Reviewed by Stephanie Chapman for Readers' Favorite

Mahiraj Jadeja’s A Lovely Paradox is a romance of epic proportions, narrated from Raj’s perspective, who rebelled against his upbringing. His mother gave her blessing to his decision to travel to America, but his father was against it. Raj’s father was a spiritual and religious man. However, Raj was materialistic and was determined to meet Bella. His father disowned him since he had sold his land, and felt that Raj was running after pleasure. Raj arrives in Los Angeles and gets a job at a fashion magazine. They house him in a cabin on the beach. Using Facebook, he messages Bella and sets up a meeting. As time passes, Bella and Raj become intimate. Bella asks Raj about his upbringing, and after hearing about his Hindu values, she feels she has led him astray. To prove that she hasn’t, Raj proposes to her.

I liked A Lovely Paradox’s format. At the end of every chapter, Raj writes about a lesson he has learned. One such lesson was “losing oneself with your love is the most gratifying thing for a man,” after he lost his virginity to Bella. Mahiraj Jadeja created Raj as an innocent and naïve character who had no experience in relationships. The cultural differences between the United States and India were highlighted by his actions and were a lesson that Raj ended up learning. I admired Raj’s honesty because he never lied, even when there was something he felt ashamed of. This is a quick read novella and would be suitable for readers who enjoy whirlwind romances that are unpredictable.