Honey and Heat

📣 check out this author’s books if you’re into contemporary! I know you will love!Thank you, @berkleyromance, for the free copy #BerkleyRomance #BerkleyPartner #BerkleyBookstagramAurora Palit is an amazing contemporary romance author, & I have loved both books I’ve read by her.Honey & Heat includes an Ice Princess heroine (who runs the whole show) & a charismatic hero who charms the pants off everyone (except the heroine, ever since they realized post-smooch that he is her competition at work).This book is A++ on every level—it showed the emotional & physical connection between Cynthia & Rohit, provided a family background for both leads that was complicated but not too heavy, & portrayed a growing friendship that gave me a different kind of warm & fuzzy.There was more than moment I got those “oh wow!” feelings while reading this book & shopping at the grocery store. One of the moments was so seemingly simple & yet so effective—I don’t want to tell you more bc of spoilers but it was so good!Add this author to your TBR, friends!5 ⭐️, out now.

4.25 stars.I enjoyed "Honey and Heat" by Aurora Palit. Cynthia and Rohit!! YES!! This book is well-paced without a lot of frivolous details or goings-on to bog it down. It's a tightly written book full of culture, romance, spice, and slow-burning affection. I found myself engaged from start to finish in this one-night-stand-coming-back-to-haunt-you, opposites-attract, workplace-romance with a strong, black cat-type of FMC and a ton of chemistry, tension, and sparks between her and the romantic but overworked and stressed-out Rohit. The spice is wonderful, but the mental dynamic between the two of them is even better! They match each other wit for wit, banter for banter. Rohit and Cynthia each have a lot going on in their personal and professional lives, and neither of them thought they'd have romance on the menu. I just love Palit's writing, and she is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. She's funny, insightful, and writes characters with incredible connections and tons of commentary on cultural pressures, expectations, and differences. I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

Thanks to Aurora Palit, Berkeley Publishing, and NetGalley for this book. All opinions are my own.I love seeing South Asian people finally choose each other. There's lot of pop culture ( publishing being no exception) and frankly real culture where we treat each other as something we settle for. Liking each other not just for similarities, or culture but also the attraction and looks. It's sounds shallow but I think it's not. We have fed so much imaging that we think our own race is unattractive. I'm not about it. Honey and Heat is welcome change. It’s so gratifying to see two South Asian people simply openly admire and be attracted each other. Thank you Aurora Palit for not going with the grain.In addition that this is an incredibly engaging and frankly sweet romance. It’s sexy too. The plot is fairly simple these two people have a ONS and like all romance book characters they are shocked to find this person show up in their every day life. In this case, Rohit is the guy taking Cynthia’s dream job as her father’s company next potential CEO. There’s a lot there to unpack like why is Cynthia’s father unaware of his daughter’s interest in leading his company ( she’s very involved in the company and great at her job). Then there’s Rohit, a first generation immigrant from India, who is very much financially supporting his family from Canada and needs this job as well as the fact he’s faking an MBA. A year passes from ONS. Rohit is charmed by Cynthia from the start but she hates his guts. But Cynthia does acknowledge his competency and his affability. To that end, they do find themselves reluctantly admiring each other but it’s at a distance and on the back burner.However one day an enterprising reporter starts snooping around to investigate some rumblings about the company culture. These two are put on assignment to mitigate any potential news and claims. The romance starts build up from there.This is a delight. They’re such promising characters who might snipe and have issue with each other but also lay down their arms when the other needs. Palit does an amazing job discussing resentment from being cut off from your world and yet so responsible for others. Honestly I wasn’t sure if this was modern interpretation of immigrants who immigrate today. While there is more technology, I can admit as South Asian person: I am rooted in my sense of family and there go such pressures. I wouldn’t underestimate how this might affect someone today. Of course, variance in rep and all that.

I, sadly, never really got into Honey and Heat. The characters had their moments and the story was well paced. I didn't ever get invested in the characters and the story didn't catch me. Cynthia switches from having no real likability to being liked by her co-workers but I didn't feel the catalyst for the change was there. We were told she was likable. She did do some things she hadn't before and boom they liked her. The same with her relationship with Rohit. She was great with him the first night, horrible to him for more than a year, then suddenly spending time with him. The story at her father's business was more realistic and plausible.There were good parts to the book and it was worth the read.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the free book and to PRH Audio for the free audiobook. These opinions are my own.Honey and Heat is a sequel to Sunshine and Spice, but it can be read as a stand alone. In this book, we get to see Cynthia in her element at her father's construction business. I always enjoy reading about a strong, competent woman, and Cynthia is a wonderful FMC. Unfortunately for her, her father doesn't see her as clearly. He hires Rohit to be his heir apparent without even considering his daughter.I really enjoy the workplace romance elements. And I liked seeing the interactions between Cynthia and Rohit. It was especially fun when Rohit shared his favorite lines from rom com movies.The book tackles some difficuly themes around misogyny. They simultaenously resonated strongly and were difficult to read.I really enjoyed seeing Cynthia's friendships and her character growth. But the ending left me wishing for a bit more.Vick Krishna and Soneela Nankani were fabulous narrators for the audiobook. I always especially appreciate Soneela and she shone brightly as Cynthia here.