Thank you so much NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I thought about giving this book a chance after reading the authors note, cause I do think if we are gonna get a story about South Asians it should be written by a South Asian. You can do all the research you want, but it still not the same.

Other people might like this book, but it's not for me.

2.5 stars

Despite the title, Not Your Basic Love Story is a pretty basic love story.

Rebecca's attitude is pretty annoying for most of this; very 'not like other girls' with an inconsistent feminist attitude. She likes to claim loudly she's a feminist to others but seems very concerned about not being married at the age of 29. Her motives are tied up in her friends getting married and having children, and you never see her actual goals or desires.

I didn't appreciate the assumption that Fight Club is an obscure reference that girls wouldn't get - are there really people in the world that haven't heard of Fight Club? We're back into 'not like other girls' territory - especially when Rebecca mentions not bringing up her chick flicks for fear of what Dev thinks. She does this a lot, claims one thing to Dev and then thinks about how she'll tell him the whole truth later. Not to mention, I made it to 7% and was already annoyed at how often Rebecca gets caught up in her thoughts, ignoring the people around her she's actively interacting with.

Even without all the instalove and misunderstanding tropes, I doubt I would've loved Not Your Basic Love Story ... Nothing is ever fully addressed, and a lot of big issues are swept under the rug. (view spoiler)

I liked parts of this book, but there weren't enough of them, and they weren't good enough, to overcome a lot of huge issues.

Seems to mostly be trying to avoid basicness by throwing so much detail at the reader and including undignified moments and situations. Still kinda basic, but the characters are sweet enough that you still want to know what happens and root for them even when you're not sure if they should or will end up together.

Netgalley and Rising Action Publishing Co. Provided this Arc in exchange for my honest opinion..

This romcom includes cross-cultural relationship dynamics that can be used in the classroom to analyze interactions, both good and bad. There could have been more depth to some of them, but it was interesting to read, even if the characters sometimes fell flat.

I hate to DNF a book, but I couldn’t relate to the characters all. The not so cute meet cute set the tone for me and the story never recovered. DNF at 40%.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Rising Action Publishing Co. for this ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book just didn't do it for me. I didn't feel like there was any chemistry between Rebecca and Dev. I liked that there was a lot of culture in this book and learning about Dev's culture. But the insta-love just wasn't there for me.

Thank-you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co., Rising Action for the chance to review this ARC.

I wanted more from this.
I liked the premise it had a lot of promise.
I want o highlight that the cultural differences were made in a good way.
But the characters often fell flat.
I think the author has potential and I would give more of her books a try.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy on (Not) Your Basic Love Story. Dev and Becky met on a plane going to Mexico. Their love story unfolds in the pages. I thought there were some problems with the story line. I give this 3 stars.

DNF at 55%

I do not like to give reviews to DNFed books nor to DNF a book but in this case I had to, even though I didn't like to do it. The book itself is okay, but honestly the most remarkable part is the racism that is represented here, the main character noticing her privilege and all this cultural exchange. Outside from that both of them have been very immature in many areas of the relationship and it got to a point that I couldn't bring myself to finish it, it felt more like a chore than something I enjoyed so I wasn't liking that anymore.

The writing is good and the message is good, but these characters were so immature and stressing at some point that I just couldn't do this

The book had its highs and its lows, for me high was that the way the author introduced and mixed the cultures because it happens a lot, now the lows, i rather not to tell you because it are more about the female character that maybe are just me, i recommend this book because the story is interesting and constantly has you wondering how is it going to end.

4.5 stars rounded up
Becky is on the plane about to go to a destination wedding. There's an empty seat where her ex-boyfriend was supposed to be. But now it's empty and she's wondering who will be her seatmate. When a tall dark and handsome man sits down. She's elated. They start off great and it ends on a sour note. They end up meeting up again and things escalate in a good way.

This is definitely not your normal love story but still wonderful. I enjoyed the characters and learning about Devs culture. This was a great read. I couldn't put it down. I laughed and cried.

I was really intrigued by the premise but I just couldn't connect with the story and it didn't capture my attention so I chose to DNF.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read the book in advance.

I love that this book was set in Vancouver - just a different setting for me it was almost like another little escape!

This was s different story for me as our MMC is Indian and comes from a very traditional family. Yet the FMC is white and doesn’t know much about the Indian culture. It was nice to see different cultures mixing together.

It most definitely wasn't a basic love story and yet somehow that made me enjoy it even more! This book really shows the reading the challenges and compromisations that have to happen in real life relationships.

QOTD: Have you ever made a friend on vacation?
My A: Me, no. My Husband? It feels like everyone he meets is a friend. 🤣 He even made friends like a group of 5 one mile underground on a cave tour once 🤣🤦🤷
.
While the meet cute was nasty, I still kinda loved what it led up to. 😅 I thought their chemistry was already starting to simmer and I was into it. The culture representation throughout was fantastic. I love learning new traditions or dishes through the characters I'm reading. A lot of this book focuses on cultural differences, especially when it comes to living environments and relationships. I'll be honest, once they got home I didn't feel that chemistry anymore. They fall into the "this couple will date for a few years and break up amicably" category for me!
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BLURB:
Stubbornly independent Becky isn't looking for love, but when sparks fly on a flight to Mexico she learns her carefully planned life might be the opposite of what she needs. What begins as a fun vacation fling with a tall, sexy stranger turns into so much more. The problem? Dev and Becky couldn't be more different. Back home in Vancouver, Canada, their relationship grows, and their two worlds collide.

Can a roommate-hating city girl with a diet of chicken nuggets and cheap wine make it work with a vegetarian, non-drinking, Sikh man who lives with his rambunctious multigenerational family in the suburbs?

As Becky navigates her way through a culture she knows nothing about, she is faced with one of the most important decisions of her life: change her plans for how she'd imagined her happily-ever-after, or walk away from love.

Becky and Dev meet while away on holiday. Will they have a chance at being together when they return to their real lives back home, or are they both too different?
Interesting to read about a different culture as well.

I have been on a bit of a romcom binge lately, this one was cute and funny but unfortunately didn’t hit the mark for me.

This is Lindsay Maple’s first novel, even though this one didn’t work for me I would be keen to check out her future work.

Becky and Dev meet in one of the most awkward ways possible. It's complete torture for both, and I appreciated that as they ran into each other again they could move past it. There relationship turns physical quickly, an assumed vacation fling. Only things turn into more when they return to the Vancouver area.

Becky is white and athiest, Dev is Sikh. I really like cross cultural romances and that part of Not Your Basic Love Story did not disappoint. My only issues was near the end Dev went wildly crazy with his family's Indian culture and I felt like he was completely disregarding her feelings at every turn. He does come around, and learns from it, but at the time I was irritated.

I felt a kinship with Becky. I am also single and living on my own, it's hard to go from that to living with someone and I really felt her struggles because I feel the same. Gotta take those baby steps!

The end was really cute and made the journey worth it.

This is my first book by Lindsay Maple, and I really enjoyed, the story is funny and cute, I read it really fast!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the book

This is my first book written by Lindsay Maple and won’t be my last. I really enjoyed this story of Dev and Rebecca. This was so cute and funny and I just ate it up. I finished it in less than 24 hours!

I loved the raw love story and character development between the two characters. It didn’t feel cheesy or like any fluff was added.

Looking forward to reading more by the author in the future!

Damn was this a disappointment. The characters weren't all that fleshed out at all (and the bit that they were, I didn't like them much), the relationship/connection between the leads felt forced, the pacing was awful and the plot was kind of just all over the place. That, on top of fairly stinted writing (ala. then this happened, then this happened, then this happened) made this a not so great read that I was surprised I finished.