A romance with twists... Yes, please.
Good girl Niki has just lost her job. She has just been fixed up with a family friend's nephew, and her best friend is getting married half a world away. As she navigates her life, she finds herself imagining other people's romances. When she decides to finally throw caution to the wind, and books a ticket to India for her friend's wedding, she is finally ready for an adventure. At the first wedding event, she meets Sam. Is she ready for a fling? Is she ready to imagine her own romance?
Although her parents are from Punjab, she still wonders about the meaning of Diwali. As she meets new people and asks them about it, we get to learn about it with her.

This is a light, fun, fairly clean romance about an almost 30-year-old Sikh Indian woman who was raised in the United States pursuing love and trying to figure out her life in general. Written for adults but suitable for teens.

I really loved this sugar sweet romance, especially because it was centered around Diwali! Sam and Niki totally stole my heart and I enjoyed seeing them in different places in India. Another winner from Sonya Lalli!

Thank you Berkley Romance and Lets Talk Books Promo for the gifted copy.
I enjoyed this sweet story, especially learning more about Diwali.
Niki is let go from her job and ends up going to India last minute for her friend's wedding. She runs into Sam at a Diwali gathering and they're instantly drawn together. Niki tries to dismiss it because she's only there for a short time. They keep running into each other and it's obvious Sam is smitten. He's a gorgeous rock star and Niki is the obedient younger daughter. She takes a chance on him and stays longer, spending time with Sam and his family.
I loved the chemistry between Sam and Niki. They fell in love quickly but they seemed great for each other. Niki learning about Diwali, her culture and India were my favorite parts of the book. I liked that Sam and Niki had to work for their relationship and despite an initial struggle, were willing to do the work.

This gorgeous cover and premise had me. I thought it sounded adorable and I love a good character arc. Unfortunately, the strong beginning fizzled out and the insta-love didn't do it for me. I would have loved to experience more of Diwali and how it changed the course of Niki's life. The educational moments at the beginning of the book didn't continue unfortunately.
I wish that the wrap up in the epilogue had been sprinkled far more heavily in the bulk of the book. I was hoping for a more dynamic heroine rather than what came off as a lusty drive to have Sam for one night. Where did her drive to find herself go? It's a missed opportunity, in my opinion.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-arc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I loved the idea of a romance taking place over Diwali and while I enjoyed this, I did find myself skimming over large parts of it. I never personally felt super invested in the story or characters but I would still recommend this to other readers looking for a diverse holiday romance.

I absolutely loved reading A Holly Jolly Diwali, written by Sonya Lalli. Everything about this book drew me in and kept me engaged in the story. The settings were terrific and written with Lalli's eloquence. Niki Randhawa, our main character is twenty nine and lives a logical, practical life. She is thrown into a roller coaster that begins the day she is laid off from her desirable, safe job and lets loose on a blind date. She then decides to attend her best friend's wedding in India on an impulse.

During the celebration of Diwali, Niki meets Sameer Mukherji (Sam), a popular musician who seems to be the opposite of Niki in most every way. Chemistry sizzles between the two who live in different worlds and different countries. The settings in India were my favorite, as well as the explanation of Diwali and what it means to many of the different characters. Lalli is not afraid to dig deep into the cultural insecurities and how family expectations can shape our choices. The racism and class systems in India were shown from Niki's perspective - and were an important part of her character development.

I was left longing for more time spent in India but enriched with glimpses of culture and custom in a land I would love to visit. Lalli tackled hard issues in A Holly Jolly Diwali without letting these themes take over the romance between Niki and Sam. Definitely a worthy read!

#BerkleyBuddyReads #Berkleywritesstrongwomen

I was hoping for more holiday fun with this book, but Diwali wasn't a super big part of this book and Christmas was kind of slapped on at the end. The love interest had zero personality. There was an instalove thing with Niki and Sam, which I hated. I did like how Lalli explored Niki's cultural insecurity. Would have loved to see Jasmine and Niki's relationship explored more.
Overall, this book was cute and fun, but without much substance.

Niki Randhawa has always strived to be a perfect Indian daughter, choosing a tech career over music, her passion, and always following the rules, including dating men of whom her parents would approve. Her carefully planned future shatters, however, when she’s laid off from her job.

Realizing that always doing the “right” thing hasn’t led to success or happiness, Niki impulsively books a flight to Mumbai to attend the wedding of her friend, Diya.

At a lively Diwali celebration, Niki eyes the band’s bass player, later to learn he is London musician Sameer Mukherji, a close friend of Diya. During the wedding celebration and subsequent group honeymoon, Niki and Sam grow closer, with Sam encouraging Niki to follow her passion. Living in different countries, their fling, no matter what feelings it might generate, can only be finite—unless the both take risks, reveal secrets, and stray from the expected path.

My favorite part of the book was the Indian setting, both Mumbai and Goa, which were vividly described. There is also a great sibling relationship between Niki and her older sister.
An important theme throughout the book is familial and cultural expectations and how they shape us and how miscommunication or faulty assumptions can intensify them.

While I liked Niki and Sam, and was even convinced that the wedding/ honeymoon environment could engender a rapid attraction, they also had communication issues, which at times were frustrating but also necessary to move the plot.

Though the book has a fun Christmas scene, Diwali is celebrated in October or November. But, I am here for non-Christmas love stories!

Since opening this account, I have realized that anything relating to Indian culture is one of my favorite storylines. I just find everything about the culture and the people fascinating and I loved learning more about Diwali, the festival of lights.

Niki, type-A analyst living in Seattle has always lived life in the most practical way, dating guys that are good on paper, living near her family in case they need her, and even securing a career for stability. That is until her practical life choices leave her with nothing on her agenda and she makes the impulsive decision to travel to Mumbai last minute for her friend’s wedding.

Ahh, then she meets Sameer, free-spirited musician things completely change, and practicality goes out the window. Nikki and Sam then join a “group honeymoon.” Side note: Are group honeymoons real? It seems so strange to me. As Nikki connects on a deeper level with Sam, she must decide if she should take a leap of faith or go back to the practicality of her life in Seattle.

I loved all the surrounding stories and traditions about this book, even more so than the love story. This is a great story to get you in the holiday spirit.

This is going to be a hard book for me to review. I LOVED a lot of this, but there were also other things about it that I really didn’t care for. I was all over the place with this, so I’ve been sitting on this review for awhile. So basically what I’m saying is…. Take this review with a grain of salt lol

Niki is a data analyst and loves her job. That is until she’s let go. Now that she has free time, she decides its time to do things for herself. She goes to her best friend’s wedding in India. She’s there just in time to Celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. She runs Sameer Mukherji, a musician who she’s drawn to. As she spends her time in India, she must decide what she wants to come next in her life.

Ok, so the first thing I wanted from this book was the setting. And it was terrible. I wanted it to show all the lights and ways she celebrated Diwali. She was in India after all. But there was absolutely nothing that was there stood out to me. I wanted to feel like I was there in India. It was a bit disappointing.

But even though the setting was terrible, it was definitely educational. I learned so much about Diwali. And then I went and looked up more things. And I was even more excited about this because I don’t think I’ve ever read anything specifically about Diwali. Definitely going to be one of the books that I recommend to others.

And that brings me to the romance. It was not swoon worthy at all. Until the end. The grand gesture was a 4 on its own. I got a little teary. And I liked the epilogue and the way they decided to handle things at the end of the book. But I think that was the reason I was annoyed with it? It wasn’t really anything until then. And with this being a romance book, I was hella disappointed. The Spice Level in this one is a 1. Really like a 0 lol I think the most they did was kiss and someone touched someone else’s thigh. The problem is tho, since it was low on the “sweat” I would have at least wanted it to be high on the “sweet” but it was low on both.

This wasn’t exactly what I wanted out of this book, but it’s what was given. And unfortunately I can’t say I was super in love with it. But for those things I did like, it was hella worth it! I say read it and let me know what you think!

I love seeing the lights going up in my neighborhood which signals Diwali is approaching so it was nice to learn a little more about the holiday and how her extended family observes the holiday in India.

The best part of the book for me was Niki taking advantage of her layoff to travel to India (Mumbai and Goa) for the first time and learn more about where her parents came from and its rich culture. While she’s there, she deals with colorism and classism and wonders how she fits in, especially since she doesn’t speak any of the Indian languages. It’s always a challenge to be a child of immigrants, keeping your feet in both cultures and never feeling like you fit in.

I was less convinced with her relationship with Sam because I didn’t feel the spark between them or even understand how they fell in love so quickly. I could see Niki being caught up in the beauty of the area, the lavish wedding, and fantasizing about life with a handsome musician. I had a harder time understanding Sam’s instant attraction to Niki since their relationship never really had a chance to develop.

Overall. a fun, light read that should pique your interest in the fascinating traditions, and diverse cultures within India.

This ARC was offered in exchange of an honest and impartial review:
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3*
Pros: Beautiful focus on Diwali, its origins, traditions and the deep meaning it has for Indian people from different religious and backgrounds. Indian-descent main characters and cast. Deals with self-esteem issues, inferiority complex, feeling lost professionally and about the future. Includes some swoon-worthy tropes.
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Cons: Features some clichés. Somewhat clunky and not natural dialogues and scenes.

I received a gifted galley of A HOLLY JOLLY DIWALI by Sonya Lalli for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review!

A HOLLY JOLLY DIWALI follows Niki, a young Indian woman who has devoted herself to her career without much focus on her personal life. When she’s suddenly laid off she is at loose ends, but she decides to look on the positive side that she can now travel to India for her friend Diya’s wedding. Niki’s arrival in India corresponds to the celebration of Diwali, something she knows little about. Still, she joins Diya and her family at a bit celebration. There she meets Sam and together they enjoy the holiday and the wedding festivities and begin to look forward to the future.

Niki does a lot of searching in this one. Though raised by Indian parents, she really doesn’t know much about what Diwali is, so she begins asking the various people that she meets. Even they give very different meanings as Niki continues to gather various ideas of the holiday of the festival of lights.

The author takes a hard look at various issues Niki runs across as well from racism, colorism and classism. Niki’s own family comes from an area considered less desirable and some of those she meets are not shy about pointing this out. From the way she is treated to becoming ill from the food, she’s at a bit of a loss for how she fits in. Still, her relationship with Sam is a bright spot in her life. This felt a bit insta-love-ish for my personal preference and I would have liked to see a bit more relationship development, but I was happy with how things resolved in the end.

A HOLLY JOLLY DIWALI is available now!

Although I've read many Christmas books so far this season, this was my first non-Christmas holiday book. I really enjoyed this mental trip to India and brief dive into Indian culture, specifically Diwali.

I loved that Niki kept asking people why they celebrate Diwali. I knew that Diwali was the festival of lights, but, like Niki, I didn't know much about why it is celebrated before reading this book. It was so interesting to learn about how many different translations there are of the same holiday.

Niki's family didn't teach their children a lot about India or where they came from when they were growing up, so the reader gets to learn about Punjabi culture alongside Niki. This book touches on important themes of classism and casteism, as Niki struggles with complicated feelings towards some aunties looking down on her. Luckily, the friends she meets in India help get her through.

I enjoyed the love story, which I'd classify as opposites attract with a small touch of love triangle. Niki's rigid plan for her future is balanced out by easy-going Sam, and I loved how he tried to convince her to follow her dreams.

The wedding scenes were my favorite part of this book. Indian weddings seem like so much fun! I knew they traditionally have huge weddings in that part of the world, but can you imagine having 1500 people at your wedding??

When practical Niki gets laid off, she realizes that living life by the book hasn’t been working for her so she opts to be spontaneous. She books a last minute flight to India to attend her friend Diya’s wedding and see where her parents are from. When Niki arrives in India it is time to celebrate Diwali, and at the celebration meets Sam, who she is immediately drawn to. The more time they spend together in the coming weeks, the more their mutual attraction grows. But living on opposite sides of the world doesn’t make sense for a relationship. Niki has to decide if she is going to return to being practical or continue to take these spontaneous risks.

This was such a fun read! I loved the wedding scenes - all of the events sounded so fun! I enjoyed that this story had so many layers - yes there was romance, but there was also a lot about self-discovery, family conflicts, and reconnecting with your roots.

One thing I wanted to do this year was incorporate books about non-Christmas holidays into my holiday reading to learn more about other cultures. This book had both Diwali and Christmas and was just everything. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Diwali, and how there were so many different interpretations among the character of why they celebrate it.

Thank you to Berkley for the gifted copy and to @thephdivareads @berittalksbooks and @dg_reads for the buddy read!

This is a cute book but I DNF because it became a little too predictable and repetitive. I have already purchased this for my library and I'm thrilled to have a diverse holiday book for our collection. Thanks to netgalley for the advance ecopy.

“Inequality is everywhere […] even in Seattle. Some countries are simply better at hiding it.”

What could have been better?
I feel like parts of the romance were lacking. I just needed more build up, more cute moments, more of seeing the relationship blossom. I felt like I blinked and missed something?

What I enjoyed?
Everything else! I loved getting immersed in the Indian Sikh culture, my boyfriend’s Indian side of the family is Sikh so it was super cool to get a glance and ask him ALL the questions.

I loved the social commentary, the discussion of family and the pressures we can feel from expectations that they put on us, the old traditions put on us.

I loved how this book featured a woman who was still finding her way and starting over.

I loved the MCs intermediate family 😍

I loved the discussion of colorism and “darkness,” the pressure to not be too dark from your own family to the point it somehow embeds in yourself is something I felt deeply.

Also! Okay, when you read this, have some food nearby because it makes you so hungry 🤤

While, I felt the romance elements were lacking, I still think this was definitely worth the read because of everything else it brought to the table.

Overall I liked this book, specifically the cultural aspect. However, nothing stood out to make this a book I love. I definitely felt for Niki and her journey to find love. But her fling with Raj and quickly developed relationship with Sam just did not cut it for me. I was glad to have an additional holiday book that was not only about Christmas, but I wish there was something more in this story.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I absolutely enjoyed this author's writing style. The pacing of this story is great. The characters are enjoyable. I enjoyed the description of Diwali, the festival of lights. This book is in stores for $17.99 (USD). You guys absolutely need this book on your shelves. I highly highly recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone.