Review: Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice

Sugar, Spice, and Can't Play Nice by Annika Sharma
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Payal is an Anglo-Indian fashion designer, living and working in New York. She dreams of having her own fashion line but she needs backing and her family, although wealthy, are in some business difficulties and cannot help her.

Ayaan is also from an Anglo-Indian family and is also living in New York. A stupid mistake when he was sixteen years old haunts him and has resulted in estrangement from his older brother Arun and the rest of his family treating him like the family loser. Ayaan's family business Veer wants to enter into a merger/acquire Payal's family business Luxuriant and in time-honoured tradition they decide that the business deal should be cemented by a matrimonial deal, marrying Ayaan and Payal. Little do they know Ayaan and Payal had a hot and steamy one-night stand which might have turned into something more, if Ayaan's ex-girlfriend (of that morning) hadn't messaged him the morning after.

Now Payal and Ayaan are separately summoned home to be ordered to marry 'for the good of the family'. Although initially vehemently opposed to an arranged marriage, both separately negotiate with their families for what they need to advance professionally: for Ayaan that's 50% of Veer and the position of CMO, for Payal it's Veer sponsoring her fashion line., Payal also intends to break off the engagement once the merger has gone ahead and she has presented her fashion show.

Despite a rocky start, Payal and Ayaan start to work together marketing Payal's clothing line and seem to have more of a connection, after all they have a shared culture and are ex-pats living in New York. Payal might be a party boy, but he knows everyone and has a strong following on social media, soon he's networking and getting Payal noticed.

I was enjoying this, although there were too many descriptions of exactly what everyone was wearing for my taste, but it descended into rinse-and-repeat territory for me. Ayaan slips up and sees his ex-girlfriend, Payal gets made, he grovels, they are friends. Rinse and repeat. Often there is nothing wrong on Ayaan's side. Towards the end I just felt the book was in a holding pattern and needed tightening up.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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