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| © Vanessa Velazquez Photography |
Naina Kumar is a lawyer by day and a reader and writer of romance at night. She lives in Texas, close to her family whose antics provide endless inspiration. When she’s not writing, she enjoys taking her rowdy rescue dog on walks, rewatching Gilmore Girls on a loop, and shopping at HEB.
Meghna Raman defied her parents’ wishes and followed her life’s passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. When she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is engaged—and not to her—she realizes he’s about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he’s asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she’s agreed. Determined to try and move on, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she could marry the engineer that her parents still wish she’d become.
Grumpy engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents’ marriage to know it’s not for him. He agreed to his mother’s matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can’t offer her something real, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth’s wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for him.
As the two find common ground, grow protective of each other’s hearts, and start to fall for the traits they originally thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry emerges. But soon, their expectations and insecurities threaten something that’s become a lot more real than they’d planned.
SAY YOU’LL BE MINE is a delightful trip back to the heyday of swoony romantic comedies from the nineties, but with a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.
“Stuffed to the brim with emotion, chemistry, and all the best microtropes, Say You’ll Be Mine is a romance lover’s dream.”
—Ava Wilder, author of Will They or Won’t They
—Ava Wilder, author of Will They or Won’t They
“Naina Kumar’s fresh, compelling voice and lovable characters (including a starchy hero that is now at the very top of my all-time favorites list) made me fall head-over-heels for Say You’ll Be Mine from the very first page. This debut about love, culture, family, and friendship is absolutely irresistible—I didn’t want to put it down!”
—Sarah Adler, author of Mrs. Nash’s Ashes
“Swoony, smart and charming: Say You'll Be Mine is the type of South Asian diaspora romance I've always wished for. Naina Kumar’s debut is spectacular.”
—Nisha Sharma, author of Dating Dr. Dil
In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like for you?
I took my time drafting and revising Say You'll Be Mine, but once I started looking for agents my road to publishing was fairly quick and surprisingly smooth!
I took my time drafting and revising Say You'll Be Mine, but once I started looking for agents my road to publishing was fairly quick and surprisingly smooth!
How is Meghna similar to or different from you?
Meghna and I are both musical-theater obsessed and generally fun-loving, but I think Meghna, on the whole, is a lot more patient and understanding than I am!
If Say You'll Be Mine was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
I loved the second season of Bridgerton so I'd love to see Meghna played by either Simone Ashley or Charithra Chandran! And Sendhil Ramamurthy in his 30's would have been a great Karthik.
What is your favorite 90s rom-com movie?
You've Got Mail is not just my favorite 90s rom-com movie, but maybe my favorite movie period. It just has the most perfect banter and dialogue, and the chemistry between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks is irresistible!
If your life were a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?
Julie Andrews! I just feel like she'd make my life sound so much more classy than it actually is.
Share your favorite Valentine's Day memory.
The first memory that popped in my head was a quiet dinner with my friends back in college! I think we ordered take-out and watched a rom-com and just talked about our love lives, and it was this perfect moment of being young and single and celebrating the kind of love you share with your friends.
Thanks to Naina for chatting with us and to Dell for sharing her book with our readers.
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Listen to this book on Speechify!
My high school used to sell these giant heart shaped sugar cookies for Valentine's Day and one year my boyfriend at the time bought all of the ones with pink frosting and had them delivered to me every 15 minutes for the entire day..it was the sweetest thing ever!
ReplyDeleteLove spending Valentine's Day with my family baking cookies and decorating them. Thank you for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteGreat big box of chocolates from my boyfriend.
ReplyDeleteTaking the day off work and spending the day with my boyfriend enjoying a relaxing day together.
ReplyDeleteNever had the chance for a memory until this year, so fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any good Valentine's Day memories to share. I'm not really a fan of Valentine's Day so it's not something I particularly care about.
ReplyDeleteNo Valentine's Day memories.
ReplyDeleteValentine's Day was just another day.
ReplyDeleteThe only one I can actually remember is when my husband gave me a ginormous pink gorilla that was holding a box with a heart-shaped sapphire ring.
ReplyDeleteNONE - do not celebrate.
ReplyDeletegetting candy
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was a few years ago when my sister and I went to see a local symphony. The guests also got candy, so that complemented the day.
ReplyDelete