Indian Sweet Home Alabama? I was sold from that description, and the book did not disappoint!

The characters, the chemistry, the angst - all so freaking good. The tension between the hero and heroine kept me on tenterhooks the entire read. In fact, this book was so good that I will even ignore that it all would have been solved if they communicated at all (a common but frustrating trope of second chance. it's fine it's cool I'm over it)!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin and Naina Kumar for the free e-arc. All opinions are my own!

Lawyer Meena once got hitched in a spontaneous Vegas wedding but now considering her political ambitions in DC, she’s heading to Houston to get the husband she hasn’t seen in years to finally sign the divorce papers.
But she didn’t realise that there’s a hurricane barrelling towards the Texan city, so she has no choice but to bunker down with Nikhil at their former house.
Despite the disaster theme and the promised “only one closet” trope, there wasn’t as much tension around the storm as I expected (my idea of a nightmarish scene), nor much else happening outside their present-day reconnection. For those seeking a quick and sweet read about a second-chance romance with forced proximity.

In order to move on with her life and political career Meena just needs one thing - divorce from her estranged husband. A husband she hasn’t seen or spoken to in years. As her new relationship and future depends on signed divorce papers, she makes her way to Houston to convince her spouse to sign them. But there’s one thing Meena wasn’t aware of: a hurricane is on its way, and she has no choice but to take shelter with her soon-to-be ex-husband in the home that they had built together.

I loved the setting of this book in a hurricane! I don’t think I’ve read anything like that before, especially in romance books, so this was one of the main things that interested me in reading Flirting with Disaster. Also, I am an absolute sucker for second chance romances, so that combined with a unique, interesting setting meant I just had to read it!

As a person that doesn’t live in a country where hurricanes take place, I found it very interesting to learn about the preparations for one, the challenges the characters faced and the safety measures they had to take. I actually found myself hoping that there would be more of that!

Mixed in with the stress of a hurricane is humor, neighbourly care, a risky adventure and so many tender and raw moments between our main characters - Meena and Nikhil.

Forced to be in each others proximity, Meena and Nikhil not only face the hurricane, but also their unresolved issues, the pain they cause each other and their lingering love.

I loved seeing how familiar, yet new they were to each other. How quickly they became comfortable around each other and fell into a rhythm together, despite years of not seeing each other. How they remembered little things about one another. How despite years apart, they still had feelings for each other and showed it in subtle, gentle ways. How they both had sounds that reminded them of each other, and listened to them for comfort (this had no business making me as emotional 🥲).

But they also had to face the issues that caused them to be apart for so long. Their story is one of so much love and care and support, but also of personal struggles that affected their relationship, pressure to please family, feeling not good enough and lack of communication.

Stuck together in one house, they slowly open up about their hurt feelings and personal experiences from the time they were together. The emotional, raw and honest conversations they had were a punch in a gut, but as a second chance romance lover - you know I ate them up, even if I was in pain.

I’d definitely recommend this book to second chance romance lovers, fans of showing love in subtle ways and of Sweet Home Alabama!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve heard so much about Naina Kumar from the fringes, so it’s so great to be inside the circle and be able to truly understand why people say so many great things about this author! FWD was a great romance with banter, drama, and fun! I love the characters, their dynamic, and the writing and while I had some qualms about certain elements of the plot, this was a solid read and I’m excited for more from Kumar!

I really enjoyed this second chance romance. Usually I’m not one for a second chance but this one was so well executed.

We follow Meena and Nikhil who were married for a year, and separated for seven. Meena is a successful lawyer working on the Hill in DC, whilst Nikhil, her first love, still lives in the once shared home in Houston. On the cusp of a life changing career move, as well as being held back romantically by still being married, Meena is forced to fly to Houston to confront Nikhil as he won’t sign the divorce papers shes sent him.

Unknowingly she flies in the morning before a hurricane is scheduled to hit Houston, and her plan of a quick in and then out is derailed by the weather. Nikhil and Meena are forced to hunker down together for safety, and during their confinement they relearn how to work together, what they fell in love with each other for, and why sometimes, going back is the right step forward. 

Honestly really enjoyed the relationship between the main pairing, with the backstory being drip fed to help build a picture of their previous relationship and how itall broke down. Seeing them older and wiser, taking accountability for their actions and mistakes was so refreshing as was the way they were able to finally communicate with each other their thoughts and fears.

Absolute must read for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry!

"Maybe we owe it to ourselves to at least try."

Gorgeous second chance romance with the forced proximity trope. I loved the characters in the story. It was really easy to become sucked into the characters, the intimacy between them and the flow of their scenes together brought me into the story really fast and I ended up finishing the book in one day.

I really enjoyed that the characters had strong personalities, I especially enjoyed that the main female lead was a strong character and had clear goals about what she wanted in relation to her career and her goals. I liked that the characters' personalities, whilst being strong, still allowed for development and growth in their story. Their development, and flow between tender, soft moments and high emotions had such great pacing.

The only thing I would have loved to have had was more of the backstory between the two main leads. I think if there was more background given to what happened between the two main leads in the beginning of their relationship, it would have added to the readers connection to the characters through the story.

Thank you to Penguin General UK for sending me an eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I loved this book so much I literally couldn’t put it down (witting this at 2am lol)

I had a great time reading Say You’ll Be Mine so have been eagerly awaiting Naina’s second book and it blew me away. This was so good!!!! I’ve got a new auto-buy author!

We were off to an amazing start with the second chance trope, which is one of my favorites. I just love the intimacy between the characters, the way they know truly each other and that all the feelings that exist between them. Add in some forced proximity and strong characters and you’ve got a winner.

Meena and Nikhil were such great characters. Meena’s drive and the way she worked so hard to achieve her goals were so powerful and Nikhil’s gentleness and resilience were heartwarming to see. I’m also obsessed with how in love he is with Meena - it was in every tiny thing he said and did and I simply have to stan this man.

Also omg the tension, the angst and the yearning?! HELP! I was actually going insane, all but begging them to just get back together because it was so clear that’s where they belonged. They were still so in love with each other and though yes, they had a lot of work to do and things to talk through, you just knew there was no way they wouldn’t end up together, not just because this is a romance but also because of the connection they shared. So it comes as no surprised that I was ecstatic once they finally did get their happy ending.

If you’re a fan of second chance romances and the forced proximity trope, this is a MUST for you!

A massive thank you to Penguin General UK and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review 🫶