3.75 stars rounded up; CW: panic attacks, emotional manipulation, mentions of infidelity. this was a sweet story with fun, loveable characters. I was rooting for both Radha and Jai as they overcame their fears/challenges and squealing over their romance. despite being a romcom, there were some serious themes touched on here with Radha and her parents that I wish we got to unpack more, both her mom's infidelity and attitude about dance and her dad's distance, but since the focus of the story wasn't on their family relationship, I didn't mind so much. it's mostly not an actual 4 or 5 star because I didn't feel anything special about this. it was good just not a standout but I would definitely read more form Nisha Sharma in the future!

The dance competition for money trope was very popular when I was growing up and I'm happy to write that Sharma gets it just right. She included enough detail for me to picture the dance scenes as well as the cooking ones. The recipes passed down from Radha's grandpa are wonderfully placed throughout the book and I love how they connect to Radha's experiences. Sharma did not write this book with non-Indian folx front and center, so the dishes and references are not watered down for us. We must look up the terminology along the way and I liked that. I got to learn more about other cultures and enjoy the content of the story even more.

Jai and Radha make a very sweet couple. They reminded me of how big every disagreement felt when I was a teen. It felt like all or nothing and sometimes I forget that. This also included the classic problems that teens from immigrant and/or competitive families deal with: feeling like they always have to help and believing that they will never be good enough. Now that I'm an adult, this makes me frustrated but I remember feeling the same way!

Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance managed to be sweet, enriching, silly, and a bit sad all at the same time. I recommend readers also listen to the audiobook if they are not familiar with the pronunciation of names, dishes, dances, etc. It's very helpful and the narrator, Mayuri Bhandari, has the perfect voice for it.

Verdict:
Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance is an awesome book for folks who want a sweet romance book with flare. Folx who prefer their romances without sex scenes will love this.

A fun diverse romance, but I think there were too many plotlines that detracted from the main romance. The family drama could have been another book altogether, and the cooking felt tacked on as it didn't interact with anything else. I wanted more meet cute moments, but the romance was pushed aside for these other-genre plot beats.

Wow! Wow!

Okay, I have to admit, I was extremely skeptical going into this book. I love romcoms, but YA romcoms can be extremely cheesy and I wasn't sure if I could handle that. Or if I would be able to relate.

BUT BOY WAS I WRONG!

Radha and Jai's Recipe for romance is far from cheesy and a story many can relate to. The themes of the story range from family ties, to blossoming love, and overcoming personal fears, even if you are the one standing in your own way. This story was beautiful and so fun to read.

The innocence of Radha and Jai's relationship was something I loved. It was organic and they came together over a shared interest. Was it perfect? No, of course not. Which is why it worked. Both Jai and Radha were keeping secrets from one another, or at least not giving the whole truth. They had this image of the other built up, but realized that the only way to truly know a person is actually talking and having a conversation. The discord in this book is fantastically written and healthy. I love seeing that in a YA book.

I also just loved the dancing and recipes this book had! The dancing sounded beautiful and the food seemed delicious. I appreciated the complicated relationship between Radha and her mother. It is something many people can relate to. Even though I hated Radha's mother when she slapped her and felt as if there could have been more to resolve that big issue in the book, I still liked watching their relationship.

Such a fun and cute read!

I wasn't a huge fan of this. The premise of the book honestly lost me. If she was angry with her mother for sleeping with the judge, why did she move away with her? The writing was a little cringe to me as well. I felt like the Hindi/Punjabi words were a bit forced and the writing just did not flow.

"𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 ... 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩." ☄️

'𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐡𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐢'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞' 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

Have you ever dreamed of being part of one of those Bollywood dance movies? Dancing and falling in love with the main character while you moved together in sync? I know for a fact your answer is yes, so you need to read this book! 💃🏾🕺

I have never read a book about dance before. How odd is that? When I saw this on Netgalley, I knew I had to grab my chance at it and here we are: this book is the perfect match between passions. A young adult like no other where you can lose yourself in your steps and freeze time while you're close to the one you love. ☄️

Rai and Jahda are one of the most cute and adorable couples I've met in young adult literature. Their relationship is so honest and pure, so cozy that it makes you want to befriend them, to actually BE there to witness their love as it flourishes. 🌸

Nisha made such a beautiful use of her wording in this book and she touched my heart: she discusses important tws such as anxiety and heart strokes - as a very anxious person myself, I can't say that I didn't cry nor felt anxious in some scenes, so - heads up for that!

All in all, this book was such a wonderful surprise and the recipes added really made me happy - I got to meet the indian culture much better and get lost in the family relationships that are build in the book.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❀•𝄢••❀

𝗛𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘁𝗮𝗴𝘀:

#nishasharma #radhaandjaisrecipeforromance #youngadult #netgalley #netgalleyarc #nishasharmaauthor #penguinrandomhouse #arcreview #bookreview #author #favoriteauthor #bookstagram #books #bookstagrammer #booklover #bookworm #bookphotography #bookcommunity #bookobsessed #aesthetic #aestheticfeed #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #reader #writer #bookstagramportugal #youngadultromance

Radha’s whole life revolves around dance. When an embarrassing scandal forces her to leave the biggest kathak competition of her career, she is mortified and swears off performing for good. Her parents divorce and she moves from Chicago to the east coast with her mom. She’s accepted to a fine arts academy and meets a group of Bollywood dancers who quickly become her friends and ask her to choreograph their routine for a scholarship competition. As a way to destress from school and life, she cooks her way through her grandfather’s recipe book, reconnecting with her father and aunt as she recruits them to help with her culinary experiments.

When I first downloaded this title, I didn’t realize that it’s kind of a companion novel to My So Called Bollywood Life, which I’d read a while ago. There isn’t much of a need to read the first book, it’s just linked by mutual characters. I think I preferred this book over the first one. Radha has moments of being unlikable, but I appreciate that she tries and I felt like there was good character development. I loved the scenes of her cooking with her dad and aunt because it reminded me of the way my family passes down recipes, lacking actual measurements and just haphazardly listing ingredients. The class dynamics between Radha and Jai made their relationship interesting, though I favored Jai as a character. He has a rich home life and a complicated sense of familial obligation. Plus, he’s supposed to be smart, good looking, kind, and a talented dancer. He’s basically a dream guy. Overall, the story was really sweet. I would recommend this to those thirsty for a rom-com with lots of dancing and a little bit of pre-college drama.

This is such a fantastic YA novel. I was hooked by the premise, but I stayed for the well developed characters, the supportive relationship between Radha and Jai, and the wonderful exploration of food and dance as part of identity.

A light hearted contemporary rom com that incorporates food, family, and culture. Well paced and an easy, enjoyable read.

Thank you to Crown Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book because I love rom-coms that combine food and dance. Radha & Jai’s Recipe for Romance had so many puzzle pieces I enjoy in books but they just didn’t seem to fit together for me. There was dance and cooking but there were also topics of self-discovery, anxiety, complicated family dynamics, and a focus on socioeconomic status.

The dance element is always fun for a contemporary romance and I loved seeing Indian culture explored through dance. We also get to see Radha explore her culture through cooking which was great; the added recipes throughout the book were a nice touch. I really wish the cooking element had more of a purpose though because it just seemed to be tossed in there and didn’t have any resolution.

Another element that was disappointing to me was the romance between Radha and Jai. I felt like their relationship progressed too quickly and the random jumps in time didn’t allow us to see their progression fully. I also think there were too many instances of miscommunication, which is my least favorite form of conflict in books. Plus occasionally the way they spoke to each other and intentionally hurt each other through their words was very manipulative. Overall, I really wanted to love their romance but much like the rest of this book, it just didn’t do it for me.

The newest contemporary novel from Nisha Sharma balances the lightheartedness of the rom-com genre with the seriousness of topics like anxiety and complex family relationships. Radha & Jai’s Recipe for Romance is a beautifully written book with such heart that you can’t help but be swept away by Sharma’s alluring storytelling. The authenticity at its core and the unique pacing paired with a more serious angle makes Radha & Jai’s Recipe for Romance a refreshing read.

[rest of excerpted review in link below]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Cooking, dance, and learning about a new culture? Sign me up! This book was super sweet, and I absolutely loved watching how Radha & Jai developed as characters. Being a high school senior is hard enough, and they both went through some major life events that just add on stress. The idea of "dance joy" is so beautiful, and I think that can be applied to any passion. Plus, it was fun to read all of the recipes that were included - I am going to have to try them out if possible! Obviously there were moments you just want to yell at the characters for being so obtuse, but I think that is what makes this book so easy to continue reading, you get invested. Plus I always enjoy a book that switches perspectives of the characters!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I loved getting to learn more about Bollywood and Indian culture, and I definitely recommend this. 5/5

Thanks to Netgalley & Random House Children's for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don't have much to say about this book, I cringed at some parts but over all it was fun, I really enjoyed the cooking parts too.

The sudden (and quite unnecessary) time skips made some parts really weird and at some points the characters felt really one dimensional. I liked Radha though, she was a good mc.

I'd call this an easy & quick sunday read.

I loved this book. It was so cute! I loved reading about the dance and the relationship between Radha and Jai and Radha and her dad. The recipes were interesting. :-)

Thank you Netgalley, and Nisha Sharma for sending me this eARC!

Radha, a former kathak student, and as many people would say; one of the best must face her fears after a competition that changed her life. She tries to figure out whether her mother’s influence was what shook the judges, or if she was actually good at dancing. After switching schools and states and dealing with family issues, she enrolls in a dance program and strikes a deal with her mother. Radha has to decide whether dance is her dream, or whether it’s just her mother’s.

This book was fast-paced, and was easy to read in one sitting! Radha’s character building was empowering, and her relationship with Jai was cute. Radha taking on cooking to feel closer to her father was heart-warming. Jai’s character also shows some development, especially his relationship with his family and himself. I felt there were some concerns that weren’t really addressed in Radha and Jai’s relationship. It felt slightly rushed, and there was no real development between them.

The book addressed some major concerns that many dancers have to go through while dealing with the stereotypes that come from different backgrounds. That being said, the novel was cute and bright and left the ending very satisfying.

This was a very sweet, fun book. The characters were easy to connect with and a delight to get to know. It’s a great novel for someone who isn’t sure where they’re headed after school or are nervous about the future.

Ok, this book is just too precious! I have found myself being drawn to more and more contemporary romances and this one provided everything I love and more. There is food, dance, culture, and romance that just makes my heart sing! This story follows two main characters: Radha and Jai. Radha finds herself giving up on her Kathak dancing career due to her mother's behavior behind the scenes. Shortly thereafter she moves to Jersey. There, Radha meets Jai who asks her to help him choreograph his dancing team. This is the basis of the novel; however, both have many deeper family issues that they find themselves working through together. This story is inspirational, colorful, and I can't wait to read the next by Nisha Sharma.

***Thank you Net Galley, Crown Books, and Nisha Sharma for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgally for providing an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Overall this was an enjoyable read, though I have to admit I really struggled to connect with the characters. Development felt slightly shallow. Nonetheless there is a vast amount of content I actually adored in this book. The desi rep was chefs kiss, done really well and authentic. I absolutely loved the incorporation of recipes with some of the chapters, definitely bookmarked a few! There was was written anxiety rep which I felt was approached well. Overall it was a fun read and the cultural representation was really heart warming.

This book is definitely a new all-time favorite. The characters were both so complex and relatable as a South Asian person. The romance was adorable and even the side characters were delightful.

This was such an engaging storyline that made laugh and swoon. I thought the writing was engaging and I learned a lot about the cultural aspects introduced in the book. Fantastic!!