The Dating Plan - Review

The Dating Plan (The Marriage Game, # 2)

By: Sara Desai

Publication: March 16th 2021 by Berkley Books

352 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from the e-library

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Goodreads description--Even with a step-by-step plan, these fake fiances might accidentally fall for each other in this hilarious, heartfelt romantic comedy from the author of The Marriage Game.

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.

The Marriage Game was one of my favorite reads from 2020. I was pulled into the story and the characters, and it opened a whole new world of Indian literature, characters, and culture. After reading The Marriage Game, I wanted to replicate the experience, and I've read several books about Indian characters since. I knew I would want to read more from Sara Desai and the other characters mentioned in The Marriage Game if she chose to write about them, which she did. I was so disappointed when my request to review The Dating Plan was denied. Thankfully, the e-library had a copy, and I was able to borrow it from there.

I got sucked into The Dating Plan immediately. I read The Shaadi Set-Up prior to The Dating Plan (review of that set for September). These two stories both have tropes concerning lost loves that have returned. And I couldn't help but contrast the difference in how long it took me to feel invested in the characters. The Dating Plan pulled me in instantaneously. And I didn't want to put it down once I started reading it. I finished it in two days which is really good for me these days.

Daisy is unique. She is analytical and detailed. She's happy to live her life single and would love for her marriage-minded family to get off her back about marraige. The description is a bit misleading because it indicates that Daisy is the one to suggest the fake engagement to Liam as a means of getting her family off her back. This isn't true at all. Agreeing to the relationship does give Daisy the perk of getting her family off her back, but she's not the one who initiates the relationship. As a matter of fact, Daisy doesn't want anything to do with Liam after her stood her up for her senior prom. Before Liam, Daisy's mother left and so Daisy has a bit of history and trauma around abandonment.

Again, the description spells things out a bit wrong for Liam. He runs into Daisy and does make an effort to reconnect with her, but she's not interested. He's been away from San Fransico for 10 years, and so he's not been in touch with Daisy or her brother (his former best friend). Liam is back for two reasons. One is business, and the second is his grandfather's funeral. His grandfather left him the family distillery with the condition that Liam is married before his next birthday. So Liam is the one to reach out to Daisy about the fake engagement. And therefore, he has to find some benefits for Daisy in order for her to agree.

One thing I really appreciated about The Dating Plan was that many times the characters had the option to be open about the nature of their relationship or to hide it and they often chose to tell the truth. Well with the exception of those they were trying to fool. This openness gave the trope a different spin than you typically see.

I always have to mention the adult scenes because I figure someone out there might be interested to know. Language and sexual scenes were present. Neither dominated the story so that's a bonus for me as I don't enjoy reading books where the language or scenes do take over. I do have a lower tolerance for these than some (but perhaps a higher tolerance for it than others).

Favorite quotes:

-When she'd woken up this morning, she would never have guessed she would be pulled away from her cozy workspace and dragged to a tech conference, only to wind up on the run from her ex, with an armload of pads and her matchmaking auntie hot on her heels.

-His lips brushed over hers in a featherlight caress, so gentle and unexpected she forgot to breathe. There was no passion in the kiss. The earth didn't move, time didn't stand still, fireworks didn't fill the sky, not even a single bird twittered around her head. But it was tender adn sweet, his lips were soft and gentle, and for the briefest second she was tempted to give in to the heat of senseation and kiss him like she was a lovelorn teenager all over again.

-Unlike Sanjay, who admired the superheroes for their otherworldly powers, Daisy loved how they were committed to saving the world, even though they were all broken inside.

-"Spreadsheet birthday sexy times."

The Dating Plan was everything I was hoping it to be. The more honest approach to a trope surrounded with dishonesty made this story different in a sea of similar stories. I was hooked immediately. The characters were complex and interesting. And I couldn't help but root for them individually as well as together. I am dying to get my hands on The Singles Table and am so disappointed that I've already been denied. Hopefully, the e-library gets a copy of that one as well. The Dating Plan gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Dating Plan? What did you think? Let me know!