#arya khannas bollywood moment

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book blurb: Save the Date meets Never Have I Ever in this sparkling debut rom-com about a high school senior whose life suddenly gets a Bollywood spin when her sister gets engaged. Shaadi preparations are in full swing, which means lehenga shopping, taste testing, dance rehearsals, and best of all, Arya’s sister Alina is home. The Khannas are together again, finally, and Arya wants to enjoy it. So she stifles her lingering resentment towards Alina, plays mediator during her sister’s fights with their mother, and welcomes her future brother-in-law with open arms. (Okay, maybe enjoy isn't exactly right.)

Meanwhile at school, Arya’s senior year dreams are unraveling. In between class and her part-time gig as a bookshop assistant, Arya struggles to navigate the aftermath of a bad breakup between her two best friends and a tense student council partnership with her rival, the frustratingly attractive Dean Merriweather.

Arya is determined to keep the peace at home and at school, but this shaadi season teaches Arya new realities: Alina won’t always be in the bedroom down the hall, Mamma’s sadness isn’t mendable, friendships must evolve, and life doesn’t always work out like her beloved Bollywood movies. But sometimes, the person you least expect will give you a glimpse of your dream sequence just when you need it most.

Structured like a Bollywood film (entertaining intermission included!) Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment will make you swoon, laugh, cry, think, nod your head in agreement, and quite possibly make you get up and dance.

Review:

Save the Date meets Never Have I Ever in this story about a high school senior who is about to get a Bollywood spin on her life when her sister gets engaged and she has to navigate family drama, friend drama, and an unexpected crush. Arya is thrown headfirst into wedding planning when her sister becomes engaged, but that isn't without it's own drama as with new family members, mounting fights, and more come to a head. On top of that her senior is starting, and after losing the presidency she is now vice president to her frustrating yet handsome school rival, Dean. The more time Arya and Dean spend together the more their rivalry is starting to turn into something else, and with so much going on in her life, she'll have to find a way to balance everything before it explodes in her place. This was an okay read, you get to see a lot of family drama , especially between mother and daughters and sister and sister. Arya is dealing with so much, and she's trying to find a way to navigate it all on top of dealing with her best friend's breaking up and trying to remain friends with both as well as this new relationship with Dean. This would make a cute read for teens I think.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[nat-reviews-books]

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

Arya is excited to have her family back together, now that her sister is home to prepare for her wedding. Unfortunately, her sister being home doesn't diminish her mother's sadness, and her best friends breaking up before senior year means that Arya's life just got a lot more stressful.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Having only seen one Bollywood movie, I can't say that I'm familiar with them, but I really liked how the book was set up. I thought that the relationships between Arya, Alina, and their mother could have been fleshed out more. I liked the academic rivals to lovers romance, and I also liked that although Lisa and Andy changed roles throughout the book, their personalities didn't change. This was a cute, fun book, and I really enjoyed reading it.

I recommend this to: Bollywood movie enthusiasts, people who like YA contemporaries, and people who enjoy family dramas.

[princessofbookaholics]

Asian readathon is over! I managed to read only books from Asian authors this month and found new favourites! I got three 5 star reads and I'm so happy with my reads of this month! Here's the wrap up:

The Devil's Flute Murders ⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Room to Dream ⭐⭐⭐⭐

King of Sloth ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dear Wendy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Village of Eight Graves ⭐⭐⭐

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lunar New Year Love Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kaikeyi ⭐⭐

Pachinko ⭐⭐⭐

Wrapped with a Beau ⭐⭐

The Return of Ellie Black ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tokyo Ever After ⭐⭐⭐

Tokyo Dreaming ⭐⭐⭐

[typingwithmyhandstied]

What books have you gotten from the library recently? (Even if you’re not necessarily sure if you’ll have time to read them)

Get ready. I am going to list every book on my library book shelf.

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Song of Silver Flame Like Night

The Poppy War

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Just Kids (Patti Smith)

Agrippina

A Rome of Ones Own (the forgotten women of the Roman empire)

A Fatal Thing Happened on the way to the forum

The French Revolution

The Communist Manifesto

The Oxford History of the French Revolution

The Raven Boys

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Skyward

Every Summer After (I read this. I hated it.)

The Joy Luck Club

Peter Pan and Wendy

I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Malibu Rising

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Turtles All the Way Down

Educated: A Memoir

This Savage Song

Sky Without Stars

City of Ghosts

The Screaming Staircase

Iron Widow

The fault in our stars in Spanish

and more actually but that's the most recent

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (January 9th, 2024)

___

Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

Somewhere in the Deep by Tanvi Berwah

Dungeons & Drama by Kristy Boyce

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang & LeUyen Pham (Illustrations)

Shut Up, This is Serious by Carolina Ixta

The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer

We're Never Getting Home by Tracy Badua

New Sequels:

The Lost Ones (The Dark Ascension Series #2) by Lauren DeStefano

___

Happy reading!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

January 2024 Young Adult Releases

🦇 Good afternoon, my bookish bats. I hope you're bundled up with a fur baby, hot bev, and good book as you ward off this (lovely) chilly weather. No TBR is complete without a few young adult novels, and plenty were released in January! Here are a few YA releases to consider adding to your shelves.

January 2 ✨ A Fragile Enchantment - Allison Saft @allisonhsaft ✨ Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White - Amélie Wen Zhao @ameliewenzhao ✨ Just Happy to Be Here - Naomi Kanakia @rhkanakia ✨ If You Can't Take the Heat - Michael Ruhlman @ruhlman ✨ Stay With My Heart - Tashie Bhuiyan @tashiebhuiyan ✨ Cupid's Revenge - Wibke Brueggemann @wibkebrueggemann ✨ Ghost Roast - Shawnee Gibbs @shawnee.gibbs and Shawnelle Gibbs @nelletheelle ✨ Okay, Cupid - Mason Deaver @mason_deaver ✨ Sky's End - Marc J Gregson @mjg_write

January 9 ✨ Somewhere in the Deep - Tanvi Berwah @tanviberwah ✨ The Atlas of Us - Kristin Dwyer @kristindwyer ✨ The Lost Ones - Lauren DeStefano @laurendestefanoauthor ✨ Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment - Arushi Avachat @arushi.24 ✨ Dungeons and Drama - Kristy Boyce @kristylboyce ✨ Shut Up, This Is Serious - Carolina Ixta @carolinaixta ✨ Lunar New Year Love Story - Gene Luen Yang @geneluenyang ✨ We're Never Getting Home - Tracy Badua @tracybaduawrites

January 16 ✨ A Drop of Venom - Sajni Patel @sajnipatelbooks ✨ Most Ardently - Gabe Cole Novoa @thegabecole ✨ If I Promise You Wings - A.K. Small @aksmallwords ✨ Evergreen - Devin Greenlee @Dev.L.Lee ✨ So Let Them Burn - Kamilah Cole @wordsiren ✨ Beasts of War - Ayana Gray @ayanagray_ ✨ Sun Don't Shine - Crissa-Jean Chappell @crissachappell ✨ Escaping Mr. Rochester - L.L. McKinney @ll_mckinney

January 23 ✨ Destroy the Day - Brigid Kemmerer @brigidkemmerer ✨ My Fair Brady - Brian D. Kennedy @bdkennedybooks ✨ The Invocations - Krystal Sutherland @km_sutherland ✨ Into the Sunken City - Dinesh Thiru @dineshmt ✨ You're Breaking My Heart - Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich @olugbemisolarhudayperkovich ✨ The Getaway List - Emma Lord @dilemmalord ✨ Out of Our League: 16 Stories of Girls in Sports - Dahlia Adler @missdahlelama & Jennifer Iacopelli @jennifercarolyn ✨ The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee - Ellen Oh @elloecho ✨ Not Dead Enough - Tyffany D. Neiheiser @writer_tyffany

January 30 ✨ Just Say Yes - Goldy Moldavsky @goldywrites ✨ Red - Annie Cardi @anniecardi ✨ A Reckless Oath - Kaylie Smith @kaylsmoon ✨ Poemhood Our Black Revival - Anthology ✨ Wander in the Dark - Jumata Emill @brownboywriting ✨ The Dark Fable - Katherine Harbour @katharbour77

[triviareads]

ARC Review of Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

Rating: 4/5 Heat Level: 1/5 Publication Date: January 9th

Premise:

Arya Khanna's senior year of high school is shaping up to be busier than she expected: she's helping plan her sister's big wedding, playing mediator between her sister and mother, working a part-time job, and is student council vice president, meaning she has to learn to work with the president and her rival, Dean Merriweather.

My review:

I like to dip my toe into YA occasionally because I love to support writers of color and I was especially excited because Arushi Avachat is a fellow Indian-American who wrote a loving portrayal of an Indian-American heroine and her family in this book. Arya and her older sister Alina's relationship is the focal point of the story. Alina is getting married and Arya is her chief source of support because their mother is somewhat estranged from Alina after Alina dropped out of college and decided to take a non-traditional career path. I was reminded of Nisha Sharma's author's note in Tastes Like Shakkar where she wrote about the concept of "family managers", namely when children feel like their value to the family is conflated with the help they provide. This fits Arya to a tee: she is trying to keep the peace between her mother and sister and take care of her mother all while feeling like this is her duty, a carryover from when Alina was at college and living abroad. And that feeling hasn't entirely gone away, even with Alina living at home once again, and it only gets stronger until Arya confronts it head-on at the climax of the story.

I liked how Arushi portrayed Indian-American culture in the book; it's not a monolith, as shown in the way she contrasts her family's Punjabi customs with Alina's fiancé Nikhil's Marathi customs. You also get a good sense of everyday desi culture, like the food we eat, being bilingual, the love for Bollywood films and songs, and religious observances like festivals and pujas. Plus, there's plenty of insight into the sheer magnitude of planning that goes into desi weddings.

Speaking of Bollywood, I thought the book's structure was cute— it was broken into acts much like Arya's beloved Bollywood films, complete with a soundtrack at the end.

I think my one note regarding the familial aspect is that I did not feel Arya's conflict with her mom was entirely resolved. Obviously her mom's depression isn't something I expected to be magically cured by the end of the book, and to be fair to Arya, she does learn to be more empathetic towards her mom during the course of the story, however, her mother does not communicate with Arya much better by the end of the book than she did in the beginning. I feel like this was a missed opportunity to hear the point of view of a woman who got married and moved abroad at a fairly young age, barely has any physical contact with her loved ones who still live in India, and suffers from a mental illness that is still stigmatized within the community.

Regarding the romance between Arya and Dean, I do think it was very much a secondary plot. The book's blurb does a good job of putting into perspective what the main focus of the book is, namely, Arya's relationship with Alina, Alina's upcoming wedding, and Arya's family. What we do see of Dean and Arya is cute, if fairly low conflict— they're initially rivals who slowly learn to communicate better until they finally admit their feelings for one another near the end. I feel like even the subplot concerning Arya's evolving friendship with Lisa was given equal, if greater importance than the romance itself.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute young adult story about the complexities of family relationships and friendships that evolve as we grow older, and first brushes with romance.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[booknutmusings]

Audiobook: Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment

by Arushi Avachat Read by Nikhaar KishnaniSupport your local independent bookstore: buy it there!Or listen at Libro.fmContent: There is mention of mental illness, including depression, and some kissing. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore. Arya’s senior year has been super complicated so far: she’s ben at odds with the school council president, Dean, since the year started; and…

[ashkive]

week of mar 31/24.

listening - hope on the street by j-hope.

watching - chicken nugget.

reading - arya khanna's bollywood moment by arushi avachat.

making - crochet book covers.

[1fairy]

bfj reading challenge 80

d-467 🩷 day 81 🌷320 pages 🪻arya khanna's bollywood moment - arushi avachat 🌸chapter 1-40

☑ I finished arya khan's bollywood moment. started and finished in one day. who knew that if you did actually stick to one book at a time, you'd actually read that book lol. I really liked this one. favorite of the year so far. it had a lot of emotions, but I liked how 90% of the situations were handled. the ending could have gone on for longer. kind of want an epilogue tbh. Idk it just gave me the feelings that I get when I know I like a book. will ponder on the rating.

[tessatalksbooksblog]

Book Reviews| Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan, The Getaway List by Emma Lord, The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland, and Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

Romantic Comedy ❄️ Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan ❄️ One-word review: Endearing Emojis: 😬😊🥰 Rating: 5 🌟s My review: Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan is a story with one of those worlds I could bask in for a long time – an actual book vacation. The characters are so lovable, the setting is picturesque and described to a visceral level, and the romance is perfect. I loved every minute I…

[lovelyloveday]

Save the Date meets Never Have I Ever in this sparkling debut rom-com about a high school senior whose life suddenly gets a Bollywood spin when her sister gets engaged.

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat  https://bit.ly/47HBZn2  

[nat-reviews-books]

Currently Reading: Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat

Although I'm not a big Bollywood movie watcher, the description of this book caught my interest and two chapters in, I'm excited to see where this story takes me.

[fayteorchid]

Review: Book: Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment- Arushi Avachat

Title: Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment Series: Standalone Author’s Name: Arushi Avachat Publisher:  Wednesday Books  Genre: YA Romantic Comedy Page Count: 320 Pages ISBN:  978-1250895110 Author or Book Website: ​​Arushi Avachat | Young Adult Novelist Link to Amazon purchase page: ​Amazon.com: Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment: Avachat, Arushi: Books Link to Goodreads: Arya Khanna’s Bollywood…

[howdidthatbookend]

Arushi Avachat | Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment

The Book:  Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment by Arushi AvachatPublished: January 9, 2024 by Wednesday BooksDate read: December 1, 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. The Characters:  Arya and Dean Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon This page contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this site. The Plot (from Goodreads): Shaadi…

[princessofbookaholics]

Asian Readathon Recs + TBR

The Asian Readathon is a month-long readathon from May 1st to 31st dedicated to reading books by Asian authors or with Asian characters and I'm definitely participating! I thought I should make a post with all the recommendations I have for the readathon and also all the Asian books I have on my entire TBR. My goal is to read as many Asian books as I can throughout the month.

Details about the readathon:

google doc with all details: read here

[UPDATE 2022: currently using this as a personal master list for all asian books that I recommend + the ones on my TBR; under the cut]

So let's go on to the book recs:

young adult contemporary:

-> recommendations:

to all the boys i've loved before series by jenny han

when dimple met rishi by sandhya menon

a match made in mehendi by nandini bajpai

i believe in a thing called love by maureen goo

my so-called bollywood life by nisha sharma

a pho love story by loan le

xoxo by axie oh

you've reached sam by dustin thao

summer bird blue by akemi dawn bowman

starfish by akemi dawn bowman

a time to dance by padma venkatraman

everyone hates kelsie miller by meredith ireland

well, that was unexpected series by jesse q. sutanto

we are not free by traci chee

fake dates and mooncakes by sher lee

-> to be read:

darius the great is not okay by adib khorram

parachutes by kelly yang

tokyo ever after by emiko jean

arya khanna's bollywood moment by arushi avachat

general fiction:

-> recommendations:

if i had your face by frances cha

the travelling cat chronicles by hiro arikawa

a thousand splendid suns by khaled hosseini

girls burn brighter by shobha rao

mika in real life by emiko jean

almond by won-pyoung sohn

yellowface by r. f. kuang

-> to be read:

days of distraction by alexandra chang

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean voung

welcome to hyunam dong bookshop by hwang bo-reum

graphic novel/manga:

-> recommendations:

anya's ghost by vera brosgol

the prince and the dressmaker by jen wang

death note series by tsugumi ohba and takeshi obata

quiet girl in a noisy world by debbie tung

they called us enemy by george takei

orange series by ichigo takano

persepolis by marjane satrapi

stargazing by jen wang

tidesong by wendy xu

spy x family series by tatsuya endo

pilu of the woods by mai k. nguyen

-> to be read:

laura dean keeps breaking up with me by mariko tamaki

anthology:

this one summer by mariko tamaki

the waiting by keum suk gendry-kim

-> recommendations:

a thousand beginnings and endings by ellen oh and elsie chapman

an unrestored woman by shobha rao

how to pronounce knife by souvankham thammavongsa

before the coffee gets cold series by toshikazu kawaguchi

my pen is the wing of a bird by 18 afghan women

-> to be read:

once upon an eid by s. k. ali and aisha saeed

afterparties by anthony veasna so

mystery/thriller:

-> recommendations:

confessions by kanae minato

going dark by melissa de la cruz

can you see me now by trisha sakhlecha

the decagon house murders by yukito ayatsuji

detective kosuke kindaichi series by seishi yokomizo

the butcher by jennifer hillier

detective kaga series by keigo higashino

detective galileo series by keigo higashino

the tokyo zodiac murders by soji shimada

the untouched crime by zijin chen

-> to be read:

the good son by you-jeong jeong

miracle creek by angie kim

the widows of malabar hill by sujata massey

middle grade:

-> recommendations:

the village by the sea by anita desai

other words for home by jasmine warga

amal unbound by aisha saeed

kiki's delivery service by eiko kadono

malgudi days by r. k. narayan

the night diary by veera hiranandini

front desk series by kelly yang

spirit hunters series by ellen oh

-> to be read:

sidekick squad series by c. b. lee

eva evergreen, semi-magical witch by julie ab

romance:

-> recommendations:

the kiss quotient series by helen hoang

marriage game series by sara desai

modern love series by alisha rai

dating dr. dil by nisha sharma

twisted series by ana huang

the unmatchmakers by jackie lau

awkward in october by teresa yea

the influencer series by amy lea

kings of sin series by ana huang

-> to be read:

booked on a feeling by jayci lee

fantasy:

-> recommendations:

shiva trilogy by amish tripathi

warcross duology by marie lu

the daevabad trilogy by s. a. chakraborty

the poppy war trilogy by r. f. kuang

babel by r. f. kuang

the green bone saga by fonda lee

untethered sky by fonda lee

the kingdom of back by marie lu

the cat who saved books by sosuke natsukawa

spin the dawn duology by elizabeth lim

-> to be read

wicked fox by kat cho

we hunt the flame duology by hafsah faizal

non-fiction:

-> recommendations:

know my name by chanel miller

ace by angela chen

i'm afraid of men by vivek shraya

white tears/brown scars by ruby hamad

in order to live by yeonmi park

-> to be read:

minor feelings by cathy park hong

LET'S READ ASIAN BOOKS!