I will fully admit I was not into the style of this writing when I first started this book. But I forced myself onward and soon fell into Priya's store, and the beauty of it. She is someone who outwardly seems confident but inwardly is wrestling with a love from her past as well as the loss of a family member. 

The stories from the past fully flesh out the character of Priya, and who she has become in the modern-day. 

She is witty when she needs to be, and the characters who live and work alongside her are entertaining as well, and not without their depths. 

There were some...problematic depictions of mental illness, as well as a forced coming out of a character that did taint my view of this novel though.

A story of family expectations and love, but not a romance with a happily ever after ending. Priya works as an optician at 20/20 in New York. Shortly after learning about the suicide of her cousin, Prem back home in Calcutta, the past comes waltzing through the door in the form of her college roommate Leyla who Priya was and is in love with but who is married. A well written book of heartbreak and longing.

Find Someone To Love is not a book to race through, consuming it in large chunks. Rather it is to be savoured, letting it sit with you as you digest it. As the flavours meld and swirl in your mind.

The language draws from poetry, and while that could make for a contrived or stilted work the reverse is true. The words evoke feelings, places, people in deep and sometimes painful ways.

(Have you read Rumi? A good friend introduced me to him a few years back. Beautiful work and this book seems in some ways a love letter to him.)

There is some language in here that I'm not comfortable with, but I think this is purposeful. I see this not just as a story but also as a piece of art, pushing at you and your assumptions.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

Divya Sood’s Find Someone to Love is well-written and moving with great characters. This quiet story about love, loss, and friendship is set in the surprisingly interesting world of New York City opticians. If you’re expecting a sweet romance, this isn’t the book for you. Sood’s complex depiction of obsessive and unrequited love is painfully realistic. This heavy book is a unique experience that is worth the read. But, I wish that certain characters had more growth and that the writing was better organized.

Priya is a young optician who spends her days bantering with co-worker Ed and boss Sam. There’s also flighty optometrist Dr. Bello who is soon unexpectedly replaced by Leyla, Priya’s unrequited college crush. Priya hasn’t seen Leyla in years but she has loved her worshipfully and silently. Priya is also dealing with guilt and sadness over the recent suicide of her cousin Prem in India.

This character-driven novel with lovely and vivid prose really stays with you. The relationship between Priya, Ed, and Sam is charming and neatly counteracts the darkness of Priya’s inner struggle. I love the setting and I had no idea this world would be so eventful!

The book explores many versions of love. I like that Sood doesn’t focus on romance. Instead, she examines how Priya’s unrequited love consumes her and affects her friendship with Leyla. The book’s bittersweet ending is realistic and perfectly fits. Priya’s relationship with her closeted cousin Prem is well-written and relatable. However, I wish their relationship was given more prominence in the narrative.

The book shifts between exploring Priya’s past at college with Leyla to her current daily life at 20/20 as well as her past interactions with Prem in India. It takes time to get used to the changing timelines and locations. I wish the shifts were better defined. It is also sometimes difficult to tell who Priya is talking to.

For such a short book, Sood creates well-rounded and memorable characters. Priya is a complicated and well-written protagonist. Her love for Leyla is one-sided, obsessive, and idealistic. Usually, I would hate a character like Priya but I like her and empathize with her. Sood crafts her so well. Priya is deeply flawed but relatable. While I do not agree with her behaviour, her actions fit her character. However, I would have liked some more growth and a more definitive backstory for Priya.

I can see why Priya fell in love with vivacious Leyla who is also nicely flawed. Gentle Ed and business obsessed Sam are also great characters. Although Prem does not feature very prominently, the tragedy of his life clings to you. I wish that we learned more about him.

I’m not sure if I would read this book again because it’s heavy and sad. However, that’s not a bad thing because the book really stays with you. Sood is a great writer and I can’t wait to read more of her work!



👓👓👓👓 glasses out of 5!

Find Someone to Love by Divya Sood follows Priya, who works at 20/20 as an optician. While working there, an old friend Leyla is hired to work as the optometrist at 20/20. From there, we learn more about their past and how they get along in the present. Leyla and Priya both have their secrets, and it's interesting to see them reconnect.

I struggled a bit with this book. It was a bit hard to follow, and it felt at times like the chapters were alternating perspectives, but not quite clearly enough for me to grasp exactly. Priya is an interesting character, but there's a turn toward the end that I just couldn't grasp. Priya completely not understanding Leyla's concerns really threw me.

I quite liked the cast of characters. The other 20/20 employees felt fully fleshed out, if a little stereotypical at the start of the novel. I like that Priya was good at her job and not afraid to do well.

Set in the surprisingly charming world of New York City opticians, Find Someone to Love follows Priya, a young optician working for a Queens practice full of characters. There’s Sam, whose life revolves around his store, 20/20. There’s Ed, who always loves a good snack and has a mysterious past. And then there is Dr. Bello, who is a colorful woman, to say the least.

Things in Priya’s world get turned upside down when Dr. Bello is replaced by a new optometrist, who is an unexpected, but beloved, blast from her past. Priya’s routine world changes when she has to answer questions of herself she was always too afraid to ask.

With a mixture of humor and heartache, Find Someone To Love explores the power of the past and the ephemeral nature of the present, the redemptive power of love, and the bonds of friendship.

This was a short, quiet story with little of the romance I had hoped for.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

When I started this book I thought I'd be reading a romance story... but it wasn't like this at all. I was surprised at first (and I'm not saying this in a bad way) because it was not like I expected. This story is about love, it is, about Priya's love for her cousin, her love for Leyla and the shared love for the 20/20 optician store that she works in. The secondary characters are diverse and interesting. Sam, the boss, with his concern about the numbers they're making as well as the passion for his store; then there's Ed, whose ways are a bit odd but who's the gentlest guy, and then there's the doctor at the shop who clashes with the owner and the rest of the workers... her leaving will put the story in motion.

Priya's haunted by unrequited love and the ultimate decision that her cousin made. These things are presented in the book through a series of flashbacks. At first I didn't understand the need for them, but as the story progresses... it's beautiful to see how her past and these two people have affected so much Priya's life.

It was beautifully written, the way the writer carries you through complex feelings, loneliness, unrequited love, confusion... and all this complexity is described in a gorgeous way. So while this book is a little bit different than what I'm used to read, I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed it a lot.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Interesting story.. I wouldn't call this a romance book persay, but it was definitely about love and two women's journeys.

It was an easy read with some slow moments.

A poignant story of love, loss, and personal growth. The prose is beautiful and vivid. Following Priya on her journey through the last 17 years is a wonderful experience. I will say this is not a romance book but it is a book about love. Readers be aware of this going in.

Find Someone to Love is a unique story that takes place over 17 years between two women. Well written and interesting characters. I would read more by this author.

This book is about love but most definitely not a romance.

During college, Priya is in love with her best friend Leyla. After a miscarriage and heartbreak, Leyla leaves and effectively disappears from Priya’s life. Seventeen years have passed. Priya is working as an optician at 20/20. Her cousin, Prem, recently committed suicide back home in Calcutta, India. Priya’s thoughts are constantly occupied by the past and centred around Prem and Leyla. The past walks into the present when Leyla comes in as the new optometrist at 20/20. Priya has nursed and nurtured her feelings for Leyla all these years and they come back in a rush, though Leyla is married.

The book is heavy reading but written in a strangely addictive prose. Neither Priya nor Leyla are perfect but at the end of the book they are not terrible people either. In fact, Leyla is quite a beautiful person.

This is neither a feel-good book nor a romance but hauntingly realistic.

When I read the description of this one, I thought for sure I was going to be reading a romance. For me this one missed the mark on the romance part, BUT it still was a good book.

I must admit that for the first half of the book, I was often confused about what point in time we were at and sometimes who Priya was talking to. Initially, because of my confusion, this novel wasn't connecting with me. As I continued to read and process, I really started to enjoy this one. Find someone to love left me sad. I mean after 17 years you still love a person that you haven't seen or touched or was not more than a best friend?

This is one of those books where if you start talking about the characters you will give too much away so I will say that this is good. I liked getting to know the characters and enjoyed how the author told the story. I am still a little melancholy after reading this one.
4 stars.

I got an overwhelming sense of quietness from this story and I think that much of that has to do with it being told from Priya's point of view in first person. Part of it also has to do with it being a small cast in a fairly closed setting. Priya works at an optician called 20/20 with Sam who is the owner, Ed who is a technician like her and Dr Bello who is the optician. It's not long before the difficult Dr Bello is replaced by Dr LM Ibrahim.

Priya is quite self-contained within this environment so in the New York office she trades light banter with her colleagues but in her head she thinks about her cousin Prem, who has just committed suicide in India. They were close, both being gay but knowing limitations of their families and culture. Entwined with these thoughts are those she has of Leyla, her best friend of twenty years before and the woman she fell in love with.

The prose is beautiful and lyrical. It's worth reading for that alone. The threads of her relationship with Prem as well as those with Leyla are carefully interwoven with the present. There is lightness around her office interactions but I found it didn't balance out some of the heavier themes. I loved the experience of reading this novel but it’s not one I can say I enjoyed. I felt an empathy for Priya because it felt like being inside her head and I think she’s going to be in mine for some time.

Book received from Netgalley and Riverdale Avenue Books for an honest review.