Review by Booklist Review
Sharma's latest is a New Adult novel filled with mystery, romance, and an exploration of South Asian culture. Jessie Ahuja attends Hartceller University on a scholarship with one goal: to become an engineer and support her immigrant parents. However, college life takes a turn when she gets pulled into solving the mystery of the campus legend with famous rich boy Ravi Kumar. Ravi has it all: the money, the connections, and the popularity, but he doesn't want to follow his family's legacy. So what happens when he falls in love with Jessie, a down-to-earth desi girl? When Jessie and Ravi uncover letters in a hidden library room, they learn secrets about a campus legend with forbidden romance, a tower fire, and whispers of forgotten voices. The novel delves into the South Asian diaspora experience in higher education, the clash of social classes, and the loss of important cultural stories and history. As they get closer, Jessie and Ravi are determined to solve the mystery and to revive the memory of those forgotten in the legend.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A present-day enemies-to-lovers romance starring two Desi college students from different economic backgrounds develops alongside a 1970s story of star-crossed lovers in this swoony tale by Sharma (The Karma Map). When aspiring engineer Jessie Ahuja meets handsome Ravi Kumar, the son of a wealthy tech mogul, she instantly hates him for his arrogance and vaping habit; their rivalry for the same university study nook soon escalates from minor inconvenience to proverbial war. After his fraternity brothers prank Jessie, locking her in the campus tower that's purported to have been haunted since two students died in a 1972 fire, he breaks in to free her. Inside the tower, they find hidden love letters that seem to be written by one of the presumed-dead students from decades before. Jessie and Ravi begin reading the correspondence together, unraveling a 50-year-old mystery about a love affair with disturbing parallels to their own dynamic, prompting Jessie to wonder if she and Ravi's relationship will follow the same fate. Though the alignment of the past and present story lines can feel forced, sharp banter and steamy intimate scenes make the easy chemistry between the romantic leads sparkle. Ages 15--up. Agent: Joy Tutela, David Black Literary. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two worlds and timelines intersect in this story centering on South Asian American college students in New Jersey. The story opens with "Dear Jaan," the first line of a letter from 1972 that's a beckoning to romance--a romance that rumor says ended in flames in Hartceller University's Davidson Tower. Cut to the present day: Jessie Ahuja is at Hartceller, studying hard to become an engineer. She refuses to be distracted by the extremely rich and attractive Ravi Kumar, who insists on walking her home and battling over study room reservations. Jessie's worked hard to get good grades and stay steadfastly committed to her career track; to her, tech industry heir Ravi is the ultimate nepo baby. Fate, however, has other plans: When Jessie and Ravi discover a bunch of letters from the two fabled lovers, they feel compelled to team up to solve the mystery of Davidson Tower's haunted history. As they unravel the real story, they find themselves on a similar will-they-won't-they trajectory. This pleasant romance underscores the challenges of immigration, both historically and currently. The pressures of South Asian parents and their aspirations and the contrasting hopes of their children are beautifully developed, alongside the mixing of different languages in the narrative. Disappointingly, the historic love letters feel a bit insipid, even though they stitch the narrative together. But this is truly Jessie's story, and she's interesting, complex, and driven. An easy, effortlessly enjoyable read. (Romance. 16-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
