Reviews with content warning for Racism - A Holly Jolly Diwali

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli

11 reviews

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

3.5

This was a cute romance! I loved the flirty banter between Niki and Sam 🫶🏻 they seemed to immediately connect, even if Niki had no intention of getting together with anyone during her trip to India. The texts between them were funny, and I overall enjoyed it. I did think the story and characters fleshed out a bit more, but it was definitely a good read.

Content Warnings

a_libra_library's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny 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

3.0

Content Warnings

onegalonelife27's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful 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

3.5

Niki has always done the right thing, getting a steady job, never getting wild, going out with nice enough guys. Yet Niki is let go from her job makes her ponder her good girl life, leading her to go on a trip to India to attend her best friend Diya’s wedding at the last minute. There she meets Sam, a musician and certainly not the type of guy she’d go out with before, but she ponders if it’s time to change that and other things in her life…

I do relate to Niki quite a bit, trying so hard to do what society, if not her parents, tell her is right by getting a stable job and living modestly. And it does feel like a real slap in the face when you do the right thing but then the universe says ha ha and you end up flat on your face. I know I’ve been there a few times. Of course, I’ve never been impulsive enough to go on a trip by myself…well anywhere let alone on another continent. Maybe that’s what I need in my life.

I did think that some more description should have been given at times, like not describing all the delicious sounding food served at times or giving a description of Nikki’s swimsuit chapters after they were introduced at a beach so thus having to do a mental rewrite on what she’s wearing. There’s also one scene towards the end that adds a new action that supposedly happened in the past, but was not present while Nikki was living it at the time. Like it says a picture was taken and we are shown the picture, but that wasn’t a scene in the book before. I do hope other books by the author have some more description and in appropriate places too.

Overall, the story is very sweet, sometimes spicy about one woman realizing her worth, what she wants and deserves in both career and in love. It also talks about topics such as privilege and how it can affect one's life in different ways, which I enjoyed. I’ll definitely consider picking up another book by the author.

Content Warnings

sariereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

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? No

4.5

Content Warnings

knunderb's review

Go to review page

lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.0

A cute, fun, holiday read. I really enjoyed it, but I did find Niki to be a little annoying when it came to the conflict with Sam.

Content Warnings

amberinpieces's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

3.5

Content Warnings

kirstym25's review

Go to review page

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

3.5

Content Warnings

biblio_jordyn's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Inequality is everywhere […] even in Seattle. Some countries are simply better at hiding it.”

What could have been better?
I feel like parts of the romance were lacking. I just needed more build up, more cute moments, more of seeing the relationship blossom. I felt like I blinked and missed something?

What I enjoyed?
Everything else! I loved getting immersed in the Indian Sikh culture, my boyfriend’s Indian side of the family is Sikh so it was super cool to get a glance and ask him ALL the questions.

I loved the social commentary, the discussion of family and the pressures we can feel from expectations that they put on us, the old traditions put on us.

I loved how this book featured a woman who was still finding her way and starting over.

I loved the MCs intermediate family 😍

I loved the discussion of colorism and “darkness,” the pressure to not be too dark from your own family to the point it somehow embeds in yourself is something I felt deeply.

Also! Okay, when you read this, have some food nearby because it makes you so hungry 🤤

While, I felt the romance elements were lacking, I still think this was definitely worth the read because of everything else it brought to the table.

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

I'm so here for more holiday romcoms that are not Christmas!

Rep: Indian-American female MC, Indian-British male love interest, various Indian and Indian-American side characters.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, racism (more so classism, MC is condescended to for her caste). Moderate: Discussion of possible infertility (never confirmed), vomit.

Content Warnings

kylieqrada's review

Go to review page

adventurous 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

4.0

Yesssssss! This was a good-a$$ time! I loved learning more about Diwali and different South Asian cultural traditions. I am definitely going to read more from Sonya Lalli, especially Jasmine's spin-off book.

Content Warnings

More...