Review: The Marriage Game

 By Sara Desai

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

My thoughts: This was a fun read! This was a recommended book and I am glad that I went ahead and read it. It had me laughing, grinning, and fanning myself. 

I have to admit that I was not a big fan of the heroine at first. Layla was self-centered and obnoxious. She was completely rude to Sam when she first met him even though he had the legal right to be at the office, especially after paying the down payment to the place. Luckily, Layla's chemistry with Sam and her ambitions quickly won me over. 

I highly enjoyed the banter between Sam and Layla. It was fun how Sam tried to "help" Layla during her interview dates but I especially enjoyed reading how they quickly fell for each other.

The supporting characters were fun to read. Layla's cousin, Daisy, was interesting. I was not too fond of her but it was nice to see her slightly grow towards the end of the book. I really enjoyed reading about the different aunties in the book. Their obsession with marriage had me rolling my eyes and laughing out loud. 

Overall, this was a delightful read. Am I going to read the next book? I am not sure because it focuses on Daisy. We'll see if I continue the saga. I rate this book: