The story is about Jessie and the most popular boy on campus, Ravi Kumar. They both have south Asian origins but come from different world, Ravi is from a rich family and has a lot of pressure from his dad to be as successful as him and be an engineer while Jessie comes from immigrants parents who had to abandon their career of engineer and own a small store to be able to survive and provide for their family. When Jessie and Ravi hear about the campus’ legend, they want to know if the story was actually true or not and will try their best to find out.
I actually really liked this book, I read it in one sitting and was pleasantly surprised. I found that there were many cliches in this book but I still enjoyed it. The pace and the story were very good. The only “negative” side on my part is that I expected a bit more letters (or at least a bit longer) and a bit more suspens.
Thank you to NetGalley and Nisha Sharma for the ARC!

I am constantly in awe of Nisha’s ability to write such compelling stories! If you are looking for a sweet, short and heartwarming story then look no further!

The story follows Ravi and Jessie, two south Asian students who fall for each other as they work together to solve the mystery of a campus legend. This was so well written and the story was believable with many interwoven themes. This didn’t have what I’d classify as a fairytale happily ever after but their happy ending was REAL. Which made me love the story even more.

I would have loved to explore and read more about the couple from the legend and I feel like the book could have been a little bit longer but overall I really loved it like I love all of this author’s books!

Thank you so much to Nisha Sharma, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book follows the intertwining stories of two couples at Hartcellar University, both in the present and in the 1970s through love letters.

Ravi and Jessie, our contemporary protagonists, navigate their budding relationship amidst societal pressures, while Divya and Christian’s love unfolds through the letters of the past.

While I enjoyed the concept and the quick pace of the story, I found some aspects a bit repetitive and lacking in depth. The emphasis on socio-economic differences and nearly instant love between Ravi and Jessie felt a bit overdone and unrealistic for me. However, the parallel storyline of Divya and Christian added an interesting layer to the narrative.

Overall, The Letters We Keep is a quick and easy read, which would be perfect for fans of new adult romance. If you’re looking for a light-hearted read, give this one a try!

A heart-warming story of two students from opposite lives researching a mysterious love story while creating their own. I was expecting this book to have more mystery aspects, and I felt like the romance was a little rushed. However, this story was sweet and I had a great time reading it! I really enjoyed the writing and story-telling, but just be prepared if you're looking for more mystery vibes, this may not be the one.

Romance and a mystery are always a winner. Jessie Ahuja is working hard to become an engineer; she’s locked in on studying and locked down on her emotions. She meets Ravi Kumar, a born into money 3rd year student the first week of school. They quickly clash over a library study room, but it is also what draws them together. Investigating the mystery around the disappearance of two students 50 years ago builds a friendship. Finding the lost love letters of the couple begins to mirror the growing attraction between Jessie and Ravi.
I liked this couple and felt that Sharma kept her characters realistic and not annoying! The studious girl and the playboy can go overboard easily but these two were great. Their families were a bit much as all families are. I enjoyed the mystery of the missing students and unraveling the mystery of will Jessie and Ravi figure each other out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for this DRC.
#TheLettersWeKeep #NetGalley

“The letters we keep” falls into this new category where a book jumps back and forth between the past and present time.

I’ll start with our main character, Jessie. Both her parents are engineers, but opened a sandwich shop when they both were unemployed when the market crashed. Jessie has one and only reason to attend Hartceller school, becoming an engineer. She’s funny, smart and wants to prove that she’s independent.

Ravi is the son of engineering legends, from an engineering family. His family wants him to work in engineering to carry his legacy, but secretly, the thing he wants to work with are books and novels, something that’s a waste of time.

When they accidentally discover secret letters that a campus legend has written to her lover, they decide to read the letters one by one, together, and write their midterms about the legend.

Something they didn’t expect to happen was to fall in love with each other, but will they be able to overcome their differences and learn to live their own love story?

I personally liked the writing style, because I’m in love with dual pov books, but I don’t usually read in third person. This one was an exception, but it was so well written that I easily could ignore that it wasn’t in first person.

The characters were intriguing to read about, and a bit of walking cliches, but cliches are cliches for a reason, right?

The plot itself was mesmerizing and interesting, the way Nisha Sharma wrote both present and past letters was a fashionable and fresh change in romance books and reading about not just one but two couples that got their happily ever after was satisfying.

I would recommend “The Letters We Keep” to people that like reading about South Asian representation, romance novels set in college, and books about books.

I received an arc from Netgalley and am voluntarily writing this honest review.

Não sabia muito bem o que esperar dessa história. A premissa parecia promissora em meio ao mistério de cartas de dois amantes de um passado misterioso da universidade então a ser desvendado por dois estudantes que também trazem outra visão ao leitor, como descendentes de imigrantes de culturas da Ásia Meridional, como Índia e outros arredores, o que também colaborou com meu interesse. Aliado à uma escrita simples mas objetiva, parecia no mínimo um prato cheio para uma leitura tanto descontraída quanto reflexiva, sobre os temas em torno de cultura e afins, mas infelizmente tudo acabou se perdendo um pouco para mim no desenvolvimento.

A começar, e em especial, pelos protagonistas. Jessie e Ravi são filhos de pais que batalharam muito para construir carreiras e estabilidade fora de seus países de origem, nos EUA, e muito é esperado ou cobrado deles de diversas formas, gerando ansiedade, conflitos familiares e pessoais, além dos já comuns dilemas dessa fase jovem adulta mesmo. Até aí tudo dentro do esperado. O problema foi, dentro do plot geral, ou antes mesmo dele surgir propriamente, nesse caso, as cartas, foi a forma rápida, quase forçada ou mecânica, com quem o nosso mocinho se apaixonou pela mocinha. Gosto desse tipo de plot, em que o garoto se apaixona primeiro, sim, mas aqui eu achei que foi muito rápido e depois muito intenso e até desproporcional ao que ela pareceu nutrir de sentimento por ele depois. Não me convenceu como romance.

Depois disso, e foi o que eu esperei um pouco mais no enredo, a introdução e desenvolvimento do plot das cartas foi muito superficial ao meu ver. Pareceu muito como um simples meio pra unir os protagonistas, de forma que não senti quase nada da real história do passado que eles acabam vasculhando, tudo ficou muito apagado em meio aos dilemas, em especial os da Jessie, sobre o romance deles próprios que, como falei antes, já não tava me convencendo também, então somou duas coisas que não me envolveram como o esperado e a leitura acabou se seguindo monótona, sem apego nenhum da minha parte pela trama, infelizmente. Toda a questão do "ser um filho de imigrante" e o que se espera deles x o que eles querem de fato é muito interessante, mas até isso achei mal abordado, meio raso ou, quando parecia aprofundar, intensificado demais de repente e depois apagado de novo.

Tinha um bom potencial, e até certo ponto é uma leitura bacana, mas sem nada de muito inesquecível sobre ela.

loved this book so much! this was nisha's new adult debut and it was done really well!

the main characters are jessie and ravi; jessie is from a lower-middle class indian family in houston, and ravi is a third generation tech bro and basically from silicon valley royalty (i know that's not a real thing but same energy). when they inadvertently get trapped in their university's creepy and haunted old tower that is home to many mysteries, they find letters from the 1970s, written by a desi woman to her secret lover. as they try to figure out her identity, the rest of her story, and if it's related to their school's myths about two lovers who died in a fire, they grow closer.

i could be wrong, but some of the concepts in the book drew parallels to the hindi movie om shanti om (2006) ft shah rukh khan and deepika padukone, especially the fire stuff. i love that the book goes back and forth between jessie and ravi's chapters, and some of the letters written that parallel their present day romance.

one thing i always appreciate about nisha's books is that she acknowledges that there are varying levels of marginalization within the indian-american communities across the country, and a perfect example of it is jessie growing up poor vs ravi's more stereotypical tech bro family. not all desi diaspora are well off and working corporate jobs, and not all of them have the same upbringing. another good example was jessie's roommate, tanvi, who is a third generation indian-american. indian immigration to the usa didn't all happen in the early to mid-2000s, and the mystery desi woman in the 1970s letters is further proof. this is of course not hate to any desi authors that do want to write about the immigrant experience, but seeing as that is the prevailing narrative, this was refreshing to read.

i'm glad the book didn't play into toxic relationship narratives, like when jessie interacts with ravi's ex (who is a very nice person based on her appearances), and doesn't fall victim to unnecessary jealousy - thank god lol. or when jessie meets ravi's family, their problem is not with her being from a poor family - once again, i appreciate that the story didn't fall into those tropes.

overall, a fairly short and absolutely adorable read!

I really enjoyed this book. It is a nice fast paced read but I do think that the ending was a bit rushed and that it needed more.

The way that the letters mirrored Ravi and Jessie’s relationship was so interesting to me and it had me hooked from the beginning. I could not put it down and I loved Ravi! He IS the next book boyfriend. I was giggling and kicking my feet so much and I almost wished he was real. I understood Jessie so much in her drive to succeed to help her immigrant parents and I know how hard the pressure is most of the time. I do find it weird though that Jessie never felt uneasy or scared to walk alone in campus which for me doesn’t seem realistic.

Overall, I liked this book. I didn’t understand many of the South Asian references but honestly if you grew up with immigrant parents, you can find many similarities. There’s a bit of everything: Romance, Spice, Academics, college setting, and etc.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

3,75/5

I'd like to start by thanking NetGalley for providing me the ARC! I'm so grateful.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think it presents a great idea that was successfully developed. What I loved the most was the concept of an Asian College and the notion of a 'hunted' tower. However, I was primarily drawn in for the romance aspect, which I did enjoy, although I found it a little abruptly executed due to the book's length. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate short and easy reads, but I prefer it when they are well-developed and everything unfolds at its own pace. Despite this, I was hooked from the beginning, especially since it was a rivals-to-lovers, which I absolutely LOVE (if you couldn't tell).

I did encounter a slight issue with the writing style, as it was in the third person, which isn't typically my preference. However, if you enjoy that style, I would highly recommend this book. Nevertheless, this didn't make my experience a bad one, so I wouldn't give it too much thought. I adored the book and would recommend it. If you're interested, trust me and give it a read!

[ ENG ]
When it comes to books, romances are not my first choice, but every now and then I treat myself with one just for the pleasure of reading without too many presumptions.

My choice fell on Letters We Keep, given the mystery linked to the mystery of "two ill-fated lovers disappeared in a devastating fire".
The plot itself is captivating, but I think the author didn't exploit all the potential she could draw from it in telling the story (which in general I found nice). Furthermore, I found the protagonists stereotyped and not very three-dimensional. The same goes for secondary characters, mere extras. I would have liked more deep information about them too.
Overall, as someone else wrote on Goodreads, I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it when I was 15.
However, it is still a reading that I don't feel like rejecting, given that I realize I'm off target, but which I recommend to teenagers.

[ ITA ]
Quando si tratta di libri, i romance non sono la mia prima scelta, ma ogni tanto me ne concedo uno giusto per il piacere di una lettura senza troppe pretese.

La mia scelta è ricaduta su Letters We Keep, visto il mistero legato al mistero dei "two ill-fated lovers disappeared in a devastating fire".
La trama è di per sé accattivante, ma credo che l'autrice non abbia sfruttato tutto il potenziale che poteva trarne nel raccontare la storia (che in generale ho trovato carina). In più ho trovato i protagonisti stereotipati e poco tridimensionali. Stesso discorso vale per i personaggi secondari, delle mere comparse. Mi sarebbe piaciuto di più un approfondimento anche nei loro confronti.
In generale, come ha scritto qualcun altro su Goodreads, probabilmente avrei apprezzato di più il libro se lo avessi letto a 15 anni.
Resta comunque una lettura che non mi sento di bocciare, visto che mi rendo conto di essere fuori target, ma che consiglierei a dei teenager.

THE LETTERS WE KEEP by Nisha Sharma is a New Adult recent release that was for some reason a Read Now on NetGalley? And I somehow did not hear a single word about prior to its release??

Two college kids find old love letters in the "haunted" tower of the school library and set out to uncover the story of what happened. The find the letters...in a hollowed out copy of Persuasion! (epistolary element klaxon!) There's a star-crossed lovers theme, with everybody's families trying to stand in their way, etc. It's very sweet.

Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Ghosts? Students locked in a "haunted" tower? And a love story? Need I say more? This definitely scratched an itch I've had for a warming, charming love story and was a book I was looking forward to. If you're any kind of romantic and enjoy ghost stories, ESPECIALLY ghost love stories, count yourself in.

Thank you netgalley and Nisha sharma for giving me opportunity to read this book.
I did not expect such a wonderful and wholesome ending 😭❤

Everything from starting till the end was nothing but a adventure. So many challenges and mysteries. But I loved it.

Loved Ravi and Jessie's chemistry. ❤😩
They both had their differences, they faced challenges and they fell in love. So many Bollywood references.
Liked how Ravi and Jessie were on a mission to know about the legendary story of divya and Christian and the letters they wrote to each other.

Parts in the book where Jessie broke up, it was heartbreaking but Ravi wanted to have her no matter what. He wanted to be with her so did with all his might with the help of his brother. And got her in the end.

Really enjoyed this book. It was wonderful ❤

Thank you to Skyscape and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is very reminiscent of Divine Rivals in the letter aspect. This was such a cute romance and I loved the mystery romance aspect of it. Jessie and Ravi’s relationship was adorable and kept you really engaged with the overarching romantic legend that initially drew them together. It was short and realistic and i found myself really thinking about this long after.

Wonderfully heartbreaking story of two college students who come from different places of life one a daughter of immigrants who worked hard to open up their own deli and made made sacrifices to keep the shop open and provide for their family, and a son of a billionaire that controls franchises and multiple businesses and where everything. Is handed to him. After walking her home after a college party he starts walking her home any time he saw her out after dark, then when the bump heads cause she booked “his” study room in the library then a dare going wrong and she gets locked in the haunted tower in the library. He goes in to get her back out only then do they discover letters from the legend surrounding their college of two star crossed lovers that could be together due to their family differences. Over the course of the semester they read thru the letters, and they get closer to each other in the process, he becomes her first, date, and kiss, and she steals his heart. After. A dinner with his family they ridicule er because of where she is from, and then one of his friends tells her the truth that no she doesn’t believe they are good together cause she cannot believe in herself so she is only going to drag him down, and after fleeing the diner and going home she reads thru the rest of the letters only to decide that the legend was right and they are too different to be together, breaking both their hearts she decides that its best to do break up now.
Then after a convincing conversation with his brother they break into the library to search for the guy’s side of the letters and they find them and discover that a happy ever ever is possible if they are both willing to fight for what they love and for what they want out of life regardless of their backgrounds.

A 50 year mystery, first love, and navigating family dynamics in order to find your peace.

Jessie is a freshman computer engineering major. She knows where she wants to go in life and she knows what she needs to sacrifice to get there. What she doesn't need is Ravi Kumar, the resident Desi nepo baby on campus, to distract her from her goals. When the two start a turf war over a basement study room neither anticipate finding the key to unlocking the 50 year old disappearance of two star cross lovers. Over the course of a semester Ravi and Jessie must learn to balance family expectations, falling in love, solving a mystery, and maintaining their honor roll status.

I loved watching Jessie and Ravi's relationship develop, there were many kick my feet and giggle moments. Admittedly, I was around the same age and place in life as Jessie and Ravi when I met my now husband so there was definitely a large amount of nostalgia that I loved. This novel is longer than a novella but shorter than a lot of books in the YA space so the pacing does feel fast. There were certain elements of the story I wish we could have dug into more. Overall I think Sharma did a really good job balancing the mystery of the library and the developing relationship of the two main characters.

This was a short read that I tore through pretty quick. The letters were so beautiful and sweet and I couldn’t help but root for the two MC’s. The way the characters were fleshed out was well done. I was invested in seeing them find the truth about the letters and ultimately themselves. It’s a cute love story I would suggest others check out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

⭐️rating: 4/5

I was pleasantly surprised by The Letters We Keep. It was a little different than what I usually read, and I really enjoyed it!

It was a short, sweet, and heart-warming story between Jessie and Ravi, two south Asian students, as they try to solve the mystery of a campus legend while falling for each other. I liked the characters and I also really enjoyed the parallels between Jessie and Ravi’s story and the story of the letters.

It’s not a fairytale HEA, but it’s a real one, and that made me like it even more. They’re young and they have their work cut out for them, but their HEA was very satisfying. I also loved the epilogue for reasons I can’t spoil…but it was great! Great way to end it.

This was my first book by Nisha and the writing was wonderful! I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books! And I for sure recommend this one, it was a fun and enjoyable read😊

Oh, and I’m obsessed with the cover. It’s so gorgeous! I wish I had a kaleidoscope room!

Thanks to Skyscape and NetGalley for the copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book. It follows a couple of South Asian college students - one on scholarship who’s just trying to do the best she can for her family, and another from a famous tech family who wants nothing more than to escape his family’s legacy. They connect over a closed-off tower and the mystery of a two students in love who disappeared after a fire there many years ago - and nobody knows who they were. In a case of a dare gone wrong, they get locked in the tower and discover a stack of letters from one student to the other… and become obsessed with discovering who they were.

The mystery of the letters was so good - and the resolution was even better than I could have possibly hoped for. I also love how Jessie and Ravi’s story mirrored that of the letters. I very, very much enjoyed this book!