This was a sweet and emotional romance from Ananya Devarajan! As a Bollywood dancer myself and a former participant of the collegiate national Bollywood dance circuit, I really appreciated all the themes and inclusions of Bollywood dance in this book. This book really highlighted the team spirit that's involved in dance as well. The time loop was also interesting to read about, and I appreciated how in-depth this book went into Raina and Aditya's relationship. This book had very mature conversations between the two about their feelings, future, and compatibility. The narration was also engaging, but some times I found her pronunciation of South Asian words not accurate. Overall, I'd rate this 4 stars!

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!

This audiobook narrator was the perfect choice for these characters! She brought the story to life.

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.

The only thing worse than living through the worst day of your life is living through it...again...and again...

Raina has the perfect boyfriend. And by perfect, I do mean perfect. While I get that romance is wish fulfillment, this boy is appropriately Bollywood level perfection, right down to the kohl smeared on his water line that Raina mentions every time she gazes into his deep brown eyes. Which is why it comes as a shock when he breaks up with her. Repeatedly. As she keeps reliving the worst day of her life. How can she make him stay so she can get free of the time loops?

I love me a good time loop, and the more time loops the better. The only downside is sometimes it did get a bit repetitive. And the ending did drag on for a bit.

But! It was a really cute YA romance. The breakups did keep coming out of nowhere, but it might have been because we were seeing it from Raina's POV. There was also a blossoming friendship between Raina and a rival dancer, which I'm always here for because I love me a good friendship.

Content wise, there were a few f-bombs, kisses, bare male chests, sleeping (and just that) in the same bed, and swimming under the stars in one's underwear.

Recommended for readers who love Bollywood dance, time loops, and the messiness of young love. I also recommend the audiobook because the narrator did a great job, right down the the aunties' accents.

let me just start by saying i love romance but two of my least favorite tropes are second chance and time loop. that being said, i really enjoyed this book! the characters were so likable even when they were trying to figure it out. Raina and Aditya are such sweet characters 💞 and them trying to figure themselves out felt really real to me. the time loop did drag things out a bit for me, particularly tying up loose ends. but this story made my heart feel all warm and fuzzy.

i listened to the audiobook for this one and the narration was also so well done! the narrator did an excellent job.