I WILL BLOSSOM ANYWAY

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This is kind of a hard book to review. It was a really great coming-of-age women’s fiction type book and I enjoyed reading it. I also really enjoyed the insight into Indian culture and the storyline of moving away from all that’s familiar and trying to find oneself. The characters were realistic and it felt like I was reading a personal journal entry about a year of someone’s life.

The hard part of this review is that the book was somewhat unremarkable. I didn’t have the “this book changed me for the better” feeling that I look for in women’s fiction. I was interested in the story and I think that speaks a lot to the style of writing. I just wish the themes of the book packed a bigger punch.

romantic content: alludes to sex

f this book was all about Durga’s growth??? I didn’t see it at all. I couldn’t connect with her and her story at all, there was no depth with the characters it was hard for me to connect or to even care about them. Durga has built a life in Ireland and gets involved for 2 years with a man who is not Indian, and who she didn’t think her parents would approve of. They break up, which I am still lost as to why it happened, clearly they loved each other???? But then something HORRIBLE happens to him and THEN she talks about him to her parents? All of the characters annoyed me, I am happy that others loved this book, because this author is amazing, I have read some of her books but this was not it for me.

This story reads like a biography but it's not one. I enjoyed watching Durga learning how to navigate her new life on her own. I like that she was opened to a new culture and new people, and a new way of doing things. I liked how she tried to understand all the people she was involved with and that she learned by her mistakes. I love getting to know her family in India, especially her Mom, Dad and Grandmother, and how much that they love her. I especially liked that since Durga went on her own and was living the life she wanted that she inspired others in her family to live the life they wanted and were happier for it.
I found the story geared more toward a younger adult who is living on their own for the first time and learning to navigate life's ups and downs. and
new possibility. The story reminded me of being in my twenties too and thinking that everything was so serious and you won't get over it, but you do, but you don't forget what's important to you.

I want to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this story about living the life you want.

Durga is a young Indian woman who has led a sheltered life. She gets a promotion at work and is offered a transfer to the company’s offices in Ireland. The story follows Durga through her life in Ireland to going back to India for her sister’s wedding as well as other traumatic events. We get to know Durga as these events help make her more self aware and confident in herself. I had a bit of trouble getting into the story, but once she went back to India, it took off for me. I love stories with an Irish setting, but found Durga’s family life in India fascinating. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing Durga grow and learn to think for herself. I loved the ending too!

read that I would describe as ”it was good”. I went in blind, which I recommend. I was super annoyed at Durga’s character at first, but loved her growth and the characters overall.

Durga has relocated to Ireland from India. She left her very close, sometimes stiflingly so, family behind. She is concerned about what her family will think of her decisions as she moves forward. She seems to be concerned about what everyone thinks about any of her decisions. I got the impression she wanted to live her life as she wanted to, but also wanted her decisions to be in line with her family and what they and everyone around her thought she should do.

The writing was well done and I enjoyed how the book just flowed from one thing to the next. Were there challenges? Yes, but they all just blended together. In my opinion, the last couple of chapters gave Durga the chance to blossom, and hoping she will choose to blossom.

I enjoyed this book, but I wasn't blown away by it. There is sadness, death, marriage, abuse, uncertainty, family issues, and possibly love. It was kind of every persons lessons in existence. Perhaps that was the point. We've all been Durga. Her acceptance of herself is where change can happen.

I was hoping for more courageous behavior from Durga. Adter all, she left her family in India for a job in Ireland. But when she meets the love of her life, she didn’t have the courage to introduce him to her family—because he was black. So he broke up with her, and later died. I didn’t have much sympathy for this protagonist.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

What a journey. A year in the life of Durga is packed with everything — heartache, grief, hope, friendship, love, sex, family drama, and most of all, the long road to finding herself.
Durga moves from India to Ireland to figure out who she is outside of her family’s expectations... but that search ends up lasting way longer (and getting way messier) than she ever planned. It’s painful, it’s funny, it’s real, watching her stumble, grow, and finally come home to herself.
I fell in love with the characters, especially her family,who were so vivid I felt like I actually knew them. I didn’t want it to end!

Durga is pulled between her family and home in India and the new life she's created for herself in Ireland. Unfortunately, I never felt any depth from Durga or the other characters, and thus I was completely uninterested in her story arc. The book found a bit of its footing when Durga returned to India for her sister's wedding, but it was too little too late for me at that point. The relationship between Durga and Jacob was all telling, no showing, and so I had no emotional connection to the events that transpired. This novel may land better with a younger reader who can invest themselves in a twenty-something's coming-of age journey. Thank you to NetGalley Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for a digital review copy.

A book about a young woman from India who transplants to Ireland has got to be a new twist. Durga Das is the woman, and she did to get away from her loud and large family. But they’ve tied her hands anyway. She is so lacking in confidence that she can't give her number to a man who has just asked her out.
The story takes on racism, tradition, emotion and family. Durga has not invited her boyfriend to attend her sister’s wedding in India because he is Afro-Irish, and she thinks her parents will react badly. So he breaks up with her. But she can't get over him. She wants him back but on the old, uncertain, unsatisfactory, shaky terms they had before.
The central question is whether Durga will or even can grow beyond Jacob, whether she can be open to a new kind of relationship, but maybe first of all with herself. In a funny sense, it's a coming of age novel, but for people in their late twenties instead of their late teens. Read it for whatever it is, and you’ll enjoy it.

I Will Blossom Anyway by Disha Bose is a character driven coming of age novel .The main character is Durga who was born in Calcutta but moved to Ireland for her job at a tech company.Now she can be whoever she wants to be without her parents supervising and talking about arranged marriages.When her relationship with her boyfriend ends she must navigate her relationship with his sister who is her roommate and friend. Will she keep her new life in Ireland or go back to her family in India.This s a book of conversation and self reflection rather than action..It is not a fast paced book but you will enjoy this book of self discovery.Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group /Ballantine Books for allowing me to read this ARC.

This is interesting look into a young Indian girl making and finding her own path in life despite the traditions of her culture and upbring. Durga has moved to Ireland from India, she has a job, a serious boyfriend, and his sister is her best friend and roommate. Durga is set to return to India for her older sister's wedding. Durga's life in Ireland starts to fall apart because she refuses to tell her parents she is dating Jacob.

Durga faces many tragedies and trials as she navigates her way through becoming her own person and deciding where and how she will live. She returns home for the wedding and sees how much she has changed by living away from home. She struggles to know whether to return to Ireland or perhaps return to India. Her family is different and she realized that she didn’t believe in her herself or family quite enough.
This coming of age novel is really thought provoking and intriguing. While quite a quick read this book deals with a wide variety of topics and is done well. I would recommend this book to my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the ARC of this ebook. All opinions expressed are my own.

Unfortunately this story just could not hold my attention. It was extremely slow moving, but more than that, it was disjointed and cluttered. I struggled to get through it.

I Will Blossom Anyway
Disha Bose
May 06, 2025

Durga is one of four children born into a family in Calcutta. She was the independent one. With such a houseful including grandparents and frequently aunts and uncles she was tired of living among so many people. Although she loved them all Durga felt it was time. She accepted a position at her tech job that required her to move to Ireland. Her first days and weeks in her apartment seemed pleasant but lonely and expensive. She posted an ad for a female flatmate. Not long after Joy answered the call. She and Durga became best friends. Joy is responsible. She cleans, she writes the bills, takes care of chores and when she needs help with a problem, she finds the solution.
I Will Blossom Anyway will be published on May, 06, 2025 by Ballantine Books of Random House. I was able to read and review Bose’s latest novel via NetGalley. It’s an involved story of two worlds. Joy’s delightful family and that of Durga. Each has a mother who needs involvement in their daughter's life. Durga’s parents were certain that she needed to have an arranged marriage. In her late twenties, she didn’t seem to be finding a husband herself. It is a pleasant story however quite unique in the elongated storyline. I Will Blossom Anyway has a sense of humor but does strike hard regarding Joy’s family. An interesting mm-com, do enjoy.

This book was utterly beautiful - was my first by Disha Bose but I will be going back and reading her first book as well! I was immediately captivated by this book and her strong storytelling abilities - Durga is a beautiful Indian Woman whom leaves behind a huge family in order to start again in Ireland. It is such a big change for Durga and the way that she learns to handle it all while managing severe social anxiety is really nice to see. The book starts with her breaking up with her boyfriend of two years simply due to his mixed race, and her confusion about how she could possibly bring him home with her (to India). It explores her fears in great detail, especially with how they relate to the fact that arranged marriages are such a prominent avenue for girls in her country. I truly loved how it explored both sides - the being two different women based on the culture - it's a hard way to learn whom you really are and how you can find/make a home in this world. I really just loved the family dynamics and journey to find herself and loved how beautifully it was woven into these pages.

This is truly such a beautiful book that I know I will be thinking about for a long time to come, and will be eager to hear others discuss it as well as it's just so good!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I Will Blossom Anyway gives us a story of independence, but reliance; Love, in both the romantic fashion, but also in self-love; and understanding of oneself and how the choices we make... are what make us. I really enjoyed the process as we followed Durga as she makes choices for her current self and eventually, future self. I loved that the focus may seem to be on romantic love, but then swings back tko love for self and how we can care for what our own future will look like. I think the descriptions of dating and love were especially interesting as she experienced them through the lens of her family's culture and it was fun to travel that road with her. This was absolutely less of a rom-com and more of a self-discovery book. I would only have liked for it to have moved quicker, there were moments where it felt sluggish and like I was slogging through.

Durga leaves India to work in Ireland. She feels out of place at times; she is shy around people and reserved in her emotions. She seems to be encased in melancholy. She loves Jacob but fears her family won’t accept him. When he is gone from her life, she dates a man chosen by her parents and takes on a casual lover. Returning to Calcutta for her sister’’s wedding, she embraces the familiar love, smells and traditions that she has missed. Seeing how her siblings have made decisions that may or may not be wise and how open her parents can be, she wonders if she should stay and give up her second home. Disha Bose has interesting characters and her descriptions of the Indian lifestyle are engaging. Unfortunately, I found her protagonist exhausting at times and difficult to like.

I Will Blossom Anyway is centered around an Indian woman living in Ireland. The story uncovers the concept of arranged marriages, freedom of choice, and the feeling of a complete loss of control over your own life.
A young woman named Durga, is native to India but has moved to Ireland. She is currently in a 2 year loving relationship with her roommate, Joy’s brother. Durga is reluctant to bring him home to her sister’s wedding because he is black and believes that her family will not accept him. This tricky situation causes the the two to break up. They are both miserable because they’re deeply in love.

This story has complicated and messy family relationships.

This is a good read but I found it to be a slow starter.

This was such a good read! I love Durga, such a gentle quiet soul. Joy her best friend who seemed like the compliment to Durga. The two friends who live together experiencing life together. Joy pushing Durga out of her comfort zone, taking her out to experience life. What a great friend to have. The growth of Durga through this book was such a good experience. I wish I had a friend like Joy in my life!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It has all the feels!

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.