REVIEW: The Dating Game by Mona Shroff
A fake romance will solve all their problems
…And stir up a bunch of new ones!
Veterinary student Saira Rawal definitely believes in love. It’s just…not for her. Not when getting through her days without panic attacks is struggle enough. But at least she has Tyler Hart—her brother’s best friend, who has always been her safe space. He even takes her in when she and her disaster of a therapy puppy need somewhere to stay! So when she can return the favor, helping him save face with his brother by pretending they’re together, she steps right up. With a pretend relationship, it’s not like there’s any chance of someone really getting hurt…right?
Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
CW/TW – mention of alcoholism, on page anxiety attacks
Dear Ms. Shroff,
I was happy to see that this book would focus on Saira and Tyler, the sister and best friend of last book’s hero Aneel. For newcomers, these books do not have to be read in order. As with that book, these characters make some mistakes, have real issues to deal with and sometimes face the fallout from those.
Saira Rawal is a take-charge kind of person though sometimes what she decides to do about drives me up the wall. Saira is in her final semester of veterinary school and has taken her board exams but sometimes stress makes her have panic attacks. Thinking a puppy might help, she adopts a little mutt but then doesn’t take the time to begin puppy training or – and a vet should really know this – get the puppy a crate to keep her from soiling the carpet and shredding the furniture Saira’s ratty apartment, which has a no pets clause, comes with. (Later on there is one mention of a crate but this is after numerous puppy pee/poop mistakes.)
Tossed out on her ass by her irate landlord, Saira grabs her stuff and her puppy and heads to Tyler’s condo. She, Aneel, and Tyler grew up together as the children of single mothers. Tyler has always been a bestie to both Aneel and Saira but while Aneel tries to wrap his rambunctious sister in bubble wrap, Tyler helps her by being there for and supporting Saira as she makes her own choices.
When Tyler’s estranged and, historically, somewhat prickish brother and his new fiancée (who used to date Tyler) suddenly show up needing a place to stay while in Baltimore, Saira immediately steps up and claims Tyler as her fiance. Gotta save her bestie’s face, right? Of course word spreads and suddenly Saira and Tyler are having to do the fake-fiance thing. Saira has also been getting to know her father who left his family years ago. Saira wants a connection with dad while Aneel seethes at the thought of this man back in their lives. As things twist into a knot, can everyone find their equilibrium, understanding, forgiveness, and puppy pads?
There’s a lot going on in this book. Many things come together and end up explaining some mysteries and reasons why there have been estrangements. I like that the actions of some of the characters, even if, as I said, these actions can frustrate me at times, have reasons for existing. The characters’ actions are a product of their lives and in the end, nothing seemed to come from out of the blue.
The serious issues are given time to move from introduction to causing problems and then to resolution. My main complaint would be that most of them are then fairly quickly resolved albeit with discussions among those involved including regrets and apologies from the people who need to offer this. This is definitely a book that needed an epilogue and, yay, this is a ‘one year out’ one. But please, Saira, get a crate at the same time as the puppy the next time. B-
~Jayne
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