TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mentions of child abuse, mentions of abusive relationship, mature (spicy) content Sara Desai tried to create a cast of characters that are so relatable and lovable, you'll feel like you're part of the plot. The main character, Lily, is a hopeless romantic who is determined to find love, even if it means joining her family's singles table at weddings. But things get complicated when she meets the charming and mysterious Rishi, who is not what he seems (the usual male trope). I love that there was character growth for both of them as well. Liam ending the book on okay terms with his brother + Daisy settling in a company she believes in. There are also more family moments with the Patels. Even though the plot is nothing groundbreaking and it’s a very typical one, it’s the themes it discusses and the interesting characters that set it apart. Both Daisy and Liam have some trauma issues as Daisy’s mother left their family and she’s always thought it was because of her as she was weird for the things she liked. On the other hand, Liam is quite lost and struggles with self worth, his dad was abusive and repeatedly told him he was worthless. The reactions and habits from each character were realistic for someone with trauma. Their flaws are one of the main focuses of the stories and so is their personal development. Both Daisy and Liam went through a big change throughout the story, and it’s great to see them grow confident by the end of the book. Their relationship is nice and cute and they balance each other out. Speaking of balance, the author did a great job balancing the more serious topics with the light-hearted and romantic moments. The tragic and deep topics are not explored in great lengths though, just enough to understand why each character is the way they are and chose the paths that they did.

Now - I will say that the hero doesn’t code this behaviour as sexual harassment but I definitely read it that way anyways - and I would consider anyone who spills a drink on someone and relates that to their genitalia crossing the line into harassment. Upon this reunion, the two decide they have a plan to fix both of their problems. They agree to marriage, but just of convenience since Daisy is still hurt from 10 years before. However, as they start spending more time together, they start to actually fall for each other.The Indian rep: I want to applaud the author for giving us the accurate cultural representation we all deserved I really liked the romance aspect — even when Daisy was younger, Liam helped a lot in making her feel more comfortable in her own skin. Even as adults, he still was able to make her feel that way. Sara’s main characters Daisy and Liam were so well-written and likable. From the very beginning you are rooting for them both together and individually.

Again this is me speaking from my own experience BUT I am still to experience this situation: a guy who LEERS at a girl AND the girl thinks its SEXY I found Liam and Daisy’s story more emotional, genuine, intense. They really deal with burdens, dysfunctional family issues, abuse, insecurities. Both of them learn their mistakes and changed themselves. Only thing didn’t change is the pure love they feel for each other which makes this book one of my favorite readings! It was definitely worth the wait to see the chemistry build between these characters! I loved Daisy’s family and her well meaning yet obtrusive Aunties. The family dynamic felt SO hokey and stereotypical. The obsessive Aunties (literally stalking? Breaking down doors? Calling people on wilderness retreats in Belize?) that are way over the top and then, ooooof course, the Irish family that drinks and fist-fights and is super abusive. Instead of being tongue-in-cheek and feeling like comedy it all just felt really insensitive. Liam needs to find a wife. His grandfather’s will states that he can inherit the family distillery if he is married before his next birthday and remains married for one year. Only problem is Liam doesn’t even have a girlfriend at the moment, and his birthday is only months away.Honestly, I loved the first 75% of this book so much. I had such a huge smile on my face and the banter and storytelling was fantastic. The last 25% though… there were some parts I didn’t love. The very end was great, but getting there was rough for me. Overall, this was good for me and I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future. Second, I LOVE the fake dating trope. However, the point of the fake dating trope is for everyone to believe the couple is actually together. In this book, mored than half of the characters know that Daisy and Liam are lying and they talk about it loudly in public settings/her work like it’s NBD. Only a select number of family members (on both side) actually believe their relationship is real. He acted like the old Liam, the one who’d made her feel like her quirks and lists and plans were perfectly normal, the one who’d made her laugh and kept her safe and filled the hole in her chest that her mother had left when she moved to New York, leaving her young family behind.” Sam specifically has some issues to work through related to an incident of domestic violence and I wasn't bothered by his need to rectify the issues; however, it was frustrating when he was constantly being told to listen instead of talk. And for some odd reason he didn't even do that at the end of the book. It was almost as though he couldn't leave well enough alone and that frustrated me. I get that extinct that people have to protect the ones that they love; however, I don't think how they feel should overshadow the victim. It just didn't sit right with me. And then there was some violence that occurred between a suitor and someone else that was present for that moment in the book and it was almost as if it was glazed over. I wasn't sure what the author was attempting to capture in that moment. But it seemed kind of awkward considering that domestic violence is discussed in this book. Further, how in the world can we be promised the “brother’s best friend” trope without. the. brother. Sending Sanjay away for 95% of the book was a wild decision by the author. The tension is supposed to be created by the forbidden nature of the brother not wanting his best friend to date his sister. We were never shown one iota of Sanjay’s character; it was all told to us.

And while this is a rom-com, I liked that there were some deeper elements to the story. For example, Jay's fear of abandonment and PTSD, and Zara's inability to form healthy attachments due to the trauma of her parent's divorce. These things allowed me, as a reader, to connect with Zara and Jay on a much deeper level. And it was nice to see them willing to work through these traumas in an effort to open their hearts to love. Another time!" She bolted away, clutching the boxes of pads as she wove in and out of the crowd, her heart pounding in her chest. When she'd woken up this morning, she would never have guessed she would be pulled away from her cozy workspace and dragged to a tech conference, only to wind up on the run from her ex, with an armload of pads and her matchmaking auntie hot on her heels. What I wasn't okay with was when things took a turn for the worst at about 70% in and just... Stayed like that.

The Dating Plan is a fake dating, friends/enemies/friends to lovers romance story between Daisy Patel and Liam Murphy. Growing up, Liam was best friends with Daisy’s brother and over at their house all the time. Daisy was entirely in love with him, until he stood her up for her prom and disappeared for eight years. When Liam bumps into Daisy all these years later, he realizes she might be the perfect girl to help him get his inheritance. The only catch? They need to get married.

In The Dating Plan we follow the relationship between Daisy and Liam. Daisy Patel is a software engineer and she has her routines and always follows logic. She analyses everything and doesn’t allow herself to get too involved—whether it’s with a partner or with work colleagues— as it’s better that way in case they leave, or in case she does. On the other hand, Liam works as an investor and is still affected by old wounds. Coming from an abusive household, Liam used to spend his time at Daisy’s house when he was a kid. He was Daisy’s brother’s best friend and was treated like family. That’s why when Liam stood Daisy up on her prom night, things changed completely. Liam disappeared and Daisy’s heart was crushed. This was so much entertaining with lots of traditional pre wedding and wedding ceremonies, humorous Aunties, hot and sexy chemistry of Zara and Jay! In this case, however, the gold medal winner of the twist ’n’ tangle in the women’s restroom at the Oakland Convention Center happened to be her ex-boyfriend, Orson Fisk.

Daisy Patel is a software engineer who runs into her brother’s ex-best friend who broke her heart 10 years ago. During their reunion at a conference, they fake-kiss and tell her pestering aunties that they’re engaged. The Dating Planfollows them through this fake engagement. During this wedding season, Zara and Jay find themselves at the singles table and they make a deal - Zara will find someone special for him and in return, he will introduce her to his celebrity clients. But when their arrangement brings them together in ways they never expected, they realize that the perfect match might just be their own. Both of them know at the beginning, there is a great risk to cross the lines because starting a fake relationship could be threatening to break both of their hearts when they still have deep feelings for each other. The menstrual pad dropped into the dispenser with a soft thud. Her new boss, Tyler Dawes, CEO of Organicare, only needed one of the competitor's pads for the demonstration, but what if something went wrong? If they didn't secure more venture capital funding soon, the company would shut down and all of Organicare's employees would be out of work.