Isn't It Romantic?

The Takeover Effect
Nisha Sharma
Series: The Singh Family, #1
Age/Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Hemdeep Singh knows exactly what he wants. With his intelligence and determination, he has what it takes to build his own legacy away from Bharat, Inc. and the empire his father created. But when his brother calls him home, Hem puts his dreams on hold once again to help save the company he walked away from. That’s when he encounters the devastating Mina Kohli in the Bharat boardroom, and he realizes he’s in for more than he had bargained.

Mina will do whatever it takes to regain control of her mother’s law firm, even if it means agreeing to an arranged marriage. Her newest case assignment is to assist Bharat in the midst of a potential takeover. It could be the key to finally achieving her goal while preventing her marriage to a man she doesn’t love—as long as her explosive attraction to Hem doesn’t get in the way.

As Mina and Hem work to save Bharat, they not only uncover secrets that could threaten the existence of the company, but they also learn that in a winner-takes-all game, love always comes out on top.

Nisha Sharma won me over as a fan with her debut, My So-Called Bollywood Life. When I heard she was writing an adult romance series, I knew I had to read it, and all I can say is - book two, please!

Who?

• Hemdeep - The oldest Singh son, who had been estranged after a falling out with his family. He had left his post as CEO of Bharat, Inc., his father's business, to start his own firm, but returned to the fold to help his brothers save the company. 
• Mina - The sharp and smart attorney sent to review the takeover offer per her uncle's orders. Her goal was to get an equity partnership in the law firm started by her deceased mother without having to agree to an arranged marriage. 

What?

Both Hem and Mina smelled a rat, and were trying to uncover the mole, who was sabotaging Bharat, but will they be able to expose the criminal before it was too late?

Why?

This was a sort of different kind of romance for me, because there was a lot of plot, which wasn't really central to the romance, but you know what? I throughly enjoyed it. The takeover brought Hem and Mina into each other's orbits, but it also had them running an investigation linked to corporate espionage. I found all the suspense and business elements rather intriguing, and was eager to nail the bad guys. 

Sharma wove the romance into the story without taking away from it. She managed to balance the plot and the love story quite well, and I thought the two parts complimented each other. 

Yes, I liked the whole find-the-mole-save-the-company thing, but I LOVED the romance. Hem was super swoony. He had a little bit of alpha going on, but he was also a very modern man, raised by a super strong woman. He showed a lot of respect for Mina and saw her an equal. I thought the two were fantastic together. There was chemistry and heat, and many beautiful and tender moments too. Lots of swoon. 

Most importantly, though, was that Mina fit into the Singh family. Hem might have been on the outs with his parents, when the story began, but when his family needed him, he did not hesitate to come to their aid, and due to this, family played a huge role in this story.  

The dynamic between all the Singhs was wonderful, and their home was filled with so much love. I was such a fan of Hem's mom. I adored every second I spent with her, and the interplay between the brothers was also stupendous. Sharma made me fall in love with this family, and by the end of the book, I cared for each an every one of them. 

Some more things to gush about:

• This book was a lot of fun. They took their jobs seriously, but when away from work, Hem, Mina, and the gang knew how to cut loose. 
• Once again Sharma gave a shout out to Central NJ. It's fun to see places local to me mentioned in a book, because it does not happen often. 
• You many not want to read this on an empty stomach, because these characters share a LOT of meals, and each one was described in mouthwatering detail. Yeah, this had me wanting to head down the street to Moghul Express. 
• I love when characters come to terms with things causing them pain. Both Mina and Hem had some baggage, and they dealt with it, and were able to move on to bigger and better things. 

This was an easy book for me to love. It sort of had it all - fantastic characters, a hot and swoony romance, an intriguing plot, and fabulous family focus. All these things left me chomping at the bit for the next Singh romance.  

The Girl He Used to Know
Tracey Garvis Graves
Age/Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Annika Rose likes being alone.

She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way - she just can't read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others.

Apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn't seen him for ten years. Until now that is. And she's not sure he'll want to see her again after what happened all those years ago.

Annika Rose likes being alone.

Except that, actually, she doesn't like being alone at all.

It was ten years since she let him go. Annika spent those ten years working on herself and becoming more independent. After a decade, she wanted to show Jonathan, that she wasn't quite the girl he used to know, and that she was (hopefully) the girl he still loved.

Graves had me hook, line, and sinker from the very beginning of this story. I am trash for second chance romances, and seeing these two meet again after so many years made me believe the universe had a plan for them.

I probably would have been happy enough just getting the present day tale with these two rekindling their romance, but it was made even better via the flashbacks. It was like getting to see Annika and Jonathan fall in love twice, and I was exceedingly happy for them - both times.

The flashbacks also served the purpose of showing us what went wrong so many years ago, and helped me understand all the ways both Annika and Jonathan grew and changed. Each were different due to their experiences over the years, but they were still essentially the same two people, who met and fell in love back at the University of Illinois.

Call it mushy, call it OTT emotional, but I am all about that. There were so many beautiful moments in this love story, and I gladly ingested each and every one. Not only did the romance work my heartstrings, but I fell head over heels for Annika.

She was so lovely and honest and kind. It pained me to hear about the way she had been treated in the past, but Jonathan and her best friend, Janice, were two stupendous humans, who luckily were able to see what was in Annika's heart, and they loved her for it.

My only complaint about this book was something Graves did towards the end. It was an extreme way to have Annika prove that she would not run, and that she was all in with Jonathan. I understand what the author was trying to accomplish, but like I said, it was a pretty extreme circumstance she elected to use.

And, though the ending gave me an idea about where Annika and Jonathan's futures were heading, I really wished we had an epilogue to let me know where they ended up.

Even though the ending left me wanting, I still enjoyed every second of this story. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I swooned. This book provided me with some fantastic feels, and I am so glad I got to see Annika and Jonathan take that second chance on each other.

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.

Do you enjoy family saga type romance series?

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