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A review by ethannku
Beauty And The Besharam by Lillie Vale
5.0
4.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to Penguin Teen for an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.
Rep: South Asian MC, Korean American LI, bisexual MC, trans FTM side character, sapphic side character, lesbian side characters, South Asian side character.
Kavya Joshi has one goal in her high school life: be better than Ian Jun. So when her friends propose a series of contests between her and Ian to determine the final and true winner, she jumps at the chance. But Ian doesn’t seem as determined to keep their relationship strictly that of rivals… and slowly, Kavya doesn’t either.
This book was really cute! I loved Kavya and Ian’s relationship and their banter was A-tier. I am a sucker for academic rivals, so I was kind of disappointed that school ended within the first few chapters of the book, but the challenges that Kavya and Ian’s friends was a good continuation of their rivalry. Kavya was everything I wanted in a South Asian main character; she was unapologetic and unmoving in her morals, and she knew what she wanted. The exploration of Indian auntie culture was so accurate and moving to read about, since I have gone through many of the experiences that Kavya has. Ian’s backstory was also moving, though a little bit less so since we didn’t get to see inside his head and Kavya was an unreliable narrator at times. I still thought that they were very cute as a couple, and there are moments in this book that absolutely make it reread-worthy.
Rep: South Asian MC, Korean American LI, bisexual MC, trans FTM side character, sapphic side character, lesbian side characters, South Asian side character.
Kavya Joshi has one goal in her high school life: be better than Ian Jun. So when her friends propose a series of contests between her and Ian to determine the final and true winner, she jumps at the chance. But Ian doesn’t seem as determined to keep their relationship strictly that of rivals… and slowly, Kavya doesn’t either.
This book was really cute! I loved Kavya and Ian’s relationship and their banter was A-tier. I am a sucker for academic rivals, so I was kind of disappointed that school ended within the first few chapters of the book, but the challenges that Kavya and Ian’s friends was a good continuation of their rivalry. Kavya was everything I wanted in a South Asian main character; she was unapologetic and unmoving in her morals, and she knew what she wanted. The exploration of Indian auntie culture was so accurate and moving to read about, since I have gone through many of the experiences that Kavya has. Ian’s backstory was also moving, though a little bit less so since we didn’t get to see inside his head and Kavya was an unreliable narrator at times. I still thought that they were very cute as a couple, and there are moments in this book that absolutely make it reread-worthy.