One Monsoon in Mumbai offers exactly the mess of contradictions and inconsistencies that characterise one of the world's greatest cities. We have a heroine (?) protecting her virginity whilst wearing outrageously revealing clothes, a plotline of dragging oneself out of the slums and the red light district into the finest technical universities and working for the Intelligence Bureau, and a sappy sort-of love story juxtaposed against a tail of cybersecurity and top-level hacking. We could be forgiven for thinking that it's all trying just a bit too hard.

The funny thing is, though, that it sort of works. It's not realistic. It's not believable. It's full of carbon copy characters and cliches but in spite of all that, it's a bit more endearing than I expected.

I hope it's a stand-alone novel. I am not at all sure I could handle another adventure of this type anytime soon. It's good to see a tough broad heroine with her rose-tinted glasses and her determinations. Her auntie is the least stereotypical character to ever grace the pages of a modern Indian novel but the male characters are very standard. Chop off their heads and it will say 'cliche' through their necks like two sticks of Blackpool rock.

I love Mumbai and I always find it a great city in which to set a novel. It has everything - and most of it in the extreme.

I've read quite a lot of Indian 'popular fiction' - yeah, more Chetan Bhagat than anybody should ever expose themself to and tons more first or early novels by writers trying to cash in on the youth rupees in a society of rapidly gentrifying IT-industry opportunity. This is better than average for its type. The smooching and sexy bits are horribly badly written - but that's very typical of the genre. I mean, is it REALLY necessary to follow and orgasm with a colossal symbolic thunderstorm and the start of the monsoon? It's a corny as the waves crashing on the beach in 'From Here to Eternity', but it's all part of the genre and infinitely preferable to something more squelchy and detailed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

A breezy read in between all the thrillers. Mumbai is where I live and the author has captured the city well. The story is not unique and one can guess which way things would go. The characters and their interactions were fun.

Thank you Netgalley and Booksgosocial for the ARC

This was such an unexpected fun read! I really like our 2 main female leads especially! Strong, independent, efficient women are totally my catnip. They made the love square a total blast.
There's everything for someone in this book and I highly recommend it. The writing was also very descriptive and I indeed felt like I was living in Monsoon country.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Thanks you Netgally for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit more serious then what I thought it would be but interesting non the less.

A good story but WAY too much going on. There were so many back stories, schemes, and a whole lot of inner monologues that the story was almost bogged down. At times, the timeline went back and forth over the same period of time so you could get different points of view and that got a little confusing. Still, the story was interesting and the ending was satisfying.

I received a copy from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

OneMonsooninMumbai #NetGalley

This rom-com/spy thriller/family drama was so much fun, with its quirky characters and ever-more-convoluted game of cat and mouse. Did I mention it has two romances? Plus, one of them is a noona romance! Be still, my heart. True, there were several scenes that were more on-the-nose and dramatic than they would ever play out in real life, and the pacing and some of the bigger scenes (especially the anniversary party) felt like the comedy would have worked better on film than on the page, but if you want something breezy, with just a dash of sizzle and angst, this book is a great way to spend a night – much like watching a comforting old masala Bollywood flick.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, Okay, okaaayyy!

Take a seat because this might be a long one.

First of all, thank you Netgalley for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

There's no doubt that the author is a wordsmith. Even when she is the master of her pen, her words seem very bland. Very distant from the characters. Other than Seema's curls or her brown eyes, I couldn't describe any of the characters mentioned in the book. (Perhaps the henchman? He was described very well in detail!) I wish the narration was better.

There was a lot of purple prose included especially in the first few chapters that got my head spinning. I had to take a few breaks in between with all the information that had been presented to me. Plus that information meshed with the dialogue that the characters had amongst themselves, didn't leave any room for a surprise for me. I couldn't experience their pain, heartbreak, angst, or even love. Though, I should mention it does show an enormous amount of research on the author's part!

The ending was extremely anti-climatic, we spent 90% of the book-building for it, and then... it just didn't deliver it.

The complex relationships introduced seemed futile. They were just names that I didn't want to remember.

Also, as a Mumbaikar, I have a few bones to pick:

1. HOW DID ADHI GET TO A PHONE REPAIR SHOP FROM GATE WAY TO SOMEONE NOT MENTIONED THAT TOOK HIM THIRTY MINUTES!? From Gate Way to somewhere like.... Fort would take minutes! AND THERE WAS A RICKSHAW IN THE BACKGROUND?! No rickshaws are present in South Mumbai!!

2. Why was Madhu always dressed in a Hoodie? In Mumbai's weather where a cotton tunic could just be drenched in sweat from rigorous walks that we USED to take pre-covid.

3. The term "Islamic Terrorists" used in the book for 26/11 terror attacks. Just. NO. I don't know if it was her own bias that seeped into the book?

4. Monsoon scene in the slums seemed extremely superficial, especially with the way young Seema tried to escape

Please, experience our city firsthand. There's more to it than just Gateway or Marine Drive.

Also, the suicide scene. Plus put a trigger warning of any sort. That was something I wasn't expecting and it was sort of explained in detail.

Okay, I think I am done now. It's a 2.8/5 for me, the only reason I finished reading it was the fact it was based in Mumbai.

Things "One Monsoon in Mumbai" has

✔Slow build
✔Colorful details
✔Engaging characters
✔Mouth watering descriptions of food
✔Complicated love webs
✔Ooohhh the tension
✔Brainy ballsy women
✔The zaney twisted romance that only a bollywood film can provide

Seema is a spy for the Intelligence Bureau in Mumbai hacking into Adhith's and Vikram's company, looking for monetary discrepancies, like embezzlement and bribery. Adhith finds her coy and sweet, spending a large portion of his time trying to get her to sleep with him. After a late night in the office, Vikram finds himself falling for his best friend's girlfriend, but he can't deny how enchanting Seema is. Throw in Seema's sexy aunt and the four of them have a hard time keeping business and pleasure separate!

I adored this book so much! It's funny, and charming without being too saccharine. The characters are beautifully developed and the plot keeps pulling you along.

I promise you the ending will be oh so satisfying like a giant plate of jalebi.

an okay read. it was enjoyable while reading but it’s definitely not a book i’m going to come back to or remember for a long time. but it’s a good book for an evening when you want to relax and de-stress. i liked the cyberhacking element very much, i find it interesting. i didn’t really care much for the characters but still was pleased when eveyone end up with the person i felt like they should be.
2.5 stars

One Monsoon in Mumbai by Anita Perichiny

This story involves four woman - an aunt ,niece and 2 beasties.

It covers many aspects in the country some colourful characters , humour, shadier issues (politics) and far darker issues the child sex trade etc.

A well written book set in Mumbai. All covered extremely well and romance for all concerned.

This was not what I expected but still enjoyable and did her research well. 3.5/5

The story is based in Mumbai and focuses on four people. An aunt and her niece and two best friends. With a plot set with infiltration, computers, love, lust, and friendship, One Monsoon in Mumbai thrills and creates various degrees of emotion.

Honestly, I did not expect this book to be so good. The amount of research the author must have done to get all the small details is appreciable. The intricate love triangle or to be more precise, love quadrilateral shared between the four characters are intense as well as comical. The author also touches upon disgusting aspects that plague the country such as dirty politicians and child prostitution and this I believe will help generate a wider scale of awareness.

The best part about this book is that every character has an individual story. The main novel is like a river with branched out stories as tributaries. I really enjoyed the book and I enjoyed communicating with the author who was constantly answering my doubts. She's a sweet soul and I thank her for letting me review her book. One Monsoon in Mumbai! Several Monsoons of Reading.

This book wasn't what I expected. From the cover I thought it would be a cute rom com, but when I started reading, it was more suspense/thriller. The writing quality and storytelling are fine, but this book is just not for me. DNF.

Adventure, romance, mystery, diversity and humour? Need I say more! The characters, which are always an important factor for me, were also well written! The only reason this rating isn't higher is that sadly this book wasn't necessarily anything special, but if you read books like these frequently then there is no harm giving this one a go!