Title: My So-Called Bollywood Life
Author: Nisha Sharma
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Crown BFYR (Penguin Random House)
Published: May 15, 2018

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soulmate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her 18th birthday, and Raj meets all of the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked to return from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. Worse, Raj is crowned chair of the student film festival, a spot Winnie was counting on for her film school applications. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.

Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek, and one of the few people Winnie can count on to help her reclaim control of her story. Dev is smart charming, and challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope to find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy, and her chance to live happily ever after? To get her Bollywood-like life on track, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star.

Like an expertly choreographed Bollywood dance scene, Nisha Sharma’s off-beat love story dazzles in the lime light.

– My Review –

I absolutely loved this book, so get ready for some happy rambling! I clicked with Winnie Mehta from the very first page. Even though this book is narrated in the third person, and we don’t get Winnie’s thoughts directly from her, I still got a very strong feel for her character and how she feels and thinks! She was cute and being totally dramatic in the first scene because of something that happened, and I completely understood her because our brains work in a similar way. Because of how Winnie and I think, I really understood her when she was trying to accomplish a million things, and trying to be successful at all the things, all while trying not to let her parents down. I absolutely adored Winnie, as well as the other key characters in this book (but I can’t tell you who they are, or why I like them) because I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys!)

Before reading this book, I had not been aware that India had astrologers who can kind of read your fate out to you based on how the stars were aligned on the day of your birth. I found this to be very interesting, and while we don’t have anything like that in Romanian culture (that I know of), I completely understood Winnie’s struggle with her prophecy. This book taught me a number of other things that I can use in my own life (in relation to love, family, and work)! Also, as some of you might know, I am also an incurable romantic, and the romance in this book was just pure perfection! (I was also happy to see two Indian movies that I’ve watched, mentioned in this book! There is also a list at the back of the book, of all of the movies which were mentioned, including mini reviews for all of them. And I definitely made a list of the top 10 Indian movies that I need to watch next because of this list! Thank you Nisha Sharma!) This book was exactly what I needed—it left me feeling warm, and happy, and hopeful!

– About the Author –

Nisha Sharma grew up immersed in Bollywood movies, eighties pop culture, and romance novels, so it comes as no surprise that her first YA, My So-Called Bollywood Life, features all three. Nisha credits her father for her multiple graduate degrees, and her mother for her love of Shah Rukh Khan and Jane Austen. She lives in New Jersey with her cat Lizzie Bennett and her dog Nancey Drew. You can find her online at nisha-sharma.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @nishawrites.

– Purchase Links –

THANK YOU FOR READING MY BOOK REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!