It's light and fun and maybe a bit heavy-handed on the drama, but I raced through it fast enough, so I can't say it didn't work! I think Winnie's a fantastic fiery heroine and her romantic escapades are as endearing as they are cringy at times (so, basically, exactly like being a teenager falling in love really is). The ending is one of those big, over-the-top rom-com endings that I think are super fun, and it has major "Never Have I Ever" vibes with a Bollywood overlay, which I think just made it that much more enjoyable.

I really liked My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma. Winnie, the main character, is way obsessed with Bollywood - to the point that she seems to equate everything in life with a scene from a Bollywood movie. Winnie thinks she has her whole life figured out. She and her boyfriend Raj will go to Art school get married and live happily ever after because he fits the prediction given about her life from the family astrologer. But Raj starts to change and starts dating someone new when they are "on a break" and it throws Winnie for a loop. Raj doesn't even want to go to film school anymore and tries to change Winnie's mind too. Things start to unravel at school as well. Winnie has to figure out what she wants, fight for it, and grow up a little along the way. I enjoyed Winnie's dynamic with her friends and her parents. Her parents were very supportive of her and they had a good relationship. The book was fun and funny and aspects of it had a very Bollywood feel. I highly recommend for people that loved the Dimple and Rishi series, love Bollywood, or just Rom-coms in general.

I love the Indian representation in this book! I felt super connected to the main character and her love for Bollywood. I hands down would recommend this book to anyone who identifies as South Asian or wants to get some Desi flare in their life!

Nisha Sharma has done it with My So-Called Bollywood Life. Winnie is such a hilarious, fully developed character. Her sass, her wit, her charm. This was such a great book.

Welcome to Winnie Mehta's world of Bollywood films, NYU applications, and a prophecy that may or may not be giving her more problems that she knows what to do with.

What do you do when the prophecy you believed in for so long seems to be breaking? Or, worse, maybe not be true at all? It's a hard question to tackle with, especially considering how much it means to Winnie and her family. 

With a catalog of films to call up for "advice", Winnie is about to face a lot of questions that she'll have to answer to live her life as best she can.

To start, there were elements of Winnie's story that I loved, that were warm and flash and that made the story better or enhanced, etc. The variety of films that she'd seen, whether dramas or comedies or more, gave her a support system to look back on. They were something that she and her father shared: a love of Bollywood films. Their playful arguments about modern vs. classic films was interesting and has encouraged me to look into finding some of Winnie's films to view myself.  She, her mother, and her grandmother shopping for fancy clothing was insight into a beautiful aspect of lehengas and jewelry and what it meant to adorn themselves.

With regards to other characters:

It was hard to outright dislike Raj, Winnie's ex, even though that was the setup when the book opened. As the antagonist (possible a strong word), the reader is given a picture that Winnie's angry over the end of their relationship & how that relates to the prophecy she was given about her future. Claiming that he cheated was, I felt, a bit of an exaggeration. By her own admission and request they were on a break. She had expected it would take longer to move on, but that's her "preference", not Raj's. So, while she was upset, it was difficult to hate him as much as I think I was "supposed" to going into the narrative. 

The author changed my perspective when Raj's inability to let go, despite his seeming to have moved on with a new girlfriend, became something of an issue that grated on my nerves continually. He couldn't stand having lost once Winnie started figuring out how to move forward herself.

Clues to future developments were fun to stumble across, guesses that I could make as to plot points that I appreciated. Nisha Sharma didn't quite smack you across the head with them, though they weren't exactly in-depth either.

I was pretty upset that most of the boys in Winnie's life expected her to drop her priorities, her life, to attend to them, to support them. Raj I already pointed out and, oy, he was just the worst (though not without some kind of redemptive arc). However!

With everything she's had to do to secure her position in life (school, etc.), why should she have to dump these commitments for someone she's been involved with for such a short period of time? That seemed so absurd to me that I wanted to shake several characters. NYU, the school Winnie has been working toward THE ENTIRE STORY and for YEARS, was so much bigger than certain people. Even though she's known Dev (Love Interest #2) for a long time, it seems screwed up to throw away the festival, something that could get her into NYU (DREAM SCHOOL), when the connection is so tenuous as a couple of weeks. Sure a boyfriend is nice, but worth all that?


In Conclusion


There was a lot to see and experience that was lovely in My So-Called Bollywood Life, but I found some of the narrative decisions questionable and that let the overall experience down for me.

This book was adorable and fluffy. It was enjoyable and a very easy read. It was very bollywood-like and I think that is why I enjoyed it a lot!

<i>My So-Called Bollywood Life</i> runs along a similar vein to Maurene Goo's <i>I Believe in a Thing Called Love</i>. I really, really love the idea behind both, but in both cases I was a bit disappointed. Bollywood and kdrama-inspired YA set my expectations so high, maybe too high.

Right from the beginning, I felt a bit wrong-footed by <i>My So-Called Bollywood Life</i>. In the opening scene, Winnie's burying all the DVDs she bought for her boyfriend, Raj, because she's pissed that he cheated on her. Several things about this are weird to me.

1) Burying DVDs is strange. Also, wasteful. Sell them! Keep them! Give them to other people for presents!

2) How can she afford to buy so many DVDs for her boyfriend anyway?

3) He hooked up with someone else while they were on a break for the summer. I spent the first part of the book with Ross shouting "we were on a break!" on a loop in my head. But, given the fact that she pretty much ended things beforehand, I find her reaction (breaking in to his house and stealing the DVDs back to bury in the backyard) completely overkill.

4) Her parents tell her that for the family honor, she must return the DVDs or repay, and so she gets a job because the DVDs might be ruined and she's not sure exactly where she put them. Only again, SO MUCH MONEY, and it should be pretty fucking obvious where the earth has been that disturbed. Who wouldn't even try???

I'm probably belaboring this too much, but the point is that it was weird, though admittedly weird in a very cinematic, Friends-y way. This opening didn't get me to connect with Winnie, and that never really changed. Throughout the book, her reactions confused me, particularly her blowup at the super obvious secret of Dev's. I liked Dave, and both of their friends so much more than Winnie.

The other thing that rubbed me the wrong way about <i>My So-Called Bollywood Life</i> is that the plot hinges on rampant jealousy and girl hate, and I'm just so over plots like that. <spoiler>The girl Raj dates off and on throughout the book is constantly "The Boy Is Mine"ing Winnie, and she ends up framing Dev as revenge because Raj doesn't love her. I just. Can we not make the whole thing about a woman unhinged by love?[/spoiler] Give me the books where the mean girl and the heroine come to an understanding or become friends to take down the guy together or fall in love. Don't give me more books like this where a romantic rival is nothing more than a token villain, without any characterization or motivation of her own.

I get that much of the stuff that felt off to me was done to make the movie fit with Bollywood tropes, but you can always use them and flip them. I wish this were more like Gurinder Chadha's films, especially since she's so oft-referenced and even a character in this book.

I adored this book! I think fans of Jenny Han or Sandhya Menon should definitely check out My So-Called Bollywood Life. I also love how this book connects readers to Bollywood movies and makes it so easy to search them out. Beyond that, Winnie was such a relatable protagonist. I loved her coming of age arc, and I was 100% on board with Dev's grand scheme to capture her attention. Readers in the mood for an upbeat rom-com should definitely read My So-Called Bollywood Life.

I couldn't get into the story, I tried. I didn't leave a review because I only do so if there's something very wrong with the book, but this one was just not for me.

"As much as I love Bollywood damsels in distress, I don't need saving. I'm my own hero."
It took a few chapters to really get into the book and the characters. I love seeing Winnie's relationship with her family and best friend.

I really enjoyed this book! It was lighthearted and funny. I loved that we saw a lot of the main characters’ family members because that is a rare element in many YA books.

What a fun diverse read! Written with a series of text messages, "My So-Called Bollywood Life" shows an Indian-American trying to come to an understanding of her "matched" boyfriend not being her true soul mate. Although she did not love Raj it was still difficult. So on to film school and her love of Bollywood.

This would be a great beach read for YA and those that are fans of chic lit!

I'm so happy I was able to read this! I've been looking to expand my reading and read more diversely and I think that My So-Called Bollywood Life was a great read. It reminded me of When Dimple Met Rishi in the way that it was a cute and fun rom-com/contemporary read. I had mixed feelings about the main character, Winnie, but I think it was an overall decent read!

I really enjoyed the characters and the story, the writing was superb, and I instantly found myself drawn into Winnie's world and the Bollywood level drama that is her love life. While the storyline was a little predictable I really did enjoy the story and liked the interweaving of the Bollywood films at the beginning of each chapter -- it allowed a nice way to weave together the novel's story along with popular Bollywood titles.

Overall this is 4.5/5 stars for me.

Cute and fluffy. Very heavy on the romance focus at the level to high school-dramatic. I want to track down all the movies mentioned and have a marathon.

Two books out in a year with Indian MCs who aspire to be filmmakers? Is this a sign I should drop everything and become a filmmaker? Stay tuned to find out. Obviously this book isn’t about ~my~ so-called bollywood life but it is about Winnie Mehta’s so-called bollywood life.

My So-Called Bollywood Life basically reads like a bollywood film and I didn’t mind it ONE LITTLE BIT. There is a love triangle, lots of angst, kismet, a heroine with tons of dreams, and even a bollywood dance number.

Winnie has always thought Raj was her soulmate, after all, she’s been told her entirely life that their love is written in the stars, but when he suddenly breaks up with her and starts dating Jenny Dickens, Winnie is more than a little mad. That’s only just the beginning though and breaking up with a popular boy is never easy.

We meet Winnie as she tries to steal back bollywood movies she gave Raj and while that isn’t her finest moment, she has PLENTY of them. For starters, she is incredibly passionate and driven. She has goals and she isn’t gonna let some stupid boy trample all over them. She is also really loyal to her friends and family. BUT she is also imperfect and sometimes a little dense when it comes to the people she loves and adores. The best part about this book is how natural her flaws feel. Sometimes Winnie can be incredibly frustrating but no human being is perfect and Winnie definitely felt imperfectly perfect.

My So-Called Bollywood Life has some of the best relationships written in YA too. AND NOT JUST THE ROMANCE. I love Winnie’s BFFL, Bridget. I love that Bridget supports Winnie but is NEVER EVER EVER afraid to call her out on her bullshit. It is so refreshing and really adds another dimension to their relationship. I love Winnie’s relationship with her fam and obviously I love her grandma. I think that even when Winnie struggles with her family and their expectations of her sometimes, I also love that together they are so wonderfully hilarious and supportive of one another.

AND OF COURSE, the romance. So I mentioned a love triangle and for those who hate love triangles, I wouldn’t worry too much. There is some angst but tbh, Winnie is over a certain ex who keeps trying to win her back. She just needs to figure out that another certain someone is the one for her. So. Not the spoil anything but Dev is great. Wow. I’ve basically said that about everyone in this book. I cannot actually think of anyone I don’t really like? (BESIDES JENNY) Not even Raj, who has his own issues and gets a minor arc. But yes. Dev. He is clearly head over heels for Winnie but what gets me most about him is that he takes his time getting to re-know Winnie and her interests. I love that he is her friend first and gives her the time and space she needs. And really, I just love him because he is great.

Anyway, if you cannot stand angsty or occasionally dense MCs, My So-Called Bollywood Life is definitely not for you. However, if you are a lover of rom-coms this book is absolutely for you and you should get on it. My review sucks but the book doesn’t SO PLEASE JUST READ THE GODDAMN BOOK. It will be worth every single minute you spend on it.

Giving this book such a low rating might be a bit unfair, but I couldn't finish it. I read about a quarter of it before I gave up. The school system makes no sense, the dialogue is painfully contrived, and, while I am a Bollywood fan, the "references" were were less loving nods to film and more lead anchors dropped into the story.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I received a digital copy of My So-Called Bollywood Life from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The following review is comprised of my own opinions and mine alone.

When I saw that My So-Called Bollywood Life was available for request on NetGalley I took a chance and requested it because I really enjoy Bollywood films, I really wanted to see what a Bollywood book would be like. Readers. I wasn’t disappointed. I was given the colours, the drama, the music, and even the dancing that I fell in love with when I saw my first Bollywood movie at 16.

Our protagonist is Winnie Mehta who doesn’t simply dream of becoming a high profile film critic, she’s already set the wheels in motion to get herself there. She reviews movies on her blog, specifically Bollywood movies. She’s also co-president of her school’s film club and is co-chair of the film festival. She’s got her eye on a slot at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts – the school for her career goals.

We first meet our protagonist as she's digging a grave behind her house. Winnie broke into her now ex-boyfriend's house and stole all of her gifts back to bury them in a shallow grave. She's getting no judgement from me, I teamed up with my ex's brother (my best friend) and their cousin to take apart my cheating ex's truck engine one night after he cheated on me. This is the no judgement corner. By the way, both of these activities are actually illegal and you can be charged, so unless you’re willing to do the time, do not do the crime. No, really. Don’t do illegal things, most exes aren’t going to think it’s funny.

Winnie's a young Indian-American woman who’s got a plan for her life. Winnie's aims are set as high as she can, a coveted spot at the film school, NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, and she's already on her way to becoming a high-profile film critic. She's the co-president of the Princeton Academy for the Arts and Sciences film club and the co-chair of the Princeton Academy Student Film Festival held at Princeton. And she just got back from her summer camp stay at NYU's film camp. Her speciality is Bollywood films and she eats, sleeps, and dreams Bollywood - especially old school Bollywood. But she's also a boy-crazy teenage girl at the same time. It drove/drives me crazy when my friends did/do it and it made me want to reach into the book and shake some sense into Winnie when her brain would turn to goo and she'd forget her plans and be all about either Dev or Raj. Just so much aargh there. And, unfortunately, the book does see Winnie obsessing more about Raj and Dev than about her getting into her dream school after this school year. She really needs to sort out her priorities.

Then we have Dev Khanna who is bound and determined to help Winnie get over Raj and he’s supportive of Winnie’s quest to disprove her prophecy. He’s a member of the film club with Winnie and Raj and spends his time making movies. Dev’s had a crush on Winnie since the beginning of high school and now that she’s single again, he wants a fair shot at love. He’s a bit of a mystery to Winnie in the beginning and, I think, that’s a big part of why she let him keep swooping in to the rescue. What I like about Dev is he seems to understand Winnie without her having to pull out an entire presentation to explain things to him.

While it is heavy with your typical love triangle teenage romance, the fact that we're given a Dummy's Guide to Bollywood in addition puts a new spin to the usual teenage romance we’ve all gotten used to. You get to experience a pooja (Hindu prayer group), and "Indian Shopping" as Winnie's best friend, Bridget, lovingly calls it, you get thrown into about a dozen different scenes straight out of some true Bollywood classics in Winnie’s dreams, and we also get a dance number, thus making this book a true Bollywood experience.

My So-Called Bollywood Life did have its moments where I wanted to throttle Winnie. She had times where she could act pretty childish and I just wanted to scream. She could treat Bridget better since they’re best friends, I mean, I met my best friend in eighth grade and we’ve done some pretty questionable, sometimes mildly illegal, things for each other. But Winnie actually is a bit of a brat and picks on Bridget at times. And Winnie also slut-shames Raj’s new girlfriend. Okay, we’ve all done it in the past, but it’s 2018 and we’re not okay with it anymore. Some of the plot twists are a bit predictable, I’m not spoiling things for you, but you’ll figure them out soon enough if you’re of a mind to read the book.

I enjoyed reading My So-Called Bollywood Life but everybody needs to be prepared for it to be exactly what it is. A classic Bollywood movie in book format, there will be cheese. It's not about a young woman who realises that she don't need no man to complete her and goes on to cure cancer or solve a murder or whatever else. It's a love triangle Bollywood romance brought into the 21st century, complete with an epic dance scene you'll never forget, teenage clothing montages, and gossiping aunties.

In the end, I’m giving My So-Called Bollywood Life 3 out of 5 stars because I did enjoy reading it, I will probably read it again, but it has some issues like any first book does. Give it a read if you’re looking for something different.

Have a happily ever after!
Maggie at Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book

Bollywood has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, whether it is through listening to music from Bollywood movies or watching the movies on the weekend. So I was super-excited to read Sharma's debut novel when I saw its title alone. My So-Called Bollywood Life is an adorable romantic comedy filled with humor, drama, family, and of course romance just like a good Bollywood rom-com.

Vaneeta "Winnie" Mehta is a Bollywood junkie and loves film. She aspires to be a movie critic and study film with a specialty of South Asian films at the prestigious NYU film school. Winnie had a life pretty much planned out. She would go to NYU and eventually marry her best friend and movie buff Raj as it was fated in her janampatri (natal star chart). As we start the book, Winnie's world is turned upside down as she finds out via social media that Raj was hooking up with another classmate while they were on a break. To make things worse, Raj takes over the film festival, Winnie's moment of glory to showcase her skills and passion for film and was to be her key to NYU, and club member Dev is now starting to be interested in her. Remorseful Raj wants to win Winnie back. Needless to say Winnie has to figure out her complicated romance and find a new way to showcase her love of movies. More unsettling, she must decide if she believes in destiny, and if so, what is hers?

I absolutely loved the inclusion of Bollywood throughout the novel, particularly the dream sequences starring one of Bollywood's mega stars Shah Rukh Khan. Each chapter headings references Bollywood films, which are detailed in the back of the book for those who are unfamiliar and a good starting guide for those who want give Bollywood movies a try. Since I saw all the films listed, I had a fun time making the connections. Those less familiar with the genre may be a little overwhelmed by the movie details that sprinkle the text, but there are plenty things that they will love about the novel that this might be overlooked. Winnie is a solid heroine who is smart, funny, and ambitious. What I loved most about her, apart from the fact that I also use movie and tv references to explain situations when I can't find the right words, is how proud she is of her culture. I also loved her relationship with her family and best friend. There are plenty of romantic and swoony moments too that brought a smile to my face. My So-Called Bollywood Life is a solid and charming debut. I can't wait to see what Sharma writes next.