Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment is a fun story about the title character’s senior year of high school where she is helping to plan and manage her sister’s wedding, upcoming college applications, complicated feelings that might just be a new crush, friend drama, and more.

This book was absolutely adorable and such a fun read. This story has a great plot line with enjoyable characters and it reminded me well of how it felt to be in high school. There were moments where you couldn’t help rooting for the characters, despite their sometimes self destructive behavior, and moments where you rejoiced when things finally went right. I enjoyed the many cultural references throughout the book and while I cannot identify with the characters through direct personal experience, I felt like I was able to dive right into the world that the author created.

I also appreciated the authors inclusion of mental health topics and think that she did a great job at working through family hardships in this story. I would have appreciated more of a deep dive into the mental health aspect for one of our characters but, can understand that this was not the driving force for the story. All in all, these characters felt very real to me and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Even though this book is targeted as YA, I think it’s a great, quick read for readers of any age. I’d highly recommend it to contemporary fiction fans, especially those who love family storylines and a bit of high school romance!

This YA novel strives to be a Bollywood movie, book form. And it delivers. Fun characters, just enough drama and a bit of romance. I suggest finding the music noted in the story...play it in the background and for goodness sake have some samosa and a mango lassi nearby!

From the start, the reader is sucked into the story of Arya. With a little bit of "Never Have I Ever..." vibes, this one will definitely be a hit! Strong character development, each one felt just as important as the main characters. The plot line itself makes sense, and you're rooting for Arya to "figure it out" by the end.
It almost moves too quickly, but I appreciate that the story felt real. Great read!

Such a fun, swoony read!! The characters are all extremely well developed and their romance is adorable. The plot andsetting.. I just loved all of it. It was a beautiful read that was hard to put down. Overall, this was a great romance book.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.