A review by madscibrarian
30 Things I Love About Myself by Radhika Sanghani

emotional funny 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

3.0

 This was an easy and light read about a 30 year old Indian woman, Nina, learning to love herself. After a breakup with her fiancé, she has to move back in with her mother. Her older brother is clinically depressed and also lives with the mother. Nina is close with her family but it’s not without her mom being nitpicky about her lifestyle and choices. I thought the relationship Nina had with her family was very realistic. The story loops in Nina helping her family with their problems– supporting her brother’s mental health, and encouraging her mother to start dating again after years from their father’s passing. Nina also spends a lot of time with friends– meeting new people as well as dealing with some issues of old friends.

There really isn’t much romance in this book. It does have a strong message of loving yourself, so perhaps a strong romantic plot or subplot would take away from that. There’s a lot of drama in Nina’s family and friend life though, so you can certainly be kept interested throughout the whole story. I do think the point of this book is that life isn’t always perfect, but you can learn to love yourself through all it’s ups and downs. In the end, this isn’t a book I’d normally pick up, but it was pretty enjoyable. I’d recommend if you typically enjoy contemporary women’s fiction, and/or you would like one with no focus on romance.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.