"Leo Bridgers, always slightly oriented to Simran like she's his cardinal north"

GENRE: Romance or RomComFamDram!
RATING: 4.75/5
FORMAT: eBook & physical Arc
Tropes: Meddlesome family, Indian Wedding Hijinks, Family Reunion, Intergenerational grief & yearning, If he wanted to he would

Overall Impression:Literally, just give me more books with Bollywood vibes in them!

Review:
I mean if you put meddling family, Bollywood vibes and wedding drama with Romance in a book, I will DEFINITELY be there for it and this did not disappoint!

Leave and Come Back is such a fun, wholesome & funny story and yet, it's also sad as we dive into Simi's grief and her loss following her parent's death. We get to dive into what it means to move to another country and have to learn a new culture and a new way of living while coping with grief.

Simi's journey takes us through what life is like for her versus her aunt, Veena, both of who share a lot of similarities. They both left and moved to the west and while they are in different generations, we see their struggles and how it all ties together throughout the story. In a way, reading the story isn't just watching Simi slowly heal but also seeing how this impacts her aunt.

And as for how meddlesome her aunt and the family members are, this was SO relatable to my own experience but the older you get, you start to slowly realise what Simi's cousins tell her throughout the story: that every generation and person has a different way of expressing their love and sometimes, you fight but you can't give up on each other.

Oh and Leo & Simi's journey? This was SO cute. I think we definitely get to go on the journey with them but it's more of watching Leo learn about Simi as a person and her life back home while learning about her culture and trying to win her aunt & the rest of the family. I felt that we got to know everyone in the story so well and the focus wasn't just on Simi & Leo alone but rather every family member in a way that wasn't overwhelming!

OH and Operation DDLJ? My god, that was a throwback as I havent watched it in SO long but time to fix that!🤭

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.