After her elder sister is disowned from the family for an unacceptable marriage, Kiran knows it is up to her to be the perfect daughter. She does everything expected of her: She excels in school, goes to college in the United States, and gets a well-paying job as an engineer in New York City so that she can support her parents. Everything is going according to plan until she meets Nash, and she must decide if falling in love is worth the turmoil the match will cost her family.

I'll start with what I loved about this book. First of all: Kiran. She was such a well-rounded and relatable character. I really felt for her and how she was torn between falling for Nash and being aware of her family's expectations. I also adored the rest of the Chai Masala Club and how supportive they were of Kiran. I cannot wait to see more of them in the following books!

What I didn't love, however, was Nash. I know he's supposed to be sheltered, but I wasn't a fan of the way that he seemed to brush off Kiran's culture and the importance of tradition to her family. Honestly, Kiran deserved better. There were also a few references to the pandemic, and it's a little too soon for me to read books referencing people still wearing masks.

Still, this was a fun and easy read and I'm definitely looking forward to the books about the rest of the CMC. Thanks so much to Sourcebooks Casa and Netgalley for the digital review copy!

I really really enjoyed this book. It painted a clear pictures of the good, the bad, the ugly and beautiful side of India, love, and family. I loved how brave Kiran’s character was and how she fought for her happiness, it’s inspiring how she stood up for herself and managed to bring her family together while giving herself an opportunity at having a happy family with Nash.

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words had me laughing and crying and gave me all the feels. It also was very thought provoking for this white girl from the Midwest.

On the surface, this is a story of friends, forbidden love, overcoming a difficult childhood, forgiveness, and disappointed families. It went way beyond these topics!

Kiran was raised in a traditional Indian home. She excelled at school, became an engineer in the United States, and supports her family back home. Unlike her older sister, Kiran is determined to not bring shame to her family with her life choices. Nash is a psychologist living in NYC but originally from Tennessee. He’s a dream come true for Kiran…if only he was Indian.

The story follows their friendship and falling in love, and the moment Kiran makes a decision between family and love.

The author gives important details about Indian immigrants, how they feel about stereotypes, and the struggle of being a brown in America. I found this book enlightening and had me thinking about things like how “freedom” is defined in America versus other cultures/countries.

Don’t get me wrong…I fell in love with the couple and NYC, and I constantly craved Indian food!

Thanks to @NetGalley @annikasharma and @Sourcebookscasa for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!! Thank you to @LoveARCtually for selecting me to be a part of this buddy read.

5 Stars

A truly cute, romance about past trauma and how culture clashing truly is! I loved Kiran and Nash's relationship, as I thought they clicked off right from the start, which is something not many authors when writing couples are able to do. If i could classify them in one trope i would absolutely say it is 'found family'.
The writing was very well done in my opinion, and although I do not think ¡t has left me with a 'it-has-changed-my-life feeling', it was really cute and feel-good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words follows Kiran, an Indian engineer living in New York City, as she navigates the difficulties (particularly the familial fallout) of falling in love with a white boy.

I feel bad leaving that brief summary at one sentence, but that's basically the long and short of it. Girl meets boy, they fall in love, girl's family comes from a small Indian village with different cultural norms and values and marriage expectations so they disapprove. I've seen some Indian and Indian-American readers talk about the good and bad of the Indian rep, so as a white reviewer I would rather direct would-be readers to those reviews for further opinions and insight.

I had high expectations for this book, and it ended up being a solid middle-of-the-road experience. Though marketed as a romance, we saw a lot of the romance in montage, where the bulk of the novel was instead taken up by Kiran's conflict with her parents. While I have no issues with this being the conflict -- and honestly it was interesting to see a romance with a conflict I haven't been exposed to before -- the severe focus on family, cultural identity, etc., made this feel a lot less like a romance and a lot more like general women's fiction. There's nothing wrong with that, except for that I came in expecting a much different experience.

Since we're talking about expectations, I really expected significantly more of the CMC. We got to see Kiran interacting with her friend group multiple times on a group level and on an individual level, but if I recall correctly, we only spent one or two scenes with them actually being the CMC -- drinking chai and having a good time. I think more time with the CMC in a meaningful way may have rescued poor Nash from constantly being the white-guy-who-knows-nothing-about-culture-and-is-therefore-a-stand-in-for-underinformed-readers.

Speaking of Nash (Nash from Nashville...), I really did not connect with him as a romantic hero. I think there was a solid, solid effort to make him swoon-worthy, as well as sympathetic (that backstory, man), but overall he just didn't do it for me. He seemed bland beyond his backstory, and I got annoyed with the way he was clueless and graceless when it came to navigating learning about Kiran's culture. By the end I almost wanted to tell Kiran to give up because she could do better than him. Even his big romantic gesture wasn't that big of a romantic gesture.

Okay, now that romance is out of the way, let's talk about setting! First off, if you don't romanticize NYC, this novel is not for you. It's NYC under a tourist's gaze, NYC from You've Got Mail, etc. etc. If you're willing to go along with it, it does work to establish a romantic and vibrant atmosphere, but if you're one of those people who can't stand that kind of attitude towards the city... maybe don't pick this up.

For me, the NYC thing was a little annoying, but not enough to prevent me from reading. The temporal setting, though? I honestly almost put the book down only a handful of pages in. This book is set in a post-pandemic world, and while that has absolutely nothing to do with anything for most of the book, the first 10% or so really takes its time to mention how great it is that they're all finally able to see each other, how great it is to be out and about again, etc. etc. All that, and then nothing. No masks. No vaccine stance. No capacity limits. Not a single remnant of our current "new normal" made its way onto the pages of this book. Everything genuinely just. Went back to the way it was pre-pandemic. I ended up continuing because I felt like I needed to give the author the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it felt irresponsible for them to not mention the pandemic at all! Perhaps they did not want to bog down what was meant to be a light-hearted romance novel with masks and all that stuff. Except, it was fine to mention Kiran witnessing someone throw acid in a girl's face, so. My point is, if you're going to go out of your way to set a romance novel, in this day and age, in our present moment, it ought to be represented appropriately. There's no sense in making the pandemic part of the timeline if not a single facet of the characters' day-to-day experience is affected by it.

The final thing I want to mention is Harry Potter. I'm not sure what was up with all the Harry Potter. Was it just an attempt to signal that Kiran is a millennial? Or something? I'm not positive, but I do know that Harry Potter was weirdly prevalent in this novel for something that had absolutely no bearing on the plot (and, like, didn't do much to inform the characters, either).

Overall, I think that this book has potential, and that it is good and important for many reasons. I just wish I had gone in with different expectations, because I think I may have had a better experience that way.

This was a cute, sweet romance about navigating past trauma and cultures clashing and love conquering all. I appreciated that Nash and Kiran didn't shy away from talking about big, real topics, and the grand gesture was appropriately and satisfyingly grand. That said, the dialogue and pacing were a bit off for me personally, but it would definitely be a good option for someone who is looking for a cute, fade-to-black, closed door romance.

Love, Chai, and Other Four Lettered words is a culturally rich slow burn romance that I flew through! Kiran and Nash had immediate chemistry and fantastic banter! Nash’s love and support for Kiran and her traditions were so special to read, I really felt their love through the book. It was also really sweet how close Kiran and her friends are. They are a chosen family that have each others’ backs no matter what. I also really appreciated learning more about the Indian culture, relationships, and traditions. The descriptions and overall story was really balanced between flirty/fun and tugs at your heartstrings.

The steam was super low. I would have said clean but there were a couple mild descriptions/them in bed that I didn’t think totally matched with my idea of clean!

This story had a lot of things going for it that really appealed to me. I love a good love story that has some angst and isn't all smooth sailing. Kiran and Nash started as strangers, evolved into friends, and navigated difficult territory to become each other's home.

Nash came from a broken home. His father abandoned the family and he was raised by a mother who was an addict. Kiran came from a broken home that was forced apart by culture and tradition. Nash and Kiran both rose against the odds and truly made the most of the positive opportunities they were given. Kiran however, vowed never to let down her parents or disappoint them as greatly as her estranged sister did. This means, a love she chooses, isn't in the cards for her. Kiran is soon struggling between following her heart and following family values and the cultural expectations that are in place. Nash feels like the one, but how can he be when her parents will never accept him, or her, if she allows herself to love him. Kiran has to make the difficult decision, Nash or her parents.

Love isn't always easy, but when it feels right, it's worth it.

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words is the perfect read for someone who is looking for a light-hearted romance with interesting characters and an in-depth look into how opposites do, in fact, attract. I really enjoyed Kiran and Nash, and I thought that their relationship was really cute. I loved how the book put focus on the cross-cultural relationship between the two because I feel like that is something that is still underrepresented in the romance genre. I loved the Indian cultural representation in the book and I found Kiran to be a character that a lot of people could relate to. The side characters all had big, fun personalities and were definitely people that I would love to hang out with. The reason I am giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that at times I felt like the pacing was a bit off. Some of the chapters seemed to drag on in my opinion. Overall, though, I think this is a novel that a lot of people would really enjoy reading!

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words is a beautiful cross between women’s fiction and contemporary romance with a strong focus on a cross-cultural relationship and dealing with cultural and familial expectations. I had so much fun reading with @lovearctually friends and participating in the group author chat.

Loved:
-Kiran’s friend group, the Chai Masala Club (CMC)
-Kiran and Nash’s easy-going friendship and banter
-Bucket list and NYC sights storyline
-Perfect balance between women’s fiction and romance
-Easy read, but still tackles some difficult topics

Steam: Closed door

The author, Annika Sharma is the absolutely sweetest person. It was so fun to chat with her about her new book as well as some future projects she has in the works. Since there is a bucket list part to the story, Annika was asked about her own bucket list which includes visiting all 6 continents, go zip lining, and wearing a fancy gown to a formal event!

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words is perfect for fans of cross-cultural relationships, NYC, and Ties That Tether! Out now!

Thank you so much Sourcebooks Casablanca, Netgalley, and LoveARCtually for the gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

Kiran and Nash seem like opposites but sparks really begin to fly for them! They have such a cute relationship. I really enjoyed the cross culture dating element of the story. The Indian representation was great and Kiran was someone I found relatable. The side characters were all fun too and it seems they may be in books to come. There were some issues with the book that did effect my rating overall. The dialogue and pacing were a little off for me. Also I wouldn’t necessarily call this a romance but more women’s fiction. Overall it was a cute book. Good but not great

This book made my September. I felt like this book was the perfect way to end the summer vibes and really give in to a light romance.

Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words let me wanting for more. Unfortunately, I found the plot to reinforce many stereotypes of Indian families. I wanted Sharma to break the boundaries and provide some better insight to what it's truly like as an Indian-American woman these days.

There were aspects of this book that I did enjoy. I enjoyed the friendship between the friends and the way they gathered together. I suspect the next few books by Sharma will follow the other friends on their journeys and highlight their developing friendships.

What got to me was the fact that once again, an accomplished woman of color was paired with a very blah white guy with very little understanding of Indian culture and traditions. His remarks hit not only as insensitive, but offensive. Who would genuinely continue to pursue that?

While this wasn't my cup of chai, I do plan to read her next novel and hope it's better.

I enjoyed Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words. I loved the relationship Kiran had with her friends and I loved reading about Kiran's culture. The relationship between Kiran and Nash progressed nicely as Kiran explored her feelings and the difficulties that would follow. This multicultural, slow-burn, closed-door romance was a sweet read.

I really was looking forward to reading this OWN-voices, multi-cultural romance set in one of my favorite cities in the world, NYC. And I was not disappointed - it was such a real, unapologetic read from a diverse perspective, from that immigrant experience and the struggle to straddle different cultures and expectations. Though I am not Southeast Asian, I am first generation and am a little familiar with a similar struggle. How do you resolve the expectations of your family with the new experiences and reality of your new life? Kiran Mathur, our heroine, was fierce and honest and so relatable in her struggle and worries.

Kiran, ever the dutiful daughter, moved from India to NYC to be a successful engineer. She continues to support her parents back in India and always intended to continue to meet their expectations - marry a good desi man, continue to support them and obey/listen to them. Until she meets Nash, her new upstairs neighbor., a recent NYC transplant from Nashville.

What starts as a fun friendship - exploring NYC, showing Nash the sights, sharing all the amazing food experiences of NYC - evolves into stronger feelings, causing so much conflict in Kiran. Nash is a wonderful man but he's also a white man with no concept of what it means to be an Indian immigrant with familial expectations.

Reading through the struggle and the worry was so honest and real. I loved the Chai Masala Club - the CMC - Kiran's chosen family of other Indian immigrants who can relate to each other but who also have their own stories and experiences. They were such a vibrant and funny group that offered her the support she needed when she needed it, especially when things became so rough and scary with her family, and then with Nash.

This was a slow burn, closed door romance with some angst and tears. The world Annika Sharma created was lovely. It made me miss my hometown of NYC - it was a love letter to New York, to the sights, to the food, to the wonderful cultural explosion that is that glorious city.

It also made me miss my group of girlfriends that I grew up with - we're all immigrants or first generation from various cultures and had very similar familial expectations. We helped each other and supported each other as we learned to navigate the diasporic experience.

I really enjoyed this book and would enjoy the stories of the other CMC members!

Thank you Annika Sharma, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Own voices books are my new favorite. I love reading culture through the eyes of a person from that culture. I especially appreciated that this book included so many different Indian character from so many backgrounds.

I have to admit the first couple chapters almost lost me in the set up for the book/series. It was too much. I much prefer when characters are introduced more naturally throughout the story.

Once Nash came into the picture I started to enjoy the book more. I liked that while he knew nothing about other cultures he was interested in Kiran's and did his best to learn more. I was a little annoyed when she would get upset with him for things he couldn't have known though.

Forbidden love isn't my favorite trope, but I did like how there was a lot of family reunification at the end and I loved Nash's grand gesture.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

First of all I desperately want Kiran to make me one of her Chai.
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Second of all this is such a fun book! Kiran left her family behind in India for school knowing full well she needs to adhere to her family’s rules and customs. Her sister didn’t follow the rules and fell in Love with an American so Kiran decides to ignore love, until love is waiting for her outside her building.
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Nash, is a children’s psychologist and after his relationship with his family he decides to ignore love also, until he meets Kiran.
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I loved these two together. Also, side note I love that they both use Harry Potter alarms. This story shows that sometimes love can conquer all. Old traditions and rules are hard to break but with the love of family and the best group of friends love can win out.

I am so sad because I loved the beginning of this book, but the middle dragged and I did not finish after the 50% mark.
I think there was potential in this relationship, and I liked how Kiran weighed her decisions.
I think some of the dialogue seemed too young for these characters - especially with all of the exclamation points.
I think some chapters were a bit long. This might be one I come back to, but for right now, I am moving on. I may come back to these characters in the next book.

Love, Chai, and Other Four Letter Words follows Kiran, who finds an old bucket list she made in college with her friends. While her friends have ticked off a lot of the things they had put on their list, Kiran realizes she’s spent the last decade so focused on being the perfect daughter for her parents that she hasn’t had the time to do things for herself. When she meets Nash, she inspires him to make his own list, and they begin to tackle their lists together. As Kiran begins to fall for Nash, she’s torn between following the part of her heart that yearns for love and the part of her heart that wants to be a good traditional daughter and not disappoint her parents.

I think I liked everything in the book except for the romance. I didn’t see the chemistry between Kiran and Nash, and I found Nash to be a little bland. He seemed so white to the point of uneducated about things like Indian food or white privilege, which didn’t make a lot of sense considering he grew up in a fairly big city. I also found that his backstory wasn’t too well developed, and most of his growth seemed to be “culturing himself” by way of hanging out with Kiran.

I really liked everything else. I loved the friendship between Kiran and her friends, I loved how the story articulated the struggles that come with being an immigrant and being a South Asian girl from a traditional home. I loved how Desi it was — everything from Kiran’s intricate chai recipe to her recalling her village in India, South Asian culture and clothes — it brought a wave of nostalgia and familiarity for me. A lot of my experiences on those fronts are really similar to Kiran’s, and I thought her journey of learning to choose herself for once was beautiful.

Kiran Mathur has always followed the rules her parents set down for her. Falling in love, especially after watching how her sister was thrown out of her family for following her heart, is not in the books. Nash Hawthorne has gotten used to abandonment. When the two become neighbors, they both end up questioning their beliefs.

I loved the CMC - especially having Kiran as an Indian from India, Akash and Sonam as Indian American, and Payal as British-Indian was also cool to see how they contrasted with each other. This steady friendship that Kiran has as a family away from her family is one of the highlights of the book. Each member of the CMC is a fun, fleshed-out character.

As a rom-com, this book checks off so many of the romance tropes and I enjoyed reading all the cute scenes between the two of them. I also loved how this book was a bit of a love letter to New York City, and I loved reading about all these things they were doing even though I'm not familiar with NYC.

There are many pretty heavy topics that get discussed - parental abandonment, drug abuse, racism, casteism, emotional abuse/ emotional blackmail, acid attack, xenophobia, death of a parent. Both of our main characters have a lot of baggage when it comes to their family and upbringing, and their baggage understandably clashes in this story.

I'm not Indian, so I can't comment on how good the representation was in this story. I just think that if there were such a line that Kiran was not willing to cross when it came to her family, why did she not draw the line with Nash way before their relationship had started to bloom when it did? Nash was even angry that she had not told him earlier when she finally did confess. They clearly were having moments before their first kiss, so she clearly knew that this was where their relationship was going. I also didn't really like the almost-white-savior vibes that I got from some of the things Nash said or did, which was at the very least, incredibly ignorant. I appreciated that much of it was called out by Kiran, but I found that what Nash did in the climax to be very uncomfortable, and it was built out to be romantic, but I expected (given the way that the parents had verbally abused Kiran and emotionally blackmailed her with her decision to date Nash), that it would go very poorly overall. It left me feeling very torn when I was trying to reconcile the conclusion of the book with all the nasty confrontations that happened between Kiran and her parents.

Finally, there were a few small things that made me uncomfortable. I was a bit taken aback at the mentions of the pandemic, and how it was already post-pandemic life. It felt weird to read for me, especially since cases are still incredibly bad in the US, not to mention other parts of the world. Secondly, there were many mentions of Harry Potter throughout the book, which, given the fact that this book also mentioned the pandemic, I know this book was written relatively recently, makes me a bit sad that Harry Potter was chosen to be mentioned. I was prepared to forgive the first mention, but then both characters mentioned it multiple times, and it was never brought forth as some sort of thing they had in common or anything of that sort - it easily could've been written as another book series or fandom and given all the harm that JK Rowling has done to the trans community, I was a bit shocked to see it mentioned so many times.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the ARC.