Book Recommendations: Part Seven

 Before I start, let’s take a moment to be grateful that January is over. I apologise to anyone with birthdays in January or if you really enjoy the month, but it genuinely feels like it lasts forever, and this year was no different. A new month also means a new book recommendations blog post and I am so excited to share these with you all!

 

The Paths of Marriage by Mala Kumar 

 

This book spans three generations of Indian and Indian-American women. Each one of them faces their own hardships, battles and struggles throughout their lives. Lakshmi, an incredibly smart student living in poverty in India who marries and immigrates to America in order to provide the absolute best for her family. Years later, Pooja, her daughter, is forced into an arranged marriage which causes a huge strain in relationship between mother and daughter. And then, Deepa – Pooja’s daughter – a lesbian who is not out to her family. The story showcases all three POVs of these different women as we get a deep insight into cultural changes, family and generational differences, the harshness of life and we get to watch as these women learn and navigate through life as best as they can. This was an incredibly profound story that will hit close to home for a lot of people. It weaves in the importance of culture, family, finding one’s own voice and the struggle that immigrants, WOC and queer people face. It definitely resonated with me and even if you can’t relate; it’s still worth reading to get a glimpse into another culture. (Trigger/Content Warnings: Mention of suicide and self-harm, Homophobia, Abuse, Classism, Racism) 

 

The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman 

 

A fantasy book set in an Indian-inspired queer normative world? I was sold and I’m so glad I read it. With their country – Ashoka – under threat of war; four royal siblings have to put aside their differences  and reunite in order to find a new source of magic which is the only thing that could potentially save their country from invasion. The four siblings – Vira, Riya, Ronak and Kaleb – must embark on a treacherous journey in order to find The Ivory Key. However, each one of them has their own agenda for finding the key and many secrets are being kept from one another. The story follows each four family member’s POV as we go on this journey of magical adventures and explore the bonds between these siblings…and whether they’ll be torn apart by their journey or brought closer. This book was truly everything I didn’t know I needed. If you love fantasy and magic inspired books then this is definitely for you. It’s laced with family dramas and references Indian food…which will leave you hungry if you’re anything like me. (Trigger/Content Warnings: Parental Death, Violence, Grief) 

 

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood 

 

If you love the grumpy x sunshine trope and the fake dating trope then this book is definitely for you because it ticks those boxes in a way that will leave you swooning. Olive is a third year Ph.D candidate who is desparate to convince her best friend, Anh, that she is in the dating game… which is what leads her to kiss the first man she sees. This man happens to be Adam – a young professor with a reputation of being a  “hot asshole”. One kiss and a panicked explanation later, Adam agrees to go along with Olive’s fake dating plan. Olive is a woman of science so knows they’ll have to show evidence of dating but… we all know how the fake dating trope goes… even if Olive is sure it won’t end up like that. Or will it? The book is familiar and easy to read but will leave you wanting more as you turn each page. It’s intoxicating. Will the grump and sunshine stick to their fake dating plan? Will things go haywire? Will it leave hearts broken?  (Trigger/Content Warnings: Death of a parent discussed, Grief, Workplace Sexual Harassment, Graphic Consensual Sexual Content)