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lesbianlis's review
medium-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? Yes
2.5
perfectly mediocre in my opinion. there were parts i really like but also parts i really hated.
kaetzchen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
aedgeworth27's review
2.0
Audiobook listen.
This wasn't a good one for me. I really loved the Indian family dynamics, that seems to be something I'm interested in reading more about. I love how important family is in Indian culture, and of course--the food. I also liked how this book featured a lot of women owned businesses. The main character was willing to take responsibility for her own actions that had hurt those around her and I appreciated that. That's about where it ended. I couldn't stand basically every single character. They were all whiny and wishy-washy. And the main character made HORRIBLE decisions. The basis of the book was how the MC feels unfulfilled, likes she's just coasting through life and how she wants to take more control of her life. So she does this by leaving her husband, immediately dating someone different, having a one night stand, drinking, partying, doing drugs, fighting with everyone around her. Is this really what she thought would help her?
Fine story, OK ending.
This wasn't a good one for me. I really loved the Indian family dynamics, that seems to be something I'm interested in reading more about. I love how important family is in Indian culture, and of course--the food. I also liked how this book featured a lot of women owned businesses. The main character was willing to take responsibility for her own actions that had hurt those around her and I appreciated that. That's about where it ended. I couldn't stand basically every single character. They were all whiny and wishy-washy. And the main character made HORRIBLE decisions. The basis of the book was how the MC feels unfulfilled, likes she's just coasting through life and how she wants to take more control of her life. So she does this by leaving her husband, immediately dating someone different, having a one night stand, drinking, partying, doing drugs, fighting with everyone around her. Is this really what she thought would help her?
Fine story, OK ending.
lissalibrarian's review
3.0
Second book I've read by this author and I really want to like her stories, but I can't get past the writing style. It's the same emotional turmoil as the last one I read and the character kind of ends up back where they were except more enlightened. Stuff happens, but then it feels like nothing happens at the same time. She keeps asking the same questions to herself over and over.
ladybellatrix's review against another edition
2.0
Anu marries the first guy she really dates at a young age, pressured by her family to be a 'good Asian girl' and ends up separated in her 30s with shared custody of her young daughter. Anu struggles to deal with her new role and her parents disapproval at leaving her husband and what she wants.
My main problem with this was Anu and her decisions. I understand the general thinking, she's young and she doesn't have a lot of experience outside her marriage, but even not having experience outside of her marriage shouldn't affect some of the more questionable decisions and the reasonings she gives for them.
Most of the characters (even Anu tbh) didn't have a lot of depth or character.
That said it was an easy and fun read which I didn't want to duck out of at any point, so I will give it it's dues, just don't expect anything too groundbreaking.
My main problem with this was Anu and her decisions. I understand the general thinking, she's young and she doesn't have a lot of experience outside her marriage, but even not having experience outside of her marriage shouldn't affect some of the more questionable decisions and the reasonings she gives for them.
Most of the characters (even Anu tbh) didn't have a lot of depth or character.
That said it was an easy and fun read which I didn't want to duck out of at any point, so I will give it it's dues, just don't expect anything too groundbreaking.
mezzythedragon's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the second half of the book better. Anu is a flawed, messy character, but that was the whole point of the story. She has to screw up in order to grow up. Personally, I don’t mind 30-yr-olds sounding immature in stories, because everyone’s different. If anything, “maturity” is subjective, and it’s refreshing to see 30-something folks not having everything figured out. Who does, anyway?
And contrary to what people have said here, I liked the second-chance dynamic between Anu and her estranged husband. All too often, we see stories of rocky marriages ending in divorce, so it’s a nice change of pace.
And contrary to what people have said here, I liked the second-chance dynamic between Anu and her estranged husband. All too often, we see stories of rocky marriages ending in divorce, so it’s a nice change of pace.
theybedax's review
3.0
It took quite a long time for me to remotely care about the characters but I did end up wanting to see their "happy ending" and stuck with it. The biggest hurtle to overcome was the constant flashbacks that were quite confusing on whether it was present day or a flashback. I did listen to this as an audiobook so maybe the written version delineates between the two in some meaningful way making it a better option of the two.
xliterati's review
2.0
I would like to know why the main character was acting like an absolute idiot the entire time and then asking why she was so unhappy at the age of 30!! Ma’am as a punjabi woman with a shit ton of things to relate with the protagonist about … not a single thing made sense lol. She was annoying, selfish and so incredibly immature that if she hadn’t kept yelling about the fact that she’s 30 I would have thought our main character was a 19 yr old on the verge of a breakdown. Just so thoroughly unlikable.
hannah_monson's review
4.0
This book took me a while to get into. The first quarter took me a week, then I put it down for a week. But tonight I picked it up and read the next 75%. It ended up having far more heart and emotional exploration than I expected. At the beginning, I thought it would be a romance/ rom-com, but I wasn’t feeling that because Anu didn’t seem ready. Then, I thought she was going to solve all her problems with the geographical cure (something that always appeals to but never works for me). Instead, Lalli surprised me with real emotional growth and confrontation of long buried issues, ultimately leading to a far more satisfying conclusion than a rom-com or escapist “Eat, Pray, Love” novel would provide.
michelleantunez's review against another edition
3.0
This book tackles a very important subject. When women become what they think they should become or what everyone else wants them to be instead of what they really want to become. That's what this book reminded me. At the end she realized that she was resentful of all these things because she didn't allow herself to become this woman and how bad communication gets in the way.