3.5stars

The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev is a short but cute and heartwarming story. Dev managed to pack so much emotion, conflict, and growth into 70 pages between multiple characters - not just the main character and her love interest. I saw little bits of myself, my family, and friends in this story and it made this story more relatable and endearing. With this being my introduction to Sonali Dev's works, I am definitely likely to pick up their other work.

I finished around 70% of the book by the time the book was archived and couldn't be viewed again due to an error. What I read till then, didn't impress me very much. First- the classic Indian parents stereotype. I didn't understand why the author had to degrade India in others' viewpoint, considering that India makes up over 125 million English speakers in the world. Maybe that aspect of the story was just exaggerated to add humor, but I just felt second hand embarrassment. As for the rest, it just felt like a ramble, and I felt no connection to any of the characters whatsoever. I am under the impression from other review that this is part of a series and I would probably understand this better if I read the prequels.

The Wedding Setup was short and sweet! Sonali Dev is such a talented writer and I love reading all of her work. Since the death of her brother, Ayesha has found herself trying to keep the family restaurant going. When she finally gets a day off to celebrate her best friend’s wedding, she begrudgingly agrees to meet a date picked out by her mom and aunties. To her surprise, her brother’s best friend Emmitt is also there. As the night unfolds, the history between them makes it impossible for them to stay away from each other. But what really happened in the last seven years since they’ve seen each other?

Despite having less space than a traditional novel, Sonali manages to create a deep and loving history between Ayesha and Emmitt. Ayesha and Emmitt must unpack the trauma, guilt, and grief that lie between them and their happily-ever-after. I love how Sonali plays with classic tropes, while creating a romantic and heartwarming second-chance romance. I really related to Ayesha, who felt a responsibility to do whatever would make those around her happy after a tragic loss. It was fantastic to see her regain her personality and decide what she truly wanted. I would love to see more of these characters or other characters from this world! The Wedding Setup is available now. Thank you so much to Sonali Dev, Amazon Original Stories, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: I will publish it on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

The Wedding Setup is a quintessential Sonali Dev book with all the trappings. Desi family, meddling friends, and an accident that changed their lives forever.

I have been enjoying the author's Jane Austen retellings series. This second chance romance and the history between Ayesha and Emmitt reminded me of Recipe for Persuasion but is a lighter read.

Predictable and felt a bit rushed. But overall, a good pick if you are looking for a short light read.

3 stars

This was cute and sweet and I love the family aspects of the story but... you definitely need to read previous book because I felt lost at times and also I didn't fully like our heroine.
Still this was a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short, but wonderful, story! At its heart it is an examination of the conflicts that exist in our lives. In the case of the protagonist, Ayesha, she is torn between her devotion to her mother and their restaurant, and the man she loves. The changes brought to her life after her brother's death have lingered, affecting her work life and her relationship with her mother. The story takes places over a weekend, at the wedding of her best friend, where she encounters an old flame. Weddings are a great backdrop for love stories, and Sonali Dev creates an engaging and thoughtful story that explores expectations and happiness. Highly recommended, especially for those who are eagerly awaiting Dev's next book!

The Wedding Set-up, a novella by Sonali Dev is a wonderfully written second chance romance told from the Ayesha Shetty's perspective as she takes a journey to rediscover herself. Ayesha lost her brother seven years ago the same time she lost everything else important to her: her dreams, her fierce independence, sending away the man she loved. Not wanting to see her mother hurt anymore, she laid aside her wild ways becoming the dutiful daughter her mother needed and took on her brother’s role in the family business. Ayesha finally gets a break to attend her best friend’s wedding festivities. Unexpectedly she runs into Emmitt, the love she sent away. Emmitt and Bela, the bride as well as Ayesha’s best friend, had plotted to make sure he attended the wedding and try to get Ayesha back. Take a “locked” room forcing the proximity of two people who never forgot one another, them reconnecting and communicating, sizzling tension and you will witness the love between Ayesha and Emmitt.

Ms. Dev wrote a sweet and endearing short love story that should not be missed. She provided a tale rich with emotions, heartbreak, conflict, growth, chemistry, clever banter, and a cast of secondary characters assisting Ayesha and Emmitt rediscover their love for one another. Despite wishing it was a longer story, I highly recommend The Wedding Setup to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

Wow! I was so impressed by how Sonali Dev created such a descriptive and character driven story in such few pages. I loved the drama, romance, self discovery, and family conflicts throughout the story. I enjoyed how all the aunties and uncles in the story were conspiring together to get Emmitt and Ayesha back together, and each one of them had unique voices. I could imagine the wedding scene as every Indian wedding I have attended, and I loved how detailed the descriptions were. A great short story full of depth and quick read. 5/5 stars!

Sonali Dev manages to pack as much heart and soul into this short story as she does into her full-length novels. I both wish it was longer, but also loved it as a scrumptious bite-sized morsel! With a stressful start to 2022 my attention span is truly goldfish-like, so this beautiful story that made me laugh and cry couldn’t have come at a better time.

This is a cute romance short story that I found greatly enjoyable. It is mostly sweet, though there is some grief subplot. I would describe the romance as a kind of fated mates in contemporary setting.

CW: loss of a loved one (in the past), some gendered language

A quick, fun and sweet tale! I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

Rating: 4.25 🌟
First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.
I was fascinated at first since the book was under 100 pages and I wondered what the content would be to amaze the readers. However, once I've finished reading it, I can see why this book has so many positive reviews. The author's depth of knowledge about each character was nicely written and explained. The tradition's richness was well depicted.

This was a fun quick read that for a short story really had a lot of depth. I was impressed at the level of emotion Sonali Dev was able to fit into this story. I enjoyed the second chance love story trope and found myself instantly rooting for Ayesha and Emmitt.

I received an ARC from Amazon Original Stories via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

/* I received a copy of this book through NetGalley */

The Wedding Set-Up is my first book by Sonali Dev. A short story, it is the story of Ayesha. When earlier, she would argue and fight with her mother over every small thing, after Ajay's death, she is too caught up in her making her mother happy and keeping the family restaurant, "Mangalore Stew" going. She buries her dreams and her love, to become a model daughter. So much so, that when her mother tells her about meeting a prospective groom at her best friend's wedding, Ayesh reluctantly agrees to that as well.
However, there she bumps into Emmit, her brother's best friend and the love of her life. Will Ayesh say yes to her mother's choice, or will she regain her spirit and take what she wants.
Second-chance tropes are my favourites, and this book fits the bill perfectly. The humour is top-notch. However, I do feel that the book is a little cliched and felt a bit rushed. I could predict what was going to happen next, and even though the writing did engage me, I could not help but think that the author missed the bus with this book. It could have been much better, given the author's track record.

Safe vs. risky. Expected vs. exciting. Love vs. settling. After losing her brother, Ayesha must decide between her own happiness or doing what she believes will make her mother happy. This novella was captivating! Loved it!

5/5 stars for The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev
This book hit me on a personal level. As an Indian myself, I go through the same things Ayesha goes through. The expectations and insecurities are real and constant. My own "Amma" has the same beliefs as the one in the book. Ayesha struggles with finding herself, finding a place to belong, and finding her people. All of this is of course an on-going process through life, but it's still nice to have support. Finally, my hope is that one day I can find my own Emmitt. Someone that listens to me, calls me out when I need to do better and simply gives me constant support.

I loved Emmitt from the beginning and was rooting for him while Ayesha was on the journey to let herself love him too! The side characters were wonderful, the story was awesome, and yes, I just loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley, I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.

CW: This novella contains a death that happens in the past and grief is addressed in a sensitive manner.

This was my first time reading Ms. Dev’s writing and I’ve just moved her work to the top of my TBR pile.

It’s so hard to write a novella that has you empathizing with the heroine from the first few pages, but that’s exactly what this author accomplishes. The other difficulty is to not villainize a character who may be the obstacle to true love. Again, Ms. Dev shows her deftness in showing us each character’s humanity while also navigating the layers of grief that her characters cope with.

This story is a quick read and it introduces you to a cast of characters that may seem familiar to you or remind you of people in your family. There are two deep female friendships in two generations that are portrayed with an economy of words.

Most importantly, there is a core love story that had me ugly crying at the end and so grateful that I had the pleasure of reading this book.

Cute short story and so easy to read. I loved Ayesha the moment I started reading and could relate to her so much with her relationship with her mom. I loved the emotions this story put me through! With Ayesha going through multiple deaths in her family, her mom is all she has and they are both full of sadness and don't know how to interact with each other without getting annoyed or upset. Emmitt brought back the tenderness in Ayesha and loved every single moment of it! Ayesha is strong like her mother and they realize it's time to live out her dreams and feel alive again.

You’re getting exactly what you expect (and want!) from this short story from Sonali Dev. Somehow in such a quick read, Sonali Dev was able to make me laugh and cry (and her food descriptions are always out of this world so I was immediately hungry as well!). This is a quick and easy read and definitely worth your time