The Vibrant Years — Books, Beauty, & Buys

By: Sonali Dev
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Mindy’s Book Studio
Pages: 316

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When sixty-five-year-old Bindu Desai inherits a million dollars, she’s astounded―and horrified. The windfall threatens to expose a shameful mistake from her youth. On an impulse, Bindu quickly spends it on something unexpected: a condo in a posh retirement community in Florida.

The impulsive decision blindsides Bindu’s daughter-in-law, Aly. At forty-seven, Aly still shares a home with Bindu even after her divorce from Bindu’s son. But maybe this change is just the push Aly needs to fight for her own dreams.

As Bindu and Aly navigate their new dynamic, Aly’s daughter, Cullie, is faced with losing the business that made her a tech-world star. The only way to save it is to deliver a new idea to her investors―and they want the dating app she pitched them in a panic. Problem is, Cullie has never been on a real date. Naturally, enlisting her single mother and grandmother to help her with the research is the answer.

From USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev comes a heartfelt novel about three generations of hilarious, unconventional, ambitious women who embark on a shared journey of self-discovery. Join the Desai women as they come together to embrace the hijinks and heartbreak of facing their greatest fears to finally live their most vibrant lives.

First Impressions

I was offered to read this book as the first in Mindy Kaling’s new imprint with Amazon, Mindy’s Book Studio. I absolutely love Mindy Kaling and think she is doing great things to highlight diverse authors. The cover for this book caught my eye. It was very cute. The summary I was a bit iffy on. I find multi-generational stories can be a bit hit or miss sometimes.

What I thought

Well, this multi-generational story was not a miss.

Bindu is 65 years old and just moved into a retirement community. Before moving, she lived with her ex-daughter-in-law Aly. Aly’s daughter Cullie lives across the country in California. This story follows all three women as they work to discover their love lives as well as themselves.

Each chapter alternates between each of the women and follows their current trials and tribulations. Bindu was left a million dollars from a person in her past who she has always kept a secret. Now that she’s decided to use the money, she’s worried that her secret is going to come out. I found that the “secret” wasn’t much of a secret to the reader. Each chapter starts with a snipped from Oscar’s journal, so it’s pretty clear early on what Bindu has been trying to hide. I did, however, really enjoy how it influenced Bindu’s life journey and her self-discovery in her later years. It was enjoyable to read about Bindu living her life.

Aly’s story was probably the least interesting to me. She was married to Bindu’s son until a few years ago. When they got divorced, Bindu stayed with Aly and lived with her. They have a very close relationship and I enjoyed reading it, since I don’t think I’ve read a story with one similar to theirs before. Aly by herself got on my nerves. I felt like she complained the whole book about things she could’ve changed but just chose not to.

Cullie’s storyline was interesting as well. I enjoyed reading about a young woman in coding and app development. She’s smart and unapologetic about her talent. I also enjoyed how some of her mental health was tied into her storyline. I didn’t love her app storyline though. In trying to come up with a new app for her company, she decides to create a new dating app. This just felt a little played out and I think it ended up getting lost in all of the other storylines. I would’ve appreciated if she could’ve been working on something a little more significant than a dating app.