About the Book
In this witty and heartfelt rom-com debut for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Emily Henry, and Tessa Bailey, an Indian American woman signs herself and her boyfriend up for a matchmaking site to prove they’re a perfect match, only to be paired with her ex instead.
High school sweethearts Rita Chitniss and Milan Rao were the golden couple, until the day he broke her heart. Now, six years later, Rita has turned her passion for furniture restoration into a career and has an almost-perfect boyfriend, Neil. The last thing she needs is for Milan to re-enter her life, but that’s exactly what happens when her mother, an unfailing believer in second chances, sets them up. Milan is just as charming, cocky, and confident as he was back in school. Only this time, he actually needs her business expertise, not her heart, to flip a hard-to-sell house for his realty agency.
While Rita begrudgingly agrees to help, she’s not taking any risks. To prove she’s definitely over him, she signs herself and Neil up on MyShaadi.com, a Desi matchmaking site famous for its success stories and trustworthy enough to convince everyone that she and Neil are the new and improved couple. Instead, she’s shocked when MyShaadi’s perfect match for her isn’t Neil…it’s Milan. Ignoring the website and her mother is one thing, but ignoring Milan proves much more difficult, especially when she promises to help him renovate the beach house of her dreams. And as the two of them dive deeper into work—and their pasts—Rita begins to wonder if maybe her match wasn’t so wrong after all….
My Review
A modern rom-com filled with interesting settings, dating app mishaps, and plenty of bungled communication, The Shaadi Set-Up had me swiping right (on my Kindle, of course) from the beginning. Rita was a fabulous protagonist, kind-hearted, extremely stubborn, but very much intent on trying to prove to her meddling mother that she and her current boyfriend, Neil, are meant to be together. As her plans continue to backfire in the biggest ways and she begins working with her ex, Milan – the one who got away – Rita begins to wonder if she really does have everything under control – or if mother could possibly be right.
The dialogue was snappy and brought me into the story, the setting was fast-paced and it was enjoyable to read about Rita’s career. Matchmaking in an Indian family is always a ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. While I did get a little sad that some miscommunication and ego caused so much heartache between two people, I was happy with the ending even though a few scenes got a little long here and there toward the end. A second chance romance story with an engaging secondary cast that I would recommend!
4 stars
