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A review by scoutmomskf
The Five-Day Reunion by Mona Shroff
5.0
Terrific second chance romance. Anita and Nikhil married young and divorced after just two years. They haven't seen each other in the three years since then. When Nikhil arrives at his mother's home for the start of his sister, Tina's, five days of wedding festivities, he is shocked to find his ex-wife there. Furious, he confronts his mother, who confesses that she never told the rest of the family about the divorce. Afraid of the news's effect on her elderly father, Nikhil's mother begs him to pretend they are still married until the wedding is over.
Nikhil is very reluctant to play along. He's still hurt and angry over the way Anita walked away from their marriage. Anita is also dubious, but his mother made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Forced to spend time together to keep up the deception, it doesn't take long for old feelings to resurface. But both of them have significant baggage from their past that must be dealt with before they can think about giving in to those feelings.
Nikhil is the odd man out in his family. All of the others are lawyers, while he is a writer. Despite being a best-selling author, Nikhil gets no respect from his family members. I ached for him because it's obvious that it hurts. I lost count of the number of times he was put down, asked when he'd get a "real job," or just plain ignored. Meanwhile, Anita, who is in her third year of law school, gets all of the attention he doesn't, which adds to his frustration. I could feel Nikhil's determination to show them all, even though he did the same things he blamed them for.
I liked how the time they spent together brought back memories of the good times, which helped make their forced proximity easier to carry off. With a little more maturity under their belts, they also begin to see that neither one was blameless in the failure of their marriage. I loved seeing them open up about their feelings and perceptions during those last days and realize that they'd still be married if they'd been better at communicating. It gave me hope for them when I saw Nikhil's pride in Anita's community law work and Anita's vocal support of him when his family's cluelessness/obnoxiousness got out of hand.
When Nikhil's ex-girlfriend shows up and wants him back, she doesn't take well to being denied. I could tell she would be trouble, especially when Anita got involved. In this case, Nikhil's brother had his back, and I loved seeing them deal with her quickly and decisively. Unfortunately, she didn't go quietly and stirred up quite a storm in her wake. I loved Anita's response.
With the cat out of the bag, Nikhil and Anita have some soul-searching and decisions to make. I loved Nikhil's advice from his brother and mother, which helped him realize he couldn't let history repeat itself. I loved his big moment and seeing that they've both learned from their mistakes. The epilogue was fantastic.
I loved the setting of a traditional Indian wedding. The information about the clothes, food, and entertainment was fascinating. I'm not familiar with the ceremonies, and I loved how each part was shown in a way that I could easily understand. I also liked how each event that Anita and Nikhil participated in brought back memories or gave them the chance to clear up something from their past.
The family dynamics were complex. Nikhil's feelings of being the black sheep were understandable because of how he was treated. His backstory made his insecurity when it came to anything to do with the family law firm heartbreaking to witness. Nikhil's mother irritated me through most of the book because she was one of the worst offenders, mainly to "save face" with her relatives. I liked Nikhil's grandfather. He was kind, funny, and more with-it than most gave him credit for. Nikhil's aunts were a pain and busybodies of the worst variety. I loved his sister, Tina, and her support of Nikhil. His brother Rocky bugged me for a long time but redeemed himself. I liked the younger couples, who seemed more relaxed and fun-loving.
#netgalley
Nikhil is very reluctant to play along. He's still hurt and angry over the way Anita walked away from their marriage. Anita is also dubious, but his mother made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Forced to spend time together to keep up the deception, it doesn't take long for old feelings to resurface. But both of them have significant baggage from their past that must be dealt with before they can think about giving in to those feelings.
Nikhil is the odd man out in his family. All of the others are lawyers, while he is a writer. Despite being a best-selling author, Nikhil gets no respect from his family members. I ached for him because it's obvious that it hurts. I lost count of the number of times he was put down, asked when he'd get a "real job," or just plain ignored. Meanwhile, Anita, who is in her third year of law school, gets all of the attention he doesn't, which adds to his frustration. I could feel Nikhil's determination to show them all, even though he did the same things he blamed them for.
I liked how the time they spent together brought back memories of the good times, which helped make their forced proximity easier to carry off. With a little more maturity under their belts, they also begin to see that neither one was blameless in the failure of their marriage. I loved seeing them open up about their feelings and perceptions during those last days and realize that they'd still be married if they'd been better at communicating. It gave me hope for them when I saw Nikhil's pride in Anita's community law work and Anita's vocal support of him when his family's cluelessness/obnoxiousness got out of hand.
When Nikhil's ex-girlfriend shows up and wants him back, she doesn't take well to being denied. I could tell she would be trouble, especially when Anita got involved. In this case, Nikhil's brother had his back, and I loved seeing them deal with her quickly and decisively. Unfortunately, she didn't go quietly and stirred up quite a storm in her wake. I loved Anita's response.
With the cat out of the bag, Nikhil and Anita have some soul-searching and decisions to make. I loved Nikhil's advice from his brother and mother, which helped him realize he couldn't let history repeat itself. I loved his big moment and seeing that they've both learned from their mistakes. The epilogue was fantastic.
I loved the setting of a traditional Indian wedding. The information about the clothes, food, and entertainment was fascinating. I'm not familiar with the ceremonies, and I loved how each part was shown in a way that I could easily understand. I also liked how each event that Anita and Nikhil participated in brought back memories or gave them the chance to clear up something from their past.
The family dynamics were complex. Nikhil's feelings of being the black sheep were understandable because of how he was treated. His backstory made his insecurity when it came to anything to do with the family law firm heartbreaking to witness. Nikhil's mother irritated me through most of the book because she was one of the worst offenders, mainly to "save face" with her relatives. I liked Nikhil's grandfather. He was kind, funny, and more with-it than most gave him credit for. Nikhil's aunts were a pain and busybodies of the worst variety. I loved his sister, Tina, and her support of Nikhil. His brother Rocky bugged me for a long time but redeemed himself. I liked the younger couples, who seemed more relaxed and fun-loving.
#netgalley