Sadly, I went on too many requesting sprees when first starting out on NetGalley and it has tanked my ratio. Now that I’m taking my role as a reviewer more seriously, I’m being more intentional with the books I request and clearing out my shelves of books that I’m no longer interested in.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. When I finally read it, I will come back and write a review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I really wanted to like this book but between the Hinduism pilgrimage clearly being written by an upper-caste Hindu, I was very unsatisfied with how surface level all of the supposed progressive discussions were. Good plot, good writing, but as someone who knows too much about the community Nisha was writing about, I think it could've been better.

This book captivated me with its journey through India, offering unique perspectives from McDonald's menus to sacred caves. The emphasis on travel allowed for rich descriptions of daily life, vividly portrayed by authentic characters. Faith plays a central role, exploring varied experiences and devotion at religious sites. The narrative touches on social media addiction, authenticity, environmentalism, forgiveness, and human rights, handling them with a light touch. Notably, the story integrates a rare and impactful conversation on important world issues between the main characters. While a romance, it's a nuanced exploration of self-discovery, faith, family, and goals, making it more than just a love story.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

What a fabulous read. I loved how nuanced it was!! And how the romance was just a part of the story rather than THE whole story, which made this much of more interesting read for me!!

I went into this one blind, and I was pleasantly surprised! I've seen this author around bookstagram and this was a great intro to her writing. I also had no idea that this was YA/new adult.

What I enjoyed:
Descriptions of the food!
Background on family relationships
Spirituality vs. religion
Diaspora POV
Travel writing
Silas and Tara's relationship, they were both relatable at times and had their own drama/secrets/issues but were able to work past them to be happy
The epilogue!

There were a couple of sub-plots I thought were incomplete or could have been explored more. The petty drama was a bit much for me but nothing crazy for a few 18-year-olds and a group of 10 freshmen in high school.

Grumpy girl, sunshine boy- a ton of religion, hiking and finding yourself.

As much as I did appreciate the growth in the characters I just found this book was really slow paced and boring for myself. I almost DNFd it but kept through the finish it.

Maybe just not my style of book. I loveeeeeeeed Dating Dr Dil, so I was really excited to read this one. But I just couldn’t get into it enough.

I really enjoyed The Karma Map. This was the first book I read by Nisha Sharma, but I’ve had some of her other works in my TBR list for a while now.

The Karma Map was beautiful in so many ways. The scenery and descriptions of the holy sites were gorgeous. I found myself putting the book down after every few chapters to Google the names of these temples and holy sites so I could see them and compare to how I’d been imagining them in my head. The descriptions were so detailed and spot on. I also really loved all the food in this story. I’m not a part of the Indian diaspora, but I did live in India for a little while, and the food was just so amazing- now I’m back in the states and I crave Indian food constantly. This book made my cravings so much worse than they usually are. I’m so hungry.

I loved the characters, and I thought the relationship between Tara and Silas was really wholesome and cute. They each had their own things going on, but seeing them come together and grow together gave me lots of warm fuzzy feelings. Tara’s character development was really good- I didn’t know how to feel about her at first, but her story was revealed in bits and pieces and it made her a more relatable and more complex character. The side story with Tara’s sister was interesting and tied together well in the end.

I know this wasn’t meant to be an educational book about the Gods and religious places in India, but I wouldn’t have minded just a tad bit more info on some of the places that were just briefly mentioned. Certain parts of the story felt a bit rushed, and it was made more evident by the chapter titles, since the titles were literally dated. Sometimes from one chapter to the next it would skip 3 days, but the story continues as if only a night has passed. What was everyone up to in those days that went by completely unmentioned? This is still a 5-star read for me because I absolutely loved it, but it was just so good that I wanted more.

Tara from Radha and Jai's Recipe for Romance gets her own self-discovery and love story as a junior guide on a summer trip through religious sites in India.

I was expecting Silas to be my favorite character in this book, but it ended up being Tara. She got better character development than any other "mean girl" I've seen (maybe with the exception of the How to Rock series I read in middle school). And she loves writing, which is always a plus for me.

The third-act plot with Sunny is the only reason I didn't give this book five stars, and the reason why Silas isn't my favorite character. After almost 200 pages of listening to Tara explain her backstory, making an effort to understand her, and instantly understanding what an asshole Sunny is and that Tara wants nothing to do with him, he tries to make Tara post a "statement" on social media, which she doesn't even use anymore and for good reasons, about how she didn't know Sunny was going to the same college as her? And then when she says no and explains why, he tries to convince her that she's the problem, runs off, and then instead of thinking "I fucked up," complains to everyone about how "heartbroken" he is. It was all very out of character for him and completely unnecessary to the plot. And I swear, if I see one more MC who CAUSED the fight/breakup for no good reason talk about how they were "heartbroken" and hurt by the other person...


But the descriptions of the sites, the food, and the students' backstories and personalities were all really good, and so was the epilogue. And it was short enough that it didn't drag at all. So, overall, 4 stars. And I see it's getting a decent number of GR reviews, which is well-deserved for this underrated author.

I really enjoyed this story, from the nuance of love, culture, religion, and relationships the leads are mature enough to learn, to the love letter to Northern India, this book was well-written and engaging.

Our leads have graduated high school and embark as junior guides on a pilgrimage trip for rising high school freshman. Tara went on this very trip four years before, and many others considering her uber religious mother. Silas is using the trip his moms fell in love on to take photos for a photojournalism contest that could jumpstart his career. While Silas is a happy, sunhsiney boy that lights up the trip, Tara is coming off the worst four months of her life after her former dance team and best friends spread lies about her after she reported them for cheating. She believes she deserves it after being one of them, but she drew the line and guilts herself so much because no one stood up for her, including her parents (they're something...). Tara isn't looking to make friends, let alone fall in love on the trip, but she couldn't predict Silas.

Their conversations help them both understand themselves, including their relationship with god and Hinduism, their relationship with their culture and background, and who they want to become. They both support each other in the way the other needs, including letting the other figure things out for themselves. This is a pilgrimage they need to go on by themselves at points, and their maturity in realizing that was refreshing in a ya book.

Overall, the kids on the trip made this story and they deserve the world, identity is complex and can take a while to figure out, and Tara and Silas are adorable (and I really want Indian McDonalds).

Thank you to Netgalley and Skyscape for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Feat: reverse grumpy/sunshine, ya romance, lgbtq rep (bi lead), South Asian leads (Desi Indian), standalone book

4.5 stars

Nisha Sharma crafts a powerful story of personhood, identity, and adolescent quest. There is a nice dash of romance alongside the development of the story. An enjoyable YA/adult read.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful story!!

I have been on the Char Dham Yatra which is a pilgrimage tour of four holy sites - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. I had done the tour with my parents and sister in the early 2000's.

I truly enjoyed reading the experience of the students on their personal journey through the mountains, experiencing personal growth and discovery while at the same time questioning long standing beliefs.

Silas and Tara are student tour guides supporting a group of teenagers. They both have their own reasons for being part this particular tour. While learning to trust themselves and each other, they support the entire group with their individual struggles and questions.

It was a wonderful read, something I wish that I had growing up! I really enjoyed reading about their experiences, the food adventures and reading about how India has changed and how it continues to grow.

This was so beautiful and incredible!! I felt so much joy and inspiration while reading it. Silas is one of those characters you just love and I wanted to give me a hug. And Tara is someone I loved to have as a friend.

I've always been a huge fan os Nisha's books, both YA and Adult! I love how this book specifically explores Hinduism and even critiques it when needed. I felt a little uneasy at the mentions of Kashmir without much investigation into the occupation of Kashmir when Nisha seems to have gone into discussion about sexuality and casteism more.

Cute YA story about desi culture and a religious pilgrimage. Not into religious based books, but this book was more about finding yourself as a teen. I wish there was a map before each locale change and some pictures of these places - I did a lot of googling! I liked Silas and Tara and the swapped grumpy-sunshine relationship. Overall, cute.

*4.5

This book feels like it was such a personal one for Nisha Sharma and you could really tell that. I really liked all the different aspects of the diaspora and seeing how it affects all of the characters.

Tara and Silas are adorable. He made her feel like it was okay to be herself and that he still liked even the bad things that she had done. He was just so perfect and always encouraged her to be the best version of herself. I kind of want a bonus chapter or two about their life now that they are graduated and living together.

trigger and content warnings: bullying, addiction (off-page), homophobia, casteism

rep: indian MC, bi indian MC, f/f side couple

tara’s life turned upside down when her best friend got her kicked off the bollywood dance team, spread rumors about tara stealing her boyfriend, and making the rest of her school life difficult. with this trip as a youth guide for the temple tour to north india, tara is hoping to revamp herself and put the past behind her. however, it seemed like she couldn’t escape from the past.

as a photographer, silas want to discover more than just working as a wedding photographer, a business that his mothers are in. in this trip, silas is also a youth guide but not as experienced as tara. using this opportunity at a beautiful country, he’s going to build his portfolio for a photography competition. i loved how supportive his parents are.

silas is a sunshine boy as compared to tara’s grumpiness. it’s fascinating to watch silas break down tara’s walls. i’m glad that nisha sharma didn’t make the misunderstandings last. every miscommunication was settled right on the spot. they communicated like adults, most of the time, without letting things linger to fester.

throughout this journey, tara and silas found themselves discussing spirituality, religion, life, and identity. i liked tara’s viewpoints on things. it showed that she reflected upon many things ever since things went downhill in school. right from the beginning, it’s obvious that tara doesn’t have a good relationship with her mother; their viewpoints clashed and they were always arguing.

overall, this was really cute! i adored silas and tara’s story together. they shared their past, their love for food, their views on being indian diaspora while in their motherland. i loved exploring the indian culture while the kids, tara, and silas go on this journey. for such a short book, nisha sharma created a beautiful story with developed characters and interesting plot lines without making it feel rushed or weirdly paced.

You had me at grumpy girl and sunshine boy YA romance but most importantly the author love letter to India.

I have read my fair amount of Nisha Sharmas work but I have to say that this novel in particular felt so personal to me.

Silas is freaking adorable and Tara is just so relatable.. talk about your mean girl redemption era filled with Indian culture, Food, and being a kid from the diaspora reconnecting with your roots! UGH I loved it!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this incredible novel! I highly recommend it

A teen rom-com full of self-discovery, acceptance, and heartwarming connections.

I truly loved how the author incorporated diversity within the cast of South Asian characters, the struggles each encounter at home, and the acceptance they find amongst themselves and aboard.

Though each character's reason for being on the temple trip is general the same - being misunderstood and/or unaccepting parents - their stories are uniquely their own. For the first time, each character will feel seen for their true selves.