3.5 ⭐️

i really enjoyed this one! of course the foodie aspects held my attention the most, but i really loved how Jyoti made it cathartic, and used her cooking to really work thru her emotions. i will say, she made some questionable decisions that really had me wanting to shake some sense into her. like girl you’re 42, be yourself!!!!! it’s hard when your insecurities are rooted so deeply into who you were raised to be, but i love how her support system helped her rediscover herself without forcing down any one path. and lastly, who doesn’t love an Italian setting!!! this book gave me Eat Pray Love vibes, and im totally obsessed.

I don’t think I’ve annotated or highlighted a book this much in a long time. This is what Eat, Pray, Love wished it could be!

The MC in this book is Jyoti and she was such a beautiful character that was very relatable. Jyoti is divorced, childless and had her restaurant ripped away from her so she decides on a change of scenery. She ends up going to Florence, Italy to visit her best friend Karishma.

Being a child of immigrants who are deeply traditional has been a struggle for Jyoti so you really see her process and self reflect on this during her journey.

“Passion is a privilege, and we’re lucky that our parents’ sacrifices gave us that option. It’s just ironic that the thing they worked so hard to give us is now the thing that separates us from them.”

This book had me tearing up and rooting for our girl Jyoti the entire time! I highly recommend this to everyone it was such a beautiful read.

A Good Indian Girl is an interesting take on expectations and the burdens these create in this Indian family. From striving to achieve your dreams to being placed in a box based on these expectations, it even covers dating after divorce.

A delightful and thoughtful story about a woman starting over after a divorce, finding her voice, and discovering the true life she has always wanted to live for herself. This story shows we can have many beginnings in this one life and find happiness regardless of the chosen path.

Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.Good.

In A Good Indian Girl, Eat Pray Love meets Indian culture as middle-age chef Jyoti finds herself (literally and figuratively) in Italy for the summer. In the wake of divorce and a long battle with infertility, Jyoti rediscovers her love for cooking and begins to explore her own wants and needs along the way.

I appreciate the way the author infuses her own love for cooking into the story; the food descriptions in this book are a foodie’s dream. One of my favorite lines in the book: “You always know when recipes have been passed down. They are rooted into us, just like the vines in the soil.”

Jyoti’s culinary journey mirrors her own internal transformation, which invites considerable conflict with her family and community back home. The conversations and decisions that follow are so beautiful and hopeful, I look forward to reading more from this author.”

I could not put this down! A journey of self love right when I needed it the most. If you love Eat Pray Love then I highly suggest picking this up.

# A Good Indian Girl
# 10/13/2024 ~ 10/14/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

fun, cool, unique, and a brightly shining, intriguing story with a kick. love the book! tysm for the arc

I love stories about second chances, rediscovering yourself and starting over, add to that mix a gorgeous location and delicious food, the result is a delightful novel. This is my third book from this author and I love her beautiful writing style.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗔 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹 by Mansi Shah released September 3, 2024.

Have you ever been caught between what you want to do, and what’s expected of you?⁣
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Talk about a breath of fresh air!⁣
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A Good Indian Girl was a modern and refreshing Eat, Pray, Love + Under the Tuscan Sun. I loved watching Jyoti bloom and come into her own after her husband leaves her solely because she failed to conceive the child he wanted. She always thought she was the perfect Indian American daughter and wife, but struggled to live up to her parents and husbands expectations.⁣
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Jyoti is now childless and divorced, and since her his family also owned the restaurant where she cooked… she’s also now unemployed. So she decides there’s no better time to spend a summer in Tuscany with her BFF and fellow outcast, Karishma.⁣
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This book. Can we please normalize the fact that being childfree is NOT wrong? That sometimes whether by choice, or by chance - it just isn’t in the cards and there’s nothing wrong with that? Jyoti also has the added pressure of her Gujarati family and gossipy aunties and I can’t imagine feeling like you have to give up your dreams because of what others want. I love how cooking, and new friends, a gorgeous setting, and even strangers on the internet slowly open her eyes to the notion that you can’t be happy if you’re living life for everyone else.⁣
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A gorgeous and heartwarming story of identity and dreams, food and friends … Oh, and RECIPES. This book will make you soooo hungry.

Jyoti is in her early forties and has always done what her Indian family had expected of her. Now her husband has left her because she could not have a child. So she is divorced with no children and no job. She decides to go visit her best friend in Italy to get away from everything. She is enjoying all the foods of Italy and is trying to merge her Indian food with Italian food. This is exciting for her. Can she forge her own path or will her family convince her to return to her Indian roots.

This is a book that combines Indian heritage and American values. This makes for a combination that does not always mix well. Jyoti needs to find a new job as a chef and find a new life that her family will accept. This is an interesting book about combining cultures.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #MansiShah and #ParkRow for a copy of this book.
#AGoodIndianGirl

I would like to start off this review by saying that the food in this book is it's own decadent story and to my delight there are recipes provided at the end. I loved the fusion of two different styles of cooking, food, and meals. I appreciated the personal journey that Jyoti had to undergo to find out what was important to her and how she wanted to live her life, and I loved the way she finally confronted her ex Ashok and stuck up for herself. I felt like I was there and sharing her experiences.

This book by Mandi Shah covers a lot of complex topics in well-told story. Touching on divorce, infertility, cultural/family expectation, and finding yourself later in life, Shah brought Jyoti’s story to life.

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC!

Everyone has been describing this as a desi Eat Pray Love and I totally agree! With a lovely Florence setting, surrounded by good and character driven story, this was a lovely read. At times I felt the pacing could have been faster, but overall the characters, story, and the FOOD was very relatable, especially as a BIPOC woman.

Read this if you like:

- female BIPOC leads
- stories set in Italy
- huge focus on food
- exploration of immigrant cultural narratives and how they shape us
- mid-life coming of age story

For me this book was just ok! I liked the characters and setting, and the plot was nice, but nothing stood out for me. I might recommend it to someone looking for a light read, but I would likely choose something else instead.

This book gripped me in such a visceral way. I immediately started reading and knew that Jyoti would be my best friend. She's imaginary and in a book but I knew her story deeply in my soul. Jyoti is in her 40s and a divorcee figuring out how to move on with her life. Going through a divorce is horrifying normally but going through one as an Indian woman where your marriage defines everything about your life and your family's life is just next-level tragedy.

Jyoti joins her best friend Karishma for the summer in Florence, Italy for a reset and it proves to be an amazing experience. Jyoti struggles with her identity as she never could have children, lost her job as a chef in her ex-husband's restaurant, and was essentially disowned by her parents. There were so many deeply emotional moments that left me in tears and I was just cheering her on the whole way. She made a few mistakes, learned so much about herself, and found something beautiful. The journey was amazing and I highly recommend this book to ANYONE.

The story of American-born Indians and our position on the cusp of both America and India trying to find our place is not told enough. It is the immigrant story and I loved that this was told in such a fabulous way. Please give this book a chance, support BIPOC authors, and open your world to new stories.

Also, there are recipes at the end for Jyoti's delicious dishes, including the famous samosas!!!

I received this book as an ARC after its release day courtesy of NetGalley but guys, this book is already published and available to everyone. Stop reading and get this book.

Jyoti has aLways done what her Gujarati family expected of her. At 42, unable to conceive even after IVF and miscarriages, Jyoti’s husband leaves her for a younger woman. Jyoti flies to Florence, Italy to spend time with her best friend, Karishma, and discover herself. She was always drawn to cooking as she learned from her mother, but the idea of combining her Gujarati foods with fresh Tuscan flavors inspired her to pursue cooking. Karishma was a great supporting character, a publisher interested in providing books with multicultural representation. The flow of the book could have been a bit improved, but I enjoyed the story, and the characters. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a great women's fiction story that follows second generation South Asian, Jyoti, growing tired of being the "Good Indian girl" and living to please her ex-husband and parents over living her life for herself. Finally free of the pressures imposed on her to get pregnant and be a stay at home mother, Jyoti takes the summer to stay with her friend in Italy and reconnect with her love of food and cooking.

Overall this was an empowering and moving Eat Pray Love type story full of South Asian culture and customs. It was great on on audio read by a fav, narrator of mine, Soneela Nankani and was my first book by Toronto-born author, Mansi Shah but it definitely won't be my last. Highly recommended for fans of authors like Sonali Dev. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 ⭐️

If you are not already hungry, reading this book will make you hungry. I loved how descriptive it was. It felt like I was working in the kitchen alongside Joyti while she made the dishes. I found her so relatable while she was on a self-discovery journey after a divorce. The reader got to learn about Indian culture and how the different generations embrace it. I could see myself following someone like her on TikTok. She was so down to earth, and I enjoyed her lifelong friend and the ones she made while in Tuscany. A heartwarming read with great character growth and a satisfying ending.

Thank you to the author and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

This book made me feel *so many* emotions, which is often a sign of a great read for me. Right from the start, I felt everything: frustration with Jyoti’s (our FMC) self-doubt and the endless sacrifices she’s made, irritation with her family and her ex-husband, and the weight of the expectations placed on her. But by the end I was picking my jaw up off the ground with all the twists, turns, and growth!

This is contemporary fiction that packs a punch. We follow Jyoti, a first-generation Indian American and eldest daughter, who has spent her life striving to be the perfect Indian daughter. Where has it gotten her? Unemployed, childless, divorced, and disconnected from her family and community.

She takes off to Tuscany for the summer to visit her best friend, and in that time away, she begins to find herself again. Jyoti rediscovers her love of cooking, becomes brave enough to share it with the world, and accidentally goes viral with her vlog. The attention she receives is both incredible (people who resonate with what she says) and awful (the center of gossip and shame with the aunties), but it becomes part of her journey toward self-discovery.

The book also does a fantastic job of delving into the unique challenges faced by first-generation Americans, especially within the Asian community, and what happens when you choose to defy expectations. It's a compelling exploration of cultural identity that I highly recommend checking out!

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, for the ARC!