e-Audio, 10:27:12
Narrated by: Angel Pean & Vikas Adam
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: May 14-19, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: Libro FM (I received a free e-ALC from the publisher and Libro FM. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Racism, Classism, Colonization
For Readers Interested In: Auto-Buy Author, Contemporary Romance, DEAR, Favorites, Dual Narrator, Dual POV, Sparkly Covers, Most Anticipated, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Romance, YAThis compelling and complex romance about love across cultures follows a Black girl and Brown boy who find themselves—and each other—while pursuing their passions the summer before college.
Deja’s got a plan. The first in her large family to go to college, she wants to study chemistry and sell natural skin care products, like the ones she already creates from plants grown on her family’s North Carolina farm. It all starts with the Onward Bound summer program at the University of Maryland, the summer before school officially starts.
Raja’s got a dream. His traditional Nepali parents want him to study engineering and settle down in an arranged marriage, but his passion is art, and he wants to open his own tattoo parlor one day. In the meantime, he’s apprenticing at a tattoo shop in College Park, Maryland.
When Deja walks into the shop where Raja’s working, they both start crushing hard—over the course of the summer, they fall more and more deeply for one another. But the closer they get and the more their lives entwine, the more they find that dating someone who doesn’t match your parents’ expectations is harder than they ever imagined.
Can they bridge the divide between the vision their families have for their futures and the lives—and love—that are starting to feel like destiny?
*MY THOUGHTS*
When Ebony LaDelle announced that she wrote another book I immediately added it to my pre-order cart. I knew that I was going to buy it no matter what it was LOL If you know me, you know that Love Radio was my favorite book of 2022, so I knew I was going to read whatever it was that she came up with next. And let me just say, this one was just as amazing.
So the characters were absolutely my favorite part. I LOVED Deja. She was her own person but still the embodiment of her family, especially her grandmother. She seemed like the rock of her family. She had so much wisdom at such a young age. She was so relatable. I was the same way when I was that age. A definite old soul.
And then there was Raja. He was a smart brave soul. He may have been of a different culture than me, but I recognized the things he went through all the same. The way he went through all he went through, but still went above and beyond for his sister cousins AND Deja made me want to give him a hug, a round of applause, or something. He did things that adults still don’t know how to do. And he did not take no for an answer. I know this seems bare minimum, but again, a lot of adults wouldn’t do what he did.
I also liked the community they fostered when they all came together. Yeah Deja and Raja were the ones in the relationship. but the way the sister cousins and Deja’s family all came together to help them or even just to cook together, to laugh together, or to help Deja with her clothing. It was so special the way they looked out for each other in different ways. It was so special to see them find each other and fall in love the way they did and see the community and friends that rallied behind them. Even if some of them had to hide to do so.
As for the romance itself, hands down, one the cutest couples ever lol These kids were the cutest. I loved the way they took care of each other and made sure that other people took care of them too. They didn’t play about each other and that may seem like bare minimum, but these kids both had a lot to fight through and I recognize that it was a lot. Also, I have to admit, I was originally going write in my review that I was not a fan of the instalove, but after going to see her speak about her new book, I can honestly say I understood why she did what she did. She said that she was aware it was instalove, but it was because she knew with the rest of the story she was doing a lot, and trying to add on some kind of conflict here too might have been too too much. It made sense if she wanted the main conflict and main plot point to be their journey together.
There is so much going on in this book, from the community, to the romance, to the family dynamics. It was so much and it really made me feel bad that these kids were still trying to figure out who they were and they were going through these things. And let me just tell you, all of that made this book so damn good. I loved this so much, and I think you all will too. Go pick it up and let me know what you think too!
Overall, I give this
