Telling the truth about their breakup is out of the question, because the cottage is up for sale, and this is the group’s last hurrah.

But (surprise!) Wyn is there too, and he and Harriet have to share a (very romantic) room and a bed. She’s ready for a vacation at her happy place-the Maine cottage she and her friends visit every summer. So they keep it a secret from their friends and families-in fact, Harriet barely even admits it to herself, focusing instead on her grueling hours as a surgical resident. They’ve been part of the same boisterous friend group since college, and they know that their breakup will devastate the others and make things more than a little awkward. Wyn Connor and Harriet Kilpatrick were the perfect couple-until Wyn dumped Harriet for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand. Lalli focuses on Niki’s journey to find herself, which means learning more about her culture, reevaluating her career, and deciding to please herself instead of her family.Ī warm, low-stakes story about the power of love and family obligations.Įxes pretend they’re still together for the sake of their friends on their annual summer vacation. Their romance is gentle, sweet, and underdeveloped. They’re attracted to each other, but Niki knows that, since they live on different continents, a vacation fling is more realistic than a long-term relationship.

He’s struggling with the weight of familial expectations and the dissolution of his band. At the wedding festivities, Niki meets London-based musician Sam Mukherji. Sharp, observational prose highlights Niki’s attempts to reckon with her own stereotypes and internalized prejudices about India. Even though her parents were both born in India, they were never able to take Niki or her sister there because of financial constraints. She books a whirlwind trip to Mumbai for her best friend’s wedding and plans to travel afterward to Punjab to visit distant relatives. After she's laid off due to budget cuts, Niki decides to stop playing it safe. She’s 29 and living at home to save money, but her parents suspect that she’s stuck in a rut and even offer to play matchmaker in a gambit to push her into dating. She studied computer science and took a safe job as a data analyst rather than pursuing her passion for music. Niki Randhawa has always tried to be a good daughter to her immigrant parents. A Seattle woman finds herself on the journey of a lifetime.

A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli