4.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded up)
0/5 🌶️ (it’s YA)

I absolutely LOVED the little footnotes from Payals perspectives. In my head it played like when in tv/movie the MC will turn to camera and give you a look into their inner thoughts or sass.

If you liked Devi in Never Have I Ever you will adore this. It was a wonderful depiction of the bicultural Indian American experience of coming of age.

This felt so good to younger me who wished she had books like this growing up that validated, normalized, and resonated with her.

So grateful to have received this ARC! I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read a coming of age story of an Indian American and anyone who loved Never Have I Ever!

Give me Never Have I Ever in book form and I will EAT IT UP. I loved this so much. I love delusional brown women who want white men so bad but then realize they ain't shit. Give me more of this trope - inject it into my veins even! 10/10 no notes!!!

Thank you to Colored Book Tours and Penguin Young Readers for my advanced electronic copy via NetGalley and my advance copy. My opinions are my own.

It's senior year, and the time has come for Payal Mehta to do something about her three-year-old crush on Jonathan Slate. So when she works up the courage to finally ask him out at a spring break party and he vomits all over her...twice, she decides she'd rather die than ever see him again. But when he asks her out to lunch to apologize and they hit it off big-time, she's stunned when he tries to set her up with his Indian friend. While her friends are furious about the microaggression, Payal decides her best plan is to teach Jon a lesson by making him see past her "Indianness" enough to fall for her. She makes a deal with her nemesis, Phillip Kim, to help her in exchange for control over their big psyc project, but as she keeps hiding more of her Indian parts from Jon to make him comfortable, she is discovering that maybe Phillip isn't so bad. She has to decide if what she's wanted all along is what she really wants, or if something unexpected may be the better way.

This book reminded me all over again how hard it is to be a teenager. And being the child of immigrant parents and straddling multiple cultures (and code switch, and face microaggressions, etc.) makes it all the more complicated. She does stuff that I remember doing as a teenager--we get small but vivid descriptions, like how one holds one's backpack and uses a hoodie to express feelings. This was a powerful and approachable way of exploring code-switching and racism (intentional and unintentional; systemic and individual) and its effects on adolescents. What makes someone "American" and why do both insiders and outsiders equate that with being White? It's sad when anyone is made to feel "less than" for something that they can't (and shouldn't want to) change. My only difficulty was trying to make sense of the cultural references and Hindi phrases, but the internet was my friend in helping me new things!

OMG I LOVED IT!

This book is perfectly desi, and as a desi girl, I want to know how the author got to know all my inner ramblings??
The story follows Payal Mehta, an Indian-American girl who has been crushing over Jon Slate for like... FOREVER! And just like in the movies, the nerdy girl does get a chance to talk to the hot guy, only for things to go from bad to worse. Alongside Philip Kim, her sworn nemesis, Payal hatches a hilarious plan of fighting 'baby' racism and making Jon Slate fall for her. And yet again, things don't go as planned!

This book is downright hilarious. The last few chapters are incredibly cute and I loved Payal and Philip's banter! The desi elements are so authentic- be it usage of Hindi words in dialogues, eating dal chawal with hands, or being scared to address an adult with his/her name; this book perfectly captures the essence of being a desi girl.

Payal's mother is an absolute Goddess! I immensely related with Payal's loneliness in school, judgemental comments, trying to balance between her multiple identities and nursing a crush on the hot guy from school *welp*.

The annotations at the end were a goldmine and in a physical copy, would work much better. An must read for all the fellow desis!

It took me a while to get invested in this, but the second half really stuck the landing. I think many people will find it relatable that when confronted with the fact that her first real crush is actually kind of awful, Payal's reaction was "I can fix him!" when it should probably have been to get the heck out of there. I liked how the story dealt with serious issues and with situations that could have easily devolved into melodrama with honest conversations, a good amount of humor, and even a little bit of slapstick. There were a couple of dropped threads I was confused by when they didn't go anywhere (what did the Psych teacher think the project was going to be about?!).

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, Kokila, and Penguin Young Readers Group for this advanced copy! You can pick up Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot on September 24, 2024.

This YA romance was SUPER CUTE and very reminiscent of the Netflix show Never Have I Ever. If you enjoy teenage shenanigans, love triangles, and young girls grappling with identity, this is totally the book for you. I loved Preeti Chhibber's voice and how she wove humor in with important issues. I absolutely breezed through this book, and I can't wait for it to hit shelves!

"Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot started off as an absolute delight, instantly hooking me with its humor and vibrant energy. The early chapters had a lot of charm and wit and reminded me a lot of what I loved about Never Have I Ever (the tv show). It has everything a ya contemporary should have - quirky, relatable characters, and hilarious situations that kept me turning the pages.

However, about halfway through the book, I started to feel a disconnect, particularly with Philip. While Payal's motivations and personality were well developed, Philip remained a bit of a mystery. We got so little insight into who he really was as a person that it became difficult to root for him or understand why Payal was drawn to him in the first place. The relationship between them felt underdeveloped, making it hard to buy into their connection.

By the time I reached the ending, it just didn’t land for me. The resolution felt abrupt and unearned, almost as if it came out of nowhere. I wanted to believe in Payal and Philip's relationship, but the lack of depth and development made it difficult to feel invested. Overall, while the book had a strong start with plenty of promise, it ultimately left me wanting more substance and a more convincing conclusion to Payal’s story.

What a cute YA rom com! Payal is low-key obsessed with the All-American jock, Jon. When she comes up with a plan to win him over, she enlists the help of her archnemesis, Philip. Payal spends more time with Jon and it’s really great until he offers to set her up with his Indian friend. In an effort to get Jon to like her as more than just a friend, she ends up letting him get by with more racist comments than she’d normally be comfortable with. Since she knows her best friends would be too upset with Jon’s actions, she turns to Philip for help. As they work on executing the plan to win Jon over, Payal gets so caught up she can’t see what’s actually right in front of her the whole time. This book is about finding yourself and getting to know your own boundaries. Overall, this is a fun story that kept me wanting to read more. Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and penguin for the ARC.

I really appreciated that Payel’s culture was truly present in this book. I think that’s so important. However, overall this book just fell a little flat for me. It felt like the author had a lot they were trying to accomplish with this book but just fell short of truly reaching it’s potential.

This book was fun. Finding someone who works well with you is hard when you're young, especially when you try to force a crush that isn't good at all. Lots of love, lessons, and shenanigans.

I ADORED THIS BOOK!!!

This was so funny and just such a SMART read!
Payal has a crush on her popular classmate and during a food date at taco bell he asks her " do you have a boyfriend?' YES this is it but unfortunately he follows up with I have an Indian friend for you. Hello microaggression....

She decides to teach Jonathan how wrong this statement was and vows to "end racism with love" by making him fall for her with the help of her academic rival Phillip Kim ( his humor and banter with Payal had me smiling!)

What I anticipated to be a sweet teen romcom gave me so much more than I hoped for.

I laughed and I awwed. so much! I had moments where teenage me felt seen. So many times I thought wow, I experienced that ( when she goes to Jonathan's house and she goes to take off his shoes and he says THEY WEAR SHOES IN THE HOUSE! And she is uncomfortable- same girl same)

I loved the diverse representation of this book and I loved the friends, the family, THE FOOTNOTES!!!

I would recommend this to reader who enjoy a good teen romcom that doesn't shy away real world issues.

I already can't wait to read more from this author

This had all the ingredients to be such a funny and adorable romcom and it looked like it the first 100 pages, however I had some issues with it.

Let's start with the positive stuff. Payal is such a relatable and funny main character! She has a great sense of humor and made me laugh repeatedly throughout the book. The additions of comments as footnotes every now and then was also such an original idea, the first time I've seen it in a fiction book. They were usually pretty short and added so much to Payal's overall character. However because I read a Kindle copy, the footnotes didn't work out great in terms of practicality. Yes, they were hilarious, but because of the format of the book, it threw me off of the story a few times. I feel like this won't be an issue with physical copies if the author decides to put them like regular footnotes, though.

Another element I loved were the chats. I haven't seen many authors use this kind of visual elements so it was a great addition!

The fact that Payal's Desi culture was so present all the time made me so happy as well. I'm not Desi myself, but as a Mexican woman, it annoys me so much when authors use the culture or nationality they assigned to a character in name only but don't bother to incorporate it in the story. That's not the case in this story! Payal's family, heritage and best friends (who are also Desi) are always there, making her story so much more interesting and compelling.

I was so excited to read about Philip Kim, Payal's nemesis. I'm a sucker for the academic rivals to lovers trope so this seemed right up my alley. It pains me to say it, but it fell flat for me. At first it was great. Payal and Philip's chemistry was good since the beginning, their bickering and banter were exactly what I expected, something you can only find in this very specific trope. But then towards the end of the book, everything started to feel... off. Not just their friendship, that's just what I'm focusing on right now. There was this specific scene that felt so anticlimatic that I had to paused and made sure I hadn't skip any other chapter by accident. Philip's actions toward Payal and the way he decided to confess his feelings made me feel uncomfortable. Also the book hints from the synopsis that Philip is clearly the main love interest, but the author decided to spend too much time with Payal and Jon instead of improving Payal and Philip's relationship.

The conclusion of Payal's problem with Jon and his baby racisms left me dissatisfied as well. I expected so mucho more so I was disappointed at how everything played out in the end. In general it was like the plot wasn't really going anywhere and when the author remembered everything she had to check off her list of "Things to do in this book" she just put every single one of them all huddled at the end of the story.

Also what the fuck with Payal's friends? They were so shitty to her, especially Neil. I did understand where he was coming from because Payal also made mistakes, but the way they went about it was annoying.

In the end Payal and her great comedy timing were the things that kept me going while I read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!<3

I recently read a review that referred to this novel as “Mindy Kaling” -esque. A little reminder to book reviewers, not all Indian female characters are Devi from Never Have I Ever. Believe me I understand why Mindy’s projects and characters are loved. It’s meaningful representation for South Asian audiences. But please, learn a lesson from this book and expand your horizons a bit. In Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot, I see an author with her own voice creating her own path in a genre that’s slowly opening up to South Asian authors. Preeti should be given more credit for writing a book that hasn’t existed for fellow brown readers like myself.

Now, onto my review!

I wish I could’ve read this book when I was a teenager. I’m so happy for all the South Asian readers that will pick this book up and get to meet Payal, Neil, Divya (and a special shoutout to Phillip, what a glorious cinnamon roll). You get good laughs, a hilarious revenge plot, and a cute romance. For me, the diaspora commentary is something I will always appreciate while reading and cherish.

It. Never. Gets. Old.

Also to see bharatnatyam, a Devdas movie reference, Bollywood song references? *heart eyes*. Books like Payal Mehta’s Romance Revenge Plot make me happy and I know will make so many readers smile with joy.

Most importantly, I hope non-readers of colour get some real take-aways about micro-aggressions, prejudice, and racism. This really stayed with me and gave me flashbacks to my younger self. To my South Asian readers, it’s a fun book but also take some time. If you need to step away and come back I totally get it.

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada, for providing an ARC. This was a highly anticipated read for me and I can’t wait for audiences to grab it in September.

Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot by Preeti Chhibber falls short with its predictable storyline and underdeveloped characters. Despite its promising premise, the novel struggles to deliver a fresh or engaging narrative, leaving much to be desired for readers seeking depth and originality.

3.5⭐️ Thank you Penguin Teen for the e-ARC!🤍

This didn’t end up being my favorite ever, but I had a good time overall! I really enjoyed the representation and I think this is a great diverse YA. The way it addressed racial micro aggressions and other issues was informative but done in a great way for the tone of the book!

I didn’t feel very into the book in the first half, but it did pick up for me and I really liked the ending!
The romance and friendships in this book were also great!

Even though I didn’t love this, I’m glad I got a chance to read!

I loved this book!! I read it in one sitting and I laughed in parts! I would definitely recommend this book to all my family and friends.

Definitely can be read within a day, loved the diverse characters, and was entertaining throughout! I'd recommend it.

Payal Mehta's Romance Revenge Plot by Preeti Chhibber is a delightful debut novel that follows the charmingly flawed Payal Mehta as she concocts a plan to capture the attention of her long-time crush. However, her scheme is complicated by her unexpected feelings for her rival. This novel offers a witty exploration of friendship, first crushes, and the struggles faced by diaspora teens as they discover their identities. A heartwarming coming-of-age story that will left me both entertained and moved.

This was a cute ya romance. It was enjoyable. There’s of course high school drama a little bit of this and that. Typical. 😂
Decent quick read.

Love seeing an Indian representation. There’s also LGBTQIA+/ diverse characters also.

Payal 🥰🥰 she funny and smart. Has great friendship with her friends.


It is also my first read by Preeti Chhibber.

3.75 stars, LOVE! As an Indian reviewer, seeing Payal's journey was really exciting to watch. I really liked the 'revenge' plotline and the writing style—but unfortunately didn't find myself too head-over-heels for the romance. It was cute, don't get me wrong! But my favourite parts of the romance were just seeing Payal being herself, rather than the swoon-worthy rom-com feeling. I would still recommend it to readers!