The Bollywood Bride

I loved A Bollywood Affair! Sophomore books are frequently not as good as the book that preceded it, but The Bollywood Bride truly satisfies. Rita Parkar, everyone's favorite Ice Princess, is going home for the first time in ten years. Her cousin Nikhil has always had her back and her Aunt and Uncle provided the only safety she has ever known during the summers she spent with them away from boarding school. Ria's mother became severely mentally ill after her pregnancy, just like her mother. Her father cared for her at home and his mother watched Ria. They were isolated from the village leaving her to worry about her granddaughter's future should something happen to her. When she passes her father brings an aunty who tells the young Ria she should never have been allowed to live with her mother's history of mental illness. She lets the child go to the attic where her mother attacks her breaking bones and leaving scars. Her father is heartbroken. He still loves his wife of whom his daughter is a mirror image. He sends her away to boarding school when she leaves the hospital, which feels like a punishment to her. When Ria is upset she loses her words and did not speak vat all for a year after the trauma. Her cousin's cousin comes over and they climb a tree and she finds herself caught up in the force of nature that is Vikram.So begins the next chapter of her life: Ten months in an Indian boarding school, followed by two months of summer days spent with Vikram and Nikhil in Chicago. Her father visits when he can, but the other girls make fun of the strange, rumpled man. She keeps to herself and forms the ice princess mentality that allows her to survive Bollywood. Over time her friendship with Vikram becomes so much more and she is finally going to college a short train ride away. She has been sleeping with Vikram that summer and they plan to Marry when they graduate.Another tragedy befalls her and a promise to her dying father plus Vikram's cruel mother force her to prostitute herself for a starring film roll to pay for an expensive asylum. When Vikram tries to change her mind, she sends him away to live his life without this hanging over him. Ten years later she returns to Chicago to see her beloved Aunt and Uncle and to witness Nikhil's marriage to his fellow surgeon Jennifer. Jennifer was adopted from Asia and never knew her real parents. Her adopted mother died and her father crawled into a bottle leaving her to be brought up in foster care. She loves wholeheartedly and wants to have a traditional ceremony to honor the traditions of the family who have accepted her so warmly. They both are surgeons operating in primitive conditions in Africa and only have a few weeks window bot pull together a big wedding.No one knew what caused shy private Ria to become an actress and leave Vikram. Ria is afraid of seeing Vikram again, but looks forward to seeing her Aunt's circle of friends, the Aunties. Ten years has done nothing to dim the explosive relationship between Ria and Vikey. Vikram has become involved with an artist that Aunty does not approve of. Ria is also running from a possible scandal and blackmail. Combine those with a big wedding to pull off in a short time period and Vikram's motherboard and you have a pressure cooker that is sure to blow.What I liked: I love Bollywood Movies! The respect for parents, the musical numbers and the HEA. If you have never seen one, start by Netflixing Bride and Prejudice. Some may think she is overly angsty, but everyone who has ever had to hide their family's dysfunction from the world can sympathize with Ria. Having been told she should never have been born by a society that does not always value women, Ria tries to control every aspect of her life until she too descends into madness.Vikram is almost too perfect. Yet he falls apart the first time he loses something. He may not have had the whole story, but he should have known Ria better than he did.Settle in and become involved in The Bollywood Bride...No present necessary.

“Vikram was smiling. The last time she’d seen him he had looked like he would never smile again. She had looked into his eyes and watched him break, watched the gray-blue crystals shatter to bits. He was smiling.”FINAL DECISION: Dark and emotional but ultimately uplifting, THE BOLLYWOOD BRIDE is darker in tone than Dev’s first book but infused with the same wonderful characterizations and sense of community and ultimately joy in life. Not an easy read, but a worthwhile one.THE STORY: Ria Parker had loved Vitram Jathar when they were children. She knew, however, that they had no future and so she betrayed him and broke his heart. Ten years later, Ria is a successful Bollywood actress known as the Ice Princess because she doesn’t let anyone close. Her career has been scandal free until a paparazzi gets too close to her dark past. Returning to Chicago to attend a family wedding, Ria comes face to face with Vitram again. She knows that their being apart is best for Vitram but Ria can’t help but love the boy of her childhood and the man who hates her now.OPINION: This book is sad and yet there is ultimately acceptance and hope. Ria is haunted by her family’s history and as a result has decided to spent her life alone. A casualty of that decision is Vitram. The two were childhood friends and young lovers together until Ria’s destiny tore them apart. I enjoyed the complexity of Ria. I didn’t like nor could I condone many of her decisions, but I certainly understood them. It is a special book that allows the reader to disagree with the character but comprehend their motivations. I liked Ria because she is an incredibly strong woman. She has dealt with so much in her life and tries to do her best.Vitram is adorable. Strong and dedicated and yet gentle with those he loves, he makes a journey in this book. From anger, disappointment and hate, he opens himself up through forgiveness. Even before he understands Ria’s motivations, he forgives her.Ria and Vitram have a serious and emotional chemistry from the moment they meet. They have no blinding moment of falling in love. The two have always loved one another – first as friends and then as lovers. The anger and pain that these two experience makes this a book that I had to read in bites and put down. The story is complicated and heartbreaking at times.Dev has a distinctive voice. Her characters are immersed in their community and family. Readers of THE BOLLYWOOD AFFAIR will find this book darker and initially bleaker than that book. The story contemplates issues of destiny, identity, and family but always focuses on the characters. The desire to separate from one’s history, yet the inexorable pull back into the past is finally resolved when the characters accept the possibility of future pain but choose to be hopeful about the future.I enjoyed this book and recommend it especially because of Dev’s strong, complex characters and unique view into Indian-American culture. My only downgrade of the book is because I wish that Vitram’s voice was more present. He is incredibly forgiving considering Ria’s actions and it would have been nice to understand more what was in his mind.WORTH MENTIONING: Spoilers! This novel deals with mental illness is a realistic and painful manner.CONNECTED BOOKS: THE BOLLYWOOD BRIDE is a standalone.STAR RATING: I give this book 4.25 stars.NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to provide a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

So soulful. The characters are so real. I could not put this book down. Can't wait to read more from this author,

Okay, first of all, the story - Ria Parkar is a film star who has come home for her cousin's wedding. She runs into the boy she hurt when she went away (Vikram). There are dark things in her past and she is convinced that being with her would damage Vikram in the long run. There is much angst.This is basically the story of what it's like to be the daughter of the madwoman in the attic. It handles dark themes about society's attitude (especial South East Asian society's attitude) to mental illness. It's set against a colourful Bollywood style party.That's the story. The other aspect I liked about this book is that this is a regular romance story, only the characters happen to be mostly Asian. There was no overt fetishisation of the culture or how crap things are to be not-white. These were normal people, at a party. All the angst came from Ria's secret and how it tore her and the people she loved apart. THIS is what diversity is about. People doing normal-for-them things where the conflict isn't about ethnicity/ability/sexuality/whatever.I really loved the scene where she takes her cousin to buy his wedding outfit and he's HORRIFIED at all the embroidery work. His (non-Indian) fiance is really keen for him to do this the proper Indian way, otherwise he wouldn't be seen in something so elaborate. This made me laugh because, well, it rings true. My cousins who grew up in the west would feel the same.I also loved the portrayal of the aunties, the elaborate party and the descriptions of the food. Excuse me now, I need to go find something spicy to eat.I received a free copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Sonali Dev is an instant buy author. Her writing is superb, her plots complex and passionate.I especially love the descriptions of food! I have a special bookshelf for all my beautiful Sonali Dev books!

Full of color and food, and clothing and the bustle of a large family and friends, this was kind of how I would expect an Indian wedding and its preparation would be, but you know with more singing... because I am relying on movies for my information. ;) The author is fabulous at making the space feel full and loud, colorful, and fun! A wonderful ability, that not many authors can do. I really enjoyed that aspect of this story.But the romance side of the story, I had a harder time buying.Ria has made her career into a success but it’s a life that is paralyzed with the fear of mental illness and becoming like her mother, pushing her loved ones away and losing love because of her choices. This contrasted strongly against the backdrop of a wedding full of happiness, and of people who are unafraid to live. This was so well done it could have been in itself enough of a story, with her realization of how constrained she’s let her life become and the journey back, without the add-on troubles of everything else.It was a good start but Ria and Vikram became just like every other romance couple, and the tropes followed along. Mothers interfering, secrets, slandering, the piled on roadblocks of their second chance at love, started feeling excessive and began to lessen the import of their relationship.It does make this hard to rate, because it had some excellent moments, enough that I would check out other stories from the author, and it was nice to have a little peek at Indian culture. But it did lean into the ‘too many hurdles zone’, dragging out the ending more than required so that everything could be tied up into a neat little bow.3.5 for this one.c/p from my goodreads

Read it after hearing some great reviews of the author's first book. The present one is an ok read for a leisurely afternoon. Don't expect much on Bollywood as there is really nothing about Bollywood in the book. This one is more of the struggles, aspirations and resolved fightback of a starlet with a not so pleasant childhood with nightmarish memories. How she overcomes her negative thoughts with the help of her paramour who loves her passionately forms the gist of the novel. Go for it if you like mushy romances.

I kind of liked d book... u it's very expensive. .. would like d author to cut down d price... in fact her new book which is coming out in September is also quite expensive.. saved it on my wishlist n wait for d book to come down in price. ..