Naina Kumar – författare

"I couldn't put down this page-turner. . . . The new When Harry Met Sally . . . a warm, smart, sexy, and absolutely charming debut."-Colleen Hoover

A teacher with big dreams joins forces with a no-nonsense engineer to survive an ex's wedding and escape matchmaking pressure from their Indian families. Their plan? Faking an engagement, of course.

Meghna Raman defied her parents' wishes and followed her life's passion, becoming a theater teacher and aspiring playwright. When she discovers that her beloved writing partner, best friend, and secret crush, Seth, is engaged-and not to her-she realizes he's about to become the one-that-got-away. Even worse, he's asked her to be his best man. And worse than that, she's agreed. Determined to try and move on, Meghna agrees to let her parents introduce her to a potential match. Maybe she could marry the engineer that her parents still wish she'd become.

Grumpy engineer Karthik Murthy has seen enough of his parents' marriage to know it's not for him. He agreed to his mother's matchmaking attempts to make her happy, never dreaming he would meet someone as vibrant as Meghna. Though he can't offer her something real, a fake engagement could help Meghna soothe the sting of planning Seth's wedding festivities and Karthik avoid the absurd number of set-ups his mother has planned for him.

As the two find common ground, grow protective of each other's hearts, and start to fall for the traits they originally thought they hated, an undeniable chemistry emerges. But soon, their expectations and insecurities threaten something that's become a lot more real than they'd planned.

Say You'll Be Mine is a delightful trip back to the heyday of swoony romantic comedies from the nineties, but with a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.

Brought to you by Penguin.Think of it like Tinder. Except your parents are the algorithm, and both parties are looking for a life-long commitment...Meghna has tried everything when it comes to dating: blind dates, apps, attempting to drum up conversations with strangers at bars (ew). Everything except arranged marriage.But then Seth, her best friend and the-one-who-got-away asks her to be his ''best man'' and suddenly her parent''s taste doesn''t seem so bad...Which is how she meets the grumpy but handsome Karthik, who has seen enough of his parents'' relationship to know marriage is not for him.Turns out, Meghna and Karhtik are a match made in heaven (if not the one their parents think they are making) - and a deal is struck. They will be fake-engaged for three months. That way Karthik will get out of the absurd number of arranged set-ups his mother has planned and Meghna will have a date to the wedding from her worst nightmares.But what will happen when the wedding is over? Maybe what they thought was fake is real after all?Brimming with characters you can''t help but fall for and off-the-charts chemistry, SAY YOU''LL BE MY JAAN is both a trip back to the heyday of swoony nineties romantic comedies and a deep and poignant look at the effects of culture and family in our most intimate relationships.©2024 Naina Kumar (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Brought to you by Penguin. Hot shot DC lawyer Meena is engaged - well, sort of. Her fiancé-to-be thinks they are. The only hitch? Meena is already married.Which is how she ends up Houston bound to convince her childhood-sweetheart-slash-husband (courtesy of one slightly too wild night in Vegas nearly a decade ago) to finally agree to get UN-hitched.But life loves to throw curve balls, or in this case, a good old natural disaster.She touches down just in time to find out a hurricane is coming - all flights are cancelled and the only place she can take refuge? Her soon-to-be-ex-husband''s home.Will the storm force them to face what happened all those years ago? And might this be the best worst thing that has ever happened to them?© Naina Kumar 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025