e-Audio, 10:06:31
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani & Fajer Al-Kaisi
Release Date: August 1, 2023
Published by: HarperAudio
Read from: July 24-27, 2023
If Shakespeare Were an Auntie, #2
Source: Libro FM
TW: Fatphobia, Racism, Body Shaming, Emotional Abuse, Gaslighting, Death of a Parent, Religious bigotry, Toxic Relationship
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Body Positive Fat Leads, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Retellings, Realistic Fiction, Forced Proximity, AdultIn the hilarious follow-up to the breakout rom-com Dating Dr. Dil, Nisha Sharma adds shakkar and mirch to Shakespeare’s iconic comedy Much Ado About Nothing for one sweet and spicy love story.
Bobbi Kaur is determined to plan a celebration to remember for her best friend’s wedding. But she has two problems that are getting in her way:
1. The egotistical, and irritatingly sexy, chef Benjamin “Bunty” Padda is supposed to help her with the menu since he’s the groom’s best friend, and
2. Someone is trying to sabotage the wedding.
With aspirations of taking over her family’s event planning business, Bobbi knows that one misstep in managing the Kareena Mann and Prem Verma (#Vermann) party, along with the other weddings on her plate, will only give her uncle another reason not to promote her. That means Kareena’s big day and Bobbi’s future career are on the line.
Bunty will do anything for his best friend, even though he has his hands full in finding a new location for his next restaurant while also playing mediator between his brother and father, the celebrated Naan King. When Prem asks Bunty to help with the wedding menu, he agrees, especially since it puts him in close proximity to the delicious Bobbi Kaur. When a mystery shaadi saboteur starts leaving threatening notes, and cancelling cake orders, Bunty and Bobbi have no choice but to call a truce and face the volatile attraction they have for each other.
Through masquerade fundraisers and a joint bachelor-bachelorette trip to Vegas, this chef and wedding planner explore their growing connection all while trying to plan a wedding at Messina Vineyards in a time crunch. But once the shaadi saboteur is caught and the wedding is over, will their love story have a happily ever after
With the return of the meddling aunties (who are scary good at finding information) and a lot of hilarity and hijinks, Bobbi and Bunty’s romance is an event you don’t want to miss.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Dating Dr. Dil is still my favorite, but man, this is a very close second. I think the only reason I didn’t like this one more is because Dil was funnier. All I know is Sharma already has me waiting on the next one. So, so cute!
The characters in this were SO REAL. I LOVED Bobbi. She was not one to play with. Everyone knew not to play with her. And the person that decided they wanted to knew they met their match when she was able to back track and fix all the things. And then let’s talk about Bunty. Lordt his schmink?! YASSSSSS. And that throne scene? I cannot tell a lie…. I read it twice. They fought each other because they liked each other and I think this is the first time I ever felt like it was real. Now do I know why she randomly changed her mind? No. Is that important? Not even a little bit lol I didn’t care at all. All I knew was that they were together and i was happy. They were together and I was happy. Especially since I don’t normally like enemies to lovers. But this one was so good and I couldn’t look away.
The writing style was still super good. I was still sucked in and couldn’t even press the pause button if I wanted to. This one didn’t have the humor the first one did, but it did have something else: the mystery. I don’t know if Sharma has written another mystery before, but this one was so good. I didn’t guess who it was at all. I honestly thought **SPOILER** it was the baby daddy of that one person.**END SPOILER** (Also, I didn’t realize till just now that it was a retelling. That’s just how into it I was lol) Idk it seemed cool that me, a person who reads mysteries and thrillers on the regular couldn’t guess the person. So I knew I loved this book. Butttt even though it was one of my favorite things, it also was one of the reasons I was a little disappointed. Yes I know all the MCs were different, but I was still hoping some of that was in there. I loved that. It’s what made me give it 5 stars.
The rep was also another reason I fell head over heels for this. The body positivity side? OMG it was so good. I really felt everything that Bobbi felt. So many parts I wrote down, even though this was an audio. It was just something about this. I really resonated with her about the questioning of him with her body and how he would do XYZ with her. Hell I have a husband and he has to also tell me that as well. It’s definitely something I had to learn as well. And then on the South Asian side, all the rep was of course amazing as well. I wrote down every food that Bunty sent her because I have to know what it tastes like. I always say this is the power of authentic voices.
This series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I really want to re-read them both when the last one comes out. But until then, what am I supposed to do? What have you done to me Sharma?! If you haven’t read this series, do it now! It was so, so good!
Overall, I give this
