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Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life... and a Man
Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But Ila decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead.
220 pages, Paperback
Published August 22, 2022
7 people are currently reading
2825 people want to read
About the author
Reenita Malhotra Hora
14 books57 followersReenita is a founder, executive-level content, operations & marketing leader, and prolific writer. With multiple years of experience in media, entertainment, communications, tech/innovation and wellness industries in the USA and Asia, she grows organizations, ranging from early stage startups through mid-size businesses, through storytelling, creative marketing and business strategy. Reenita has written seven books - five non fiction and two fiction. She is the writer, anchor and executive producer of Shadow Realm and True Fiction Project podcasts and founder of the Chapter by episode fiction app. She has contributed to The Hindu, South China Morning Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Asian Investor, Times of India and National Geographic Kids, Cartoon Network Asia, Disney and more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
December 14, 2022
Thank you to Reenita M. Hora, Zenith Publishing, and Henry Roi PR for providing me an ARC of OPERATION MOM in exchange for my honest opinion.
Honestly, I didn't love this. But I liked it well enough. The story concept itself is adorable and fresh-- not the rom com, but the mom com. Two clever teens in Mumbai, reserved Ila and her bestie, the impetuous and resourceful Deepali, decide for no good reason (no understatement intended) to set up fake dating profiles to get a date for Ila's barely separated and apparently content mom.
Hijinks ensue, both with the fake Mom dating, and Deepali's real dating of three different guys, one of whom makes Ila's eyelashes grow just by walking into the room. It's for sure an entertaining plot.
I didn't enjoy the execution, though. Hora made a number of stylistic decisions that just didn't work for me. The most glaring: I found Hora's preoccupation with wit distracting. Every one of the characters seemed to be trying with every bit of speech to one-up the last speaker, make a joke, sound clever. It's annoying to read, and poor character development, since it's unlikely that everyone in a social circle would be witty, or any other characteristic for that matter. It's like reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and all the characters are trying to act like Elizabeth.
I have more than that to say about Hora's stylistic approach to this book, but I'll leave it here. Like I said, great concept. But I just didn't get along with the style of this one.
Rating 💻💻.5 / 5 dishonest dating profiles
Recommend? Yes, tastes vary, my issues are stylistic
Finished December 2022
Read this if you like:
😍 Rom coms
🗣️ Miscommunication trope
👭 Best friends
💟 Love triangles
❤️🩹 Fake dating trope
🤓 Wit for its sake
Honestly, I didn't love this. But I liked it well enough. The story concept itself is adorable and fresh-- not the rom com, but the mom com. Two clever teens in Mumbai, reserved Ila and her bestie, the impetuous and resourceful Deepali, decide for no good reason (no understatement intended) to set up fake dating profiles to get a date for Ila's barely separated and apparently content mom.
Hijinks ensue, both with the fake Mom dating, and Deepali's real dating of three different guys, one of whom makes Ila's eyelashes grow just by walking into the room. It's for sure an entertaining plot.
I didn't enjoy the execution, though. Hora made a number of stylistic decisions that just didn't work for me. The most glaring: I found Hora's preoccupation with wit distracting. Every one of the characters seemed to be trying with every bit of speech to one-up the last speaker, make a joke, sound clever. It's annoying to read, and poor character development, since it's unlikely that everyone in a social circle would be witty, or any other characteristic for that matter. It's like reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and all the characters are trying to act like Elizabeth.
I have more than that to say about Hora's stylistic approach to this book, but I'll leave it here. Like I said, great concept. But I just didn't get along with the style of this one.
Rating 💻💻.5 / 5 dishonest dating profiles
Recommend? Yes, tastes vary, my issues are stylistic
Finished December 2022
Read this if you like:
😍 Rom coms
🗣️ Miscommunication trope
👭 Best friends
💟 Love triangles
❤️🩹 Fake dating trope
🤓 Wit for its sake
February 23, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Henry roi PR in exchange for an honest review.
Operation Mom is a witty rom-com with great Indian representation and cultural appreciation. It's an easy, spirit lifting read that kept me company during exam season and helped me take a break from everyday problems.
I would recommend it to every romance reader!!
Operation Mom is a witty rom-com with great Indian representation and cultural appreciation. It's an easy, spirit lifting read that kept me company during exam season and helped me take a break from everyday problems.
I would recommend it to every romance reader!!
November 19, 2022
The Review
This was such a fun and unique take on the romantic comedy genre. The humor and wit that goes on with the protagonist and the characters around her highlight the unique setting and culture that the author brings the narrative into. The balance of lightheartedness and warmth the author brings into the atmosphere of the narrative was a great addition to the story.
Yet for me, it was the unique setting and powerful character dynamics that really sold this story. The way the author was able to incorporate so much of the culture and passion of the city of Mumbai into the narrative and give readers of this genre a unique location to become immersed in was inspiring to say the least. The emotional journey of a mother and daughter, both trying to do what’s best for the other while pursuing their own dreams, was both a fantastic mirroring of their personal journeys but showed the depth of these characters and how far we are willing to go to help someone we love, even if it doesn’t start off for the right reasons.
The Verdict
Thoughtful, fun, and entertaining, author Reenita Malhotra Hora’s “Operation Mom” is a must-read romantic comedy of the year. The heart of this unique setting and the way the characters and the culture they live in impact the journey they undertake to find love and purpose made this such a compelling story to get lost in.
This was such a fun and unique take on the romantic comedy genre. The humor and wit that goes on with the protagonist and the characters around her highlight the unique setting and culture that the author brings the narrative into. The balance of lightheartedness and warmth the author brings into the atmosphere of the narrative was a great addition to the story.
Yet for me, it was the unique setting and powerful character dynamics that really sold this story. The way the author was able to incorporate so much of the culture and passion of the city of Mumbai into the narrative and give readers of this genre a unique location to become immersed in was inspiring to say the least. The emotional journey of a mother and daughter, both trying to do what’s best for the other while pursuing their own dreams, was both a fantastic mirroring of their personal journeys but showed the depth of these characters and how far we are willing to go to help someone we love, even if it doesn’t start off for the right reasons.
The Verdict
Thoughtful, fun, and entertaining, author Reenita Malhotra Hora’s “Operation Mom” is a must-read romantic comedy of the year. The heart of this unique setting and the way the characters and the culture they live in impact the journey they undertake to find love and purpose made this such a compelling story to get lost in.
December 7, 2022
Thank you to Reenita Malhotra Hora ('s assistant) to ask me to read this book for an honest review and providing it through Netgalley.
I enjoyed reading Operation Mom and as the subtitle says, it's a first person pov of a teenager getting her mom a man. It's set in an Indian family with a number of characters that all bring something to the table. It reminded me a lot of the British Indian movies I have watched in the past and that always brought me joy. It's light hearted and fun and absolutely a cute (romantic) comedy, even though it's basically catfishing for a new stepfather.
The book is full of puns, though some aren't as successful. the wordpun on catfishing was rather cringe. Also it's set in India and there's a lot of use of words originating from the Indian language, and that was distracting. I gave up on searching for some of the meanings. It was just too much. But over all it's very readable and enjoyable and you want to know what's gonna happen every next day in the book. Only thing I don't like in general is the overly use of existing platforms, social media and websites. it makes the book dated even though it's still current. In 2 years time things may have changed a bit, and that makes it not future proof. I would just randomly come up with platforms that don't exist with a little bit of explenation and make it more future proof that way.
All in all, though, it's very readable and I enjoyed it. Giving it 3.5 stars, rounding it up to 4 for the feelgood factor.
I enjoyed reading Operation Mom and as the subtitle says, it's a first person pov of a teenager getting her mom a man. It's set in an Indian family with a number of characters that all bring something to the table. It reminded me a lot of the British Indian movies I have watched in the past and that always brought me joy. It's light hearted and fun and absolutely a cute (romantic) comedy, even though it's basically catfishing for a new stepfather.
The book is full of puns, though some aren't as successful. the wordpun on catfishing was rather cringe. Also it's set in India and there's a lot of use of words originating from the Indian language, and that was distracting. I gave up on searching for some of the meanings. It was just too much. But over all it's very readable and enjoyable and you want to know what's gonna happen every next day in the book. Only thing I don't like in general is the overly use of existing platforms, social media and websites. it makes the book dated even though it's still current. In 2 years time things may have changed a bit, and that makes it not future proof. I would just randomly come up with platforms that don't exist with a little bit of explenation and make it more future proof that way.
All in all, though, it's very readable and I enjoyed it. Giving it 3.5 stars, rounding it up to 4 for the feelgood factor.
October 29, 2022
I can honestly say there are many moments throughout the book I cracked up over the various situations. I loved the relationship between mother and daughter as well as the role reversal! To go against what we traditionally see with Indian mother/daughter relationships. I love that the daughter wanted to make sure that her Mom was happy, and married off. It was about their relationship as much as it was about helping her navigate her way back into the dating world. I loved the references to the reality of dating in a social media-ruled society. How many of us can truly relate to that? I thoroughly enjoyed the setting in the author describes, the cultural background, and the acknowledgment of their community. It felt smoothly written as well as giving drops of information that were well done. Overall a good, humorous, and well-done book.
November 9, 2022
This was a fun read, I would not have expected an Indian daughter to be trying to find a man for her mother, even if it was to get her off her back. A YA coming of age story and portraying a mother/daughter relationship this book would appeal to adults as well. I am normally a horror/thriller reader but a palate cleaning humorous romance is always something I am willing to add to my bookshelf. Thank you to the author and therealbookgal for the review copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
October 27, 2022
A window into the modern Indian family. I always enjoy books about India and this was a great take on the culture. I always love a book that explores changing relationships over a longer time scale. Perfect for a lazy afternoon on the beach.
October 28, 2022
Great read. I really loved this - Well-known characters you can relate to easily.
October 28, 2022
My favorite read of 2022. This is one of my favorite reads so far this year; I've already read it twice and am eyeing a third run. It's very entertaining.
October 27, 2022
An absolutely heartwarming read! I love the growth between the mother in daughter throughout the book and the ups and downs of their relationship! As a mother myself, it made me feel good inside.
October 27, 2022
Love love love this writer! A great book!
February 6, 2023
This was fun and light hearted rom com read. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments as Ila tried to set her mum up. There was lots of funny puns through the novel. Full of fake dating, real dating and musical references. enjoyed the way the author wove in Indian culture throughout the story and the Mumbai setting. You could feel the vibrancy of the city. But overall I enjoyed seeing the mother- daughter relationship.
November 10, 2022
Ila is a teenager with a huge crush on a pop icon. Ila also has a crush on Dev, one of her best friend's boyfriends. Since Dev is boyfriend #3 for Ila's friend Deepali. Meanwhile, Ila's mom is all up in her business. So, Ila comes up with a plan - she will find her mom a man. She is not alone in her endeavor. Deepali and Dev help out. Well, despite Ila crushing on the pop star, she is ecstatic that searching for a man for her mom will give her lots of time to spend around Dev.
A bit about Deepali. She is much more worldly than Ila, but the two are the best of friends. One thing that does amaze Ila is that Deepali is managing three boyfriends at once! But, the plan. Well, they name it Operation: Mom. Online dating sites seem to be the best source of possible men for Ila's mother, so the teens join a few dating sites and try to find the perfect match for her mother Veeda.
What an enjoyable and endearing read. I really loved Ila, her friends, and her parents. Also, the relationships in this book are absolutely wonderful. This well-written and memorable YA book is set in Mumbai, India and that was a delight as well.
Many thanks to GenZ Publishing and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy my YouTube video review as well - https://youtu.be/MRvHuYk0SNY
A bit about Deepali. She is much more worldly than Ila, but the two are the best of friends. One thing that does amaze Ila is that Deepali is managing three boyfriends at once! But, the plan. Well, they name it Operation: Mom. Online dating sites seem to be the best source of possible men for Ila's mother, so the teens join a few dating sites and try to find the perfect match for her mother Veeda.
What an enjoyable and endearing read. I really loved Ila, her friends, and her parents. Also, the relationships in this book are absolutely wonderful. This well-written and memorable YA book is set in Mumbai, India and that was a delight as well.
Many thanks to GenZ Publishing and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy my YouTube video review as well - https://youtu.be/MRvHuYk0SNY
December 12, 2022
Thank you @henryroipr for the #gifted copy!
•• R E V I E W ••
This was a fun book to read. I enjoyed the story line because it was different from other romcoms. This kind of reminded me of Gilmore Girls because the story revolved around the mother and daughter relationship and their journey in life together. There were some parts though that i thought the book could survive without it, but overall, it was a great read! Recommended.
•• R E V I E W ••
This was a fun book to read. I enjoyed the story line because it was different from other romcoms. This kind of reminded me of Gilmore Girls because the story revolved around the mother and daughter relationship and their journey in life together. There were some parts though that i thought the book could survive without it, but overall, it was a great read! Recommended.
February 24, 2023
So I first wanted to thank Reenita for reaching out to me and providing me a copy of her new book in exchange for an honest review! This was my first ARC read and I was so excited when I received the DM!
Now onto the review:
What I did like: I really love the concept of the plot. It’s about a young girl, Ila, who works with her best friend, Deepali, to try to find Ila’s mother a new significant other since her mom and her dad have been separated for a while. They call this mission, Operation Mom. I also liked how during Operation Mom, Ila was also discovering herself and finding her own love interest.
I also loved how this book revolves around the Indian culture so I feel like I was able to expand my knowledge on a culture I don’t know too much about yet.
Lastly, it was nice to see Ila and her mother find some common group at the end of it book. It showed that they are able to finally put their differences aside and continue developing their relationship.
What I didn’t like:
So I’m not going to lie, this book took me forever to read and I almost DNF’d it. Not because it’s long or anything, but since there is such a huge cultural difference between me and the characters, it was hard to relate to them sometimes. There were times I felt left out of the story because there was no English translation of a lot of words and phrases. I think it would be beneficial for audiences of other cultures to have a translation after the sentence, or even a guide at the back of the book. That way we can follow the story fully. This is at no fault to the author, it’s just how it is sometimes when you read about other cultures.
I loved how Deepali is a strong, independent character in this book but I feel like there were times when I felt like she didn’t really care about Ila. They are supposed to be best friends but yet Deepali tends to pick on Ila a lot and sometimes says hurtful things.
There’s also a lot of fat-shaming in this book which could be triggering to some. I feel like that should be notated so that people who struggle with their weight don’t feel even worse about themselves.
Lastly, I feel like most of the relationships between the characters were very surface level since the book was so focused on the plot. This could be a good or bad thing for some readers but I personally like to watch my characters grow and really get to know them.
Overall thoughts:
This is a really cute read but it is very much YA so it’s not what I typically read; which could be another reason it took me a while to finish. However, I think it would be a hit for younger audiences.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 ⭐️’s
Now onto the review:
What I did like: I really love the concept of the plot. It’s about a young girl, Ila, who works with her best friend, Deepali, to try to find Ila’s mother a new significant other since her mom and her dad have been separated for a while. They call this mission, Operation Mom. I also liked how during Operation Mom, Ila was also discovering herself and finding her own love interest.
I also loved how this book revolves around the Indian culture so I feel like I was able to expand my knowledge on a culture I don’t know too much about yet.
Lastly, it was nice to see Ila and her mother find some common group at the end of it book. It showed that they are able to finally put their differences aside and continue developing their relationship.
What I didn’t like:
So I’m not going to lie, this book took me forever to read and I almost DNF’d it. Not because it’s long or anything, but since there is such a huge cultural difference between me and the characters, it was hard to relate to them sometimes. There were times I felt left out of the story because there was no English translation of a lot of words and phrases. I think it would be beneficial for audiences of other cultures to have a translation after the sentence, or even a guide at the back of the book. That way we can follow the story fully. This is at no fault to the author, it’s just how it is sometimes when you read about other cultures.
I loved how Deepali is a strong, independent character in this book but I feel like there were times when I felt like she didn’t really care about Ila. They are supposed to be best friends but yet Deepali tends to pick on Ila a lot and sometimes says hurtful things.
There’s also a lot of fat-shaming in this book which could be triggering to some. I feel like that should be notated so that people who struggle with their weight don’t feel even worse about themselves.
Lastly, I feel like most of the relationships between the characters were very surface level since the book was so focused on the plot. This could be a good or bad thing for some readers but I personally like to watch my characters grow and really get to know them.
Overall thoughts:
This is a really cute read but it is very much YA so it’s not what I typically read; which could be another reason it took me a while to finish. However, I think it would be a hit for younger audiences.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 ⭐️’s
March 29, 2023
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Operation Mom
Author: Reenita Malhotra Hora
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Diversity: Indian MC with Anxiety, Indian characters, Pakistani character, Indian character with ADHD
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, blind dates
Publication Date: August 22, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 15+ (drugs, cursing, fatphobia, diet culture, ED language, romance)
Explanation of Above: There are drugs mentioned in this book and some cursing. There is a lot of fatphobia in this book and discussion of diet and weightloss that kinda leans into the ED language. There is also some romance shown.
Publisher: GenZ Publishing
Pages: 220
Synopsis: Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But Ila decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead.
Review: So… I didn’t like this book that much. I though the concept was fun. I loved that it is a “my kid sets me up on a blind date” which is a twist on a favorite trope of mine (my family sets me up on a blind date). The MC of our book is desperate to get her mom interested in someone else when she’s trying to go to a concert. The book focuses on our MC finding men for her mom on dating apps and reaching out for the help of other family members. It was a cute book for that part of it.
However, the book had a lot of fatphobic language in it. There was a lot of remarks made to the MC from her mother about her weight and appearance. There were whole scenes of them all just going to the gym and talking about weightloss and dieting. There was a lot of remarks about body types and a lot of horrible language being associated with being plus size. It was very uncomfortable to me, as a plus size person, to read all of that and it really messed with my head for a bit. The book was also really rushed in spots.
Verdict: Overall, based on the fatphobic language, I wouldn’t recommend this book to younger audiences.
Book: Operation Mom
Author: Reenita Malhotra Hora
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Diversity: Indian MC with Anxiety, Indian characters, Pakistani character, Indian character with ADHD
Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, blind dates
Publication Date: August 22, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 15+ (drugs, cursing, fatphobia, diet culture, ED language, romance)
Explanation of Above: There are drugs mentioned in this book and some cursing. There is a lot of fatphobia in this book and discussion of diet and weightloss that kinda leans into the ED language. There is also some romance shown.
Publisher: GenZ Publishing
Pages: 220
Synopsis: Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But Ila decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead.
Review: So… I didn’t like this book that much. I though the concept was fun. I loved that it is a “my kid sets me up on a blind date” which is a twist on a favorite trope of mine (my family sets me up on a blind date). The MC of our book is desperate to get her mom interested in someone else when she’s trying to go to a concert. The book focuses on our MC finding men for her mom on dating apps and reaching out for the help of other family members. It was a cute book for that part of it.
However, the book had a lot of fatphobic language in it. There was a lot of remarks made to the MC from her mother about her weight and appearance. There were whole scenes of them all just going to the gym and talking about weightloss and dieting. There was a lot of remarks about body types and a lot of horrible language being associated with being plus size. It was very uncomfortable to me, as a plus size person, to read all of that and it really messed with my head for a bit. The book was also really rushed in spots.
Verdict: Overall, based on the fatphobic language, I wouldn’t recommend this book to younger audiences.
November 7, 2022
What a fun Young Adult book we have to share with you today. My Mommy hasn't been a teenager in many, many years. But reading this teenage novel about a quirky and hilarious Indian girl in Mumbai, made her giggle like a teenager herself.
One of the easiest ways to spot a teenager in any country across the world, is watch for signs of obsession about very random things. Especially random things like celebrities. Ila is definitely a teenager and she going gaga for:
Ali Zafar
Ali Zafar's voice
Ali Zafar's eyes
Ali Zafar's hair
Yes, you guessed it - Ali Zafar is a singer-songwriter from Pakistan and he has been Ila's obsessions since she was fifteen.
One of the easiest ways to spot the parent of a teenager in any country across the world, is to look for signs of severe stomach ache. Most teenager parents simply can't stomach their teenagers obsession. Veena is no exception. She would much rather prefer it if Ila dates a real boy and not a cardboard image. The possibility of dating a real guy isn't completely off the table, the problem is just that Ila's best friend Deepali, seems to fill her own plate with no less than three guys she's date-juggling at the same time.
Ila and Deepali concocts a plan to get Veena off her back and in this day and age, what is better than a few internet searches and schemes? Well, perhaps the grapevine still bears the most fruit and when Ila and Deepali discovers that Veena has a secret teenage obsession herself, ammunition is quickly gathered. But will that be enough? Or perhaps an even better plan will be to just find beautiful Veena a new love interest.
This was such an enjoyable read. The author has a strong and relatable writing style and it was fun to "travel" to India and to experience this mother-daughter relationship and their close connection to the community.
A comfortable 4 stars from our side.
This review was first published @ Elza Reads
One of the easiest ways to spot a teenager in any country across the world, is watch for signs of obsession about very random things. Especially random things like celebrities. Ila is definitely a teenager and she going gaga for:
Ali Zafar
Ali Zafar's voice
Ali Zafar's eyes
Ali Zafar's hair
Yes, you guessed it - Ali Zafar is a singer-songwriter from Pakistan and he has been Ila's obsessions since she was fifteen.
One of the easiest ways to spot the parent of a teenager in any country across the world, is to look for signs of severe stomach ache. Most teenager parents simply can't stomach their teenagers obsession. Veena is no exception. She would much rather prefer it if Ila dates a real boy and not a cardboard image. The possibility of dating a real guy isn't completely off the table, the problem is just that Ila's best friend Deepali, seems to fill her own plate with no less than three guys she's date-juggling at the same time.
Ila and Deepali concocts a plan to get Veena off her back and in this day and age, what is better than a few internet searches and schemes? Well, perhaps the grapevine still bears the most fruit and when Ila and Deepali discovers that Veena has a secret teenage obsession herself, ammunition is quickly gathered. But will that be enough? Or perhaps an even better plan will be to just find beautiful Veena a new love interest.
This was such an enjoyable read. The author has a strong and relatable writing style and it was fun to "travel" to India and to experience this mother-daughter relationship and their close connection to the community.
A comfortable 4 stars from our side.
This review was first published @ Elza Reads
December 23, 2022
“𝙸𝚕𝚊, 𝙸’𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍.”
🍷🍷🍷.75 / 5
»»————-✼————-««
Review:
Firstly I’d like to say a huge thank you to Reenita, her publisher and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book for an honest review!
I thought Operation Mom was going to be a cutesy YA romcom that would warm my heart and be an easy read😅 and it was, but it was also incredibly funny and witty and definitely made me laugh out loud a few times!
I don’t have a lot of knowledge on the Indian culture; but as I read I googled what I didn’t know and definitely broadened my knowledge! Although some may find that slightly tedious; as a fact geek I didn’t mind at all!😅
Ila was funny and witty but I think a lot of her clever-ness got missed as she is constantly belittled by those around her, especially by Deepali. Ila definitely tells the relatable story of most teenagers, stuck crushing on a guy who’s dating someone else; her anxiety and inner monologue felt very real and relatable.
Deepali, is a strong feminist force to be reckoned; who lives all RH lovers, fantasy of having 3 guys😅 Ila worships GHE ground Deepali walls on and talks about how she’s this amazing friend, but honestly I think she’s an awful friend. She always blows Ila off to hang out with her men, she belittles Ila and definitely talks down to her (almost as if she isn’t a well read smart af woman). Deepali kept important things from Ila and makes her feel like shit quite a lot. Sorry didn’t mean to turn this into a Deeplia bashing party; and as I wrote this I remembered that strong feminist female characters get a lot of stick for being annoying and cold; yet here I am complaining about the same things! Not very feminist of me😅
Anyway I really enjoyed this romcom and all it’s laughs and wit; it’s a short, fast, easy read and is entertaining and enjoyable for all ages!
For lovers of:
- YA romcoms
- Love triangles
- Miscommunication trope
- Insights into other cultures
- Plots & ploys
🍷🍷🍷.75 / 5
»»————-✼————-««
Review:
Firstly I’d like to say a huge thank you to Reenita, her publisher and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book for an honest review!
I thought Operation Mom was going to be a cutesy YA romcom that would warm my heart and be an easy read😅 and it was, but it was also incredibly funny and witty and definitely made me laugh out loud a few times!
I don’t have a lot of knowledge on the Indian culture; but as I read I googled what I didn’t know and definitely broadened my knowledge! Although some may find that slightly tedious; as a fact geek I didn’t mind at all!😅
Ila was funny and witty but I think a lot of her clever-ness got missed as she is constantly belittled by those around her, especially by Deepali. Ila definitely tells the relatable story of most teenagers, stuck crushing on a guy who’s dating someone else; her anxiety and inner monologue felt very real and relatable.
Deepali, is a strong feminist force to be reckoned; who lives all RH lovers, fantasy of having 3 guys😅 Ila worships GHE ground Deepali walls on and talks about how she’s this amazing friend, but honestly I think she’s an awful friend. She always blows Ila off to hang out with her men, she belittles Ila and definitely talks down to her (almost as if she isn’t a well read smart af woman). Deepali kept important things from Ila and makes her feel like shit quite a lot. Sorry didn’t mean to turn this into a Deeplia bashing party; and as I wrote this I remembered that strong feminist female characters get a lot of stick for being annoying and cold; yet here I am complaining about the same things! Not very feminist of me😅
Anyway I really enjoyed this romcom and all it’s laughs and wit; it’s a short, fast, easy read and is entertaining and enjoyable for all ages!
For lovers of:
- YA romcoms
- Love triangles
- Miscommunication trope
- Insights into other cultures
- Plots & ploys
January 19, 2023
I want to thank @reenita_storyteller and Netgallery for sending me this e-book to review! As always, I love humour and YA genres.
Our main character, Ila has a pop idol crush. She dreams about him, has posters of him, and wants to spend her holidays following him around on tours. But there's only one thing stopping her- her mother. Thus, the start of 'Operation Mom'
There are:
💭Obsessive traits
🧠Psychological references
💬Miscommunication Trope
💚Slow-Burn Romance
👭🏽A Strange Mother-and-Daughter bond
💥Argumentative natures
🏘️Strong culturally infused worldbuilding.
Ila and her mother have many things in common. Maybe too much. Thus, throughout the novel there's a specific theme explored:
"𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞."
"𝐎 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧..."
"𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞!"
It's funny actually. Ila wants to help her mother when they tend to have the same problems.
Then there's the humourous bantering,
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝑎𝑡 17, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑢𝑠."
"𝐴𝑙𝑖 𝑍𝑎𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑛. 𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔."
🌟🌟🌟
3/5
But what if Ila starts to take an interest in Dev, her best friends' boyfriend (or one of them at least)?
Deepali, Ila's best friend likes to analyze, listen to gossip and she's popular with the guys. They have always been very close to each, yet different in so many ways.
My favourite part is when Dev and Ila work together on 'Operation Mom' and Dev teaches her a few things about relationships that she has never known before.
There's a story within a story here.
However, I struggled with the miscommunication trope and a few of the brushed-off interactions.
#operationmom #netgalleryreads #netgallery #reenitamalhotrahora #yareads #indieauthor
Our main character, Ila has a pop idol crush. She dreams about him, has posters of him, and wants to spend her holidays following him around on tours. But there's only one thing stopping her- her mother. Thus, the start of 'Operation Mom'
There are:
💭Obsessive traits
🧠Psychological references
💬Miscommunication Trope
💚Slow-Burn Romance
👭🏽A Strange Mother-and-Daughter bond
💥Argumentative natures
🏘️Strong culturally infused worldbuilding.
Ila and her mother have many things in common. Maybe too much. Thus, throughout the novel there's a specific theme explored:
"𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐞."
"𝐎 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧..."
"𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞!"
It's funny actually. Ila wants to help her mother when they tend to have the same problems.
Then there's the humourous bantering,
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝑎𝑡 17, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑏𝑢𝑠."
"𝐴𝑙𝑖 𝑍𝑎𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑛. 𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔."
🌟🌟🌟
3/5
But what if Ila starts to take an interest in Dev, her best friends' boyfriend (or one of them at least)?
Deepali, Ila's best friend likes to analyze, listen to gossip and she's popular with the guys. They have always been very close to each, yet different in so many ways.
My favourite part is when Dev and Ila work together on 'Operation Mom' and Dev teaches her a few things about relationships that she has never known before.
There's a story within a story here.
However, I struggled with the miscommunication trope and a few of the brushed-off interactions.
#operationmom #netgalleryreads #netgallery #reenitamalhotrahora #yareads #indieauthor
dnf
January 19, 2023I was offered my first ARC by Netgalley for my honest review of this book. I cannot honestly rate the book because I only read about 50 pages before abandoning it to my DNF shelf. This book just was not for me, unfortunately. While I usually love rom coms and YA fiction, the combination of the writing style and my own lack of understanding of the Hindu/Mumbai culture made this book too difficult to read.
I was not a fan of the Deepali character, juggling three boyfriends and constantly criticizing her best friend and saying things like "D-shmee" and "sita-schmita" sarcastically. The main character, Ila, would have been a bit more tolerable if not for her internal monologue in the book which was chock full of waaaaayyy too many exclamation points and outbursts of things like "Sheesh!" to herself (or to the reader?) in the narration.
The cultural divide was a large obstacle for this US reader, and if this book is aiming to reach global audiences, more things would need to be explained. Small things like the use of "yaar" which I had to look up to find out it meant "friend," and "eve teaser" which is vaguely explained. Larger things about the different groups (castes?) of people completely went over my head. Maybe this book should be aimed toward other Indians around the world who would understand every Bollywood reference? However, I was not much of a fan of the plot in general, the two teenagers basically catfishing men to find a date for Ila's mom.
Anyhow, a few things I did like were the dad, especially how she called him "Pops" which reminded me of my own dad. I also liked Aunty Maleeka, her section was the most interesting part of what I read. I see this book has a lot of 5-star reviews so I assume for the right audience the humor hits the right way, but sadly for me it was a bust. :(
I was not a fan of the Deepali character, juggling three boyfriends and constantly criticizing her best friend and saying things like "D-shmee" and "sita-schmita" sarcastically. The main character, Ila, would have been a bit more tolerable if not for her internal monologue in the book which was chock full of waaaaayyy too many exclamation points and outbursts of things like "Sheesh!" to herself (or to the reader?) in the narration.
The cultural divide was a large obstacle for this US reader, and if this book is aiming to reach global audiences, more things would need to be explained. Small things like the use of "yaar" which I had to look up to find out it meant "friend," and "eve teaser" which is vaguely explained. Larger things about the different groups (castes?) of people completely went over my head. Maybe this book should be aimed toward other Indians around the world who would understand every Bollywood reference? However, I was not much of a fan of the plot in general, the two teenagers basically catfishing men to find a date for Ila's mom.
Anyhow, a few things I did like were the dad, especially how she called him "Pops" which reminded me of my own dad. I also liked Aunty Maleeka, her section was the most interesting part of what I read. I see this book has a lot of 5-star reviews so I assume for the right audience the humor hits the right way, but sadly for me it was a bust. :(
March 27, 2023
Thank you for sending me this book to read via @netgalley 🩷
This was a really fun read for me! I love that it's set in Mumbai and getting to immerse myself in the culture and sights of what is a middle class Indian family.
I will admit, that, despite having numerous Indian friends, they all failed to inform me that there is a westernised middle class cross section of the population. I also went into this one with no personal experience to draw from.
The characters were enjoyable and wholly relateable. Ila the MFC coming from a dysfunctional family in a single parent household. Myself being of Croatian descent, I couldn't help but draw parallels between the fiery nature's of both countries inhabitants.
The parts I struggled with were the language barriers. I almost feel like parts needed further explaining regarding cultural aspects and more thorough translating for those, like me being thrown in the deepend. I spent a bit too much time on Google seeking clarification, which too away from some of the enjoyment.
I also found that Ila had what bordered on an unhealthy perception of her own body image. While Veena was a great role model for body positivity, Ilas' own perception could have been resolved better at the end.
Overall, this is a really fun read, with some twists and a great cultural experience for those who are seeking a setting different from the norm.
Rating: 4✨️
Apologies to my 🌶 book lovers. This one is wholly YA with but a chaste kiss 💋 and nothing more.
This was a really fun read for me! I love that it's set in Mumbai and getting to immerse myself in the culture and sights of what is a middle class Indian family.
I will admit, that, despite having numerous Indian friends, they all failed to inform me that there is a westernised middle class cross section of the population. I also went into this one with no personal experience to draw from.
The characters were enjoyable and wholly relateable. Ila the MFC coming from a dysfunctional family in a single parent household. Myself being of Croatian descent, I couldn't help but draw parallels between the fiery nature's of both countries inhabitants.
The parts I struggled with were the language barriers. I almost feel like parts needed further explaining regarding cultural aspects and more thorough translating for those, like me being thrown in the deepend. I spent a bit too much time on Google seeking clarification, which too away from some of the enjoyment.
I also found that Ila had what bordered on an unhealthy perception of her own body image. While Veena was a great role model for body positivity, Ilas' own perception could have been resolved better at the end.
Overall, this is a really fun read, with some twists and a great cultural experience for those who are seeking a setting different from the norm.
Rating: 4✨️
Apologies to my 🌶 book lovers. This one is wholly YA with but a chaste kiss 💋 and nothing more.
October 23, 2024
2.5⭐️- This was one of the very first NetGalleys I requested, before I really knew what I was doing. It’s been sitting in my NG Backlist for over 2 years because there was always another NG to read and there isn’t any audiobook available for it. I told myself once I cleared out a monthly NG list I’d read this and guess what?! I did! I read all (3) of my October NetGalleys in record time and finally got to this one.
17 year old Ila’s Mom, Veena, thinks Ila’s obsession with a pop star is overkill and wants her to be more like her (Ila’s) friend Deepali. Both Ila and Deepali think if Veena had a man she’d lay off of Ila so they hatch a plan to get Veena a man and in doing so Ila finds there is more to life than fan girling over a pop star.
This started out very cute but ended up falling flat about 30% of the way in. This quickly became boring when the exact same scenarios were happening in every chapter.
It turns out this was originally written in 2014 and updated in 2022 with more up to date dating apps. I love that it takes place in India (it seems that I am very drawn to books set in that country) and I loved the Indian terms that were sporadically used, but I had no idea as to what they meant and was a bit confused at parts where conversations took place in this language.
Thank you to NetGalley and Reenita Malhorta Hora for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. Operation Mom hit the shelves on August 22, 2022.
17 year old Ila’s Mom, Veena, thinks Ila’s obsession with a pop star is overkill and wants her to be more like her (Ila’s) friend Deepali. Both Ila and Deepali think if Veena had a man she’d lay off of Ila so they hatch a plan to get Veena a man and in doing so Ila finds there is more to life than fan girling over a pop star.
This started out very cute but ended up falling flat about 30% of the way in. This quickly became boring when the exact same scenarios were happening in every chapter.
It turns out this was originally written in 2014 and updated in 2022 with more up to date dating apps. I love that it takes place in India (it seems that I am very drawn to books set in that country) and I loved the Indian terms that were sporadically used, but I had no idea as to what they meant and was a bit confused at parts where conversations took place in this language.
Thank you to NetGalley and Reenita Malhorta Hora for an advanced copy of this. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to it. Operation Mom hit the shelves on August 22, 2022.
January 11, 2023
First off, thank you to Reenita M. Hora, Henry Poi, and team for providing me with a free ebook to review!
I was teetering back and forth between a 2.5 and 3 star review, but ended up on 3 due to the last chapter and the fact that this is a debut fiction piece. This story takes the reader on a rollercoaster of love, family, friendships, and self discovery. Let’s start with what I loved!
Pros: Operation Mom was pretty fast paced, so it was easy to read. The family dynamic is not one that I often see in novels, so it was a unique perspective! The plot line was fun and inventive. I’m a sucker for happy endings, and this one did it for me!
Cons: While I did enjoy this read, there were a few things that docked it a couple stars. The main character, Ila, did not seem fully fleshed out to me; the narrative was in her perspective, but I never felt I truly got to know her. There were a number of errors in spelling/grammar that made it through the final draft. It seemed to me that some the character’s emotions flipped quickly/unnecessarily, and there were instances where I feel the adjectives/descriptors chosen didn’t flow with the story.
To end this review, I will say I think this is very much a teen story. It was a fun one, so if it peaks your interest, give it a read!
I was teetering back and forth between a 2.5 and 3 star review, but ended up on 3 due to the last chapter and the fact that this is a debut fiction piece. This story takes the reader on a rollercoaster of love, family, friendships, and self discovery. Let’s start with what I loved!
Pros: Operation Mom was pretty fast paced, so it was easy to read. The family dynamic is not one that I often see in novels, so it was a unique perspective! The plot line was fun and inventive. I’m a sucker for happy endings, and this one did it for me!
Cons: While I did enjoy this read, there were a few things that docked it a couple stars. The main character, Ila, did not seem fully fleshed out to me; the narrative was in her perspective, but I never felt I truly got to know her. There were a number of errors in spelling/grammar that made it through the final draft. It seemed to me that some the character’s emotions flipped quickly/unnecessarily, and there were instances where I feel the adjectives/descriptors chosen didn’t flow with the story.
To end this review, I will say I think this is very much a teen story. It was a fun one, so if it peaks your interest, give it a read!
January 25, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I liked the exploration of Ila's relationships with her mother, her father, Aunty Maleeka, Deepali, and Dev. I also thought the plot was fresh and original. Additionally, I liked that the story was multicultural and set in modern-day Mumbai, which is different from the teen rom-coms I usually read. On the other hand, I did find it a bit frustrating that the non-English phrases used throughout the story were never translated. I completely respect the author's choice if this was intentional, but I did think this brings potential readers down to a much narrower audience. I also noticed some instances of body-shaming on-page, and wanted to mention that in this review. Lastly, although it was funny at times, I felt that the writing style was so focused on wit and humor that it didn't leave as much room for character development as I had initially expected.
Overall, this is a pretty light and quick read that differs from the usual teen rom-com, but seems to have been written with a specific audience in mind that I unfortunately do not belong to.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I liked the exploration of Ila's relationships with her mother, her father, Aunty Maleeka, Deepali, and Dev. I also thought the plot was fresh and original. Additionally, I liked that the story was multicultural and set in modern-day Mumbai, which is different from the teen rom-coms I usually read. On the other hand, I did find it a bit frustrating that the non-English phrases used throughout the story were never translated. I completely respect the author's choice if this was intentional, but I did think this brings potential readers down to a much narrower audience. I also noticed some instances of body-shaming on-page, and wanted to mention that in this review. Lastly, although it was funny at times, I felt that the writing style was so focused on wit and humor that it didn't leave as much room for character development as I had initially expected.
Overall, this is a pretty light and quick read that differs from the usual teen rom-com, but seems to have been written with a specific audience in mind that I unfortunately do not belong to.
January 2, 2023
Review- Genre:YA,romance, humor Author: Reenita M. Hora @reenita_storyteller.
What a delightful story this book turned out to be. At first I was not sure about this story and the dynamics between the main character, Ila and her best friend Deepaly. I also didn't know what to expect from Ila's mom and the relationship between mother and daughter, but as the book progressed it is revealed why veena, Ila's mom, acts the way she does with her daughter. Without giving anything away. I thought this book was a sweet take on a family and friends dynamics, and how everyone had their own good intentions to help. The end was great and hilarious.
I recommend this book. It was a fun story with a little bit of mama drama and teenage shenanigans.
Ther are a lot of Indian lamguage terms that might Be difficult to understand, but since I had a digital copy. I just highlighted what I didn't understand and got a quick translation. I give it 4 out of 5 because I wanted it to be longer and more funny things to happen.
Thanks to Reenita's team for giving me an opportunity to read it on Netgalley for a review.
What a delightful story this book turned out to be. At first I was not sure about this story and the dynamics between the main character, Ila and her best friend Deepaly. I also didn't know what to expect from Ila's mom and the relationship between mother and daughter, but as the book progressed it is revealed why veena, Ila's mom, acts the way she does with her daughter. Without giving anything away. I thought this book was a sweet take on a family and friends dynamics, and how everyone had their own good intentions to help. The end was great and hilarious.
I recommend this book. It was a fun story with a little bit of mama drama and teenage shenanigans.
Ther are a lot of Indian lamguage terms that might Be difficult to understand, but since I had a digital copy. I just highlighted what I didn't understand and got a quick translation. I give it 4 out of 5 because I wanted it to be longer and more funny things to happen.
Thanks to Reenita's team for giving me an opportunity to read it on Netgalley for a review.
Read
March 25, 2023A HUGE thank you to the publisher/author for reaching out to me to read and review this book. Ila gushes over her idol Ali Zafar, a pop singer. Her mother, Veena, finds it unhealthy and tries to encourage her daughter to date a real boy/man in hopes of it leading to a real marriage. Fed up, Ila decides the only way to get her mother off her back is to find her single mother a boyfriend.
I remember the days when all the boy groups, or just a male pop singer in general, was all the rage back then. Every girl wanted them and would gush if they got married. Ila is no different. The story was so amusing to me especially the interaction between Ila and her friend, Deepali. Matchmaking with her mother doesn't turn out to be very easy.
There are some WEIRD people out there and they are jut getting more and more weirder.
I did feel for Ila at times especially when she believes her mother kind of calls her fat. Doesn't use the word persay but sort of implies.
The story was sweet and an easy read. I enjoyed how rounded the story was and in the end...Ila and mother grow closer than before. Ila and Deepali do get into a few tifs but that's what BFF's do.
I remember the days when all the boy groups, or just a male pop singer in general, was all the rage back then. Every girl wanted them and would gush if they got married. Ila is no different. The story was so amusing to me especially the interaction between Ila and her friend, Deepali. Matchmaking with her mother doesn't turn out to be very easy.
There are some WEIRD people out there and they are jut getting more and more weirder.
I did feel for Ila at times especially when she believes her mother kind of calls her fat. Doesn't use the word persay but sort of implies.
The story was sweet and an easy read. I enjoyed how rounded the story was and in the end...Ila and mother grow closer than before. Ila and Deepali do get into a few tifs but that's what BFF's do.
December 2, 2022
Ila is a teen who has a crush on a pop star. Her mom has deemed her as being obsessed. Little does Ila know her mom has a little secret. Ila starts hanging out with Deepali (her best friend) and Dev (Boyfriend #3 for Deepali). Ila starts to get a little bit of a crush on Dev too and even when she starts to talk about him, her mom notices there might be something between the two and starts getting up in her business more than she should.
So, Ila comes up with a plan to find her mom a date. She is not the only one who goes through this endeavor, Dev and Deepali are helping. They call this plan "Operation Mom" and although she still has a major crush on her pop icon, she gets to spend more time with Dev and get to know him better.
This was such a cute read! I had a hard time trying to get into it at the beginning as I had to accustom myself to some of the language and also learning how to pronounce names. After I got through it, it kind of just started flowing and it was a very good read! I would definitely recommend this to my friends if they want a good laugh!
So, Ila comes up with a plan to find her mom a date. She is not the only one who goes through this endeavor, Dev and Deepali are helping. They call this plan "Operation Mom" and although she still has a major crush on her pop icon, she gets to spend more time with Dev and get to know him better.
This was such a cute read! I had a hard time trying to get into it at the beginning as I had to accustom myself to some of the language and also learning how to pronounce names. After I got through it, it kind of just started flowing and it was a very good read! I would definitely recommend this to my friends if they want a good laugh!
December 12, 2022
this was such a quick and easy read with it being just over
200 pages but when i tell you it had me laughing out loudddd. the mother-daughter dynamic and all of the banter throughout was so much fun to read. it felt like a breath of fresh air honestly and so relatable because im sure most of us remember what it's like to be a young, pop star obsessed teenager- I know my walls were covered from floor to ceiling with all the posters
if you want some quick, light, funny, and heartwarming to read then definitely give this one a shot!
SYNOPSIS:
Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But lla decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead. With the help of her best friend Deepali, her crush Dev and her mother's best friend Maleeka, they will come up with a plan to make it happen by setting up a profile on dating apps.
200 pages but when i tell you it had me laughing out loudddd. the mother-daughter dynamic and all of the banter throughout was so much fun to read. it felt like a breath of fresh air honestly and so relatable because im sure most of us remember what it's like to be a young, pop star obsessed teenager- I know my walls were covered from floor to ceiling with all the posters
if you want some quick, light, funny, and heartwarming to read then definitely give this one a shot!
SYNOPSIS:
Ila, a Mumbai-based teenager, is going nuts with Veena, her controlling, single mother who prevents her from stalking her pop idol, Ali Zafar. Veena wants her daughter to date real guys in the lead-up to finding a husband. But lla decides that the only way to get her mom off her back is by finding her a boyfriend instead. With the help of her best friend Deepali, her crush Dev and her mother's best friend Maleeka, they will come up with a plan to make it happen by setting up a profile on dating apps.
January 4, 2023
I want to thank the author Reenita Hora for providing me with a copy of Operation mom.
Operation mom is about a teenage girl named lla who is obsessed with her pop idol Ali Zafar. Her mother Veena wants her to be more realistic and start to find a potential husband. Ila hates that her mom won’t get off her back so she can go be with Ali Zafar. However with the help of her best friend Deepali and Deepali’s boyfriend they come up with a plan to find lla’s mom a new man.
This book was short, sweet, and innocent. However, this wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not a huge rom-com fan and that’s no fault to the author. I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to the Indian culture or language, so I found myself confused a few times. I think this book could benefit from a few translations or even a glossary in the back of the book. The author did a good job with keeping it sweet and clean I could see this as a movie, where I’m more likely to watch a rom-com.
Rating:⭐️⭐️.5 /5
Romance 2/5
Comedy 3/5
Operation mom is about a teenage girl named lla who is obsessed with her pop idol Ali Zafar. Her mother Veena wants her to be more realistic and start to find a potential husband. Ila hates that her mom won’t get off her back so she can go be with Ali Zafar. However with the help of her best friend Deepali and Deepali’s boyfriend they come up with a plan to find lla’s mom a new man.
This book was short, sweet, and innocent. However, this wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not a huge rom-com fan and that’s no fault to the author. I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to the Indian culture or language, so I found myself confused a few times. I think this book could benefit from a few translations or even a glossary in the back of the book. The author did a good job with keeping it sweet and clean I could see this as a movie, where I’m more likely to watch a rom-com.
Rating:⭐️⭐️.5 /5
Romance 2/5
Comedy 3/5
January 30, 2023
If you aren't familiar with Indian culture and terminology, have Google handy as it will provide a depth and richness to a sweet, funny, coming of age story that teens and parents alike can enjoy. As for Dev... He's goals for the kind of young man I would love for my own daughter to bring home. I want to know what Aunt Maleeka told them over lunch! I want mom and pops to have their story. I'm utterly in love with these characters and the world created for them. I'm humbly appreciative for the glimpse into a beautiful culture and the universal experiences and emotions of growing up. Also, Ali Zafar's music really is amazing and he seems like an incredible person. Thanks for introducing me to him.
This is a book that took me a bit to get through as I kept looking things up but it's also a rare book that I will be rereading many times in the future. It's on my recommended reads for teachers (literary, history, geography, civics, etc). This is a feel good, must read for sure.
I did receive a free copy of this book but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a book that took me a bit to get through as I kept looking things up but it's also a rare book that I will be rereading many times in the future. It's on my recommended reads for teachers (literary, history, geography, civics, etc). This is a feel good, must read for sure.
I did receive a free copy of this book but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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