Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
Publisher: Dell (Random House)
Pub Date: 1/16/2024

Thank you to Random House & PRH Audio for the free copies in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar, Meghna, a theatre teacher and aspiring playwright, is set up by her parents with Karthik, an engineer. She’s in love with her best friend, Seth, but he’s getting married to someone else. Meghna and Karthik pretend to be engaged to deal with their problems, but their fake relationship turns into real feelings, complicating everything.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The unique premise and the fact that it’s a debut novel intrigued me. The story is well-crafted and I appreciated how the subplots of supporting characters added depth to the story. However, the pacing felt uneven at times. The beginning was engaging, swiftly diving into the central dilemmas without unnecessary delay. The relationship development between Meghna and Karthik, based on their fake engagement, was interesting but also frustrating. Karthik, in particular, was frustrating due to his frequent indecisiveness which inadvertently harmed others. Meghna was placed in difficult situations, leading her to doubt herself amidst the toxicity of those around her. It was disheartening to see her being overly accommodating and kind to Seth, who seemed undeserving of such treatment. The final 50 pages was a let down which made my lower my rating. There were some major issues introduced earlier that were abruptly resolved and then dropped which felt unsatisfying. I wasn’t a fan of the way Meghna and Karthik’s relationship was towards the end which came to a resolution that seemed to neat and contrived. Overall, I rate this book 3.5 stars but rounded it up to 4 on GoodReads for the compelling writing style and the fact I was able to finish this within a day.