Sari, Not Sari

January 3, 2022
There’s technology, tradition, samosas, and saris in Singh’s delightful debut rom-com about a relationship expert with relationship problems embracing her cultural identity. Manny Dogra is the successful CEO of Breakup, a company that facilitates diplomatic breakups via email. Manny is dismayed when a magazine spread shows her with skin that has been significantly lightened in Photoshop—and doubly so when her white fiancé, Adam, attempts to comfort her by saying she’s “not really” Indian anyway. Manny worries that she missed out on her heritage because her now-deceased parents encouraged her to embrace Americanization. An opportunity to learn about her roots comes in the form of Sammy Patel, who’s been hounding Manny to facilitate a “temporary breakup” with his non-Indian girlfriend so that he doesn’t have to introduce her to his judgmental family at his brother’s wedding. Manny agrees to help in exchange for Sammy letting her accompany him to the event. It’s her first big Indian wedding—and it sparks both romance and self-discovery. Singh sensitively probes misunderstandings about cultural identities with gentle humor. Chock-full of breakups and makeups, this energetic love story marks Singh as a writer to watch. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary.

January 1, 2022

DEBUT Manny Dogra's parents never talked about their South Asian culture, embracing all things America instead. While Manny has grown up to be a successful CEO and is engaged to a handsome, rich architect, she knows next to nothing about her family's cultural heritage. When a magazine cover airbrushes away her rich skin tone and makes her look white, Manny has an identity crisis, no longer confident of who she really is. Sammy Patel needs a favor from Manny's company, and she agrees--on the condition that he take her to his brother's wedding and show her the life her parents rejected. This romantic comedy has witty dialogue, likable characters, and a humorous tone. Manny's need to find herself, to find an essential something that's missing from her heart and soul, is a universal, relatable theme. Though the plot itself is uneven, with underdeveloped subplots and back stories, the writing has moments of brilliance and insight that will resonate for the characters and readers alike. VERDICT A secondary purchase, but this debut author's career will be worth watching.--Heather Miller Cover

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2022
Singh, a former entertainment reporter turned PR expert, sets her debut novel in the world of Bollywood dancing, mehndi (a body art in which henna is used to draw patterns on hands and legs), and matchmaking aunties. Manny Dogra is the multimillionaire CEO of Breakup, a company that helps clients gracefully split from their partners through a perfectly crafted email. In the midst of her success and intimations of her architect fianc�'s racism, Manny realizes she is badly missing the Indian part of her American identity. So she negotiates an exchange with her Indian American client, Sammy Patel. He will get an email for a temporary breakup with his girlfriend while she will get a week to experience being Indian at his family wedding. Because of his girlfriend, Sammy had been distant from the family he loves. Being at the wedding is like reconnecting with his soul, while Manny enjoys being a part of a huge Indian family, truly to her heart's content. Love cannot help but blossom between them in the midst of this outpouring of happiness.

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