Saturday 30 June 2018

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma Review

I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you! This is a spoiler free review.



My So-Called Bollywood Life
Written by Nisha Sharma
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Publisher: Crown BFYR
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Pages: 304
Source: ebook ARC provided by Crown BFYR and NetGalley
Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!


Summary:

Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soulmate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her 18th birthday, and Raj meets all of the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked to return from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. Worse, Raj is crowned chair of the student film festival, a spot Winnie was counting on for her film school applications. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.

Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek, and one of the few people Winnie can count on to help her reclaim control of her story. Dev is smart charming, and challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope to find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy, and her chance to live happily ever after? To get her Bollywood-like life on track, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star. 

Like an expertly choreographed Bollywood dance scene, Nisha Sharma’s off-beat love story dazzles in the lime light.

Review:

I picked up My So-Called Bollywood Life because of the diversity, even though I don't know very much about Bollywood. I ended up really enjoying it both for the diversity and for the hilarious antics that the characters got up to.

COVER

The cover is very cute and I like how it is a drawn girl on the front instead of a weird picture that is supposed to represent the main character. I really like how it is bold and colorful.

WORLD-BUILDING

I like the setting but there wasn't really any world-building because it is very modern but we get to learn about her backstory and how her life is lived which is great.

Then there are the characters.

WINNIE

Winnie was a great main character. She was so fierce and feisty (she stole back her DVDs from her ex and then buried them like that takes guts). She had a lot of goals and dreams and she was going to reach them. One thing that I didn't like about her life was that it was very driven around boys and her love life. I didn't like this because that's clearly not what everyone talks about with their friends. I did love how she was obsessed with films and had a film blog which was so great.

DEV

Dev is the love interest of Winnie who has liked her for a long time but pushed it aside because Winnie was with Raj for a very long time. Dev was really supportive for Winnie and knew what she wanted to do with her life and wasn't going to stop her from doing it. Also, Dev did an entire Bollywood dance number for Winnie which is goals.

FRIENDSHIP/FAMILY

Friendship and family are great topics in this book. Winnie's family is big on having her fulfill this prophecy that says that she'll find true love with with Raj and seems to not care that she breaks up with him. However, despite this, they learn to accept what she wants which is great. Friendship is also a big topic in this book. As I mentioned before, Winnie's best friend and her talk a lot about boys and relationships. Despite this, her friends are really supportive of her which I really liked.

PLOT

The plot is cute. I love how they are trying to create a festival so they can bring attention to their films and their love for film. I liked seeing Winnie and her family and friends ups and downs and seeing how they develop throughout the book is great. I also really liked seeing the Bollywood and other movie references sprinkled throughout the book.
ROMANCE

The romance was so cute and was honestly one of my favorite parts of the whole book because Dev and Winnie were really cute. I also liked how there was so much Indian culture thrown into their relationship and the book as a whole.

WRITING

This was basically a rom-com in book format and I honestly have to say I liked how it was written. It was very cute and sweet. I also like how it was an own voices book which explains why Nisha Sharma was so well versed in Indian culture.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It did take me awhile to read which explains why I finished the ARC in June instead of in May. I liked the whole concept of it and how there were so many film references within the book. I recommend it especially if you are looking for some diverse/own voices books.

Quotes from the Book:

“Destiny needs to be believed in for it to come true.” 




My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns

Monday 25 June 2018

Weekly Recap: 6/11 - 6/24

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

These past two weeks, I've been busy. I got back from Boston for college orientation, late Friday night and I've been relaxing. 

I didn't blog much but I have a lot of posts planned so get excited for those!

Now, let's get into recapping.


New Books

Purchased:



Library: 




Received for Review: 




In Case You Missed It

None

This Week I Read





This Week I Watched



This Week I Listened To 

Done for Me by Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani
Blood//Water by grandson
Back to You by Selena Gomez
Dangerous Game by Klergy
Lie to Me by Mikolas Josef
Someone Gets Hurt by Mean Girls on Broadway

Next Week I'm Reading

 


Upcoming Reviews



Upcoming Posts


Monday: TBD

Tuesday: TBD

Wednesday: TBD

Thursday: TBD

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Weekly Recap




Around the Blog Community

Sunday 10 June 2018

Weekly Recap: 6/4 - 6/10

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

This week was busy with reading and hanging out with friends. I went shopping on Thursday and had a birthday dinner for a friend on Friday.

I didn't blog much but I have a lot of posts planned so get excited for those!

Now, let's get into recapping.


New Books

Purchased:




Library: 




Received for Review: 




In Case You Missed It

Saturday: May '18 Wrap-Up


This Week I Read




This Week I Watched




This Week I Listened To 

Done for Me by Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani
Blood//Water by grandson
Back to You by Selena Gomez
Dangerous Game by Klergy
Lie to Me by Mikolas Josef
Diva by Beyonce (Glee version and no I've never seen Glee, this version just sounds better)
Jumpin' Jumpin' by Destiny's Child (Glee version and no I've never seen Glee, this version just sounds better)
Someone Gets Hurt by Mean Girls on Broadway

Next Week I'm Reading



Upcoming Reviews



Upcoming Posts


Monday: TBD

Tuesday: TBD

Wednesday: TBD

Thursday: TBD

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Weekly Recap




Around the Blog Community

Saturday 9 June 2018

MAY '18 WRAP-UP



So, it's the end of the month and that means another wrap-up!

It's June which means we're already halfway through the year. That is so crazy to me because it feels like we just entered 2018.  Also, it's summer break for me which is great because I get some time to relax and hang out with friends. 

This month I read a lot of books and I watched three movies! (One of them was Solo which every fan of Star Wars should go see. It's really good).

Join my book club: here.

 Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.


PHYSICAL BOOKS



The first book I read was Shatter by Aprilynne Pike. I really enjoyed Glitter by Aprilynne Pike which was the first book and I didn't remember most of it when I first started the sequel. I really enjoyed how the story progressed. Danica really grew as a character in Shatter and was more independent than she was in the first book. She stopped relying on nobility for everything. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The second book I read was Batman Nightwalker by Marie Lu. I am not a big fan of Batman but I really enjoyed this story about him when he was young. I liked how he wanted to help even when he was this age and he is still a bit of a rebel. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The third book I read was Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed. Maya was an interesting protagonist. She is an Indian-American Muslim teenage girl living in America and she experiences a lot of racism and other issues that nobody should face. Since Islam-phobia is a main issue in America, this book tackles it and shows how it is wrong and hurts everyone. I rated it 4 Crowns. 



The fourth physical book I read was Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli. I wrote a full review of this book because I loved it so much. Leah is such a strong character and it was great to see her front and center in this book while she was more in the background in Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I rated this 5 Crowns. 

The fifth physical book I read was Angelfall by Susan Ee. I have been wanting to start this series for so long and I finally decided to dive in. I really enjoyed the premise and I liked the introduction of the characters. Penryn was a wonderful heroine and Raffe was such a brooding character. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The sixth physical book I read was The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw. I heard about this book last year and I loved the premise. It had a very mysterious and dark setting to it. I don't want to give away too much but it's about three sisters who were accused of being witches so they were drowned. This was over 200 years ago but they come back every summer to get revenge and boys end up being drowned each year. I liked the main characters and the plot and I rated it 4 Crowns. 



The seventh physical book I read was Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. This was said to be Indiana Jones in space which it basically was. The two main characters are in space exploring temples and hoping to find things they can sell back on Earth. It is set in the future and Earth is almost a wasteland. I rated this one 4 Crowns. 

The eighth physical book I read was Royals by Rachel Hawkins. After the royal wedding this year, I picked up this book and it was so cute and hilarious. The main character's sister is getting married to the Crown Prince of Scotland so she has to go there over the summer and lots happens. I rated this one 4 Crowns. 

The ninth physical book I read was World After by Susan Ee which is the sequel to Angelfall. I enjoyed the second book as well but I was disappointed that there wasn't more of Raffe. I liked seeing Penryn be a badass all by herself though which was great. I rated this one 4 Crowns.  

AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ


The first and only ARC I read was Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi. Roshani Chokshi wrote one of my favorite books: The Star-Touched Queen and I had to request this as an eARC. I really enjoyed the three stories in here that had the same kind of imagination and beauty as the full length novels. I rated this 5 Crowns. 


REVIEWS IN MARCH: 



MUSIC MONDAY:

NONE

TOP TEN TUESDAY: 

NONE

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: 

NONE


WEEKLY WRAP-UP:



DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:




FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:



NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S: 

Bruce Wayne from Batman Nightwalker by Marie Lu

Raffe from Angelfall by Susan Ee

Bo from The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Miles from Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Jules from Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Saber from Shatter by Aprilynne Pike


NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Danica from Shatter by Aprilynne Pike 

Leah from Leah on the Offbeat 

Maya from Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed 

Penryn from Angelfall by Susan Ee

Penny from The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Daisy from Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Amelia from Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 


NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS: 

Danica and Saber from Shatter by Aprilynne Pike 

Leah and Abby from Leah on the Offbeat

Raffe and Penryn from Angelfall by Susan Ee

Penny and Bo from The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Daisy and Miles from Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Amelia and Jules from Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner


TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH:





MOVIES I WATCHED THIS MONTH:




WHAT BOOKS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:






NEW BLOG FINDS

NONE

SONGS ON REPEAT

Done for Me - Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani 

No Tears Left to Cry - Ariana Grande

Blood//Water - grandson

Back to You - Selena Gomez

Lie to Me - Mikolas Josef 

That's How You Write a Song - Alexander Rybak 

Love you Better - Neon Hitch 

 BOOKS I WANT TO READ NEXT MONTH



The graphics at the top belong to me. The background pictures for them, however do not.