Sajni Patel (3.5/5 Stars)
CONTENT WARNING: Sexual assault, emotional abuse
Read this if you:
· have ever (or have wanted to) defy an authority figure
· live for yourself and not other people’s expectations of you
· are a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man (but loves one anyways!)
Synopsis:
Liya Thakkar, a successful biochemical engineer can’t believe her luck when the lawyer tasked with saving her failing company, Jay Shah, is the same man her parents tried to set her up with – a dinner that she ran out of without even meeting him. As the two work together, sparks fly, and the two begin falling for each other. As the relationship grows deeper, they must decide if they will reveal their painful pasts or continue to push each other away.
My thoughts on the book:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I found a lot of it to be really repetitive and most of the action only happens in the last few chapters. I loved reading about Jay and Liya’s love story, Jay is so incredibly charming, anyone would have fallen in love with him. The supporting characters were also incredibly dynamic, I would love to read sequels on all of Liya’s friends and their love lives. I also really enjoyed the cultural aspect of this book. I feel as though I don’t often read books (especially romance ones!) that delve into parental and community expectations of the main characters. It was an interesting lens to view the relationship from! Liya was a strong female lead in this story, and it was inspiring to read about how she decided to live her life, not letting her cultural expectations or the sexual assault she suffered define her.