With such a cute title and cover, I could not wait to dive into A Not So Bollywood Meet Cute by Miya Malai. The concept was super cute, and it was a breezy read on its own, however I think it could’ve been so much better if it was more focused on building up the characters and their relationship with one another, instead of multiple relationships and outside plots.
Now, obviously, I am not Desi, so I cannot comment on how well that representation was, but I can say it felt refreshing to read. So many of the romances I find myself reading will either be same culture romances or mixed relationships but there is absolutely nothing culturally different between characters. That wasn’t the case here and it was better for it. I would have loved more of Evan trying to learn more of Desi culture, getting into it, but also if that had been the main form of conflict, it would have been enough. But, we get thrown numerous conflicts, and yes, all get resolved, I didn’t need so much. I just needed Evan and Katrina.
Speaking of, the romance between Evan and Katrina felt tentative. Both were badly burned in the past and aren’t sure how much they want to give one another, but also knew that there was something heavy between them. He absolutely falls first and harder. I wish we had gotten more of their relationship, and actually got to witness its development. At times, it felt like it fell to the back burner because, again, I think Malai tried to do too much in under 300 pages, especially with it being dual POV.
My main gripe, if you couldn’t tell by now, is just that Malai tries to do too much all at once. While admirable, it wasn’t necessary and actually detracted from the reason I wanted to read this book. If the main conflict was the major anxiety both main characters lived with, that would’ve been an amazing read. If previous relationships was the main conflict, that would’ve been an exciting read. If cultural differences was the main conflict, that would’ve made for an intense read. But, trying to do all of that along with developing side characters that could get their own book afterward, was simply too much. Also, I absolutely would, read a romance for Jamie and Laila (gimme gimme gimme.)
I think I would recommend A Not So Bollywood Meet Cute by Miya Malai to folks looking to diversify their romance reading, or readers that are wanting to test the waters of open door/spicy romances. Readers that are used to more explicit romances might find this a bit vanilla.
