The Wedding Setup: A Short Story
- Downloads：4693
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-19 08:22:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sonali Dev
- ISBN：B09GPDK237
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Ellie
，
Quick read that is free from Amazon Prime
Caroline Ellis
，
Love Sonali Dev and this story was cute and lighthearted
Jon C。 Hooper
，
Sad then happy as the story develops and I assume an intro to East Asian life and romance。 A nice little story but not one that would cause me to continue with this series
Mollie
，
Short and sweetThis was a perfect little nugget of a romance。 Parents always know more than you think and sometimes you do know the right person all your life。 What a wonderful way to pass an hour。
nora
，
needed audio book for gym workout。 I would rather stick needles in my eyes。 Too hard to understand。 Thank goodness it was free to obtain today。
Namita
，
Ayesha， a South Asian American woman， has devoted the last seven years of her life to helping her mother， Amma， keep their business going。 But Amma is putting pressure on Ayesha to get married before she gets too old。 Amma arranges for Ayesha to meet the “perfect” match at Ayesha’s best friend’s wedding， but to Ayesha’s surprise， the love of her life shows up at the wedding also。 Ayesha finds herself in an impossible situation。 She must choose between her obligation to her mother and her obligat Ayesha， a South Asian American woman， has devoted the last seven years of her life to helping her mother， Amma， keep their business going。 But Amma is putting pressure on Ayesha to get married before she gets too old。 Amma arranges for Ayesha to meet the “perfect” match at Ayesha’s best friend’s wedding， but to Ayesha’s surprise， the love of her life shows up at the wedding also。 Ayesha finds herself in an impossible situation。 She must choose between her obligation to her mother and her obligation to herself。 This story is about all different sorts of love – parental love， sibling love， best friend love， and of course， soul mate love。 And interweaved among the theme of love is grief and obligation。 While culturally stereotypical， I found the theme of brown girl guilt to be wholly accurate。 All the female characters are strong and fierce and yet， so nurturing， I was reminded of my own relationship with my mother。 Ayesha’s struggle to make the right decisions for herself are those that most South Asian Americans find themselves experiencing throughout their lives。 My only criticism of this story is that it ended way too soon。 I didn’t want it to end。 。。。more
Tarah
，
super cuteThis story is well written and leaves you with a fuzzy feeling。 Super quick read & I’d definitely recommend using the audiobook。
Marie
，
Sonali Dev has become an auto-buy for me over the years， so I was super excited to read this short story！ She managed to pack romance， humor， friendship， love， and so many emotions into a short， 7 chapter story and I loved every minute of it！ It was a beautiful story of second chance love ❤
Tash
，
Cute short readThis was a cute short story。 It was a bit frustrating at times， though。 She thought she was doing what the Mom wanted。 The she sent the boyfriend away because she thought it would be best for everyone。 Homegirl just thought she knew it all but really， she didn't know anything。 Cute short readThis was a cute short story。 It was a bit frustrating at times， though。 She thought she was doing what the Mom wanted。 The she sent the boyfriend away because she thought it would be best for everyone。 Homegirl just thought she knew it all but really， she didn't know anything。 。。。more
Anissa
，
This was a poignant and cute short story; I was kind of left wanting more actually but it was pretty well done to convey a lot of emotion and backstory in a smaller length。
A
，
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
nitya
，
cute and short read :）
Laura
，
What a delightful short story， quick read by Sonali Dev！ It was chocked full of emotion， food， laughs and of course， romance。 Ayesha's life has not been easy since her brother was killed in a car accident。 She's spent the past 7 years running a business she never wanted， living a ghost life and running from her real self， all to try and keep alive the remaining family she has， her mother。 It's the eve of her best friend's wedding and she finally has time off to try and find the energy to celebra What a delightful short story， quick read by Sonali Dev！ It was chocked full of emotion， food， laughs and of course， romance。 Ayesha's life has not been easy since her brother was killed in a car accident。 She's spent the past 7 years running a business she never wanted， living a ghost life and running from her real self， all to try and keep alive the remaining family she has， her mother。 It's the eve of her best friend's wedding and she finally has time off to try and find the energy to celebrate。 But she soon finds her new take on life has to be reconciled with her old life。 There's only one person who can help her with that journey and he's just showed up。 I would definitely read an entire book about their romance as it continues。Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book for an honest review。 。。。more
Carol （Bookaria）
，
I absolutely love this short story， it has everything it needs to be engaging， entertaining， and memorable。 Romance？ Check。 Family drama？ Check。 Bollywood dances？ Check。 A heartwarming ending？ Yes！！！Loved it 🥰
dani
，
short， but POWERFUL
HappyBookWorm2020
，
This is a short story and a second chance romance that takes place at a wedding - Ayesha Shett's best friend's wedding。 I loved the references to characters from Twilight - the bride and groom were Bela and Eddie （Edward）， and Eddie's best friend is Emmitt。 I admired Ayesha - she had given up attending college when her brother died and returned home to work in their family restaurant， which requires so much work and attention to keep it profitable。 This is very far away from the future she had o This is a short story and a second chance romance that takes place at a wedding - Ayesha Shett's best friend's wedding。 I loved the references to characters from Twilight - the bride and groom were Bela and Eddie （Edward）， and Eddie's best friend is Emmitt。 I admired Ayesha - she had given up attending college when her brother died and returned home to work in their family restaurant， which requires so much work and attention to keep it profitable。 This is very far away from the future she had once expected for herself， and then there was the man she had also given up - who， seven years later， has turned up at the wedding。 He was also her brother's best friend。 To complicate matters， Ayesha learns at the wedding that her mother has invited a potential suitor for her， a gynecologist。 There was some humor about that - small talk about his job would definitely be difficult。 While I enjoyed the story， I think it suffered from being a short story。 There just wasn't enough time for me to become invested in the characters and the romance。 My thanks to the author， Amazon Original Stories， and NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy before publication。 。。。more
Megan Goebel
，
Lacking substance
Joanna
，
Quick， cute little story about moving on after a devastating loss。
Tara
，
Ayesha suffered a huge loss to her life， her brother passed away She pushed everything and anything away from her after that， including EmmettShe is attending her best friends big Indian wedding and who shows up but EmmettThey get stuck away from the party and end up talking out everything and it happened to be the best thing everOnce she overcomes the fact that Emmett is her brothers best friend and her sense of duty to her mother， she can once again fall head over heels in love with EmmettI re Ayesha suffered a huge loss to her life， her brother passed away She pushed everything and anything away from her after that， including EmmettShe is attending her best friends big Indian wedding and who shows up but EmmettThey get stuck away from the party and end up talking out everything and it happened to be the best thing everOnce she overcomes the fact that Emmett is her brothers best friend and her sense of duty to her mother， she can once again fall head over heels in love with EmmettI received this book in exchange for a review via NetGalleyI just reviewed The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev。 #TheWeddingSetup #NetGalley 。。。more
Flo Hill
，
Fated to be togetherLoved this story from Sonali Dev about the reunion of Ayesha and Emmitt。 What an interesting way to get them set up so that they could find their happily ever after。
Mary Mccormack
，
Honest review Really short story， but a pretty deep story。 Pretty emotional and won’t let you put it down。 Would really like to view it more as a novella and imagine an extended story in the making。
Lisa Wolf
，
A bittersweet story about grief， love， family obligations， and second chances。 A quick and engaging read。
Marlene
，
Originally published at Reading RealityThe Wedding Setup is a short story， so I’m going to try to do it justice in a short review。 Especially since this is a jam-packed post with an interview with the author， an excerpt from the story AND a giveaway！From a certain perspective， this is a story about handling grief – or rather NOT handling grief。 Ayesha has put herself in a box in her attempt to be the perfect daughter that she never was – and it’s a straitjacket。 But so is the reason for that att Originally published at Reading RealityThe Wedding Setup is a short story， so I’m going to try to do it justice in a short review。 Especially since this is a jam-packed post with an interview with the author， an excerpt from the story AND a giveaway！From a certain perspective， this is a story about handling grief – or rather NOT handling grief。 Ayesha has put herself in a box in her attempt to be the perfect daughter that she never was – and it’s a straitjacket。 But so is the reason for that attempt， the death of her brother and her desperate need to hold onto her mother in the ultimately vain hope of preventing either of them from suffering any more losses。 Ayesha’s father died when she was ten， and her mother was the rock that sheltered both her and her brother through the rest of her childhood。 When her brother died， they were all each other had left。 That and the depth of their grief and the fear of another loss。But they lost each other along the way – even as they spent 16 hours a day together keeping the family’s restaurant afloat。 Hanging onto the last remaining bit of her brother’s dream。As this story opens， it’s been seven years since Ajay died， and Ayesha’s mother has had enough of living with Ayesha’s obedient ghost – because that’s who it seems has been trudging through the world in Ayesha’s place。But that is far， far， far from what the story seems to be for most of its length。 As Amma does her level best to bring back the old， vibrant， downright combative Ayesha by poking that sleeping tiger with every single stick she can find。In the hopes that her daughter will come back to life and reach out for her own happy ever after。Escape Rating A-: I have only one complaint about this story – it’s too damn short。 It’s beautiful， it’s marvelous， and all the characters are fascinating – even the ones who only exist in memory。 I would have loved this story even more if it had been novel length。 But it isn’t so I’ll make do with what I have。Part of the fun of The Wedding Setup is that the setup of Ayesha is not what either Ayesha or the reader think it is。 The story is a gem of misdirection， and the reveal at the end forces both Ayesha and the reader to rethink everything that has happened。 And rejoice at the ending。Also laugh uproariously at the mental picture of a rat in scrubs administering a pap smear。 Which is the only way to laugh at one of those necessary evils。 Read The Wedding Setup to find out just how that comes to pass。 The mental picture， that is。 。。。more
Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews
，
This is a cute short story about love just might be right under your nose。 You also can't put your life on hold for anyone no matter the circumstances。We get a peek into Ayesha's life and how she has taken on the weight of being there for her mother after all of the tragedy in her family。 Her mother didn't expect this of her， and I think Ayesha has some resentment on what she has given up or put on hold to be there for her mother。 But lurking in the past is a relationship with her brother's best This is a cute short story about love just might be right under your nose。 You also can't put your life on hold for anyone no matter the circumstances。We get a peek into Ayesha's life and how she has taken on the weight of being there for her mother after all of the tragedy in her family。 Her mother didn't expect this of her， and I think Ayesha has some resentment on what she has given up or put on hold to be there for her mother。 But lurking in the past is a relationship with her brother's best friend， Emmitt。 I think the guilt of losing her brother made her end the relationship with him， but they both still have feelings for each other。 She hasn't seen him in about 7 years and the wedding of her best friend throws them back together。 They have to have some frank discussions with each other， but is this a new future for them？I was amazed at how well this story was written and that it included so many details， emotions， and depth of character。 I felt like the author packed a lot of detail into these 60+ pages and we are given closure with the ending and nothing is left unresolved。Definitely give this a whirl if you have a spare hour， you won't regret it。We give this book 4 paws up。 。。。more
Preeti
，
It was fine but a little over-dramatic。
JB
，
good story I don’t like to give spoilers on the books that I read。 I believe the blurb on the back is enough for you to decide if you will read the book or not。 If you choose to read， enjoy！
nina
，
3。5starsThank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC。 The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev is a short but cute and heartwarming story。 Dev managed to pack so much emotion， conflict， and growth into 70 pages between multiple characters - not just the main character and her love interest。 I saw little bits of myself， my family， and friends in this story and it made this story more relatable and endearing。 With this being my introduction to Sonali Dev's works， I am most likely to pick up their other 3。5starsThank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC。 The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev is a short but cute and heartwarming story。 Dev managed to pack so much emotion， conflict， and growth into 70 pages between multiple characters - not just the main character and her love interest。 I saw little bits of myself， my family， and friends in this story and it made this story more relatable and endearing。 With this being my introduction to Sonali Dev's works， I am most likely to pick up their other work。 。。。more
Pj Ausdenmore
，
The Wedding Setup took all my short story expectations and tossed them right out the window。 This story is powerful， complex， and soul satisfying， with an incredible depth of emotion。 I inhaled it， then went back to the beginning and read it a second time - slowly - savoring each perfectly placed word， each nuance， each unexpected twist， ache， laugh， tear， and sigh。 It's a culturally rich， emotional journey of grief， lost love， family expectations， second chances， rediscovering one's passion in The Wedding Setup took all my short story expectations and tossed them right out the window。 This story is powerful， complex， and soul satisfying， with an incredible depth of emotion。 I inhaled it， then went back to the beginning and read it a second time - slowly - savoring each perfectly placed word， each nuance， each unexpected twist， ache， laugh， tear， and sigh。 It's a culturally rich， emotional journey of grief， lost love， family expectations， second chances， rediscovering one's passion in life， and love， and， ultimately， making the choice to move forward with joy。 It touched me on so many levels。 Already， I'm eager to lose myself in these characters and their story once again。 Sonali Dev's The Wedding Setup is a quick， standalone read that is nothing short of a master class in how to craft an exquisitely-written， complex， unforgettable short story that packs a powerful punch。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Cristiana
，
I cried :） 5 stars for that
Hena
，