Serena Singh Flips the Script by Sonya Lalli is an excellent book about a single woman that wants a career over a husband and kids.

Serena knows she never wants to get married or have kids. The book starts with her little sister, Natasha’s wedding. Serena’s mom is always pressuring her to get married and have kids, but Serena is focused on her career. Natasha is Serena’s best friend but after the wedding Natasha keeps having less time to spend with Serena and selfishly only talks about herself whenever they are together. All of Serena’s other friendships have become strained after her friends got married and have kids. Serena decides she needs to make new friends but making friends as an adult isn’t as easy as it used to be. Serana just landed her dream job so is also trying to figure out how to manage. Serena finds an unlikely friend and discovers taking a risk to get close to someone can be worth it.

I loved Serena Singh Flips the Script. Serena is a strong, independent woman. Serena is smart and caring. All her parents want is for her to get married and have kids. Serena never wants to have kids or get married but is focused on her career. I liked watching Serena figure out how to manage her employees and the excitement that came with her dream job. Serena gives all of her employees nicknames after the Spice Girls. I loved all the pop culture references. Serena decides she needs to make more friends and her attempts to make friends were hilarious. Poor Serena gets in situations I could never even think about, but I could not stop laughing reading about them. Serena’s relationship with her family was interesting to read about. Serena had a difficult relationship with her mother but focused on improving that throughout the book. Serena had a strained relationship with her father that she has to confront and decided if she wants to move past what happened years ago. Serena’s sister, Natasha, was her best friend, but Serena is reevaluates their relationship and what her expectations are. Serena becomes friends with one of her coworkers, Ainsley. Their developing friendship was one of my favorite parts of the book. Serena also reconnects with an ex which is always entertaining. I really enjoyed how Serena Singh Flips the Script focused on friendship, family, and career over relationships. I also really enjoyed the theme of doing what you want and not worrying what other think.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for Serena Singh Flips the Script.

“If I wanted things to change, didn’t I need to change? I decided to find out.”

Serena Singh is a strong, independent, smart, and ambitious Indian woman in her 30s who has always been sure about what she wants in life: a successful career, meaningful, and long-lasting friendships, and a good relationship with her family. She also knows what she does not want in her life: marriage and kids. We meet her at a stage where she is content with her accomplishments in life. She’s got a new job at one of the biggest advertising firms in Washington DC, she has her own apartment, and her little sister is getting married; which means that maybe her parents will stop questioning her life choices. But not everything’s coming up roses.

Things start to go sour for Serena after her sister’s wedding, and she starts to feel like she’s running behind. First of all, her relationship with her sister, who she thought was her best-friend, starts to weaken. And all her other friends are at a different stage of life than she is. They are prioritising their family and kids whilst Serena is prioritising her job and her friendships. This is why when her sister also announces her pregnancy, she feels like all the promises to meet up and hang out will fall through just like it happened with her other friendships. It’s sad to see the close bond they had fading. And, as if that wasn’t enough, her new job is not as wonderful as she thought it would be because her team isn’t exactly on her side. Then there's the relationship she started with a man she met at her sister’s wedding? Not so perfect either, although she opened up to him quite a lot. In the midst of it all, she’s also reconnecting with an old flame and dealing with her family’s past.

In order to be happier, she decides to take the lead and find new friends. After some failed attempts, she finally manages to form a meaningful friendship with a new co-worker, Ainsley, who makes her see that she’s too focused on her career and that maybe she also has some part of blame for the way her friendships and relationships have not turned out that well. This is where we start to see her growth and how she “flips the script”, how she starts to learn that being a bit more open, and letting people in can bring more happiness into her life. This was a very good storyline. It is extremely hard to forge new and meaningful friendships as an adult, it’s hard to form that bond with someone you have no history with and it also requires time and effort. The one Serena starts with Ainsley offers two different perspectives as well as showing that a friendship grows and gets stronger when the people involved are willing to put work into it.

The book starts off very strongly, however it sort of starts to drag in the second half. The pacing is slow and some parts of the story don’t really add to Serena’s journey. At the same time, the second chance romance with an old flame seems a bit forced at times. And, whilst by the end of the book, Serena still kept her beliefs of not wanting any kids of her own (which was very nice to see, just like the fact that her not wanting kids wasn’t treated as something she had to “overcome”), it would also have been good to see her come into her own without ending up with a partner.

With that said, there are some very strong points though. Lalli portrays perfectly the expectations that are placed on women by society and the stress they bring. Of course, there are differences and each woman goes through life differently due to numerous variances, but, at its core, the universal experience is the same: the pressure to get married and have children is always there and sometimes it seems that if one does not go down that path, their life must be sad and pitied, which is not true. Everyone’s decisions are valid and should be respected equally.

The cultural aspect also played a big role in this story and the portrayal of different cultures was so well done. Serena’s parents are immigrants who brought up their daughters in America; this prompts for some friction within the family as the sisters’ views aren’t as traditional as those of their parents. Whilst they still want to honour their parents and make them proud, they want to accomplish their dreams and live their life however they want. The cultural background of the family was very interesting to read about; oh, and there is also a lot of Indian food mentioned, which will have any reader who isn’t familiar with them constantly Googling all the delicious meals and salivating over them!

There is a dual perspective throughout the book where the author offers us Serena’s point of view in first person and Sandeep’s (her mother) in third person. This helps the reader understand the reality that first generation immigrant families experience and how different it is for parents and kids; it portrays all the hardships they go through and how they make them feel. There is a main conflict in the family (that sort of made Serena the way she is) which we only discover at the end, and whilst the resolution is well done, it would have been nice to get more insight into Sandeep’s back story because it would’ve been very interesting to have her voice heard a bit more! But overall, the characters are a great bunch!

All in all, Serena Singh Flips the Script is a reflective, hopeful, and light-hearted read. It shows the story of a woman with strong beliefs and sure of what she wants to get in life whilst still portraying her flaws and how she is determined to grow and be a better version of her.

Thank you to Berkley for allowing me to read this early on Netgalley! This book releases to the public on February 16, 2021.

This book was a fun ride, and I was engrossed from beginning to end in Serena’s story. I found her character to be unique, entertaining, likable, and strong, and her inner narrative had me invested in her form the very beginning.

Told in a dual perspective (one being Serena in 1st person and another being her mother in 3rd person), it really made for a slow burn as we learned about some of the past heartaches in both of their lives. The character development was slow and steady, and Serena’s perspective almost felt like a “coming of age” story despite the fact that she’s nearing 40.

Another thing I loved about this book was the portrayal of the different cultures. As immigrants, Serena’s parents bring tradition to the story – everything from them speaking Punjabi to the foods that they cooked (I 100% Googled roti as I read to find out what it was, and it sounds delicious). Raised in America, we watch Serena grapple with wanting to honor her parents while still living out the dreams she has for herself. The dual perspective allowed us to see insights into both sides of this reality for many first generation immigrant families in an eye opening, heartwarming, and tender way.

I had two overall complaints about this book, the first being that we didn’t get enough from her mother’s perspective. I wanted to know more of her back story. The second complaint I had was that the love story that played out felt a bit forced for me. I would’ve been happy just seeing Serena come into her own without ending up with a man by her side!

Overall, a solid story that I think many will enjoy! 3.75 stars.

Serena Singh has always known what she wants out of life - a successful career, long-lasting friendships, family - and what she doesn't - marriage, children. Despite the fact that her parents cannot see Serena's happiness without these things in her life.

She's got the successful career part down, but when it comes to friendships and her family, it's not going so well. Ever since her sister, Natasha's, wedding, Serena has felt their close bond slipping. When Natasha also announces her pregnancy, Serena sees their relationship going the way of all her married friends with children: promises to meet up that eventually fall through, not seeing each other for weeks, then months, at a time, eventually almost becoming a passing acquaintance.

So Serena decides to take matters into her own hands. Forming a friendship with Ainsley, a new co-worker makes Serena see that maybe she's focusing too much on work, and is herself part of the reason her other relationships have fallen to the wayside. So as she sets off to "flip the script" Serena will have to reckon with her past to learn that letting people in can bring about the most happiness.

I love how Sonya Lalli continues to tackle the universal theme of the expectations placed upon women in society. Yes, oftentimes there are differences, but really there are so many similarities such as the pressure placed upon women to want a marriage and children and anything different must be some kind of defect on the woman's part.

Seeing the choices that Serena's own mother, Sandeep, has made in her life, and how opposite they appear to be from ones Serena would make herself, causes friction within the family. Serena has her reasons, but they're reasons the reader isn't completely privy to until very close to the end of the story. Sonya Lalli gives a few chapters from Sandeep's point of view and by the time we get to the end, to the root of the main conflict between parents and child, I wish we would have gotten to delve deeper into Sandeep's own story. I felt like her voice was such a valid one to be heard, and we just didn't get enough of it.

In that regard I felt like there were a few points where the story just didn't really know what its main conflict should be. Is it the fact that Serena is bucking traditional female roles within Indian culture? Is it the deep-seated issues within her own family? The story kind of tries to make all of them relevant, but then blurs the line between them so much that the distinction, the impact isn't felt as clearly.

I loved the idea of this heroine who genuinely doesn't have any interest in being married or having children of her own. I was so hoping that Serena would stick to her guns and the story wouldn't delve too deep into finding a romance. While romance isn't the main focus, it's hard to separate the idea of this woman who is proud to not be married (essentially being single), but then bringing Serena's ex into the picture. An ex in which there's still a lot of baggage. I almost negates the idea that Serena is fine without having a significant other in her life. It also didn't help that I wasn't drawn into the relationship Serena had with her ex. It didn't break my heart that it had ended, and I equally didn't really root for them to make it work.

I was much more invested in the aspect that finds Serena looking for new friendships. I mean, how many of us have gotten to adulthood and found it extremely difficult to forge new, meaningful friendships? It's not easy. This storyline was completely on point for me. I loved seeing Serena and Ainsley form their bond. I loved that they provide each other with opposite perspectives. Ainsley is the hard working, married, mother of one. Serena the hard working, single woman. Their friendship grows and strengthens because they put the work into it, not because it's necessarily easy, but because they want to. Like any relationship, it takes work. Serena begins to see that it takes two people to make friendships work and that she's possibly been slightly unfair to her friends.

This was the main relationship draw for me. But I felt like there were times it was overshadowed by others aspects of the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed spending time with Serena Singh. I loved her unabashedly strong belief and convictions in her worth and abilities. I loved how she has strived to stay true to herself, and I loved seeing that we all still have the ability to grow.

Serena Singh is content with her life. Her baby sister is getting married, she's getting a new job and she has an okay-ish relationship with her parents. Maybe they won't always be on her case to get married and have kids now that her sister is getting married.

It seems like all of Serena's friends are at a different stage in life than her. They're almost all married with kids and she's feeling left behind. It doesn't help that her new job isn't quite as easy as she thought it was going to be. Her team is resentful of her position and isn't exactly wanting to make anything easy for her. It isn't until she bonds with a fellow co-worker, Ainsley that Serena starts to really examine herself. Is she too focused on her career? What about making new connections and hobbies?

I loved connecting with Serena and especially her mother, Sandeep. Being brought up as a Sikh Punjabi I related to so much of what both of them were going through. I am a second generation South Asian/Indian American and often felt and still do feel the same pressure that Serena was feeling. I really liked seeing the growth of her daughters from Sandeep's perspective as well.

But what started off as a really strong book, dragged for me in the middle. The pacing was off at times and I do feel that there were parts of the story included that didn't really add to Serena's journey. The romance with a former flame didn't really add to the story and I definitely did not feel the connection or angst of a second chance romance.

I appreciated the aspect that Serena was a strong and independent woman. I really loved the relationship she had with her friend Ainsley and her mother Sandeep. Overall I enjoyed the cultural references in Serena Singh Flips the Script, but the romance and latter half of the book fell flat for me.

Serene Singh Flips The Script : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This is a story of family, friendship , love and daring to defy social expectation . Our main character Serena Singh is a 36 yr old, successful brown woman, who refuses to follow cultural norms , choosing to chart her own part in spite of the criticism being aimed at her .
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Serene knows exactly what she wants , and a husband and kids are not it. With most of her friends being consume with their family Serene decides to be Intentional about seeking out companionable friendship . When a blast from the past suddenly reappears and her sister is no longer at her disposal Serena world is turned upside down and she realizes how lonely she really is and the role in she plays in alienating herself .
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This story started our very good , I love Serena and her boss chic personality , but like most of us she’s flawed and Imperfect , but I feel like she would have saved herself some hurt if she would have been honest about what she’s feeling instead of shutting people out . And that romance 🙄🙄. We didn’t need it.

Such a great read! It was such a fun read and I can't wait for its release later this year! I haven't read Sonya's first book but this one was much better than I anticipated!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for letting me read this early!

This book is about Serena Singh, who is an independent woman and is not interested in marriage and having babies. She finally has her dream job but she notices that all of her old friendships have faded way. Unfortunately,making friends as an adult is hard, specially when you are closed off and don’t let anyone in. Serena tries to navigate a new job, a new boyfriend, familial drama, disastrous attempts at finding friends, and figuring out who she really is.

I loved Serena, she was so complex and sassy, I totally loved how the author develops her character throughout the book. I also liked that the romance, wasn’t a huge part of the story. Instead it focuses more on female friendships and Serena reconnecting with her parents and discovering herself and what she wants. The way the author portrays Serena’s relationship with her mother, Sandeep was so accurate and relate able. Among the side characters, Sandeep was my favourite. I liked that she always tried to understand Serena and supported her decisions

The second half of the book fell flat for me and it felt very disconnected and slow paced. The author did include some humorous scenes, but they were very cringe and were not needed at all. Also there were some scenes in the book where the author tried to portray India as a backward country which I didn’t like.

Overall it was an entertaining read and I do recommend it if you like reading light and heartwarming books.

I really enjoyed this novel! Serena is tired of everyone telling her how to live her life and what she should want. She is an independent, career driven woman that doesn’t yearn for the typical getting married and having kids lot in life. I appreciated this about the main character. The story also explores the difficulty of making friends in adulthood and rekindling family relationships. It was enjoyable read about self discovery and personal empowerment.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed that Serena Singh was a driven woman that was not looking for marriage or children. This book also explored how difficult it is to make friends as an adult especially as it feels your friends are going in different directions. This book also covered a lot of family tension, both cultural and generational. The impact of the relationship you grew up with has on how you view relationships.

I loved her friendship with Ainsley and her job. It really showed the importance of female friendship and how driven Serena was. While Bennett was sweet I did begin to get frustrated she wasn't up front with him especially with how up front Serena seemed to be with others that she was not looking for marriage and children.

I overall liked the book but especially in the middle and end it did drag a bit. The scene towards the end seemed to explain a lot but also somewhat came out of nowhere, and I'll be honest I'm not sure it needed it. I hadn't read thinking more needed to be explained about her family dynamics. I think it would have been more helpful earlier in the book to explain the tensions with her family especially her father. While it was nice to have resolution the end told a lot of it rather than showed some of her heavier conversations.

Rating: 3
Steam: 1

CW: domestic abuse, alcoholism, racism, sexism, microagressions, family tensions

This is the first Sonya Lalli’s book that I have read and I must admit that it was a pleasant surprise. I loved reading Serena's journey, it’s difficult for a woman to make those kinds of decisions without being called crazy. Serena is totally focused on her professional career. Although her parents are very conservative, Serena's interests do not involve marrying or having babies. She is a strong and independent woman and rejects those traditions that her Indian heritage wants to impose on her. Even though she is still dating, the boys fail to connect with her and understand that her career is too important to her. I myself feel very represented by her difficulty in finding friends.

I wish the book didn't need romance but continued to explore friendship between women and personal empowerment, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't entertaining and it touched my heart. I recommend this book to anyone who tries to get away from the expectations and pressure of their family to find their own path, especially young girls. Don't miss out this beautiful book.

Serena Singh seems to have it all figured out. She has an amazing job, she knows what she wants, and she's not giving in to society's expectations of her as a woman; kids and marriage are firmly in the "no thank you" category.
Unfortunately, having friends as an adult is hard, and Serena starts to realize that all of her friendships have faded away. Serena tries to navigate a new job, a new boyfriend, familial drama, disastrous attempts at finding friends, and figuring out who she really is.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would highly recommend it. I believe this falls into the women's fiction genre more than it does into romance. The romance is certainly there, especially at the end, but most of the book focused on Serena's attempts at making and keeping friends, succeeding at work, and coming to understand her mother, her sister, and herself better.

I particularly loved that the main character was a woman who doesn't want children. It's difficult to find romance where the protagonist doesn't long for children and marriage or what could have been. Serena clearly wants a partner, but wanting a partner and wanting marriage and children is very different, and I respect Sonya Lalli for taking that route.

I loved this book. Lalli captures the complicated issues of making and maintaining adult friends, vulnerability, the push and pull of career, marriage, motherhood, family, with moving authenticity. I felt so deeply for Serena, admiring her attempts to navigate the complex relationships with family, friends, coworkers, and suitors and many of her struggles deeply resonated with me. I found myself in tears several times reading, other times I laughed out loud at Serena's mishaps. A beautiful, heartwarming book about being true to yourself, finding strength in vulnerability, and forgiveness. Would definitely recommend to all my friends.

Serena has just landed her dream job but she is feeling alone after her sister's wedding. She has a new male friend but does not want marriage or children. What she does want is friends and embarks to try to find some but make friends as an adult is hard, especially when she won't let anyone close .A story of finding the courage to let people in and speak what you are afraid to say.

Disclaimer: I got this Arc in exchange for a review from @NetGalley and Berkley Publishing!

I absolutely love that Serena is a strong, rebellious brown girl!! This book couldn't come at a better time- I'm so happy I read it. Serena's 36 and knows she doesn't need to She's got a career at an advertising firm in D.C. Basically, Serena is out here living out my dream life. I loved seeing how she reconnected with her ex and relatives.We need MORE books like this!

SERENA SINGH FLIPS THE SCRIPT is the first book I've read of Sonya Lalli's and with its lovable and loving main character and extremely well-written prose, it will definitely not be the last.
I'm so grateful to read this new adult book about a fellow 30-something, single, unapologetically childless woman. These light-hearted reads about a modern woman's grasp of her own identity and platonic friendships are so rare that I cherish them.

Thank you so much for the e-ARC!

Serena’s journey is such an important one, but this book is about so much more! I loved seeing her mother’s perspective too, and just everything! So powerful!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

A good women’s fiction story for anyone who enjoys a strong female character defying society/cultural expectations.

You’ll enjoy this book if you’re looking for validation in following your own choices - such as putting your career first, choosing not to marry when you’re pressured, or having children on anyone’s timeline.

The character having a rich Indian heritage was a major bonus. You learn a lot about the culture from this book!

The only disconnect I found had to do with the switching of perspectives/time flashbacks - it did feel awkward.

I really enjoyed the first half of this novel. Serena Singh is an independent female with a mind of her own but shaped by her experiences as an immigrant. Add to that the issues she is having finding solid friendships in her 30's and I expected this to be a slam dunk read for me.

Unfortunately, I felt like the back half of the novel fell apart a bit too much for my liking. With a whole storyline revolving around an abusive incident within her family coming out of complete nowhere, I was left confused by the direction it took. Alongside that, add the unneeded and completely unfounded dismantling of the fun friendship that I fell in love with in the first half as well as what felt like a forced and disconnected romantic storyline and the book left me feeling like I actually had NO idea who Serena Singh actually was.

The woman that had such gumption and passion for being herself got quite a bit mucked up and made decisions that were not given any solid ground. I wish the book had stuck more in the realm of Serena trying to find her clan of friends that loved her for who she was instead of pushing all that aside to make her realize that she did in fact want a romantic relationship, and apparently an extremely complicated and flawed one at that. Honestly, the romance wasn't needed AT ALL and this book would've been nearing a 5 star read for me if it took the road less traveled and didn't have it.

This book had the opportunity to cheer on female friendship and empowerment, showcasing the fact that women can in fact make decisions on their own without being led in predetermined directions from society or cultures. Instead, it lost the magic it had created too quickly and left me a bit confused and VERY let down.