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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
This book was cute overall, definitely had a rom-com feel. I loved reading about their slow burn relationship. They navigated their own trauma and were able to help each other massively. I do think some issues could’ve been solved with more communication and understanding, on both sides. And though I do normally hate a third-act break up, at least when it’s done for seemingly no reason, I thought this one made sense. I am glad they worked it out and it was a cute/happy ending overall.
As someone who has recently lost a parent though, this book was a tough read towards the end. Especially given her father had a massive heart attack, the same thing I lost my father too. Luckily, he somehow made it through. It had me crying though, bawling my eyes out.
As someone who has recently lost a parent though, this book was a tough read towards the end. Especially given her father had a massive heart attack, the same thing I lost my father too. Luckily, he somehow made it through. It had me crying though, bawling my eyes out.
Kiran left her village in India for a life in New York City. But her family expectations followed her. If she doesn't marry an Indian man from the right caste, she'll disgrace her parents. Just like her sister did.
Nash has never known what a real family feels like. The only child of an absent father and drug addicted mother, he's never experienced unconditional love. Meeting Kiran helps heal the broken places in his heart. But with her loyalties torn, do they have a chance at forever?
This is an emotional novel, longer than most, with high stakes and no easy solutions. The author did a particularly good job of illustrating for an American audience what the consequences to herself and her parents might be if Kiran defied the social expectations of her community in India. This is something I struggle with in a lot of Desi romance. While I understand the "caught between two worlds" dynamic intellectually, it's hard to relate to it emotionally. My entire adult life, I don't think I've done a single thing just because my parents expected it of me. This book provided enough of a foundation that I could understand Kiran's dilemma. To the point that I was mentally yelling at her, "What are you doing, dating a white boy? Find yourself a nice Indian boy!"
And yet, despite all the obstacles between Nash and Kiran, the author gives them a heartwarming HEA that's even more joyous because of everything they had to overcome. This book is a journey, y'all. Be prepared to shed some tears. The audio performance contributes to the emotional experience.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the audio ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Nash has never known what a real family feels like. The only child of an absent father and drug addicted mother, he's never experienced unconditional love. Meeting Kiran helps heal the broken places in his heart. But with her loyalties torn, do they have a chance at forever?
This is an emotional novel, longer than most, with high stakes and no easy solutions. The author did a particularly good job of illustrating for an American audience what the consequences to herself and her parents might be if Kiran defied the social expectations of her community in India. This is something I struggle with in a lot of Desi romance. While I understand the "caught between two worlds" dynamic intellectually, it's hard to relate to it emotionally. My entire adult life, I don't think I've done a single thing just because my parents expected it of me. This book provided enough of a foundation that I could understand Kiran's dilemma. To the point that I was mentally yelling at her, "What are you doing, dating a white boy? Find yourself a nice Indian boy!"
And yet, despite all the obstacles between Nash and Kiran, the author gives them a heartwarming HEA that's even more joyous because of everything they had to overcome. This book is a journey, y'all. Be prepared to shed some tears. The audio performance contributes to the emotional experience.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the audio ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment
A heartwarming interracial, dual perspective, closed door romance between Nash, a white American man and Kiran, a South Asian woman born in India but living in New York City.
Kiran and her three college friends in the Chai Masala Club, are reminiscing about the list of things they wanted to do before they turn 30. At the top of Kiran's list is falling in love but what she never wanted to do was fall for someone her very traditional parents wouldn't approve of.
What ensues is a lovely romance between Kiran and Nash that gets derailed when Kiran's parents refuse to accept Nash as a viable partner for Kiran. I loved the authentic look South Asian culture and the cultural and familial pressure put on children to follow traditions. Kiran's sister was ostracized for choosing a man her parent's didn't approve of, which made Kiran's choice that much more difficult.
Highly recommended for fans of Sajni Patel's First love, take two and great on audio. Much thanks to NetGalley for my advance review copies!
Kiran and her three college friends in the Chai Masala Club, are reminiscing about the list of things they wanted to do before they turn 30. At the top of Kiran's list is falling in love but what she never wanted to do was fall for someone her very traditional parents wouldn't approve of.
What ensues is a lovely romance between Kiran and Nash that gets derailed when Kiran's parents refuse to accept Nash as a viable partner for Kiran. I loved the authentic look South Asian culture and the cultural and familial pressure put on children to follow traditions. Kiran's sister was ostracized for choosing a man her parent's didn't approve of, which made Kiran's choice that much more difficult.
Highly recommended for fans of Sajni Patel's First love, take two and great on audio. Much thanks to NetGalley for my advance review copies!
First of all, I would like to say that I won't be criticizing any cultural aspects of this book, since it's not my place to do so. If you would like to see reviews from people this book is set to represent, there are plenty to read here on Goodreads.
Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words is about Kiran, who was born in India and moved to the US to pursue a higher education after her parents sacrificed a lot to get her where she is. This book is targeted as "strong friendships and families" but I honestly didn't see a lot of that. Moving to a total different country can be pretty scary, specially if you're doing it alone, so I was glad Kiran had the CMC to help her navigate life outside her comfort zone and everything she ever knew. It was nice to see they came from the same culture but had totally different backgrounds and somehow complemented each other. On the other hand, I was appalled and outraged by the way Kiran's parents treated her after they found out she fell in love with an American white boy. I wish we had seen a more understanding, with good communication on both parts, approach to this whole situation. Again, I know nothing about this culture-wise, but I can bet that on today's society not every parent will react that way, no matter where they come from.
As much as I actually enjoyed Nash as a character from his background perspective, I found him to be hugely ignorant about most things. What bugged me the most was the fact that he was pretty much clueless about other cultures and didn't even make an effort throughout the book to get to know at least Kiran's a little better. You can't be expected to know everything right away, but he just expected her to teach him everything and got defensive when she was trying to educate him on the matter. I also didn't feel like they fit as a couple. They had trouble communicating and seemed to argue most of the time, with things getting quickly out of hand, and then everything seemed to be forgotten because they told each other how in love they were. Not to mention how he was a little possessive over her in the last few chapters. And can we please come up with new grand romantic gestures? I'm tired of the I-flew-to-another-country-for-you-because-we're-meant-to-be trope.
I really liked Kiran. She was smart and funny. Sometimes it's not easy to deal with the expectations your family has for you, so I was pleased we got to see her navigate what that meant for her and the people around her. I just wish some things would have been handled differently in the grand scheme of things.
Since this seems to be a series, I'm curious to see how it goes from here and read the books about the other CMC.
I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley!
Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words is about Kiran, who was born in India and moved to the US to pursue a higher education after her parents sacrificed a lot to get her where she is. This book is targeted as "strong friendships and families" but I honestly didn't see a lot of that. Moving to a total different country can be pretty scary, specially if you're doing it alone, so I was glad Kiran had the CMC to help her navigate life outside her comfort zone and everything she ever knew. It was nice to see they came from the same culture but had totally different backgrounds and somehow complemented each other. On the other hand, I was appalled and outraged by the way Kiran's parents treated her after they found out she fell in love with an American white boy. I wish we had seen a more understanding, with good communication on both parts, approach to this whole situation. Again, I know nothing about this culture-wise, but I can bet that on today's society not every parent will react that way, no matter where they come from.
As much as I actually enjoyed Nash as a character from his background perspective, I found him to be hugely ignorant about most things. What bugged me the most was the fact that he was pretty much clueless about other cultures and didn't even make an effort throughout the book to get to know at least Kiran's a little better. You can't be expected to know everything right away, but he just expected her to teach him everything and got defensive when she was trying to educate him on the matter. I also didn't feel like they fit as a couple. They had trouble communicating and seemed to argue most of the time, with things getting quickly out of hand, and then everything seemed to be forgotten because they told each other how in love they were. Not to mention how he was a little possessive over her in the last few chapters. And can we please come up with new grand romantic gestures? I'm tired of the I-flew-to-another-country-for-you-because-we're-meant-to-be trope.
I really liked Kiran. She was smart and funny. Sometimes it's not easy to deal with the expectations your family has for you, so I was pleased we got to see her navigate what that meant for her and the people around her. I just wish some things would have been handled differently in the grand scheme of things.
Since this seems to be a series, I'm curious to see how it goes from here and read the books about the other CMC.
I received an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley!
hopeful
inspiring
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
I've been trying to read more lighthearted romcom books or YA books by South Asian authors, which is why I picked this up. I enjoyed it a lot more than other books in the genre, and I enjoyed that the main character was an Indian immigrant who's been living in America (many similar books focus on first-generation Indian-Americans.).
Spoiler
However, I did the think the fake-out of Kiran's dad dying was wholly unnecessary. It didn't really add anything to the book. In fact, I'd say it subtracted - I thought it was really interesting that the author decided to not go for the riding-off-into-the-sunset happy ending when I read that the dad flatlined, only for the statement to be reversed a few pages after.
the writing seemed very immature, like the way I used to write in middle/high school: Manufacture a situation and then word vomit monologue of feelings. Adverbs galore.
Crammed with so many cultural stereotypes. The only noncringe desi reference was when Ma said "where did you go to get the chai? Hyderabad?"
I just think we need to move on from the "you're dead to me beti" plotline and white savior trope
Crammed with so many cultural stereotypes. The only noncringe desi reference was when Ma said "where did you go to get the chai? Hyderabad?"
I just think we need to move on from the "you're dead to me beti" plotline and white savior trope
I was hooked on this book from the beginning. The relationships be they romantic, friendly, or familial are depicted so well. I feel like the depiction of the CMC relationships is truly a standard we should hold all of our friends to. I am looking forward to more from this author.
emotional
hopeful
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