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.
Rating: ★★★★
Last year I went to a Writing Conference, where I met authors and got some books signed. One of these books was A Bollywood Affair, by Sonali Dev. I know. It's been a year and only now you read the book?? Well, as you know, I own quite a lot of books that I haven't read yet. This one, unfortunately, was not on top of the list. But then, last month I was really craving a romance novel, so I picked this one up. A Bollywood Affair is about Mili, a young woman from a small village in India, who travels to the US to go to university and ultimately be a better-educated wife for the husband she only met once, on their wedding day, when she was merely a kid. Despite him never coming to get her, she still hopes to one day be with him, her one true love, or so she thinks. Samir is not Mili's husband. He's completely different from her. But once they meet, both their worlds change. And what they thought they wanted might not stay the same.
Not gonna lie, I love romance novels. I can't stay away from the prospect of happy endings and true love. This book did not disappoint. It was adorable, and the characters were so great! I've always been fascinated with the religions and cultures of India, but I never really knew much about it. Reading it in this book was so interesting and I'm so excited to learn more by reading Sonali's other books.
There were so many ups and downs, and the characters, particularly Mili, felt so real. I could really relate to her in some aspects, and she was definitely my favourite character. Samir was great as well. (For some reason he really reminded me of Rafael, from the show Jane the Virgin). He was the typical dreamy guy, but was still flawed and had interesting qualities. Although the story was focused on the two, the rest of the characters, like Samir's family and Mili's friend, made the story even more fun to read. I couldn't stop reading the book because reading about Mili and Samir's story kept me craving for more.
Since I read the book last month, and have read two books since then, I can't really remember as much detail as I would like. So I don't know what criticism I had about it. Although I love romance novels, I know that I definitely need some variety of genres, because if you read many in a row, it's easy to get sick of them. Since, although the stories are different, they are all very similarly constructed.
Anyways, I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a story with more diverse characters, and obviously if you like romance. I really enjoyed Sonali Dev's writing and can't wait to pick up her other books.
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