The set up, of their disappointment and lack of support, works very well, but gives the book a mountain to climb. Re which I didn't quite buy into the resolution with Jasmine's parents. It's well written and there's a lot of painful stuff about expectations and the damage they can do. I kind of wanted either more or less focus on the romance, I think. Possibly because it teeters the line between romance and women's fiction: it's very much about Jasmine sorting her life out, with Jake something between an obstacle and a goal, but with a lot of the story about their head-butting relationship. It's a very likeable story, though I didn't quite love it. Luckily she finds herself on a seniors cruise to Alaska with gorgeous younger Jake and has an impetus to think things through. She has a good job but spends above her means, a useless ex she keeps going back to, a dismal relationship with her parents, and a lot of front to hide the hole in her self esteem. Their restlessness seems to disappear whenever they’re together, but is this relationship strong enough to last on land?Ĭontemporary romance with Jasmine, who is a bit of a mess. Except they can’t avoid each other forever during the ten-day cruise, and they soon recognize a surprising number of similarities, especially in how many secrets they’re keeping hidden from their families.

Jasmine and Jake clash right away, with Jasmine smarting over how their South Asian community puts him on a pedestal as the perfect Indian son, whereas her reputation as a troublemaker precedes her. Things only get worse once the ship leaves the harbor and she realizes that this is a seniors’ cruise, and the only other person under fifty on the entire boat is her childhood acquaintance, cocky and successful Jake Dhillon. When Jasmine finds herself single and tagging along on her parents’ vacation, she’s not sure her life can get any farther off course. It's a nightmare for someone who's been so fiercely independent to find herself on a cruise full of family friends who’ve judged her since childhood.

But she’s not as confident or successful as she seems, and her relationship is at a breaking point. Jasmine Randhawa likes everyone to think she has it all-great job, perfect Seattle apartment, and a handsome boyfriend. An impulsive decision to join an Alaskan cruise getaway brings the chance for an onboard romance in this new enemies-to-lovers romance from the author of A Holly Jolly Diwali.

A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli