Liam Murphy needs a wife to fulfill theterms of his grandfather's will and save the family distillery. Daisy Patel needs to keep her matchmaking family off her back. Neither is looking for commitment. Even if they haven't seen each other in a decade, and Daisy still hates Liam for standing her up for prom, a fake engagement and wedding is a perfect arrangement between two people who aren't looking for love. As they go on "dates" to purposely run into family members, they discover they still have a lot in common, including attraction. Just as it starts to look like this fake relationship could turn real, they get into an accident. Liam blames himself for hurting Daisy again, and disappointing her family. Liam and Daisy must face the past to create a future. VERDICT Desai's sophomore novel (after The Marriage Game) will have readers laughing, with family dynamics and personal growth rounding things out for an enjoyable read.--Kellie Tilton, Univ. of Cincinnati Blue Ash

When Liam didn't show up to take Daisy to the prom, she pushed aside memories of her childhood friend and any notions of love. Marvel movies, her dog, and her career as a software engineer at a start-up are all she needs. Unfortunately, the past will just not stay buried. Liam has left his bad-boy reputation behind (though he has kept the motorcycle) and become a clean-cut venture capitalist, returning to San Francisco for business. When the opportunity comes to inherit his grandfather's distillery, he jumps at the chance before learning the caveat: he must be married before his next birthday. After running into Daisy at a tech conference, Liam knows he can't let this second chance pass him by, and the two devise a plan that helps Liam get his inheritance and ensures that Daisy's start-up will thrive. Desai (The Marriage Game, 2020) nearly overwhelms the story with dependable romance tropes, but ultimately this fake-engagement romance will win readers over as Daisy and Liam explore their past traumas and rekindle their love.

An organized software engineer reunites with the high school crush who jilted her on prom night. Daisy Patel has a particular way of doing things as a self-described "neurotic software engineer." With her life in chaos after she catches her boyfriend cheating and learns that her company is in dire financial straits, Daisy can't take any more of her parents' romantic meddling. Liam Murphy has returned to San Francisco to mourn his grandfather and take over the family distillery, but there's a catch with his inheritance: He needs to get married. Though Liam is a friend of her brother's and her former high school crush, Daisy isn't exactly thrilled about their reunion, considering that he stood her up on prom night a decade earlier. However, a spark of lingering attraction motivates the pair to form a mutually beneficial agreement: They'll pretend to date and then marry out of convenience. Daisy's family is fond of Liam, and it'd give her some freedom from their pressure to settle down, and Liam will finally have the power to make some much-needed changes to the distillery. Given Daisy's love of detail and organization, she concocts a dating plan for the two of them, though sticking to the rules proves to be hard when pretending feels a lot like the real thing. Pop-culture nerds may appreciate Daisy's love for Marvel movies, as she often wears clothing emblazoned with the Avengers, but her obsession with Liam's prom-night gaffe makes this detail feel infantilizing rather than an unabashed example of fandom love. The weak conflict of a disappointing prom night feels unnecessary in the face of other obstacles Daisy and Liam may have to contend with as fake partners approaching a modern marriage of convenience. A thin conflict downgrades this promising fake relationship to a lukewarm rom-com. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Desai (The Marriage Game) dazzles with this funny, convincing take on the fake relationship trope. Self-described "neurotic software engineer" Daisy Patel just walked in on her ex-boyfriend and former boss having sex, her company's going under, and her family is pressuring her to get married. So a literal run-in with Liam Murphy, the family friend turned high school crush who stood Daisy up for prom, is the last thing she needs. The death of his grandfather has brought rebel-without-a-cause Liam home to San Francisco. Now, the chance to inherit the family distillery offers the opportunity to reinvent his family's complicated legacy. But to inherit, he'll need to marry before his next birthday. So Liam proposes a marriage of convenience to Daisy: he'll get the distillery and Daisy's family will stop matchmaking. Daisy agrees, but only if there's a "dating plan" to guide them every step of the way. But with the desire between them mounting--and the truth of why Liam stood Daisy up finally revealed--how long can things stay perfectly planned out and pretend? Geek-chic Daisy makes an endearing heroine, and the dysfunctional Murphy family provides believable tension. Desai's fans will be thrilled to reconnect with the eccentric Patels and new readers will be hooked. This is a gem. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (Feb.)