Review: The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev

Ria Parkar is Bollywood's favorite Ice Princess--beautiful, poised, and scandal-proof--until one impulsive act threatens to expose her destructive past. Traveling home to Chicago for her cousin's wedding offers a chance to diffuse the coming media storm and find solace in family, food, and outsized celebrations that are like one of her vibrant movies come to life. But it also means confronting Vikram Jathar.

Ria and Vikram spent childhood summers together, a world away from Ria's exclusive boarding school in Mumbai. Their friendship grew seamlessly into love--until Ria made a shattering decision. As far as Vikram is concerned, Ria sold her soul for stardom and it's taken him years to rebuild his life. But beneath his pent-up anger, their bond remains unchanged. And now, among those who know her best, Ria may find the courage to face the secrets she's been guarding for everyone else's benefit--and a chance to stop acting and start living.

Rich with details of modern Indian-American life, here is a warm, sexy, and witty story of love, family, and the difficult choices that arise in the name of both.

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: September 29th 2015 by Kensington

 

Terri's Thoughts

** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher Kensington via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is September 29th 2015**

I must admit that I have a keen interest in the Indian culture after spending a period of time there a few years back for work.  When I saw this book I thought it would be interesting as it featured a blend of cultures.

This book did not disappoint as the story centered around a traditional Indian wedding celebration.  First of all, is there really that many days that make up a wedding?  and is the actual ceremony over four hours? I remember a co-worker advising me that they needed to take a couple of weeks vacation as it was wedding season and he had two cousins getting married, I didn't think to question it at the time.  I digress.

This book also delivered on the conflicted angst that is the star cross lovers who can not be together for a multitude of reasons that make sense only to the characters.  I liked how the reader catches pieces of the history of Ria and Vikram throughout the story to show us the history of their relationship.  That added to the drama and the tension between the two.

While I have to admit that Ria started to get on my nerves towards the end with her outlook on things it did not ruin the story for me.  I also found that it started to drag on towards the end when it probably could have wrapped up in 20 less pages.  Otherwise no complaints.

Ultimately a good love story with a little bit of culture mixed in!

 

 

About the Author

 

Sonali Dev’s first literary work was a play about mistaken identities performed at her neighborhood Diwali extravaganza in Mumbai. She was eight years old. Despite this early success, Sonali spent the next few decades getting degrees in architecture and written communication, migrating across the globe, and starting a family while writing for magazines and websites. With the advent of her first gray hair her mad love for telling stories returned full force, and she now combines it with her insights into Indian culture to conjure up stories that make a mad tangle with her life as supermom, domestic goddess, and world traveler.

Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband and two teens who demand both patience and humor, and the world’s most perfect dog.

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