Accidentally Engaged

Advice: I strongly suggest you have carbs on hand or at least super tasty treats before you crack open this delightful Rom-Com. You have been warned.

Accidentally Engaged is a fun, delicious story about complicated family bonds, friendship, romance between a couple who readers will root for and descriptions of food that will made your inner foodie/bread lover perk up. This is carb-lover/book nerd nirvana, y'all. 

Farah Heron is a Toronto author and I LOVED that she set her story in 'T.O' (and included a bit of my own childhood city of Markham). The plot is set around the 'fake dating' trope with swoon-worthy chemistry between Reena and Nadim, touches of humour, great secondary characters, delicious descriptions of food and a look into the lives and complications of Reena's large Muslim family.

This is a Rom-Com, but it also has some depth and I appreciated its inclusion of East African-Indian culture and the focus on the Manji family as they confront their long-held secrets and learn to balance familial expectations with the desires of the individual. My only issue is that I found the family turmoil (especially between the sisters) was resolved surprisingly fast and the ending was tied up quite neatly.

This delightful, uplifting story blends complex family dynamics with likable characters, a sweet romance and is the perfect book for your inner foodie. If you're like me, you will have a strong desire to bake bread after reading this book.

Recipe for Easy Crusty Artisan Loaf (pictured)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Farah Heron

Genre: Rom-Com, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Canadian

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Pages: 384

Publisher: Forever

First Published: March 2, 2021

Opening Lines: For most urban dwellers, Sundays were 

a day of rest and relaxation. Not for Reena Manji.

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.