Title: Accidentally Engaged
Author: Farah Heron
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Forever
(Hachette Book Group Canada)
Date published: March 2, 2021

A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall–with hopes that Reena will marry him.

But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.

As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine— secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Accidentally Engaged made me bake bread! Well, it made me start up my baking again in general…but I had never baked bread before picking up this book. I wasn’t just craving bread, but rather craved making it with my own two hands and then eating it, haha. Farah Heron was so good at describing the process of baking, and pulling me into the story, that I swear I smelled baking bread even before I started baking my own!

The characters were likeable too! I really feel like I got to know Reena and Nadmin. I felt a little closer to Reena though since she is the main character and the story was told from her perspective for the most part. Nadim did have this air of mystery around him though that kept me coming back for more!

This was my first Farah Heron book, and I actually didn’t realize that it was kind of a sequel until I was some chapters in. Once I finished Accidentally Engaged, though, I added the previous book, The Chai Factor, to my TBR list as well as my birthday wish list so quick! (My awesome brother-in-law actually ended up buying me a copy of The Chai Factor, and I very much look forward to picking it up this year!)

And I could say so much more, but I’ll keep it to one last thing. I loved that Accidentally Engaged was set in the Toronto area! I had been to some of the places in the book and it really helped me visualize where the characters were and also made me feel closer to the story! All in all, I really enjoyed Accidentally Engaged. I will be reading Heron’s other book soon, and I also look forward to what she might write next. (She seems to have something else coming out this year, so I’m hoping the wait won’t be too long!)

⤖ About the Author ⬻

After a childhood raised on Bollywood, Monty Python, and Jane Austen, Farah Heron self-rejected her writing career before jotting down a single word, despite admitting her ultimate fantasy was to be a writer. But when she could no longer keep the story arcs straight in her daydreams, she started writing a few years ago and never looked back. She writes comedic women’s fiction full of huge South Asian families, delectable food, and most importantly, brown people falling stupidly in love. Prior to writing, she had careers in Human Resources and Psychotherapy. She lives in Toronto with her patient husband, surly teenager, and delightful middle-grader, along with two gerbils, one hamster, one rabbit, and a fish named Silvia.

⤖ Places to Purchase the Book ⬻

⤖ Let’s Chat ⬻

Thank you for reading my review! Have you read this book? What did you think? And if you haven’t read it yet, do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!