
A Holly Jolly Diwali
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Narrated by:
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Richa Moorjani
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By:
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Sonya Lalli
"Lalli's prose is deft, her characters are delightful and her book is the just-right holiday romance." (USA Today)
One type-A data analyst discovers her free-spirited side on an impulsive journey from bustling Mumbai to the gorgeous beaches of Goa and finds love waiting for her on Christmas morning.
Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She's always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she's always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she's laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn't exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya’s wedding.
Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it's the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual.
When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life - to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.
©2021 Sonya Lalli (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"A sweeping global romance that epically showcases India's festival of lights."--Entertainment Weekly
“A delicious holiday romance, cozily wrapped up in a story about rediscovering your roots and taking a chance on newfound love. Niki’s decision to attend her friend’s wedding in India provides a compelling exploration of family, reinvention, South Asian culture, and newfound love. What a fun read!”--Uzma Jalaluddin, bestselling author of Hana Khan Carries On
“Funny and heartwarming, with lush descriptions of Indian beach resorts and chaotic city streets, Lalli’s latest multicultural romance is extremely satisfying; her characters are refreshingly relatable. Highly recommended for fans of Sonali Dev and Sophie Kinsella.”--Booklist (starred)
Featured Article: The Best Festive Rom-Coms to Cozy Up to This Holiday Season
If you're the kind of person who watches every single holiday romantic comedy that arrives on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix each season, then this list of holiday rom-com listens was made for you. From cozy snowy cabins to magical holidays spent exploring new places, from young adult to older protagonists, these holiday rom-com audiobooks have a little bit of everything to add a bit of holiday cheer to your listening this winter.
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Niki is 29 but feels younger in experience but more boring, I wanted a romcom with a true adventure in India but I felt the story though short was very slow and uneventful. The ending was the sweetest part.
Growth in the end
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Funfunfun
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Fun, breezy and romantic
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👍
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Fantastic!
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Funny, romantic
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Cute
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A Young Young Young Adult book
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After getting laid off from her job Niki travels to India to attend her friend’s wedding. While I can say that I learned a lot about several of the wedding ceremonies and traditions (thanks to a lot of Googling) it shied away from Diwali customs and I thought that’s what the focus of the story was about. I was wrong. In fact, Niki herself isn’t sure what Diwali is so she asks around and never gets a clear answer. Once in India, she meets the bride's friend Sam and begins a flirtatious game of will they or won't they admit their feelings for each other. Don’t worry it only takes them a week to fall in love.
Seeing as these characters knew each other for such a short period of time it was hard to feel the chemistry and therefore root for them. I also felt that the story kept straying away from the romance (what little of it there was) to criticize India and show how awful, outdated, rude, disrespectful Indian people can be. I thought this was supposed to be a celebration? Diwali, a wedding, and a romance?
I felt like so much of what happened wasn’t important to the romance. The back story about Niki’s job, her relationship with her sister, the random flashbacks from when she was a child, even the back story about Sam’s band and his relationship with his father, even the fricking wedding…. I just didn’t see the point of cramming all this into the same book. It felt much longer than the 315 pages I read. This book really could have benefitted from a glossary! I don’t mind stopping every once in awhile to look up a term here and a term there, but this was overkill. I am not familiar with these terms of endearment, items of clothing, ceremonies, recipes, etc. So having to stop and google as much as I did pulled me into and out of a story I was already feeling lukewarm about.
Ultimately, I found it to be Niki Randhawa’s personal journey mixed with a story of family, friends, culture, and a bit of love.
Plenty of culture, not enough romance
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