I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co.!

When a vacation fling develops into something more, Becky and Dev have to figure out how to make their opposites attract relationship work. They soon find themselves overwhelmed by cultural differences and fighting to show the strength of their love.

Not Your Basic Love Story covers the complicated issues that can arise when two very different people from two very different cultures get together. The author relates the good along with the bad in a respectful and thoughtful way. The MCs struggled with communication throughout the storyline which was somewhat frustrating. I do feel like Becky was made to compromise a lot more than Dev was. In spite of their poor communication and family conflicts, I feel like all of their issues were solved almost too easily.

This is author Lindsay Maples debut novel.

(Not) Your Basic Love Story is about Rebecca, who is fresh from a break-up when she meets Dev on a trip to her friends wedding in Mexico. After a series of mishaps, they meet up a few times and work toward deciding if they should be a couple. Their differences are extreme, and it takes some time to figure out if they can put those aside and get a happily ever after.

This is an interesting love story that focusses on meshing two different cultures. Or at least one culture (Indian-Canadian) and one "non-culture". The idea of meshing two cultures and set of beliefs spoke to me, as that is something that I have experienced in my life. Reading the struggle with an interracial relationship seemed so real and raw. I however didn't like how Dev and Rebecca avoided talking about their differences (especially for the wedding and what ultimately married life would look like). I feel that a lot of the conflict that happened with Dev and Rebecca could have easily been dealt with if they just spoke it out with each other.

I thought the writing of microaggressions and racism that Dev experienced were well written and were things that people experience in every day life. I however struggled with Rebecca's, what appeared to be, extreme anxiety that has prevented her from finishing her engineering program and panic around Dev's family. Mental health struggles are normal, however, receiving some help for those struggles should also be normalized.

This book was an interesting debut novel that explored how a relationship could work out, even when it doesn't look like it would work out on paper. Thank you to NetGalley and Rise Action Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

Not your basic love story follows Rebecca who is a 29-year-old working woman fresh out of a breakup and almost certain that her life is going backwards, her best friend getting married isn’t making things easier for her. But it's not her friend’s life that is going wrong, she is convinced she is lagging until she meets Dev, a 25-year-old business student and a man of Indian origin.

Since I am from India I was so excited about another book with the representation. And while I found the family accurately brought to life, I can’t say the same about Dev. There was so much about his character that didn’t sit right with me and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance. The love story felt so rushed that by the end I was neutral about it.

However, there were a few things about this book that I did enjoy. One of them is the side characters, especially Angelina and Priya. I am rather more interested in their story. Secondly, I loved how Rebecca embraces the Sikh traditions, I think it was beautifully written.

One of the things that slightly annoyed me was the idea that was continuously sold that Rebecca not being married and having kids at 29 was wrong and what was weirder was the fact that she and Miranda her best friend thought the same. Her conflicting thoughts weren’t helping. At some point in the story, the couple broke up (Rebecca broke up) and got engaged (Dev proposed) in the same conversation while Rebecca was also considering getting back with her cheater ex..

The writing is very easy to go through which in my opinion makes this a decent one-time read if you could connect to the love story because their romance forms the most significant part of the story.

I know this is a romance novel but i don’t want to talk about that. As a brown personal myself, i related to this so much. Seeing Rebecca and Dev in an interracial relation and watching them struggle through their differences was one of the realest things i’ve seen. The portrayal of the subtle racism Dev has gone through was also very realistic. I think that the author has done a really good job portraying an interracial relationship
with a brown and a white person. going through the struggles the doubts the feeling of being an outsider. it was all nicely done.

overall this was a good story 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed the character development in the story. I love the playful dynamic that Dev and Rebecca had with each other. It was really great learning about Dev’s culture throughout the book and better understanding how multicultural relationships exist. Having simple but real life issues come up in the book really helped make the story feel more genuine. I really liked Dev’s character in the beginning but as soon as his culture took over their relationship and more importantly their entire wedding, I really couldn’t get past the fact that everything was about him and his culture and there were almost no compromises to the relationship for the wedding. I really enjoyed how this book wrapped up- it was a great HEA!

Huge thanks to Rising Action Publishing and Lindsay Maple for my E-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

(Not) Your Basic Love Story was an adorable rom-com. The story was set in Vancouver, British Columbia. It tells the story of Becky, who met a charming guy named Dev on a plane on her way to Mexico for her best friend's wedding. Dev pukes on her, and they feel their adventure is over until their baggage gets mixed up and they find themselves at a wedding together, having an excellent time. What begins as a fling between the two develops into something more, and when they return home, they negotiate what it takes to fall in love with someone whose family, culture, and history are very different from theirs.

I liked the personality difference between Dev and Becky and how they stayed true to themselves throughout the story. The discrepancies between the two were unavoidable. And maybe I desired to read a novel with a perfect pair that hindered me from fully connecting with the romance, but it was still a solid narrative with likable people and a delightful setting. It was amusing and romantic, and the characters were relatable. I loved how the plot developed. I couldn't put this book down. The complexities of cross-cultural relationships, particularly when families are involved, are brilliantly depicted here. It has humor, romance, steamy love moments, a wide cast of various individuals, and two characters you cheer for from the start. Becky and Dev grew, but so did their families, which was appropriate for a lasting relationship. I liked seeing the characters deal with their cultural differences. It's a quick and easy read.

Overall, it was an excellent and emotional book. I suggest it to everyone who enjoys reading about love from other cultures.

This was a refreshing, honest romance story! I loved the meet-cute and the lead up to them being in a relationship. I enjoyed the real-life problems of the characters and the sensitivity with which difficult topics like their cultural differences were discussed.

This book was fine, I guess. I really don’t know how to describe it differently, not awful. It was a 2.5 stars

I felt like Becky lost herself in order to get what she wanted in this book. There is a lot of talk about being old at 29 and how everyone is getting married and having babies, and she is being left behind. So, she settles for the first guy that is willing to be in a serious relationship, and it seems like she is always pushing for them to move forward and he just goes along with it.

And then he does a complete turnaround, and he is in charge of everything and she just lets him because they are suddenly engaged. Not to mention the fact that he couldn’t compromise and everything had to be his family’s way. I get that the culture and religion are a big part of his life, but it’s not just him anymore. There are two people in the relationship, with different wants and needs and he just took over, and she let him do it because she is desperate to not be left behind. By the end of the book, I didn’t even recognize Becky. The only thing that is salvageable is the fact that she is still focused on getting her project off the ground. Otherwise, she would completely disappear.

I honestly think that there was a lot of unnecessary drama going on. Nicole and the exes. I kinda got lost sometimes because of it. It was like the author was just throwing things at me and I was left trying to understand how things were happening. I wanted the romance to have more focused and for it not to be Becky struggling to accept the fact that her life is not perfect and accept less because of it.

For all the feminist jokes, this was all about a woman doing exactly what society expects of her: to be married before she is too old since she will be undesirable by then.

This book was a lot of fun. I loved the clash of worlds, and this book does an amazing job of showing what compromise looks like, and how it can be a strength.

The characters are really well-written and lovable. They aren't presented as perfection, but as real people who have to learn and adapt and grow to understand one another and accept each others' differences.

The cultural elements of this book were really interesting, and added a very enjoyable layer to the reading experience.

I would definitely read another book by this author.

I was not a big fan of this book. I seriously considered DNFing it until almost half way through. I didn’t vibe with the writing and I also didn’t like the characters. Maybe it was meant to be funny, but all these grown adults behaving like rude teenagers completely ruined the romance for me. I also had a lot of issues with Rebecca as a character.

Unfortunately it was hard for me to feel invested in these characters which made the love story hard to root for! I don't think these characters were a good match for each other


Thank you #Netgalley for an early read of #NotYourBasicLoveStory

Becky and Dev first meet on a plane where the banter is going well until Dev throws up on her and they think their story is over until their luggage gets mixed up and end up at a wedding together and having a great time.

However, there’s some jealously in the beginning that doesn’t make much sense to me and from there I felt Dev and Becky just were not a good match. While I understand respecting cultural differences and traditions, Dev doesn’t explain many (if any)to Becky and just expects her to automatically be on board with all of the, some of them being significantly impactful lifestyle differences (like living with your in laws and their entire family). I also felt where Dev gave Becky no grace with her ex, he expected hers over and over again when it came to his ex girlfriend.

Both families were anxiety inducing in a really realistic way, it showed the difficulty one can experience when in an interracial/cultural relationship and how difficult it can be on the individuals and couple. I’ve personally been exposed to Sikh people/culture in my real life but this is one of the few times I’ve seen the, represented in a mainstream romance and I liked that and am happy for the increased visibility this book will provide.

I enjoyed the very first part of this novel until the end of Miranda’s wedding but after there were too many less than favorable factors playing in to Dev and Becky’s relationship for me to get excited about them ending up together. Dev and Becky were awful communicators and were not the most fun to read. I was also irked that it was just expected if Becky to compromise on things over and over again and Dev never has to consider comprise until he gets to decide to consider compromise, it’s a choice for him to compromise but an expectation for her.

Also, as a bisexual having the only openly bisexual character be a cheater who wanted to explore their sexuality and having sex with someone else was really off putting and plays into the negative stereotype of bisexual people being promiscuous & was really, really disappointing.

Im giving this one two stars.

⭐️⭐️

Thank You NetGalley and Rising Action Publication for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Rising Action and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

(Not) Your Basic Love Story by Lindsay Maple is a steamy rom-com featuring an interracial relationship. The story revolves around Becky, who meets a handsome Sikh man on her flight to Mexico. Sparks fly between Becky and Dev, but what will happen when they return to Vancouver? Can they merge their very different families and cultures? Will they get their happily ever after, or will this fling end in heartbreak?

Here is a romantic excerpt from Chapter 1:

"My breath caught in my throat at the next passenger. Tall. Dark. Handsome. All of the cliches. His black hair shined, perfectly combed atop his head, and his beard was trimmed along his jawline and faded into his sideburns, emphasizing his angular features.
TIme slowed as he checked his phone and then looked up at me. His gorgeous deep brown eyes were pools of hot, sweaty summers and mysterious backstory. The quirk of his gentle smile hinted at various talents other than containing his perfectly straight teeth, their pristine whiteness a stark contrast against the warm colour of his skin. I couldn't help but smile back, warmth flushing my cheeks."

Overall, (Not) Your Basic Love Story is an absolutely amazing rom-com that will appeal to fans of Sonia Singh and Sonali Dev. One highlight of this book is how it features a male lead who is of Indian descent. As a person of Asian descent, I love to support books featuring male leads of color. I think they're so lacking in the rom-com genre, and I would lo see more of them. Another highlight of this book is how it spotlights the hijinks and heartbreaks of interracial relationships. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in August!

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 centers Rebecca and Dev who meet on a plane bound to Mexico. What follows is the exact opposite of a meet cute so the last thing Becky expects is to be infatuated with Dev after an epic vacation fling.
But they're both smitten and are willing to continue their relationship even back home.
Now cue cultural differences amidst uncertainty regarding their relationship but add love.

- ~ -

I loved the Sikh and Indian heritage representation but right off the bat I'd like to state that in the present generation, most Indian families are not so conservative or conventional, they're pretty chill and acceptive.

Becky is an interesting protagonist although a bit bland. I love how alert she is of the racism Dev may face and tries her best to acclimatise to his needs and his culture. But God Dev could've tried harder to ease into her point of view or even try and meet her halfway. I know they loved each other, it was evident atleast through their words and with their comfort chemistry, but it all felt way too rushed.

I honestly wish the emphasis was on both sides of the cultures because it felt like only Becky was being acceptive while Dev was mostly being responsive to his needs. The compromises didn't feel balanced.

Another aspect was that Becky had conflicting emotions regarding the wedding as well as the whole relationship until the last 20%? Atleast Dev knew what he wanted and with whom.

I tried to love their characters, I promise but failed. I resigned to being impartial though. The "It is what it is" policy was mainly my motto.

Conclusively, I'd like to say that this isn't a bad book. It is rather informative about a culture most don't have knowledge of but the emotions are contrasting. However, I don't want anyone to be discouraged from reading this book and giving it a fair chance. And despite everything I still want to read the author's next.

- ~ - 

3.46 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘰. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Becky and Dev are opposites: Becky is 29 and Dev is 24. Becky works in engineering and Dev is graduating college planning to take over his family business. Dev lives in a mansion with his parents, grandparents, and cousins while Becky has a one bedroom hours away from her parents. Dev is Indian and Sikh while Becky is white and agnostic.

On paper, they would never work. But, Becky and Dev love each other. They've never felt passion like the one they have together, never felt the love and acceptance they share with each other.

Having seen relationships like this not work out, Becky and Dev getting their happy ending through compromise, commitment, and love was so wonderful. Not only did Becky and Dev grow, but their families did too, which was realistic for a true relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rising Action for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars
1 spice

This is an adorably fun read. Nothing too heavy but enjoyable. The perfect book to bring along on vacation or to the beach. I love stories that create blended families and the characters in this book were delightful in their learning of cultures and their experiences rang true. This is a fast paced easy read.

It turns out that Not Your Basic Love Story was actually pretty basic. I had expected a cute multicultural rom-com with a fun meet cute. What I got was the stiffest characters ever with absolutely no chemistry.

Not only is the "meet cute" awkward and gross, I do not believe that Dev had any feelings for Becky at all. He never told her anything and did not try to meet her halfway on any issue. He would get upset at her for acting rationally, it's normal for someone to be hesitant about changing their life completely and he never had that conversation with her.

Becky could have been a cardboard box. She was described by others in the book as "quirky" but she was the most bland lead ever, blindly following Dev for no reason at all. I did not see any examples of them being able to live happily ever after and I highly doubt they would have.

Enjoyed the premise - nice to see a Canadian setting and exploring some of the issues that can pop up when a couple is from different cultural backgrounds. The writing style was a little rough for me, but I would still keep an eye out for this author’s next book.

I loved the diversity of characters in this book and the Indian-Canadian references in food and culture sprinkled throughout the book as it made those points for diverse perspectives and characters really shine.

I also really enjoyed that at the same point, the female MC was white and not culturally aware of Indian culture so it allowed for a lot of conversation around culture in this story.

If felt that this book did a great job of highlighting the work it takes to learn about others culture and customs when you have interracial relationships and the benefit of communication.

Overall, it was a lovely diverse read that I would recommend to other readers looking to have more diverse character representation in their reading.

I loved this one. I love that it was set in Canada I don't think we have enough books out there let alone Rom Coms set in Canada. Normally we get big city girl moves to small town (which I think has been over done). However this one is not that we get city girl moving to the suburbs. So while still a cultural shock it's not much of one. I finished this one in one day because I couldn't put it down.