karthik has commitment issues (for good reason) and has to learn to risk being hurt and take a chance on love.

The perfect romance to put a smile on your face this holiday season! 100% recommend!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, THAT is how you write a romance epilogue👏🏼

[Andrea | andrea.c.lowry.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet slow burn fake engagement story where I enjoyed both characters personal growth as they became closer and their romance bloomed.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:

Dual POV
Fake Engagement
Single Bed
Miscommunication
Slow Burn
Close family and drama
Witty Banter
Indian Culture
Fun supporting characters

Full review coming soon.

[Clare Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love LOVED!!! It’s a crime I waited 8 months to read this