My Last Love Story

November 27, 2017
Nirvaan and Simeen Desai are happily married and trying for a baby at the start of Kothari’s ambitious but deeply flawed contemporary romance. Simi is conflicted about the idea of having a child and not looking forward to the long process of artificial insemination, which is necessary because Nirvaan is dying of cancer and no longer fertile. She finds it understandably difficult to deal with his treatments, let alone undergo a possible pregnancy and childbirth at the same time. Luckily, their mutual best friend, Zayaan, is there to support them through Nirvaan’s illness. Simi’s attraction to Zayaan, his to her, and Nirvaan’s hopes for the two of them get tangled up with complicated issues in Simi’s past, as well as the pain, fear, and grief of the anticipated near future. Kothari (Bootie and the Beast) treats her subject matter with respect and honesty, but the actual romance between Simi and Zayaan follows standard romance-novel beats far too closely while the story of Nirvaan’s slow decline is full of raw, honest pain, creating an uneven tone with unfortunate spikes of melodrama. The book’s highs are very high, but the lows are pure soap opera.

January 1, 2018

Simeen, a young Indian woman now living in California, is losing her husband, Nirvaan, to an inoperable brain tumor. In order to prolong their time together she agrees to undergo IVF--and have the child Nirvaan deeply desires--if he undertakes one more cancer treatment. When Nirvaan arranges for their childhood friend, Zayaan, to come and live with them, it becomes clear he has bigger plans for her future than just raising their child. The three rekindle their childhood friendship even though being around Zayaan brings up painful memories for Simi. During her teenage years a traumatic event destroyed her relationship with Zayaan, and she has worked hard to avoid revealing this fact for 12 years. But with the three friends together again and with time running out for Nirvaan, Simi must decide if she will share her secret before it's too late. VERDICT Kothari's (Bootie and the Beast; Soul Warrior) well-written love story is a tearjerker with a twist. For fans of Cecelia Ahern's PS, I Love You and Jojo Moyes's Me Before You.--Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
The fact that 30-year-old Simi Desai's husband, Nirvaan, is struggling with cancer is but one among many dramatic elements in Kothari's novel. Another is Nirvaan's advocating for them to have an IVF baby while also trying to bring Simi and their mutual best friend, Zayaan, together again: they were a couple in their teen years before a slew of life-changing events pushed them apart. This triangular relationship and each characters' impulses and motivations make for a gripping story, along with the added dimension of religious and cultural differences between the three protagonists. Simi's concerns about Zayaan's Muslim family is a particularly heavy theme and becomes a subplot. Kothari's willingness to push boundaries and delve into the nature of love, her ability to explore emotion without letting it slide into mawkishness, and her resolute focus on staying true to the individual make this a book well worth reading. It is also an unexpected read in many ways, leaving the reader questioning many common and easy assumptions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)