ARC Review: Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma
Nisha Sharma knocks it out of the park once again with her follow-up to the delightful Dating Dr. Dil. Her newest adult romance, Tastes Like Shakkar, is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and the second installment of the If Shakespeare Was an Auntie series. It focuses on wedding planner Bobbi Kaur and grumpy chef Benjamin “Bunty” Padda in an enemies-to-lovers romcom that has plenty of spice in and out of the kitchen.
Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma (⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 )
Bookshop* | Goodreads | StoryGraph
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Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found family, he falls first, plus-size FMC
Trigger/Content Warnings: fatphobia, racism, deceased parent, bondage
From the publisher:
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.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I started reading Tastes Like Shakkar before I read Dating Dr. Dil, so when I realized they were connected I just had to go back and listen to the DDD audiobook (which I highly recommend–it was so fun). Once back to TLS, I could not put it down!
This series has easily become one of my favorite romance series. It’s incredibly well-written with fun and lovable characters. I am on my knees begging Nisha Sharma to write my love life! The fictional men in these books have set a standard to which no man in real life could possibly achieve. I mean, Bunty cooking food for Bobbi and sneaking it into her purse because he knows she tends to forget to eat when she’s working? Not to mention him using her geolocation to send her food deliveries when he can’t be there to cook for her! Literally, that’s all I want in a relationship–just keep me fed and happy.
The evolution of Bobbi and Bunty’s relationship was such a fun journey to experience. I was giggling. I was blushing and swinging my feet. I was even reaching for my nightstand drawer a couple times. 😜 I'm such a sucker for romance novels where the male love interest falls first, falls hard, and spends most of the novel slowly breaking down the walls the female main character has built around herself. They make each other better and add value to each other’s lives.
What makes this particular romance stand out was the addition of the shaadi saboteur mystery. I love how this gave Bobbi and Bunty a common goal to make sure nothing bad happens to the wedding instead of just being forced to spend time together planning the wedding menu. It gets them on the same side and makes the foundation of their relationship that much stronger.
The only downside of reading this book is that now I have to wait for the next installment! The If Shakespeare Was an Auntie universe is such a blast to immerse yourself in I can’t wait to see what Nisha Sharma does next.
Dating Dr. Dil* and Tastes Like Shakkar are available from your favorite bookseller.
