Nancy’s Review of Year of the Chick by Romi Moondi

*This review is part of Romi Moondi's blog tour hosted by CLP Blog Tours.

Romi Narindra does not want an arranged marriage. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be up to her when her parents inform her of their plans, but they want her to lose weight before they find a match for her. That gives Romi time to find a mate on her own without her parents’ interference or rules. If she can do that, then she won’t need an arranged marriage, right? It seems so simple, but finding love within a strict time frame isn’t so easy as Romi discovers in what she dubs “the year of the chick.” Actively looking for a boyfriend, Romi decides to chronicle her journey to find love on a new blog she starts, which also helps her get in touch with her love of writing that was tossed aside when her parents made it clear that she needed to find a “real job.” She receives a comment on her blog from a reader named James, a British guy living in Spain. They start communicating by email and eventually on the phone. This kind of relationship, if it can even be called that, is new territory for Romi and was totally not what she had in mind. But she is smitten with James from the start and he encourages her to write and follow her dreams, despite her parents’ strict rules. A long distance relationship is hard to maintain, but the “year of the chick” is all about living life to the fullest and getting out of the comfort zone that put Romi in a rut. When the chance to meet James in person arises, Romi can’t pass it up, but is he really who she thinks he is?

Year of the Chick is a hilarious, lighthearted novel about self-discovery amidst the standards set by others and pursuing true happiness no matter what anyone else thinks. It is full of wit and very realistic situations that readers are sure to relate to in one way or another. The characters are portrayed with such honesty and familiarity that they seem like real people. Romi’s sense of humor is the best part of this novel. Dating, especially online dating, can seem hopeless at times, but she manages to find comedy in everything. She looks at life through a lens of sarcasm, making light of whatever comes her way. The story also explores Indian culture and gives readers a sense of what it is like to be an Indian girl in her twenties living in Canada. Year of the Chick is a charming, very enjoyable read. Highly recommended for chick lit lovers everywhere.

Romi Moondi is a Canadian independent author of The Book of Awful, a parody to The Book of Awesome, NOT Love Poems for Real Life and Year of the Chick. Year of the Chick is book one in a trilogy, and book two currently exists in the form of a screenplay entitled Best Before. It was the silver prize winner at 2011 Oregon Film Festival, received an honorable mention at the 2011 LA New Wave International Film Festival, and an honorable mention at the 2011 LA Movie Awards. Additionally, it was a finalist at the 2011 Colorado Film Festival, a drama finalist at the 2011 Hollywood Screenplay Contest, a semi-finalist at the 2011 Independent Film Quarterly New Media Festival, and it advanced to the semi-finals in the 2011 American Screenplay Competition. When Romi isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, running, baking, and observing strangers who she eventually writes about. For more information, you can visit Romi’s blog and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.