My Say You’ll Be Mine Book Review - No Spoilers
Plot Summary
Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar is a heartwarming romantic comedy with a slow-burn, fake engagement at its core. Meghna Raman is a passionate English and theater teacher—and an aspiring playwright—living under the shadow of her Indian family’s high expectations. After her best friend (and secret crush) Seth gets engaged to someone else and asks Meghna to be his best man, she agrees, though she’s reeling inside. To prove to herself and everyone else she’s moved on, Meghna lets her parents set her up with a potential match. Karthik Murthy, a reserved engineer, has his own reasons for avoiding relationships: family trauma and a complicated past. Their meeting is awkward, but both want relief from relentless matchmaking, so Karthik proposes a brilliant solution—a fake engagement. As they face weddings, family events, and cultural pressures together, their business arrangement becomes something real. Over time, they build trust, support each other’s dreams, and face old heartbreaks, leading to big questions: Can they let go of the past and take a chance on true love?
Why I Love This Book
I love how Say You’ll Be Mine brings together cultural detail, humor, and huge heart. The characters feel like real people—flawed, scared, hopeful. Meghna’s struggle between what her family wants and who she really is strikes close to home, and Karthik’s quiet, loyal nature is a perfect counterpoint to her fire. Their banter made me actually laugh out loud, and the slow build of chemistry (the pining, the fake fiancé practice kisses, the one bed, all of it) kept me fully invested. I appreciate that the story isn’t all romance—there’s real depth in the way both characters deal with family history, therapy, and learning to stand up for themselves. Every bit of Indian family, food, and tradition felt honest and warm, and I liked how no one got left behind; the side characters and their stories were just as heartfelt. Watching Meghna and Karthik move from friendship, to fake, to something genuine and hard-won, was incredibly satisfying. Even the miscommunications made sense, and made the eventual payoff that much sweeter.
Who Will Like This Book
If you like contemporary romance with fake engagements, slow burn, dual POV, and grumpy x sunshine dynamics, you’ll click with this story. It’s perfect for fans of sweet, emotional, low-angst love stories and anyone who enjoys Indian culture, food, and realistic family drama. If you’re burned out on high-heat romance, this is a breath of fresh air—the physical payoff arrives late but feels earned. It also deals with family trauma, therapy, and self-worth, so if you appreciate real growth alongside romance, you’ll be happy.
⚠️ Trigger warning: This book contains parental pressure, a parent accused of workplace harassment (side character), cheating (side character), and family trauma—including issues around emotional neglect and therapy.
Tagged As
contemporary romance, fake engagement, slow burn, grumpy x sunshine, Indian culture, family drama, dual pov, one bed, opposites attract, healing, emotional growth, witty banter, therapy, friends to lovers, HEA, sweet romance, foodie romance, immigrant family, supportive friends, debut novel, open-door romance, standalone, low spice, indie romance
Steam Level
The steam is nearly non-existent until the very end—then it’s steamy, but not explicit. The focus is on emotional connection, heart-flutters, and longing. This is the kind of book that saves the fire for the last act and trusts the tension and realness to carry the rest.
