KIRTHANA RAMISETTI
Kirthana Ramisetti is the author of Dava Shastri’s Last Day, a Good Morning America Book Club pick that has been optioned for television by HBO Max. Longlisted for the 2021 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, it was also an Indie Next Pick, a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick and an Amazon Editors Pick. Her second novel, Advika and the Hollywood Wives, was selected for Book of the Month and named one of the Best Books of the Month by Apple Books. Praised by Mira Jacob as “pure delight,” the novel has also been selected as one of The Best 30 Books of 2023 by Cosmopolitan magazine. A former entertainment news reporter, her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Elle, Salon and more.
ADVIKA AND THE HOLLYWOOD WIVES
Grand Central/Hachette, 2023
*A Cosmopolitan Best Book of the Year
*A Book of the Month Club Pick
*An Apple Best Book of the Month
A page-turning tale of marriage, scandal, and fame, perfect for readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid: “The glitz and underlying darkness of Hollywood make for a setting as complex and compelling as Ramisetti’s characters . . . rings with insight—and with heart” (Meena Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
At age 26, Advika Srinivasan considers herself a failed screenwriter. To pay the bills and keep her mind off of the recent death of her twin sister, she’s taken to bartending A-list events, including the 2015 Governors Ball, the official afterparty of the Oscars. There, in a cinematic dream come true, she meets the legendary Julian Zelding—a film producer as handsome as Paul Newman and ten times as powerful—fresh off his fifth best picture win. Despite their 41-year age difference, Advika falls helplessly under his spell, and their evening flirtation ignites into a whirlwind courtship and elopement. Advika is enthralled by Julian’s charm and luxurious lifestyle, but while Julian loves to talk about his famous friends and achievements, he smoothly changes the subject whenever his previous relationships come up. Then, a month into their marriage, Julian’s first wife—the famous actress Evie Lockhart—dies, and a tabloid reports a shocking stipulation in her will. A single film reel and $1,000,000 will be bequeathed to “Julian’s latest child bride” on one condition: Advika must divorce him first.
Shaken out of her love fog and still-simmering grief over the loss of her sister—and uneasy about Julian’s sudden, inexplicable urge to start a family—Advika decides to investigate him through the eyes and experiences of his exes. From reading his first wife’s biography, to listening to his second wife’s confessional albums, to watching his third wife’s Real Housewives-esque reality show, Advika starts to realize how little she knows about her husband. Realizing she rushed into the marriage for all the wrong reasons, Advika uses the info gleaned from the lives of her husband’s exes to concoct a plan to extricate herself from Julian once and for all.
Ramisetti excels at holding back just enough to keep you furiously turning the pages looking for answers in this mystery-meets-romance. — BuzzFeed
I could not put this book down. Advika is the kind of heroine we’ve all been waiting for: readers will laugh with her and cheer her on as she opens our eyes to the truths of grief and sisterhood, of friendship and love, of ambition and fame. Kirthana Ramisetti has a rare gift for penning page-turners full of wisdom, nuance, and depth, and I know I am not alone in saying that I will read any book she writes. — Qian Julie Wang, NY-Times bestselling author of Beautiful Country
“Nails the Hollywood milieu and offers an incisive portrait of Julian, a powerful man who feels compelled to control the women in his life. This is a winner.”―Publishers Weekly
“Part love story, part thriller, this novel will appeal to fans of Hollywood and May-December romance.”―Kirkus
“A compelling portrait of a young woman fighting erasure, learning to accept help from her friends, and coming into her own.”―Booklist
“A disturbing twist on the classic Cinderella tale . . . Juicy, propulsive and insightful.”―Parade magazine
DAVA SHASTRI'S LAST DAY
Grand Central/Hachette, 2021
*Series In Development with HBO MAX
*A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
*B&N Paperback Selection of the Month
*MOST ANTICIPATED IN FALL 2021 by TIME, The Washington Post, Bustle, Goodreads, and Debutiful
*An IndieNext Selection
*Long-listed for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize
*A Publishers Lunch Buzz Book 2021
*A Publishers Weekly Notable Book for Fall 2021
In this thought-provoking and entertaining debut novel about of a multicultural family, a dying billionaire matriarch leaks news of her death early so she can examine her legacy—a decision that horrifies her children and inadvertently exposes secrets she has spent a lifetime keeping.
Dava Shastri, one of the world’s wealthiest women, has always lived with her sterling reputation in mind. A brain cancer diagnosis at the age of seventy, however, changes everything, as she decides to take her death—like all matters of her life—into her own hands.
Summoning her four adult children to her private island, she discloses shocking news: in addition to having a terminal illness, she has arranged for the news of her death to break early, so she can read her obituaries.
As someone who dedicated her life to the arts and the empowerment of women, Dava expects to read articles lauding her philanthropic work. Instead, her “death” reveals two devastating secrets, truths she thought she had buried forever.
And now the whole world knows, including her children.
In the time she has left, Dava must come to terms with the decisions that have led to this moment—and make peace with those closest to her before it’s too late. Compassionately written and chock-full of humor and heart, this powerful novel examines public versus private legacy, the complexities of love, and the never-ending joys—and frustrations—of family.
“A rich portrait of a family facing their powerful matriarch’s death, Dava Shastri’s Last Day is full of music, magnetism, and familial obligation. If Succession were about a multicultural family who actually loved each other, it might look like this.”―Emma Straub, Author of All Adults Here
“Ramisetti draws nuanced characters who are introspective and entertaining.”―Kirkus
