Radha Chopra once dedicated her entire life to competing in karnak dancing, but when she discovers that her mom has been having an affair with a judge, her career is over, along with her parents' marriage. Now she's starting her senior year at a performing-arts school in New Jersey after making a deal with her mom: she'll give dancing one more try, without competing or performing, and her mom will pay for whatever she wants to study in college. And with the absence of her father, she discovers her grandfather's book of recipes and devotes most of her time to mastering them.
Jai Patel is in an entirely different situation. As the captain of the school's Bollywood dance team, he knows he is admired by many, but he can't see himself following his dreams of going to medical school in the future. His father was in an accident years ago that resulted in him becoming almost completely paralyzed, and Jai's brothers had previously dropped out of school to take care of their father and the family's store. Jai doesn't even want to acknowledge what he wishes the future could be like.
The two meet one day at their school's arboretum, and start spending more time together when Radha agrees to be the choreographer for Bollywood Beats. But Radha soon learns that she might not be done with performing after all, even if just the thought of it gives her panic attacks.
I absolutely loved this story! Radha's chapters all start with recipes, and you'll want to make them all by the end of the book. I've mentioned before how much I love books that have food as a central theme, and if you do too, this fits perfectly into that category.
I also liked how Radha's relationship with dance was more realistic than I've seen in most similar stories. She truly enjoys dancing as an art form, but her experience with it was almost completely ruined by the strict standards of the competing world. She was going up against dancers almost twice her age in international competitions-- no wonder it caused her so much stress! We also see her mother, Sujata, go from an overly controlling stage mom to accepting that she wants for her daughter is not always going to be what she gets. Sujata was strict, but not full-on abusive, and it was good to see her development.
Please pick up this book once it comes out. Or request an ARC through NetGalley if possible. It's so worth it!

4/5 stars!

When a disaster happened at an important dancing competition, Radha had a lot to cope with as she moved from Chicago to New Jersey to start at a new school. There she meets Jai, who has his own troubles within his family. The two fall in love as they deal with personal issues, school, future, and family in this YA romance.

This is a nice story featuring strong yet flawed main characters. I enjoyed the hero's family dynamics that included some touching scenes. And though the heroine's family went through a lot, I liked the closeness the heroine had with her cousin and father. This book also featured dance as a focal point in this book and I enjoyed reading about it, especially the Kathak dance. As a personal preference I wanted more details in some parts. Overall, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more Nisha Sharma books in the future.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.**

A compelling story of finding and being true to oneself, Radha and Jai's recipe for Romance is filled with passion for dance and food and a cute romance. Written in a cheesy, fluffy style, you can't help but read ahead as you find out more about Radha and Jai and fall in love with them.

Radha, after having to back out from a competition, is no longer sure about her dancing abilities. Unable to face doing it again only to realise that all her accomplishments were fake, takes on cooking to connect to her dad and also find another passion for herself.

Jai is the leader of the Bollywood Beat's Team at Princeton Academy of the Arts and looking for a choreographer for the end of year dance performance.

Following many interactions and pleading, Radha decides to choreograph for Jai and so begins an epic romance. Together, they face their fears and challenge them to come out on top and in between all of it, fall madly in love with one another.

The book is sweet but also substantial, making Radha and Jai lovable yet flawed characters you can not help but root for. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who is a Bollywood fan or like sweet, cute contemporary romances.

Picking up Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance was an easy decision. I adored Nisha Sharma's My So Called Bollywood Life and had no doubts I'd love this one as well. Though the read is light and enjoyable there was moments that my heart ached for each character.

What I loved:
- The build up to the romance and the genuine awkwardness that so often is life

- The characters flaws. These beautifully crafted characters had cracks and it allowed for such genuine pain but also growth

- The Culture. I love that Radha was so deeply rooted in tradition. It didn't matter if it was dance or cooking, it was important to her because it took her back to her roots.

The Meh

- There really isn't a meh. Just that I would have liked more at the end... I wasn't ready for it to end.

This is a great book. The romance elements of this book were very fun and sweet, and the deeper and somewhat heavier elements about both Radha and Jai's families and the issues that arise either because of trauma or poverty are handled very well. The dance scenes are electrically written and really seem to capture the passion that both characters have for dance in general and their respective styles in particular. Also, the food element was very fun (but terrible, in a way, because it made me so hungry every time I'd pick the book back up.)

This was an absolutely lovely book. It is so infused with culture and life that every word seems to explode off the page. I really enjoyed reading about the dances, food, and struggles of these two young teens trying to make difficult choices in their lives.

Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance is a delightful story that YA readers will love. It presents an honest look at anxiety, the pressures of growing up, and family tension. Readers will love the descriptions of cuisine and Bollywood dances. Highly recommended.

As soon as I read the excerpt I knew I had to read this book. Radha is a talented dancer that is suffering from anxiety due to a past incident. She moves to a new school with the hope of finding herself and healing.

I like how realistic Radha, Jai and their families are portrayed in the story. They may not necessarily always get along but they genuinely love and want the best for each other. I was easily able to feel their pain and want them to succeed. I liked the way the two MCs found the answers they were looking for in themselves and not each other. The recipes left me so hungry and jealous that I don’t know anyone that can cook that well. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As usual, Nisha Sharma delivers a cute, heartfelt story that left me smiling. I recommend it 100%.

Another feel good, motivational, entertaining read made me smile to my ears ( I’m testing their flexibility because my smile gets wider at each second)

Quick summary of the storyline: Radha Chopra knows how to move like dancing queen; she’s talented Kathak dancer. But after learning horrible truth about her family, she feels betrayed because of her own mother’s wrongdoings and she leaves the international competition, giving up her dancing career, moving to Chicago from Jersey.

She meets with hot Bollywood dancer Jai and slowly they become more than friends Jai wants Radha’s help to be choreographer of his dancing team to win the competition and in the meantime both lovers deal with their deep family issues, facing their own troubles.

It so obvious for me to fall for this book: even though I have silliest dance moves I love to read about dance (at some parts Radha and Jai reminded me of Dirty Dancing’s Johnny Castle and Baby Houseman) food, different cultures, traditions. The books represent South Asia culture always pick my interest and as a fan of classic Bollywood movies, I’m always interested to read, watch and learn more! It’s exotic, eccentric, vivid, colorful, inspirational mosaic and as you dig deeper you enjoy yourself more!

The things made me love this book:

Both Radha and Jai are likable characters who are dealing with their problems from the past. The way of evolving characters to grow up, fight against the obstacles for building a common future together was fascinating to read!

When I read the dance parts: I wish I could watch their live performances. The depictions were so incredibly realistic. The joy, the adrenaline, the fun with the combination rhythm and ethnic music bring out the best of the characters. After reading those parts I jumped on my couch and tried to do some moves. But... well... yes I’m ordering a new couch on Amazon right now and its expected arrival date is two weeks later! Dammit! I should find a better place to sharpen my dancing skills.

The representation of anxiety issues are also genuine. I suffered from them at my young ages, now more wisdom combined with reading, devouring sweets and booze, practicing kick-box helped me to kick ass of entire anxiousness but this book reminded me of those days and I easily connected with Radha and I loved her boldness, her way to deal with her issues.

Overall: this is fast, entertaining, feel good reading I was looking for earned my four blazing dancing, Indian, traditional, joyful stars!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s/ Crown Books for young readers for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This was a fully filmy, Bollywood, ishq wala love type read and I found it to be sweet and meaningful. The various Desi elements from the food to the dresses and dance sequences are described vividly. Radha’s character struggles with performance anxiety and questions her future aspirations which bring ta focus on mental health. I don’t often read books with Indian representation that acknowledges seeking therapy for healing and closure. It was heartwarming to see Nisha include therapy and gently inform the experience the character has after undertaking it. The contrasting relationship that Radha and Jai share with their respective families was intriguing, revealing that love can be shown in different ways. Nisha sprinkles homemade recipes throughout the book of some of my favourite mouthwatering Indian delicacies, which I highly recommend readers to try! Radha’s father teaches her various dishes and those interactions made my heart full as I enjoy my father’s cooking and the love and passion he has in the kitchen. A fun, warm, romantic read that leaves you with a sense of hope and is a reminder of my favourite Desi parts of me that I am proud to celebrate.

I loved this book! The representation was so true to my experiences, the parents were so much like my parents, and the love interest was so sweet and funny. This HAS to be a bestseller this summer; it was such an amazing story of love and family and resilience. Radha's story is so unique to her sport and her family, but the story itself is a universal story that I believe that everyone can relate to. The intersection of dance and food as expressions of passion and love was so creative and unique. I also LOVED seeing a surprise appearance from the characters of Nisha Sharma's first book, My So Called Bollywood Life. I think this book is BETTER than Sharma's first book because it is so clear to see how much love and passion has been poured into every page. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of YA romance or YA contemporary. It is absolutely incredible.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book. I was really looking forward to it being Indian myself but it just wasn't for me. I felt like the writing was too cheesy ( i understand it was supposed to be fluffy and like a bollywood movie but it was too much) and lacked depth in a way that I couldn't really connect to the characters. I also felt like the pacing was off. There were so many time skips and scene changes that we barely got to see the issues that played out and the characters reactions to most of them, resulting in it feeling shallow. The relationship also felt underdeveloped to me because though they did technically get to know each other over time, the continuous time skips didnt make it feel that way and we didn't get to see any of it, making me feel like i barely knew them let alone liked them. I feel like the author should have reduced the skipping of scenes and written a little more of the characters feelings and reactions to the events around them and also allowed us to see more of Radha and Jai together as they're vital to the story.
I did enjoy the aspects of food and dance brought into the story as they are such a huge part of our culture. It felt disconnected to me with the pacing, time skips, and the underdeveloped relationship.

Radha is in London and a dancer. I liked the dialogue,descriptions,characters. I liked the Indian culture. Good quick read

“Radha & Jai” was such a fun read! It very much did feel like watching a romantic comedy without ever losing sight of the deeper issues undergirding the story. Though I sometimes felt that the writing was a little heavy-handed with its exposition, I greatly enjoyed reading this.

I know absolutely nothing about dance but I thought this story was really cute. Radha and Jai were both genuinely good people who only had each other's best interests in mind throughout the whole book.
I like how Nisha Sharma shows that people can have different interests and be good at both. Radha was great at both cooking and dancing which I thought was a good life lesson. I would recommend this book to anyone who asked and think that you should consider reading it yourself.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me.

3.5! This was a wholesome read. I love YA books with teens actually behaving like teens. This was fun to read and I liked the Bollywood feels it gave off! The writing was vivid and I was able to easily imagine all the colors and imagery described. It was also a nice insight into different types of Indian dance, cuisine, and culture. It also dealt with many real issues with teens including family relationships, finding your dream and pursuing it, and life in general. I definitely think readers will enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought the story was phenomenal. I loved the familial relationships, the dance plot, the Indian recipes, and the romance. I recommend this just as much as My So-Called Bollywood Life, which I gave 4 stars. With the mental and physical (stroke awareness) health representation, I think this book deserves a higher review!

Food, dance and romance combine in this delightful story of two teens who must work through personal struggles to find their happy ending. Nisha Sharma's stories are always pure, effervescent (reading) joy!

Radha Chopra is one of the most talented kathak dancers in the world, but when she finds out a horrible truth about her family and feels betrayed by her mother, she gives up dancing during an intense international competition. Radha moves to New Jersey from Chicago, and there at her new school, she meets Jai, a handsome Bollywood dancer. Both Radha and Jai are attracted to one another, and they quickly become more than friends. With a dance competition coming up, Jai convinces Radha to join his dance team and choreograph their competition routine. Soon both of them will have to work out their past issues and their future plans in order to stay together.

I enjoyed this book and liked learning about various forms of Indian dance, cuisine, and culture. The writing was vivid, emotional, and descriptively realistic. The plot kept me guessing, and since I struggle with my own anxiety issues, it was easy for me to connect to Radha personally as I read. The characters were memorable, and the lessons about family, relationships, and life in general were encouraging and helpful. Though I don't personally agree with some of the views and lifestyles presented and I didn't care for the profanity used, I highly recommend this book for its heart and great storytelling. I will definitely read another book by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

In Nisha Sharma's latest book, readers are in for a scrumptious treat filled with food, dance, and romance in this coming of age YA rom-com.

Radha has a passion for Kathak dancing, but when a betrayal by her mother costs her the biggest competition of her life, Radha's dancing career is brought to an abrupt and devastating end. She leaves behind her Chicago home and enrolls in the Princeton Academy of the Arts in New Jersey. At her new school Radha is determined to leave the performing world in her past, and reinvent herself. But what she doesn't count on is Jai!

Jai is captain of the Bollywood Beats dance team and ranked first in his class. While he dreams of college and attending medical school, his family situation makes that dream impossible., so he pours his heart and soul into his dance team to make this a show-stopping year. And, that is when Radha enters his life,

Radha and Jai face their fears, challenges, and heartbreak in this inspirational story about fighting for your dreams and choosing your own future.