This was probably the favorite from this poetry series. Yet i can't say that her poems blew me up. Some are raw and relatable but most of them seems confusing to me.

I dived into this book expecting that it is a romance with sexy scenes. There weren't even enough erotic scenes! Even if a scene even started as erotic, was handled too badly and was ended up before even being sexy, if that makes sense? It was like the author tried to make it erotic, but failed. This was basically a messy read with cheating trope. The first person narrative from a fuckboy didn't work well. And the mystery part was there only to do nothing! Neither the romance, nor the mystery was strong enough to make this read enjoyable.

I am constantly frustrated with Dorian, how he cheated on his wife. And the excuses he made to himself about cheating. And then he justifies his actions by saying that he still loved his wife? Sorry, but I couldn't like him till the last page. It was really messy and the synopsis really was misleading.

How It All Blew Up had potential. It had all the themes I love in YA- friendships, beautiful setting, family, acceptance. I really wish I loved this book that I wanted to. But it fell flat to my expectations.

It has good representation and the theme of finding your sexual identity, while embracing your cultural identity and being an immigrant, plays a huge role in this book. And of course, Italy is one of my favorite countries to read about. But what specifically didn't work for me was the weak storyline. Though I usually prefer character oriented stories, I can't help but think how this story could have been better if the plot was handled well. And the characters themselves were not strong enough to take the story on their shoulders alone. All of them were pretty much one dimensional.

The friendship that Amir finds in Italy was quite fast and sudden? But I loved that group. I loved the way they tried to make Amir at home. The scenes where Arvin was trying to explore his sexual identity were done beautifully.

This wasn't a bad book. I just wish the implementation was better.

This was my first book by Sonya Lalli and the best thing was how utterly relatable it was! Serena is 36, works in an advertising firm, don't want to get married or have babies, and of course, there is a huge pressure on her to get married. And she is Indian-American, and you know how Desi parents are, especially when your younger sibling gets married first :D But the thing that was most relatable, and the thing that this book discussed in great detail, is how the friendships of women after marriage and kids change. Serena had a good group of friends but as they got married one by one, and had kids, they lost time for their friendships. And isn't this true in real life? How many married women, mothers especially, remains friends with their old buddies and get time to meet them? As a society, we seems to devalue female friendships, because of the other expectations they have from women.

When Serena's younger sister gets married, she is afraid that her sister too, like her friends, will have less and less time for her now and she would loose her best friend. When she gets the news that her sister is pregnant, she can't decide whether to be happy or be sad. Of course she is happy for her sister, but she is dreading loosing her best friend. She doesn't want to feel left behind. She decides to make new friends through internet but that didn't go well. When she joins her new job and meets her co-worker Ainsley, that was a wake up call for her. Ainsley had a successful job with a husband and a kid. She soon becomes her best friend and they had an amazing journey through out the book. Serena gets to see the thing from different perspective.

Her other journey in the book is her relationship with her parents. She doesn't talk to her father anymore, and with her mother she had a complicated relationship because of the fact that she always tried to get her married. But her new friendship helps her to rekindle those relations and help her to understand what she really desire in her life. She also meets her ex again but I won't talk about it much. I think the romance part was not the main focus here, though I went into this book with the expectation of a rom-com.

But what I got was totally different and refreshing. We get a character who is bada*s, strong and independent and doesn't want what society or her family expects for her. She wants to choose her own paths and live by her own choices. Through this journey of self discovery, Serena represents the face of every modern Desi woman.

June 19th, 2020: So hyped for this!! Look at her tattoo! I am so ready for this Desi story full of familial expectations and desi-aunties :D

I loved this little cute story and the concept behind it. There are colorful fairy sprites who used to be the sole caretakers of earth's flora, but now that humans are gardeners, they have become inactive. When one particular sprite, Wisteria, comes to a new town, she wants to fit in with other sprites, but she also wants to keep tending the flora even if it means working alongside humans.

The story was really enjoyable and different, but the main complaint I have, is in regards to the art. This is probably an unpopular opinion for this book, but the art was a bit complex in some places?! The way the hairs of Wisteria was drawn, was a bit much. We didn't get to see her face and that was kind of unusual for me. I wanted to see more of her expression. But, I applaud the diversity in the art! The sprites are all colorful and have wonderful expressions.

The story is pretty quick and short and it gives the message of friendship. And if you consider yourself as a gardener, or like to try your luck with the plants, this one might delight you :)