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shybookstagramer's review against another edition
3.0
I had a lot of high hopes for this read. I wanted to read it because the story involved fake dating. I was also excited about reading a story with a representation of Indian culture. I thought a lot of the story fell flat for me. I struggled to like either one of the characters. Like the story, they fell flat for me. They needed to be a little more fleshed out. One thing I did enjoy about the book was the inclusion of Indian culture. It was great seeing so many aspects of Indian culture throughout the story. That said, I think there is an audience for this book and many people can enjoy it. I do not regret reading it as it was a good concept and story, it just could have been done a little better.
Thank you @bookishfirst for a #Gifted copy of the book in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Chronic illness, and Racism
allapaz's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
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
5.0
I am absolutely stunned that this is not only a debut, but that this author wrote this novel as a teenager. Just blown away, so impressed.
Kismat Connection is a delightful romp through a pair of besties in their senior year as they navigate questions of love, destiny, family, and fate. I'll admit, I'm not a big romance reader. I likely would not have picked up this book if not for BookishFirst's ARC raffle, but my oh my, I did not know how much I needed this story.
This is not just your run-of-the-mill fake dating, friends-to-lovers YA romance story. Don't get me wrong, it has all the best, cheesiest, warm-and-fuzzy-est beats that you'd expect from a story like this, but it also goes so much deeper than I had expected. These characters are mature, realistic, intelligent teenagers working through questions of identity and culture and what it means to be seen and to be part of a family, all while the uncertainty of their senior year and college decision season looms near.
I can't tell you how deeply I fell in love with the Iyer family, and Madhuri, while stubborn and at times infuriating, exhibits deep character growth and a connection to her culture that had me tearing up and cheering for our girl. Arjun, playing opposite her, is mature beyond his years, forced into a role of parenting himself and leaning on his found family for comfort, while remaining so steadfast and firm in his feelings and beliefs and identity that he acts as a foil to Madhuri's uncertainty.
You think you have the story figured out by the synopsis, and for the major beats, you probably do. But every other interaction and character development and family love fest and argument and plot twist and goofy moment in between is so, so good and so, so authentic. I was really over here screaming for these kids towards the end, what a truly fun experience. I'm so so happy this story exists, and these characters exist, and this author exists.
Thank you for BookishFirst/HarperCollins for the ARC copy; all (overly enthusiastic) opinions are my own.
Kismat Connection is a delightful romp through a pair of besties in their senior year as they navigate questions of love, destiny, family, and fate. I'll admit, I'm not a big romance reader. I likely would not have picked up this book if not for BookishFirst's ARC raffle, but my oh my, I did not know how much I needed this story.
This is not just your run-of-the-mill fake dating, friends-to-lovers YA romance story. Don't get me wrong, it has all the best, cheesiest, warm-and-fuzzy-est beats that you'd expect from a story like this, but it also goes so much deeper than I had expected. These characters are mature, realistic, intelligent teenagers working through questions of identity and culture and what it means to be seen and to be part of a family, all while the uncertainty of their senior year and college decision season looms near.
I can't tell you how deeply I fell in love with the Iyer family, and Madhuri, while stubborn and at times infuriating, exhibits deep character growth and a connection to her culture that had me tearing up and cheering for our girl. Arjun, playing opposite her, is mature beyond his years, forced into a role of parenting himself and leaning on his found family for comfort, while remaining so steadfast and firm in his feelings and beliefs and identity that he acts as a foil to Madhuri's uncertainty.
You think you have the story figured out by the synopsis, and for the major beats, you probably do. But every other interaction and character development and family love fest and argument and plot twist and goofy moment in between is so, so good and so, so authentic. I was really over here screaming for these kids towards the end, what a truly fun experience. I'm so so happy this story exists, and these characters exist, and this author exists.
Thank you for BookishFirst/HarperCollins for the ARC copy; all (overly enthusiastic) opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Chronic illness, and Child abuse
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
I tagged child abuse, as Arjun has a deeply neglectful parent, and that can be triggering. No physical child abuse occurs, just discussions of Arjun being left to take care of himself very often as a child and teen. He is cared for by the Iyer family during this time, so no discussions of physical suffering occur, main focus is on the emotional trauma.
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