Estranged best friends Paris and Naira reconcile, and when the newly-devastated Naira moves to New York from India, the career-driven Paris suggests Naira become a surrogate who will carry she and her perfect husband’s baby. The story had so much potential, but it never really got going, and Paris was such a heinous example of humanity, it was very difficult to forgive the novel for including her in its pages. Not wanting to have, or even carry, a child is absolutely fine; being hideous about, and to, those who do is not. Moreover, there is a lot of descriptive sex in this book, that just felt incredibly out of place. – Maura Tan

Two best friends, Paris and Naira, reunite after a few years' estrangement, at a friend's wedding. Paris is married to a man she's wildly in love with, but the one thing he wants is the one thing she can't bear to give him: a child. She's willing to consider a surrogate, but she's thinking more along the lines of "substitute mother". Naira, a widow before age 30 to a husband whose scandal and suicide left her in dire straits, is willing to be Paris' surrogate.

While very readable, the characters here kept me from really loving the book. Paris is self-absorbed to the point of mania, and Naira is consumed with her own victimhood. We receive a lot of information but very little depth in the characters' backstories; there seems to be a lot of money being thrown around, everyone's fairly miserable, subplots are left hanging, and yet, the story feels rushed to its conclusion, tied up in a little red bow. This one was a bit of a letdown.

This was a super cute story, albeit a bit too unbelievable. The characters were interesting and were saved from being trite or commonplace by some masterful writing and great backstories.

I ended up really enjoying this book by Kothari. The characters are not always likable, but there is a realness to them, even as they navigate somewhat fantastic situations. Ultimately, it is a story of friendship, forgiveness, and family.

This book is not what I expected :Set against the backdrop of wealthy New York society and featuring an Indian American cast, Kothari once again brings her wry, insightful voice to a complicated and emotionally complex situation, creating an unconventional family that you can’t help but root for. This memorable novel that questions the very definition of family is full of wit and warmth, and with its issue-driven themes, commercial hooks and compelling ‘what would you do’ questions, it’s perfect for book clubs. Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin, Amy Hatvany and Marisa de los Santos.

I liked the idea of the Indian-American cast but that was not accurate: the husband was Scottish; the best friend was from India.

When it takes me more than two weeks to read a book because I keep finding books I prefer, I know I’m in trouble. I did not thinkthe main character, Paris, was likable. I could not stand how her Scottish-Indian husband’s dialog was spelled out---very distracting. The best character was her best friend Naira.

I didn’t think the surrogacy situation was believable. If Paris didn’t like children to the point that she didn’t want to birth her own, who did she think was going to raise them.

I gave this book 2 stars because it isn’t badly written and I think there are readers who will like this but I am not one.

The Object of Your Affections is a dnf at 40% for me.

Paris was a collection of neuroses passing as a character and Naira was so naive it was hard to believe she was close to thirty. Neal never seemed like someone who wanted a family--he was a bridge to build the plot around--and I never felt that he and Paris truly had the affection or even the great sex that she was so fixated on.

I think that Paris' issues regarding why she didn't want a family were fascinating but it was all telling and not showing. In the end, The Object of Your Affections is a great idea that needed better fleshed out characters and a plot that needed substance behind the ideas that frame it.

I'm not quite sure what to think about this book. I was at first in shock by the rather graphic sexual detail and crude language that seemed very out of character considering what I was expecting from the synopsis. The graphic sex and language didn't get better and Paris was generally a bitch of the first order. It's one thing to be a strong woman with opinions, but it's another thing to be down right rude, brash and caustic. There were moments I liked her, but mostly, I just couldn't connect with her. She was so insecure and I did not understand how after years of therapy, she hadn't confronted it! It was a glaring issue in the relationship with her husband and caused more issues than it should have. If she had discussed her blatant problems, it would have solved a lot, but then I guess we wouldn't have a story to read.

Neal was a conundrum. Billed as this perfect Indian-Scots god among men with all the right looks, talent, connections, money and even kindness, he seemed completely clueless about the woman he agreed to marry. Supposedly she warned him about her no kids policy, but 3 years in and he's talked her into it when she CLEARLY does not want children? How is this a good marriage?

And Naira... are women really that innocent and naive anymore? Like Paris, there were times I liked her and other times I wanted her to stop being a damn doormat.

By the end of the novel, I couldn't figure out how this plan was all going to work out and suddenly, BAM! The book is over and the author has handily skipped over explaining the details of how they worked it out and just shown us that it's all okay now.... Um? Excuse me? After all the drama and build up, a baby lands in Paris's arms and we skip to 6 months down the road so you don't have to hash it out? Nope, sorry, that doesn't work for me. It would have been a solid 3 to 3.5 star book until that butchered ending.

ARC provided free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book but I admit the first chapter seemed very choppy and confusing to me. I had a hard time keeping up but I am glad I stuck with it as this is a beautifully written story of friendship, hopes, dreams, mixed in with the characters backgrounds and culture.
The friendship between Paris and Naira was so strongly written I almost felt as if I knew them. The issue of surrogacy and desire for children is such a strong and always timely topic, I think the author did an incredible job of relaying the strength of their friendship pulled with their relationships and overall desires for motherhood. I was not sure where the ending would necessarily take us, but I was pleased when I finished.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this story. I would highly recommend it.

I loved this novel of friendship that dealt with such heavy issues as surrogacy, the way women live in the modern world and make choices, relationships and cultural differences and norms. Paris and Naira are friends, reuniting at a wedding after being estranged. Naira is more traditional, and is reeling from the accusations of fraud leveled against her husband; Paris is a modern woman who loves her job and her husband, but is not interested in having children. There is so much depth to this novel, and you can tell the author loved her characters. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin – Graydon House Books (U.S. & Canada) for the read of Falguni Kothari’s, The Object of Your Affections.

I thought this was a very pleasurable read. It is a story of two very strong and successful women, whose friendship has been tested by trial, distance and time. Paris and Naira finally come together through their journey of tears, laughter and love.

Definitely a current and relevant book. Joy to read.

Recommended!

The Object of Your Affections was SUCH A GOOD READ. It dealt with friendship, betrayal, marriage, death...and yet managed to be lighthearted, lightly humorous, and substantive at the same time. I really loved the history and the progression of the two main characters, friends Paris and Naira's friendship. Both women, who look to be extremely wealthy, healthy women are dealing with their fractured friendship. After tragedy occurs, Naira is determined to create a new life for herself in America, while Paris is happily married to a gorgeous celebrity jeweler/playboy/devoted husband and wanting to find a surrogate for their unborn child. This brings Naira and Paris together, where the most impossibly emotional situations arise.

I really loved Falguni Kothari's amazing writing...I flew through the book so quickly because I found all of the characters to be relatable and REAL. There were definitely some tear-jerker moments, and situations that had me yelling OMG.

Definitely recommend this one!

First off I really love the colors and the simplicity of this book.

Ultimately I wasn't captivated by what was inside though. I felt like the first chapter was rather messy as far as organization. It kept flipping between her thoughts, memories and what she was doing and every time it kept going back to what she was doing I had forgotten she was doing it in the first place.

I do feel like the content that was explored was interesting and does reflect real life struggles though and it was interesting to see a different perspective. Children are not something I ever want but there's a lot of dynamic that changes a relationship because of them so seeing the pursuit of them was something I haven't read before.

In the end I really felt like everything was solved too fast, the second to last chapter feels like a meltdown and a blow up all in one and the next chapter feels like a resolution. Not much is talked about though or expanded upon so I was kind of disappointed.

I really did enjoy this authors writing I just felt like maybe a bit more organization would have benefited the story and characters.