Book Summary: A Sweet Deal
Say hi to Rumana. A freshly minted (baked?) chef who decides to trade her powersuit for chef’s whites to live her dream of owning a café. Cut to six months later and there is Not Too Sweet, a gorgeous little café with a burgeoning clientele. This is home and heart and everything in between. But Rumana’s baker’s bliss is cut short when competition drives in not only right into her street but parks itself right next door! What the…
Enter Daniyal—rock star chef, too good-looking, and annoyingly charming. With him around, Rumana flits between being putty in his hands—giving away a cherished recipe to him when he asks nicely!—and getting mad at herself for her actions. But battle lines get drawn when Daniyal decides to present her recipe to the world with his take on it. Attracted towards the wild-haired Rumana, whose sweet kisses are a complete contradiction to her angry personality, Daniyal has no idea what’s about to hit him.
At Daniyal’s Desserts, he can’t get her out of his mind. At Not Too Sweet, Rumana is plotting sweet revenge. Will the two be able to strike a sweet deal?
Book Review: A Sweet Deal
A Sweet Deal by Andaleeb Wajid is really a fun book if you’re looking for something heart-warming and whimsical and, I guess you could say, ‘sweet’. The chemistry between Rumana and Daniyal really kept me going and the side characters are so funny. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments.
I was pulled into the story from the first page of A Sweet Deal. Rumana, who I liked instantly, is my favourite kind of heroine: feisty, independent, a woman who on the outside seems prickly and hard, but is really soft from inside with a kind heart and just needs the right man to bring out that side of her nature.
Then enters Daniyal, the (not so) sweet, adorable, and hard working chef who has high standards and runs his own restaurant called ‘Daniyal’s Dessert’ just besides Rumana’s cafe ‘Not Too Sweet’. After lots of banter and eye glaring, he eventually sees behind all her bravado and falls madly in love with her. Although, occasionally he still gets a little miffed that she won’t open up to him.
I found Rumana and Daniyal’s characters to be really well-rounded and totally believable. The relationship between them is also sweet/sour kind: the ‘love/hate’ relationship, making it all the more entertaining with the romance and tension racking up to the highest. The lead up to them getting together is timed perfectly, nothing is rushed and it doesn’t take forever either. When they do get together it’s delicious to witness.
I really loved the atmosphere of the restaurant and kitchen. It came alive with all the different quirky characters. I’m also a bit of a foodie so this book did all sorts of things to my taste buds. The descriptions of some of the dishes (cupcakes) had my mouth watering. The supporting cast of characters had great personalities too and I liked each and every one of them.
The ending reads a bit like a hollywood rom-com, but it is satisfying all the same. It’s warm, fun and hot, if a little predictable. A Sweet Deal by Andaleeb Wajid is a great book to curl up with on a cold winters night with a delicious hot chocolate.
