This is the third installment in the Modern Love series by Alisha Rai. Similar to the first 2 books Rai continues to write fun books with strong female characters. I had to laugh there were even references to passing the Bechdel test in the book as just one example of the lighthearted humor the book contains.
Jia is an influencer who is struggling to manage her success and her family expectations. She is a Muslim Pakistani American who is balancing her religious beliefs, her family's traditional expectations, and her more outspoken American personality. Rai does a wonderful job of demonstrating the balance as well as the struggles Jia faces.
There are some very comical scenes with her family of 4 sisters and traditional parents as well as the Bollywood famous family of Dev. Underlying all the story though is a tale of desire for acceptance and happiness. I appreciate how Rai intertwines this and other messages in an enjoyable romance with minimal graphic sexual detail. There is some but it is an appropriately placed plot line rather than gratuitous lust as many books are keen to present.
I hope this series continues so readers have a chance to watch the relationships of Jia, Rhiannon, and Katarina grow. I'd imagine the next book would have to be about Lakshimi or Luna if it keeps to the pattern focusing on a different MC in each book. Only time will tell.
First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Enjoyable comedic tone with strong female leads
This 3rd installment in the series focuses on Jia. Her portrayal is a well balanced one showing struggles I'm imagine are real.especially for young women balancing 2 cultures. it is easy to see her inner struggles with keeping her Pakistani/Islamic upbringing at peace with who she wants to be in LA as a modern American woman. Rai represents the struggle between traditional and modern well and the reader cannot help but cheer for Jia to find happiness and success
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book #55
- Finishing the Series #FinishingTheSeries2021 Modern Love #3
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021 Book #62
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #74
- PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #3. A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover
- Around the Year in 52 Books #13. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
- BooklistQueen # 18. Longer Than 400 Pages
- Nerd Daily #NERDREADING2021 #7. PART OF A TRILOGY
- Pick your Poison #9-4 A book about how radio, television, or the internet has changed us
- Beyond the Bookends faux celebrity protagonist
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