They ended their marriage

but they never fell out of love…

Law student Anita Virani hasn’t seen her ex-husband since the ink dried on their divorce papers.

Now she’s agreed to pretend she’s still married to Nikhil until his sister’s wedding celebrations are over—because her former mother-in-law neglected to tell her family of their split!

The closeness they share during the marriage act gives Anita new insight into the man she once loved so deeply. And reignites Nikhil’s feelings for her…

Titles in the Once Upon A Wedding series include — The Five-Day Reunion – Matched by Masala

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  The Five-Day Reunion
Series:  Once Upon A Wedding #1
Author:  Mona Shroff
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  January 25, 2022
Publisher:  Harlequin Books/Harlequin Special Edition
My Rating:  4.5 stars

The Five-Day Reunion begins the Once Upon A Wedding series with a romance that touched my heart and several tropes like a second-chance romance, the forced proximity factors, or even a pretend marriage for a good cause years after they officially divorced.  Anita and Nikhil were once a young couple deeply in love, but real-life often gets in the way of the romance and their short marriage was soon over — or it had been until Nikhil’s sister’s wedding celebration where once lovers, once married partners will reunite with unexpected to them results before this celebration is over.  Nikhil’s mother had never told certain members of her family about the divorce, feeling that it reflected badly on her… and in her elderly father’s eyes, that would have been very true.  Now she’s begging Anita and Nikhil to pretend that all is well, they are still happily married to avoid upsetting Nikhil’s grandfather or adding to his health issues with the truth.  They will reluctantly agree, after all, it’s only a five-day celebration what could possibly go wrong, right?  It only takes a brief moment to fall back in love when one gets the chance to see the one they’ve always loved with fresh, mature eyes… so, yeah, what indeed could possibly go wrong?

I was easily caught up in The Five-Day Reunion for so many reasons.  The writing is smooth, the plot interesting, the characters believable in their choices, and the tears or laughter flowed easily as I learned about traditions and celebrations that captured my imagination.  It’s a story that’s rich in describing the thought process and traditions of a culture that I’ve only looked in on from the outside.  I love to learn new things, it’s one reason why I devour so many novels.  So that was an added bonus for me, personally, in Anita’s and Nikhil’s romance.

The road to romance is often bumpy and full of potholes, and that certainly was still the case for Nikhil and Anita.  Yet, this time with a bit more maturity and perhaps more open minds they were able to find the love that has always been there and rebuild, not what they had but something new and fresh between them only this time with eyes wide open and hearts willing to bend and understand another view beyond their own.  I enjoyed watching the journey as Nikhil and Anita faced the unique situation they were placed in and then owned it as a way back into each other’s lives.  I had fun here, and I’ll definitely be on the watch for the next title in the Once Upon A Wedding series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own – good, bad, or indifferent. I was not financially compensated for this review and no expectation of a positive review was promised.*

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