Thank you to Berkley and Sonya Lalli for the advanced copy of Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat in exchange for my honest review!

As a South Asian woman, I first and foremost loooooved the representation in this book. Coming in at a very close second was the humor. Jasmine, our female main character, is quick-witted and sarcastic, which is right up my alley.

I wouldn't necessarily say the title of the book is misleading, but the story focuses heavily on Jasmine's journey to come into her own and pick herself back up after the end of a long relationship, while also mending the relationship with her parents. I personally found it very easy to root for her!

I really enjoyed how the book wrapped up, and I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat will be on US bookshelves April 18!

"Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat" follows Jasmine as she learns about herself and how to navigate romance and her community's expectations. Jasmine feels she's a failure because she thinks she's a disappoint to her parents, needs too much help from her boss, and is in too much debt. She is incredibly relatable. Jake is discovering similar things, but his story takes a backseat to Jasmine's (or that might be my perspective because I found her more relatable?).

I really liked both characters, and I enjoyed them together. The other characters are interesting and add a lot to the story as well. The setting doesn't play a huge part, but it's just enough to leave me feeling wanderlust for an Alaskan cruise. Lalli's writing is fun and makes for a quick read. After loving this book's predecessor, "Holly Jolly Diwali" and this book, I've add her entire backlist to my TBR and will be impatiently waiting for her next works.

I typically enjoy Sonya Lalli's books. But I didn't really feel like I was able to get into this book as much as some of her other novels. I wasn't very invested in the storyline.

Jasmine Randhawa looks as if she has her life together with a great job, handsome boyfriend, and expensive apartment in Seattle; however, she broke up…again… with Brian, so she is living with a friend and nearly flat broke. Jasmine has a long history of discord with her parents stemming from behavior frowned upon by her Punjabi, Sikh community. Now in her thirties, Jasmine feels as if she if failing at the life she thought meant success.

Jasmine decides impulsively to go with her parents on an Alaskan cruise not realizing it is for seniors. Jasmine cannot believe that she will be stuck not only with a large South Asian crowd, but some of the very people in her parent’s community who made her life miserable as a teen. The only other person on the trip near to her age is Jake Dhillon whom she initially treats with disdain. Jake is the golden boy on the cruise; he seems the perfect Indian son who is about to become a lawyer.

Once Jasmine lets go of her substantial anger and ill feelings, she realizes they have a lot more in common in regards to family baggage. Jake has his own issues to deal with as his father and aunt, whom Jasmine despises, are also on the trip. While in forced proximity for ten days, they each begin to not only develop a strong attraction for one another, but deal with the issues that have plagued them thus far. Jasmine has always felt cut off from her family and community because she did not behave in the prescribed and albeit at time, unfair way for a nice Asian Indian girl.

For this first part of the story, Jasmine’s anger, and deep-seated resentments where off-putting; however, once she starts to let go of those negative emotions and deal with not only her parents but her own perceived inadequacies, she becomes a more interesting character. Jake has his own emotional issues to deal with; once they become a team to put on a dance contest for the ship, their relationship develops into something more. The question is can they last as a couple once the trip is over.

Since childhood, Jasmine always felt she was a disappointment to her parents. Challenging teenage years and then wrong job, wrong boyfriend - wrong everything. Now, having broken up with said boyfriend, after inappropriately living together, Jasmine is reevaluating the ways her life has faltered. With a much needed break from work, she offers to accompany her parents on a South Asian community cruise to Alaska. What could be bad? She will eat, drink, catch up with childhood friends and not risk awkwardly bumping into her ex or his one night stands. The first person she spies under 50 instantly approaches her. While she thinks this handsome fellow works on the ship, he is quick to remind her she was once his babysitter, his aunt the feared town gossip. Starting off on the wrong foot, it was hard for Jasmine to accept the nerdy kid - Jake Dhillon - whom she reprimanded just graduated law school and is a total sexy hunk. To add to the comedy show of her life, it turns out the cruise is for seniors. Jake will remain the only young person for her to socialize with for ten days. The older aunties continue to circulate stories of Jasmines failures and spinster status while Jasmine and Jake's new friendship blossoms. As the consensus remains that she is too old and not good enough for this successful golden boy, the sparks begin to fly. Set sail with this laugh out loud modern day Love Boat.

Honestly, this was a perfectly fine middle of the road contemporary romance. I liked seeing more of this family dynamic and community that we were introduced to in A Holly Jolly Diwali and I thought the premise of the couple being the only youngsters on a seniors cruise was fun, but it never really grabbed me and kept me reading the way the best books do. I would put it down and spend forever before picking it back up which for me is always a sign of a middling read.

TLDR: didn't love it, didn't hate it, would still recommend to the right readers.

Jasmine Randhawa likes everyone to think she has it all--great job, perfect Seattle apartment, and a handsome boyfriend. But she's not as confident or successful as she seems. When Jasmine finds herself single and tagging along on her parents' vacation, she's not sure her life can get any farther off course. Things only get worse once the ship leaves and she realizes that its a seniors' cruise, and the only other person under fifty on the entire boat is her childhood acquaintance, cocky and successful Jake Dhillon. Jasmine and Jake clash right away, with Jasmine smarting over how their South Asian community puts him on a pedestal as the perfect Indian son, whereas her reputation as a troublemaker precedes her. Except they can't avoid each other forever during the ten-day cruise, and they soon recognize a surprising number of similarities, especially in how many secrets they're keeping hidden from their families. Their restlessness seems to disappear whenever they're together, but is this relationship strong enough to last on land?

Did I dream this would happen to me on every cruise I've ever been on? YES! The premise is so fun-a romance aboard a cruise. This was a fun and surprisingly substantial read. I related to Jasmine's struggles with putting herself first instead of what people perceptions. Jake's struggles post losing his mom and trying to keep the family together afterwards is something a lot of people can relate to as well. I liked that there was a small age gap between Jasmine and Jake and that she used to baby sit him. I thought that brought a unique aspect into the story. IDK if I would call this enemies to lovers moreover than some bad communication. They both really learn how to communicate effectively throughout this book and not just what they perceive in their minds. Lastly the backdrop of Alaska and all the fun adventures they went on was so great I now want to go on an alaskan cruise!

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat by Sonya Lalli is a fiction book revolving around 33 year old Jasmine Randwawa as she sets sail on a journey of self discovery & healing whilst actually sailing abroad a seniors’ cruise. As certain chapters have closed for Jasmine, this unexpected trip is the perfect place to refresh. This trip becomes infinitely more interesting once she realizes there’s another person around her age on the boat that just so happens to be attractive, intelligent & maybe a blast from her past.

I feel like this was more women’s fiction with a side of romance than romance, but it was still fantastic.

The chemistry between Jasmine & Jake was electric with quick witted banter. I enjoyed being along for the ride as both main characters worked through their personal struggles. My heart ached for her as she worked through some of her past traumas including her familial expectations as well as societal standards that are unfortunately placed on women.

This was a unique setup with the cruise creating forced proximity, which I always love. The fact that this was basically a huge family get together, which created a mashup of personalities, difficulties & drama, but was handled in a humorous manner. The importance of family & love for community were obvious & braided a heartfelt message through the story.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I will post this closer to release date & add links once I do!

Reverse age gap, a cruise setting, mature/slightly older characters who actually act their ages?! Are you kidding me?? I was hooked from the very first to the very last page. I'll be screaming from the rooftops to everyone I know that they'll need to pick up a copy of this book ASAP.

This was a cute book, but I just didn’t fall in love with Jasmine and Jake. I’ve read all of Sonya’s books so far and I’ve come to the conclusion that her writing style isn’t for me. I’m able to easily guess what will happen next which leaves me feeling a bit disappointed by the end.

Jasmine has it all, perfect job, perfect apartment, perfect man, and the perfect dog. But then she finds herself single and staying across the hall from her ex at her friend’s place. Her world is falling apart. Things go even worse for her when she finds out the cruise, she tagged along with her parents on…is a senior’s cruise! Just when you think it can’t go worse for Jasmine, she discovers her old cocky childhood acquaintance is there and the only other person under 50. With all her aunties and uncles with her on this trip, Jasmin wonders if she’s going to survive.

I love a book with lots of meddling aunties and uncles. They’re just so fun to read about and that was the case in this book as well. I also enjoy books set in Seattle, and I have done the Alaska cruise that this book is based off of. That just added a lot of elements to the story I really enjoyed. I loved the chemistry between Jasmin and Jake. They worked really well together and their banter was top notch. My complaint with this one was that the title didn’t really match the book. This wasn’t so much a love story, but a story of self-discovery where love occurred.

Reading this book just made me happy and I hope you check it out April 18th.

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, @Berkleyromance, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5

33-year-old Jasmine Randhawa thought the Alaskan cruise her parents booked would include people her own age, Ooops. she finds herself trapped on a cruise ship with a horde of Punjabi aunties and uncles--and Jake Dillon, whom she used to babysit.

But five years in adulthood is not the same as five years when you're kids, something it takes Jasmine a while to register. It doesn't help that the alpha auntie who organized the cruise, and even her own parents, feel it their duty to criticize every aspect of her lifestyle at every turn, especially as she had been living with her ex before dumping him. While Jake, of course, being male, gets praise for everything he does.

Watching these two navigate the shoals of cultural expectations while trying to find out who they are to one another (and Jasmine to discover who she is to herself) is what pulls this book along. I really loved the personalities and the cultural details.

I loved this book! Although I think it was named badly. It was more of a book of self discovery, family, and healing old wounds than a romance. I felt so deeply with Jasmine. My heart broke for her relationship with her parents. The romance felt very secondary to me and I think that it worked very well. Just not with the title.

I absolutely love when a book makes me feel happy. This book was so hard to put down. There was no moments that dragged and there were no slow parts. I loved the chemistry between Jasmine and Jake. I do wish that there was an epilogue more than anything. I want to know what happens with Jasmine and Jake a year after. Both characters were amazing with their own flaws but that wasn’t a bad thing. It made them more real to me. It made me want to read more about them. This book was absolutely fantastic. If you’re looking for spicy, this isn’t one of those books. However, I don’t think that detracts from the book in anyway. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Another entertaining and also thought provoking, honestly written romance novel is coming from Sonya Lalli, the brilliant author of A Holly Jolly Diwali!

This time, her main character Jasmine Randhawa who finds herself in a cruise trip with her parents: two people she barely had a relationship with last days of her life, who never had and never would respect any of her choices. She’s also trapped with a literal boatload of judgmental South Asian aunties and uncles who had ostracized her from the community when she was fifteen years old because she kissed a boy and that meant she wasn’t a good Indian girl who obeyed the restricted family traditions.

She accepted this holiday because she’s still nursing her broken heart after she ended her 4 years long relationship. ( Actually her ex Brian was douche and he dumbed her. Now they are sharing the same corridor of their apartment building, co-parenting their dog Mango)

She’s also having financial troubles, sharing spare room in her bestie Amber’s apartment who’s across from her ex boyfriend’s apartment they’ve shared before.

When she finds out her parents only asked their favorite daughter ( her sweet sister and her fiancée) to join with them, she gets jealous and without thinking she gets volunteered to take a vacation with them.

Here is the result: this is a seniors’ cruise and the only other person under the age of 50 is cocky, successful, evil auntie Queen Bee’s nephew Jake Dhillon. The same boy she’d babysat when she was 15.

Jack is about to graduate from one of the best universities of the country: University of Chicago Law School. He majored in poli sci at USC before that, went there on a swimming scholarship. And wait for it: He’s already got a job lined up at one of the top firms on the West Coast. See, another cocky douchebag just like her ex Brian!

But as they spend more time together, teaming up to organize dancing contest at the ship’s auditorium, Jasmine realize they have so much common. But of them keep things to themselves, working so hard to get their parents’ approval.

Jasmine tries too hard too hard to resist her attraction to Jake because she knows deep down in her heart that her parents and her judgmental aunties put shame on her as soon as they hear she’s corrupted the precious Jack. They probably criticize her more than she’s deserved.

What if she takes her chance for chasing her happiness. What if this time won’t end like her past relationship! Can she be brave enough to risk her heart?

Overall: in the beginning I found enemies to lovers troupe a little forced. Because Jack was kind and understanding from the beginning as Jasmine kept acted immature and impulsive. I didn’t like her at first. But I easily empathize with her after reading her back story, her unfair circumstances, the biased approach of her own parents and relatives.

Trapped in a cruise, sweet blooming romance and self growth of Jasmine were the best parts of the book that made me round up 3.5 stars yo 4 Asian, cultural, entertaining, educational, self respect stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This was just what I needed. I love reading about the Indian culture, I don't know why, but it fascinates me. Jasmine was the black sheep of her family and it left her with a strained relationship with her family. She just broke up with her boyfriend of 4 years and while she has a great job, she is broke. She needs to revamp her life. When she finds out her parents asked her sister to go on a cruise with them, she feels left out and jumps at the chance to get out of Seattle for a bit and maybe work on her relationship with her parents. What she doesn't know is that it is a senior's cruise and there will be no one under 50.
Jake sees Jasmine on the boat, and as the only other person under 50 he strikes up a conversation. He knew she would be there and it was part of the reason he was excited about coming. He remembers her from years ago, but he doesn't bank on the fact that she might not remember him. When their "meet cute" is anything but, will they have the chance to break down each other's walls and see the real person inside?
I thought this would be very different going in, I thought that Jake was supposed to be the one who did no wrong, but it turns out he did do just as much as Jasmine, if not more, but Indian culture looks past what boys do and punishes the girls. Jasmine was a likeable character for me, but Jake took longer to warm up to. He came off as a little too flirty and sure of himself, but once we peeled back the layers, I liked what I saw.
Both of them had a lot of emotional baggage to work through and I am glad that Jasmine acted her age and that she put her foot down multiple times. I love a character that changes in front of your eyes and you can see real growth.
Thank you to Berkley, Netgalley and Sonya Lalli for an early copy.

Sonya Lalli brings forth another winner with Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat, a lovely story about romance found upon a cruise ship between two oil-and-water childhood friends.

Jasmine Randhawa is newly single as she boards a cruise for seniors with her parents (replacing her sister on the trip). With no hope of romance on the horizon after her long, seemingly-perfect relationship with Brian hits the rocks, she has to face the judgement of her parents and their friends. Jasmine has a long history of reaching for perfection in the eyes of these people, only to fall short, which, in their eyes, has given her a bad reputation. This in spite of a successful career and a formerly-successful love life. She surely won’t feel a romantic spark with the only person her age on the boat – her longtime nemesis since childhood, Jake Dhillon.

Arrogant Jake has always been the poster boy for perfection in their South Indian social circle, so Jasmine has loathed him for his cocksure behavior, and Jake has always thought she was far too wild for him. But time alone in closed quarters begins to change things for them both. When they get to Alaska – and home again – will they have a relationship worth fighting for?

This is an enjoyable story, and Lalli has a lot of fun with her cruise ship setting. Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat manages to both be a great little story about how appearances deceive and a fun one about being true to yourself.

Jasmine, of course, has depths beyond her wild-child ways, and Jake is much sweeter than he seems on the surface. They’re dynamite together, and the relationship works like gangbusters, providing readers with a connection worth rooting for and definitely one worth reading.

As always, Lailli takes on South Asian cultural norms with aplomb and challenges the stifling requirements of expectations in communities and families. There’s no such thing as perfect, and both Jake and Jasmine are living examples of this. Jake and Jasmine do indeed rock the boat – the boat of their community’s beliefs and their own preconceptions about one another. The book is wonderful, perfect if you’re too seasick to board a cruise ship yourself!

A fun enemies to lovers romance that tackles some tough topics but has you rooting that Jasmine and Jake can work it out. Jasmine is 33 and has a great job but finds her love life and family life to not be as perfect. She reconnects with childhood acquaintance Jake on a spur of the moment seniors cruise and as they get to know each other again, find that they get along better than they thought. Overall a witty romance that touches on cultural pressures to conform to a specific role and the feeling that one doesn't fit in, even with one's own family.