Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
No surprises here, but it's a sexy, romantic read that made me crave bright colors, and Indian food.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A Bollywood Affair jumped onto my radar when I was scouring the best of 2014 lists on Library Journal, doing some last minute ordering for my library. Once my library's copy came in, I immediately checked it out. I'm a big romance reader, but I don't think I've ever come across something quite like this. Personally, I thought it was a breath of fresh air in the romance genre and I can't wait for more from this author.
A Bollywood Affair isn't really an original story. If you read a lot of romance many of the tropes and characterizations will not feel unfamiliar. But what I think stands out in A Bollywood Affair is that the author has translated something so familiar and brought about a unique expression of a common story. Let's face it, the romance genre is pretty white washed. It almost always features white, Western characters. And when a person of another culture does appear, race becomes an arc of the plot. This is not the case with A Bollywood Affair, both the hero and heroine are Indian; this fact simply exists. There's no controversy about either character and their experiences when they are in the United States. Rather, the central conflict to the story is how each character comes to terms with what they have been taught in life and how their past continues to inform their present. It was absolutely well done.
Mili Rathod was married at age four. She hasn't seen her husband in twenty years but remains loyal to him, even using him as an excuse to gain her traditional grandmother's approval to continue her education. After all, her husband, an officer in the Indian Air Force, will surely want an intelligent and cultured wife. While Mili is loyal to her husband she longs for some freedom and sets out on an adventure of her own by pursuing an advanced degree at an American university.
Unbeknownst to Mili, her grandmother has been sending her husband, Virat Rathod, letters threatening legal action if he does not return to claim Mili. But Virat has no idea he is technically still married to Mili, thinking his grandfather had annulled the marriage long ago. Virat had gone on to marry a woman he loved and they are now expecting their first child. When Virat is injured in a plane crash, he knows that he has to get Mili to annul the marriage so it does not void his true marriage or cause his child to be born illegitimate. Virat's younger brother, Samir Rathod, would do anything for his elder brother, and promises Virat that he will go to America and get Mili to sign the papers. Samir's actually looking forward to the argument. He's expecting a gold digging, callous woman. He does not expect the woman who flees at the sight of him, injuring herself in the process.
Unable to leave Mili to fend for herself after she's released from the hospital, Samir takes care of her, telling her that he is her new neighbour in her apartment building. The more time that Samir spends with Mili the harder it is for him to believe that Mili is the hardhearted woman who would threaten a man while he was in a coma. Despite his growing knowledge of Mili and his own changing feelings for her, Samir continues to hide the truth. What could possibly go wrong?
Honestly, I can't rave about A Bollywood Affair enough. It was truly a great, funny, heartwarming and charming romance. The characters could have been caricatures but the author has done such a good job at fleshing them out. For example, at the start Samir isn't the most lovable hero. He's a hotshot Bollywood writer and former model. Let's just say he's a little vain. Of course, there's so much more going on behind the surface and it's discovering what that is for both Samir and Mili that made this an exemplary romance. There was meat to both characters and this is exactly what I'm looking for in a romance, but it's also something that I don't think is as well executed as it ought to be in a genre that is predicated on relaitonships.
For me, I think Mili was the most interesting character. At first blush, Mili seemed impossibly naive. She claimed to be in love with her husband whom she has not seen since she was four years old. She doesn't even remember the wedding. However, throughout A Bollywood Affair the author explores why this is the case for Mili. She's really never had another option in life and being married has given her a measure of freedom that she would not have had otherwise. Mili was able to continue her education and even have a career. That said, Mili is not unaware of the restrictions that she still experiences. It's that tension between modern and traditional values that I found most interesting in A Bollywood Affair. Mili struggles with reconciling her traditional upbringing with more modern ideals, especially the idea that she has value as an individual rather than as the other half of a married couple. I love the moment when Mili finally comes to realize that she has value as a person and that she is not the reason her husband has not come for her:
Yes, part of Mili's change in her attitude towards herself is her budding relationship with Samir, but it still rang as an authentic development to her character. For me, it was Mili that really changed throughout the course of the book, finally accepting herself for who she was. She continued to struggle with her guilt, but this just made her growth in the novel all the more believable. Great change doesn't happen over night and Mili's worldview doesn't suddenly switch because of a few revelations. Quite simply, I think the author did a marvelous job at creating a character that was at odds with herself and showing how this young woman comes to terms with the changes that are rapidly happening in her life.
As separate characters both Mili and Samir were strong, fully developed characters. The romance between them was also just as well developed. This was a romance that developed over time. Mili and Samir become friends first. Because of Mili's loyalty to her husband, she can't allow Samir to be anything but a friend. Like Mili's changing attitude about herself, her change in attitude towards Samir also slowly unfurls. Samir, on the other hand, feels immediate attraction for Mili but he never pushes her outside her comfort zone. He's her friend when she needs him to be even when he's kind of bowled over by how much he'd like to be much more than her friend. It was so refreshing to read a romance where an actual relationship develops. Readers are treated to their ups and downs and because of this, you really buy into the happily ever after.
I think A Bollywood Affair is a contemporary romance that is going to appeal to romance fans that are looking for a something a little different in the romance genre. While the story of an innocent young woman shacking up with a rakish fellow isn't an original plot, the author fleshes this story out, creating something original and emotional. I highly recommend A Bollywood Affair to romance readers looking for a well-developed, character-driven story.
*Review originally published at The Book Adventures.
A Bollywood Affair isn't really an original story. If you read a lot of romance many of the tropes and characterizations will not feel unfamiliar. But what I think stands out in A Bollywood Affair is that the author has translated something so familiar and brought about a unique expression of a common story. Let's face it, the romance genre is pretty white washed. It almost always features white, Western characters. And when a person of another culture does appear, race becomes an arc of the plot. This is not the case with A Bollywood Affair, both the hero and heroine are Indian; this fact simply exists. There's no controversy about either character and their experiences when they are in the United States. Rather, the central conflict to the story is how each character comes to terms with what they have been taught in life and how their past continues to inform their present. It was absolutely well done.
Mili Rathod was married at age four. She hasn't seen her husband in twenty years but remains loyal to him, even using him as an excuse to gain her traditional grandmother's approval to continue her education. After all, her husband, an officer in the Indian Air Force, will surely want an intelligent and cultured wife. While Mili is loyal to her husband she longs for some freedom and sets out on an adventure of her own by pursuing an advanced degree at an American university.
Unbeknownst to Mili, her grandmother has been sending her husband, Virat Rathod, letters threatening legal action if he does not return to claim Mili. But Virat has no idea he is technically still married to Mili, thinking his grandfather had annulled the marriage long ago. Virat had gone on to marry a woman he loved and they are now expecting their first child. When Virat is injured in a plane crash, he knows that he has to get Mili to annul the marriage so it does not void his true marriage or cause his child to be born illegitimate. Virat's younger brother, Samir Rathod, would do anything for his elder brother, and promises Virat that he will go to America and get Mili to sign the papers. Samir's actually looking forward to the argument. He's expecting a gold digging, callous woman. He does not expect the woman who flees at the sight of him, injuring herself in the process.
Unable to leave Mili to fend for herself after she's released from the hospital, Samir takes care of her, telling her that he is her new neighbour in her apartment building. The more time that Samir spends with Mili the harder it is for him to believe that Mili is the hardhearted woman who would threaten a man while he was in a coma. Despite his growing knowledge of Mili and his own changing feelings for her, Samir continues to hide the truth. What could possibly go wrong?
Honestly, I can't rave about A Bollywood Affair enough. It was truly a great, funny, heartwarming and charming romance. The characters could have been caricatures but the author has done such a good job at fleshing them out. For example, at the start Samir isn't the most lovable hero. He's a hotshot Bollywood writer and former model. Let's just say he's a little vain. Of course, there's so much more going on behind the surface and it's discovering what that is for both Samir and Mili that made this an exemplary romance. There was meat to both characters and this is exactly what I'm looking for in a romance, but it's also something that I don't think is as well executed as it ought to be in a genre that is predicated on relaitonships.
For me, I think Mili was the most interesting character. At first blush, Mili seemed impossibly naive. She claimed to be in love with her husband whom she has not seen since she was four years old. She doesn't even remember the wedding. However, throughout A Bollywood Affair the author explores why this is the case for Mili. She's really never had another option in life and being married has given her a measure of freedom that she would not have had otherwise. Mili was able to continue her education and even have a career. That said, Mili is not unaware of the restrictions that she still experiences. It's that tension between modern and traditional values that I found most interesting in A Bollywood Affair. Mili struggles with reconciling her traditional upbringing with more modern ideals, especially the idea that she has value as an individual rather than as the other half of a married couple. I love the moment when Mili finally comes to realize that she has value as a person and that she is not the reason her husband has not come for her:
Suddenly she was angry. Truly angry. And terribly sad. She had wasted so much time feeling unworthy. She was smart and accomplished. She had always been. And for the first time in her life she also felt beautiful (p. 183).
Yes, part of Mili's change in her attitude towards herself is her budding relationship with Samir, but it still rang as an authentic development to her character. For me, it was Mili that really changed throughout the course of the book, finally accepting herself for who she was. She continued to struggle with her guilt, but this just made her growth in the novel all the more believable. Great change doesn't happen over night and Mili's worldview doesn't suddenly switch because of a few revelations. Quite simply, I think the author did a marvelous job at creating a character that was at odds with herself and showing how this young woman comes to terms with the changes that are rapidly happening in her life.
As separate characters both Mili and Samir were strong, fully developed characters. The romance between them was also just as well developed. This was a romance that developed over time. Mili and Samir become friends first. Because of Mili's loyalty to her husband, she can't allow Samir to be anything but a friend. Like Mili's changing attitude about herself, her change in attitude towards Samir also slowly unfurls. Samir, on the other hand, feels immediate attraction for Mili but he never pushes her outside her comfort zone. He's her friend when she needs him to be even when he's kind of bowled over by how much he'd like to be much more than her friend. It was so refreshing to read a romance where an actual relationship develops. Readers are treated to their ups and downs and because of this, you really buy into the happily ever after.
I think A Bollywood Affair is a contemporary romance that is going to appeal to romance fans that are looking for a something a little different in the romance genre. While the story of an innocent young woman shacking up with a rakish fellow isn't an original plot, the author fleshes this story out, creating something original and emotional. I highly recommend A Bollywood Affair to romance readers looking for a well-developed, character-driven story.
*Review originally published at The Book Adventures.
4.5 stars
I love Bollywood movies and this book read like one (without the musical numbers, so even better). I love Mili. She is so great. She's the friend/daughter/sister you always wished you had. She is wicked naive, but she's all around awesomeness otherwise. I liked Samir, but I really wish he would have been honest from the beginning. I did like that the reasons he was lying were explained, even if the explanations were pretty crappy sometimes. The best part was seeing their interactions with other characters. Sometimes, I read books and I feel like the two main characters are supposed to be some kind of islands unto themselves and that just isn't how life works. Usually, there are family members and friends who you interact with and who greatly influence your behavior and attitudes. This concept was very well addressed in A Bollywood Affair.
Also, I killed my squishy Spiderman in the reading of this novel. RIP
I love Bollywood movies and this book read like one (without the musical numbers, so even better). I love Mili. She is so great. She's the friend/daughter/sister you always wished you had. She is wicked naive, but she's all around awesomeness otherwise. I liked Samir, but I really wish he would have been honest from the beginning. I did like that the reasons he was lying were explained, even if the explanations were pretty crappy sometimes. The best part was seeing their interactions with other characters. Sometimes, I read books and I feel like the two main characters are supposed to be some kind of islands unto themselves and that just isn't how life works. Usually, there are family members and friends who you interact with and who greatly influence your behavior and attitudes. This concept was very well addressed in A Bollywood Affair.
Also, I killed my squishy Spiderman in the reading of this novel. RIP
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse
Interesting story, compelling characters with great diverse cultural representation.
Content: abandonment, good girl/bad boy, adult language, open door romance
Content: abandonment, good girl/bad boy, adult language, open door romance
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So I may or may not have stayed up until 5am finishing this book...
Mili is infantilized the entire novel. Samir is a douche to the highest of levels.
I picked up this book at the recommendation of a friend. It was a quick read of disappointment after disappointment. The characters lacked the charm needed to make it work. Samir constantly disappointed and infantilized Mili, betraying her trust over and over again. The book contained not one true apology. This isn't a romance novel, it's evidence of what an unhealthy relationship looks like.
I picked up this book at the recommendation of a friend. It was a quick read of disappointment after disappointment. The characters lacked the charm needed to make it work. Samir constantly disappointed and infantilized Mili, betraying her trust over and over again. The book contained not one true apology. This isn't a romance novel, it's evidence of what an unhealthy relationship looks like.