This book really isn't a romantic comedy. Its women's fiction with romantic elements. Its also a bit of a mess. I can't review the elements of Indian culture, but the romance falls very flat.

Book Review
Sari not Sari by Sonya K. Singh

Debut Canadian author Singh offers a unique perspective on the influence of westernization of other cultures. Her protagonist Manny is on a mission to connect with her South Asian culture that- for whatever reason- her parents didnt share with her

Manny
Manny happens to be a CEO of a successful Email breakup company. This was an interesting premise but I found it the concept cold- I am not a fan of the digital age of dating or breakups, but I can see how it appeals to some. I struggled to
connect to this aspect of the story and this may have affected my opinions. I did appreciate Manny’s journey of self discovery. Her need to understand her cultural and its influence on her own identity kept me engaged.

As for the romance…2 people fall in love in 1 week? Its a stretch and seems a bit unrealistic… it felt as though the love story moved too fast…. At least for me. What was an initial attraction became full blown love in a matter of days… umm….

Overall a solid enjoyable read.

Thank you to @simonandschuster for my gifted copy in return for an honest review.

Feels like an adorable story of single in the city meets finding your culture.
Sari, Not Sari is such an enjoyable story about Manny, who is Indian but grew up very "Americanized." Her parents upbringing not really including her culture very much. But that upbringing shaped her into the boss babe she is today. She has a super successful empire she built all on her own. Enter Sammy, that is desperate for her services.
After striking up a deal, Manny and Sammy agree that he will help her learn the Indian culture and Manny will offer him her services.
The interactions with these two are hilarious but also endearing. Anyone who is new to own voices type of books can truly appreciate Manny's journey to finding out about her culture.
As for the romance, it wasn't a vivid spark of chemistry, and seemed to play more of the background to the learning of your culture. Nonetheless the story is full of lush details of fashion, food, and the human experience of what love can feel like.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I really enjoyed it. I feel like this has been on my tbr forever and I'm happy I finally read it.

It's crazy to believe this is the author's debut! I was totally invested right away. This was Manny's story and you really felt for her. She was lost and you just knew Sammy was going to be just what she needed at the perfect time.

I was super intrigued by the idea of "Break Up" and the business. I thought it was cute that at the beginning of each chapter was a breakup request. It was a very different idea.

This was a very easy read. The chapters weren't too long so I just kept wanting to read more. I finished it in less than 24 hours!

5/5

I studied at a large, international university in my 20's. As a result, I developed friendships with people from many countries, including India. I remember attending some Indian festivals with a few of my Indian friends, which usually included a group performance of Indian folk dances. I loved the flowing, graceful hand movements of the dancers, was intrigued and was intrigued by their brightly colored sari's. It is a memory that will always be etched in my mind.

Fast forward 20+ years. I saw this book on Netgalley, and thought it sounded interesting. After reading the description, I was intrigued. As a Caucasian American (with roots to southern Europe), I wondered what it would be like to be a young women of East Asian descent, who was trying to reconcile her parent's traditional culture and lifestyle with the culture and lifestyle she grew up with in the United States.

"Sari, Not Sari," gave me a peek into what a challenge that could be. It's the story of Manny Dogra, the founder and CEO of a company that specializes in helping people manage their relationship breakups. Manny's parents immigrated from India, and they wanted their daughter to be wholly integrated into American life and culture, so they never taught her their language, customs or cultures. That's fine with Manny, until she appears on the cover of major magazine, and she notices that her skin has been lightened so she appears less South Asian.

This bothers her, and it propels her to find out more about her Indian roots. When a client, Sammy Patel, gives her the opportunity to learn more about her Indian heritage by attending the week-long festivities of his brother's wedding, Manny jumps at the chance. Throughout that week, she learns about family ties and tribulations, deep-seated traditions and customs, and what it really means to be Indian.

My only disappointment in this book was the romance aspect. It seemed like the relationship between Manny and Sammy needed to be developed a bit more. Their relationship built too quickly, and before I knew it, Sammy was proposing to Manny. I don't feel like they really had time to know each other, especially in an everyday sort-of-way, since they only spent time together during the week of Sammy's brother's wedding. It happened too quickly for me. But maybe romance was only a secondary plot in this story, and its primary purpose was to demonstrate the challenges of integrating two diverse cultures into one's life?

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

P.S. I loved the title -- what a fun pun!

Really lovely rom-com with depth and levity on so many levels. I loved learning about Indian culture, love and identity exploration in such soft ways.

Manny is inherently likable if shortsighted, and her emotional complexity is evident in all the relationships you see her build as she explores her heritage as a new world.

Thank you to Netgalley and and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While it has a lot of potential, I found that there were a number of things about Sari, Not Sari that were hard to get past as a reader. As someone who is admittedly not very familiar with Indian culture and traditions, I feel like I can't really comment on how they were described in this book. That said, whole idea that Manny was Indian but didn't know anything about her culture felt very sad to me, but also made me wonder why she couldn’t/wouldn’t simply Google the things that she wanted to learn more about or ask her employee/friend who was also Indian (a fact that the reader is told multiple times), instead of jetting off with a client that she didn't even want to take on as a client?

Things that I didn't like about Sari, Not Sari:

The stereotypes—the gay characters in the book were over the top and, at times, outright offensive.
“Indian Standard Time” was a phrase that was used a lot and felt overdone.
The whole plot seemed rushed. Sammy and Manny meet and then the next day she flies with him to his brother's wedding, and then the rest of the plot takes place over a week.
The romance felt rushed. Manny and Sammy didn't have a lot of time together—near the end of the book they were barely interacting and yet we are supposed to believe that they are in love so quickly?
I feel like if more time was spent on really exploring Manny and Sammy's relationship, the reader would become more invested in their romance. It has so much potential! Especially as an enemies-to-lovers trope.

Despite these challenges, I am always excited to read more diverse books, and enjoyed being immersed in the Patel family wedding festivities while reading Sari, Not Sari.

I love a good cultural romance!

This book is a discovery of identity that goes hand in hand with your culture. As many of us know, it's hard when you want one thing, but your culture may say otherwise, and I think that's what I enjoyed about this book, how she stayed true to her culture even through the difficult times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the earc in return for an honest review.

A great story about finding yourself and how identity isn’t defined by cultural performance. Funny and a fun read!

This was marketed as a rom-com but it fell flat for me. Sari, Not Sari is focused more on Manny's relationship with her culture. While I can appreciate that journey, I was here for romance! and I didn't feel any chemistry between the two characters. I don't know how Manny ever forgive Sammy for how rude he was to her at the beginning of the book. I also didn't like the writing, it felt too much like she was trying to tell us rather than show us the scenery.

Fast and fun read! I felt like I was learning about Indian culture along with Manny. The writing was so detailed I could see the extravagant outfits as clearly as if they were right in front of me.
The ending seemed a little rushed, but it didn't take away from the book overall. Will definitely recommend this to my book groups!

The premise for this book was promising, and even though I found Breakup to be somewhat unbelievable, I felt like it had the makings for a great story. The emails at the beginning of each chapter were a funny touch, and I felt like this book had the potential to be a powerful story about identity and love, with a bit of humour mixed in.

Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me as I struggled to connect with the writing style, especially the dialogue. It felt awkward and stilted. I felt like some of the writing was unnecessary or obvious, yet we didn’t get to deep dive into any of the characters. The romance didn’t feel that plausible. I didn’t really feel that invested in anyone.

I really wanted to love this, and if it is adjusted to give us time to connect with Manny and Sammy, I think the outcome would be fantastic.

Sari, Not Sari

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book took me a little bit to get into. The first 1/3 of the book focused a lot on Manny’s business, which I didn’t totally buy so it just was a little slow.

Halfway in it felt like it picked up when Sammy and Manny got to the wedding festivities. I had wished they’d have more interaction throughout the book, and the love at the end felt a little rushed when they didn’t.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC.

What a fun story of finding yourself and finding love. I loved the perfect mix of culture, comedy, and romance woven throughout this book. Manny is a strong boss babe CEO who is maneuvering her way through grief, a bad relationship, and finding herself. I not only love Manny but also all of her friends and new friends throughout. They all have their own unique story and connection that makes this a fun and entertaining read. I will say, the romance and instant love at the end felt rushed and incredibly unrealistic. Overall, it was a lighthearted and quick read that I mostly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

When I got this book I was so excited to read it. The plot sounded amazing and the MC sounded like a bad ass boss of a major CEO company. I read it very quickly, the book is fast paced and fun. I loved the twist near the end because I didn’t see it coming at all. I would definitely recommend this book if you want a cute contemporary romance that has Indian rep. The only reason I give it 4.5 (or 4 because I can’t do 4.5) is because I’m the end the characters did things I feel were for dramatics and not in their actually character. Sammy forever <3

Such a cute, colourful and enthralling rom-com with many relationships explored and lessons learned.
It took me a few chapters to get in to it, but then i really enjoyed it! Although predictable, there were some surprises, and it was fun to become wrapped up in another culture.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has so much potential! I don't think we see enough examples of the cultural disconnect Manny feels. I want to see more characters who talk about what it feels like to be a cultural misfit or outcast. That's what initially drew me to the book. I was looking forward to a story that explored an identity crisis and introduced me to a culture I know very little about. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my hopes for it.

My criticisms are technical. The main characters don't feel very deep or developed. Aliyan and Rajiv were more interesting than Manny and Sammy. Everything felt rushed. We were never given time to breathe and feel Manny's feelings with her. We were told about them, sure, but I wasn't invested in her emotional journey because I didn't get to see it.

Sammy's personality and attitude were all over the place! It started to feel like he would react in whatever way was convenient and would further the plot. It didn't feel authentic because again, we didn't see and experience enough of it alongside him. And he was suddenly very comfortable with Manny, as if they'd known each other forever, with no real explanation. Who picks up a relative stranger and swings them around the dance floor with no reaction, no thought, no anything?

This is a very dialogue-heavy story. There's nothing wrong with that style, but the dialogue was rather cringy. It was like word vomit at times. Also, my brain kept tripping over the lack of contractions. Yes, some of these characters would probably have speech patterns that don't involve contractions but Manny and Sammy would certainly use them.

The ending wasn't earned. The romance developed almost out of thin air. The scenes were hardly set for us. We didn't have enough quiet moments of no dialogue. Did Manny catch Sammy looking at her with a small, almost-secret smile on his face? Did Manny feel a spark of anything when she hugged Sammy? We were missing the moments that would have allowed us as readers to invest in their happy ever after.

I wanted to like this story. I probably would if it had been given space to breathe and bloom. But as it stands now, this book is disappointing.

Sadly this book did not do it for me. It's a 2.5 star at best. I read this as an eARC through NetGalley, and while I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have gotten a copy to read, maybe they could have waited and polished the manuscript more before sending it out?? This book is about ADULTS and yet they all sound like teenagers, the pacing is totally off, and frankly there are some very stereotypical characters and it was just so unnecessary. I've literally never given anything less than 3 stars and I'm really sad that I had to do so with this book- I had very high hopes, and I can only hope the final draft is much better.

First things first, I was given a copy of this book as an ARC. A big thank-you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Sonya Singh for allowing me to be an early reader!

Manny Dogra is a CEO of a company called Breakup. The aim of this company is to write emails for people who wish to split from their partners, allowing for a smooth breakup.

Manny’s parents passed away in a car accident, so she does not have many people to ask about her cultural roots. Manny is surrounded by friends who are South Asian like herself, but she often feels that she is unable to relate to them and their lives.

One day, Manny receives a request from a client named Sammy Patel. The request is to write an email to his girlfriend, for a temporary breakup. Manny declines, as her company only writes emails for clients who wish to have permanent breakups.

Sammy is insistent, and he explains his extenuating circumstance to Manny. After listening, Manny agrees to provide her company services for Sammy, only if he teaches her about the Indian culture and lifestyle. Sammy accepts, and decides what better way to show Manny the culture than taking her to his younger brother’s wedding?

On their trip together, Manny is able to learn more about herself, family structure, and cultural traditions. While spending time with Sammy, she is also able to build a connection with him and realize that she’s been sheltering herself for quite some time.

I wish at times that there were more substantial conversations between Manny and Sammy. I felt that their relationship was a bit rushed at times and they never truly got to know each other. However, I still thought that this book was a lovely and realistic way to depict what it’s like to not be in touch with your roots. I loved that Manny was willing to learn, and the way that she was able to immerse herself in the culture.

If you are looking for a book with desi representation that features the cultural traditions and a journey of love, then I’d recommend checking this book out! Sari, Not Sari is set to release on April 5th, 2020 so keep an eye out!

3.5/5

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. I found the family/wedding dynamic like a mash up of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Crazy Rich Asians. The family is big and loud and in each other’s business (like MBFGW) but they’re all about showing off while they’re together (like CRA).

I was rooting for Manny from the jump and truly enjoyed her journey to finding herself.

I have read other reviews stating that they were unhappy with how the book seemed to cater to the white population. I believe that was done on purpose - not just to get reads, but to properly depict Manny’s POV. She was white-washed (literally AND figuratively), so of course she would not have the same perspective as someone who grew up within the culture (like the Patels).

I found this very easy to read and excited to see if Singh will turn this into a series.