Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment

Such a fun, swoony read!! The characters are all extremely well developed and their romance is adorable. The plot andsetting.. I just loved all of it. It was a beautiful read that was hard to put down. Overall, this was a great romance book.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This whole book feels like a Bollywood movie and is the perfect read for people who loved Never Had I Ever on Netflix.

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment was such a fun and charming read, and I loved all its layers. It was a fun and cute academic rival to lover's romance but had so much depth to it with all the familial relationships. Overall just felt like a very well-rounded book that was cute and fluffy but also covered topics that added a lot of depth to the story.

This book was truly such an enjoyable read and it was super fun and kept my attention the whole time. Once I read the first few pages I felt myself just getting sucked into the story and especially its humor, and after that, it was very difficult to put it down. I 100% would have read this book in one sitting if I had not been on vacation with my family.

Also, this book made me hungry for food, the way Arushi Avachat described the food was perfect. So that was just an added plus!

As a brown girl myself, reading Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment was like warm chicken soup for my inner teenager’s soul. When I was a teen (not all that long ago) brown girls weren’t very well represented in books, and especially not as main characters. It has been so beautifully refreshing to connect with a main character on the basis of culture and family ties.

Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment feels like a coming of age story, despite not really being one, and has a heartwarming focus on family dysfunctions and the bonds that hold us together despite our flaws and past hurts.

Arya reminds me so much of a younger me - naive about some things, feeling a deep sense of responsibility over things that are not her burden to carry, and emotional as all hell. Seeing the way that Avachat depicts broken family dynamics and how that can weigh on sibling relationships - particularly in brown households - was emotional for me to read. The way she depicts sisterhood is so genuine and authentic and natural.

In fact, character relationships and their dynamics throughout the entirety of the book felt refreshingly real. Avachat navigates what it is to be closing out of adolescence and entering adulthood beautifully in this novel. The trials and tribulations of college applications, crumbling friendships, new relationships, and familial stress are all such a huge part of what it is to be a senior in high school. Preparing to leave home, for life to change, not knowing what direction university will take you and what it will mean for your friendships… all of that is depicted organically in this novel.

I adore that we meet Arya at an important juncture in her life, but that we only get to see a small portion of it. The book is less so about getting from point a to point b and hitting a climax on the way and more so about what it is to be a teen navigating a series of emotional challenges and overcoming them through personal growth. We’re spoiled with a healthy mix of sweetness, wholesome romance, teen angst, and family drama, among other things. The character development isn’t outstanding but it’s certainly enough for the plot, and I didn’t find it to be lacking in a significant way.

Reading Arya Khanna’s story had me gripped from cover to cover. The dialogue flowed freely, the characters were so lovable, it’s exactly the kind of book to read when you need something equivalent to a warm cup of tea on a dreary day. I truly adored every minute I spent reading this book, grinning ear to ear nearly the entire time. This is truly such an impressive and gorgeously sweet YA debut.

Perfect for fans of shows like Never Have I Ever (with much less chaos), Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment will have you absolute charmed from start to finish and I cannot recommend it enough!

I adored this novel!
I love how naturally Dean and Arya's enemies to friends to lovers story line progressed. I love that there wasn't an insta-love vibe and how we got to see them grow throughout the story.
The only character I felt was unreasonable was Lisa but I like that she communicated with Arya toward the end.
If you're wondering whether you should read this or not, YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. It was worth every moment I spent reading.

This was such a cute read! The characters made me laugh so hard and I learned so much about shaadi. This was an amazing debut and I can’t believe that the author hasn’t written more, this is such a great book.

CW: depression, divorce (recounted)

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Arya Khanna is trying to have the best senior year ever, but things aren’t quite working out in her favor. Her two best friends recently broke up and are no longer speaking to each other. Her family is in the midst of planning her older sister’s shaadi despite lingering tensions. And she has to save autumn formal with her enemy and student body president, Dean Merriweather. Yet, in the midst of it all, Arya learns how to adapt with these changes.

I have to admit that I haven’t read a book quite like Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment, but this is a book I would absolutely re-read again. Capturing the essence of a Bollywood film (featuring an intermission, which I’ve never seen before in a book), this book is divided into five acts focusing on various aspects of Arya’s senior year and the shaadi preparations. I feel that the short chapters are easy to read through and provide a good pace to the plot since it never feels too slow or too fast.

Likewise, I feel that Avachat does a really good job with character development in Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment. Throughout the book, Avachat details the changes Arya goes through as she navigates senior year and her sister’s upcoming shaadi, which I think Avachat does really well for this book. In addition, I also thought Arya and Dean’s relationship was so cute and adorable. I loved reading their interactions on the page and was rooting for them till the end.

Other than my wish there could have been a bit more to the intermission part of the book, I have no complaints for this book. If you’re looking for a diverse YA rom-com with great writing and an adorable romance, you should keep an eye on Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment.

Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat was funny and poignant. At times it had me kicking my feet in giddy delight and at other times sobbing. In other words, I had the absolute best time with it! Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC.
Arya’s juggling a lot of plates—her mom’s depression, her sister’s upcoming wedding, a best friend fallout, and having to work with Dean after losing the student council presidency to him—but it turns out she’s really bad at juggling and plates are crashing all around her.
According to Arya, she and Dean are always at each other’s throats. And yes, they do get into a lot of fights. Like, so many fights. But it’s pretty apparent that only one person is instigating all of them and it’s not Dean. They’re forced to work together to save the fall formal, and the banter and tension and her absolute unwillingness to take anything he says at face value is absolutely delightful.
Amidst the lighthearted banter and falling in love with your rival, is a deeper message about how relationships change throughout your life—parent and child, sisters, and even friends. And that while it hurts, this is a natural part of life.
Warning, do not pick this book up before bed if you’re incapable of holding yourself to “just one more chapter” otherwise, like me, you will be staring down the wrong side of midnight and making tough choices about how much sleep you really need to survive the next day.

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and I’d recommend it to anyone. It was so witty and I loved the writing. I hope to read more from the author in the future. If you enjoyed this book and haven’t seen “Never Have I Ever” on Netflix, I definitely think you should check it out!!

A sweet story about a high school senior working through her day-to-day struggles at school and home while her sister's wedding approaches. The book read like a diary to me, as Arya encounters the various challenges that face her--estranged friends, a rivalry with the (cute) student council president, a sister keeping a secret from her, a mother with depression--blended with lots of small moments like picking out movies to watch, clothes to wear, colleges to apply to, and food to make. As one problem resolves, another arises, giving this a slice-of-life structure that will likely appeal most to readers who enjoy quieter, character-focused stories. The celebration of Bollywood comes through so clearly, readers might finish the book eager to check out some of the films referenced in the pages, or even get up and dance.

This was a BEAUTIFULLY told tale of family going through changes and challenges together. Told through an immigrant daughters' eyes, details the struggles of growing up and navigating the intricacies of love and high school politics. I'd love to see another novel featuring Arya's college journey and how she and her family continues. 100/10 stars!

Perhaps since I am not the target audience for most young-adult fictions and/or romances, I’ve come across very many that felt empty to me. I think what they lacked was something that I felt I could connect to, or something worthwhile to take away from a story geared toward younger, more impressionable audiences. That being said, Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment definitely fulfilled my wishes for an engaging and worthwhile young adult story. I felt that we were able to connect with Arya and the side characters throughout the entire story. I really enjoyed how Avachat conveyed the Khannas in terms of their relationships with each other and how Arya was effected by them. The story was fun and felt realistic to the experiences of a high school girl. I enjoyed the writing style and the pop culture references! I think once this book hits the shelves it will be a huge success amongst teenagers and adults alike!