Better Catch Up, Krishna Kumar

Anahita Karthik

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• eBook ISBN:
  9780063341166
• Year: 2026

"Come for the road trip of a lifetime. Stay for the kissing!”— Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries series

Buckle up for a wild ride with this cheeky and charming rom-com where one girl’s quest across India to seal her first kiss turns into finding first love in the most unexpected places. Perfect for fans of Axie Oh and Jenny Han!

Krishna Kumar may have gotten into her dream college, but that doesn’t mean she’s stopped being a bi disaster. Even after spending her whole summer in India flirting with her gorgeous neighbor Amrit, she has nothing to show for it. And now, her fate is sealed: she’s destined to be the only freshman who’s never been kissed.

But when her flight home is delayed right as a distinctly flirty text from Amrit lights up her phone, Krishna is determined to seize her last chance at a perfect first kiss with Amrit, even if it means asking her cousin-turned-nemesis, Priti, for help. Because Amrit is miles away at a family wedding—and Priti’s best friend, Rudra Desai, is the only one with a car.

The unlikely trio set off on a road trip to crash a wedding and save Krishna’s summer. But as she starts to fall for the quiet yet irresistibly hot and charming Rudra, who everyone knows is unrequitedly in love with Priti, Krishna realizes her heart better catch up to her head before she skips right past her first kiss and falls directly into her first heartbreak.

• Chasing a First Kiss, Catching Real Feelings: Krishna’s racing across India for one perfect kiss with her crush—and falling hard for the wrong (right?) guy.
• Unrequited Feelings, Double the Chaos: Everyone knows Rudra is unrequitedly in love with her cousin, so why can’t Krishna stop herself from falling for him?
• Road Trip Rule #1: Don’t Fall for the Driver: Guess which rule Krishna breaks first?

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Contents
• 1: Liquid Courage? More Like Liquid Embarrassment
• 2: Mornings Are the Bane of My Existence
• 3: The Price of a Kiss These Days Is My Ego, Apparently
• 4: Keep Calm and Give Your Enemies a Chumti
• 5: I Have the Most Basic Indian Bitch Name Ever
• 6: Why Would Anyone Name Their Bluetooth Jimi Hendrix’s Groupie?
• 7: The Internet Has Seriously Corrupted Our Generation
• 8: Is a Road Trip Even Complete Without Two People Fighting for the Good Seat?
• 9: Asexual People Are Excellent at Doling Out Romantic Advice—or So They Claim
• 10: Call 911—This Jain Boy Eats Meat!
• 11: I’m Not Ashamed to Admit Kal Ho Naa Ho Makes Me Cry Like a Little Bitch
• 12: There Will Never Be a Good Place or Time to Burp (Or Barf) in Front of Your Crush
• 13: Not Arguing with a Boy Who Has Dark-Brown Eyes and Long Lashes—Whatever You Say, Baby Girl
• 14: Let’s See How Much I Can Get Away With by Using My (Many) Achievements as Excuses
• 15: Damn, I’m Not Giving Main Character After All—Priti Is
• 16: Gujju Boys Will Kill You If You Interrupt Their Bhai Fest—Unless You’re Pretty (Or Priti. See What I Did There?)
• 17: I Can’t Fucking Do This
• 18: If I Can Make It Up This Mountain with an Unhooked Bra and Butchered Confidence, What Makes You Think You Can’t?
• 19: Sometimes a Girlie Just Wants Someone to Profess Their Love for Her the Way SRK Did in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
• 20: That Rainbow Shirt at Target Is Definitely Turning Your Kids Gay—and You Didn’t Hear It from Me
• 21: In Today’s Therapy Session, Let’s Evaluate Why You Love Hypothesizing About Other People’s Lives, Krishna. Shall We?
• 22: My Ego Is Literally Going to Get Me Killed One Day (And That Day Might Be Today)
• 23: This Could Very Well Turn into a Live Manifestation of Manjummel Boys
• 24: Class, Today We’re Covering Flirting 101—and Point One Just So Happens to Be “Don’t Fucking Act Like Krishna Kumar”
• 25: My Duty as a Passenger Princess Is to Promptly Fall Asleep for the Whole Ride
• 26: The Emotional Whiplash of Crying One Moment and Being Horny the Next
• 27: Seriously, in Public?
• 28: I’m Assuming Boys Who Have a Boner Can’t Run with Said Boner
• 29: There’s Only One Bed (Or Sofa Bed, in This Case)
• 30: Better to Crash a Wedding Late Than Never
• 31: If You’re a Heartbroken Goth Lesbian, Muse Is Tailor-Made for You
• 32: Ohhhhhhhh
• 33: The Universe Sure Does Love to Send Me Signs
• 34: If He Calls Me Sunflower One More Time, I’m Going to Kiss Him
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Praise for Better Catch Up, Krishna Kumar
• Copyright
• About the Publisher