This book was amazing! I enjoyed every single chapter, and it kept me hooked the entire time, which I loved!

Not Your Basic Love Story by Canadian author Lindsay Maple is a cute and sweet cross-cultural rom-com. Set in Vancouver, British Columbia this non-traditional love story is a fast-paced page turner that is perfect for all rom-com lovers

<b><i>East meets West and their worlds collide... in more ways than one! </b></i>

<i>Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co for an ARC</i>

<b>Overall Rating: </b>3/5
- Immigrant POC (Indian-Canadian)
- Single person PoV
- Instant attraction
- Cross-cultural relationship

TW: Cheating partner (past)

<i>Premise:</i> 4/5
<i>Characterization:</i> 3/5
<i>Dialogue:</i> 4/5
<i>Chemistry:</i> 2.5/5
<i>Secondary characters:</i> 3/5
<i>Unique quotient:</i> 4/5 (mostly for cultural representation)
<i>Steam quotient:</i> 2/5

<b><i>What I liked</i></b>

- The realities of cross-cultural romances: This book is quite unlike others I've read. The realities of cross-cultural relationships especially when the families are involved is so beautifully represented here. I love that the author chose to explore the ups and downs of it. Being an Indian immigrant myself, I was able to relate to so many aspects that are likely to come up in cross-cultural weddings. While navigating the different situations, the author remained culturally, racially sensitive while retaining the western perspective. Well done!

- Interactions with secondary characters: Be it Rebecca's interactions with her best friend, or with Dev's family, I love how the individuality of the secondary characters shone through the author's writing.

- Very real: Rebecca's thoughts and perspectives seemed very <i>real</i>. While reading it, I couldn't help thinking how plausabile literally everything was! From Rebecca's thoughts, her heightened awareness of casual racism, her annoyance at friends/families at certain times, and her approach to dealing with the difficult situations that arose.

<b><i>What did not work for me</i></b>

- The romance/chemistry: Perhaps the whole instant-love trope is bound to be that way, but I just didn't feel invested in them as a couple. The chemistry just wasn't there for me. Granted the primary focus of the story was the compromise, but the foundation of the couple flew by so fast I still don't understand what really kept them together. I wish there was more upfront to really pull me in so I could root for them in the later pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.

I was so excited to start this book. The synopsis sounded so intriguing. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. I’m sure there are many readers that will enjoy this book a lot, but I was not one of them.

I wasn’t able to connect with the characters and honestly, I didn’t like most of them for the majority of this book (especially the MC Rebecca). Many of the characters were redeemed in the last 20 pages, but it wasn’t enough to change my rating. I found myself not wanting Rebecca & Dev to be together for numerous reasons. I don’t think their relationship is mature or healthy.

What I did really like was the opportunity to learn more about Punjabi and Sikh culture. That was a highlight for me in this book.

Highly recommended. A perfectly paced and beautifully observed story... I really did race through Well written, with a plot and characters that haunt you long after you've finished.

Thank you Netgalley & Lindsay Maple for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts are my own.

(Not) Your Basic Love Story sees Becky on her way to Mexico from Canada for her best friend's wedding, where she meets Jagdev Singh (or Dev as he prefers to be called) on the plane and they seem to hit it off. What starts as a fling grows into something more between the two, and when they arrive back home, they navigate what it means to fall in love with someone who's family, culture and background is vastly different from their own.

As an Indian living in a different country, I really appreciated the respect and effort that the author took to portray one of the many diverse, vibrant and wonderul cultures from my country. India is not a homogenous land, but rather an amaglam of various languages, religions, customs and traditions, and I love that this was honoured in the way the author ensured that it was Punjabi culture that she was choosing to depict, and that she was committed to doing it with care and sensitivity. I myself am not Punjabi, but even I could relate to the celebrations and struggles that Dev faced in balancing commitment to family versus pursuing your heart's dream.

I was in a love-hate relationship with Becky, our FMC. Reading Becky's growth as a person while navigating between her career goals, her romanctic dreams, her relationship with Dev, her relationship with their families and friends separately and their vastly different upbringings, cultural backgrounds and financial situations was a roller coaster ride to be sure. I struggled with alot of Becky's insecurities and inner conflicts, but what I loved was that all of it was 100% real, raw and unapologetic. The author did not shy away from exploring Becky's anxiety and her road to self-acceptance, love and confidence, which I very much appreciated.

If you're a fan of rom-com style insta-love, a vacation fling turned more with family and friends shenanigans, then this is the book for you!

Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I really really went into this wanting to love it. The idea of a vacation start romance with an Indian MC was so exciting, but this book was really not it.

Straight out of a breakup, Rebecca flighs to Mexico for her friends wedding and unexpectedly starts a fling with Dev. Back in Canada, the two have to figure out how to mesh their lives together if they want a shot at a real relationship.

Their relationship fell very flat for me. I saw no chemistry between the two, and no genuine connection while emotions were running very high. Some of their behavior felt borderline toxic at points as well and this is one of the most extreme cases of insta love I've ever read. (Which is totally fine if it's believable... but this was not)

The author prefices this book by telling readers that they researched Indian culture, which I think is fantastic, but I still found the characters in the book to be unneccesarily overly racist.

Overall, the characters were cringey and the relationship didn't feel developed enough to make it believable.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Lindsay Maple , and Rising Action Publishing Collective for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 1 star

🇮🇳🇨🇦 I love the way the author delved into the cultural differences of the characters. The cross-culture was well done. I also loved the secondary characters that round out the story.
Two different character traits, two different cultures. Each one grew up in a different way but the good thing is that once they met they learn and evolve together.

💙 It was great to follow Becky & Dev’s journey to compromise , acceptance and love.

✨ The author delivers a very nice love story. Well written and rich in detail. I loved learning more about Indo-Canadian families and Sikh culture.
I'm not a big fan of the insta-love trope and I don't usually read them but I like how the author was able to make me like her characters. And I certainly don't regret discovering this book .

📖 (Not) Your Basic Love Story is Lindsay Maple’s debut novel and I’m looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

👀 I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to @netgalley and @risingactionpublishingco for the opportunity to read and review this (not) basic love story.

📝 It will be released on August 23rd, 2022.

#notyourbasiclovestory #netgalley

This read was such a pleasure ! Haven’t read anything from this author before and this looked interesting. I love the tough issues this book covered while also being fun and spicy. Also can’t go wrong with a romcom! Overall a great read.

Worum geht es?

Stubbornly independent Becky isn't looking for love, but when sparks fly on a flight to Mexico she learns her carefully planned life might be the opposite of what she needs. What begins as a fun vacation fling with a tall, sexy stranger turns into so much more.

The problem? Dev and Becky couldn't be more different. Back home in Vancouver, Canada, their relationship grows, and their two worlds collide.

Can a roommate-hating city girl with a diet of chicken nuggets and cheap wine make it work with a vegetarian, non-drinking, Sikh man who lives with his rambunctious multigenerational family in the suburbs?

As Becky navigates her way through a culture she knows nothing about, she is faced with one of the most important decisions of her life: change her plans for how she'd imagined her happily-ever-after, or walk away from love.

(Not) Your Basic Love Story is a RomCom about acceptance, compromise, and love being the only thing that truly matters.

(Quelle)

Mein Leseerlebnis

Momentan (ich schreibe diese Zeilen am 07. April 2022) habe ich mit den Büchern, die ich lese, nicht den größten Erfolg. “(Not) Your Basic Love Story“ hörte sich frisch und spannend an, hat sich für mich aber als teils frustrierend herausgestellt. Momentan habe ich wirklich kein Glück mit meiner Buchauswahl.

Nach dem Beginn der Geschichte, der einnehmend war und den ich mochte, verschob sich der Fokus schnell auf die kulturellen Unterschiede zwischen Becky und Dev. Zudem nahmen ihre Familien rasch viel Raum ein. Da es in beiden Familien Menschen gab, die mir auf die Nerven gingen, ließ meine Freude am Lesen nach dem Auftreten der Familien rapide ab.

Vor dem Lesen des Romans hatte ich gehofft, dass die Familien der beiden Hauptcharaktere zwar hier und da auftreten würden, aber nicht ständig. Das war eine Fehleinschätzung. Man muss laute, fast schon omnipräsente Familien definitiv mögen, um die Geschichte zu genießen.

In meinen Augen haben die Familien den Hauptcharakteren den Raum zur Entwicklung genommen und in Folge wirkte vor allem Dev auf mich recht blass. Seine Reaktionen auf ein paar Ereignisse konnte ich mir übrigens nicht erklären, als Charakter war er nicht unbedingt mein Fall.

Nach einem guten Start stellte sich der Rest des Liebesromans leider nicht als mein Fall heraus, auch weil der Humor im Buch meinen nicht immer getroffen hat.🖤🖤1/2

Für wen?

Wer Liebesromane mag, in denen die Familien der Hauptcharaktere sehr präsent sind und die Geschichte prägend, für den könnte das Buch etwas sein.

Als “RomCom“ würde ich den Roman übrigens nur bedingt beschreiben, dazu war mir der Humor nicht präsent genug.

Thank you @netgalley for the eARC for my honest review.

This one wasn’t my favorite. I had high hopes, and while I love the way the author delved into the cultural differences of the two characters, I’m just not a fan of the Insta-love trope. It all happened way too fast, neither character truly knew much about the other and they just continued on, and that was just a major put off for me. But, learning about the cultural differences and writing made this one worth the read!

This one gets 3⭐️‘s from me.

I liked this book. It was a funny romcom with some added interests based on their different cultural backgrounds. At times it felt like she was overly apologizing for the protagonists' cultural misunderstandings. Overall, it was a sweet read. Some of the secondary characters were a bit trope-y and Dev seemed too good to be true. Nice escape for the day!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book isn’t what I expected and I loved that the most about it. Seeing the culture differences between Becky and Dev and how they worked it all out. I do not know much about the culture but I learned a ton and I feel like it was done and written in a very respectful way. I adored thing book and highly recommend.

Ahhhhh!!!! I LOVED THIS!!
A cute and steamy romance after a long time. The cross-culture relationship(Indian-Canadian) is executed perfectly. This is so fast paced and a complete page turner. I loved it. I loved Becky. Miranda and priya seemed sweet. And Angelina is fun as hell.

I want to appreciate the author for learning and representing Indian(punjabi) culture so good. It takes a lot of hardwork to understand a new religion and culture. She did a great job in that part. And no need to even talk about the romance. It's extra hot in here.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with ARC.

This was very entertaining read for me. The characters were so charming, witty and entertaining to read about. Along with that, I really loved how the author has the capability to make us live vicariously through her story and the characters. It’s a definite 5 stars read for me!!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brokenhearted Becky met a great guy, Dev, on the plane while flying to Mexico to her bestfriend’ wedding. Everything was great at first but then Dev throwed up on Becky and the spell was broken. As if there were not enough Becky grabbed wrong luggage and she realized that this was Dev’s. As these coincidences brought them together, their relationship began to get serious. It was not just a fling anymore.

While reading the story I really liked Becky and understand her point of view to the life. Dev was a great character too, but in some points he was too selfish. He created a pressure on Becky about marriage, family life or cultural issues and it was tiring. In the end everything was resolved but it reduced my reading pleasure a little.

As a conclusion this story was fun to read and I recommend this one who loves to read love from different cultures.

This was such an enjoyable story and I loved the setting. The characters kept the story moving along and entertained me. It was funny and sweet in places and I enjoyed seeing the characters navigate their cultural differences. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and Rising Action Publishing for the advance review copy.

They first met at the airplane where they were seatmates and he throw up on her . Their second time was when they had switch their luggage and the third time at a hotel party . They were both Canadians so they became couple . She is free spirit who likes to drink and he is not . He is Indian Canadian so we see the different cultures .
I received this book from netgalley and the puclisher as an arc . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

I had to sit with this book after I finished it. I enjoyed reading (Not) Your Basic Love Story, but after I finished the book, I started to feel icky. To be completely honest, this is a white author culturally appropriating the Sikh and Punjabi culture that is not theirs. It is written from the point of view of a white female, but the author admits that she has no experience with the Sikh and Punjabi culture. So why write about it? Why take a publishing contract from a Sikh or Punjabi author? It just makes me feel icky. I think I would feel different if this was based on the author's lived experience.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, full of emotion, but I can't get past the cultural appropriation.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When I saw that the main guy Dev is an Indian-Canadian, I was so excited to pick this book up. The author was spot on when it came to describing all the little things from the Desi dishes to the clothes, traditions and slangs. While our girl Rebecca here is white so obviously the issues with cultural differences were bound to happen between them and that's what exactly happened here. Initially Dev was kind of the perfect guy and Rebecca's whole life was a mess but then he did start showing his faults. The communication between Dev & Rebecca could've been better but in the end, they did talk their problems out. Basically the whole set-up of the book is how these two manage to compromise for each other and learn each other's cultures (Rebecca had to do the learning part mostly though). The build up of their relationship was quite fast which is why I couldn't connect much with the romance as much as I thought I would. The writing and the way some characters were portrayed in a realistic way was engaging. This book focuses more on the interracial culture conflicts, it's very believable not overly dramatic but I was not very invested in the romance aspect and Rebecca's conflicting emotions weren't helping either to be honest.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC