e-Audio, 10:43:41
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: January 2-3, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: PRH (I received a copy of this e-ALC from the publisher and an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Sexual Content, Cursing, Injury/Injury Detail, Alcohol, Misogyny, Racism, Environmental Trouble [Hurricane], and Pregnancy
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Indian), Climate Control, Contemporary Romance, Family Diversity, Most Anticipated, Realistic Fiction, Local Texas Reads, AdultShe needs a divorce from her husband—but a hurricane threatens to dredge up their stormy, passionate past in this sizzling reimagining of Sweet Home Alabama from the bestselling author of Say You’ll Be Mine.
It’s been years since Meena has seen her husband, Nikhil . . . years since they first laid eyes on each other back home in Texas, years since they eloped in Las Vegas and she felt true happiness. A high-powered lawyer on Capitol Hill, ready to move on (or at least, she thinks so) with another successful lawyer, Shake, Meena has returned home. This time, finally, to obtain a divorce.
But there’s one thing Meena couldn’t have accounted for: a hurricane forming in the Gulf, veering right toward them, giving them no choice but to hunker down in the home they had built together. Suddenly, she finds herself trapped amid gale-force winds and pelting rain with the man she once loved.
As they spend more time together, Meena begins to remember everything that drew her to Nikhil: His small-town charm, his thoughtful nature. . . his absurdly good looks. But things make sense with Shake. He’s steady and ambitious and wants exactly what she wants. She’ll stick to her plan, come hell or high water. But will her windswept heart make the right choice, when the storm settles and the eye passes over?
With sharp observations about second chances at love, ambition and Indian American identity, and with characters who share an undeniable chemistry, Flirting with Disaster is a modern romance with the sensibility of a classic.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I gotta admit, I was a little afraid to read this. Knowing its about a hurricane that is going to hit Texas is a little too real for this girl from Texas who’s made it through multiple Texas hurricanes
And I was right to feel that way in a sense. I definitely felt all those emotions rushing back when I was reading this. I found myself aligning the way I felt back then with what they were feeling throughout the novel. It really felt authentic. (Well besides her not knowing. In 2025 she would have heard from someone somewhere that there was a big ass hurricane coming. Someone somewhere should have been boarding up something and the airports would have had some kind of weather channel stuff on and constant announcements) And the things she was doing, like walking through the water, or boarding up windows, and sleeping in closets really had me in tears from just remembering what I lived through with the many hurricanes I’ve been in. Basically, this really made me emotional. I opened up some emotions that I didn’t even know I had bottled up. Especially after Hurricane Beryl last summer. I was a mess.
I did have some problems with the FMC tho, I can’t lie. She seemed so toxic. She was so mad at him for something without even pointing out that she was doing the exact same thing to him. It was super obvious that he wanted to stay married to her and I know she could tell. She just WANTED it to not be true because she didn’t want to feel guilty. I think Nikhil could actually hear me yelling at him to just leave her lol However, I listened to this review from an Own Voices reviewer and I began to understand her a bit more. Did I like it? No. That man Nikhil was a blessing and she was stamping out his light by making him feel bad for providing for her. But I disliked her less tho lol
I did like the romance tho. For them to be on the verge of getting a divorce, it was like they never left each other. Maybe it was because Nikhil wore all his emotions on his sleeve, but whatever it was, I loved seeing them fall back in love. Idk how she didn’t know that he loved her tho. I think she was seeing what she wanted to see honestly. She was scared and convinced herself because even I could see that man was a goner. I DO think we should have gotten some more scene where she realized that she loved him. I never felt fully convinced. It was like oh something might be there, then there’s a fling, so of course she’s going to act like she likes him more…. No? Ok. I just thought he deserved more. And I felt bad because I was like girl, stop having me be on a man’s side -___-
This was so good. I definitely told my co-worker about this one in case they decide to use a romance for one of the programs at work. Between this one and The Kiss Countdown, Houston, Texas reads are getting less and less embarrassing and I LOVE THIS FOR ME! Let me know what you think if you read it!
Overall, I give this
