sshhiillppaa's review against another edition
WHY IS IT WRITTEN LIKE THAT I CANT DO THIS
mmeyene's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? No
5.0
caitlin829's review against another edition
4.0
I’m probably somewhere between 3 and 4 stars on this book, rounding up.
Always good to read a desi romance, something I’ve been doing more of recently.
But this is not a straight-up fluffy romance. This book deals with some serious issues, and the content warning in the beginning is well earned — there’s abuse and subsequent gaslighting, some serious family issues, the ever-present societal pressure and religious entanglements to the abuse. There are moments everything feels so real that it hurts, and I had to set the book down and process. But this heaviness is sometimes juxtaposed with the lighter rom-com clichés and cheesy moments, both to the story’s benefit and detriment.
Judging things on the more typical romance front, I like Liya's boldness, and there are some cute moments. But there are also times when both of the protagonists are just unlikable, the narrative frame is a double first-person style from each protagonist (HATE; so confusing), and sometimes Jay talks more like a cardboard cutout with a list of talking points than an actual human.
Overall, I’m glad I read it, but it’s one of those that I just really had to wrestle with how it made me feel because there were so many different feelings.
Always good to read a desi romance, something I’ve been doing more of recently.
But this is not a straight-up fluffy romance. This book deals with some serious issues, and the content warning in the beginning is well earned — there’s abuse and subsequent gaslighting, some serious family issues, the ever-present societal pressure and religious entanglements to the abuse. There are moments everything feels so real that it hurts, and I had to set the book down and process. But this heaviness is sometimes juxtaposed with the lighter rom-com clichés and cheesy moments, both to the story’s benefit and detriment.
Judging things on the more typical romance front, I like Liya's boldness, and there are some cute moments. But there are also times when both of the protagonists are just unlikable, the narrative frame is a double first-person style from each protagonist (HATE; so confusing), and sometimes Jay talks more like a cardboard cutout with a list of talking points than an actual human.
Overall, I’m glad I read it, but it’s one of those that I just really had to wrestle with how it made me feel because there were so many different feelings.
ronron's review against another edition
3.0
Good story, I just kept getting so angry and sad listening to it.
ob_ledbetter's review against another edition
2.0
Ehhhh, some problematic background themes going on here. (The guy basically fixes her, the “hate to love” trope”...) Fluffy and fun but just makes me frustrated the more I think about it.
sapera's review against another edition
3.0
Story was nice and book had a good consistency but I didn’t felt connected to female lead as she was seriously underestimating herself and also in real life I don’t think Indian are at all like that ( as being one, I know) we are supportive and also there are very less such aunties irl..but good representation on all other fronts..
issisannettereads's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly don’t know how I want to rate this story…
I was entertained, I had fun. I loved watching them fall in love…and the ending was cute as hell.
I think there were just some things that didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
I genuinely thought Lya’s denial of her feelings for Jay went too long and were too unfounded. I literally wanted to scream at her to get her shit together and fall in love.
Jay was cute…no notes really.
The community sucked and I didn’t like the negative portrayals depicted here. Im not of this culture in any way but I’ve fallen in love with reading these romance novels. These communities are mostly depicted as traditional yet progressive and I’ve always loved that. I just hated the negative talk and judgements
It hit a little too close to home and I didn’t like that
This is a sweet hate to love romance where he falls first. It is closed-door with nothing more than kissing on the page.
I was entertained, I had fun. I loved watching them fall in love…and the ending was cute as hell.
I think there were just some things that didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
I genuinely thought Lya’s denial of her feelings for Jay went too long and were too unfounded. I literally wanted to scream at her to get her shit together and fall in love.
Jay was cute…no notes really.
The community sucked and I didn’t like the negative portrayals depicted here. Im not of this culture in any way but I’ve fallen in love with reading these romance novels. These communities are mostly depicted as traditional yet progressive and I’ve always loved that. I just hated the negative talk and judgements
It hit a little too close to home and I didn’t like that
This is a sweet hate to love romance where he falls first. It is closed-door with nothing more than kissing on the page.
chandraleereads's review against another edition
4.0
There were so many things I loved about this romance novel! The dynamics of the couple ranged from conflicted to sexy to sweet to supportive, and I enjoyed every bit of the ride! I was moved to tears on more than one occasion, which I did not expect. Additionally, I really appreciated the authors note with content warnings at the beginning of the book. This book comes out May 12th and is definitely worth the read!!