Review: Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat by Sonya Lalli

 

About the Book

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.

Jasmine Randhawa likes everyone to think she has it all—great job, perfect Seattle apartment, and a handsome boyfriend. But she’s not as confident or successful as she seems, and her relationship is at a breaking point.

 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. 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.

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. 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. Their restlessness seems to disappear whenever they’re together, but is this relationship strong enough to last on land?

My Thoughts

Can we first talk about how beautiful this cover is? Absolutely gorgeous!

This is my first time reading Sonya Lalli and I was completely enchanted by her storytelling. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. Jasmine and Jake had great chemistry and I wanted to shake Jasmine so many times for her to wake up and realize it! I also love a good family-oriented story.

What really stuck with me about the book are the cultural and societal norms that affected the relationships between Jasmine and her parents and Indian community. I feel like I got an education as Ms. Lalli introduces the reader to this diversely vibrant community. But what really crushed my spirit was the way Jasmine was treated (and the way she saw herself) after making a mistake at 15 by kissing a guy at one of the community get-togethers in which everyone could see.

This brought embarrassment to Jasmine and her family, causing her to be shamed (and backbitten) by the community and by her parents. Well, I think that’s too harsh an observation. There was a lot of animosity between Jasmine and her parents because Jasmine did something that this community considers inappropriate and distasteful and nothing like what “good girls” should do, ultimately hurting her chances to find a suitable husband in the future. I found this aspect gave the story so much more depth and realness to it.

I felt so much sympathy and love for Jasmine. She’s a beautiful and vivacious modern woman, easily relatable. She’s just trying to figure things out in the world like all the rest of us bumbling around. After being fiercely protective of her for most of the book, as it neared the end I became so proud of Jasmine for growing and becoming the person she’s always wished herself to be.

This is not just a romance story, it’s also about finding one’s self and being happy with it. About giving yourself a break when you mess up. We all mess up. No need to punish yourself and deny yourself happiness because you don’t think you deserve it or you don’t want to disappoint your parents or someone else. We all deserve happiness, I am just so glad Jasmine was brave enough to claim hers.

Wow, sorry I didn’t mean to go so deep there. I never thought this book would hit me the way it did, or how wonderful and beautiful the world is now with this story in it.

Bottom line: I absolutely enjoyed the book and highly recommend it to all readers!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book.