Marriage & Masti: A Novel

by Nisha Sharma

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Nisha Sharma keeps the feminist Shakespeare retellings coming, this time taking on Twelfth Night. It's got all the hallmarks you love in the modern rom-com space while the subverting of Shakespeare keeps things fresh, funny and full of surprises.

The third and final installment in Nisha Sharma’s beloved Shakespeare-inspired rom-com trilogy—an ode to Twelfth Night—is the perfect friends to lovers romp featuring an accidental wedding, meddling families, and plenty of sizzling chemistry.

Veera Mathur has been through a lot in the past year. Both of her friends found soul mates, the man she fell in love with got engaged to another woman, and her father fired her before selling the family company. When her twin sister, Sana, tells her there is no way of getting her old life back, Veera feels lost at sea: a single, unemployed mess with a bad tattoo and tons of talent, but nowhere to go.

Deepak Datta hasn’t had the best luck either. To secure enough board votes for the CEO position at his family's company, Illyria Media, he’s ready to marry board member and famous beauty influencer, Olivia Gupta. That is until he wakes up to a get ready with me video announcing their separation. Despite his immediate relief, Deepak needs to do something fast to repair his image.

After a series of convenient mishaps bring them together again—including a literal shipwreck, way too many drinks, and a sunset elopement on the beach—Deepak and Veera realize their accidental wedding might be the solution to their career aspirations. Together, they plot against the very company that ruined their lives in the first place.

As they try to convince the world their friendship was a ruse for romance they’ve felt all along, the line between fake and real begins to blur. Now Veera and Deepak must ask themselves the terrifying question that has haunted them since the first time they met: will love ruin everything?

With her signature humor and heartfelt storytelling, Nisha Sharma writes a messy, spicy romance about identity, family honor, and love. In Marriage & Masti, readers are sure to love the highly anticipated finale of this beloved trilogy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063001190
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Series:	If Shakespeare Were an Auntie , #3
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	89,056
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Nisha Sharma is a YA and adult contemporary romance writer living in the Philly suburbs with her Alaskan husband, and a plethora of animals named after characters in literature. Her books have been included in best-of lists by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Time Magazine and more. Before leaving the corporate world, Nisha spearheaded DEI initiatives at billion-dollar companies. She has continued her advocacy work by fighting for equity and equality in publishing. When she’s not writing, Nisha can be found hitting the books for her PhD in English and Social Justice. 

Editorial Reviews

06/24/2024

Loosely inspired by Twelfth Night, Sharma’s charming final If Shakespeare Was an Auntie romance finds twins Veera and Sana Mathur at a low point. Their father has just fired them and merged the family business, Mathur Financial Group, with a “global media empire” owned by the father of Deepak Datta, Veera’s former best friend and secret crush. Determined to prove their worth, the sisters attempt to restart Mathur Financial on their own and head from New Jersey to a resort on the coast of Goa to drum up clients. The trip turns sour, however, after they lose their purses in a boating accident—with the hotel bill yet to be paid. The only person they trust to bail them out is Deepak, who drops everything to come help. While out drinking that night, Deepak and Veera meet an engaged couple who are unsure about the steps of their traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. To reassure them, Deepak and Veera provide a demonstration—and wake up the next morning realizing that, according to Indian custom, they are now actually married. It’s messy, but they can both use the marriage to their professional advantage—if, that is, they can prove the validity of their elopement while ignoring their growing feelings for each other. Sharma’s blend of comedic misunderstandings, Indian culture, and red-hot chemistry is a winning combo. Series fans will not be disappointed. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Nisha Sharma writes love stories that feel like the most special kind of magic. This book is a must for every romance lover!” 
— Hannah Grace, New York Times bestselling author

"[C]harming...Sharma’s blend of comedic misunderstandings, Indian culture, and red-hot chemistry is a winning combo. Series fans will not be disappointed." — Publishers Weekly

In this final installment of the delightful trilogy of retellings, Sharma (Tastes Like Shakkar) features her entertaining mainstay of close friendships, sexy storylines, and boisterous family members set within a tight-knit and elite South Asian community. — Library Journal

“Sharma loosely riffs on Much Ado About Nothing in this hilarious and red-hot sequel to Dating Dr. Dil…With a charming (and lovingly meddlesome) supporting cast and plenty of glamorous pre-wedding events along the way, this exhilarating rom-com hits all the right notes. Readers will have no trouble cheering on these sparring hearts.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Tastes Like Shakkar

"Nisha Sharma's Dating Dr. Dil is what would happen if you put all my favorite romantic comedy tropes into a blender: a frothy, snarky, hilarious treat with a gooey, heartwarming center. The perfect addition to any rom-com lover's shelf." — Emily Henry

“Bursting with character, spicy tension and laughs, Dating Dr. Dil is the enemies to lovers dream book!” — Tessa Bailey

“Buoyant … There’s a lot in this novel: best friends, demanding siblings, difficult parents, aunties on the rampage.” — New York Times Book Review on Dating Dr. Dil

“Sharma knows how to craft a tale with a blend of irresistible rom-com hijinks and real world stakes that makes it easy to get lost in her work.” — Entertainment Weekly on Dating Dr. Dil

"What a joy! Dating Dr. Dil is further proof that Nisha Sharma is a mega-talent who can do it all. Anything Nisha Sharma writes is an auto-buy for me." — Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This book is rom-com gold: steamy, hilarious fun with tons of swoony, emotional scenes.” — Washington Post

"We simply cannot go into spring without a rom-com, and Nisha Sharma has provided us with exactly what we need!" — Shondaland

"Nisha Sharma’s new romcom, inspired by The Taming Of The Shrew, promises to be charming and hilarious." — Book Riot

“In Dating Dr. Dil, Sharma has created a heartwarming story that immersed me in a fun, sexy, swelteringly hot romance filled with culture, love and family.” — Tracey Livesay, award-winning author of American Royalty

From the Publisher

07/01/2024

Veera's been in love with her friend Deepak for a long time, so when he suddenly announces his engagement to a gorgeous influencer, she's crushed and cuts off contact with him. A year later, disaster strikes, and she has no recourse but to call Deepak for help. Having just experienced a very public breakup, Deepak is happy to flee New York to rescue his beloved friend in Goa, India. Despite their estrangement, Veera and Deepak fall easily into their old friendship, and after a night of drinks, they accidentally end up getting married. Deepak convinces Veera to stay married since it'll help both their career aspirations back home in New York City. But while Veera tries her best to hide her true feelings for him, Deepak begins to genuinely fall for her and sets about to transform their marriage of convenience into something real. VERDICT In this final installment of the delightful trilogy of retellings, Sharma (Tastes Like Shakkar) features her entertaining mainstay of close friendships, sexy storylines, and boisterous family members set within a tight-knit and elite South Asian community.—Migdalia Jimenez

Library Journal

Vikas Adam and Soneela Nankani narrate a story of a fake marriage of convenience loosely inspired by Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT. Veera Mathur and Deepak Datta never meant to end up married to each other, but they decide to make the best of the situation as it solves problems for both of them. However, all too soon their feelings become too real to ignore. Veera has quite a bit of family trauma to overcome, and Nankani's portrayal shows a woman who is finally coming into her own after years of making herself small. Deepak has spent his time coasting through life doing what is expected, and Adam's portrayal highlights his joy at finally deciding to live his life for himself. Both narrators give thoughtful performances of sometimes difficult topics. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2024 - AudioFile