I wanted to love this book, and I did enjoy it, just not as much as I would have liked. The relationship between Rani and Oliver is so toxic almost from the beginning and I had a hard time getting past that. I understand that this was kind of the point of the plot, but Oliver was so dislikeable that it was hard to buy into the romance.

The friendship between Rani and Kate was amazing, and I love how Kate is so absorbed into Rani’s family.

Rani’s relationship with her family is also good, aside from her lying and keeping secrets about Oliver. I think that her parents would have been open to a relationship with someone outside the Indian community when Rani is older, but they would have never accepted Oliver, and not just because they were in high school, but because of the way he treats her.

One of the parts I really liked was Rani finally standing up for herself with Oliver and recognizing her own issues.

I have complicated feelings about the ending. Oliver obviously hasn’t changed at all, but in some ways Rani takes a step back as well. I mean ultimately she is strong and chooses what is best for her, but the temptation was there.

This is a great book and a beautiful story, but it just didn’t quite work for me. Maybe because I had recently read another book with a couple with similar backgrounds that worked, so the disrespect and racism from Oliver was more jarring? I don’t know, read the book for yourself and see what you think.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.