Women's fiction with Sri Lankan protagonists? I am 100% in the target demographic for this book. It's always nice to see people who look like me in a popular book.
The story follows the lives of Tania, her mother Helen and Tania's best friend, Priya as they learn to love and discover their sexualities later in life.
Tania is recently divorced and finding her feet again. She's even gone back to work. But she can't just slip back into the life she gave up when she got married and had kids. The world has changed and she feel old and out of place in it. Until she rediscovers her passion for dancing.
Helen is widowed and she's blossoming.
Priya is in her forties, long divorced and generally a hot mess. She's always been ambitious and she's just been passed over for a promotion that she knew she deserved.
The women each try to find their own way in this changed world. I enjoyed reading about the ups and downs of trying to get back into work, or learning to love again when you're older. I also enjoyed the dynamics between the generations - especially the way the roles reversed between mother and daughter.
The descriptions of the food made me so hungry!
I look forward to reading more from this author.
I received an advance review copy through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is an amazing book, a beautiful story about relationships (mothers and daughters) love and finding your true self, about learning to follow your own heart, your instincts and fighting against expectations, whether cultural, religious or even from your own. This multi-generational story looks at love in all it’s aspects from romantic love to family, friends I loved the fact as the women grew, they realised their strength and the confidence they held within abd were able to be the women they wanted and were meant to be. And that ending, fabulous and I loved how Collins weaved the stories together. A beautiful, inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable book, one I highly recommend

Three women, two in their 40s, one in their 60s, two best friends and the mum of one of them, all negotiating turning points in their lives. It was nice to see a book centring around women in their middle years.

This debut by Ronali Collings is absolutely outstanding. I devoured it as fast as I could because I just did not want to put it down.

The chapters are written from the points of view of the three main characters, Helen, Tania and Priya. Their characters are so multi-dimensional I really felt like I knew them personally. I loved the way they interacted with one another even when shocking events were revealed from the past, that rocked their beliefs.

All three women were stronger and more confident than they actually believed themselves. In each of their lives they were restricted by cultural, religious or societal limitations that forced them to follow paths that didn’t allow them to be true to themselves. I loved the way in which they were able to face up to the restrictions that were forced upon them by others (and their own insecurities), and face them down in a way that gave them the confidence to be the women they were always meant to be.

I felt this book was beautifully representative, heart-warming and filled to the brim with love and hope.

Compulsively readable, 'Love & Other Dramas' is a stunning debut from Ronali Collings. It's a book about second chances and starting over - with the immeasurable benefit of knowledge and experience. Collings explores the many roles of a woman, the relationships she cultivates and how all of this weaves together to create a life. The insight into Sri Lankan culture was wonderful. I was also interested in how different cultures compliment one another, and sometimes collide. I found it incredibly encouraging to see middle-aged women not only represented in fiction, but depicted as vibrant and thriving. Ronali Collings is an inspiration, as illustrated in her Author's Note at the end. I absolutely adored this book and highly recommend it!

What an absolute gem of a read! The book is multigenerational in aspect, delving into the lives of three amazing women: the recently divorced Tania, who is trying to find her place and voice once again in the world and nervously rejoins the workplace at 44years after being a stay at home mum. Then, there is her recently widowed mum Helen, who insists that Tania joins her soirées and interfers in a loving , if not a little overbearing way in all her daughters affairs. Mum and all the aunties know best! Lastly, we are immersed into the tumultuous world of Tania's best friend and ride-or-die Priya, who is re-adjusting after the 'incident ' at work. The easy conversational tone made me feel like I was instantly in the midst of these women's lives, as they navigate new beginnings, difficulties, family and friendship. This in an hilariously witty story, whilst also dealing with tough issues and powerful emotions. Three strong women are at the core carving their way in the world. So beautifully and sensitively written. An absolute beauty to read. #loveandotherdramas #ronalicollings #netgalley #embla

Drawn towards the beautiful cover art and the premise of three distinct generational women, I was looking forward to Love & Other Dramas. This read was EVERYTHING and so much more. Coming from an identical ethnic background to Tania, Helen and Priya, I could relate to this read on multiple levels! Ronali Collings delivers a powerful and empathetic narration that explores various issues. What it means to break through societal expectations, reclaim identity, find a voice, and explore family dynamics and relationships form the book's central plot. I truly appreciated how the author gives sufficient backstories to each character, enabling readers to understand their traits and actions. It was genuinely refreshing to see characters who do not fall prey to stereotypes. The ending tied in beautifully, and the three ladies lingered in my thoughts for a few days. The author's note oozed authenticity and was beautifully written—a 4.5-star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

A wonderful read a book centered on friendship on mature women.their lives.I was totally drawn in from first page to last,Sowell written so involving will be recommending the novel and the author.#netgalley #emblabooks

Loved this so much! Such a beautiful, captivating book. The writing of each character was so full of life and intensity.

I've been hearing things about this book, and knowing it was about someone from an ethnic background with similarities to mine, I was excited to read.
Love & Other Dramas is aa story centred around three women, who have lost their own identities, as they try to conform to the expectations of their societies.
Helen, an older Sri Lankan widow, living in Ealing, her daughter, Tania, a 40-something divorcee, and mother of two adult children, stuck in a rut, and in danger of falling back into familiar, thought unsuitable arms, and Priya, Tania's Gujarati best friend, a high-flying career woman, with a divorce under her belt, and no sign of settling down, much to the chagrin of her family.
All three of these women are living half lives as they battle with their inner selves, unable to be who they really want to be, because their cultures expect something so very different.
Helen is a woman who wants to live a little, but her Catholic upbringing, and the views of her peers, mean that she needs to be seen as the grieving widow by them all, despite many reasons why she should be feeling free, now.
Tania has lost all confidence in herself, after changing everything to suit the wants and needs of her husband, who thanked her by cheating.
Priya knows she is the disappointment in her family, but can't help herself, as she flits from one one-night stand, to another, until someone unattainable in her eyes, comes along.
Goodness. I read this book so fast, and was able to relate so hard to a lot of the situations, in terms of understanding the difficulties all three women faced, as they finally became open to finding their true selves, and not shying away in front of the rest of the world.
It was a truly wonderful read, and I am glad that Ronali Collings was able to find the time to finally write her first book, and represent voices of brown women who are only just really finding books about people like them, now, in the last few years, that are day to day stories, not stereotypical cameos in other books.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Emblaa Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this multi-generational story about mother-daughters, friendship, love, and finding yourself. The three stories in this book had all I wanted: love, relationships, career, taking risks on themselves. Collings does a beautiful job of exploring what it means to follow your own heart and instincts to find yourself on your own without relying on others to get us there, which is ultimately what we all must do find our true selves. I rooted for each of them separately and together.

Love & Other Dramas by Ronali Collings has written an absolute amazing debut novel!

Such amazing writing… I loved everything about this book…
The writing was fabulous. And pulled me in instantly and kept ahold of me till the very end!
Loved the characters, each with a unique problem that was completely relatable. I found myself cheering them on.
These ladies just pulled me into their amazing group of love and friendship making me feel like I belonged there with them. Never before have I felt like I was part of a story until this book.
These three ladies dealing with everyday life, love, friendship and family! Are juggling it all! I loved reading their story and walking the journey with them. It was delightful.

Rating: ❤

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Embla Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

What a stunning novel with such visceral writing and emotions. I really felt like I knew the three women by the end of novel. I felt all their highs and lows and was sad when it came to an end. I could definitely see this on the screen as I was playing images in my mind so easily as I raced through the pages. A brilliant debut from a super talented writer!

This is a beautifully woven tale of three women and their lives. Theres career and relationship drama a-plenty, but what I liked most was the issues that this brought to the fore. They arent perfect, they make mistakes, they acknowledge that and try and do better.
There's some good cultural storylines here- love to see diversity in books and this more than ticks that box.

Excellent storytelling and very engaging.

Here we take a peek into the lives of three women of Sri Lankan descent, finding their way in world where they must wear multiple versions of themselves to fit in with everybody’s expectations, while losing the woman they really are. A story of second chances, recovery from disaster, love and friendship, this is a warm and gentle read that won’t challenge you, but doesn’t disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback. The first half I found slow, the pace picked up in the 2nd half. It ended stronger. I found it a quick easy read.

Raced through this one. The characters were so well drawn and I loved following the thread of their relationships. Great to see a book centring on women in their mid life too. Really enjoyed this book full warmth and wit.

About a quarter of the way through this book I found myself in a dilemma. Which of the main characters was I rooting for the most? In the end, I decided it was all three.
There’s highflying Priya, whose temper has got her in trouble at work, but at least she has her best friend since childhood to call up whenever she needs to – until she doesn’t. Then there’s Tania, returning to work after a messy divorce. Except it’s a far from a clean break. And there’s Helen, Tania’s mum, who I loved so much – despite the fact she annoys her daughter so much during one mealtime, ‘Tania wanted to stab herself in the eye with a fork’ (yes, it’s funny in parts too).
Helen is widowed but so used to being ‘plagued by the sense of duty and responsibility’ that she’s forgotten how to live for herself. Plus, when she does decide to live a little, there’s some good old-fashioned Catholic guilt waiting in the wings. So, actually, by the end I confess I was rooting for Helen the most. She so deserves a second chance at happiness.
The bonds and interactions between the women are brilliantly observed, as are their individual struggles to forge new futures for themselves, while negotiating secrets, betrayals, family obligations and self doubt.
This is a saga in the very best tradition that explores love in all its forms, from romantic love to familial bonds and female friendship and I was swept along on these three women’s journeys. A sequel is in order, surely, Ronali Collings?

In some ways I enjoyed this book and in others I struggled. I think the characters had a good level of developement and I thought the story was good but I found the flow of the story and the pacing just didnt work for me

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Embla Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I had a difficult time getting into this one. I couldn’t find the rhythm of the characters or story.