**The first edition trade paperback original of Leave and Come Back features 4-colour stenciled edges!**
Family drama meets romantic comedy when a young woman's new boyfriend accidentally shows up in the midst of a two-week-long wedding, kicking off a comedy of errors in this funny, colourful and heartwarming debut.
You're invited to the most romantic, chaotic wedding of the season
For the first time, Simran Gopal is living out her own swoon-worthy romance to rival the beloved Bollywood films of her childhood... until she receives her cousin's wedding invitation. Now, Simran finds herself returning to the family home she's been avoiding for the last seven years to take part in a two-week-long Indian wedding.
Family drama is already at a high when Leo Bridgers, Simran's new boyfriend, accidentally crashes the engagement party. To avoid full crisis mode and provoking the ire of Veena Perima, Simran's aunt and judgmental family matriarch, the cousins need to rally. Commence: Operation DDLJ.
Following the lead of their favourite Bollywood movie, they need to trick Veena into adoring Leo. In a mess of misdirection and chaotic hijinks, Leo must prove himself to be the most charming, helpful wedding guest imaginable, and he certainly can't give away that he’s ever met—let alone currently in love with—Simran.
For Simran, being back with her family also brings memories of the difficult years after her parents died. As old grievances and new secrets arise—along with nosy aunties—will Simran finally be able to have her own love story, and find the closure she’s been looking for from her past?
Charming, tender and hilarious, Leave and Come Back asks what it means to open up to love, what makes a family and how to honour the past while embracing the present.
A wonderful debut
"A wonderful debut from a new author, which manages to be sweet, funny, and engaging, while also facing complex issues — grief, family obligations, less than useful coping mechanisms, and trauma — head on. Laced with a charming romance that is just beginning for long-time friends Simran and Leo, the story captures the tingly, crazy, out-of control feelings of new love, along with the heavier, deeper pull of secrets and shame, on a collision course that cannot be avoided. When Simran receives an unexpected invite to an extravagant multi-day Indian family wedding, her simmering issues can no longer be simply avoided. Will Simran manage or even resolve her decades long bottled-up angst, rooted in an estranged family situation which may or may not reflect her best interests at heart? Or will it destroy her (and Leo’s) chance for happiness? Will Leo manage to meet the deeply embedded traditional expectations of a South Indian family — with both Tamil and Punjabi roots — as they continue to swirl and shape the world-view of Simran, a haze of complex feelings encompassing both family belonging and an always striving need for independence? A terrific read, I devoured this book and these characters, and the Indian wedding centered plot-line (both madcap and romantic) captured so beautifully by the author. A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts provided are my own."
