The Bollywood Bride (Bollywood #2)

Ria only knows a life of pain. Oh, shes had flashes of joy, but the bulk of her life has been lived in silence. From a mom who slowly lost her mind after her birth, to a father that doesnt know what to do to keep his daughter safe, Ria has had to grow up faster than most. But her one bright spot is spending every summer with her aunt and her family in Chicago. Its there that she experiences what a mothers love looks like and its there that she meets Vikram- the boy that makes her want to speak. Vikram is the only son of a family of brilliance. His Indian lineage is filled with well known inventors, entrepreneurs and scientists. He also spends his summers in Chicago and slowly pulls Ria out of her bubble. Summer after summer they meet and laugh and have fun and soak up the normalcy of family. But slowly Ria and Vikram become more and there are those that arent happy about it. In an effort to save Vikram from a life with her, one Ria believes will be filled with nothing but heartache, she returns to India with the plans to stay. Shell cut him out of her life forever so he can have a normal life. Things, as you can imagine, dont turn out as expected. 10 years pass and Rias favorite cousin is getting married. Ria, now a famous Bollywood film star, has not been back to Chicago since she left everyone behind. Can she return and keep her emotions in check? What will happen when she sees Vikram again? This story tears you down, builds you back up and then tears you down again. Its an emotional roller coaster but goodness if its isnt beautifully written. You cant help but root for Ria, even when shes making questionable choices, because you know its coming from a good and honest place. And Vikram has the patience of a saint. To see them together is to know that they were meant to be. Read this book. Enjoy and savor it.

I adore this book. Sonali Dev is a master and a new favourite writer for me. I bend down and kiss your feet. Your skill with words is awesome and humbling. I highlighted inspiring and moving passages and entire paragraphs over and over. Every once in a while an author creates a hero that I fall utterly and hopelessly in love be with. Vikram is one of these. Ria is a heroine so completely human and sympathetic despite her flaws, I could only hang on page after page hoping for the HEA that, thankfully, I knew was eventually coming. Difficult and realistic subjects around mental health, trauma, self esteem and emotional suffering are handled deftly, sympathetically and honestly without ever weighing down what is ultimately a joyful and uplifting story of love. The world around these two lovable protagonists is populated by a believable and endearing supporting cast that doubled the enjoyment. A tour de force. Thankyou for writing this brilliant book.

This story, the first of three sequential novels, tells the complicated story of Ria and Vikram. Ria and Vikram were destined to be together, but ten years ago a chain of events led Ria to break off with Vikram and return to India, where she became a famous Bollywood star. Ria returns to America for the marriage of Nikhil and Jen, and Vikram pursues Ria, not understanding why she broke up with him years ago. Amidst secrets, insanity, heartbreak, and family dynamics (both good and bad), Ria and Vikram find their way back to each other. I learned a lot about Indian and Indian-American culture through this book, and also the universal values of family ties and love shine through. (and I loved the characters of Uma and the aunties posse)

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.

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.

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