Kareena Mann and Prem Verma, in a moment out of character for them both, recently locked eyes across a bar and very nearly hooked up, until Prem was called away just as things were about to get... interesting. Now Kareena's understandably miffed, and she made that known on Prem's weekend talk show about health issues facing South Asians. But they've also both received news that makes them think it's a good time to get engaged: Kareena needs to get engaged to be able to buy her parents' home from her father and continue the renovations her deceased mother started, and Prem's mother will pay him if he gets engaged, enough to start the community health center he's dreamed of. Kareena's vowed to only marry for love and Prem famously doesn't think it exists -- so what's going to happen when a fake dating scheme becomes something much more?

Fated Mates teased this book like, a year ago, and I've been dying for it ever since -- a Shakespeare reimagining with a prickly heroine who still wants love and a cardiologist whose stage name means heart? Come on give it to me. And the wait certainly doesn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Kareena and Prem kind of bump up against each other until they realize what they thought were crashes are actually one supporting the other, and it's pretty delightful to watch them both go, "oh no, feelings? For this ding dong?" Added in with some threads about expectations and being the children of immigrants, it pairs the romantic with the thoughtful really well.

It's not a perfect read: Kareena is kind of a Mary Sue and her family fuuuuuuuuucking sucks, I would have loved for them to receive much more comeuppance. Some pieces of Prem's background definitely could have stood to have been introduced much sooner. But it was a fun book from start to finish, and I can't wait for more installments. Mrs. W.S. Gupta has got to be someone great à la Lady Whistledown, right? And if you're interested in how love and responsibility may look different for children of immigrants, Fated Mates season 3 episode 12 may be really illuminating. It's not one of Nisha's episodes, but Adrianna is also pretty great.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!