{2,5 ⭐️}

I've already read some of Sonali's books, so I was excited to read Lies And Other Love Languages, but unfortunately, despite it being a very well-written book with a super interesting plot, I had some problems reading it, the first part was very long and didn't really grab me, and my biggest problem was the fact that the story reminded me a little of Stay With Me, not that I'm accusing it of plagiarism or anything like that, but the plot is very similar, so I unconsciously ended up comparing the books a few times, which led me to expect a little more emotion and drama in Lies And Other Love Languages, which frustrated me a little, as I didn't think the book delivered the full potencial. Anyway, I think this was a very personal experience I had and I don't think it will affect most readers! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

I found that this book started off really slow. I had a hard time getting into this book. I was hoping for more since I read Vibrant Years and wasn't a fan of that one either.

The story is about three very strong Indian-American women; Vandy, Mallika and Rani. I found they very hard to like. I didn't not like them at all.

I am sorry to say I cannot recommend this one.

Lies and Other Love Languages is the eye catching title of the latest release from Sonali Dev, especially when the blurb describes it as being about motherhood, friendship and life.
Vandy Guru is an advice columnist and author with a huge online following, and she is still reeling from the loss of her husband after a brief but brutal illness just months before. The last thing she needs is for her daughter Mallika to disappear without warning and to ignore her repeated and increasingly desperate attempts at communication. When a friend from the past reaches out with the shocking news that Mallika is with her , Vandy knows that her whole world could come tumbling down.
Mallika has dreamed of being a choreographer since she was a little girl and was inspired on her first trip back to India with her father. She dreams of fusing traditional dance with something more modern and when she auditions for a project involving two of the biggest Indian names in mainstream movies, she really thinks her time may finally have come. Instead she finds herself choreographing wedding dances for her two Aunties, whose sons are about to be married. When one of them, along with his best friend and Mallika's former crush, Rex, finds her moping about the audition they go to drown their sorrows and Mallika finds herself agreeing to genetic testing as part of Rex's research project. The results prove so shocking that Mallika no longer knows who she can trust, or even who she really is, and the last thing she wants to do is talk to her mother, even if she might be the only one who can answer her questions.
This is a book that really revolves around friendship and how far we are really willing to go for our friends, and it really does make the reader ask themselves some questions. I really liked all the characters but particularly Mallika, even if I did find her pessimism and petulance a little off putting at times. I really felt for her and what she was going through and loved that as readers we were uncovering her past alongside her. The use of two time periods to tell Vandy's story was really effectively utilised.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

3.75 Stars

The basic plot of this book was good and a universal issue (infertility, miscarriages). I loved that the book started out with a friendship of two of the main characters from an early age. The friendship that Vandy extended to Rani literally saved Rani. It got the dirt poor girl from India off the streets in LA (?), but it also nurtured her soul and her heart. The conflicts were BIG issues in the book and caused a rift in their friendship. The relationships Vandy had with her husband and daughter were awesome~

I really enjoyed the basic story, but I feel like not knowing the words/dishes, etc. from their native land diminished the experience for me. I know it's part of the whole feel of their culture, but it left me a little lost. Maybe some people don't mind stopping to search the meaning of the words, but it was just disruptive to the flow to me. I'm honestly not sure I will get another ARC of her books. I don't feel like it's being fair to the author if I have this issue.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

When Vandy's daughter, Mallika disappears and her estranged childhood best friend, Rani returns, stirring up long-buried secrets, Vandy's carefully crafted life feels at risk.
Mallika is tired of failure. She just got rejected from an audition again, and she signs up for a genetic study, which results reveal her whole life to be a lie. Rani must confront her troubled history and face Vandy and Mallika.
This story about love, friendship and forgiveness is told in multiple POVs, each starting from a different point in time and eventually catching up to each other and revealing how they all are related to each other. The writing felt quite tedious at times. I didn't really warm up to the three FMCs, Vandy felt overbearing and privileged, Mallika was very big on self-pity. This was not my favorite book by this author (her series The Rajes was really good!), but it was still a good read.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Trigger Warnings: Infertility, Multiple Miscarriages

A mother-daughter-focused contemporary that hops from the different characters to different time periods for readers to understand the full story.


I find myself on the 3.0 line. The book made me feel things when I was reading it, but I now feel very ambivalent about the book as I review it. The storyline was predictable as to why Vandy and Rani were not on speaking terms. Mallika, as a character, was one that I couldn't relate to very much. I know I should have felt compassion for her desire to uncover her parent's secrets. But the majority part of my brain was "Girl, aside from this, haven't you been given a pretty good life? What exactly are YOU lacking?" Personally, it felt as if she was making Rani become something in her life that she really wasn't supposed to be. So the story was better for me when it just focused on the two friends. Honestly, Vandy's story was too close to my own so it felt traumatizing. I wish I had a Rani!

Would I recommend it? Depends on the situation, depends on the reader.


Expected Publication 26/09/23
Goodreads Review


#LiesandOtherLoveLanguages #NetGalley

I’m speechless! This was so brave, painful and beautiful!

Written from the perspectives of 3 strong woman about family, love, loss.
Love how the culture of the Indian families was pertrade.
The beggining was slow starting out for me seemed a bit tedious in.parts but look past this and keep reading and your in for a wonderful well written story.

This story really drew me in. Sonali Dev writes with such wit and earnest that I found it so easy to connect with each character and follow them along through their struggles and journeys of growth. The alternating POVs and timelines craft such a complex and beautiful story. Additionally, I loved the exploration of love languages and communication as a theme.

I’m speechless! This was so brave, painful and beautiful!

The story switches between three people, and between the past and now.
Vandy Guru loves her daughter Mallika so much it’s terrifying. Vandy is a successful advice columnist. She’s been married to the love of her life Vir, who died a year ago. On the surface Vandy is coping, inside she’s dying from grief.
Rani Parekh had been twelve when her mother died and she was sent from Bombay to her aunt in Los Angeles. Her mother had been a classical kathak dancer. Alcohol had been her nemesis. Rani and Vandy become best friends through quite heart breaking circumstances. The picture of Rani trying to find a safe space in the concrete jungle of LA, unlike the markets of Bombay is vivid.
Mallika is a choreographer. She currently is trying to organize the Aunties in dances for two weddings on the same weekend. Very trying! Mallika’s also waiting to hear from a Bollywood movie director about her presentation of dances for an up and coming movie.
Mallika, unlike her mother, views life through a pessimistic lens. Her father Vir helped her with this but now he’s not here. Mallika is not brave, is not a force of nature like her mother and aunties. She often wonders if it’s because she doesn’t have aqualine nose that goes with the Mehta genes. Mallika has her father’s nose.
There is so many parts to this tale, yet Dev brings it all together with masterful panache.
When Mallika doesn’t answer her mother’s phone calls the mystery, the story of these intertwine lives unravels, and it’s amazing. It’s friendship that goes beyond the norm.
A stellar read!

A Lake Union ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Lies and Other Love Languages is a bit of a slow start and honestly, the big reveal isn’t really that much of a secret. I think that’s why I had such a hard time getting into L&OLL. I knew from the very beginning exactly how this was going to play out and I wasn’t wrong. Once I got my head around that, it became much easier to delve into the story of two lifelong best friends, who haven’t spoken in 27 years, and a daughter and just enjoy it.

The story is told from the POV of three very strong Indian-American women; Vandy, Mallika and Rani. Although none of them understand how strong and lovable they really are. They might be lovable to the people in their lives, but they are all polarizing for being selfish, albeit in very different ways. It makes it hard to truly like any of them, but in a weird way you do.

Vandy kicks off L&OLL on a Saturday in 2023 at 2:00 p.m. in which she’s desperately trying to get in touch with her missing(?) daughter, Mallika. Mallika’ s portion of the story begins seven days ago and Rani’s narrative begins in 1979, when she first met Vandy or “Vinnie.” L&OLL continues this pattern throughout the book - Vandy, Mallika, Rani, Vandy, Mallika, Rani ... - with all of the narratives coming together in the present day.

I guess the biggest reason I didn’t love L&OLL is because I kept wondering how realistic it really is. I’m sure there are people out there who would do what the women in the book do, but it’s a little too big of a pill for me to swallow. Sometimes you just need to say “No.” Also Lies and Other Love Languages begs the questions “‘Is withholding information a lie?’ ‘When do you need to come clean and tell the truth?’ ‘Are we allowed secrets?’”

Overall, I recommend Lies and Other Love Languages. It’s a good story of friendship, love and forgiveness

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a digital ARC for review. Lies and Other Love Languages is available on 26 September 2023.

Lies and Other Love Languages is about three women who all have their stories that are also woven together. The beginning was a little slow and didn't really reveal new information that wasn't included in the synopsis. If you stick it out the rest of the story will be enjoyable . The dynamics of Indian culture and family were well portrayed. A great woman's fiction read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy books by Sonali Dev, and this is no exception! I love hearing about a very different culture, but even more than that, I loved this sweet love story. This is one you shouldn’t miss!

Love this book!!!!


"Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

really enjoyed this novel. Pacing was a bit slow to start, but eventually the story sucked me in. Focusing on love and personal growth within families, this story provided an emotionally rich dive into the family dynamic - specifically the Indian American dynamic. The novel focuses on 3 women and occurs over multiple timelines, Each character's story is interesting and compelling and well thought out. I think I appreciated Sonali's previous novel, The Vibrant Years a bit more, but overall, this story captivated me.

Thanks for the review copy. Started off a little slowly but then the book got better, Looking forward to reading more books by Dev.

I couldn’t put the book down. I was so drawn to the characters. I loved the female friendships & the family dynamics. Really enjoyed.

In theory I really wanted to like this book. Great plot but the character dialogue and interactions was a little tough for me to get through. Sonali Dev usually captures my attention with her character development. I love reading about people from other cultures and experiences than my own. I think I would recommend other works of hers over this one.

This was a beautiful story about the depths we’ll go to for love and friendship. In this story we follow the lives of three women who originally seem unrelated, but as the story goes on we realize how connected they all are. Vandy Guru is an advice columnist who seems to all the world to have her life together, but those close to her realize she has been struggling since her husband passed away. Mallika is a young woman on the cusp of figuring out what she wants in life, amidst a harsh rejection. Rani is a woman whose early years of disappointment and pain affect her ability to get close to those around her. This story was beautifully written, and really pulled you in and made you care about what was happening to these women. And I found myself questioning what I would have done in these situations, what lies I might tell to get what I wanted. A thought provoking book that will stay with me for a while. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

An emotional story that takes place over two timelines and told from the point of view of three women. In the present timeline, Vandy Guru is a successful advice columnist/agony auntie grieving her husband who died several months earlier and her 27 year-old daughter, Mallika, is an aspiring choreographer who doesn't quite fit in with her mother's family of successful doctors. When Mallika goes missing, Vandy's search eventually leads to Rani, her childhood friend now living in Mumbai who she hasn't seen in close to 30 years. Rani's POV tells the story of her friendship with Vandy from the time they met as 12 year-olds in 1979 when Rani moved to California from India through to 1995.

Lies and Other Love Languages is a beautifully-written, thought-provoking story of lies and secrets intertwined with motherhood, friendship, family and love that asks the reader to consider how far they would be willing to go to make someone they love happy and whether getting what you want is worth it if the consequences include losing someone you love. The plot touches on issues relating to grief, the mental and physical impact of infertility, and self-discovery. This is the first book that I have read by Sonali Dev and I enjoyed her writing style and the characters she created - flawed but likeable with distinctive voices - including the strong cast of supporting characters. It wasn't hard to predict where the story was going (although there are some twists) but getting there was enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book! The review will appear on episode 25 of my podcast. That episode will drop on Monday, September 11. I will also post a mini-review of the book on Instagram that week.

Review:
I love reading books where the main characters are from different cultures and upbringings. It's always interesting to me to compare their life experiences with my basic white boy experiences. I find it captivating.

The story revolves around three Indian women – Vandy Guru, her daughter Mallika Guru, and Vandy's childhood friend Rani Parekh. Vandy is an advice columnist turned author who has built her career on promoting honesty and courage. However, after losing her husband to an aggressive form of cancer, Vandy struggles to maintain her public persona. When her daughter Mallika goes missing, and her childhood friend Rani resurfaces, Vandy's carefully constructed world starts to crumble. Secrets are unearthed, and Vandy is forced to confront her grief and the lies she has held close.

Mallika is an aspiring choreographer who is tired of failure and rejection. On a whim, she decides to participate in a genetic study, hoping to find answers about her differences from her accomplished family, and in doing so, she discovers a truth that shakes her to her core.

Rani, who to me was the most complex character of the three, has always been there for Vandy. The two had a beautiful friendship when they were younger, but years later, something happened that caused the friendship to fracture. Over the course of the book, we learn about Rani's troubled past, how she and Vandy first met, and, eventually, what drove them apart.

The relationship between Vandy, Mallika, and Rani is the heart and soul of this book. Their bond is tested, shattered, and ultimately rebuilt as they journey from Los Angeles to Mumbai. The dynamics between these women are compelling, and readers will find themselves invested in their stories, rooting for their growth and happiness.

The author expertly weaves together the lives of these three women, creating a story that is filled with emotion, depth, and authenticity. The characters are flawed and relatable, each struggling with their own demons and trying to find their place in the world. Vandy's grief is palpable, and readers empathize with her as she does her best to keep her shit together while searching for Mallika. Speaking of Mallika, her journey of self-discovery is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and Rani's tragic childhood and the lengths she's gone to rebuild her life are beautifully written and probably the most poignant of the three.

Dev's writing style is vivid and evocative, painting a vivid picture of both LA and Mumbai. Another high point is the author's exploration of cultural identity and the immigrant experience. The characters grapple with their Indian heritage while navigating the complexities of life in the United States. Dev tackles these themes with sensitivity and nuance, showcasing the challenges and triumphs of finding a balance between two worlds.

Lies & Other Love Languages is a heart-wrenching and captivating novel that delves into the complexities of relationships, motherhood, and the power of love. This was my first novel by this author, and I'm definitely interested in checking out more. Whether you're a fan of Bollywood romances or appreciate a well-written and engaging story, this book will surely capture your heart. Dev's exploration of love, loss, and the power of relationships is sure to leave a lasting impression.