The Design of Us - Review

The Design of Us

By: Sajni Patel

Expected Publication: July 16, 2024 by Berkley

368 pages

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--One impulsive lie leads to a weeklong adventure of fake dating for two bickering coworkers in this swoony destination wedding rom-com by Sajni Patel, author of The Trouble with Hating You .

Sunshine incarnate Bhanu brings big UX energy to whatever she does, including going for the promotion where her only serious competition is her work nemesis, AKA Sunny, the grump with the Denzel voice. She expected to get a reprieve from him while visiting her family in Hawai’i, but the universe has other plans. When Bhanu runs into Sunny at the hotel and witnesses his ex criticizing him about being single, Bhanu does the first thing that comes to she impetuously claims to be Sunny’s girlfriend just to get some peace and quiet. Except Sunny is on island for a friend’s wedding and his ex has already texted the entire wedding party about this mysterious girlfriend.

Bhanu truly is the bane of Sunny’s existence. But the last thing he wants to do is cause tension during his friend’s wedding festivities, much less be the object of their pity. He has no choice except to play along, if only he and Bhanu can put aside their quarreling and act like a real couple.

Between Bhanu’s hilariously meddling family and Sunny’s ecstatic friends, the two are pushed closer together, even as stress mounts over the impending promotion.

They say what happens on island, stays on island. But as Sunny and Bhanu let their guards down, will either of them be able to resist this romantic getaway without crossing the line?

Sajni Patel has become one of my favorite authors. The description above gives you all you need to know about this book. If you like relationships that start out fake for appearances sake but end up real and/or if you like enemies-to-lovers tropes then this is the book for you. 

Bhanu has gone to Hawaii to visit her sister for a much-needed vacation. She works hard, and even on vacation, she finds it difficult to put work away. She's dedicated, and she's good at what she does. So good that she's up for a promotion. The only problem is, that Sunny, her work nemesis, is being criticized by his ex-girlfriend right in front of her. Not only is the hate ruining her vacation vibes, but she also doesn't think Sunny deserves to be treated like that. She has to take up for him. The only problem is that she puts them both in a situation that will only further embarrass him...and possibly her, too.

Sunny wishes that Bhanu had kept her nose in her own business. But it does take the pressure off a little to have her join in his friend's wedding activities. It keeps him from being the odd man out and everyone feeling sorry for him that his ex is with someone else but rubbing it in his face. 

If I'm honest, I did it again. I read this book THREE MONTHS before writing my review of it. And I've read 24 books since this one. So, I don't remember all of the particulars. I do remember being annoyed with Bhanu's tourist hate. Bhanu's sister lives in Hawaii, and so she regularly visits. Despite technically being a tourist, she has such an aversion to tourists which I find odd. Her sister's entire job is dedicated to tourists. The islands themselves depend heavily on tourism for their economy. Of course, tourists won't know what the locals know. But how can you be so annoyed by their ignorance? How can you expect people to understand what they don't know? Some of the tourist issues that Bhanu and her sister noted were just people being rude and disrespectful, but I have a feeling that's just who those people are at their core and not because they're tourists specifically. Once people know better, they can do better. But until then, your harsh judgments of them aren't helping matters.

I didn't highlight anything except references to the tourist hate I mentioned above.

I read The Design of Us really quickly. It's the perfect summer or beach read. Hey, if you're going to Hawaii on vacation it'd be a great choice both for entertainment value and for some information on what locals find annoying about tourists. I loved Sunny and Bhanu's relationship journey. I'm a sucker for fake dating and enemies-to-lovers tropes anyway. The Design of Us gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Design of Us? What did you think? Let me know!