Tastes Like Shakkar (If Shakespeare Was An Auntie, # 2)
By: Nisha Sharma
Expected Publication: August 1, 2023
352 pages
Genre: Adult, Contemporary,
Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)
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Goodreads description--In the hilarious follow-up to the breakout rom-com Dating Dr. Dil, Nisha Sharma adds shakkar and mirch to Shakespeare’s iconic comedy Much Ado About Nothing for one sweet and spicy love story.Bobbi Kaur is determined to plan a celebration to remember for her best friend’s wedding. But she has two problems that are getting in her way:
1. The egotistical, and irritatingly sexy, chef Benjamin “Bunty” Padda is supposed to help her with the menu since he’s the groom’s best friend, and
2. Someone is trying to sabotage the wedding.
With aspirations of taking over her family’s event planning business, Bobbi knows that one misstep in managing the Kareena Mann and Prem Verma (#Vermann) party, along with the other weddings on her plate, will only give her uncle another reason not to promote her. That means Kareena’s big day and Bobbi's future career are on the line.
Bunty will do anything for his best friend, even though he has his hands full in finding a new location for his next restaurant while also playing mediator between his brother and father, the celebrated Naan King. When Prem asks Bunty to help with the wedding menu, he agrees, especially since it puts him in close proximity to the delicious Bobbi Kaur. When a mystery shaadi saboteur starts leaving threatening notes, and cancelling cake orders, Bunty and Bobbi have no choice but to call a truce and face the volatile attraction they have for each other.
Through masquerade fundraisers and a joint bachelor-bachelorette trip to Vegas, this chef and wedding planner explore their growing connection all while trying to plan a wedding at Messina Vineyards in a time crunch. But once the shaadi saboteur is caught and the wedding is over, will their love story have a happily ever after
With the return of the meddling aunties (who are scary good at finding information) and a lot of hilarity and hijinks, Bobbi and Bunty’s romance is an event you don’t want to miss.
I am a little torn over this series. I like the characters and the plots so far, but I am a fan of less-is-more when it comes to descriptive sexual scenes. And I need to say up-front that Tastes Like Shakkar got into some kinky stuff that I'm not usually a fan of reading about. I did skim some of these scenes, but I also think that Nisha Sharma could have gone in more depth than she did, but I'm glad she didn't. I want to continue the series to see how the next book will go because I'm a fan of the characters, but I will continue to skim those scenes if necessary.
Benjamin and Bobbi are friends of Prem and Kareena from book 1, Dating Dr. Dil. Benjamin slipped up and said something to Bobbi that he didn't mean one night. Bobbi took it in the most negative way possible, and she's been out to be enemies with Benjamin ever since. But we all know that enemies to lovers is one of the best tropes. Is there any readers out there that hate this setup? I'm genuinely curious.
Prem and Kareena's wedding is getting messed with, and since Bobbi is the wedding planner and Kareena's best friend, she's determined to find out who is trying to sabotage this wedding. Only what ends up happening is that Prem and Kareena call in some best friend cards to get Benjamin and Bobbi to work together on the menu and planning of the wedding. The time spent together means these two need to call a truce which leads to the past being explained, and of course, the tension between them comes to a head. And it wouldn't be true romance if feelings didn't develop.
Finding out who was sabotaging the wedding was impossible. The reader didn't have enough information to figure things out. But it was fun to wonder if various side characters were involved. And I didn't mind the mystery because it wasn't the biggest part the plot, but it did help move the story along.
My biggest questions was whether Benjamin would open his newest restaurant on the east or west coast. I knew the two would end up together, because hello...but would Bobbi relocate her wedding planning business to the west coast to be with Benjamin, or would Benjamin tell his family no and stay east coast with Bobbi and his friends?
Favorite quotes:
-He was already discovering that love tasted better with a little cheese.
-Why was having a little bit of Benjamin so much worse than being alone?
Poor Bobbi went through it in this book. She's trying her best to plan the best wedding possible for her friend who has never had much attention and spotlight in her life. She's also planning other events and maintaining all her clients, friends, and family relationships. She's forced to work with someone who hurt her, but she comes through that. Even still, she wonders if she's investing her heart only for things not to work out through the potential distance these two might have to face. In the end, Tastes Like Shakkar was a really good read. I liked how these two characters faced nearly everything together, and none of the conflicts felt unrealistic or forced. The mystery didn't take over the story, but it did help move things along. Tastes Like Shakkar gets 4 Stars. Have you read Tastes Like Shakkar? What did you think? Let me know!
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