As a brown girl, I can't tell you just how much it pleases me to read books about brown girls falling in love and being all happy. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon last year made me realize just how much I want stories about brown girls and their love stories. When I found out about My So-Called Bollywood Life, I didn't even bother reading the summary. What a charming and lovely story this was! If you like romantic comedies, this book is perfect for you.

My So-Called Bollywood Life tells the story of Winnie Mehta, who is a new favorite heroine of mine. She was so refreshing and relatable in her pure love for Bollywood movies. I love reading about teen girls who have aspirations and Winnie certainly had goals that she wanted to achieve. She also worked incredibly hard in order to reach her goals, which is always inspiring to see. I loved how unapologetic she was about her love for film and romance. Then, there were Winnie's dreams featuring Shah Rukh Khan, who is possibly the biggest Bollywood actor alive. He gives her cryptic advice using quotes from his movies and it all made me giddy with happiness. To Winnie, her family was also important. I loved seeing her interact with her parents and her grandmother. Her bond with her dad was especially beautiful written and made my heart very happy.

I'm sure you're eager to hear about the romance. At the beginning of My So-Called Bollywood Life, Winnie and her long-time boyfriend, Raj, have just ended their relationship as a result of Raj wanting different things from life. Winnie, who has been told by a priest that the love of her life's name starts with an "R", is undeniably shattered. She is a big believer in fate, so this throws her off balance. Fortunately for us reader though, Winnie doesn't dwell too long on Raj, despite him trying to win her back. She finds a newfound friendship and budding love with the most adorable boy to ever exist. Trust me when I say that Dev will absolutely steal your hearts. He is such a soft, kind-hearted hero, who pushes Winnie to chase after her dreams. He has also had a crush on her for a while, so it was precious when they finally got together.

As you can tell, not only is My So-Called Bollywood Life a book that has some of the cutest characters, but it is also brimming with charm and is most certainly a book that will make you smile all throughout. If you like your books happy and swoony, then this needs to be on your TBRs! Now, who do I have to bribe so that I get more books about brown girls falling in love?

This book was so perfect and excellently written, it deserves its own Bollywood adaptation. Sharma wrote the perfect quirky romance filled with movie references and love written in the stars.

This book is about what I expected it to be. Nothing really shocked me. I appreciated the diversity a ton though.

Frothy, fun and full of fairy floss.

My So-Called Bollywood Life stars Winnie Mehta, a heroine obsessed with Bollywood and going through a bit of a rough patch in life. Winnie publishes film critiques on her blog and chairs the film club / film festival at her school for the gifted in arts in Central New Jersey. She is set on attending NYU's film school, and works hard to excel at school in both classes and activities. She is wrapped in happiness and security, with a loving and understanding family, supportive best friend, and the respect and admiration of her classmates.

The spot of trouble? She asked for a break from her boyfriend (apparently her soulmate ordained by prophecy since her birth) and he promptly started dating another girl. Winnie has feelings about this, but seems to realize pretty quickly that she would be better off without him and pre-determined fate. Forced proximity with her ex due to film club membership causes issues, and Winnie attempts to solve her problems using Bollywood movie scenes, plots and quotes.

This was a light-heartened read, with almost no angst and a tiny bit of drama. You never really worry about whether Winnie will be happy in the end. <spoiler> Even the entire soulmate-whose-name-begins-with-R prophecy 'twist' is not a surprise, and can be seen coming from the beginning. Basically, the drama that surrounds the reveal is ridiculous for high school level maturity, and clearly not going to prevent a HEA.</spoiler>

Overall the story reminded me of an 1980s sitcom - extremely adorable teen heroine, light plot, no real drama, a cartoonish villain, ridiculously over-the-top or cheesy exhibitions of devotion, and everything neatly resolved before the end.

A fun read with super interesting Bollywood movie scene dream sequences, but predictable and with a little too much unrealistic drama.

3.5 stars rounded up to four

Winnie is an aspiring film critic. As the head of her school's local film club, she has a plan to help her get into NYC's film school. She has a boyfriend foretold to her by the family astrologist. Life is perfect. Except her boyfriend cheated on her (while she was on a break with him? Is that technically cheating?) and her club advisor takes a leave of absence and so her position as chair of the film club festival may be in jeopardy.

I wanted to love this one, but I personally found Winnie so unlikeable. She breaks into her ex-boyfriends house to steal/destroy his film collection. She slut-shames Raj's new girlfriend. She flip-flops between guys and whether to forgive Raj, but everyone is supposed to wait until she makes a decision. She's whiny and rude to her teacher (I mean I get he's supposed to be the 'bad guy' but really, the guy is just doing his job) and it just bugs me.

I get that the book is supposed to be a bit like a bollywood movie, but the dream sequences were a bit weird. Winnie is also supposed to be this big Bollywood fan, but like we never see anything about her blog except these like one line excerpts. Is this all she writes on her blog, because if so, I get why it isn't that popular.

[3.5 stars]
I'm rounding up to 4 stars because I have some thoughts. Objectively, I can say this is a great book. It's funny. Winnie is a strong female lead, and the love interest is also awesome. I like the friendships in it... for the most part. And though I think the book can be a bit cheesy and over-dramatic at times, I'm pretty sure that's done on purpose to parallel Bollywood films. But about 90% into the book, I realized I just wasn't enjoying it all that much? Which was weird for me, but still a fact. Probably just a mood thing. But anywhoser, I would highly recommend this to fans of Sandyha Menon and Maurene Goo. It's a cute contemporary, and fun for the summer. And while I wasn't blown away by the romance, I know that this has the right audience and people will be swoooooning for Winnie and Dev.

This book was freakin adorable! I loved everything about it - the quirky, modern day Indian family living in the US, the spunk and wonder of Winnie, her passion for Bollywood and desire to live our her vision for her life. It's a super cute YA book that pretty much nails the intersection between Indian and US cultures for this living and growing up in the US. The romance/love triangle was awesome and so fun, in true Bollywood fashion. I really enjoyed how the book played out. Great work.

I had to restrain myself from bursting into giggles every ten seconds. This book is hilarious throughout, with lots of cheese and OTT melodrama like a typical KJo movie and I loved every single word.

Winnie is a hard-core movie buff with a Hindi movie review blog, who wants to do Film Studies at NYU Tisch and pursue a career as a film critic. She (alongwith her parents) also believe in a prediction made by a Panditji in her childhood about meeting her soulmate whose name starts with ‘R’ before her eighteenth birthday. But, when a few months before the D-day, her long time boyfriend Raj breaks up and she starts feeling something for Dev, she has to choose between believing in kismet or wanting to make her own destiny.

Winnie is a normal teenager who is angry and devastated by her breakup and confused about wanting to be with Dev (especially when Raj starts pursuing her again) but through it all, she is strong in her convictions, knows what she wants from her future and never lets anyone change her mind. Her parents and nani are some of the best parental characters I’ve ever read. They might be slightly pushy, maybe even embarrass her a little in front of others, but they love her unconditionally and fully support her in her choices without pressuring her. I loved the idea of Indian parents not worried that their kid didn’t want to be an engineer or a doctor. They are also traditional, slightly superstitious but still progressive in their ideas and I admired them a lot.

Dev may look like a bad boy but he is the sweetest guy ever and so so precious. Though Dev and Winnie’s relationship felt a little insta-lovey, I totally got swept up in it and was rooting for them from the get-go. Every single one of their dates is very very cute and I always wanted more. Raj is probably an okay guy but I didn’t like him from the moment he told Winnie that her career choices were silly and she should grow up and go to college with him. I could never warm up to him after that, and he probably only redeemed himself slightly towards the end when he helped resolve some misunderstandings. Bridget is Winnie’s BFFL (Best Freaking Friend for Life) and their mutual admiration society of 80’s movies and Jane Austen was very endearing.

However, for me, what makes this book so wonderful is that for the first time ever, I saw a part of myself on the page. Winnie’s obsession with Hindi movies, her love for their romanticism, songs and dances, SRK – all felt like a reflection of myself. The writing is also very light hearted with so many funny moments making the whole reading experience very enjoyable and entertaining. SRK showing up in Winnie’s dreams and giving her advice on her love life through his iconic movie dialogues was hysterical. The Hindi movie references are spot-on and the snippets from Winnie’s review blog about the most notable movies of the last two decades are a highlight.

This is a very typical and predictable high school romance if you go by the plot, but the humorous writing and the completely filmi aesthetic make this one of the most funniest books I have ever read. Definitely recommend for readers of YA rom-coms but this is a must read for all lovers of SRK and Bollywood.

I loved this book and learned some new movies. I loved the romance and friendships. This book was amazing and the dreams and rom-com.

So, so cute! Even if you aren't that familiar with Bollywood, you will love this YA romance. It's witty, fun and I just loved the characters so much. This felt real but also wasn't trying too hard. This is just one of those books that reads effortlessly - I started it and finished it before I knew it. This is rare for me with YA lately and I was so happy to devour this in less than a day. I definitely can't wait for more from this author and highly recommend picking this one up for a delightful, fast summer read!

My So-Called Bollywood Life comes out next week on May 15, 2018 and you can purchase HERE.

According to Google, a grave was supposed to be six feet deep, but Winnie Mehta didn't want to put that much effort into digging. Besides, it wasn't as if she was dumping an actual body or anything.

This book was so very adorable. The Bollywood reference's, Winnie's passion for film and her trying to take hold of her own fate, it was all enjoyable read. I liked the take on fate and the dream sequences, but it was the family and friend dynamic that won me over. It felt real with their silly antic. The romance was swoony, the whole soulmate thing was handled nicely. Overall, this is definitely a favorite contemporary of mine.

I was provided with an eARC of this in exchange for a fair review.
This was a delightful read from start to finish! While many of the Bollywood references were lost on me, it never took away from the story. If anything, it just made me want to start binge watching Bollywood films! Winnie was a spastic little firecracker (in all the best ways) and Dev is just a total cinnamon roll. You won’t regret reading this!

My So-Called Bollywood Life was another fun contemporary read for me.



Winnie was dating Raj for years before she wanted a break.  Raj had changed and they didn't want the same things anymore.  But Winnie and her family believe that Raj is her soul mate and that causes her to think twice.  Then Raj starts dating this horrible girl, Jenny, and Winnie realizes that they aren't really meant to be.  She breaks into his house and takes all the movies she bought for him and buries them.  She can't give back the bracelet quite yet though.



The bracelet is part of the star chart prediction.  Winnie's family believes that their Pandit Ohmi's predictions are 100% accurate.  He predicted that Winnie's soul mate would have a name that starts with an R and he would give her a silver bracelet.  Her parents star chart was correct and they put a lot of faith into it.



"Hope is never false, beta.  Astrology gives hope like gods give hope.  Although your and your parents' star alignments speak clearly, that doesn't mean you don't have free will.  You can do whatever you like, and your prediction may change based on your decisions."



Winnie starts spending time with Dev and is falling hard for him.  The problem is that not only does she believe in the charts, but also that Raj wants her back.  Raj doesn't believe in her the way Dev does.  Winnie and Dev have a super cute relationship that started as friendship.  I liked him right away.



I adore Winnie's family, especially her grandma.  She also has an amazing BFFL, Bridget.  She is super supportive of Winnie, even in the end after having a couple issues.



"I'm glad.  You're still my BFFL?"  "I'll always be your best freaking friend for life."



Winnie starts working at a theater, The Rose.  She works there while going to school, having a blog, runs the film club, and is working on the film festival.  The new adviser decides to stick to school policy and has Raj run the film festival without Winnie.  This is devastating for her because she needs it for her application for NYU film school.  Raj doesn't even want to study film anymore and thinks that Winnie's dreams are silly.



Winnie is obsessed with film, especially Bollywood.  Each chapter starts with a small review of a movie.  She also starts having dreams with a Bollywood star who is helping her figure out her future.  



This book was cute and I loved reading about Winnie's culture.  I don't know much about Bollywood, but it wasn't weird or confusing for me.  I really liked all the references.



I gave this book 4 stars.  Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this early.

Very cute YA about a Bollywood film obsessed high schooler fighting both fate and unfortunate curveballs to realize her ultimate destiny. Lots of Bollywood pop culture references (Holy baby Shah Rukh Khan) made it super fun and clever. I liked the side characters, especially the grandmother. And now I’m craving masala dosa.

This was such a fun book! It definitely took me back to my college-days obsession with Bollywood films and now I want to go watch a few!

My So-Called Bollywood Life is a debut YA contemporary novel about Winnie, a Bollywood-obsessed Indian American teen girl who wants to go to NYU for film school and work as a film critic. The twist? Her Hindu family believes in astrological prophecies and the one from her birth makes her think that her first boyfriend Raj is her fated soulmate. Unfortunately, he cheated on her and she just isn't all that into him anyway. In the wake of their break-up, she reconnects with another boy, Dev, all while planning a film festival and working on college applications. But when Raj tries to win her back, she is caught between two boys and questioning whether "destiny" is real.

This was cute, funny, and (of course!) melodramatic at times. There are frequent references to Bollywood films. Some of which I recognized, but I bet this would be an especially fun read for a serious Bollywood buff. There are also dream sequences with famous Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan that are admittedly cheesy, but still funny. I thought that this was an entertaining debut and I look forward to seeing future work from this author. There were some things that I didn't love or understand so much, and that downgraded it a bit for me. However, they are spoilery, so be warned!

*****SPOILER WARNING*****

Near the end of the book, the plot twist involves Dev not disclosing his full name (saw that one coming a mile away! Lol) and being framed for stealing funds raised for the film festival. A festival which, I should note, is critical to Winnie getting into NYU. When Dev is wrongfully accused, she stands up for him, but remains as the chairperson for the film festival. Which made complete sense to me. So when Dev and her best friend accuse her of wrongly valuing college over her relationship with her high school boyfriend, I thought "well yeah, that's totally what she should do. She verbally defended him. Why does she need to quit in solidarity?"

Unfortunately, the entire rest of the plot hinges on her realizing that she was wrong and that love is more important than NYU. Which kind of floored me because wtf?! Girl is in high school and has been on a handful of dates with this guy! And maybe I'm just more practical than romantic, but I thought it was stupid that he blamed her for it and stupid that she decided she was wrong for it. Of course, everything works out in the end, NYU included, but I just didn't connect with that. Though to be fair, it DOES seem like something that would happen in a Bollywood film! So overall, I mostly enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to seeing more from the author.

This was a fluffy, cute contemporary, and definitely a quick read. I enjoyed the family dynamics and the focus on Indian culture. I liked seeing a protagonist from what is often considered a "strict" culture by Western standards enjoying time with her family and embracing a lot of their traditions instead of pushing back against them. Winnie's obsession with Bollywood movies bordered on extreme, but it added humor when she should have been dealing with something serious but made references to Bollywood movies instead.

I didn't feel like any of the characters had a lot of depth, and the "love triangle" wasn't excellent since it was pretty obvious who the better guy was, at least in my opinion! I also had an issue with the fact that Winnie broke up with the original guy because he asked her not to follow her dreams in favor of his own, but then the other guy asked her to do something similar, and all her friends were mad at her because she didn't put his wants above her own life goals! I feel like that sets a very contradictory tone for the book, and I wish Winnie had stood up for herself more in that situation and done what was best for her. Other than that, I did really like the love interest, but I didn't think he, or any other character, was anything new or special to the YA contemporary genre. This book was fun and funny, but I don't think it will stick with me. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a light contemporary, especially one with Indian culture.

First, I have to say right off the bat: I took a risk with this one. With contemporary works, in particular YA contemporary books, I tend to stick to my few tried-and-true authors, such as Sarah Dessen, or the authors that everyone keeps talking about—a.k.a. Jenny Han and Stephanie Perkins, to name a few. If I leave my “contemporary safe zone,” things get…iffy.

BUT! I am very happy to say that was not the case with My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma. I was immediately drawn to the story from the description. A rom-com? A prophecy? An ex and a new love? Yes. All of the yes.

I’m not going to lie, though. When I started this book, I had immediate hesitations. Winnie, our main character, loves movies—Bollywood movies in particular (go figure from the title, right?). Each of the chapters begins with a little blurb from her Bollywood movie blog that she runs, and the girl is overflowing with film knowledge and movie references. I barely watch any of the popular movies (you don’t even want to know how long it was before I watched a Star Wars movie, or The Fellowship of the Ring), let alone a Bollywood movie, so by the first few pages I was crossing my fingers that this would not end up like Ready Player One for me.

Again, I am happy to say, it did not. Not only was the book super relatable, but with the amount of time Nisha Sharma spent in describing what a typical Bollywood movie is like and the details she provided on the setup of the typical movie, even “I watch very few movies” Amanda could see the similarities between a Bollywood movie and this novel—and I loved it. (Side note: Immediately after I started reading this book, I started seeing advertisements for a Bollywood movie on Netflix, and I’m choosing to see this as a sign to check it out ASAP.)

The characters are everything I could hope for in a contemporary YA book. Winnie is super sassy (girl, yes) in situations and around people she feels most comfortable around—and it brings an extra helping of humor when she unleashes the sass on Mr. Reece, the film club faculty advisor. Winnie’s friendship with Bridget was perfection, forged from the very beginning of the book when Bridget helps Winnie deal with her breakup. Throw in the love interest—or is it interests? Hmmm—and the cast was there for the perfect rom-com. Let’s pop some popcorn and move on to the plot.

For Winnie, she’s known since birth exactly how her life will turn out: she’ll find her soul mate by the age of eighteen, and she will know it’s him because he’ll give her a silver bracelet and his name begins with the letter R—after all, her star chart foretold it. The problem? Her childhood friend and boyfriend Raj has moved on to someone else—and he’s getting in the way of Winnie’s plans for college. Now here she is, nearing her eighteenth birthday, loveless and stressed. What’s a girl to do? With old—and new—friends on her side, Winnie is about to embark on own Bollywood adventure.

My So-Called Bollywood Life is a read I recommend. It’s a fast and fun read that left me giggling and smiling—a nice break from the heavy fantasy I’ve been reading lately. It doesn’t have a lot of potential for rereadability for me, but overall it was enjoyable. If you like contemporary YA and rom-coms, check this one out!

Winnie Mehta has a lot on her mind. The family astrologer predicted that her soulmate--whose name would begin with 'R'--would be someone she met when she was very young, and would gift her with a silver bracelet.

Her now-ex boyfriend Raj had been in her life forever and had gifted her with a silver bracelet, but over the summer he had changed into a person that was too different from her. He no longer wanted to go to film school like her, and worse, he thought she should give up her dream to be a filmmaker and go to college for something else like him! She told him they needed a break.

She finds out once high school starts back up in the fall that he took the word 'break' as 'break up'. He started seeing someone else.

Now Winnie has to deal with Raj still taking part in the film club--and trying to take the lead for the film festival away from her. She needs the event for her application to NYU's film department, and when Raj uses the situation to convince Winnie to get back together with him--that's the last straw.

Meanwhile, Winnie starts working at the Rose theater and reconnects with an old friend--Dev. Now she's caught between defying the stars by being with Dev and going to film school, or being with Raj and following her destiny.

Sharma writes a delightful high school love story that's fresh and interesting. The characters are fun, and as a reader you can't help but recall old and favorite high school shows and movies as these characters agonize over their love lives and school dances. This is a lovely installment to the genre, and one I'd recommend to anyone. (Review runs on publication date)

I didn't know much about Bollywood going into this book but that didn't stop me from loving this story! The Bollywood references were so much fun. The writing is witty and sharp. The characters were amazing and charming! This book is an absolute gem!
There is a bit of cheating in this story but it doesn't take away from the romance. It felt more like two people who were together for convenience only to grow apart really. I seriously loved Winnie; She was determined to make her on path regardless of a prophecy. I will be buying a copy of this book and telling everyone how much fun it is!

My So-Called Bollywood Life had me smiling all the way through. It's a delightful debut that is charming, sweet and funny.