I recently chatted with The Nerd Daily about my new book, A Holly Jolly Diwali, plus lots of other fun topics, including my thoughts about writing, my book recommendations and what I love about the romance genre.

Check out the full interview on The Nerd Daily!

Ready for a little romance? Popsugar has you covered with a list of lovely books will leave you swooning as you root for a bevy of captivating characters to realise they’re perfect for one another, including A Holly Jolly Diwali.

“The ever practical Niki Randhawa finds an awfully handsome reason to throw caution to the wind in A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli. While attending her friend’s wedding in Mumbai, Niki meets a man who encourages her to embrace her creative side, but her new romance is threatened when a job offer back home leaves her torn between listening to her heart or doing what she feels is best for her family.”

You can see the full list on Popsugar here.

USA TODAY staffers culled through the fall and holiday book releases and picked 12 of their favourite rom-coms “that are sure to envelop you in a warm embrace”, including A Holly Jolly Diwali.

Here’s what they had to say about the book:

“Author Lalli’s prose is deft, her characters are delightful and her book is the just-right holiday romance.”

You can read the full review, and the rest of the books on this great list on the USA Today website.

My next book, A Holly Jolly Diwali, focuses on the widely celebrate festival of Diwali. I recently spoke with Good Housekeeping on what this holiday means to me.

“Diwali can mean so many things to so many people, but at its core, for me it’s about celebrating the light in this world over the darkness, being with the people I love.”

To read the full article, which includes a great summary on the traditions, celebrations and customs of the Festival of Lights for those who aren’t that familiar with it, click here.

I recently spoke with the Richmond News about the universal themes in my novels, the expectations that South Asian women, and women of minority backgrounds, face growing up and my new role as Richmond’s newest Writer-in-Residence.

“Often women from minority backgrounds have to make hard choices.”

“(Women) are often burdened by these expectations, cultural baggage, sexism and many obstacles that hinder us from becoming our best selves or true selves, and going after what we really want, loving who we really want and that kind of thing.”

You can read the full article on The Richmond News website here.

I’m so thrilled to share the news that A Holly Jolly Diwali has received a starred review from Booklist. The review will be in the Booklist September 15 issue.

The reviewer writes, “Funny and heartwarming, with lush descriptions of Indian beach resorts and chaotic city streets, Lalli’s latest multicultural romance is extremely satisfying; her characters are refreshingly relatable. Highly recommended for fans of Sonali Dev and Sophie Kinsella.”

This excerpt is from a review of my upcoming book, A Holly Jolly Diwali, from Library Journal which will be featured in their September 2021 issue!

“In the latest from Lalli, Niki Randhawa decides to attend a friend’s wedding in India after she is laid off from her job unexpectedly. While there she meets Sam Mukherji, whose life isn’t going according to plan either, and they form a connection. However, her life is back in Seattle, and his is in London, so they must decide what matters to them most. A major part of the story is Niki’s relationship with her family and her sibling rivalry with older sister Jasmine; she questions whether she wants to always be the practical and dutiful one. There’s some discussion of colonialism and colorism and one scene of street harassment, but it’s a light read overall. VERDICT Suggest to readers looking for holiday fun along with their romance.” ~Sydney Ashby, Metropolitan Lib. Sys., Oklahoma City

A Holly Jolly Diwali is now available in audiobook!

I’m very excited to share the news that the audiobook for my next book, A Holly Jolly Diwali, is now available for pre-order and will be narrated by the very talented Richa Moorjani!

Richa Moorjani is an Indian-American actress who has appeared on TV shows like The Mindy Project, NCIS: Los Angeles and 9-1-1. She is currently starring in the Netflix series, Never Have I Ever.

For more information on the audiobook of A Holly Jolly Diwali, including where you can order, please click here.

Richa Moorjani photo courtesy of: Sweet Caribbean Photo and Video

Consider this your official invitation to join me (virtually) at the launch event for my next book, A Holly Jolly Diwali!

I’ll be at East City Bookshop, chatting about my new book with USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev.

DATE: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
TIME: 7:00 PM EDT

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR TICKETS FOR THE EVENT!

About A Holly Jolly Diwali

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.

I loved seeing Serena Singh Flips the Script included in this amazing list filled with a variety of books by Asian Authors. These are all definitely worth checking out and aren’t just for romance readers!

What they said about Serena Singh Flips the Script: “This story explores many aspects of love — romantic love, love between friends, familial love, love for a career. Unusual for a romance novel, it brings up the unfortunately sometimes still taboo decision for a woman to choose her career over other parts of her life, and I enjoyed seeing that treated with care. I also adored seeing scenes from Serena’s mom’s perspective, which is rare in books where there is a cultural gap between the main characters and their families.”

To see the full list, please visit the Buzzfeed article here.