I loved this book! Ananya Devarajan had me hooked from the first page with an intriguing story about two seemingly star-crossed teens who are battling high-school bullies, cultural acceptance, family dynamics, and fate. This one does not disappoint and is absolutely worth the read.

Thanks to Netgally for an e-ARC of this book. Kismat Connection is a well written book. Fake dating is my kryptonite so when I read the summary I knew I had to give it a go. The main characters are likable and the story is well paced. I'm giving it a 3 out of 5 stars. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was delightful. I learned a lot about Indian culture while thoroughly enjoying the romance of the story. The book looks closely at how much of our destiny is within our control. There were many laugh out loud moments and you can’t help but cheer the characters on.

I read 50% of this book last night in one sitting because I loved it so much. The characters are super complex and emotional, which made them feel so authentic!

Although sometimes I shook my head at their teenage decisions and communication skills, I loved both Arjun and Madhuri. They both are super determined and hardworking, and their relationships with others are so beautiful and heartbreaking.

As Indian-Americans, they both deal with their identities differently and it was really beautiful getting to see them grapple with their feelings and insecurities about their families and culture. As children of immigrants, you see how they feel about their parents and the sacrifices that their families made/didn’t make for them.

Although it’s a romance book, I feel like that was kind of the background of this book and that it was really about acceptance. Acceptance of self, of getting help, of feeling like they belong… The struggles they both go through and how they support each other was really incredible to read.

Overall, this book was so deep and genuine. I really feel as though the emotions and the characters themselves were the focal point of the book and the plot came second (in a very good way). The character development is truly next level and I even felt proud of them both by the end! I highly recommend this book!

I had received an ARC for this book and omg I love!! Anaya Devarajan put so many important topics into this book and it was just as cheesy and gushy as a bollywood movie. Don't even get me started on the jhumka scene!! There were so many things I ended up absolutely loving about this, one being how real the insecurities about the culture are. As a brown girl myself, I could relate to the feeling of feeling like an outsider when my culture was never understood by my peers and it made me so happy to see the woman Madhuri became by the end of the book. Also, I loved how Kismat Connection highlighted the importance of dance and astrology in our culture. Especially the whole birth chart thing because even my family had those birth charts made from years ago and it's insane to see how our destiny pans out. I also very much adore Arjun, and wanted him to get everything he wanted. All in all, this book was a gem and displayed such good representation for our community.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the building of the characters. Where I draw issue is with pacing and the romantic chemistry between Arjun and Madhuri. I felt that they had great chemistry when it came to their friendship and they felt more like platonic soulmates than romantic partners.

i wanted this to be good soooo badly. dnf at 64%

thank you netgalley, inkyard press, and anaya devarajan for the arc copy. <3

i think there's too many plot contrivances too early. within 2 chapters we have arjun's astrology reading and madhuri's astrology reading, but also madhuri's family "curse" and madhuri's "kismat experiment" to combat the family curse. it's too much. i knew what the author was going for and i still found myself confused on the intentions of everyone involved. (and it really was not that complicated. he loves her. she wants to break the family curse. it's not complicated.)

arjun gets a very positive astrology reading, madhuri gets a very negative astrology reading. and then separately, madjuri has a family curse where the women always marry the first man they date. and to combat the curse, madjuri wants to not-fake-date arjun. it's real dating. but there is a deadline for when the relationship ends. it feels fake; she doesn't have feelings for him until she does, which is a normal trope for fake dating. but arjun has loved her for like, a decade. so it's not fake dating, it's not a fling where they're both into it until the deadline. it's this third weird gray area where i am not intersted in what's happening because i know that arjun loves her and i know that madjuri needs to get over herself before they can be happy. but i am not intersted in madhuri coming to terms with the family "curse".

the two main characters: arjun has been in love with madjuri forever. they're best friends. it's a classic! love it! he has his own family trauma and he had to grow up quickly and it's good. i like him. i sort of like madhuri. she definitely suffers from "teen girl is embarrassed about her own culture" that is so present in these stories. i get it, when you're a teen girl everything is embarrassing, and i can't even imagine how difficult it is to face the racism that goes along with that. but this is all i know about her? she's insecure and wants to go to stanford. apparently she's good at school (we are never shown anything to indicate this) and apparently her ex friends made a racist comment about her dancing (we maybe met them? i don't even remember, they're not written throughout the story. maybe they pop up at the end. but i don't think that would feel organic.)

the weakest plot contrivance was definitely the "kismat experiment" thing. if madjuri truly wanted to prove the family curse wrong, she would've dated someone who she didn't like from the beginning. her "hypothesis" is not a hypothesis and she's supposed to be a stem girlie. arjun and madjuri's astrology readings directly contradict each other so they have "opposing hypotheses" for the experiment, but i don't remember what that means or why it even matters. i think if the author had committed to either the astrology reading bit or the curse/experiment bit, the book would've felt more focused. if you're committing to the experiment bit, then i think it would've been fun to have madhuri write out a classic high school lab report format.

title: the kismat experiment

purpose: the purpose of this lab report is to prove the family curse incorrect. i will not marry the first man i date.

introduction and background:
- [her mother's name] married her first boyfriend
- [her grandmother's name] married her first boyfriend
- other background info that could've been revealed here instead of an info dump
- experiment will have a dealine of [a date that corresponds with other important high school events]

materials:
- madhuri
- boy of madhuri's choosing
- list of cute date items

procedure:
1. select a boy to attempt to date. boy needs to have the following requirements: is not racist, is not popular, has some common interests, understands the deadline, will not fall in love with me, i will not fall in love with him
2. go on 1 date per week. if no actual dating occurs, then the relationship was not a real attempt. both parties must converse at least once a day.
3. etc etc

do you see my vision? in the book, she just writes out like, a hypothesis and a deadline. commit to the bit!

so the writing style. it felt like the book was being explained to me. i didn't feel anything. i don't really like madhuri, and not in a fun way. she's unlikable but i think we are supposed to find her insecure. there's words on the page but they are not making sense to my dumb brain. i have been sick all week, but i think this book is just not for me.

<i>thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review</i>

3.5 stars.

i gotta say it was hard for me to get attached to madhuri character at first but when you do it's incredibly amazing. i think we can all relate to her at some point. characters are flawed, that's kinda the point. she has room to grow and be better. she's written well so that you don't like her actions, but i like HER. so i have a special soft spot for madhuri iyer. great representation.

but i also fall for arjun character. he is so loveable, caring & is a gentleman at heart. i feel bad for him, he is so pure & sincere of madhuri. he did not put himself first, above anybody else. he is the most selfless. I IMMEDIATELY FALL FOR HIM SINCE THE VERY FIRST PAGE.

the romance is awkward at first though the romance little bit of cliché but overall really cute and sweet! i just so love their strong friendship and bond.

this book is so lovely … arjun & madhuri were adorable & loved the childhood best friends to lovers, so good!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! This book was so beautifully written with care for both protagonists and I loved how the author unpacked the ideas of fate since it's a romance book so you know there's a HEA but the acceptance came with an understanding of both characters and it was just so lovely.

While I loved the representation and appreciated some of the family dynamics, the romance really let me down. I couldn’t connect with either of the main characters. Best friends to lovers is one of my favourite developments in a romance, but here, I found it difficult to believe the friendship between Arjun and Madhuri, let alone the romantic development. Also, the fake dating/experiment plot confused me and just had me dreading what the fallout might be from the beginning, which also affected my enjoyment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the ARC.

2.5/5 stars. I wanted to love this book solely based on the book description. However, it just didn't do much for me. The pacing was very slow and Arjun and Madhuri were not the engaging characters I was hoping for. The star chart approach was interesting, but it was overshadowed by the slow character development. I did like the representation of being a minority student in a predominantly white high school, and how Madhuri overcame her middle school bullies.

This has been on my listen to read for over a month now since I got it as an ARC off of Netgalley, huge thank you to them, Ananya Devaranja, and Inkyard Press!

I’m not a fan of friends to lover but I absolutely ADORED Madhuri and Arjun’s love story!

If you want astrology, pining, and YA romance this is a fantastic choice.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover. Then after reading the description I had to read this book. This story follows Arjun and Madhuri. Madhuri makes a plan to prove the existence of free will. She chooses her childhood friend as a suitor to prove that.
I loved Arjun in the story. He is relatable and likable where at times during the story I didn’t care for Madhuri. This book is Arjun story really. His character development and storyline keep you engaged and make you care enough to finish the book.

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

If you like fake dating and friends to lovers read Kismat Connection!

It has soft brown boy and angry brown girl and I enjoyed reading it. Dual point of view where you follow Madhuri and Arjun as they navigate their last year of highschool. All the while the prophecy they were read at the beginning of the school year hangs over their heads.

Madhuri isn't about to let a prophecy dictate her life while Arjun has more faith in destiny. Madhuri recruits him to prove destiny wrong.

Both characters were charming and flawed. Arjun was my favorite though. He has to deal with abandonment and accepting his found family. Madhuri deals with the insecurities of being from a different culture in America.

Overall it was a cute teen romance.

Thanks netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Out June 13 2023

This was a really lovely, heartwarming friends-to-lovers story! I loved the two POVs and the factors that brought the MCs together, and how their relationship helped them both feel more empowered and self-actualized by the end. It delivered everything I want from my romances!

I requested an ARC from NetGalley as soon as i saw the cover looked so cute, and I love to read about different cultures, and funnily at the end of the day, doesn’t matter the culture, we humans are messy and make mistakes, so people don’t be afraid of reading outside your culture, because there’s always something you can relate with, like here they are desi but kids are still trying to be independent and might be lying to their parents and be insecure and parents can be bad parents and selfish in any culture, give this book a chance!

The Kismat Connection is, very simply, a YA romance. It doesn’t aim to be an epic, unique experience of the cosmos. It is about a girl and a boy, Madhuri and Arjun, and it is not about them falling in love, but more about the journey to excavate the love they have grown since childhood, even if Madhuri is reluctant to admit it.

That’s the story on its surface. But scratch that in even the slightest and it’s clear that Ananya Devarajan poured her whole heart into writing this book. It didn’t have to be so vivid, so full of soul, but it is, and her readers are all the better for it.

What really got me were the family relationships. Madhuri and Arjun have a shared culture, but their personal stories and upbringing are very different, which gives them opportunities to bond over the things they share, and support each other through the things they don’t. Even though I related mostly to Arjun, and sometimes I thought Madhuri was being too stubborn, I always understood the characters equally. I felt their pain, joy, and most importantly, their love. .

5/5 ⭐
I absolutely ADORED this book. Madhuri and Arjun are the cutest couple every. Also the side characters Josie and Raina, loved them. Nothing like strong well developed side characters. I loved exploring the culture in this story and seeing how it effects a person so deeply. I thought this book was going to be a cheesy high school love story, but it was definitely not. The heartache, love, and growth in this story was beyond what I'd ever expected. I definitely recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you NetGalley for this Arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute book!

Taking on tropes about Indian families and young romance we follow Madhuri as she works to get into her dream college. She enters into an experiment with childhood friend Arjun to break her so-called family curse of falling in love with the first person they date. Arjun, dealing with his own problems, is head over heals for Madhuri and agrees to the experiment. The each learn more about themselves and their future through this read.

Best friends Madhuri and Arjun couldn't be more different. Where Madhuri comes from a loving family that she can't seem to get off her back, Arjun lives his life alone - sometimes spending weeks together without another soul in his house. Where Madhuri tries to seem as "normal" (read: un-Indian) as possible, Arjun embraces his heritage whole heartedly. Where Madhuri sees only friendship between them, Arjun sees love. Even their horoscopes for the year, presented to them by Madhuri's mother, seem to be in complete opposition, where Arjun is predicted to spend his senior year of high school facing a string of successes, even getting the opportunity to grant a woman in his life his forgiveness, Madhuri's predictions point to a string of struggles in her future, with nothing coming to her easily. Unfortunately for Madhuri, her prediction is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Already saddled with the 'destiny' of her mother's bloodline that she'll marry the first boy she's romantically entangled with, Madhuri sets out prove that free will trumps fate by starting a relationship with her best friend with a set in stone expiration date. But can Madhuri defeat the power of her kismat?

Ananya Devarajan's Kismat Connection is a beautiful coming-of-age story that shows the struggles of a young Indian woman struggling to fit into a world where the culture she loves is foreign to the peers she wants accepting her and a young man struggling to form a family where the ones who love him and the ones whose love he needs never seem to overlap.

Pros:
- Wonderful Indian/Hindu Rep in everything from the plot details to the teenage romance to the cover of the novel.
- A cute romance between the main characters that builds in relatable yet heart-warming way.
- Nuanced relationships: outside the romance, the sibling relationships, friendships, parent-child relationships etc are all built beautifully. Devarajan has clearly put a lot of thought into how her characters come together and the effect draws the reader in.

Cons:
- In an effort to get her protagonist to learn to accept and embrace her heritage, Devarajan sometimes goes overboard in her disdain for all things typically American. This unfortunate quirk seems to belong to the author rather than Madhuri because it shows up through the lens of various characters.
- For a book centered around Astrology, the singular specific mention of how Vedic Astrology works is actually incorrect. It is clear that the Author has not really done her homework on this.
- The effort Devarajan put into building out the character relationships has unfortunately not extended to polishing up the plot line, and certain key concepts are never clarified (how exactly does Madhuri's dating experiment disprove astrology? Does Madhuri realize in the beginning of the book that her best friend has real feelings for her or not? She certainly seems to contradict herself every other chapter!). While these trip ups aren't the end of the world, a careful reader may find them annoying or distracting.

Overall however, I'd give this book 4 stars. 2.5 for the actual writing (unfortunately the issues with the premise distracted this reader greatly) and 1.5 stars for some heart-warming Indian/Hindu rep. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Radha and Jai's Recipe for Romance, My Sister's Big Fat Indian Wedding and to lovers of Bollywood movies everywhere.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and the Publishers for giving me access to a digital ARC in exchange for a non-biased review.