A BOLLYWOOD AFFAIR is a wonderful debut novel that made
the
2013 Golden Heart Finalist list (the RITAs for debut
authors) for Romance Writers of America. I picked up this
book based on the giddily glowing review of Nalini Singh,
one of my very favorite authors. It's a wonderful blend
of
chick lit and romance with the wonderful backdrop of
Indian
culture and traditions.
Mili Rathod was married to her husband at the age of four
in a Rajasthani mass wedding. She hasn't seen him since
then, but the twenty years she has been married has
allowed
her freedoms that most girls from her village did not
have. Her erstwhile husband, eight years older than she,
is a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. Mili has
received a fairly extensive education and more expansive
cultural experiences than the other females in her
village,
to make her a fit bride for her urbane husband. Mili even
manages to wrangle an eight month overseas study in
America. Mili tries to be happy and positive, but
secretly
feels trapped and resentful of her husband who has
completely ignored her for two decades. My heart broke
for
her over and over, even as I rejoiced when good things
happened to such a deserving soul.
Mili's brother-in-law Samir is a popular Bollywood
producer
and a playboy. Mili's injured husband is unable to
travel,
so his brother Samir journeys to Michigan to free him from
his unwanted child bride. Samir expects to find a greedy
and duplicitous woman, but is charmed to discover a
genuinely good woman. Samir insinuates himself into
Mili's
life under false pretenses, and spends a number of weeks
with her, cooking for her, writing a screenplay in her
apartment, and attending her roommate's grand spectacle of
an Indian wedding. Samir finds himself falling for his
brother's bride, but what will happen when Mili discovers
why Samir came to Michigan?
I found myself disliking so many things about Samir- his
treatment of his prior lovers, his manipulation of Mili
for
his own benefit to break his writer's block, and his
continuing lies by omission about being there to coerce
Mili into signing the divorce papers. Despite all of
these
things, however, Dev gets me to care about Samir, I think
based on how well he treats Mili (as an alpha male does)
and how he slowly falls under her spell of goodness. I'm
always impressed when an author can get me to like a guy
despite his douchebaggery.
This book was in turns poignant and over-the-top silly and
fun, with the requisite Bollywood-style drama. It was
fascinating to read about the Indian culture and
traditions
that overlaid the common romance tropes of a verysexually
experienced rake meeting a naïve virgin and alpha hero
harboring a Grand Secret. The characters seem deceptively
lightly drawn, but their underlying emotions and drive are
complex and heartrending. A BOLLYWOOD AFFAIR is a
fantastic debut, and
this book has vaulted Sonali Dev to auto-read status for
me!
Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not
since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet
marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls
in
her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave
India and study in America for eight months, all to make
her
the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs
to
be—if her husband would just come and claim her.
Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to
Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother.
Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should
be
easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But
Mili
is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet
complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with
cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself,
Samir
is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis,
escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding,
and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.
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