This was very cute, and a quick, entertaining read, yet at the same time I don't feel like it will be very memorable. I've read other timeloop stories that I've enjoyed more. I did however love to see Raina's personal growth, especially in letting people in and talking about feelings. I don't think I've often seen a "relationship in trouble" book in YA before and I did really enjoy that, and thought Aditya was very sweet.

I'm a fan of Devarajan's work and this novel is the fantasy of almost every South Asian girl who grew up dancing and/or loving Bollywood. I really liked how the author emphasized how the "Indian community" puts a lot of pressure on MMC and FMC to be the perfect couple, but also is ready to tear them down, especially the young female teenager (she's not even a woman yet!). It's a Groundhog's Day scenario, so it is easy to get repetitive, but this book did not feel repetitive at all. Each itineration of the day had a new twist that I didn't see coming. Can't wait to read more of her books!

In this charming YA Groundhog Day-esque novel, readers meet competitive Bollywood dancer Raina as she is desperate to prove that dance can be a financially stable career to her mother and that she and her boyfriend and co-captain Aditya are still the perfect couple even though they keep fighting. As the choreography collapses and Aditya breaks up with her, Raina’s chances at winning the scholarship completely disappear until she starts repeating this horrible day. Stuck in a time loop where she humiliates herself at Nationals and keeps getting dumped, Raina is desperate to find a way to break out of the time loop and get everything she wants -- even if perfection isn’t enough to give her a happy ending. Emotional, fun, and relatable, readers will love the emotional storylines and time loop aspect with its focus on Raina’s relationships. The characters are well-written, and the different backdrops and repeated interactions really bring her story to life in some interesting ways. Similarly, the depth of detail and emotion really bring the larger questions about happiness and perfection to light, and readers will definitely understand Raina’s feelings and thought process in this charming, emotional, and entertaining new YA romance and time loop novel.

Reading Sanskari Sweetheart, this reader felt a sense of reminiscence of the movie Groundhog Day. The first few chapters drew this reader in, but then the repeated loops of the opening day of Nationals began to bore this reader. However, Sanskari Sweetheart does show how a person, through Raina, can reflect on their relationship and realize when they are being selfish within it. The looping of the opening of Nationals had the plot dragging, but those readers who stick it out until the end will see the growth in the Raina character.

The author gives readers a glimpse into the Indian American culture. Readers will see the expectations of the young adults. Author Ananya Devarajan, throughout the book, reveals the closeness of Indian American culture and the world of competitive dance.

I received an ARC ebook from NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Collins, in exchange for an honest review.

Sanskari Sweetheart is a time loop story with bollywood dancing, a romance element, and messy family dynamics.

I was quite excited for this book but felt myself slightly bored by the reiterations of the loops. Perhaps it's difficult to make a time loop justice, especially one in such a confined space of a dance competition, but it didn't work for me. My other issue was the characters themselves: it felt like we got to see Madhuri only once or twice when the MC mentions her quite a bit and you'd expect her time loop to be broken by circumstances beyond the romance. I also found the romance quite hard to believe in because the MC doesn't even seem to like the LI. It would have been better if she went off on her own and chose herself rather than trying her hardest to fit into the ''curse''.

Oh, that's also something that got me! She calls it a curse from the get go which also doesn't make the romance believable.

Saying these things, it was a sweet read albeit could be a bit tedious.

What can I say about this!! I LOVED IT!! The whole storyline line plot reminded me of the film Bar Bar Dekho staring @sidmalhotra and @katrinakaif ❤️

I absolutely loved the characters Raina and Aditya, they really really complimented each other!! Their whole dynamic, understanding, love between them really fruited at the end!

I think all south asian girls can associate with coming across the gossip auntys ahha, because they are inevitable 😂

Absolutely loved the storyline, the short chapters and the whole atmosphere this read created!! So relatable and enjoyable! 🥰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ever since I read the synopsis of Sanskari Sweetheart, I’ve been excited to read it.

Sanskari Sweetheart follows Raina, who is stuck in a time loop, the day of her dance nationals and the day her perfect boyfriend, Aditya, dumps her. The premises of the book were intriguing, and I really like the way Miss Ananya developed Raina’s character.

The pacing of the book was excellent. When I finally got to reading it properly, I finished it that day itself. The plot never slowed down, and that made Sanskari Sweetheart a quick read.

It was cool to see Raina and Aditya’s relationship turn into something good again. The chapter where Aditya washes Raina’s hair was my favourite; those two were so cute. But I do think something major was missing in their romance, and I just can’t pinpoint it.

It was a quick, fun read, and you can always count me in for desi representation.

I love a story that involves dance/dancers, and Sanskari Sweetheart delivered! I found the characters so enjoyable and enjoyed seeing the FMC grow throughout the time loop.

this is a vibrant, emotionally layered YA novel that’s perfect for bollywood lovers. i adored raina and i found her to be one of those protagonists you can’t help but root for, determined and vulnerable and she’s the story’s heart. the time loop element was so fun here when oftentimes it can be repetitive, but it really worked for me when it came to peeling back raina’s layers. and the romance was a pure win — soft as a whisper, but poignant all the same.

I loved that this book focused on the world of competitive Bollywood Dancing - throw in a time loop element and it had everything I usually need for a 5 star read. HOWEVER, I felt kind of bored by the repeated repeatings and felt like not a lot of progress got made until the very end. Overall I liked the characters and premise but it was a bit too slow-moving for me. Good on audio and perfect for fans of books like Dance with me by Sundari Venkatraman. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Raina is in a dance competition and trying to win a scholarship. Her dance team co-captain is her boyfriend Aditya. During the competition he breaks up with her after they have a bad performance. Then she gets hit in the head with a prop and blacks out.

She wakes up and is repeating that day all over again. Raina is caught in a time loop. She tries several different things to make things right and get out of the loop. She tries everything to get Aditya to not break up with her. She tries to stop another dancer from sabotaging her teams performance. She tries to make friends with one of her dance teammates that she has had an adversarial relationship with.

This book was a cute YA romance. I enjoyed it a lot. I wasn’t exactly sure what she figured out to get out of the time loop but I was very pleased with the way the story ended. I did wish that the relationship with her sister was explored more. And I felt like the family “curse” wasn’t explained enough in the beginning. But, all in all, it was a really good book.

“It begins with an ending—over and over again.”

Raina’s got one shot to prove to her mom that dance isn't just a hobby, but her entire future—and winning the National Bollywood Dance Circuit Scholarship is the best way to do it. If she wins, she can convince her mom that she can build a real, successful career in dance. An added bonus of winning the competition is saving her relationship with her co-captain and long time boyfriend, Aditya, who is slipping away the more they argue. After a night where nothing goes right, Aditya breaks up with her, their routine goes completely wrong, and Raina watches her dream life slip away. But when she wakes up the next morning, it’s Nationals all over again. Everything is the same: the stage, the heartbreak, and the stakes. The more time she spends in the loop, the more she realizes maybe winning everything she keeps losing isn’t what’s meant to be.

As someone from a South Asian background, I have always loved reading books with characters that have backgrounds similar to mine. It was refreshing to read a romance story where the lead character ends up with someone from the same background as her, since a majority of the AAPI representation I see these days involves relationships between people of different cultures. I also loved the fact that Aditya and Raina were an established couple going into the story. The backdrop of a Bollywood dance team with two co-captains dating is very cute, and sets up a great story that is made even better by the added fact that the story isn’t about the main couple getting together, but rather growing together. Raina, though somewhat frustrating at times, is an enjoyable character whose growth was incredible to see. Aditya was probably my favorite character—he’s quite literally the definition of a man written by a woman, and definitely one of the most romantic teenage main male characters I’ve read in a while. As with other books that include a time loop, this one was also interesting to read about, and the Bollywood dance competition situation just made it all the more fun. It was nice to see how Raina’s mind and approach to life changed as she kept reliving the same day. Sanskari Sweetheart is a great option for readers looking for a rom-com this AAPI month!

Sanskari Sweetheart is a cute YA novel that centers around Raina who, after getting dumped by her boyfriend and getting injured in the National Bollywood Dance Competition, gets stuck in a time loop, doomed to repeat the same day over and over again. This was my first book by Ananya Devarajan and I found the concept to be quite interesting, especially the little nods to the Bollywood songs that I also know and love.

While the novel had a strong premise, I felt like some of the decisions that Raina made through the time loops gave me whiplash and led me to feel unclear about how she truly felt about her boyfriend Aditya. What was meant to be a strong relationship showcased fell flat at times. I also felt like I was rushed into knowing things about certain characters like her mother and sister that never felt fully explained. After reading this novel, I did see that Ananya's first novel, Kismet Connection, is her sister's story so this point may have been cleaner if I had read her debut novel first.

Although there were some moments that felt rushed, this was still a fun read and I would be interested in reading Ananya's first novel. I gave this novel a 3.75/5 stars. Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Overall, this book kept me interested from start to finish but I had a hard time connecting with Raina. Once she is thrown into the time loop we have to watch her repeatedly self sabotage her relationship. It was clear to me from the very beginning that one of the lessons she needed to learn from the time loop was how to communicate better but she took SO long to get that. I also wish I had a better understanding of how she ended up in the time loop.
I liked seeing Raina go from taking advantage of her relationship with Aditya because of being too comfortable due to her “family curse” to really starting to appreciate him for the golden retriever boyfriend he is to her. Raina had really good character development from start to finish but I didn’t really see that until she was out of the time loop.

Sanskari Sweetheart by Ananya Devarajan was an absolute delight to read—equal parts heartwarming, hilarious, and emotionally rich. This fun, fast-paced read blends cultural nuance with modern romance in a way that feels fresh and authentic. Devarajan’s writing sparkles with charm, and it’s clear she’s grown immensely since her debut. A joy to read from start to finish!

Sanskari Sweetheart was a well-written, well-paced YA romcom that I think will resonate with many people in the desi diaspora community. I, however, was one member of this community that this did not resonate with because I have tired of the “indian teen standing up to their parents and refusing to pursue a career in STEM while chasing their passion for the arts” trope. It’s overdone and over saturated in my humble opinion and I just wish Desi diaspora authors chose something else.

Overall it was a good book, just predictable which made it feel stale.

They're the perfect couple... or so she thought until her boyfriend dumps her during the big dance competition and she finds herself on a constant loop repeating the morning of said breakup until she can figure out how to not only get out of the loop but save her relationship. Raina is determined to win the National Bollywood Dance Circuit Scholarship to prove to her mom that she is serious about dance. Her co-captain is her boyfriend, Aditya, who is absolutely perfect.... until she surprises her by breaking up with her and then their choreography crumbles.. and any hope she has of winning the scholarship disappears... that is until she wakes up on the very morning before the break up and before the competition only to constantly repeat it until she can save her relationship or even win the competition. This book was just not for me, I really couldn't stand Raina. I honestly kind of wanted their relationship to fizzle out but with the constant loop she was able to actually realize how much their relationship needed work. Then there was the whole "family curse"/ Time loop element. I guess I just wasn't feeling the romance at all and I just didn't vibe with the characters. While this wasn't for me if you were a younger YA reader who wanted a romance with a twist, definitely give it a go, maybe you'll have better luck with it than I did.

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Sanskari Sweetheart follows Raina as she enters her last National Bollywood Dancing Competition. Not only is this her last chance to prove herself as the reigning multi-year champion, but it is also her chance to prove to her mother that going to University to study dance the following year is a good/viable option for her. Raina faces the challenges that many Desi women face - torn between following her dreams and being a good Sanskari woman. To complicate her endeavor, there's a family romance curse (which she's avoided telling her boyfriend of four years about) and some Groundhog Day-style time looping to contend with. What will she have to sacrifice to make it back to her own time loop? Or will Raina find a way to have it all - the perfect relationship, a dance career, and her community's respect?

The book was a sweet coming of age story - showing how Raina progresses from being a mainly self-centered indidivudal to eventually really considering the feelings, needs and realities of those around her. It's a journey of self discovery that transcends culture and will speak to many Young Adults.

Despite having spent a good amount of time with the Southeast Asian- American community, I am not Desi (by any stretch of the imagination) - with that disclaimer, I loved the little glimpses into the Auntie/Uncle-ness of it all and I wish there had been more of them. Raina goes through something like 8 time-loops, some more interesting than others, and while we are told of her frustrations with the meddling, I think there would have been an opportunity in some of the time-loops for the reader to experience more of the facets of that reality with her.

fun stuck in a time loop story with a great romance and some pretty cool characters. would definitely recommend. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Unfortunately, this story didn't work for me. The beginning was strong and drew me in (partly because it dropped me right in the middle of the story), but after the third time loop, I started to get bored. My main problem with this story was that I couldn't tell how Raina felt about her boyfriend for the majority of the book. She kept going back and forth on if she was okay with them breaking up or not, and that made me dislike her. I'm all for growth, but for the majority of the book, she blamed her boyfriend for all of their issues and was rude. I couldn't get over that or how longggg the time loop sequence went on.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.