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arwombat's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Well, at least I can say I finished. I thoroughly hated this book at the beginning and just wanted to finish so I could rate it 1 star. However, I liked the ending more than I thought I would, thus the .5. (Nisha and John were cute.)
This book had several major failings. It advertises itself as a feminist Indian love story, but it's not. I was honestly impressed of just how many male characters in this book were completely sexist and misogynist. Honestly, the author really harps on it in the beginning, less so in the end, but it's still kind of upsetting. The way she gets so much sexism from every male character and just takes it and accepts it as normal was awful. For instance, she talks about being grateful that her father had lower expectations of her than her brother because she couldn't meet them. Her father literally said "I think girls are less capable so I have lower expectations" and she was grateful. I just don't get it. Also, the male protagonist is similarly sexist and also "protective" (but really possessive) to an extreme degree. Like an Edward Cullen degree. And she just finds it so hot that he does this. Also he talks about how bad he expects her driving skills to be, you know, the stereotype that women are worse drivers, as well as whole bunch of other sexist tropes. The other thing that bothers me is that Layla thinks of herself as an empowered feminist women and there's some performative stuff in there, where Layla talks about how she doesn't stand for sexism, when all of her actions point to the fact that she does.
Next, the suitors. This was so frustrating to me that every single suitor on the list was a) sexist (like I said, every guy in the book was sexist) and b) crazy/weird (all of them just had a deal-breaking trait about them, some more prominent than others). This was so annoying to me because it felt so unrealistic. Her father personally picked out ten men among thousands and they were all psychos? Does he even know his daughter? They seemed so unrealistic as characters as well.A random mob boss? A psycho who thinks he's a spy? The others were slightly more sane/normal, but still weird. It would be more compelling for Layla to meet a nice normal guy, and then realize they just don't have a lot in common, or have no chemistry. Or even, she could love him if she wasn't falling in love with Sam. Not that they have a perfect relationship either.
Also,it was kind of toxic of Layla to make Sam think she was getting married to someone else, just so she could have her Buttercup/Princess Bride moment. Don't play with other people's feelings like that. Also her whole family was in on it? Really?
So, those are my thoughts on this very regressive and frustrating book.
This book had several major failings. It advertises itself as a feminist Indian love story, but it's not. I was honestly impressed of just how many male characters in this book were completely sexist and misogynist. Honestly, the author really harps on it in the beginning, less so in the end, but it's still kind of upsetting. The way she gets so much sexism from every male character and just takes it and accepts it as normal was awful. For instance, she talks about being grateful that her father had lower expectations of her than her brother because she couldn't meet them. Her father literally said "I think girls are less capable so I have lower expectations" and she was grateful. I just don't get it. Also, the male protagonist is similarly sexist and also "protective" (but really possessive) to an extreme degree. Like an Edward Cullen degree. And she just finds it so hot that he does this. Also he talks about how bad he expects her driving skills to be, you know, the stereotype that women are worse drivers, as well as whole bunch of other sexist tropes. The other thing that bothers me is that Layla thinks of herself as an empowered feminist women and there's some performative stuff in there, where Layla talks about how she doesn't stand for sexism, when all of her actions point to the fact that she does.
Next, the suitors. This was so frustrating to me that every single suitor on the list was a) sexist (like I said, every guy in the book was sexist) and b) crazy/weird (all of them just had a deal-breaking trait about them, some more prominent than others). This was so annoying to me because it felt so unrealistic. Her father personally picked out ten men among thousands and they were all psychos? Does he even know his daughter? They seemed so unrealistic as characters as well.
Also,
So, those are my thoughts on this very regressive and frustrating book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident
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