I really enjoyed Operation Mom. It’s been ages since I read YA and it may have reignited my love of the genre. The mother-daughter relationship was my favourite part. Ila loves her mom, Veena and as much as she wants her out of her hair, she genuinely wants her to be happy. I also loved the author’s sense of humour. I would read more from her! A modern, feel good read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I liked the exploration of Ila's relationships with her mother, her father, Aunty Maleeka, Deepali, and Dev. I also thought the plot was fresh and original. Additionally, I liked that the story was multicultural and set in modern-day Mumbai, which is different from the teen rom-coms I usually read. On the other hand, I did find it a bit frustrating that the non-English phrases used throughout the story were never translated. I completely respect the author's choice if this was intentional, but I did think this brings potential readers down to a much narrower audience. I also noticed some instances of body-shaming on-page, and wanted to mention that in this review. Lastly, although it was funny at times, I felt that the writing style was so focused on wit and humor that it didn't leave as much room for character development as I had initially expected.

Overall, this is a pretty light and quick read that differs from the usual teen rom-com, but seems to have been written with a specific audience in mind that I unfortunately do not belong to.

Wow this book was good! It was my first book sent to me by a publisher and it didn’t disappoint. This is a beautiful coming of age story with funny and interesting characters. I loved how realistic the relationship between the mother and daughter was and really enjoyed the plot. As a white person, it was so so interesting to read and learn about different cultures, especially as one of my goals this year is to read more diversely. It was so educational while also being an enjoyable read, and i loved that it was short so i could read it all in one day! I would definitely recommend checking this book out!

I cannot honestly rate the book because I only read about 50 pages before abandoning it to my DNF shelf. This book just was not for me, unfortunately. While I usually love rom coms and YA fiction, the combination of the writing style and my own lack of understanding of the Hindu/Mumbai culture made this book too difficult to read.

I was not a fan of the Deepali character, juggling three boyfriends and constantly criticizing her best friend and saying things like "D-shmee" and "sita-schmita" sarcastically. The main character, Ila, would have been a bit more tolerable if not for her internal monologue in the book which was chock full of waaaaayyy too many exclamation points and outbursts of things like "Sheesh!" to herself (or to the reader?) in the narration.

The cultural divide was a large obstacle for this US reader, and if this book is aiming to reach global audiences, more things would need to be explained. Small things like the use of "yaar" which I had to look up to find out it meant "friend," and "eve teaser" which is vaguely explained. Larger things about the different groups (castes?) of people completely went over my head. Maybe this book should be aimed toward other Indians around the world who would understand every Bollywood reference? However, I was not much of a fan of the plot in general, the two teenagers basically catfishing men to find a date for Ila's mom.

Anyhow, a few things I did like were the dad, especially how she called him "Pops" which reminded me of my own dad. I also liked Aunty Maleeka, her section was the most interesting part of what I read. I see this book has a lot of 5-star reviews so I assume for the right audience the humor hits the right way, but sadly for me it was a bust. :(

I love that this book was based on the daughter and mother's relationship. It's a good coming of age story on finding romance for vice versa for daughter and mom. It was different than other books I've read and I really enjoyed this cute and romance story for both of them.

Thank you for this ARC copy from Netgalley!

This was a real feel good book! It was funny and very easy to read, it only took me a few hours to read it and I read it all in one sitting. I enjoyed the experience of Indian culture portrayed in the book.

I loved the characters and the plot.

I gave this book 4 ⭐️

It’s Monday, and you know what that means…the Monday blues. Let’s shake off those blues with a read described as a “YA RomCom, full of humour, zany characters and love for family and BFFs” written by award-winning radio host, Reenita M. Hora. Sounds like just the pick me up we need!

Thanks so much to Reenita for this gifted e-copy!

Cute, spicy, intriguing and a great time! Great book to spend your time with and interesting plot. The cover is also stunning!

What a delightful story this book turned out to be. At first I was not sure about this story and the dynamics between the main character, Ila and her best friend Deepaly. I also didn't know what to expect from Ila's mom and the relationship between mother and daughter. but as the book progressed it is revealed why veena, Ila's mom, acts the way she does with her daughter.
I thought this book was a sweet take on a family and friends dynamics and how everyone had their own good intentions and everything they were doing was to help. The end was great and hilarious.
I recommend this book. It was a fun story with a little bit of mama drama and teenage shenanigans.

Thank you @netgalley and @reenita_storyteller for@this ARC of Operation Mom. If you are looking for a cute, fun, YA book, this is for you. I really liked@that this was a mother/daughter book rather than the traditional rom com.

The book takes place in Mumbai. Ila normal teenager, obsessed with Ali Zafar, a pop idol, and annoyed with her mom trying to control her. Veena, her mom, wants Ila to start dating instead of fawning over celebrities. Ila along with her best friend Deepali start Operation Mom to get Veena back into the dating ring and off Ila’s back.

I want to thank the author Reenita Hora for providing me with a copy of Operation mom.

Operation mom is about a teenage girl named lla who is obsessed with her pop idol Ali Zafar. Her mother Veena wants her to be more realistic and start to find a potential husband. Ila hates that her mom won’t get off her back so she can go be with Ali Zafar. However with the help of her best friend Deepali and Deepali’s boyfriend they come up with a plan to find lla’s mom a new man.

This book was short, sweet, and innocent. However, this wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not a huge rom-com fan and that’s no fault to the author. I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to the Indian culture or language, so I found myself confused a few times. I think this book could benefit from a few translations or even a glossary in the back of the book. The author did a good job with keeping it sweet and clean I could see this as a movie, where I’m more likely to watch a rom-com.

Rating:⭐️⭐️.5 /5
Romance 2/5
Comedy 3/5

I was provided with an ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so light hearted and funny. It follows Mumbai teenager, Ila, trying to set her mom up on dates (without mom’s knowledge). Plenty of banter, plenty of wit, and a whole lot of zingers.

It’s definitely not your typical rom-com and I loved that the plot was so fresh. It definitely recommend giving it a read. It was a little out of my typical genre, but I did enjoy it.

“𝙸𝚕𝚊, 𝙸’𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍.”

🍷🍷🍷.75 / 5

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Review:
Firstly I’d like to say a huge thank you to Reenita, her publisher and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book for an honest review!

I thought Operation Mom was going to be a cutesy YA romcom that would warm my heart and be an easy read😅 and it was, but it was also incredibly funny and witty and definitely made me laugh out loud a few times!

I don’t have a lot of knowledge on the Indian culture; but as I read I googled what I didn’t know and definitely broadened my knowledge! Although some may find that slightly tedious; as a fact geek I didn’t mind at all!😅

Ila was funny and witty but I think a lot of her clever-ness got missed as she is constantly belittled by those around her, especially by Deepali. Ila definitely tells the relatable story of most teenagers, stuck crushing on a guy who’s dating someone else; her anxiety and inner monologue felt very real and relatable.

Deepali, is a strong feminist force to be reckoned; who lives all RH lovers, fantasy of having 3 guys😅 Ila worships GHE ground Deepali walls on and talks about how she’s this amazing friend, but honestly I think she’s an awful friend. She always blows Ila off to hang out with her men, she belittles Ila and definitely talks down to her (almost as if she isn’t a well read smart af woman). Deepali kept important things from Ila and makes her feel like shit quite a lot. Sorry didn’t mean to turn this into a Deeplia bashing party; and as I wrote this I remembered that strong feminist female characters get a lot of stick for being annoying and cold; yet here I am complaining about the same things! Not very feminist of me😅

Anyway I really enjoyed this romcom and all it’s laughs and wit; it’s a short, fast, easy read and is entertaining and enjoyable for all ages!

For lovers of:
- YA romcoms
- Love triangles
- Miscommunication trope
- Insights into other cultures
- Plots & ploys

It was cute but the India cultural references were extremely hard to understand. Therefore, it made it hard to relate to the characters.

It was a cute story, though. I think it would probably appeal to a different audience; maybe someone with more knowledge of India’s culture who would understand the pop culture references better.

"Operation Mom: My plan to get my mom a life and a man" is a quick funny read. I like how the author described the relationship with Ila and her mother. It was funny when they talked about online dating and the people you may match with, because sometimes it's like that in real life. This a fresh different concept for a book, however it was a little hard to follow the storyline at times. This book is set in Mumbai and there is a lot of Indian references that I didn't understand, I think a little description or even glossary of these terms would've been helpful. In addition there are some parts like the first chapter set in the present and then Ila had a flashback from the morning and that was hard to follow, in some parts it needs a smoother transition. Overall the concept of this book is enjoyable.

This book was so good! I loved the banter between the characters. The mother daughter relationship was so relatable. This book reminded me what it was like to be a 17 year old girl who didn't always agree with her mom.

Highly recommend this!

I'm very happy I read this book!

The title "Operation Mom" got me interested, so I said yes to reviewing it.
I loved the story ❤️. The relationship between the 2 pairs of BFFs (Ila/Deepali, Veena/Maleeka) and then you have Dev "The Crush" and then the impossible crush "The Pop Idol". I just wanted to meet them all! The banter, wittines, silliness of the "Operation" was just too funny. At the same time, you can relate to the characters or know someone who acts like them.
I would love to see more of Ila and her gang in the future!

I do feel that the target audience of this book is much younger than me, which definitely hindered my enjoyment of the book. As did the fact that it got stuck in trivial things for longer then necessary. The book itself was a light, easy read which I’m sure young teens would enjoy!

This book was something I did not expect, and I am so glad to have read it. The story line was so good. I love mother daughter relationship stories. Throughout the story you get to see the growth of the characters and the bonds that build. Seeing the daughter being so invested in helping the mom, not just a normal teenage situation that you can see now a days, where there isn't a bond in some parent-to-child relationship. I highly recommend this book. This was my first read from the author, and I am excited to read other books by her too.

*This is based on my thoughts and opinions*

My opinions:
This book was hard. Part of that was my fault. There was a lot of background knowledge about the Indian culture, community, and geography that I did not possess. I also struggled with the timeline/flashbacks. At one point in the book, the chapter started in the afternoon were the main character was frustrated. While talking to the other character, the main character flashed back to that morning when she had had an argument with her mom. At times, something would be going on, there would be a flashback, and that was how the chapter ended. I did finish it and was not completely satisfied by the ending. It felt sudden and then tidied up quickly.

Summary:
Ila is obsessing over a pop star, Ali Zafar. Her mom, separated not divorced, thinks she needs to stop obsessing over Ali Zafar and do something with her summer. Ila and best friend Deepali, think that if they can get Ila's mom a date she will back off of controlling her. Both girls throw themselves into trying to give mom a makeover and creating her a secret dating profile. The girls run all around Mumbai stocking potential date to make sure they are worthy of her mom.