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The Design of Us by Sajni Patel – Delightful Fake Dating Desi Romance
The Design of Us is an entertaining, engaging, and delightful work nemesis-to-lovers, fake dating Desi romance.
The Design of Us
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The Design of Us by Sajni Patel
Publication Date : July 16, 2024
Publisher : Berkley
Read Date : July 22, 2024
Genre : Romance
Pages : 368
Source : Many thanks to publisher for eARC via NetGalley.
Disclaimer – This post contains affiliate links.
Synopsis
One impulsive lie leads to a weeklong adventure of fake dating for two bickering coworkers in this swoony destination wedding rom-com.
Sunshine incarnate Bhanu brings big UX energy to whatever she does, including going for the promotion where her only serious competition is her work nemesis, AKA Sunny, the grump with the Denzel voice. She expected to get a reprieve from him while visiting her family in Hawai’i, but the universe has other plans. When Bhanu runs into Sunny at the hotel and witnesses his ex criticizing him about being single, Bhanu does the first thing that comes to she impetuously claims to be Sunny’s girlfriend just to get some peace and quiet. Except Sunny is on island for a friend’s wedding and his ex has already texted the entire wedding party about this mysterious girlfriend.
Bhanu truly is the bane of Sunny’s existence. But the last thing he wants to do is cause tension during his friend’s wedding festivities, much less be the object of their pity. He has no choice except to play along, if only he and Bhanu can put aside their quarreling and act like a real couple.
Between Bhanu’s hilariously meddling family and Sunny’s ecstatic friends, the two are pushed closer together, even as stress mounts over the impending promotion.
They say what happens on island, stays on island. But as Sunny and Bhanu let their guards down, will either of them be able to resist this romantic getaway without crossing the line?
Review
The Design of Us is an entertaining fake dating romance between coworkers- Sunny and Bhanu. Sunny as the lead developer and Bhanu as the lead researcher. Both are vying for the position of project manager at their company, and while they excel at their jobs, they struggle to get along with each other, constantly bickering. Their rivalry intensifies when they discover they are staying at the same resort during a vacation.
Sunny is in Hawaii to attend his best friend’s wedding, while Bhanu is there to spend time with her sister, who is a local. The situation takes an unexpected turn when Bhanu announces she is Sunny’s girlfriend to save him from his ex’s demeaning drama.
This leads to a series of events involving fake dating, exploring the island together, and sharing a villa and even a room. The story becomes even more intriguing as they navigate their complicated relationship and see what happens when their pretense ends at the end of the vacation.
I loved the concept of a romance between main characters working in the STEM field. The writing is engaging and fast-paced, offering refreshing alternative perspectives from both Bhanu and Sunny. The Design of Us is set in Hawaii that adds its own charm to the story, with a focus on tourist exploitation that pollutes the land and endangers sea life, which I appreciated. It made me want to be a responsible tourist.
Both main characters are Indian, and to my delight, they are both Gujarati. As a Gujarati myself, I was excited to see my culture represented in the story. However, this excitement didn’t last long as there isn’t much focus on Gujarati culture. We get a picture of how Desi parents are, but nothing specifically related to Gujarati culture or food. In fact, the story focuses more on Hawaiian culture. Despite this minor issue, I liked both main characters.
Bhanu (we don’t pronounce the name as it was mentioned in the book in Gujarat, and it’s usually a boy’s name, so maybe it might be an Indian-American thing or a short form of a bigger name like Bhanumati or something) is independent, caring, and a workaholic. However, she suffers from social anxiety that she doesn’t talk about with anyone except her family.
I admired how she helped Sunny despite not liking him or the idea of him staying with her during the vacation. Her love for her family and her passion for sea life and preserving nature made me respect her even more. I loved how, as she spent more time with Sunny, she could see past his grumpy exterior and admitted that he was a lovely person who deserved good things in life.
Sunny is grumpy, stoic, and observant who struggling with expressing emotions. I would rather say he is blunt and hates arguments and drama. I immediately disliked his ex for making him feel like a robot without feelings. It hurt to see how much his past toxic relationship impacted his self-esteem.
I loved how he cared for Bhanu, how he was himself, and how he eventually opened up to her. One memorable scene is when he jumped into the sea to remove trash for Bhanu, even though he hated swimming in the sea. That act spoke volumes about his character. My favorite moments were when Sunny stayed vigilant about Bhanu’s anxiety during the wedding and when he brought her favorite food near the end of the story.
I noticed some reviews mentioning that they didn’t like Sunny for calling Bhanu “Bane” throughout the book, but I was fine with it. As I said before, her name’s pronunciation felt odd to me, and after some point, that nickname felt endearing.
The romance is perfect, featuring the work nemesis-to-lovers and fake dating tropes. The witty banter, slow burn, and sizzling chemistry made the story fun and charming. It was heartwarming to read how they realized their bickering was like that of a married couple and how their fake relationship turned into something more than they anticipated.
The climax was dramatic with typical self-imposed miscommunication, but I loved how they finally got together and how things worked out with their job as well.
Overall, The Design of Us is an entertaining, engaging, and delightful work nemesis-to-lovers, fake dating Desi romance.
What to expect from The Design of Us
Slow burn Romance
Fake dating
Work nemesis to lovers
Tourism representation
Indian-American Characters
STEM romance
Social Anxiety rep
Witty banter
Hawaiian Setting
Book Links
Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
#TheDesignofUs by Sajni Patel – entertaining, engaging, and delightful #fakedating Desi romance. Many thanks @BerkleyRomance for eARC via #NetGalley. check out full review –> Share on X![Bookish Separator](https://i0.wp.com/booksteacupreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2024-seperator-crop.jpg?resize=960%2C173&ssl=1)
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13 Comments
theorangutanlibrarian
Really love nemesis to lovers done well and this sounds very fun!
Lashaan Balasingam
What does fake dating consist of? Is it when two people go on a date to pretend in the eyes of others that they like each other? 😮
Books Teacup and Reviews
Yes, it’s pretend for people around them but while pretending they actually fall for each other, and that mostly becomes third act break up in climax as they both think the other’s feelings were pretend, or it creates misunderstanding and they avoid each other until they are mess and are forced to clean the mess.
I made it sound like cliche but I like this trope. authors manage to write it better than I can explain and often they have different climax.
Teri Polen
I was excited for a second when you mentioned your culture was represented – but then it wasn’t quite the focus you’d hoped. That’s a adorable cover. Seems like the fake dating trope is pretty popular right now. Glad you enjoyed it, Yesha!
Books Teacup and Reviews
Yes, that’s bit disappointing to not see the culture explored apart from the mention that they were Gujarati and could talk in Gujarati. Everything else sounded American. I mean they didn’t even wear traditional clothes in wedding. I get it was taking place in church but they could have at least one function with tradition. What’s the point of making characters Desi if we don’t get to see them life Desi. But otherwise, it’s really good story. I don’t think most people will mind it as the fast pace hardly gives readers space to stop and think about cultural representation.
Rebecca
(Apologies if this double-posted, tech is being weird)
Friends to Lover + Banter = PURE CATNIP!
I picked up a copy from the library the other day, and cannot wait to dive in 😀
Books Teacup and Reviews
That’s okay 😃 can’t wa to see what you think about this.
Rebecca
Friends to Lovers + Banter = PURE CATNIP!
I picked this up from the library the other day, and cannot wait to dive in 😀
Books Teacup and Reviews
I’m sure you will enjoy this.
Tessa Pulyer
This has so much that I enjoy – the tropes (two of my favorites) and I adore witty dialogue. Excellent review!
Books Teacup and Reviews
Thank you, Tessa! I love those tropes too and it was fast paced.
Susy's Cozy World
This sounds like a funny read, perfect for the Summer time! Thanks for sharing!!
Books Teacup and Reviews
It’s perfect summer read and really enjoyable.