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The Letters We Keep
It doesn’t take long for ambitious freshman and aspiring engineer Jessie Ahuja to learn about two university legends. One is the haunted history of Davidson Tower, where more than fifty years ago, two ill-fated lovers disappeared in a devastating fire. The other is Ravi Kumar, a privileged billionaire nepo baby who’s aggravatingly charming and occupying more brain space than Jessie has room for. Things change when a campus prank locks them both in the old tower’s ghostly library.
There, Jessie finds letters from the fabled lost lovers, forgotten in a hollowed-out copy of Persuasion. One by one, the letters suck Jessie and Ravi into a beguiling mystery and an achingly beautiful long-ago romance destined to go up in flames. It’s also drawing Jessie and Ravi—every bit as star-crossed—closer together. Can they overcome whatever fate has in store for them? Or are they just as doomed as the young lovers whose tragic end has become legend?
There, Jessie finds letters from the fabled lost lovers, forgotten in a hollowed-out copy of Persuasion. One by one, the letters suck Jessie and Ravi into a beguiling mystery and an achingly beautiful long-ago romance destined to go up in flames. It’s also drawing Jessie and Ravi—every bit as star-crossed—closer together. Can they overcome whatever fate has in store for them? Or are they just as doomed as the young lovers whose tragic end has become legend?
223 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2024
1620 people are currently reading
9485 people want to read
About the author
Nisha Sharma
15books2,696followersNisha Sharma is the critically acclaimed author of YA and adult contemporary romances including My So-Called Bollywood Life, Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance, The Singh Family Trilogy and the If Shakespeare was an Auntie series. Her books have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly and more. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Alaskan husband, her cat Lizzie Bennett and her dog Nancey Drew. You can find her online at Nisha-sharma.com or on TikTok and Instagram @nishawrites.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 482 reviews
April 21, 2024
This was a fun, easy read! The Letters We Keep is a new adult romance set in college and following two South Asian protagonists. Ravi is a senior from a wealthy and influential family in the tech space, but he wants to write. Jessie is a freshman from a working class family, studying to be an engineer. They end up in a nonfiction writing class together and investigate the local legend of a couple that died in a fire in the library. They discover hidden letters from the 1970's and read them, all the while engaging in their own starcrossed romance.
I kind of wish there wasn't such a gap in age between the characters, just because a college freshman is still so new to everything, but overall I enjoyed this. It's fairly short and breezy, getting unexpectedly spicy towards the end. Worth a read if you're looking for something set in college with this kind of representation! The audio narration is well done too. I received an audio copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
I kind of wish there wasn't such a gap in age between the characters, just because a college freshman is still so new to everything, but overall I enjoyed this. It's fairly short and breezy, getting unexpectedly spicy towards the end. Worth a read if you're looking for something set in college with this kind of representation! The audio narration is well done too. I received an audio copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
February 22, 2024
DISCLAIMER: written in exchange for an arc
this book is dual pov, and also contains some of the letters from the fire in between chapters. this book is one of the shortest i read. (i quite literally got 78% of the way through in one sitting without realizing it.)
thoughts: nisha sharma books are a hit or miss for me. this one was a miss. i truly tried to like it, and in the moment i did, but looking back, this book was not great. firstly the characters, jesse and ravi. ravi comes form a rich family, and succeeds only because of his nepotism. jesse comes from an immigrant family and is poor. that's really all there is to these characters. the topics of money, and nepotism come up so often in this book they take away from the romance. both jesse and ravi felt like means to an end, and i just couldn't like them. race is also a major topic in this book. race is brought up constantly, to the point where it just felt like it was there to add extra fluff. it didn't add anything to the story, and it felt like it was there to give the author brownie points for inclusivity. the plot was also very predictable and bored me to death. i'll give credit for the romance, which was half-hearted at best and gave me some enjoyment. overall, it felt like the author was trying to wrap in so many subtopics together at once that the book fell apart. the sheer ignorance of some of the events were astounding. The romance carried me over, but looking back, this was just another attempt at a social justice warrior book with a little romance to gloss over the edges.
save this for when you are absolutely out of every other romance book you can think of, and then think again, and then maybe read this.
this book is dual pov, and also contains some of the letters from the fire in between chapters. this book is one of the shortest i read. (i quite literally got 78% of the way through in one sitting without realizing it.)
thoughts: nisha sharma books are a hit or miss for me. this one was a miss. i truly tried to like it, and in the moment i did, but looking back, this book was not great. firstly the characters, jesse and ravi. ravi comes form a rich family, and succeeds only because of his nepotism. jesse comes from an immigrant family and is poor. that's really all there is to these characters. the topics of money, and nepotism come up so often in this book they take away from the romance. both jesse and ravi felt like means to an end, and i just couldn't like them. race is also a major topic in this book. race is brought up constantly, to the point where it just felt like it was there to add extra fluff. it didn't add anything to the story, and it felt like it was there to give the author brownie points for inclusivity. the plot was also very predictable and bored me to death. i'll give credit for the romance, which was half-hearted at best and gave me some enjoyment. overall, it felt like the author was trying to wrap in so many subtopics together at once that the book fell apart. the sheer ignorance of some of the events were astounding. The romance carried me over, but looking back, this was just another attempt at a social justice warrior book with a little romance to gloss over the edges.
save this for when you are absolutely out of every other romance book you can think of, and then think again, and then maybe read this.
July 11, 2024
The blurb made this sound like such a cute romance, tied in with a really emotional story of two teens who disappeared many years ago which should have made this story stronger. But I felt that the story was poorly written, and it almost felt like the author didn't care too much about the lost lovers in the end.
There's an odd, almost juvenile feeling to the writing style of this, the immediate enemies meet cute where they fight over a study room, the way Ravi struggled with his peers felt like high school drama he should have left behind. So I was pretty thrown when we got to the pretty descriptive, open door sex scenes, I'm not gonna lie.
While we did finally get answers between all of Ravi and Jessi's annoying and unnecessary angst, I didn't find them satsfactory, especially as they were wedged into a few rushed last chapters. I didn't cheer them on as a couple, because I found them to be incredibly immature and I couldn't really see them as a couple in the future.
There's an odd, almost juvenile feeling to the writing style of this, the immediate enemies meet cute where they fight over a study room, the way Ravi struggled with his peers felt like high school drama he should have left behind. So I was pretty thrown when we got to the pretty descriptive, open door sex scenes, I'm not gonna lie.
While we did finally get answers between all of Ravi and Jessi's annoying and unnecessary angst, I didn't find them satsfactory, especially as they were wedged into a few rushed last chapters. I didn't cheer them on as a couple, because I found them to be incredibly immature and I couldn't really see them as a couple in the future.
April 5, 2024
2.5/5
I think if I was a younger, I would have liked this! Like maybe 15 year old me would’ve really ate this up!
But it felt a bit like insta-love between two immature people who definitely needed therapy before jumping into a relationship!
I think if I was a younger, I would have liked this! Like maybe 15 year old me would’ve really ate this up!
But it felt a bit like insta-love between two immature people who definitely needed therapy before jumping into a relationship!
June 10, 2024
This is how I feel about this novel: If I were studying a manuscript in college for how to write a YA romance, this would be the manual for it.
Frame story? Check
Modern lingo? Check
Based on a classic? Check
Easy to read? Check
Happy ending? Check
The thing is, none of those elements were done particularly well.
Modern day Romeo and Juliet this is not, although to be fair those two fell in love in about two and a half seconds (ok, a week) too. Their families were actually in a feud. Here, Ravi is rich and Jessie is not. That’s about it.
None of the characters were developed well at all. Ravi was perhaps the most likable, but Jessie was very� MEH. She was always waffling on whether or not she could be together with Ravi, and Sadna was right to call her out on that. Heck, Sadna would have been good for Ravi, and their friendship seemed more believable than the relationship
on which the book was based. Jessie also literally repeated the same lines multiple times, and quite frankly she was really rude to Ravi’s parents (even though they were pretty horrible), Ravi, Ravi’s friends, etc. It’s really hard to see how Jessie went in one chapter from not wanting a boyfriend to getting her first kiss, from which she ran away, to immediately changing her mind and having sex with Ravi. Then she broke up with him. Then got back with him only when she saw Christian’s long lost letter.
I don’t understand her at all.
The most egregious thing, to me, was that this supposedly great love story of Christian to Divya Das was the most yawn worthy. We never got to see any more than a handful of letters, which took the romance right out of the thing. Everything was a summation of what Ravi and Jessie found. We barely know anything about the couple- at all. He’s white and the son of the university president, and she’s Indian and supposed to be married off to someone else (again, here is the Romeo and Juliet parallel). But � who cares?!? We have no indicators of their personalities, their stories (other than that truffle fries were apparently and still are a big thing in this fictional college). So it’s hard to be invested in seeing how Ravi and Jessie were so taken by this great love story. I’m still not exactly sure how this fire got started and what happened, either�.
And seriously� there were so many holes in how they just disappeared. I did like the ending in that regard. The connection to Lydia was cool, but what was all this warning that she had to give Ravi and Jessie about this great story that isn’t theirs to tell?
There’s so many places where things are forced. Something will happen with Ravi and Jessie and then � what do you know� we get a one line letter from Divya that conveniently says exactly what Jessie happened to be thinking. That happened multiple times.
The wording is also very awkward in places:
“Only first year students are so buttoned-up about vices.�
“Being your friend comes with hefty fees.� Who talks like that in college? Or in real life?
The descriptions are often forced as well: “My roots are too shallow, and one strong storm in my life, my entire future will ripple ro the ground.� Why does she have shallow
roots ? She has the family. And again- no one talks like this. It’s supposed to be profound, but it’s not. At all.
Some of the wording took away from the mystery and supposedly growing tension. For example, Ravi holds a letter early on and he felt like the “lines would disappear faster than the smoke from his vape pen�; or when Ravi and Jessie first read a letter about the couples� early date, Ravi’s commentary that the lines were so bad that he wanted to throw up in his mouth don’t quite lend itself to a romantic image. And since that pretty much is all we see of the letters, isn’t it a poor decision to indicate that they’re all so cringeworthy, yet supposedly later they’re the epitome of love?!
There are so many references to fever dreams, truffle fries, and sandwich shops, and “Jessie jaissi Koi Nahin� doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue as an affectionate nickname (which, by the way, stopped about halfway through the novel never to be mentioned again).
We also get no real description of the college. Somehow, Jessie missed the SIX STORY library and had never noticed it before. Apparently you can’t walk outside a Greek frat house without being in a dangerous area that has garbage strewn about. I don’t know that all these rich kids would be attending a school like that when so many of them could be (supposedly) at the Ivies. Then Jessie wanders the library later and spends some time on that top floor, dedicated to famous authors who graduated from the university …that just opened 50 years prior? A whole floor is dedicated to that?
Equally unbelievable is that Jessie and Ravi text in full sentences with proper grammar to each other, but I did love that! Haha. That’ll score some points with me!
In any case, I am having a fun time reading with my friend, and if nothing else, this novel gave me a lot to drone on about. It wasn’t an unpleasant read; it just never lived up to that little manual of how to write a modern romance.
Frame story? Check
Modern lingo? Check
Based on a classic? Check
Easy to read? Check
Happy ending? Check
The thing is, none of those elements were done particularly well.
Modern day Romeo and Juliet this is not, although to be fair those two fell in love in about two and a half seconds (ok, a week) too. Their families were actually in a feud. Here, Ravi is rich and Jessie is not. That’s about it.
None of the characters were developed well at all. Ravi was perhaps the most likable, but Jessie was very� MEH. She was always waffling on whether or not she could be together with Ravi, and Sadna was right to call her out on that. Heck, Sadna would have been good for Ravi, and their friendship seemed more believable than the relationship
on which the book was based. Jessie also literally repeated the same lines multiple times, and quite frankly she was really rude to Ravi’s parents (even though they were pretty horrible), Ravi, Ravi’s friends, etc. It’s really hard to see how Jessie went in one chapter from not wanting a boyfriend to getting her first kiss, from which she ran away, to immediately changing her mind and having sex with Ravi. Then she broke up with him. Then got back with him only when she saw Christian’s long lost letter.
I don’t understand her at all.
The most egregious thing, to me, was that this supposedly great love story of Christian to Divya Das was the most yawn worthy. We never got to see any more than a handful of letters, which took the romance right out of the thing. Everything was a summation of what Ravi and Jessie found. We barely know anything about the couple- at all. He’s white and the son of the university president, and she’s Indian and supposed to be married off to someone else (again, here is the Romeo and Juliet parallel). But � who cares?!? We have no indicators of their personalities, their stories (other than that truffle fries were apparently and still are a big thing in this fictional college). So it’s hard to be invested in seeing how Ravi and Jessie were so taken by this great love story. I’m still not exactly sure how this fire got started and what happened, either�.
And seriously� there were so many holes in how they just disappeared. I did like the ending in that regard. The connection to Lydia was cool, but what was all this warning that she had to give Ravi and Jessie about this great story that isn’t theirs to tell?
There’s so many places where things are forced. Something will happen with Ravi and Jessie and then � what do you know� we get a one line letter from Divya that conveniently says exactly what Jessie happened to be thinking. That happened multiple times.
The wording is also very awkward in places:
“Only first year students are so buttoned-up about vices.�
“Being your friend comes with hefty fees.� Who talks like that in college? Or in real life?
The descriptions are often forced as well: “My roots are too shallow, and one strong storm in my life, my entire future will ripple ro the ground.� Why does she have shallow
roots ? She has the family. And again- no one talks like this. It’s supposed to be profound, but it’s not. At all.
Some of the wording took away from the mystery and supposedly growing tension. For example, Ravi holds a letter early on and he felt like the “lines would disappear faster than the smoke from his vape pen�; or when Ravi and Jessie first read a letter about the couples� early date, Ravi’s commentary that the lines were so bad that he wanted to throw up in his mouth don’t quite lend itself to a romantic image. And since that pretty much is all we see of the letters, isn’t it a poor decision to indicate that they’re all so cringeworthy, yet supposedly later they’re the epitome of love?!
There are so many references to fever dreams, truffle fries, and sandwich shops, and “Jessie jaissi Koi Nahin� doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue as an affectionate nickname (which, by the way, stopped about halfway through the novel never to be mentioned again).
We also get no real description of the college. Somehow, Jessie missed the SIX STORY library and had never noticed it before. Apparently you can’t walk outside a Greek frat house without being in a dangerous area that has garbage strewn about. I don’t know that all these rich kids would be attending a school like that when so many of them could be (supposedly) at the Ivies. Then Jessie wanders the library later and spends some time on that top floor, dedicated to famous authors who graduated from the university …that just opened 50 years prior? A whole floor is dedicated to that?
Equally unbelievable is that Jessie and Ravi text in full sentences with proper grammar to each other, but I did love that! Haha. That’ll score some points with me!
In any case, I am having a fun time reading with my friend, and if nothing else, this novel gave me a lot to drone on about. It wasn’t an unpleasant read; it just never lived up to that little manual of how to write a modern romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2024
Happy Pub Day, @nishawrites 💛 You’ve done it again! Thank you for constantly writing stories that melts our hearts! ✨� Thank you Nisha, @mbc_books and @netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
TROPES:
- Rival to Lovers
- College Romance
- Solving a mystery together
- Reading old love letters in a library
- Friendship to lovers
- Star-crossed
I absolutely loved everything about this book! What can i say? When a story has discovering or/and reading of old love letters, i’m sold! 🤩 I was enthralled from the beginning till the end. I love how strong the characters were written and i could relate to both Ravi and Jessie. Overall, it was a lighthearted and quick read! This book had me smiling a lot 🥹
TROPES:
- Rival to Lovers
- College Romance
- Solving a mystery together
- Reading old love letters in a library
- Friendship to lovers
- Star-crossed
I absolutely loved everything about this book! What can i say? When a story has discovering or/and reading of old love letters, i’m sold! 🤩 I was enthralled from the beginning till the end. I love how strong the characters were written and i could relate to both Ravi and Jessie. Overall, it was a lighthearted and quick read! This book had me smiling a lot 🥹
May 8, 2024
� review: 2.5 stars � �
first of all, i was incredibly excited for this book because it should’ve been a cute and diverse love story with letters. unfortunately, i had some significant issues with the book.
❀ characters:
the characters were so shallow. despite the fact that jessie is poor and needs to work hard for every accomplishment, and ravi is from a wealthy engineering family, we know nearly nothing about these two individually. their characters felt unoriginal and stereotypical, and everything about them fell flat for me, which makes me sad because they both had so much potential because of their diversity and cultural heritage.
❀ love:
now, their romance was cute. though they fell in love instantly, and there was no real slow burn, ravi was the cutest gentleman. he always brought jessie home, stopped vaping for her and asked directly for a date. however, i didn't feel anything: no sparks, tension, or hope regarding their future together. they don't even know each other well, so how are they supposed to stay together?
❀ what i liked:
no matter how poorly executed the plot was, i still enjoyed it and flew through the pages. this book is extremely fast-paced, and i loved the mystery of the couple from 50 years ago and their letters. i just hoped to read more about the plot because it was promising. i’m not going to lie; ravi being so smitten was my highlight of the story.
❀ what i disliked:
this book was written in a rush; at least, it felt like it. everything started quickly and ended even faster, and no trope and plot was really deep and detailed. everything just happened, but we needed answers for many plotholes.
❀ conclusion:
all in all, this was a disappointment. it makes me so mad because of all the lost potential; it could've been the next a good girl's guide to murder, but it didn't deliver. however, i still read it in one sitting because of the easy and fast-paced language, and ravi was really cute.
thank you, netgalley and nisha sharma, for the arc in exchange for my honest review. it means a lot to me, and i appreciate it.
first of all, i was incredibly excited for this book because it should’ve been a cute and diverse love story with letters. unfortunately, i had some significant issues with the book.
❀ characters:
the characters were so shallow. despite the fact that jessie is poor and needs to work hard for every accomplishment, and ravi is from a wealthy engineering family, we know nearly nothing about these two individually. their characters felt unoriginal and stereotypical, and everything about them fell flat for me, which makes me sad because they both had so much potential because of their diversity and cultural heritage.
❀ love:
now, their romance was cute. though they fell in love instantly, and there was no real slow burn, ravi was the cutest gentleman. he always brought jessie home, stopped vaping for her and asked directly for a date. however, i didn't feel anything: no sparks, tension, or hope regarding their future together. they don't even know each other well, so how are they supposed to stay together?
❀ what i liked:
no matter how poorly executed the plot was, i still enjoyed it and flew through the pages. this book is extremely fast-paced, and i loved the mystery of the couple from 50 years ago and their letters. i just hoped to read more about the plot because it was promising. i’m not going to lie; ravi being so smitten was my highlight of the story.
❀ what i disliked:
this book was written in a rush; at least, it felt like it. everything started quickly and ended even faster, and no trope and plot was really deep and detailed. everything just happened, but we needed answers for many plotholes.
❀ conclusion:
all in all, this was a disappointment. it makes me so mad because of all the lost potential; it could've been the next a good girl's guide to murder, but it didn't deliver. however, i still read it in one sitting because of the easy and fast-paced language, and ravi was really cute.
thank you, netgalley and nisha sharma, for the arc in exchange for my honest review. it means a lot to me, and i appreciate it.
April 18, 2024
I had such a fantastic time listening to this audiobook!
Nisha Sharma is one of my favorite authors and she did such a fantastic job writing this new adult story of mystery and endless love. This premise was so much fun to read and I loved learning that it was in dedication to the Bollywood films that Nisha used to watch and Mr. Darcy's love letter that he wrote Lizzy in Pride and Prejudice.
I loved the juxtaposition between Ravi and Jesse's relationship in the present with the star crossed lovers' relationship in the past. The use of the love letters between chapters was a welcome break in the action and I loved how it furthered the plot. I loved hearing about the struggles of the pair as an interracial couple in the 70s and how despite the odds they persevered for their love. I will say that Ravi and Jesse's story was a little insta lovey; however, it felt extremely realistic and authentic of their contrasting upbringing and familial expectations. I loved that Ravi was passionate about writing and how he was trying to break the familial expectations that his father was laying on his shoulders.
This was just the perfect, short love story that I needed. I felt that the audio narration was so engaging and a perfect vessel to amplify Nisha's writing! That ending truly made my heart so happy and I loved the connection that was made!
If I had one criticism, I just wish it was a little bit longer:)
Thank you Nisha Sharma and Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!
Nisha Sharma is one of my favorite authors and she did such a fantastic job writing this new adult story of mystery and endless love. This premise was so much fun to read and I loved learning that it was in dedication to the Bollywood films that Nisha used to watch and Mr. Darcy's love letter that he wrote Lizzy in Pride and Prejudice.
I loved the juxtaposition between Ravi and Jesse's relationship in the present with the star crossed lovers' relationship in the past. The use of the love letters between chapters was a welcome break in the action and I loved how it furthered the plot. I loved hearing about the struggles of the pair as an interracial couple in the 70s and how despite the odds they persevered for their love. I will say that Ravi and Jesse's story was a little insta lovey; however, it felt extremely realistic and authentic of their contrasting upbringing and familial expectations. I loved that Ravi was passionate about writing and how he was trying to break the familial expectations that his father was laying on his shoulders.
This was just the perfect, short love story that I needed. I felt that the audio narration was so engaging and a perfect vessel to amplify Nisha's writing! That ending truly made my heart so happy and I loved the connection that was made!
If I had one criticism, I just wish it was a little bit longer:)
Thank you Nisha Sharma and Netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!
May 9, 2024
The Letters We Keep by Nisha Sharma might be on the shorter side—it’s just under 250 pages—but it sure packs a punch! I was thoroughly engrossed in this new adult romance novel in no time at all. It was a super quick and easy read. It also has a little bit of everything - mystery, college life, family drama, love letters, friendship, and even a few spicy scenes! What I loved most was the unique love story. Two college students, Jessie and Ravi fall for each other while solving a mystery together. Very sweet and intriguing!
October 22, 2024
incoherent review: i finished this book in one sitting!! oh my god! it feels so good to be back, thank you ms nisha for reviving me out of my reading slump 🥹🫶🫶🫶
—ĔĔĔĔĔ�
06/01/24: i need an ARC asap, cause i can’t wait 😭😭😭
—ĔĔĔĔĔ�
06/01/24: i need an ARC asap, cause i can’t wait 😭😭😭
April 23, 2024
A nice cozy romance about two college students from different backgrounds. It was a fast read and made me feel happy.
May 6, 2024
REVIEW TOUR
Thank you #partners @mbc_books and #skyscapebooks @amazonpublishing for my #gifted copy and spot on this tour. 💕
The Letters We Keep
Nisha Sharma
The author of Dating Dr. Dil is back with a new contemporary romance about two South Asian American college students and a decades-old mystery. Add this to your AANHPI reading list for May and beyond!
•Campus romance
•Opposites attract
•Dܲ-پԱ
•A historical mystery
•A ghostly library
•Will they or won't they?
•Minimum spice
Ravi is a senior and heir to a giant tech business, while Jessie is a freshman from a middle class family. Jessie is studying to become an engineer, and though Ravi has his place in his family business, he yearns to carve his own path as a writer. So while their career ambitions and socioeconomic backgrounds are different, both Ravi and Jessie understand parental, societal and cultural pressures. The two are paired on a class project to investigate the campus legend of two ill-fated lovers who purportedly died in a fire. After being locked in the campus library together, Ravi and Jessie discover a pile of love letters from the 70s, which bring them closer to the truth, and closer to each other.
This was such a cozy, heartwarming story. I really appreciate the way the author explored class differences, and family. And while it's mostly a light, easy read, it does tackle some deeper themes. I also appreciate the incorporation of the letters � though if I had one critique, I wish we had more of them. This is like 95% present, 5% past, and I just wanted a little more of the past. Though overall, I still really enjoyed it! At just 223 pages, it was a super quick read.
🎧 I bought the audiobook so I could rotate between the two formats, and I'm SO glad I did! This has dual narration and it was very well done. 👍🏼
📌 Note: While this is published under Amazon's Skyscape YA imprint, it didn't feel YA to me... Maybe NA?
📌 Available now!
Thank you #partners @mbc_books and #skyscapebooks @amazonpublishing for my #gifted copy and spot on this tour. 💕
The Letters We Keep
Nisha Sharma
The author of Dating Dr. Dil is back with a new contemporary romance about two South Asian American college students and a decades-old mystery. Add this to your AANHPI reading list for May and beyond!
•Campus romance
•Opposites attract
•Dܲ-پԱ
•A historical mystery
•A ghostly library
•Will they or won't they?
•Minimum spice
Ravi is a senior and heir to a giant tech business, while Jessie is a freshman from a middle class family. Jessie is studying to become an engineer, and though Ravi has his place in his family business, he yearns to carve his own path as a writer. So while their career ambitions and socioeconomic backgrounds are different, both Ravi and Jessie understand parental, societal and cultural pressures. The two are paired on a class project to investigate the campus legend of two ill-fated lovers who purportedly died in a fire. After being locked in the campus library together, Ravi and Jessie discover a pile of love letters from the 70s, which bring them closer to the truth, and closer to each other.
This was such a cozy, heartwarming story. I really appreciate the way the author explored class differences, and family. And while it's mostly a light, easy read, it does tackle some deeper themes. I also appreciate the incorporation of the letters � though if I had one critique, I wish we had more of them. This is like 95% present, 5% past, and I just wanted a little more of the past. Though overall, I still really enjoyed it! At just 223 pages, it was a super quick read.
🎧 I bought the audiobook so I could rotate between the two formats, and I'm SO glad I did! This has dual narration and it was very well done. 👍🏼
📌 Note: While this is published under Amazon's Skyscape YA imprint, it didn't feel YA to me... Maybe NA?
📌 Available now!
April 1, 2024
Overall: 4
Spice: 1
It wasn't a true YA book, but not a full adult book either. It was a great palette cleanser, wholesome and a great way to start the month. Both the FMC & MMC are trying to find their way while meeting their family expectations. In doing a class project the develop a friendship that turns into a relationship by exploring the relationship of past students at their university. I love the diversity this author can write while staying true to their culture and readers.
Spice: 1
It wasn't a true YA book, but not a full adult book either. It was a great palette cleanser, wholesome and a great way to start the month. Both the FMC & MMC are trying to find their way while meeting their family expectations. In doing a class project the develop a friendship that turns into a relationship by exploring the relationship of past students at their university. I love the diversity this author can write while staying true to their culture and readers.
January 17, 2024
Thank you so much to Nisha Sharma for the ARC!
Full rtc :)
Full rtc :)
April 10, 2024
Love Letters through books?? Are you kidding me?? My HEART!!! Nisha did a phenomenal job with The Letters We Keep!
Thank you so much to the author for the ARC!
Thank you so much to the author for the ARC!
April 20, 2024
Not the typical college mysterious romance story instead an interracial, different social classes and a sworn to secrecy campus legend to uncover as a team.
May 20, 2024
Very enjoyable if a little rushed.
However I would not classify this as a YA read because there was one explicit sex scene in there.
However I would not classify this as a YA read because there was one explicit sex scene in there.
May 26, 2024
3.75 stars!
June 10, 2024
TLDR: Don’t read, not worth your time!
I read this because it was on kindle unlimited with accompanying audio. Mistakes were made. This book is a very odd amalgamation. It’s like two books were smushed in one: the first a mystery piecing together the past through letters, the second some cringy Disney Channel movie but make it Indian.
The idea isn’t terrible but the writing is. I will say that the poor girl/rich guy dynamic is pulled off but the struggle of Ravi and his parent’s expectations is so copy and paste that I couldn’t enjoy it. I also didn’t really have any personal connection for most of it.
I did enjoy the themes of legacy and history. It was overshadowed by the weird mesh of a bad chick-flick.
The romance is awful and any compliment Ravi gives Jessie is so bad—not in a cringy way, but they’re just bad. The “you’re pretty enough for a date,� is awful and kinda backhanded. His internal dialogue shows what he actually thinks of her (that he loves her stubbornness, wants to know more about it, feels like around her is the only place he can be himself) but all that comes out? Terrible. And she eats it up?? Their romance also goes WAY too fast. They meet, he’s in love, she’s mad, Oop some letters, then a first date, then things spiral. Very graphic. It’s porn. Do not read. Do not read Chapter 16, parts of 17,
Also, the romance traced in the letters is some of the cringiest lines I have ever left in my mind. I think the author tries to make up for it by having Ravi think it’s stupid, but, girl, it’s not it.
The book is set in the backdrop of South hAsians and while it is mentioned VERY frequently (too much, in that exact wording. Bring it up in a conversation early on? Sure. That is enouuuugh). I like reading about different cultures and their customs and immigrants but the point is dropped, snatched, emphasized, and forgotten repeatedly. Like I’m lost. Please pick a lane
I read this because it was on kindle unlimited with accompanying audio. Mistakes were made. This book is a very odd amalgamation. It’s like two books were smushed in one: the first a mystery piecing together the past through letters, the second some cringy Disney Channel movie but make it Indian.
The idea isn’t terrible but the writing is. I will say that the poor girl/rich guy dynamic is pulled off but the struggle of Ravi and his parent’s expectations is so copy and paste that I couldn’t enjoy it. I also didn’t really have any personal connection for most of it.
I did enjoy the themes of legacy and history. It was overshadowed by the weird mesh of a bad chick-flick.
The romance is awful and any compliment Ravi gives Jessie is so bad—not in a cringy way, but they’re just bad. The “you’re pretty enough for a date,� is awful and kinda backhanded. His internal dialogue shows what he actually thinks of her (that he loves her stubbornness, wants to know more about it, feels like around her is the only place he can be himself) but all that comes out? Terrible. And she eats it up?? Their romance also goes WAY too fast. They meet, he’s in love, she’s mad, Oop some letters, then a first date, then things spiral. Very graphic. It’s porn. Do not read. Do not read Chapter 16, parts of 17,
Also, the romance traced in the letters is some of the cringiest lines I have ever left in my mind. I think the author tries to make up for it by having Ravi think it’s stupid, but, girl, it’s not it.
The book is set in the backdrop of South hAsians and while it is mentioned VERY frequently (too much, in that exact wording. Bring it up in a conversation early on? Sure. That is enouuuugh). I like reading about different cultures and their customs and immigrants but the point is dropped, snatched, emphasized, and forgotten repeatedly. Like I’m lost. Please pick a lane
August 25, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for an eArc of this book! It was published May 1st and is available on audible (with a subscription) and kindle unlimited!
This was my first Nisha Sharma book and it is NA (new adult) set in a college setting. There was one open door scene that could be easily skipped. It was enjoyable and I found myself eager for them to learn more about the letters. Felt light and fluffy at times and super cute.
The two characters were from different worlds: one rich and one poor, and one of them deals with family pressure to do life a certain way, while the other one is fully supported in whatever they want to do. (If these stereotypes are things you try to avoid, here is your warning now).
Overall I would recommend to someone who wants a fluffy book with a bit of a mystery element, FMC who has never been kissed, a predictable outcome for our main characters, and a MMC who may or may not be addicted to his vape
This was my first Nisha Sharma book and it is NA (new adult) set in a college setting. There was one open door scene that could be easily skipped. It was enjoyable and I found myself eager for them to learn more about the letters. Felt light and fluffy at times and super cute.
The two characters were from different worlds: one rich and one poor, and one of them deals with family pressure to do life a certain way, while the other one is fully supported in whatever they want to do. (If these stereotypes are things you try to avoid, here is your warning now).
Overall I would recommend to someone who wants a fluffy book with a bit of a mystery element, FMC who has never been kissed, a predictable outcome for our main characters, and a MMC who may or may not be addicted to his vape
May 27, 2025
This was 3.25 stars (I think).
This was cute and I loved the way the two stories intertwined. However, the characters were lacking a little bit of depth for me. They were really built on their circumstances and that was it. I just would have appreciated getting to know them a bit better.
This was cute and I loved the way the two stories intertwined. However, the characters were lacking a little bit of depth for me. They were really built on their circumstances and that was it. I just would have appreciated getting to know them a bit better.
July 1, 2024
I’m a sucker for letters in a story especially a romance, so when I saw this book I was like sign me up! what I didn’t expect was not to enjoy this book as much as I hoped to.
This was a quick and easy read but while that is a perk the romance being quickly developed was not it for me. I need some good character development beforehand and this just felt so insta. I also would not say this is YA but that seems to be the norm nowadays with YA books and spicy scenes.
Also the Nepo babies talk was out of there iykyk.
Overall I was intrigued with the plot but was ultimately let down.
Thanks NetGalley for this arc!
This was a quick and easy read but while that is a perk the romance being quickly developed was not it for me. I need some good character development beforehand and this just felt so insta. I also would not say this is YA but that seems to be the norm nowadays with YA books and spicy scenes.
Also the Nepo babies talk was out of there iykyk.
Overall I was intrigued with the plot but was ultimately let down.
Thanks NetGalley for this arc!
July 15, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. Contemporary adult romance set on a college campus with South Asian protagonists: a tech billionaire heir (nepo baby) and a have-to-carve-out-my-future ambitious young woman. The dual timeline intersects with their finding 50 year old letters between another star crossed couple and trying to unravel what happened to them.
I found the story sweet but the writing stilted at times.
I found the story sweet but the writing stilted at times.
July 16, 2024
Loved reading this book. Took me by surprise because I didn't read what it was about before starting it, only knew that it was a romance but I was so engrossed in the story and the story within the story.
July 9, 2024
fun story!
Looking for something light and enchanting, this is perfect romantic tale. At times predictable, but still well worth because entertaining.
Looking for something light and enchanting, this is perfect romantic tale. At times predictable, but still well worth because entertaining.
July 9, 2024
I received this as a giveaway on ŷ. I loved this book! I am a sucker for a love story and this was great one. It was cute story and definitely worth the read!!
July 6, 2024
Rooting for Ravi and Jesse
Omg! Thank you Nisha Sharma for introducing Ravi and Jesse. The connection, the chemistry, the communication between them was magical, thats how I knew they would fall flat for each other. I loved the idea that someone else’s love story brought their love together. It was a beautiful story that I wish I can read again for the first time.
Omg! Thank you Nisha Sharma for introducing Ravi and Jesse. The connection, the chemistry, the communication between them was magical, thats how I knew they would fall flat for each other. I loved the idea that someone else’s love story brought their love together. It was a beautiful story that I wish I can read again for the first time.
June 30, 2024
"Secrets were more romantic in the shadows than in the light." - chapter 7
"You can't find meaning in someone else's happiness. You have to find meaning in your own." - chapter 18
Other than a first kiss leading to first sex in the same night and calling "Twlight" a cult classic, I enjoyed this book a lot. It's a neat **legit** YA novel with a mystery and two romances rolled together. There is a lot of good advice too.
"You can't find meaning in someone else's happiness. You have to find meaning in your own." - chapter 18
Other than a first kiss leading to first sex in the same night and calling "Twlight" a cult classic, I enjoyed this book a lot. It's a neat **legit** YA novel with a mystery and two romances rolled together. There is a lot of good advice too.
April 12, 2024
"You can’t find meaning in someone else’s happiness. You have to find meaning in your own. I hope the sacrifices you’ll make are worth the fleeting joy you have now.�
Because relating your love story to a bunch of letters from fifty years ago sounds about right, right?
Because relating your love story to a bunch of letters from fifty years ago sounds about right, right?
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