Mira Patel’s got a solid accounting career, good friends, and a whole lot of distance between her and her dysfunctional family. All that’s missing is a stable romantic relationship. Armed with a spreadsheet and professional help, she sets out to find her partner in only legal activities, but much to her matchmaker’s dismay, no one is quite right.
Including Naveen Desai, the very first match she unceremoniously rejected.
Lately Naveen’s been too focused on keeping his sick grandfather’s law firm afloat to think about love, and he’s stunned when Mira walks back into his life to settle her aunt’s affairs. He’s determined to keep things professional…though it’s impossible not to be intrigued by all of the secrets piling up around Mira.
If getting back together with an ex is a bad idea, getting kidnapped with one is even worse.
Suddenly, Naveen and Mira find themselves in a mad dash through Las Vegas to escape jewel thieves, evade crime bosses, and follow the clues to untangle the mess her family left behind. As her past comes back to haunt her, Mira despairs of ever finding someone who might understand her…but maybe, over the course of one wild night, she’ll find that he’s right by her side.
Release Date: Oct 18, 2022
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Price: $10.99
Rai’s first in a new series is the exact amount of romance and action I’m looking for.
Nothing says romance like a dead aunt with a will, running into the first match your matchmaker made for you that you dumped, a kidnapping, an illegal poker game, being chased by guys with guns, faking your identity to sneak into a nightclub, and still not finding this necklace the bad guys want. And… that’s not even everything that happens!
Rai really hit the mark with this fast-paced tale that has both heroine and hero going from California to Vegas and all over the place in one wild night. For me, a reader who loves action-adventure movies this was like an Indian Matchmaking mixed in with Romancing the Stone. The blurb selling it as a book with Date Night vibes is too true. Amid the romance and the comedic moments there are some seriously high stakes, and a deep plot.
From a character standpoint, Mira Patel comes off stand-offish from the get-go, but her life hasn’t been an easy one and she’s always had to hide her true self for the sake of wanting a normal life. Exactly why she ditched our hero Naveen Desai, her first match and a successful lawyer. He offered a life that would be far from boring.
Of course, fate has other plans, at least her deceased aunt does. When Mira gets the call that her aunt’s last will and testament is through Naveen’s grandfather’s firm she has no choice, but to reconnect with the one she ghosted. What starts as a mere chance encounter soon becomes an insane twenty-four adventure. When Mira and Naveen must confront things, they thought they knew about each other and about life.
This one started out a bit slow for me, but once the pace picked up it was rocking and rolling to the very end. Rai’s signature heat on the romance side of things eventually comes through, though it’s a slow ride to get there. There’s a well-developed plot threaded through carefully as well.
What kept this from a five, I was able to find places to put it down and walk away. This didn’t have me anxious to keep reading until the last thirty percent of the book. Also, there were times that Mira’s characterization irked me, especially when I got to the end of the story. It was a close call for me. For readers who love action threaded into the romance and don’t mind heroes and heroines who aren’t spies solving the mystery.
~ Landra
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