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ac_rva's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
amberinpieces's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
abeckreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lassarina's review
4.0
If you're looking for intense emotional drama, second-chance romance, so much food porn and clothing porn, delicious sexy scenes, and a look into Indian-American culture, this book is for you.
Unlike many romance novels, this is told solely from Ria's point of view (without being first-person), which leaves us with only Vikram's actions and words to judge him by. Unfortunately, for the first half of the book, that judgment comes up as you're a raging douchenozzle. He makes a point of hurting Ria's feelings, he's cold and harsh and vicious towards her. Granted, he has cause; because of her, he's been physically assaulted and she definitely broke his heart in an especially epic way.
This book focuses not just on Ria and Vikram's relationship, though that would provide plenty of drama in and of itself, but also amid the breakneck pace of preparing for a full, traditional Indian wedding. We get tons of loving detail about the food (oh, the food, I was hungry for most of this book) and the clothes, and everything is a whirl of glorious color and shape and scent and sound. The book is set near Chicago, and so many of the little details ring true--I'm not specifically familiar with the Indian-American community here beyond a few friends, but the setting reads right to me.
There are lots of beautiful little context details about the cultural notes so that someone not familiar with Bollywood or Indian-American communities isn't lost; usually not direct translation, but enough context to bring understanding.
The book is doing a lot of heavy lifting around mental illness and how it impacts Ria's life and also how it's treated by the cultures she's in. I honestly found myself crying for the last twenty percent of it, not in a bad way, but just because I was feeling so emotionally wrapped up in it. This book emphatically does not lack for conflict and that makes it kind of a wild and exhausting ride, but it also makes it feel more like the happy ending is earned.
I think I'll definitely look up other Sonali Dev books, because I really enjoyed this one.
Unlike many romance novels, this is told solely from Ria's point of view (without being first-person), which leaves us with only Vikram's actions and words to judge him by. Unfortunately, for the first half of the book, that judgment comes up as you're a raging douchenozzle. He makes a point of hurting Ria's feelings, he's cold and harsh and vicious towards her. Granted, he has cause; because of her, he's been physically assaulted and she definitely broke his heart in an especially epic way.
This book focuses not just on Ria and Vikram's relationship, though that would provide plenty of drama in and of itself, but also amid the breakneck pace of preparing for a full, traditional Indian wedding. We get tons of loving detail about the food (oh, the food, I was hungry for most of this book) and the clothes, and everything is a whirl of glorious color and shape and scent and sound. The book is set near Chicago, and so many of the little details ring true--I'm not specifically familiar with the Indian-American community here beyond a few friends, but the setting reads right to me.
There are lots of beautiful little context details about the cultural notes so that someone not familiar with Bollywood or Indian-American communities isn't lost; usually not direct translation, but enough context to bring understanding.
The book is doing a lot of heavy lifting around mental illness and how it impacts Ria's life and also how it's treated by the cultures she's in. I honestly found myself crying for the last twenty percent of it, not in a bad way, but just because I was feeling so emotionally wrapped up in it. This book emphatically does not lack for conflict and that makes it kind of a wild and exhausting ride, but it also makes it feel more like the happy ending is earned.
I think I'll definitely look up other Sonali Dev books, because I really enjoyed this one.
annacola's review
5.0
People say they didn’t like Ria enough to care, but she hates herself too, and I like that we see how she’s flawed, how she hates what she’s become, and it leads the reader to also not like her. Which is the authors purpose, and the book has great character development.
sjj169's review
2.0
This author came to my attention last year when I read A Bollywood Affair I really enjoyed that little book so I was excited when I saw this one. Now I'm sad because I did not care for this one as much.
Ria is supposedly an "Ice Princess", she keeps to herself and doesn't let her personal life go public. She is a Bollywood star with a secret. (She a dang drama queen is what she is)
Ria finds out that her cousin (who's family raised her) is getting married and she must return to her home for the wedding. She is living in Mumbai after running to be a star leaving her troubled past behind. So she returns to Chicago.
She is haunted by her mom's violent mental illness touched past and thinks that it will be repeated with her. The thing is? This part of the book could have been very good but I just didn't like Ria enough to care about any of her baggage.
The of course is a romantic past that comes into play. Ria left Vikram with a cloud of misunderstanding. *insert some eye rolling here*
They grew up together and had been "soul mates" before the drama train hit them and tore them apart.
I LOATHED Vikram's character. He was a total asshat for most of the book.
I think that hurt the story for me. You can't enjoy a romance when you absolutely hate one of the main characters. So that could have some bearings on my feelings for this book. I did like her other book though so I'm open to reading more by this author.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
I'm highlighting a positive review on this book because I really do like this author and think this book may have just not been my cup.
Here is a great review for this book.
Ria is supposedly an "Ice Princess", she keeps to herself and doesn't let her personal life go public. She is a Bollywood star with a secret. (She a dang drama queen is what she is)
Ria finds out that her cousin (who's family raised her) is getting married and she must return to her home for the wedding. She is living in Mumbai after running to be a star leaving her troubled past behind. So she returns to Chicago.
She is haunted by her mom's violent mental illness touched past and thinks that it will be repeated with her. The thing is? This part of the book could have been very good but I just didn't like Ria enough to care about any of her baggage.
The of course is a romantic past that comes into play. Ria left Vikram with a cloud of misunderstanding. *insert some eye rolling here*
They grew up together and had been "soul mates" before the drama train hit them and tore them apart.
I LOATHED Vikram's character. He was a total asshat for most of the book.
I think that hurt the story for me. You can't enjoy a romance when you absolutely hate one of the main characters. So that could have some bearings on my feelings for this book. I did like her other book though so I'm open to reading more by this author.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
I'm highlighting a positive review on this book because I really do like this author and think this book may have just not been my cup.
Here is a great review for this book.
ascalun's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
moviemavengal's review
5.0
Sonali Dev's The Bollywood Affair was my favorite book of last year. I gave away copies for Christmas to my sister and many friends. You always worry if the second book by a favorite author can live up to the love you had for the debut.
I need not have worried. The Bollywood Bride was just as excellent, but very different in tone than her first. The Bollywood Affair is similar to a Rom Com movie, with a meet cute and several comic misunderstandings.
The Bollywood Bride is a book full of angst. I cried more reading this book than I think I have, well maybe ever. (I am in an emotional state with a son leaving for college, but this book still packs quite the emotional wallop.) It's that good kind of angst -- and for lovers of Bollywood movies, I can compare it to crying with a watery smile on your lips watching films like Veer-Zaara or Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham. All I can tell you is have a box of Kleenex handy nearby. I like books that take me on an emotional journey like The Bollywood Bride. Sometimes you're in the mood for some serious angst and some real life reasons for the couple to be apart and it to be absolutely glorious when they finally come together.
I got my hands on an advance copy of Bollywood Bride and devoured it in less than 48 hours -- staying up super late one night reading. It was a very hard book to put down!
Ria is a famous Bollywood actress, and we can see from the start that she lives an isolated life in India -- her nickname is "The Ice Princess". She decides to return to the States for a family wedding after a horrible encounter with a paparazzi photographer. She's threatened with blackmail, and she uses the wedding as an excuse to escape. But going back to the Chicago suburb of Naperville also means unavoidably coming face to face with her young love. The boy she left to start her career in the movies. Ria is incredibly stressed anticipating their encounter and they see each other in the worst possible moment -- when he is in a compromising position with his new girlfriend. Ria is mortified. And Vikram is still filled with anger at the way she left him all those years ago. He taunts her, and says horrible things (I wanted to give him a tight slap more than once!). They're living in the same house for the time leading up to the wedding, and constantly thrown together. I didn't know who was going to snap from the tension between the pair first -- Ria or ME!
We gradually learn why Ria gave up Vikram, because we can tell, and so can Vikram, that she still has so many feelings for him. So. Many. Feelings. She has a good reason to have given him up, a genetic disposition to severe mental illness in her family. The events that led to her giving up Vikram and starting her career in Bollywood are truly horrific. She has good reason to fear ever having a normal future. Ria is terrified that all her secrets will come out.
When Ria and Vikram finally admit they still have feelings for each other -- it was explosive! The level of sexual and emotional tension that Sonali Dev was able to maintain up to that point was extraordinary.
Vikram is truly worthy of Ria. She needs saving. She needs someone in HER corner when her world falls apart, and he comes through. (How could we ever doubt it?) He comes through in spades. One other thing I really did like though is that Ria stands up for herself, too. Vikram's mother had been very cruel to her in the past, and rather than the situation playing out that Vikram defends her -- Ria defends herself and puts her future mother-in-law in her place in one of the most satisfying moments of the book for me.
I can't recommend this book enough. Don't go in expecting it to be just like Bollywood Affair. Like Bollywood Affair, it has three dimensional characters, and a rich world both here in the States and in India -- but it has a very different kind of story to tell. And I loved it! I've heard there are two more books in this series. It's going to be so hard to wait for the next one now!
I need not have worried. The Bollywood Bride was just as excellent, but very different in tone than her first. The Bollywood Affair is similar to a Rom Com movie, with a meet cute and several comic misunderstandings.
The Bollywood Bride is a book full of angst. I cried more reading this book than I think I have, well maybe ever. (I am in an emotional state with a son leaving for college, but this book still packs quite the emotional wallop.) It's that good kind of angst -- and for lovers of Bollywood movies, I can compare it to crying with a watery smile on your lips watching films like Veer-Zaara or Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham. All I can tell you is have a box of Kleenex handy nearby. I like books that take me on an emotional journey like The Bollywood Bride. Sometimes you're in the mood for some serious angst and some real life reasons for the couple to be apart and it to be absolutely glorious when they finally come together.
I got my hands on an advance copy of Bollywood Bride and devoured it in less than 48 hours -- staying up super late one night reading. It was a very hard book to put down!
Ria is a famous Bollywood actress, and we can see from the start that she lives an isolated life in India -- her nickname is "The Ice Princess". She decides to return to the States for a family wedding after a horrible encounter with a paparazzi photographer. She's threatened with blackmail, and she uses the wedding as an excuse to escape. But going back to the Chicago suburb of Naperville also means unavoidably coming face to face with her young love. The boy she left to start her career in the movies. Ria is incredibly stressed anticipating their encounter and they see each other in the worst possible moment -- when he is in a compromising position with his new girlfriend. Ria is mortified. And Vikram is still filled with anger at the way she left him all those years ago. He taunts her, and says horrible things (I wanted to give him a tight slap more than once!). They're living in the same house for the time leading up to the wedding, and constantly thrown together. I didn't know who was going to snap from the tension between the pair first -- Ria or ME!
We gradually learn why Ria gave up Vikram, because we can tell, and so can Vikram, that she still has so many feelings for him. So. Many. Feelings. She has a good reason to have given him up, a genetic disposition to severe mental illness in her family. The events that led to her giving up Vikram and starting her career in Bollywood are truly horrific. She has good reason to fear ever having a normal future. Ria is terrified that all her secrets will come out.
When Ria and Vikram finally admit they still have feelings for each other -- it was explosive! The level of sexual and emotional tension that Sonali Dev was able to maintain up to that point was extraordinary.
Vikram is truly worthy of Ria. She needs saving. She needs someone in HER corner when her world falls apart, and he comes through. (How could we ever doubt it?) He comes through in spades. One other thing I really did like though is that Ria stands up for herself, too. Vikram's mother had been very cruel to her in the past, and rather than the situation playing out that Vikram defends her -- Ria defends herself and puts her future mother-in-law in her place in one of the most satisfying moments of the book for me.
I can't recommend this book enough. Don't go in expecting it to be just like Bollywood Affair. Like Bollywood Affair, it has three dimensional characters, and a rich world both here in the States and in India -- but it has a very different kind of story to tell. And I loved it! I've heard there are two more books in this series. It's going to be so hard to wait for the next one now!
jenc5309's review
I really enjoyed the angst in this one. The descriptions of the food constantly made me hungry!