ARC Review: First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel

On the verge of realizing her dream of being a doctor, Preeti Patel should be ecstatic. But between the stress of her residency, trying to find a job, and managing her traditional, no-boundaries family, Preeti’s anxiety is through the roof. Relationships and love aren’t even an option. Fortunately, Preeti’s finally found a new place to stay . . . only to discover that her new roommate is her ex.

Preeti never quite got over Daniel Thompson. Super-hot, plenty of swagger, amazing cook—the guy is practically perfect. And if it weren’t for their families, there might have been a happily ever after. But it’s hard to keep her sanity and libido in check when the man of her dreams is sleeping mere feet away. Can Preeti and Daniel find a way to stand up and fight for each other one last time . . . before they lose their second chance?

• Title: First Love, Take Two
• Author: Sajni Patel
• Publisher: Forever
• Genre: Contemporary, Romance
• Age Range: Adult
• Content warnings: sexual assault (mentioned), racism, classism, xenophobia, heart attack (past, off-page, mentioned), medical related talk (complications with pregnancy/fetal demise, cancer mention), anxiety, depression, slut shaming 
• Rating: ★★★★

One of my favorite tropes in romance is second chance romance — right after right person, wrong time (or its sibling, right person, not enough time), and so you can only imagine how excited I was when I heard about First Love, Take Two. 

First Love, Take Two is the second book in the The Trouble with Hating You universe, but you don’t have to read The Trouble with Hating You prior to reading it! First Love, Take Two follows Preeti Patel, who is nearing the end of her residency, trying to find a new place to live, and securing a job. It just so happens that her temporary housing arrangement comes with a surprise: her ex, Daniel Thompson, who she’s never quite gotten over, despite the fact that they broke up six years ago.

There’s much to love about First Love, Take Two, but I wanted to start with this: I often feel like interracial relationships depicted in media are between a person of color and a white person, and I really appreciated that that wasn’t the case in First Love, Take Two. I really appreciated how First Love, Take Two addresses anti-Blackness in the South Asian community, classism as well as xenophobia. Another thing I really appreciated was how mental health was portrayed in First Love, Take Two. Mental health is something that’s rarely discussed in families of color, which can make it really difficult to seek help. The way Preeti’s anxiety and depression was written really resonated with me personally. 

Preeti is a charming heroine who carries a lot on her shoulders, and someone who I just couldn’t help but empathize with. Watching her grapple with what made her happy, protecting her family, and doing what was expected of her was something that felt very real. I think I spent most of the book just hoping that she would figure out what would make her happy, or rather, content. I also want to add that I haven’t read about a main character who is touch averse before, and I appreciated how that was written.

David, on the other hand, was just charming. As a love interest, he was everything! I found him to be just so sweet, and I loved how much he cared about his family. You could so easily tell how much hurt he was in, and how he still deeply cared about Preeti, despite his own hurt and anger for the situation. Despite not having talked in years, he still remembered every detail about Preeti, and knew how to calm her down when she was struggling with her mental health. 

There was just so much tension between Preeti and David! I spent a good chunk of the book wanting them to just communicate and talk it out, but I understood why they couldn’t. I’m not a big fan of the miscommunication trope, but I think it was really done well here. Despite it having been six years since the two of them broke up, you could tell how much Preeti and David still loved each other, and still remembered how to support and take care of one another. They were just so tender, and I think that when you know someone so well and when they trust you with their heart, it’s so easy to be careless with it — especially when they’ve hurt you before. And I think it shows a lot of emotional maturity that both Preeti and David were able to put their own feelings aside, despite the lack of closure, the hurt and guilt, to properly be there for one another.

I loved the ensemble cast of characters; Preeti’s friends, and David’s grandparents were such a standout to me. I found them all so lovable, and I’m really excited that I can go back and read The Trouble with Hating You for more adventures with everyone! 

Overall, I truly loved First Love, Take Two, and I cannot wait to read more of Patel’s works in the future! As I’m not South Asian, nor am I Black, I highly recommend you seek out ownvoices reviews.

Links for First Love, Take Two: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound