Simon & Schuster – Review: 4 Stars

Thanks so much to the author, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the gifted, advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } My reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Fiction

TW: whitewashing POC, some racially/culturally insensitive language

I will start off here by saying that I really loved this book! Once I finished it I messaged my husband and told him that it might have already cemented itself as one of my favorite reads of the month, that’s how much I enjoyed it.

I want to say early on in this review, however, that I am not Indian, so I don’t have that insight into the story or characters that own-voices reviewers might have. I have seen some folks talking about this book in reviews and elsewhere online that the way it was written and the way the people and culture were represented may not have been as accurate or respectful as some folks would have liked, which is what will keep this from being a 5-star review for me.

A huge part of the plot of this book is that Manny is spending the week with Sammy (the love interest) and his family to really get a taste of the Indian culture that she didn’t experience growing up, and that she’s never felt like she’s had access to. I’ve seen a lot of people online talking about how what is basically a week-long boot camp on how to be Indian is problematic because there is no one specific way to represent any culture or community, and I absolutely agree with that. The author makes a specific point more than once throughout the book to acknowledge this, and to have multiple characters tell Manny that or show her their own versions of their culture.

I think that the author adequately acknowledges this and it is therefore an intentional part of the story, as well as Manny’s character development. However, as I said in the beginning, since I am not a member of this culture I don’t believe I’m the one to speak on this. I’ve lowered my review by one star to reflect this, and will gladly re-evaluate it in the future if more own-voices reviewers come out to speak on it.

All of that being said, I think that the book was well written, and the characters were entertaining and engaging. And I absolutely fell for Sammy – I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t! For me, this was a book that I didn’t want to put down.

Overall I would recommend this book to friends and fellow readers, but with the above note. I think that the best way to read this book would be out at a park or someplace with the buzz of activity and a large glass of white wine!

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