In her spirited debut novel, Leave and Come Back, Lavanya Lakshmi offers the rom-com-fam-dram of Simran Gopal, an Indian woman who lost her parents as a teen, and her budding romance with her best friend's brother, Leo Bridgers. Returning to New Jersey for a wedding after running away nearly a decade before, Simran must face all the emotions and challenges she escaped. She's also planning a scheme based on the plot of her favorite Bollywood movie to ingratiate Leo with the family before telling them about her relationship with him.
Readers will find themselves as drawn into the range of distinct characters in Simran's family as Leo is. The supporting cast includes the younger generation of women full of secrets, the men content to be included, and the older generation trying to steer their children into happiness. Every one of them play a role in the hijinks concocted by Rishi, the groom, and Simran's cousins to aid Simran's scheme. All the while, Simran is unraveling the complicated relationship between her aunt and uncle and her late parents, and reconciling with the cousin she left behind.
The romance is sweet and tender, and the shenanigans, such as climbing on roofs to impress the aunties and quiet walks admiring trees to win over uncles, prove that Leo puts in his all for Simran as she works through her long-held grief and familial obligations, making the ending feel truly earned. With this delightful debut, Lakshmi shows great promise in the romance/family drama world. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller