The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

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Daisy Patel is a software engineer who understands lists and logic better than bosses and boyfriends. With her life all planned out, and no interest in love, the one thing she can't give her family is the marriage they expect. Left with few options, she asks her childhood crush to be her decoy fiance.

Liam Murphy is a venture capitalist with something to prove. When he learns that his inheritance is contingent on being married, he realizes his best friend's little sister has the perfect solution to his problem. A marriage of convenience will get Daisy's matchmaking relatives off her back and fulfill the terms of his late grandfather's will. If only he hadn't broken her tender teenage heart nine years ago...

Sparks fly when Daisy and Liam go on a series of dates to legitimize their fake relationship. Too late, they realize that very little is convenient about their arrangement. History and chemistry aren't about to follow the rules of this engagement.

Source: NetGalley; ARC generoulsy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Dating Plan presents a slightly different take on the fake relationship with Daisy and Liam already having some history and them being somewhat familiar with each other's families. 

Daisy just wants her family to back off and stop all attempts to marry her off. She's content with her life at the moment and has no interest in shaking things up. At one of her conferences, she runs in to Liam and it goes off with a bang! Liam, the teenage heartbreaker and enemy number one since he was a no-show as her prom date years ago. Seeing him again at that very moment is seriously awkward on so many levels but also good timing. Their fortuitous encounter not only reunites them but also allows them to call in a favor: appear to be in a serious relationship with each other in order to appease their families. It's so wacky and honestly, there's no way it's going to work out as easily as they think. But it's fun them reconnect and handle Daisy's overbearing but well-meaning extensive family network. His family is just as wild, too.

Daisy is such a lively personality. She's a nerd, a stickler for organization and a MCU fanatic, and it all translates in to her own cute aesthetic that she owns completely and effortlessly. I liked that she broke some stereotypes. As for Liam? I dug him from the beginning. Sure, he has a bit of attitude but there's a super nice guy that comes forth and he's just so freaking charming. While the two have concocted this crazy idea to throw their families of their scent, so to speak, Daisy does have some reservations. Liam's unexplained absence from her life makes her explore her own issues with abandonment and how it affects her views of relationships and being reliant on someone else. Liam's own negative experiences have also colored his perspective though it's not so clear cut around Daisy. Having known her family from before and feeling the nostalgia of their closeness and hospitality, he falls back into her world so easily. Her family was his safe haven from his messed up one and Daisy was always so kind and accepting of him. Then he screwed it up and now he's working hard to earn her forgiveness. Let me tell you, he's hard to say no to, though Daisy does make him work to earn her trust again. 

As with most contemporary Desi romances I've been reading, family plays a hugely important part in everyday life. Daisy's is no exception. I will say for me, it tends to be a bit overwhelming as I didn't have a large family surrounding me when I was growing up, so to me all of Daisy's uncles and aunties coming at her from all directions was intense. But at the heart of it is love and togetherness, and some of the aunties, even with their melodramatic tendencies, are entertaining. 

I quite enjoyed reading The Dating Plan. I laughed out loud when Daisy and Liam had their run in - that was only the first chapter - and the amusement continued on from there. This second chance romance will sprinkle joy and laughter in your little reading corner so definitely check it out!

~ Bel

Content warning/triggers:

- mention of alcoholism and physical abuse (Liam's memory of his father towards him and his mother)

- abandonment issue (Daisy's memory of her mother who left their family when she was younger; she and her dad discuss it briefly later in the book)