Review: My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Release date: May 15th 2018
Publisher: Crown BFYR | Penguin Random House
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soulmate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her 18th birthday, and Raj meets all of the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked to return from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. Worse, Raj is crowned chair of the student film festival, a spot Winnie was counting on for her film school applications. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.

Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek, and one of the few people Winnie can count on to help her reclaim control of her story. Dev is smart charming, and challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope to find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy, and her chance to live happily ever after? To get her Bollywood-like life on track, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star. 

Like an expertly choreographed Bollywood dance scene, Nisha Sharma’s off-beat love story dazzles in the lime light.

*Publisher provided physical ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My So-Called Bollywood Life certainly lived up to its title. This is a really cute, light, and entertaining story that you may enjoy if you're not bothered by a lot of Bollywood movie references, astrology, and prophecies, or some high school drama. In my case, I went in expecting these things from reading the blurb, but I just felt that some of the drama (especially toward the end) could have been left out. And I did have to slow down my reading pace quite often when movies and actors came up. Those things aside, I still liked the story.

Winnie's character is one you could describe as passionate, not only about her culture and the incredible collection of movies she owns, but she genuinely loves the arts and already has an idea of what she wants in life. But when it comes to her romantic life, she's unsure as to whether she should trust in this prophesied destiny or make her own path based solely on her heart. She spends the majority of the story trying not to completely dwell on this prediction, and while I strongly feel that we all make our destiny in life and shouldn't rely on astrology, you can't tell people to disregard their beliefs no matter how you feel about it. Winnie's friends encouraged her to trust in her feelings and not consider the prophecy too much, and even though she tried, in the end, she just couldn't rid herself of something she believed in since she was a child. 

What I like most about the story is how celebrated the Indian culture is within this community and the different types of food mentioned. Some are familiar to me and some new. Either way, it made me drool whenever Winnie and her family ate together. Her parents were interesting characters in their own way too, and it was enlightening seeing how they were with Winnie and how much they valued their culture and traditions. 

I also like Dev and the fact that Winnie didn't linger on Raj. She stuck to her decision to staying apart and she never went back on that. Loved that she gave things a shot with Dev and encouraged him to take things slow with her. It irked me at times whenever she brought up the prophecy around him, but again, her feelings were understandable because it's her belief. And even though I'd already figured out that part long before it came up, I still would have liked for Dev to be honest from the get-go, especially knowing who Winnie was and how she spent her whole life thinking about the Pandit's prediction. Then again, I could understand his reasons behind it.

Overall, I like the writing, the characters, and how light and easy the story is. Again, not a fan of the bit of drama that happened toward the end, but it still made for an entertaining read. 

About the Author

Nisha Sharma grew up on Bollywood movies, eighties classics, and romance novels, so it comes as no surprise that her first novel, My So-Called Bollywood Life, features all three. 

Nisha credits her father for her multiple graduate degrees, and her mother for her love of Shah Rukh Khan and Jane Austen. She lives in Pennsylvania with her cat Lizzie Bennett and her dog Nancey Drew. 

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Review: The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke

Release date: September 13th 2016
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

THE LOST

When six-year-old Laurel Logan was abducted, the only witness was her younger sister, Faith. Since then, Faith’s childhood has revolved around her sister’s disappearance—from her parents’ broken marriage and the constant media attention, to dealing with so-called friends who only ever want to talk about her missing sister.

THE FOUND

Now, thirteen years later, a young woman is found in the front yard of the Logans’ old house, disoriented and clutching the teddy bear Laurel was last seen with. Can her sister finally be back? Faith always dreamed of her sister coming home; she just never believed it would happen. But soon a disturbing series of events leaves Faith increasingly isolated from her family and paranoid about her sister’s motives. Before long, Faith begins to wonder if it’s the abduction that’s changed her sister, or if it’s something else. . . .

*Received a physical copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

From the opening chapter I was intrigued and wanted to understand the family and Faith. It was easy to say she was being bratty and not very considerate of the situation, but at the same time I could understand her feelings. It was obvious that Faith was somewhat neglected by her mother and in some ways by her father as well. Her parents had spent all their time and efforts in finding Laurel, that they seemed to have not paid much attention to their other daughter. And when they were informed that Laurel had reappeared, Faith's mixed reaction wasn't surprising. I sensed jealousy a tad in her, because all the attention was given to her sister and not much was left for her. Over the years, she basically took care of herself. And honestly, I was happy that her parents weren't together. The mother seemed like such a trip, and I found nothing likable about the woman, and I wish there were more scenes with Faith's stepfather because he was the only one really there for her. 

Now, on to Laurel. It was great that one parents misery was coming to an end, and  their kidnapped daughter had finally come home. But I had my reservations. Something didn't seem right, especially with how Laurel didn't mind being in the spotlight and the way she acted with Faith's boyfriend. He was another story. With the way Faith questioned her feelings for him daily, I knew she had no business being in a relationship with him, and sadly it took too long for her to realize that. Even after what happened towards the end. 

The truth became pretty obvious to me from early. So for the rest of the story, I diverted my focus to the relationship between the girls; how they acted with each other, if Faith would finally break and unveil how she truly felt, and how the story would wrap up. It was terribly unfortunate what Laurel had experienced and I was happy that she was free from that. But with the state of the family, I didn't think it was healthy for her to be with them because she needed to know what it was like to have a normal, loving and supportive family. The father was barely around and the mother was pretentious and acted as if the world owed her. She got too caught up in the press and money and lost sight of what was important. She also pressured Faith a lot and treated her like crap, often dismissing her feelings or putting the guilt trip on her. The whole situation made me cringe and I yearned for the moment each of them would have an epiphany.

The ending wasn't much of a surprise, but it was emotional when Laurel spoke about her ordeal at last. Her pain felt so real and I could picture every single detail in my head as she revealed them. I'm not so sure I'm contented with the way things ended, but a part of me understands why they did that. 

To conclude, The Lost and the Found is an interesting story with a realistic tragedy no one should ever go through, but I did have some issues and that's why I rated it three stars. The writing's good, but at times I felt like there could have been less of some things mentioned, and more given at other parts. Also, I wasn't as emotionally invested as I was expecting to be, and I didn't really connect with the characters. Like I mentioned before, I already knew the truth from early so it was more about how it would end, and that was my main drive to keep reading. 

   

About the Author

Cat was born in Zambia and brought up in Edinburgh and Yorkshire, which has given her an accent that tends to confuse people. 

Cat has written non-fiction books about exciting things like cowboys, sharks and pirates, and now writes YA novels. She lives in Edinburgh with a couple of cats, Jem and Scout, who spend their days plotting to spit up furballs at the most inconvenient times. She likes cheese A LOT, especially baked camembert.

www.catclarke.com

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