Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dev explores the themes of love, grief, family, friendship, duty, and sense of self against the backdrop of an Indian wedding in the Chicago suburbs. Even though this is a short story, Dev still manages to capture and convey the depths and motivations of her characters.

Her writing is beautiful and always feels elevated (in a good way) to me.

The story is self-contained and short enough to read in one sitting. It falls into the second chance romance trope without feeling like a cliche.

5 Stars - I highly recommend this one.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this e-arc.

Sonali literally has held me hostage. He could write me an arrest warrant and I would still give it 5 stars. This is my 3rd-second chance romance by her this year and she has not disappointed. The emotional hold in 67 pages is to much. How can one cover so much depth in these 67 pages?

Ayesha was a well-formatted character and her idea of self-discovery was beautiful, but the thing I love most about Sonali Dev is her humor. The book was emotional, but there were comedic moments that almost gave an odd sense of realism.

Anyways Sonali Dev I'm begging for your hand in marriage.

Her best friend’s big, fat Indian wedding is a chance to get away from her endless duties at the restaurant and maybe even have some fun (if she remembers how). But a setup arranged by her mother, with a doctor no less, is the last thing she needs. The fact that he checks all her mother’s boxes just makes everything better…and worse.

Then Emmitt Hughes shows up. Her brother’s best friend. The love she once chose over family duties and her responsibilities. The one she asked to leave, and who did. The one who knows the real Ayesha. Torn between a love from the past that could cost her the only person she has left and her sense of obligation to her mother, will Ayesha find the strength to stop thinking about what everyone else wants and finally put herself first? Or is the old Ayesha truly gone for good?

This is a fun, short story set in the same world as the Rajees. I love all her other books and this is another excellent one. This second chance romance is sweet, romantic and emotional. Totally love it. The characters are terrific. They are complex and totally complicated in the best way. :) Another wonderful book by this writer.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Great, fun short story loosely set in her Rajes world. This is a quick romantic read and perfect for fans of Dev or new readers.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy to review. I enjoy Sonali Dev’s writing so when I found this available, I jumped at the chance. I do prefer to listen to her books on audio so the narrator has an accent that fits. However, reading this story was enjoyable. The beginning didn’t seem to set the story up much but that often happens in short stories. Ultimately, I liked how the story played out and I like the dynamic between both Ayesha and Emmitt as well as Ayesha and Amma.

The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev is a quick and enjoyable read about one woman's journey of self-discovery, and the gift of being given a second chance at love. It is a testament to the skill of the author that Ayesha Shetty is a fully fleshed out protagonist, and her story feels satisfactorily complete in its brevity.

I am new to the writing of Ms Dev, and am certainly intrigued enough by this sampling to seek out more of her work in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an ARC.

This story by Sonali Dev is my first taste of this author, and I was impressed with the levels of emotional depths she managed to attain in what after all is a short story. Set in Chicago, we meet Ayesha Shetty who lost her beloved brother, Ajay, 7 years ago, plunged into such grief that she became a significantly more insipid and muted version of the woman she used. In her efforts to protect Amma, her much loved mother, from further hurt, she leaves her old life behind to work to make Ajay's dream a success, the family restaurant, Mangalore Stew, a demanding challenge that requires putting in so many hours, she has no other life. She has become the good Indian girl, no longer having the no holds barred arguments on culture and traditions with her mother, and is even willing to consider a 'suitable man' chosen by Amma, who will be attending her best friend, Bela's wedding. However, the wedding becomes a reckoning with her past and the woman she used to be, a woman who had pushed away the man she loved 7 years ago, Ajay's best friend, Emmit Hughes.

This is a story of the love and relationships between mothers and daughters, best friends, grief, and a wedding setup that might not quite be what it appears. The romantic aspects were not for me, but the rest of the tale is wonderful, a glimpse into Asian culture, how we can miscontrue the intentions of those close to us, lose our sense of self so completely that we disconnect with who we are, and the nature of love in all its glorious forms, including between best friends. Many thanks to Amazon Original Stories for an ARC.

I do love a Bollywood inspired story, and Sonali Dev is one of the Queens of the genre.
Ayesha is getting on in the eyes of her widowed mother. But, how can she leave her mum, alone?
Ever since the death of her older brother, Ayesha has been with her Amma, filling the gaps of both her father and brother.
And, anyway, she's never going to find someone to replace the true love of her life.
Still, it doesn't stop her mother from match-making. At her best friend's wedding, Ayesha comes to realise exactly how meddling her mother can be... and not always in the way she would have thought.
A really fun, quick and easy read to bring a little Eastern spice into the cold nights!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ayesha, a South Asian American woman, has devoted the last seven years of her life to helping her mother, Amma, keep their business going. But Amma is putting pressure on Ayesha to get married before she gets too old. Amma arranges for Ayesha to meet the “perfect” match at Ayesha’s best friend’s wedding, but to Ayesha’s surprise, the love of her life shows up at the wedding also. Ayesha finds herself in an impossible situation. She must choose between her obligation to her mother and her obligation to herself.

This story is about all different sorts of love – parental love, sibling love, best friend love, and of course, soul mate love. And interweaved among the theme of love is grief and obligation. While culturally stereotypical, I found the theme of brown girl guilt to be wholly accurate. All the female characters are strong and fierce and yet, so nurturing, I was reminded of my own relationship with my mother. Ayesha’s struggle to make the right decisions for herself are those that most South Asian Americans find themselves experiencing throughout their lives.

My only criticism of this story is that it ended way too soon. I didn’t want it to end.

Thank you Amazon Short Stories and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange of an honest review.

Do you believe in second chances? Ayesha lost her brother, the love of her life and herself after a terrible accident seven years ago. Now, at her best friend’s wedding, she gets a second chance at love and at finding her way back to her true self.

Sonali Devs does it again. This time in the form of a beautifully written short story about loss, mourning, and finding your way back after tragedy strikes. I loved reading the development of the different relationships and dynamics presented throughout the story: friendships, mother-daughter, and lost lovers.

A truly beautiful short story with themes that cross the cultural divide. Sacrificing happiness for what one thinks another wants is universal, as is a love lost to circumstance. And Dev weaves this all beautifully amid the background of a huge, luxurious Indian wedding. A short story not to be missed!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to Amazon Original Stories for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sonali Dev has done it once again. This is the third second-chance romance I've read of hers this year and she's nailed it every single time! Ayesha and Emmitt's story in The Wedding Setup is filled with such emotion and love and fondness, and you could feel it all so clearly even though this story is only 67 pages long (as least on my eARC version). I feel like I went on this whole journey from Ayesha and Emmitt being childhood friends, to lovers, to strangers, to lovers again, even though this story took place over the course of one wedding. I felt like Sonali was staring into my soul while writing this novel, too. I've never been in a situation remotely similar to Ayesha's, but I still connected and related to her so deeply. I love the other themes this story had aside from the romance, such as the theme of South Asian familial expectations with Ayesha's relationship with her mother, and the theme of managing grief with Ajay's death.

So yeah, in short, Sonali Dev is an incredible writer who evokes the best emotions from her novels. If you like second-chance romance, books with South Asian rep, or brother's best friend trope, I highly recommend this short story!

I loved this short story. I’m a big fan of Sonali’s other novels and this is the perfect introduction for someone who may be new.

Ayesha’s life was upended when her brother passed away in an accident. Seven years later, she runs an Indian restaurant in the Chicago suburbs (woo Naperville!) and has become a muted version of the person she once was. During her best friend’s wedding weekend she has the chance for a new romance - or rekindle one with one who got away.

This was a super sweet second chance romance (with brother’s best friend, if you’re here for the tropes). I could have easily read and enjoyed a full length novel about Ayesha and Emmitt’s love story. The writing was clever and funny - I too choked on my Malbec at one point. In addition to the romance you get a story about a beautiful family, some matchmaking aunties, and a celebration of the Indian culture.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this short story.

A beautifully written read. Sonali Dev might have just become my favorite author! Ayesha is a deeply complex character, seemingly impossible in a short story. This book is deeply emotional while still being funny and a thoroughly enjoyable casual read. It snuck in as one of my top books of 2021 with 3 days to go in the year!