I really enjoyed the dive into Winnie's culture, and I'm absolutely going to track down some of the movies Sharma references, but this book is about as melodramatic and unrealistic as Winnie's love interests keep insisting Bollywood musicals are. (My only experience with Bollywood musicals is Bride and Prejudice, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't count. So I'll take their word for it.)

Unrealistic melodrama might be tolerable if Winnie's personal growth or developing relationships anchored the story, but Winnie spends the entire book skimming the surface of her own and others' emotional lives. Despite all the dithering over destiny and free will, all the ambition driving her film school dreams, all the warmth of friendship, family, and burgeoning romance, Winnie never seems to feel any of it deeply.

When things go right, she takes it as her due, as something she deserves. And when things go wrong, she finds a way to manipulate the situation, or the person, in question until everything comes out shiny and friendly and exactly what she wants. Nothing is ever her fault. Nothing prompts her to examine her actions or her motives, and nothing prompts her to examine other people's actions or motives. She just...floats...through it all.

As a result, while the Indian American culture comes across loud and clear, most of the other characters read like cardboard. The advisor is a rule-abiding tightwad. The ex-boyfriend is a smarmy chameleon. The new love interest is a smouldering film genius. The best friend is a girly blonde. Winnie's parents and grandmother are the most three-dimensional of the lot, and that's mostly due to the fact that they have Backstory...and that Winnie's grandmother is described as an older version of Winnie.

I'm sure this is probably a fun, frothy read for a lot of people, but to me, it was more akin to reading a film. Films are great, but they're a completely different medium. If I wanted to watch a film, I wouldn't be poring over the pages of a book. ( )

I’m sure there are things to critique here, like the evil other woman and so on, but this book was such a fluffy fun read that I’m giving it 4 stars. It’s also really nice to read YA with good parents for a change. ( )

May 8th, 2018 - Updated Review

I had to restrain myself from bursting into giggles every ten seconds. This book is hilarious throughout, with lots of cheese and OTT melodrama like a typical KJo movie and I loved every single word.

Winnie is a hard-core movie buff with a Hindi movie review blog, who wants to do Film Studies at NYU Tisch and pursue a career as a film critic. She (alongwith her parents) also believe in a prediction made by a Panditji in her childhood about meeting her soulmate whose name starts with ‘R’ before her eighteenth birthday. But, when a few months before the D-day, her long time boyfriend Raj breaks up and she starts feeling something for Dev, she has to choose between believing in kismet or wanting to make her own destiny.

Winnie is a normal teenager who is angry and devastated by her breakup and confused about wanting to be with Dev (especially when Raj starts pursuing her again) but through it all, she is strong in her convictions, knows what she wants from her future and never lets anyone change her mind. Her parents and nani are some of the best parental characters I’ve ever read. They might be slightly pushy, maybe even embarrass her a little in front of others, but they love her unconditionally and fully support her in her choices without pressuring her. I loved the idea of Indian parents not worried that their kid didn’t want to be an engineer or a doctor. They are also traditional, slightly superstitious but still progressive in their ideas and I admired them a lot.

Dev may look like a bad boy but he is the sweetest guy ever and so so precious *swoons*. Though Dev and Winnie’s relationship felt a little insta-lovey, I totally got swept up in it and was rooting for them from the get-go. Every single one of their dates is very very cute and I always wanted more. Raj is probably an okay guy but I didn’t like him from the moment he told Winnie that her career choices were silly and she should grow up and go to college with him. I could never warm up to him after that, and he probably only redeemed himself slightly towards the end when he helped resolve some misunderstandings. Bridget is Winnie’s BFFL (Best Freaking Friend for Life) and their mutual admiration society of 80’s movies and Jane Austen was very endearing.

However, for me, what makes this book so wonderful is that for the first time ever, I saw a part of myself on the page. Winnie’s obsession with Hindi movies, her love for their romanticism, songs and dances, SRK – all felt like a reflection of myself. The writing is also very light hearted with so many funny moments making the whole reading experience very enjoyable and entertaining. SRK showing up in Winnie’s dreams and giving her advice on her love life through his iconic movie dialogues was hysterical. The Hindi movie references are spot-on and the snippets from Winnie’s review blog about the most notable movies of the last two decades are a highlight.

This is a very typical and predictable high school romance if you go by the plot, but the humorous writing and the completely filmi aesthetic make this one of the most funniest books I have ever read. Definitely recommend for readers of YA rom-coms but this is a must read for all lovers of SRK and Bollywood.

Special LOL spoilery moments from the book:

1. Winnie’s favorite swear word – “Holy baby Shahrukh”
2. Referring to the iconic Bachchan starrer Deewar as “that Wall movie”
3. Every single translation of SRK’s most famous dialogues
4. “Pigeon, go, go, go, pigeon, go, go, go” – remember that song?
5. Dream Winnie running in a “sarson ka khet” and falling into the arms of SRK
6. Nani and her mom making food for the film festival because no movie experience is complete without samosas
7. Dev performing a Bollywood dance routine with a whole set of background dancers to impress Winnie (even though he hates dancing… isn’t he the best!!!!)

May 4th, 2018

This book ..... oh god this book... I would give it so many stars I wouldn’t be able to count.

I haven’t been able to stop laughing since I started it a few hours ago and I just abandoned everything I had to do at home to finish it. And I’m thrilled.. and excited... and super duper happy...

My insanely Bollywood and SRK obsessed self is feeling really seen and validated after reading this book.

Anyone who loves Indian movies, the corny, OTT and dramatic nature of our films, should definitely read this book. You will just love it and die laughing 😆😆😆

I know I’m rambling but I will need a lot of time to think and write a review for this one. Because, all I want to do is quote all the hysterical lines - which would essentially be most of the book. ( )

diverse teen fiction (bollywood-inspired rom com)
This is probably fine, it just wasn't what I felt like reading at the time.

A fun, light YA romance with mostly Indian-American characters. Bollywood movies (which I know almost nothing about) are heavily referenced (and reviewed at the end). Even without a lot of personal knowledge, the movie references added depth and humor to the story. Although some of the foreshadowing was a little heavy-handed, overall, the main characters are likable and I cared enough about them to find out how they were going to get a happy ending. ( )