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annahamburger's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Classism, Alcohol, Racism, and Colonisation
Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
kshertz's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was so cute. I really love the complicated family dynamics and how realistic it is. I enjoyed the idea and thought that both sides of a couple had. They really tried to make it work and it really was some thing where it was next to impossible to make it happen. I was hooked on their story and rooting for them the whole time. It was a great romance book that I highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Medical content, and Racism
meganpbennett's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Love, Chai, and Other Four Letter Words was an interesting read. It was, like other Sourcebooks Casablanca romances, on the line between Romance and Relationship Fiction (which, yes, *is* a separate genre). It was a mostly fun read, though I could have done without the medical emergency, though without said medical emergency, Kiran would never have reunited with her sister or convinced her father to let her love match Nash . Things do work out in the end.
I greatly enjoyed the diversity representation, especially as it was from a perspective that isn't seen much - first-generation immigrants. Other Goodreads reviews have spoken about this much more eloquently than I can, but it's very important for people to see themselves reflected in novels, and for readers to see other cultures in novels. That being said, it felt a bit like the author wasn't sure who the intended audience was, as there were words and phrases in Hindi that were not translated. If the intended audience is "anyone who picks up the book and thinks it looks interesting," a glossary at the end would have been helpful.
Overall, a fun read. People tend to tag romance novels as "lighthearted" regardless of the subject matter within them. Much like other Sourcebooks Casablanca novels, this one is one of them: it covers some very deep topics while also giving us some lighthearted romance.
I greatly enjoyed the diversity representation, especially as it was from a perspective that isn't seen much - first-generation immigrants. Other Goodreads reviews have spoken about this much more eloquently than I can, but it's very important for people to see themselves reflected in novels, and for readers to see other cultures in novels. That being said, it felt a bit like the author wasn't sure who the intended audience was, as there were words and phrases in Hindi that were not translated. If the intended audience is "anyone who picks up the book and thinks it looks interesting," a glossary at the end would have been helpful.
Overall, a fun read. People tend to tag romance novels as "lighthearted" regardless of the subject matter within them. Much like other Sourcebooks Casablanca novels, this one is one of them: it covers some very deep topics while also giving us some lighthearted romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, and Death of parent
janaya's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Racism
Minor: Drug abuse, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Classism
izzyf16's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Drug use
Minor: Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Racism, Addiction, Rape, and Medical trauma
acetheticallyy's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, and Addiction
professional_grandma's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
This book handles racial differences in relationships in such a prominent way. This was so unlike many books that I’ve read, but I loved it! The only gripe I have is that the title really doesn’t have anything to do with the content of the book other than an offhand remark by one of the characters near the end. Other than that, I loved the writing and the characters and I fell in love with this story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual content and Medical content
Minor: Classism
thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-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
3.75
A meet cute story about friendships, love, family, culture, traditions, and race.
When Nash moves to New York and locks himself out of his apartment, he meets his neighbour, Kiran, and is introduced to the culture and traditions of India.
When Kiran inspires Nash to write a bucket list, she decides to help him achieve his list, and her own. Soon sparks fly as their friendship grows, but both have to fight hard to pretend they are only friends.
Kiran has her family to think of, Nash, his family history. How do they overcome their families histories and allow themselves to love?
I love meet cute stories, and this one really hit with characters that are my own age and similar in culture. The story brought up the topic of race and how hard it is to fit in, which also leads into the culture and traditions of a person, and how different Asian culture is to Caucasian cultures.
I would have liked to have read a bit more about the CMC, and how they interacted one on one with Nash. Could there also be a sequel, where Kiran's family visits New York, and maybe even Aunt Kate and Kirk...?
When Nash moves to New York and locks himself out of his apartment, he meets his neighbour, Kiran, and is introduced to the culture and traditions of India.
When Kiran inspires Nash to write a bucket list, she decides to help him achieve his list, and her own. Soon sparks fly as their friendship grows, but both have to fight hard to pretend they are only friends.
Kiran has her family to think of, Nash, his family history. How do they overcome their families histories and allow themselves to love?
I love meet cute stories, and this one really hit with characters that are my own age and similar in culture. The story brought up the topic of race and how hard it is to fit in, which also leads into the culture and traditions of a person, and how different Asian culture is to Caucasian cultures.
I would have liked to have read a bit more about the CMC, and how they interacted one on one with Nash. Could there also be a sequel, where Kiran's family visits New York, and maybe even Aunt Kate and Kirk...?
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Medical content
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
In this grounded romance, we follow the brave and warm-hearted Kiran as she weighs her heart against familial expectations. Haunted by her sister's disownment over twenty years ago for an unapproved romantic choice, Kiran feels she owes her parents a dutiful match for all their love and support over the years. Unfortunately, her heart cannot be reasoned with as she starts to fall for her new neighbor, Nash, a white American who definitely doesn't meet her family's requirements.
There was a lot to love about this story. The romance follows a reasonable timeline, from strangers to comfortable friendship to flirty yearning. They go on cute dates around New York, crossing items off their bucket lists. Kiran's torn thoughts and looming high-stakes decisions give meaningful tension as the relationship progresses. Nash, to me, was less remarkable. He struggles with the void left by a father who abandoned him as a child and a mother who died from an overdose. He certainly brings his own baggage, and I think sometimes he weighed Kiran down with his lack of understanding for her position. The author took on a big challenge bringing a fraught cross-cultural relationship to the page and examining the ugly parts of that with the beautiful ones. I think that's especially true when a white person is included since we're generally clueless and self-involved. I recommend looking up some ownvoices reviews to get a stronger perspective on this part of the story, as well.
As an additional trigger warning to the content mentioned in my review, know that there are several Harry Potter references.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual content