The Dating Plan

This was a fun, fast, and easy read. There was so much to like about this story!

First of all, I love a fake engagement trope, because you know it's going to be chaotic. Daisy Patel has an over involved family who keep pushing suitors at her; Luke Murphy has to get married to gain his inheritance (a trope I am less fond of). They both think they've found the solution to their problems, except for the fact of some awkward past history on Luke's part.

They set up a dating plan to get reacquainted with each other that will allow them to convince each others families that their relationship is real, but along the way, they discover they have a lot more in common.

Other things I loved:
Daisy's character - quirky, smart, outspoken, and geeky show more (despite still living at home with her dad.)
Her large, loud Desi family - despite the pushiness and boldness, the love they have for each other is such a lovely thing
The Frenemies to Lovers trope: mixed with a whole lack of communication, I was just shouting at them all to set things straight.
Personal growth - both Liam and Daisy have suffered a bit of childhood trauma which has resulted in issues of self-worth. They both see a lot of growth and healing (although one takes a bit longer to get there)

The story also gets a bit steamy, which was fun and unexpected!

Was it a little cheesey at times, and slightly predictable? YES. But did I care? NOPE, not one bit.
This was a fun weekend read and a great escape! show less

If you were stood up for a date, especially your Senior Prom, would you ever talk to that person again?

It’s been 10 years since Daisy was stood up by Liam to her Senior prom! She has not seen him since, until one day at a work conference he bumps into her. She She basically told him to go to hell...I mean he did stand her up for one of the biggest moments in your life!

Liam, a player, had his reasons for standing Daisy up but he couldn’t let her know the truth. His grandfather passed away and in his will he left Liam the families whiskey distillery...but only if he married before his next birthday, in 2 months!!

Daisy, whom approaching 30 and is an Indian, her family was desperate to find her a husband. Daisy being career driven show more didn’t want any type of commitment.

Liam pops back up to Daisy’s work and proposes to her and began working his pitch that it would be a fake marriage and could benefit them both. Daisy agreed and went to work on their dating plan.

Will this marriage of convenience take place and will they be able to follow the rigid dating plan?

Cute fake marriage trope. I enjoyed reading more about the Indian culture and all the food!! I love Indian food, but don’t get a chance to eat it nearly enough. show less

This book was such a fun romantic comedy & easy to become invested in. I found myself laughing while reading it & enjoying it as much as I do when I watch rom-com movies. To create a “dating plan” is such a ridiculously concept (which made it humorous) and I envisioned Daisy writing their plan on a chalkboard & crossing the steps out like they do in Mean Girls when listing how to overthrow a dictator.
I loved the love/hate relationship between Daisy & Liam. He created an atmosphere that clearly made Daisy squirm, and feel both safe & nervous at the same time. Daisy was denying her love for him from the start & would even change the subject most of the time so that she didn’t have to address these feelings of hers. Liam is a “bad show more boy” which secretly appealed to her structured/planning personality. The perfect balance for one another.
I loved to read the growth of the characters throughout the book as confidence grew for the both of them & both came to realize what truly mattered in life. You can see this when Daisy said, “I’m willing to take risks to make that happen. And if it doesn’t work out, I know I’m strong enough to move on and keep taking chances.” And you can see this when Liam said, “I don’t need the partnership to be worthy. It comes from in here.”
There weren’t really any twists in this book as it was a fairly predictable story, like 99% of rom-coms, but I enjoyed the read the entire time & was very happy with the ending. I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could just because it was a predictable book, but I really enjoyed it & knew what I was getting into, so I’d bump it to a 5! show less

Are you Type A or Type B?⁠⠀
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I'm mostly Type A - I like plans. I like #spreadsheets. But then there are plenty of times where I like to fly by the seat of my pants and wing it...⁠⠀
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Daisy is most certainly Type A. There is little to no flying by the seat of her pants... although she wears lots of dresses... She's got a retro vibe going on...⁠⠀
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But I think that's why she and Liam are the perfect match! He's definitely not planned much in his life other than how to get away... but that's not an option this time! His grandfather was a smart one, lemme tell ya...⁠⠀
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I'm getting ahead of myself here... Liam is Daisy's older brother's best friend... Liam has seen Daisy as more than the kid sister for awhile show more now, but standing her up on Prom night wasn't the smartest idea... and she vividly remembers that night... and isn't going to make walking back into her life easy... ⁠⠀
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The Dating Plan by @SaraDesaiWrites is part brother's best friend, part second chance, part enemies to lovers... And can I just mention that I LOVE that about it! The Marriage Game was on my top 10 list for almost the entire year in 2020 and I have been foaming at the mouth (not literally) to read this one... and it didn't fail me!⁠⠀
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There is so much I want to gush about it, but I also don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet... I love the mix of cultures and find it absolutely sexy when Liam "gets" her culture and embraces it. Ahhhh... show less

Cheesy, predictable, and over the top - that being said... still adorable and fluffy. When Daisy runs into Liam, the boy who stood her up from prom 10 years ago, she is instantly as enraged as if it had just happened. Even though he's even better looking - she's not falling for that again. When Liam sees the only girl he ever cared for, he's instantly gaga over her. They realize that they could both use each other to get their family off their backs and maybe in the process develop a real friendship. Daisy's aunties are all over her trying to set her up with a nice Indian boy and Liam needs to be married in order to inherit the family distillery. Could a fake marriage solve all their problems? This would make an epic rom-com movie. It's show more cute, geeky, and steamy. It's got all the tropes. Perfect for romance fans. show less

Cute and predictable, but all rom-coms are and it's usually expected. The characters were likable, relatable and developed well. The writing tripped me up a few times; there were many sentences that should have been worded better. I cringed every time "thick finger" was used and will be happy if I never hear it again. Some scenes and dialogue were long winded, and the conclusion felt dragged out. I was teetering between a 3 and 4 star rating for most of the book, and decided on a solid 3 at the end because although the story was entertaining it will not be memorable. Thank you to #NetGalley for granting me an e-copy; I had the BOTM edition also.

It was cute & funny, and had me constantly scoffing, laughing, or crying. It was current and thoughtful, without trying to hard. Was a perfect balance of all the little things that make a great novel.