Becky and Dev meet while away on holiday. Will they have a chance at being together when they return to their real lives back home, or are they both too different?
Interesting to read about a different culture as well.

I have been on a bit of a romcom binge lately, this one was cute and funny but unfortunately didn’t hit the mark for me.

This is Lindsay Maple’s first novel, even though this one didn’t work for me I would be keen to check out her future work.

Becky and Dev meet in one of the most awkward ways possible. It's complete torture for both, and I appreciated that as they ran into each other again they could move past it. There relationship turns physical quickly, an assumed vacation fling. Only things turn into more when they return to the Vancouver area.

Becky is white and athiest, Dev is Sikh. I really like cross cultural romances and that part of Not Your Basic Love Story did not disappoint. My only issues was near the end Dev went wildly crazy with his family's Indian culture and I felt like he was completely disregarding her feelings at every turn. He does come around, and learns from it, but at the time I was irritated.

I felt a kinship with Becky. I am also single and living on my own, it's hard to go from that to living with someone and I really felt her struggles because I feel the same. Gotta take those baby steps!

The end was really cute and made the journey worth it.

This is my first book by Lindsay Maple, and I really enjoyed, the story is funny and cute, I read it really fast!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the book

This is my first book written by Lindsay Maple and won’t be my last. I really enjoyed this story of Dev and Rebecca. This was so cute and funny and I just ate it up. I finished it in less than 24 hours!

I loved the raw love story and character development between the two characters. It didn’t feel cheesy or like any fluff was added.

Looking forward to reading more by the author in the future!

Damn was this a disappointment. The characters weren't all that fleshed out at all (and the bit that they were, I didn't like them much), the relationship/connection between the leads felt forced, the pacing was awful and the plot was kind of just all over the place. That, on top of fairly stinted writing (ala. then this happened, then this happened, then this happened) made this a not so great read that I was surprised I finished.

I enjoyed the storyline and it was very evident the author did a lot of research to represent Sikh culture. Her author's note includes thanks to specific sensitivity readers and beta readers which I loved! It shows how much she wanted to present an honest narrative.

The storyline was well thought out, I enjoyed getting to know Becky and Dev as we moved throughout their story. Becky recognizing the differences in her life and Dev's, the way she and Dev both had to learn to communicate as a couple and move forward together. It was all very real-life and made them easy to root for. There was a lot of "telling" in the book where I would've liked to 'feel' more, but other than that it was a very enjoyable story!

Not your usual love story indeed! I love that this is a Canadian love story, we don’t see those very often and as a Canadian living in the states it always warms my heart to see it! I will definitely read more from this author.

For me, this rom com focuses too much on snark and embarrassing incidents. The writing was good but I'm not the target audience. DNF ~10%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Not Your Basic Love Story by Lindsay Maple was everything the title said. It's not your traditional love story which is nice for a change of pace. Our Canadian Rebecca is fresh off a breakup and attending a friend's wedding in Mexico where she meets Dev who is from Indian decent. This is a should we or should we not relationship to see if things would work. At the same time, they are trying to see if their 2 cultures would work together. A great non-traditional romance but still a good read!

Well the title definitely lived up to the story. This was not your basic love story at all. I think I knew that was going to be the case after the horrible/gross meet cute between the two main characters.
The beginning of the story is lovely, all the good feelings, everything is going great and the boom. The MMC is Indian and comes from a very traditional family. The FMC is white and doesn’t know much about the Indian culture. There are a few times when the two main characters seem about to break up because they are so different in so many ways and I’m going to be honest up until the end I thought that was for the best. I was willing to sacrifice my HEA for these two to find happiness on their own.
Needless, to say I think the ending was well done and I’m glad the author showed the real compromises and struggles this couple went through. While this wasn’t a basic love story it felt like a very real one.

This book was not only a miss but one of the few i have DNFed this year. i tried giving it an honest shot and read about 23% of the way in. unfortunately this book just missed the mark. I couldn't get invested in it and the characters were extremely forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Company for the ARC.

Not gonna lie, this book was pretty lackluster for me. I don't much care for insta-love stories and I want see people care and grow with each other, and I feel like that didn't happen with this book. I felt like Dev and Becky rushed headlong into this relationship and didn't spend enough time considering what the both wanted from it.

I did think the cultural aspect of it was handled well, and the author managed the racial points of the book admirably. But over the book and the characters just felt flat.

Not my favorite.

This book was okay! It was sweet in the ways all rom-coms should be, but had a health amount of steamy tension that gave me the good kinda belly ache :) I liked it, but didn't love it!

I have to admit that I ugly cried at the end of this book. It was over whelming in such a good way!

I think that Rebecca and Dev could've worked a lot better on their communication. Rebecca did a lot of not voicing her concerns with Dev with the quick wedding to Dev. I think that was a bit frustrating because we only saw her view point, which was valid, but not showing his thoughts caused me to think it was only a Rebecca and not so much a Dev issue.

I also was incredibly annoyed with Rebecca’s friend Miranda for being so dismissive of Rebecca’s wedding experience. I got that she was pregnant, but she was still rude and she felt very white point of view dismissive of other cultures wedding customs.

I am very happy with the overall resolution and both Dev and Rebecca’s families coming together for the wedding and being so supportive of their marriage.

3.5-4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful, sweet rom-com, with just the right amount of tension and steam. Thoroughly enjoyed! The difference between their cultures was handled beautifully and tactfully.

Apologies as I have overlooked this review, having recorded my review on goodreads and not noting it here on Netgalley.

At a far from auspicious meeting between the main characters (think hung over MC Dev vomiting on the MC Becky) you would think that would be enough to cruel any desire. But no, they meet up again at the hotel where they are each on holidays, and have a holiday fling. (Sorry I still can't get the vomiting image out of my head, I don't know how Becky did).

It's an insta-love romance, that when then couple returns to real life, it all gets ,,, well ... real. They are from two different cultures and there is a push and pull in their relationship between families, ideals, views, status, ideas about marriage, feminism and a whole raft of other issues. There's alot. I found Becky did alot of compromising and Dev not so much, despite the fact I didn't feel she was into him as much as he was into her. It was just a feeling and it was subtle for me, but I didn't have the feeling this was a relationship to ride out long-term tough times. It was as if there was a HFN (Happy for now) rather than a HEA (happily ever after).

3.5 stars rounded up

What I Liked: This book does a wonderful job of showing the difficulties a couple can face when they are from two very different cultures. Dev and Rebecca find themselves having to worry more about situations that most people wouldn’t have think twice about, like meeting each other’s friends and family, while learning about their own differences at the same time. Every scene of culture shock, social miscues, or inadvertent hurt feelings felt authentic and something I’m sure happens in real life with couples from different backgrounds. This is where the book is best, showing how families, even those that have the best intentions, can influence us and our decisions. I also enjoyed the beginning of Dev and Rebecca's relationship and the banter between them. I found it charming and fun.

What I Didn’t Like: I know this is an insta-love story but I struggled believing that Rebecca truly loved Dev. It felt like every time she and Dev would have any kind of disagreement, she would think about getting back together with her cheating ex-boyfriend. I could understand her having doubts once (again, this is an insta-love story and the entire relationship takes place over the span of a few months) but Rebecca’s actions didn’t always align with her thoughts in a way that made me believe she was invested in her relationship with Dev. One of the messages of this book is how compromise, for the right reasons, can be good and that we shouldn’t hold onto rigid expectations. So I was disappointed in the end when it was Rebecca who seemed to be making all the compromises and big life changes while Dev got away with SAYING he would compromise but then never followed through. Which leads me to another issue I had, Dev’s complete disregard for anything Rebecca wanted for their wedding, assuming she would just accept everything his family had already decided for them, and then seeming to be surprised when she was upset by this. This felt out of character for him and seemed to be a way to add more tension to the story when there were plenty of other things that could have caused Rebecca and Dev problems. We didn’t need Dev changing into an idiot to add angst.

Who Should Read It: Romance fans who like opposites attract stories will like this one as will anyone who has ever been in a mixed cultural relationship.

Review Wrap Up: I know it sounds like I didn’t like this book but there were things I enjoyed. I loved learning about Sikh traditions and felt that the scenes with Dev’s family were where this book shines. In the end, I wish that the romance felt more believable to me and that Rebecca was a stronger character.

Favorite Quote: “But what I looked forward to most? It was the regular days. Him crunching through his morning cereal before racing off for the day. Me, trying to remember to pick my clothes up off the floor, drinking chai on the couch, watching the evening news. Everyday life, for the rest of my life, with him by my side.”

This book was relatable AF! And not just because I belong to the same culture as the hero. Rebecca and Dev are just beautiful. You know when sometimes, a book just envelopes you? I felt that with "Not Your Basic Love Story". As mentioned in the Author's Note, the author has done a lot of research. I'm a Punjabi too, but I still learned much about my culture from this book.

With the book's pace, I was not rooting for Dev. I mean, I was for quite a while until, well, until his parents. I know how meddlesome Punjabi parents are, and my parents expect me to continue their legacy too, but with Dev, I felt Rebecca would cry more than she laughed and suffer more than she'd enjoy.

I won't carry on with too many points or nitpicks, but I think this is one book that beautifully represents more than one culture. And the ending is worth it, especially the one alteration (no spoilers, but kind of a spoiler?)

If you're reading this review, read the book. Don't ask questions. You're not going to regret it.

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

Loved the plot and the tensions was great. Laughed a lot and really enjoyed it!