This was a super cute story about friends to lovers just like I thought it would be. It was great debut book from this author and I can’t wait to read more from her.

A coming-of-age type YA novel about the fake relationship between Madhuri and her childhood best friend Arjun. Of course, feelings develop and how those feelings are managed makes for a cute story. I enjoyed the character development as well as the emotional challenges dealt with throughout the book. Highly recommended for those who like to read within this genre.

The story of Madhuri Iyer, a girl struggling with her identity of being Indian yet scared to show it off truly and her best friend Arjun Mehta, the boy who has been in love with her since they were kids.
It’s quite a sweet story, I do think it is for a younger audience and me being in my mid-20s was not it.
However, I did appreciate the Bharatanatyam references in this book a lot!

TW: micro aggressions, parental abandonment, divorce, Crohn’s disease, bullying, racism

In order to break the family curse of each woman in her family getting married to her first boyfriend and to prove that her mother’s astrology reading is wrong, Madhuri devises a plan to enter into an “experimental” or fake relationship with her childhood best friend, Arjun. However, she doesn’t know that he has been in love with her since childhood.

This debut YA romance novel was so charming! I was hooked from the first page and really enjoyed the author’s writing style.

I appreciated the South Asian and Crohn’s disease representation.

I empathized with Arjun’s parental abandonment issues and the micro aggressions that Madhuri faced in school for being South Asian and how that affected her relationship with the South Asian culture.

I highly recommend this YA romance novel especially if you enjoy the following tropes:

✨ Childhood best friends to lovers
✨ Fake dating
✨ Found family

3.5 stars for this one because I liked the story but never connected with one of the main characters.
Madhuri gets a prediction she's not in favor of and to prove that it's not going to come true ropes her best friend Arjun into a fake dating scheme. They've been friends forever and Madhuri's family is the only family poor Arjun has ever really known since his dad left after the divorce and his mom is always away on work trips. She sees it as a chance to prove that she decides her future, and Arjun sees it as a chance to make the girl he's always been in love with finally see him as more than just a friend. Of course, things turn out to not be as simple as they were expecting as life throws them one surprise after another.
I really, truly wanted to like this one more. Arjun is a sweetheart and I spent the entire book wanting to give him the big, hard hug he so obviously needs and deserves. But Madhuri never managed to endear herself to me. I felt bad for the bullying that made her want to abandon her culture and hide, but the way she treats Arjun, who is supposed to be her best friend and is doing her the favor of pretending to be her boyfriend, never sat right with me. Poor Arjun is her punching bag and as much as we're told over and over that they've been through thick and thin forever, I can't forgive her for treating anyone that way.
Overall, there are some cute and powerful moments and the overall message is perfect, but I never managed to get over my dislike of Madhuri.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the emotional read!

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this one. "Kismat Connection" is Devarajan's debut novel, and I felt that the pacing was much to fast to tell a successful, all-engrossing love story. It's always fun to read about different cultures and from different perspectives, but I didn't feel that I understood the characters at all. Everything about the story was surface-level: the environment, the background information (Madhuri's bullying, her dance history, Arjun's problems with his mother), and especially the whole Kismat Experiment plotline seemed extremely shallow. After reading this book I still don't know very much about these characters or their motivations. Arjun made Madhuri out to be a horrible girl, and while she did some questionable things, I don't think the picture he painted was accurate. I got bored about halfway through but ended up finishing anyway. The writing was very awkward and clumsy often. which always makes books difficult for me to read and especially to enjoy. I didn't feel connected to the characters or story at all.

Ananya has written a stunning debut that intertwines family, friendship, culture, and love!
I fell so quickly in love with this story and these characters and I was truly invested in the astrology and the way destiny played a role in the romance throughout!

This coming of age story follows Madhuri as she attempts to find her own happiness in spite of her family’s expectations. In order to prove her mother wrong, she takes her future into her own hands in the form of fake dating her best friend Arjun. Arjun now has to attempt to keep his secret feelings for Madhuri, undercover while pretending to be her boyfriend.

Kismat Connection is a sweet YA romance. I enjoyed the style of the author’s writing and the cultural aspects of the storyline. She managed to avoid most of the angst that comes with a best friends romance. Kismat Connection is a lovely debut novel. I hope to see more from this author in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Ananta Devarajan, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

According to her astrology obsessed mother, Madhuri is doomed for her senior year.
Madhuri wants to do things on her own and she is determined to get her freedom, she sets up an experimental relationship with her childhood best friend. A boy she know she will never develop feelings for. Something she didn't think of though were his feelings for her.

Madhuri has to decide if she will break his heart or chart her own destiny.

A fun and cute YA read!

Thank you so much to Inkyard Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book. THIS BOOK. Reading it was pure joy. I laughed out loud so many times and it gave me the warmest, fuzziest feeling. Madhuri and Arjun had the sweetest relationship and it was all I could ever want in a childhood best friends to lovers. Being desi myself, I thought the representation was extremely well done! I’ll be reading all of Ananya Devarajan’s books in the future <3

My review will be going up on Instagram @starsbookishhollow by the end of the week.

This was a really interesting book full of cultural pieces that I haven’t seen much of in this genre. I have to say while fake dating is one of my favorite tropes I didn’t think it totally worked here. This book had two best friends, one with unrequited feelings and the other determined she could never have feelings for her best friend. Their fake relationship didn’t even last through their first date. Arjun was a good character and I felt for him, but I still wished he got a bit more development. I liked what we did get of his backstory. Madhuri was a bit more complicated of a character for me. She seemed a bit all over the place and not as well developed as she could be. Overall I thought the story was cute and I loved the part about the astrological mappings of destiny. It was something I didn’t know anything about and was so interesting to me.

An incredible YA debut that reminds us that everyone deserves to be loved and accepted, that family is what you make it, and that the future isn’t set in stone.

Madhuri and Arjun are such rich, complex characters. Their story was engaging, purposeful, and heartbreaking all at once. I’m glad we got to truly get to know them through dual povs.

Madhuri is adamant about living life on her own terms rather than by a predetermined future where she’s doomed to fail despite how hard she’s worked. She decides to conduct an experiment (“The Kismat Experiment”) to prove that free will exists and that fate, her mother, and the family curse are wrong by dating and then breaking up with her best friend, Arjun, without falling in love.

Arjun, who has been in love with Madhuri for forever, agrees knowing the risks to his own heart. He hopes that by the end of the experiment he can show Madhuri that they’d be good together as more than friends.

Madhuri’s scientific experiment is flawed from the start and sure to end in tears because of her heavy confirmation bias and by trying to overly control every aspect. What's more, she clearly loves Arjun as more than a friend but she either doesn’t recognize the signs or refuses to recognize them because they don't conform to her beliefs. Arjun was the “safe” choice she was sure would help prove her right.

But every interaction between them tells me they were always meant to be, which made my heart ache for them both.

On top of this ill-advised experiment, they are dealing with personal family and cultural struggles. Arjun takes pride in their Indian culture whereas Madhuri is more private about it because she still gets bullied about it. Arjun fits in while Madhuri feels the need to reject her culture, her passion for dance (Bharatanaytyam), and her astrological reading in order to fit in and gain back some semblance of certainty and control over her life.

Madhuri comes from a very loving, supportive family. But Arjun’s parents are divorced (culturally frowned upon) and he lives with his absentee mother who is emotionally distant. He grins and bears it despite how much this clearly hurts him.

Essentially, your heart gets taken on an emotional roller coaster throughout this unputdownable story. I liked that both main characters have a special relationship with the stars literally and figuratively. I also liked how the stars/fate influenced the plot and the characters themselves. I loved Arjun’s characters and his capacity to love. Madhuri was kind of a hit or miss for me as her stubbornness was quite legendary. Deep down she is a good, caring person. She’s merely lost as we all are at some point in our lives, especially as teenagers.

This was an enjoyable story. I can’t wait to read what this author decides to write next!

CW: bullying of another’s culture, emotionally absent parent, parent with Crohn’s disease, hospitalization

Thanks again Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the eARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

Madhuri does not feel like she has a lot of control over her life after her mom reads her charts and tells her that Madhuri is in for a rough year. To balance the negativity, Madhuri wants to try and control one aspect of her life: a curse that she will marry her first boyfriend.

Devarajan delivered a great debut! The mix of identity with Madhuri and Arjun’s Indian culture and expectations of attending a majority white school was very interesting. I think my students would appreciate learning more about a different culture, while also identifying with Arjun’s and Madhuri’s feelings toward school, family, and friends.

This book was interesting and filled with cultural practices I had never heard of before! I was really excited to start this book because I knew it had the “fake dating trope” in it but it didn’t really get much use in this story. They fake dated for only a single date before it fell apart. I liked Arjun as a character, he was a pushover from the start but I enjoyed seeing his growth throughout the novel. Madhuri was more complex, I often found myself disliking her throughout the story because I wish she would be better to Arjun. She had the capability to be sensible and aware of how her actions affected others (as shown by her interactions with Raina and Josie) however it seemed Arjun most often got the worst of her. Aside from that I enjoyed the novel and learning about mapped astrological destinies!

The power of Vedic astrology and embracing who you are embody the heart of KISMAT CONNECTION. In Ananya Devarajan’s debut, two childhood Indian American best friends are fated to fall in love — one who is all for the idea, while the other would rather rebuff destiny.

Parts of the KISMAT CONNECTION were engaging, while others fell a little flat. The latter largely lies in the romance, which would have benefited from added tension and higher stakes. The story’s description leads you to believe MC Madhuri is fully against the concept of being with MC Arjun — when in actuality, Madhuri quickly starts to fall for him, too. This devolves into a lengthy back-and-forth between her and Arjun on why they can’t be together, which essentially lasts the entirety of the book, and reads as a half-hearted conviction on her part. (Plus, in my humble opinion, this isn’t the strongest plot device in a YA romance).

That said, what I did really appreciate was the commentary woven into the character stories about growing up in a diverse, immigrant household in the U.S. (I can very much relate). It doesn’t hold back from diving into the real problems — from cruel bullies at school to conflicted feelings on your identity — that can emerge as a result of being second-generation. (The world could use more books like this!!!)

I also adored how Indian culture is celebrated by many of the characters, even in spite of some of the harsher experiences they face, and how, by the ending, the resolution focuses on the need to heal from past traumas attached to other people’s ignorance, but also the beauty of accepting and loving your heritage. It made me feel warm and inspired and proud of the ways in which I am unique — and that’s the sign of a powerful book, indeed.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

DNF @ 40%

I was SO excited for Kismat Connection, and I'm devastated that I didn't end up liking it more. The concept sounded adorable but I don't think it was executed very well. The relationship experiment didn't really make sense and neither the motives nor the stakes were clearly defined. I'm usually a huge fan of the friends to lovers trope but Kismat Connection only succeeded in constantly telling me that the main characters are best friends instead of showing me their supposed close bond. There were also so many plot holes and inconsistencies that I can't believe neither the author, the agent nor the editor caught. This read like a very rough first draft and needed a few more rounds of edits. There were a couple of elements that I did enjoy (the family dynamics and the discussions around being too Indian or Indian enough) but they weren't enough to make me want to finish the book. I do think the author has potential but this unfortunately did not meet my expectations.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the alternating POVs which let us into both Madhuri’s and Arjun’s thoughts. I liked learning about their families and their cultures were interwoven in the story beautifully. Each of their backstories were well developed and I loved getting to see them overcome their pasts and figure out their feelings for each other.

3.7 stars

I have a lot of thoughts about this book. This is a wonderful debut novel, but I can't help but notice the tiny things that bothered me a bit. I think it was most probably intended to be that way, but Madhuri was a little on the unlikeable side and Arjun was the total opposite to her. At times, it felt like she didn't deserve him with her throwing tantrums and etc. But that being said, I loved the portrayal of Indian representation in this. Right from the Tamil culture to the Tillana rendition in the end, I ate up all of it. Definitely recommending this!

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher, for presenting me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the themes about feeling connected (or disconnected) to one's cultural identity and the familial relationships--especially the found family aspect between Arjun and Iyer Aunty--and I was excited for the fake dating trope. Overall, though, the chemistry falls flat, and the fake dating trope feels superfluous after a while; it doesn't have the effect I thought it would on Madhuri and Arjun's relationship. I also found the writing to be clunky and overly flowery, but that might be a personal preference.

I was excited for this one, and I'd try other books by Ananya Devarajan--I enjoyed her story in the college-set anthology Study Break, which prompted me to request this one--so I'm looking forward to seeing how her writing develops over time.

Ananya Devarajan's debut has been on my radar for a while now, the cover made my Indian heart burst with joy. So it's a little disheartening that I did not enjoy it as much. My main complaint was the writing, which did not connect me to the characters or their emotions and the chemistry I was promised. I did not feel Arjun's years long love for Madhuri, nor did I like the way Madhuri almost always dealth with her emotions. And the fake dating plot was lost to me, because while it has to be fake, the dating part didn't seem to have a great impact on their friendship in the beginning, which it should've.

I did enjoy the familial relationships depicted–Madhuri's family is a delight and Arjun's own difficulties with his family was a contrast I liked. Plus the desi cultural elements were a delight to read about. I would urge every reader to check out this book, it might end up being your cup of tea!