Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma

Anyone who has followed my blog will know how much I enjoy stories set in a culture outside of my own.  When an author writes in OwnVoices, it gives authenticity and credibility to these stories.  Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma is an enlightening look at what it’s like to try and find a partner as a second-generation Indo-American. This book is the first in the author’s “If Shakespeare was an Auntie” series and will be published on March 15, 2022.

From The Publisher:

Kareena Mann dreams of having a love story like her parents, but she prefers restoring her classic car to swiping right on dating apps. When her father announces he’s selling her mother’s home, Kareena makes a deal with him: he’ll gift her the house if she can get engaged in four months. Her search for her soulmate becomes impossible when her argument with Dr. Prem Verma, host of The Dr. Dil Show, goes viral. Now the only man in her life is the one she doesn’t want.
Dr. Prem Verma is dedicated to building a local community health center, but he needs to get donors with deep pockets. The Dr. Dil Show was doing just that until his argument with Kareena went viral, and he’s left short-changed. That’s when Kareena’s meddling aunties presented him with a solution: convince Kareena he’s her soulmate and they’ll fund his clinic.
Even though they have conflicting views on love matches and arranged matches, the more time Prem spends with Kareena, the more he begins to believe she’s the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But for Prem and Kareena to find their happily ever after, they must admit that hate has turned into fate.

Book Review:

I enjoyed reading this book.  I live in a city with a large number of Indian immigrants and have worked with many second-generation Indo-Canadian women.  This book has provided me with a better understanding of what it is like to be a part of this community.

Dating Dr. Dil is a celebration of family and relationships.  Kareena is a successful thirty-year-old woman living in her family home and grieving the loss of her mother.  She remembers her parent’s marriage as one based on love and this is what she hopes for in a partner.  Her younger sister is recently engaged which asserts more pressure on Kareena to find a partner.

Prem is also known as Dr. Dil who hosts his show which sheds light on some of the unique health challenges of the Indo-American community.  As a nurse, I find this is such an important part of this book as the medical world begins to acknowledge the need to individualize health care instead of using a model where one size fits all. He hopes to open his community health centre specializing in the care of those in his cultural community.  His parents had an arranged marriage and he doesn’t believe in love.

When Kareena and Prem meet there is intense physical attraction.  But is this enough when Kareena wants a relationship built on love and Prem can’t offer this.  The book asks the question, do parents’ relationships affect their children’s ability to find love?

This is a fun, steamy look at dating and finding a soulmate.  I was engaged and entertained throughout the book and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

What I Liked:

• The discussion of the unique cultural aspects of dating in this community
• The information about the need for medicine to individualize health care includes looking at culture
• The meddling aunties who brought levity to the story

I Recommend Dating Dr. Dil To:

Those readers who enjoy contemporary romance books.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Add Dating Dr. Dil to your Goodreads shelf

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon

Thanks for reading!  What are you reading today?  Let me know in the comments!

I hope that you have a wonderful day ☺️