Sonya Lalli – författare

"Lalli's prose is deft, her characters are delightful and her book is the just-right holiday romance."--USA TodayOne type-A data analyst discovers her free-spirited side on an impulsive journey from bustling Mumbai to the gorgeous beaches of Goa and finds love waiting for her on Christmas morning. Twenty-nine-year-old Niki Randhawa has always made practical decisions. Despite her love for music and art, she became an analyst for the stability. She's always stuck close to home, in case her family needed her. And she's always dated guys that seem good on paper, rather than the ones who give her butterflies. When she's laid off, Niki realizes that practical hasn't exactly paid off for her. So for the first time ever, she throws caution to the wind and books a last-minute flight for her friend Diya’s wedding. Niki arrives in India just in time to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, where she meets London musician Sameer Mukherji. Maybe it's the splendor of Mumbai or the magic of the holiday season, but Niki is immediately drawn to Sam. At the wedding, the champagne flows and their flirtatious banter makes it clear that the attraction is mutual. When Niki and Sam join Diya, her husband and their friends on a group honeymoon, their connection grows deeper. Free-spirited Sam helps Niki get in touch with her passionate and creative side, and with her Indian roots. When she gets a new job offer back home, Niki must decide what she wants out of the next chapter of her life—to cling to the straight and narrow like always, or to take a leap of faith and live the kind of bold life the old Niki never would have dreamed of.

A delightfully modern look at what happens for a young woman when tradition, dating, and independence collide, from acclaimed author Sonya Lalli. Adulting shouldn't be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning.  But Anu doesn't have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she's ever done—and she's still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She'll be forced to look inside herself to learn what she truly wants.

Jasmine Randhawa likes everyone to think she has it all - great job, perfect Seattle apartment, and a handsome boyfriend. But she's not as confident or successful as she seems, and her relationship is at a breaking point.  When Jasmine finds herself single and tagging along on her parents' vacation, she's not sure her life can get any farther off course. It's a nightmare for someone who's been so fiercely independent to find herself on a cruise full of family friends who've judged her since childhood. Things only get worse once the ship leaves the harbour and she realises that this is a seniors' cruise, and the only other person under fifty on the entire boat is her childhood acquaintance, cocky and successful Jake Dhillon. Jasmine and Jake clash right away, with Jasmine smarting over how their South Asian community puts him on a pedestal as the perfect Indian son, whereas her reputation as a troublemaker precedes her. Except they can't avoid each other forever during the ten-day cruise, and they soon recognise a surprising number of similarities, especially in how many secrets they're keeping hidden from their families. Their restlessness seems to disappear whenever they're together, but is this relationship strong enough to last on land?

Would you let your grandmother play matchmaker?*****You can't choose who you fall for...but it helps if there's a list When you're approaching thirty it's normal (if not incredibly annoying) for your family to ask when you'll tie the knot and settle down. But for Raina there's a whole community waiting for someone to make her a wife - and a loving grandmother, Nani, ready to play matchmaker with a comprehensive list of potential husbands.Eager not to disappoint her family, Raina goes along with the plan but when the love of her life returns - ex-boyfriend Dev - she's forced to confront her true feelings. Now her 'clock is ticking', it's time for Raina to decide what she actually wants.Will Raina let her family decide her future, or can she forge her own path?*****Praise for THE ARRANGEMENT - a heartwarming and uplifting romantic comedy: 'A riotous odyssey into the pressures of cross-cultural modern dating' ELLE'I was utterly charmed by this insight into Raina's struggle to be the perfect Indian daughter. A delightful debut' VERONICA HENRY, bestselling author of The Forever House'A perfect romance to lose yourself in' STYLIST'Impossible to read without a huge smile on your face. A superior slice of romantic comedy' RED'An absolute treat - I loved it' MILLY JOHNSON, bestselling author of The Queen of Wishful Thinking