Love Beyond Reasonable Doubt

This satisfying second chance romance from Hegde (Can’t Help Faking in Love) braids a steamy vacation fling, a tense reunion, and a cinematic mystery. After Naina Shetty discovers her fiancé’s infidelity, she heads to her Goa honeymoon alone, working her way down an “anti-honeymoon checklist” (items include “kiss a stranger” and “try any kind of drug”). She meets “prince charming” Tejas Rajput, who’s in Goa to heal from his own broken heart after his ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. After setting ground rules designed to keep things casual—including that neither will share any true information, instead responding to all personal questions with “wrong answers only”—the pair embark on a whirlwind two-week affair. Eighteen months later, they’re shocked to reunite as junior associates at the same Bangalore law firm. Naina is determined to keep things professional as they team up to defend Bollywood actor Preethi Acharaya in a high profile murder trial—but as the case heats up, so does their lingering chemistry. The plot toggles between past and present and Naina’s and Tejas’s POVs, adding to the romantic tension as the thrilling mystery unfolds. Supportive Tejas is a swoony hero, and readers will root for him to break through Naina’s understandable emotional walls. It’s good fun. (May)