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Leave and Come Back

by Lavanya Lakshmi

A wedding reunion complicates a new romance

Critically Recognized
Regular price $26.17 USD
Regular price $43.62 USD Sale price $26.17 USD
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Print BookAvailable Hardcover $24.93 USD$41.55 USD
Print BookCurrently viewing Paperback $26.17 USD$43.62 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Editorial selection

    A Most Anticipated Book of Summer — Electric Lit

    Named a Most Anticipated Book of Summer by Electric Lit.

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Kirkus

    Kirkus describes the book as a “warm, witty comedy of manners in which family members matter as much as the marr...

AlbakiReads Editorial

A wedding reunion complicates a new romance

Simran Gopal’s return to her family home for a two-week Indian wedding brings her new relationship into collision with family expectations. When her boyfriend Leo accidentally appears at the engagement party, Simran and her cousins devise a plan inspired by a favorite Bollywood film to win over her formidable aunt—while keeping Leo’s connection to Simran under wraps. The wedding’s comic complications sit alongside Simran’s unresolved grief after her parents’ deaths and the family grievances and secrets stirred up by her return. The story connects romance with questions of belonging, family ties, and how the past shapes the possibility of moving forward.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in romance intertwined with family drama.
  • Readers who enjoy wedding-centered stories and Bollywood references.
  • Readers seeking fiction that explores grief, family relationships, and cultural identity.

Themes

Romance and family expectationsGrief and healingFamily belonging and identityHonoring the past while embracing the present

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

**A Most Anticipated Book of Summer by Electric Lit, SheReads and The Modern Mrs. Darcy

"Prepare to be dazzled" (BookPage) when family drama meets love story in this tender, "warm, witty comedy of manners in which family members matter as much as the marriage plot." (Kirkus)

"A five star read for me." --Annabel Monaghan, New York Times bestselling author of Dolly All The Time


You're invited to the most romantic, chaotic wedding of the season

For the first time, Simran Gopal is living out her own swoon-worthy romance to rival the beloved Bollywood films of her childhood... until she receives her cousin's wedding invitation. Now, Simran finds herself returning to the family home she's been avoiding for the last seven years to take part in a two-week long Indian wedding.

Family drama is already at a high when Leo Bridgers, Simran's new boyfriend, accidentally crashes the engagement party. To avoid full crisis mode and provoking the ire of Veena perima, Simran's aunt and judgmental family matriarch, the cousins need to rally. Commence: Operation DDLJ.

Following the lead of their favorite Bollywood movie, they need to trick Veena into adoring Leo. In a mess of misdirection and hijinks, Leo must prove himself to be the most charming, helpful wedding guest imaginable, and he certainly can't give away that he's ever met--let alone is currently in love with--Simran.

For Simran, being back with her family also brings up memories of the difficult years after her parents died. As old grievances and new secrets arise--with nosy aunties always watching--Simran must find a way to heal her wounds or risk losing her happy ending with Leo and her family.

Charming, tender, and hilarious, Leave and Come Back asks what it means to open up to love, what makes a family, and how to honor the past while embracing the present.
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Customer reviews

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AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.