Romance

The Shaadi Set-Up

The Shaadi Set-Up

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-11-29 06:51:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lillie Vale
  • ISBN：059332871X
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Summary

In this witty and heartfelt rom-com debut for fans of Jasmine Guillory， Emily Henry， and Tessa Bailey， an Indian-American woman signs herself and her boyfriend up for a matchmaking site to prove they’re a perfect match， only to be paired with her ex instead。

High school sweethearts Rita Chitniss and Milan Rao were the golden couple， until the day he broke her heart。 Now， six years later， Rita has turned her passion for furniture restoration into a career and has an almost-perfect boyfriend， Neil。 The last thing she needs is for Milan to re-enter her life， but that’s exactly what happens when her mother， an unfailing believer in second chances， sets them up。 Milan is just as charming， cocky， and confident as he was back in school。 Only this time， he actually needs her business expertise， not her heart， to flip a hard-to-sell house for his realty agency。

While Rita begrudgingly agrees to help， she’s not taking any risks。 To prove she’s definitely over him， she signs herself and Neil up on MyShaadi。com， a Desi matchmaking site famous for its success stories and trustworthy enough to convince everyone that she and Neil are the new and improved couple。 Instead， she’s shocked when MyShaadi’s perfect match for her isn’t Neil…it’s Milan。 Ignoring the website and her mother is one thing， but ignoring Milan proves much more difficult， especially when she promises to help him renovate the beach house of her dreams。 And as the two of them dive deeper into work—and their pasts—Rita begins to wonder if maybe her match wasn’t so wrong after all…。

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Reviews

Navneet ，

3。8* Tbh I think the rating I gave is pretty lenient considering I went in with low expectations after being disappointed in another book with desi rep I was excited for。 The book was good but it lacked a major hook point。 It took me a while to finish this book because it was kind of slow and didn’t have a page turner plot， at least for me。 HOWEVER， the book was good， the characters are all loveable。 I liked how there was the backstory with Rita’s mom and her love life too， it was like a bollywo 3。8* Tbh I think the rating I gave is pretty lenient considering I went in with low expectations after being disappointed in another book with desi rep I was excited for。 The book was good but it lacked a major hook point。 It took me a while to finish this book because it was kind of slow and didn’t have a page turner plot， at least for me。 HOWEVER， the book was good， the characters are all loveable。 I liked how there was the backstory with Rita’s mom and her love life too， it was like a bollywood movie。 Reading books with desi rep and their love stories just hit different cause you’re there like damn when I getting this 😂😭Loved how this book points out that your second-chance love doesn’t always have to be with the same person your first love was with， it can be with someone else cause it’s still your second chance at love。 。。。more

Ellen ，

An enjoyable and light read about Rita and Milan finding their way back to each other after six years apart。 Rita signs up on a dating app for people looking for marriage， an alternative to arranged marriages of the older generation。 When she matches with her ex， she tries to deny the results until she begins a home renovation with Milan。 Sparks fly， as these two come to a realization about their breakup。 It’s a fun read， and thanks to NetGalley for the ARC。

Ashley Williams ，

Good， not great second chance love story。 I found the writing a little cheesy and it took me ages to be interested enough in the characters to finish。。。 But I did。 3/5

readingbookswithtaye （Taye） ，

I loved reading this second chance love story。 This was a very very slow burn but the story was paced beautifully with so many feelings and emotions。 Rita and Milan were once in love and they have been exes for six years。 I loved watching them fall in love with each other all over again。 Rita runs Dharma Designs， a furniture restoration business and I loved that she wanted to follow her passion of refurbishing old furniture even if it meant going against traditional norms of what is expected of I loved reading this second chance love story。 This was a very very slow burn but the story was paced beautifully with so many feelings and emotions。 Rita and Milan were once in love and they have been exes for six years。 I loved watching them fall in love with each other all over again。 Rita runs Dharma Designs， a furniture restoration business and I loved that she wanted to follow her passion of refurbishing old furniture even if it meant going against traditional norms of what is expected of her in her culture。 Milan is a real estate agent who needs help flipping an unsellable house and they are pushed together by their meddling mothers。 Milan was such as softie， I did hate him for breaking up with Rita through voicemail but he was redeemed because he had still had feelings for Rita。 Milan also needed to a bit more mature because he didn’t always convince me that he respected Rita and his attitude towards resolving their conflict was childlike。 I would have loved if the book had been in dual POV， other than a voicemail from Milan for more insights into his feelings， thoughts and actions。 I enjoyed the fluffy and domestic scenes！ I especially enjoyed Rita and Milan's time together playing house while renovating the beach house and Milan's romantic gestures。 The food descriptions had me craving Indian food！The secondary characters were hilarious， Rita and Milan's meddlesome mothers， Rita's grandmother Aji who is just so extra， even Milan's parents who ambushed the couple and Rajvee， who's described as genderfluid is usually up for any antics like going with Rita on a mission to steal a table that she restored。 I definitely think that the idea of an arranged marriage is outdated and I know it’s very common in South Asian and East Asian cultures。 I loved how this book showed what Desi （Indian） kids face when it comes to marriage and keeping their families happy。 I recommend this book， if you like a hilarious， emotional second chance romance with dogs， one who likes to be carried out and the other who creates chaos！ 。。。more

Cynthia ，

I wanted to like this one more than I did but it fell kinda flat。 Plus there were s few bites that rubbed me the wrong way。

Topaz Olivia Rossi ，

Lovely story and characters， and the dogs were a fun part of the story

Shazia ，

Cute but predictable。 I still liked it though because first off I’m south Asian and could totally relate to the characters and the plot， but I also love chick lit。 The only reason this lost stars for me is because I wish there was more character development。 They were so basic and as a result， I didn’t get too emotionally invested in them。 I want a book where I’m drawn in and can’t wait to keep the pages turning

laurel [the suspected bibliophile] ，

Solid and entertaining， but I kept trying to figure out how this was New Bern， NC， because there were islands and stuff nearby and a relatively short ferry journey？Second chance romances are always hard to do right， and I just don't know that this one nailed it， because these two had a lot of baggage to get over and a fuckton of miscommunication that needed to be straightened out。 And they became landlords—renting out their dream home in order to afford living in it later down the road after fli Solid and entertaining， but I kept trying to figure out how this was New Bern， NC， because there were islands and stuff nearby and a relatively short ferry journey？Second chance romances are always hard to do right， and I just don't know that this one nailed it， because these two had a lot of baggage to get over and a fuckton of miscommunication that needed to be straightened out。 And they became landlords—renting out their dream home in order to afford living in it later down the road after flipping it to perfection and。。。okay， sure I guess？I dunno。 It was entertaining and I liked Rita's voice， but Milan was boring and their romance was kinda meh overall。 。。。more

Erika ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was not for me at all。 I skimmed the last 50-60 pages， not gonna lie。 I'm usually fine with some miscommunication trope and some slow burn， but this what not it。 Our MC dragged along a boyfriend that she didn't even seem to like nearly halfway into the book。 I have never been annoyed more by a MC， especially towards the end with the miscommunication with the hero。 MC and hero were just not figuring it out。 Again， I'm fine with a little miscommunication but this was unbearable。 Happy for tho This was not for me at all。 I skimmed the last 50-60 pages， not gonna lie。 I'm usually fine with some miscommunication trope and some slow burn， but this what not it。 Our MC dragged along a boyfriend that she didn't even seem to like nearly halfway into the book。 I have never been annoyed more by a MC， especially towards the end with the miscommunication with the hero。 MC and hero were just not figuring it out。 Again， I'm fine with a little miscommunication but this was unbearable。 Happy for those who loved this。 Wish that could have been me。 。。。more

Holly Saville ，

Another cheesy romance novel to round out the honeymoon。 I devoured this one。Just as her afterward acknowledges， I think this book was successful because the lead was not as much impeded by her own culture or doubt of self worth。 No， she was a strong， independent woman who didn’t need no man and I stanned the romance anyways！Very predictable， and at times very frustrating （e。g。 “He’s totally in love with you， how DON’T you see it？！） but still left me with the warm fuzzies at the end。 Exactly wha Another cheesy romance novel to round out the honeymoon。 I devoured this one。Just as her afterward acknowledges， I think this book was successful because the lead was not as much impeded by her own culture or doubt of self worth。 No， she was a strong， independent woman who didn’t need no man and I stanned the romance anyways！Very predictable， and at times very frustrating （e。g。 “He’s totally in love with you， how DON’T you see it？！） but still left me with the warm fuzzies at the end。 Exactly what I expect （and need） from a good romance！ 。。。more

Kelly Stella ，

I feel like this book had a good premise and had the makings for maybe a 4 star rating， but it is verrry slow moving。 I kept waiting for some epic romantic reunion and got basically nothing （I think total there are two quick kissing scenes and one fade to black？？）。 But we do get hundreds of pages about analyzing misunderstandings from the past and second guessing what that means for the future 🙄Things I Did Like:-I appreciate that the author shared in her acknowledgements section about how she w I feel like this book had a good premise and had the makings for maybe a 4 star rating， but it is verrry slow moving。 I kept waiting for some epic romantic reunion and got basically nothing （I think total there are two quick kissing scenes and one fade to black？？）。 But we do get hundreds of pages about analyzing misunderstandings from the past and second guessing what that means for the future 🙄Things I Did Like:-I appreciate that the author shared in her acknowledgements section about how she wanted to have a book with a Desi character that didn't struggle with her identity or have her background be her main conflict。 As the author put it， she could just "be。"-I liked Rita's immediate family and wouldn't have minded getting to know them a little better。 Their background story was more interesting than Rita's。-Rita's dogs and their polar opposite personalities were great and I loved them immediately 😍-I feel like I got genuine fixer upper advice when it comes to interior decorating and found those descriptions interesting （ex。 clean white sheets for beds but adding color/cozy vibes with a quilt）。It wasn't a bad book， but just way too slow and drawn out with not much payoff at the end。 I don't need a lot of spice in my romance novels， but I didn't feel the attraction between the main characters and couldn't really get invested in their relationship。 This may have been exasperated by the fact that they didn't really have any roadblocks in the way of their relationship besides "overthinking things。" 。。。more

Kimberly ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Predictable but I loved it anyways。 ;）

Aditi ，

At the end of the book， the author has a note saying this is the book she always wanted to read about Desi characters and I thought yes！！ So much so yes！！The leads are Desi， second generation indians raised in America。 It is a part of the identity but there are no massive conflicts， identity crisis etc that rise from it。 It just is， a fact and I loved that。 Rita was not struggling to reconcile the many sides of her， neither are Neil or Milan。Again I usually don't like books where the bulk of the At the end of the book， the author has a note saying this is the book she always wanted to read about Desi characters and I thought yes！！ So much so yes！！The leads are Desi， second generation indians raised in America。 It is a part of the identity but there are no massive conflicts， identity crisis etc that rise from it。 It just is， a fact and I loved that。 Rita was not struggling to reconcile the many sides of her， neither are Neil or Milan。Again I usually don't like books where the bulk of the book takes place around 2 characters abd their thoughts but I did like this book。 It was obvious that so much of their issues could have been resolved by just communicating。 It was still sweet and I enjoyed it a lot despite the obvious lack of communication on everyone's part。 。。。more

Amiee ，

This book was a mess。 Rita clearly disliked her boyfriend。。。but wanted to be matched with him？ And it took almost 50% of the book for this to play out。。。So many times I wanted to DNF。。。but I stuck with it and it took forever。 She was over long with details but then not enough story。This was a mess。

Reina ，

I absolutely love this book！ A second chance at first love。 ❤️

Vidhi ，

It's always so exciting reading books where I feel represented and this one was no exception。 I really liked both Rita and Milan and their conflict and resolution felt so sweet and natural。 Having two characters who reunite years after their breakup is always a fun trope but I especially liked how neither of them had put their life on hold pining for the other。 It was refreshing to see characters actually act like people and move on while still thinking about what could have been。 I also loved h It's always so exciting reading books where I feel represented and this one was no exception。 I really liked both Rita and Milan and their conflict and resolution felt so sweet and natural。 Having two characters who reunite years after their breakup is always a fun trope but I especially liked how neither of them had put their life on hold pining for the other。 It was refreshing to see characters actually act like people and move on while still thinking about what could have been。 I also loved having all the Desi references throughout the novel that I could relate to within my own family。I was slightly disappointed that， after explaining that Raj was gender fluid and used she/he/they pronouns， the author solely referred to them as "she"。 I wish there was a little more diversity in the pronoun usage for this character。 。。。more

Bookish ，

Got some whiplash from this one。 I came so close to quitting because it was so BORING and our mc kept talking to herself about the same thing over and over。 I already do that myself hence the book escape。 However， there were those golden moments that really kept me hooked。 Particularly with how Rita and Milan communicated to each other。 When they decided to at least 🙄

Miko Lee ，

Cute romance novel focused on a Desi American woman who does unique furniture restoration。 Stuck in a secret relationship with a sweet guy she still pines for her first love。 Suddenly both of their moms push the woman and her hunky ex to work together on staging an unsellable house。 The push and pull of their younger life together comes up as misunderstandings and flirtatious memories collide。

Bajidc ，

With “Shaadi” in the title， I expected more mature behaving adults rather than floundering， dithering， Instagram-and-Etsy obsessed YAs。 I’m too old for this tuttee。 DNF。

tayla ，

it had me in the first half not gonna lie…。。 the relationship build up was so much better than when they were actually together。 then i was a bit bored

Heather ，

I have a strong preference for romance novels that are told from both characters viewpoints。 We only got this story through Rita's and that was part of the reason I didn't get really into it。 Mostly though， I just felt like more could have been done with the story。 I didn't feel like enough was happening in the present to make the story really engaging。 I didn't feel like we got a lot of Milan。 And the "shaadi setup" part of the story - I felt like that wasn't needed at all。 What I did like a lo I have a strong preference for romance novels that are told from both characters viewpoints。 We only got this story through Rita's and that was part of the reason I didn't get really into it。 Mostly though， I just felt like more could have been done with the story。 I didn't feel like enough was happening in the present to make the story really engaging。 I didn't feel like we got a lot of Milan。 And the "shaadi setup" part of the story - I felt like that wasn't needed at all。 What I did like a lot: the descriptions of food and design。 Really great！ 。。。more

Me ，

So far the characters are very annoying not sure I will finish this book。。。UPDATE DNF1。5 stars

Claire ，

Liked: South Asian and sexual minority representation Disliked: My biggest gripe was that the writing/ sentence structure was a little clunky and hard to follow at times。 Plot-wise， a lot of the Romeo and Juliet - level miscommunication was pretty predictable。 I didn’t find myself very invested in the main character’s well-being。 Her internal monologues came off as less mature for her age。 I wished I had liked it more :（

Ari ，

Dnf at 61%this was boring and I did not care about the romance and the reason why the male broke up with the female lead was so stupid。 Also I hated the writing and was skimming about half the paragraph

Bookishrealm ，

This is my very first book by Lillie Vale！ While I enjoyed the premise of The Shaadi Set-Up， there were a couple of elements that I didn't enjoy including the use of the miscommunication trope as well as an unnecessary love triangle。 3。5 StarsThe Shaadi Set-Up focuses primarily on Rita who is attempting to make things work with her boyfriend by getting them to match on a Desi dating website。 In doing so， the two won't feel the pressure from their parents regarding their relationship。 At the same This is my very first book by Lillie Vale！ While I enjoyed the premise of The Shaadi Set-Up， there were a couple of elements that I didn't enjoy including the use of the miscommunication trope as well as an unnecessary love triangle。 3。5 StarsThe Shaadi Set-Up focuses primarily on Rita who is attempting to make things work with her boyfriend by getting them to match on a Desi dating website。 In doing so， the two won't feel the pressure from their parents regarding their relationship。 At the same time， Rita is faced with dealing with her high school/college sweetheart who seemingly abandoned her and broke up with her without just cause/reason。 There were some really interesting elements of this book including the cultural explorations of the dating website as well as intricate conversations regarding arranged marriages and familial expectations。 I absolutely adored the inclusion of home renovations/real estate because it served as common element that brought Rita and Milan together。 The two characters have great chemistry and it's clear why their relationship worked so well in the past。 Nevertheless， there were a few elements included in this book that prohibited me from giving it higher than a 3。5。 Quite frankly， I thought that the inclusion of the love triangle was unnecessary。 Readers are led to believe that Neil and Rita have a certain relationship that doesn't really exist。 When I began to realize that， I began to feel as though there really wasn't a reason for Neil or the relationship between Rita and Neil to exist。 I'm also not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope， so when Rita and Milan finally begin to interact with each other and attempt to figure out what went wrong with their relationship， I instantaneously became disengaged。 There relationship literally ends over something that could have been solved with 1 or 2 sentences。 This doesn't detract from the chemistry the two shared; however， I just couldn't get over the reason why the ended up not speaking to each other for 6 years。 Also， I think that the way in which they attempted to reconcile their relationship brought out a certain level of immaturity in Milan。 I really enjoyed him overall， but when it came to rebuilding their relationship， I became frustrated with him and felt as though Rita let him get off a little to easily。 Overall， this was a solid romance book。 I did enjoy the characters and a host of other elements; however， I think that books that have the miscommunication trope are books that I don't really enjoy。 。。。more

Naadhira Zahari ，

The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale follows Rita and Milan who finally cross their paths after six years of breaking up。 They are thrown together with the help of meddling Indian mothers and get a second chance at love。 This story shows that if you love someone， you are willing to stay and tackle any obstacles with each other。 At first， since this is a romcom， I thought it would have silly bantering and lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers。 But I was wrong。 There was none of that。 Just two people who hide a The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale follows Rita and Milan who finally cross their paths after six years of breaking up。 They are thrown together with the help of meddling Indian mothers and get a second chance at love。 This story shows that if you love someone， you are willing to stay and tackle any obstacles with each other。 At first， since this is a romcom， I thought it would have silly bantering and lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers。 But I was wrong。 There was none of that。 Just two people who hide away their true feelings by letting things swirl around and make the situation so much worse。 They basically have really terrible communication problems， assumptions that lead to misunderstandings that finally take years to resolve。 A lot of the jokes that the characters throw around are really cliche and uncomfortable for me。 It was like they're trying way too hard。 It's just really awkward *cue cricket sounds* I don't really feel their chemistry and it was like they met each other again， spend some time， rethink over their past decisions and get together again。 I think the pace could be better and I just wish the author spent more time with Milan rather than the ex， Neil。 I really thought I was going to enjoy this book but after writing this review， I realised that it ain't all that。 I had high hopes and really wanted to enjoy this book to the fullest。 I was just hoping for more from the couple and what I got was cringey lines and undetected chemistry。 I'm not sure if I want to recommend you to read this book because I'm kind of on the fence。 Overall， it was just an okay read and I think it could be so much better。 。。。more

Emma Andje ，

*actual rating is 3。5 stars*

Jen B ，

This was fine but kind of slow。 Really lingered on my bedside table。

Margaret Retsema ，

DNF- i tried， i really did。 But did not grasp my attention and i ran out my library borrow。 Don’t even feel bummed about needing to return it。

E-Lynn Kok ，

This book is quite the set-up。 Rita and Milan were high school sweethearts until 6 years ago， he broke her heart。 Now， Rita restores furniture and interior design， is in an okok relationship and has two adorable dogs。 The thing with India culture is， your parents will be involved in your life， from all aspects。 Especially， your dating life。 6 years after the breakup， Milan is a top realty agent at his luxurious realty company。 Milan needs help with redesigning a hard-to-sell house， and Rita need This book is quite the set-up。 Rita and Milan were high school sweethearts until 6 years ago， he broke her heart。 Now， Rita restores furniture and interior design， is in an okok relationship and has two adorable dogs。 The thing with India culture is， your parents will be involved in your life， from all aspects。 Especially， your dating life。 6 years after the breakup， Milan is a top realty agent at his luxurious realty company。 Milan needs help with redesigning a hard-to-sell house， and Rita needs a new project to make ends meet。 In comes the Desi mothers， taking the role of Universal Attraction to set them up， professionally of course。 Anything more than that is a bonus :） ， their mothers totally didn't have their hopes up。This book is about ex to lovers， rediscovering someone you used to love when you were young， a slow burn house flipping Indian romance filled with food， banter and pups。 It is a quick read if you are looking for a fast-paced contemporary book。 However， even though it is an adult contemporary， the writing style leans towards YA Fiction。 The cuteness of them is easy to make you smile。 There are some cliche scenes and lines that are usually CrIngE for me， in this book， it kinda works？？ It was tolerable， I didn't hate it but I felt that the book would be just as fine without them。 With those cliches， it makes the book more designed to woo the readers with overused gimmicks used in many books。 This book is quite predictable， it is an easy fast read to make you feel warm inside and believe in second chances。 It is a dramatic angst Desi soap opera in a book version。 There were many quote takeaways， I found lots of big brain moments too。 Rita's best friend is delightfully quirky， she is bi and identifies as she/he/them。 I hate that she has so little page time， I see some opportunity to involve her more in the book。 When she does appear， it is always sudden and irrelevant to the plot。 I wish she contributed more since I would love to get to know her more。 Thank you @times。reads for the review copy。 It arrived just in time for Diwali！ Diwali Mood activated。 Ding！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Shaadi Set-Up

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Shaadi Set-Up&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Shaadi Set-Up&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0