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readwithde'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Cursing, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Colonisation, and Panic attacks/disorders
adventuresinfictionland's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
ohheyitskaitlin's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
Food allergy/anaphylaxis description used as a casual plot point:peachani's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There was a part about midway through where the dialogue got a bit... strange. it seemed like the author ran out of steam or something. Instead of actual dialogue, it felt like the characters were reading out a synopsis of the main leads. Howewer, that was limited to that middle portion and the book recovered nicely, in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Misogyny
Minor: Classism, Alcohol, and Colonisation
anielabooks's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The story itself was okay. I haven’t read the Taming of the Shrew so I can’t testify to it’s accuracy to the original source material. I only rated it 3.25 stars because I had some key criticisms of the book. First, my copy seemed to have a few mistakes in spelling, and in one instance, even had the wrong character name in a scene. Second, for those who have read the book, “Charlie” kind of made the spice scenes kind of awkward. This book wasn’t all bad though, as it incorporated so many terms related to Indian culture, which greatly increased my knowledge on the subject. Also, I particularly loved the fun scenes between the main characters; I think the museum and food contest scenes were super creative and memorable. I wouldn’t reread it or highly recommend it, but it was enjoyable, and I felt seen by the way the immigrant family dynamic was portrayed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Cancer
Minor: Drug use, Chronic illness, Grief, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness
ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
ejsreads's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
A quick, cute and light read for those who want an unrealistic escape from your own love life, or lack thereof! This book was fun, fast, and kept my attention until the end albeit predictably.
Did it change my view on the world? No. Did it profoundly impact me on an emotional/spiritual/mental level? No; however, I think the romance genre rarely does (personally).
Was it a fun rom-com infused with lovely aspects of Indian culture? YES!
4 out of 5 stars for me.
Did it change my view on the world? No. Did it profoundly impact me on an emotional/spiritual/mental level? No; however, I think the romance genre rarely does (personally).
Was it a fun rom-com infused with lovely aspects of Indian culture? YES!
4 out of 5 stars for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, and Death
vicktorea's review
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
3.75
cute & steamy
This was such a delightful, cute, and steamy rom-com centered around South Asian culture! I loved the focus on dating and marriage among South Asians and how (North) American-born South Asians navigate dating and marriage in their culture while simultaneously immersed in Western culture.
I really enjoyed our leading lad and lady, Prem & Kareena. Prem was sexy, but not in the usual "raised brow and smirk" type of way - he was smart, confident, self-assured, and well established; he was stubborn at times but likable. Kareena, freshly thirty, was super relatable to me. She, too, was smart, confident, and well-established and I totally found myself resonating with her feelings on being single.
I loved Prem and Kareena's chemistry. the steam was great and i loved the flashbacks to their initial meeting because it really laid the groundwork for how in sync they were! They got along so well and seemed like they could've been the type of couple who (could've) had a friendship as the foundation of their relationship! And I loved seeing two established 30+, single characters come together.
Things fell a little flat for me with Kareena's family, some of the writing, and aspects of the plot.
I did not like the way Kareena's family treated her. I couldn't wrap my head around her being treated as lesser-than just because she was 30 and unmarried, meanwhile, her spoiled brat of a sister was constantly doted on (because she was getting married) - it was such an ugly double standard (I don't even think that's the correct term I'm searching for but i digress) and really boiled my blood and also made my heart hurt for Kareena. I was SO happy when Prem went off on the family and put them in their place and i wish that scene had been drawn out a little more so we could really see the family have to grapple with the ramifications of their actions.
Another thing that bothered me was some of the writing. While it was easy and funny for the most part, there was some language that made this feel like the author was trying too hard to be funny and relevant (Prem would also refer to his dick [thankfully during his inner dialogue] as "Charlie" and i would physically cringe every time i had to read it - like whyyy????).
Lastly, i didn't like that Prem didn't believe in love - it just made no sense to me, even when it was explained. Romantic love isn't the only type of love that exists - how did he think his parents felt about him if it wasn't love? Even though his parents never really said it out loud, it was clear that they loved him. Had the plot been more explicitly focused on his fear rather than disbelief, I think that would've been more realistic and believable as a plot point.
Overall, I enjoyed this and thought it was cute and sexy!
This was such a delightful, cute, and steamy rom-com centered around South Asian culture! I loved the focus on dating and marriage among South Asians and how (North) American-born South Asians navigate dating and marriage in their culture while simultaneously immersed in Western culture.
I really enjoyed our leading lad and lady, Prem & Kareena. Prem was sexy, but not in the usual "raised brow and smirk" type of way - he was smart, confident, self-assured, and well established; he was stubborn at times but likable. Kareena, freshly thirty, was super relatable to me. She, too, was smart, confident, and well-established and I totally found myself resonating with her feelings on being single.
I loved Prem and Kareena's chemistry. the steam was great and i loved the flashbacks to their initial meeting because it really laid the groundwork for how in sync they were! They got along so well and seemed like they could've been the type of couple who (could've) had a friendship as the foundation of their relationship! And I loved seeing two established 30+, single characters come together.
Things fell a little flat for me with Kareena's family, some of the writing, and aspects of the plot.
I did not like the way Kareena's family treated her. I couldn't wrap my head around her being treated as lesser-than just because she was 30 and unmarried, meanwhile, her spoiled brat of a sister was constantly doted on (because she was getting married) - it was such an ugly double standard (I don't even think that's the correct term I'm searching for but i digress) and really boiled my blood and also made my heart hurt for Kareena. I was SO happy when Prem went off on the family and put them in their place and i wish that scene had been drawn out a little more so we could really see the family have to grapple with the ramifications of their actions.
Another thing that bothered me was some of the writing. While it was easy and funny for the most part, there was some language that made this feel like the author was trying too hard to be funny and relevant (Prem would also refer to his dick [thankfully during his inner dialogue] as "Charlie" and i would physically cringe every time i had to read it - like whyyy????).
Lastly, i didn't like that Prem didn't believe in love - it just made no sense to me, even when it was explained. Romantic love isn't the only type of love that exists - how did he think his parents felt about him if it wasn't love? Even though his parents never really said it out loud, it was clear that they loved him. Had the plot been more explicitly focused on his fear rather than disbelief, I think that would've been more realistic and believable as a plot point.
Overall, I enjoyed this and thought it was cute and sexy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Death
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