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scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A little too insta-love for me but a cute story generally, and on the outside, it looks like a contemporary romance but the story turns out to be also be about the main character discovering herself. It was an easy read and the ending was satisfying for myself but pacing was off and I felt bored in between some sections. Also the love interest's mom totally pushing for them to share a bed when they just met was... a choice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Moderate: Alcohol and Classism
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book had some good moments and I loved seeing South Asian rep in a romance novel but it also felt a little surface level, and the relationship was insta-love.
I liked the development in Niki and how she (mostly) grew out of her people pleasing ways and stopped comparing herself to her sister. The sister dynamics in this book were interesting and one of the best parts.
The characters themselves weren't overly fleshed out and deep, with the exception of Niki in the ways mentioned above. I feel like if we had gotten more about the characters and why they worked together, this would've hit harder for me. Instead, I didn't really see why the characters had fallen so hard for each other after only a week, so the insta-love didn't really work for me (though, to be honest, insta-love rarely does work for me). The way they were written, particularly Niki, as the book was written in first person POV, felt a little juvenile, and I wouldn't have picked that she was 29 years old if the book hadn't told us.
The resolution was also so quick, we didn't see them resolve any of the problems that caused the third act conflict/break-up. I wish we had had more than a 9-page chapter dedicated to this.
I would've loved more about Diwali, as we only spend about a quarter of the book on the holiday, and about Niki's time in Punjab with her family, instead of one paragraph about it. In saying this, I really liked what we did get of Diwali and the atmosphere it painted, as well as the description of the settings throughout India.
I think it was good of the author to bring up the not-so-good parts of India and it's culture, particularly caste and sexism, but I think to balance this out, it would've been good if we had had more focus on the positives and the things she enjoyed about being in India (apart from Sam). This could've come through by expanding on her time in Punjab with her family and actually showing us how she felt like she fit in there, instead of just mentioning it as a passing line.
Overall, this was a quick and easy read and I generally had a decent time with it, but I would've liked a little more depth to the characters, storyline and cultural setting. I would love to see more South Asian representation in romance like this, though!
I liked the development in Niki and how she (mostly) grew out of her people pleasing ways and stopped comparing herself to her sister. The sister dynamics in this book were interesting and one of the best parts.
The characters themselves weren't overly fleshed out and deep, with the exception of Niki in the ways mentioned above. I feel like if we had gotten more about the characters and why they worked together, this would've hit harder for me. Instead, I didn't really see why the characters had fallen so hard for each other after only a week, so the insta-love didn't really work for me (though, to be honest, insta-love rarely does work for me). The way they were written, particularly Niki, as the book was written in first person POV, felt a little juvenile, and I wouldn't have picked that she was 29 years old if the book hadn't told us.
The resolution was also so quick, we didn't see them resolve any of the problems that caused the third act conflict/break-up. I wish we had had more than a 9-page chapter dedicated to this.
I would've loved more about Diwali, as we only spend about a quarter of the book on the holiday, and about Niki's time in Punjab with her family, instead of one paragraph about it. In saying this, I really liked what we did get of Diwali and the atmosphere it painted, as well as the description of the settings throughout India.
I think it was good of the author to bring up the not-so-good parts of India and it's culture, particularly caste and sexism, but I think to balance this out, it would've been good if we had had more focus on the positives and the things she enjoyed about being in India (apart from Sam). This could've come through by expanding on her time in Punjab with her family and actually showing us how she felt like she fit in there, instead of just mentioning it as a passing line.
Overall, this was a quick and easy read and I generally had a decent time with it, but I would've liked a little more depth to the characters, storyline and cultural setting. I would love to see more South Asian representation in romance like this, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Moderate: Classism
adreaminaqua's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was initially drawn to this book because Richa was in NHIE and I love her acting/voice. This was a super cute south Asian romcom that was informative, funny and lighthearted. I laughed a bit throughout and loved the nods to Indian-American culture. It was very easy to read this in a day and I think I’ll check out some other works by this author since this one was so fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexism, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Classism
hmetwade's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Colonisation, and Classism
meganhart92's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Classism
blakeandbooks's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a cute romance! I loved the flirty banter between Niki and Sam 🫶🏻 they seemed to immediately connect, even if Niki had no intention of getting together with anyone during her trip to India. The texts between them were funny, and I overall enjoyed it. I did think the story and characters fleshed out a bit more, but it was definitely a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, and Vomit
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
annelihghh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Colonisation
onegalonelife27's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Niki has always done the right thing, getting a steady job, never getting wild, going out with nice enough guys. Yet Niki is let go from her job makes her ponder her good girl life, leading her to go on a trip to India to attend her best friend Diya’s wedding at the last minute. There she meets Sam, a musician and certainly not the type of guy she’d go out with before, but she ponders if it’s time to change that and other things in her life…
I do relate to Niki quite a bit, trying so hard to do what society, if not her parents, tell her is right by getting a stable job and living modestly. And it does feel like a real slap in the face when you do the right thing but then the universe says ha ha and you end up flat on your face. I know I’ve been there a few times. Of course, I’ve never been impulsive enough to go on a trip by myself…well anywhere let alone on another continent. Maybe that’s what I need in my life.
I did think that some more description should have been given at times, like not describing all the delicious sounding food served at times or giving a description of Nikki’s swimsuit chapters after they were introduced at a beach so thus having to do a mental rewrite on what she’s wearing. There’s also one scene towards the end that adds a new action that supposedly happened in the past, but was not present while Nikki was living it at the time. Like it says a picture was taken and we are shown the picture, but that wasn’t a scene in the book before. I do hope other books by the author have some more description and in appropriate places too.
Overall, the story is very sweet, sometimes spicy about one woman realizing her worth, what she wants and deserves in both career and in love. It also talks about topics such as privilege and how it can affect one's life in different ways, which I enjoyed. I’ll definitely consider picking up another book by the author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Vomit
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Colonisation
sariereads's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Classism
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.75
I think the author did a really good job of demonstrating all kinds of love, not just romantic love: love of self, love of family, love of friends, love of community.
My one complaint is that there weren’t any detailed scenes of the protagonist meeting her extended family in India. We just hear a summary after she returns to the US. I would have liked that to be more fleshed out.
My one complaint is that there weren’t any detailed scenes of the protagonist meeting her extended family in India. We just hear a summary after she returns to the US. I would have liked that to be more fleshed out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Colorism, casteism