e-Audio, 07:12:12
Narrated by: Richa Moorjani
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Published by: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Read from: November 17-19, 2021
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Overdrive
TW: N/A
For Readers Interested In: Holidaze -Books set during a holiday (Diwali, Christmas), Diverse Author, Diverse MC, POC on the Cover, POC MC, Contemporary Romance, Sparkly Covers, AdultOne type-A data analyst discovers her free-spirited side on an impulsive journey from bustling Mumbai to the gorgeous beaches of Goa and finds love waiting for her on Christmas morning.
Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She’s always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she’s always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she’s laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn’t exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya’s wedding.
Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it’s the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual.
When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life–to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This is going to be a hard book for me to review. I LOVED a lot of this, but there were also other things about it that I really didn’t care for. I was all over the place with this, so I’ve been sitting on this review for awhile. So basically what I’m saying is…. Take this review with a grain of salt lol
Niki is a data analyst and loves her job. That is until she’s let go. Now that she has free time, she decides its time to do things for herself. She goes to her best friend’s wedding in India. She’s there just in time to Celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. She runs Sameer Mukherji, a musician who she’s drawn to. As she spends her time in India, she must decide what she wants to come next in her life.
Ok, so the first thing I wanted from this book was the setting. And it was terrible. I wanted it to show all the lights and ways she celebrated Diwali. She was in India after all. But there was absolutely nothing that was there stood out to me. I wanted to feel like I was there in India. It was a bit disappointing.
But even though the setting was terrible, it was definitely educational. I learned so much about Diwali. And then I went and looked up more things. And I was even more excited about this because I don’t think I’ve ever read anything specifically about Diwali. Definitely going to be one of the books that I recommend to others.
And that brings me to the romance. It was not swoon worthy at all. Until the end. The grand gesture was a 4 on its own. I got a little teary. And I liked the epilogue and the way they decided to handle things at the end of the book. But I think that was the reason I was annoyed with it? It wasn’t really anything until then. And with this being a romance book, I was hella disappointed. The Spice Level in this one is a 1. Really like a 0 lol I think the most they did was kiss and someone touched someone else’s thigh. The problem is tho, since it was low on the “sweat” I would have at least wanted it to be high on the “sweet” but it was low on both.
This wasn’t exactly what I wanted out of this book, but it’s what was given. And unfortunately I can’t say I was super in love with it. But for those things I did like, it was hella worth it! I say read it and let me know what you think!
Overall, I give this
