Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things

• Author: Maya Prasad
• Genre: YA Romance
• Publication Date: October 18, 2022
• Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
• Series: Songbird Inn #1

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CONTENT WARNING: mention of death of a parent, grief, racist microaggressions

Four sisters, four seasons, four flavors of romance.

The Singh sisters grew up helping their father navigate the bustle of the Songbird Inn. Nestled on dreamy and drizzly Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest, the inn’s always been warm and cozy and filled with interesting guests—the perfect home. But things are about to heat up now that the Songbird has been named the Most Romantic Inn in America.

Nidhi has everything planned out—until a storm brings a wayward tree crashing into her life one autumn . . . and along with it, an intriguing construction worker and a yearning for her motherland. Suddenly, she’s questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Avani can’t sit still. If she does, her grief for Pop, their dad’s late husband, will overwhelm her. So she keeps moving as much as she can, planning an elaborate Winter Ball in Pop’s memory. Until a blizzard traps her in a barn with the boy she accidentally stood up and has been actively avoiding ever since.

Sirisha loves seeing the world through her camera, but her shyness prevents her from stepping out from behind the lens. Talking to girls is such a struggle! When a pretty actress comes to the Songbird with her theater troupe, spring has sprung for Sirisha—if only she can find the words.

Rani is a hopeless romantic through and through. After gently nudging her sisters to open their hearts, she is convinced it’s finally her turn to find love. When two potential suitors float in on a summer breeze, Rani is swept up in grandeur to match her wildest Bollywood dreams. But which boy is the one she’s meant to be with?

Ultimately, the magic of the Songbird Inn leads the tight-knit Singh sisters to new passions and breathtaking kisses—and to unearth the truest versions of themselves.

Perfect for fans of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, this sparkling YA rom-com celebrates sisterhood, family, and the love all around us.

I heard great things about this book before I even knew anything about it, and once I read the summary, I was sold. And I have to say, all the good things were absolutely true. And look at that gorgeous cover!

I fell in love with the setting first. Followed by the family relationships that are laid out in this story. As someone who grew up with much older siblings that weren’t around very often, I always dreamed of having a bunch of siblings surrounding me and relationships like this. The Singh sisters are close and supportive, and very invested in each other’s lives and feelings. While there are some times when they disagree and argue, for the most part, they get along really well.

The other thing that I really enjoyed was the way that the story is broken up by season and each season tells the story of a different sister. But there’s still overlap, so we don’t miss out on anything. And there’s another overarching story that runs through the entire year, and that’s the story affecting the whole family. 

Each sister is so different. I connected with some sisters more than others, but ultimately, they were all interesting stories. And they all focused on different romances, so it was like reading four different romances all in one single book. There are different tropes invoked, humor, family drama, coming of age, plenty of Bollywood references and food that to crave (hello gulab jamun and lavender vanilla ice cream) and something that I especially loved was that not all of the romances in the story are straight romance. One of the sisters is lesbian, and the father is queer. And all of this takes place on the sweetest little island that I want to visit immediately, although I know I’m going to be disappointed because there isn’t a Songbird Inn to stay at. 

This is a cute story, but there’s also threads of heavier topics, like grief, family acceptance, toxic masculinity within the realm of cultural expectations, and some racism, along with overcoming shyness and breaking out of our comfort zones to try new things even when we aren’t sure of the result. Since each of the sisters are so different, it’s easy to find at least one of them to connect with more strongly than the others, which is one of the strengths of the novel. Overall, this was a really enjoyable book, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for the Songbird Inn!