Sonali Dev always writes with heart and compassion. Vandy started out with an Agony Aunt column, becoming famous and well loved for her advice. Mallika is her daughter, a choreographer trying to break out of choreographing wedding dances for Indian weddings.. Both Mallika and Vandy are mourning the loss of Vir, a devoted husband and father when Mallika finds out something that makes her question everything she knows about herself. The third main character is Rani, an orphan who finds her way into the hearts of Vandy’s family and becomes her closest friend. I loved the way the story develops, as well as the relationships that are deciphered. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book, and though I didn't get to this until after the publication date, the ARC was still the one I read.

This was a tough read for me. I'm currently pregnant, and went through a pregnancy loss earlier this year. There was a lot of talk about pregnancy lost in this one, so that was difficult. I mostly figured everything out before it was revealed, but I still thought it was interesting how things were resolved. I don't agree with Vandy's efforts, but I've also never been in that position. I did like the relationships between the main characters. I missed the description of food that Dev usually includes in her books.

I really liked/cared about the 3 main characters and all of their relationships with each other and others too. That makes a good read for me! A book about secrets, friendships, mother/daughter relationships, being a mother and what that means. Friendships and rebuilding a broken friendship. A good read.

Very interesting book how they took a modern story. And we're back in time and talking about this girl who was from India. The girl named R Ana. She had a hard life in India. Her mother had to struggle for everything.. When her mother died she came to america to live with her aunt. She had a lot of difficulty adjusting to this new life, especially when it came to food. And then she met her friend Van GP. When she was eating her leftover fries from McDonald's when she threw them away.. Then they went back to her house. She It was shocked to see how this girl had everything. If it came best friends through the years. A n a with more practical Then Van g.. As the years passed they went to college.. While they were in college V, ANG met a man. And feel l And in love with him. She married this man, but things didn't turn out the way she thought it wouldw. She wanted a child so bad she tried everything to have a child. This made this book very interesting. Because her friend, what's all I'm involved in this and a child was made. It is interesting how this girl.
Mallik. Was raised, but she had a lot of problems because her mother didn't know what to do with her that her father died. And things started getting really crazy in this book. It's like a mystery based on a love story. And based on lies and everything seems to come out at the end of the book. Everybody got what they wanted in this book. And they could understand each other at the end.

Inspiring story about family secrets, reunions, friendships, relationships, love. Finding your true self.

I have read and loved previous books by Sonali Dev so perhaps I am a bit biased but I really enjoyed this book. The narrative structure is unique in terms of character, POV, and timeline. Rather than feeling disjointed I was compelled to keep going and turn the pages. I could hardly put it down. The themes Dev has on her mind are prevalent in most women's fiction books but she has a fresh perspective that I found both refreshing and illuminating. I adored the friendships and relationships at the core. The one weak part is the romance plotline.

I wasn't really sure that I got into this book all that much. I enjoyed it, but it didn't really grip me or stay with me that much.

This book was beyond my expectations.

I really appreciate how layered and nuances Sonali’s writing is, and how all the characters felt so developed and well thought out. This book was fabulous and I absolutely loved it.

A story told from the point of view of three women-a mother, a daughter, and the estranged best friend and the secrets that are kept and how that shapes who we are. I enjoyed this one and would round up to 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the characters and side relationships in this story. I also thought it was interesting to think about the traits and genes that we get from our parents and how it shapes who we are.

Lies and Other Love Languages by Sonali Dev
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

#FirstLine ~ Ever since her daughter was born twenty-seven years ago, Vandy Guru’s greatest fear had been losing her.

Lies and Other Love Languages is a touching and thought-provoking novel that reminds us of the importance of truth, forgiveness, and the transformative power of love. Sonali Dev's storytelling prowess shines brightly in this captivating tale, making it a must-read for fans of contemporary romance and heartfelt family dramas.

I've loved Sonali Dev's previous books, and this one did not disappoint. It started a bit slow, because there was a lot of character building to do. But once we knew Mallika and her mother, Vanda, and Vandy's best friend, Rani, the story took off. A beautiful portrait of motherhood, love and friendship.

As always, Dev addresses complicated family issues with humor, wit, and lots and lots of love. In this case, she dives into the very painful topic of reproductive challenges with exceptional compassion. As much as this is a story of a mother and daughter, this is also a story of best friends. What could make a pair of women as close as sisters become estranged? What can make a daughter cut off all communication with her tightly attached mother? The answers are heart-wrenching in a number of ways, but Dev's characteristic positivity brings us to a healthy, happy resolution.

There were some incredible parts of this book, but it was definitely a tougher emotional read than I expected or was honestly in the mood for. The characters and their relationships were great, their experiences together and apart were (written in different perspectives and timelines) was done flawlessly. I was never confused and always aware of what was going on. That being said, the topics of miscarriage, death and grievance, lies and friendship.

When Vandy’s adult daughter disappears at the same time her estranged best friend Rani appears, she is forced to face long hidden secrets. Together these 3 women travel around and are forced to confront one another and their shared past.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

What an amazing story of three different women. The story is told of different timelines and with different POVs. Excellent character development. So well written. I loved the story.

4.5 stars

Vandy, a successful advice columnist, outwardly puts on a show of poise and strength while inwardly grieving the recent loss of her husband. When her beloved daughter Mallika suddenly disappears without warning, Vandy is desperate to find answers. The more Vandy searches the more she is forced to confront the ghosts of her past, including her estranged best friend Rani. Lies and Other Love Languages is a story that unfolds in a series of flashbacks from 3 POVS. Vandy, Rani, and Mallika are 3 women bound by a secret that has been well guarded for many decades.

From the blurb and the first few chapters of the book you can already predict how the story will go. Yet getting to the ending, or should I say beginning, is an incredibly emotional and fraught journey. While I may not agree with all the choices made by the characters, I can understand the motivation behind them. Vandy is single minded in her goal to becoming a mother while Rani is determined to protect the family she has made at all costs.

Sonali Dev does such a wonderful job with multigenerational stories. What I love most about Dev's work is that she captures the longings, desires, and needs of women through all ages. Too often we relegate women of middle age to very austere matronly roles, devoid of any past life or youthful whimsy. This has been especially true in the South Asian community. We box them in to these roles that prevent them from being anything other than “pure and perfect.” Dev forces us to strip the women in our lives of the labels society has placed on them and to see them for who they truly are: beautifully flawed humans who are still works in progress.

Throughout the book Dev compares different mother-daughter relationships and the cycles we inadvertently create. One of the lines that resonated with me the most is:

“How did mothers go from being rocks you relied on to being the rocks you had to climb over to make your own way?”

But above all this is a story of friendship and the sacrifices we make and the lies we bear for the ones we love. The relationship between Vandy and Rani is the thread that weaves through the entire book. “A friend that loves you like this is rare. No gift is larger than that.”

My only critique is that the ending felt rushed and a few of the resolutions and conversations I was hoping to see happens off page in the last chapter. I know there will be criticism of Mallika and the privilege she holds. In fact the entire Mehta clan is immensely privileged and I am sure there is nepotism at play. But to me, Mallika represents the luxury of time and money that is afforded to children of successful and well connected first gen parents. And while I believe both she and Vandy need a little more self awareness of that power and privilege, it is something that is very prevalent in our communities. It would have been nice to get a little more insight into Vir’s background and how he landed in California but ultimately this is not his story.

Fans of Dev's The Vibrant Years may find Lies and Other Love Languages a bit jarring as this book deals with heavier topics that may not be comfortable for everyone.

TW: infertility, miscarriage, trauma, SA

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

This story jumps between time periods and the different POV of three different Indian American women--Vandy, her daughter Mallika, and childhood best friend Rani. Though I had a good idea of where the story was going from the start, it was still a good story exploring friendship, motherhood, and the truth of where you come from. The story stretched from LA to Mumbai as Mallika searches to find the truth of who she really is. This book was good enough to keep me interested but I disliked the characters, especially Mallika with her negative attitude.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What is the ultimate price you would be willing to pay in order to get the one thing you want more than anything?

Bestselling advice columnist Vandy Guru has a career built on teaching others how to live honestly and courageously. She is famous for her Agony Auntie column as well as the self-help books that she writes,. This past year, she has been living in a fog of grief over the loss of her husband,

Aspiring choreographer Mallika Guru is tired of failure. When another audition ends in rejection, she signs up for a genetic study to find out why she’s so different from everyone else in her highly successful family. But when she gets the results, she discovers that her whole life has been a lie.

.Rani Parekh first met Vandy when they were young, and Rani had run away from home. They became best friends, and were inseparable ever since. Rani sacrificed everything for Vandy once, and then she had to walk away and hasn't seen Vandy since.

This book is told in the alternating voices of Vandy, Mallika, and Rani, and goes back and forth between past and present, so you not only get the story from all three perspectives, but you are slowly given the backstory of how Vandy and Rani met, Vandy meeting her husband, the multiple miscarriages Vandy went through with Rani right by her side, and then the ultimate sacrifice Rani made. This story was heartbreaking, and the subject matter is a delicate one that could be a trigger for some, but this author handled it with such a heartfelt grace. This is not a light, easy read. This is a gritty, soul-searching one, that would spark a lot of great book club conversations. I loved this book, and I think you will too.

Sonali Dev remains an excellent and reliable author. She writes female characters and relationships so well, adding the right amount of complicated and layered. I always enjoy reading her books and this was no exception.

I will say, I think the blurb ruined the story a bit. Many of the things in the blurb either happened immediately or took over half of the story to happen, so as a reader you were left on the edge, waiting for a plot point that ultimately ended up being introduced in a much calmer way than led to believe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading a novella by Sonali Dev, I absolutely fell in love with her writing and needed to read books by her and was very happy to be able to read this.

Lies and Other Love Languages is everything I love about family dramas. The secrets are messy, there’s lots of love, and loyalty adds to the dysfunction.

With three different POVs and timelines, I had a slow start to this book. Once I got familiar with the characters and timelines, I didn’t want to put it down. After getting to know these complex, flawed, and relatable women, I really felt for Vandy, Mallika, and Rani.

Lies and Other Love Languages is a moving story that focuses on secrets, family, motherhood, friendship, love, finding yourself, and selflessness.