The Singles Table by Sara Desai

Zara Patel is concentrating on her work. Being a celebrity lawyer is much more interesting than being matched up by any one of her meddling aunties. And she just wants to have fun at her cousin's wedding and everything leading up to it. Too bad the first gig up is paintball where she meets the infuriating Jay Dayal who is taking it all way too seriously.

Jay has plans in life. He wants to get married to a woman who is classy, likes society, and will decorate his arm without causing embarrassment. Zara shows that she is the exact opposite of... most of those things.

Even though they have a rocky introduction (Zara shoots Jay in the ass with her paintball gun), and it doesn't really get any better, the two finally come to a detente. Zara will help Jay find a wife if he introduces her to some celebrity clients. Of course, spending more time together does produce more fireworks.

I wish the ending hadn't had quite so many road bumps but otherwise enjoyed the book immensely.

Four stars

This book came out November 16, 2021

Follows The Dating Plan

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

I was really not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. The cover and the description drew me in. I hadn't read the first book and felt physically disappointed that I hadn't when I finished The Dating Plan. The characters were well drawn. I really felt like I knew Daisy and what made her tick. Would my family ambush me with a prospective date at a convention? No, but they have at church. It's embarrassing no matter how you cut it. But Daisy, who doesn't admit to having many social skills, handles it. Not with ease. Especially since she's just seen her ex-boyfriend making out with her ex-boss in the bathroom. And what's worse is that she was thrown off by seeing her brother's childhood best friend at the conference. The same guy who stood her up for her senior prom. But that was ten years ago, so she's not bitter. Really. Oh heck, she sure is.

Liam Murphy is delighted to see Daisy again. Her family was warm and welcoming to him when his own was not. Surely she must be over the whole prom thing... oops. Even better, because when he needs to be married for a year in order to inherit his grandfather's business, who better than someone who hates him?

Four stars

Follows The Marriage Game

Followed by The Singles Table

This book comes out March 16th

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

Layla Patel has become famous. And not for a good reason. Too bad her loss of anonymity also led to the loss of her boyfriend, her apartment, and her job. Now she is trying to get her own recruitment agency started up above her parents' restaurant while also trying to live up to the ideal image her parents have of her brother who died. It was, in fact, his idea to move the family business to this larger location. Now she's also trying to keep it together when her dad has a heart attack the day she returns. She doesn't need to deal with a guy claiming that her office space is his own.
Sam Mehta has a rough family history as well. He gave up a promising career to become a surgeon when his sister's husband through her down some stairs paralyzing her. But the hospital where both Sam and the husband worked refused to hold him responsible. So Sam is now a corporate downsizer, the man who comes in and fires people. He's not exactly happy but he has plans to get even. But Layla is distracting him. Apparently her father was trying to find her a husband and the ten candidates are nowhere near good enough.
A lovely book. I read the second book in the series and enjoyed it a little bit more but this one was good as well.

Four stars

Followed by The Dating Plan

This book came out June 9th, 2020

Hard copy I didn't keep

Opinions are my own