Review- The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev

Summary-

Ria Parkar is Bollywood's favorite Ice Princess--beautiful, poised, and scandal-proof--until one impulsive act threatens to expose her destructive past. Traveling home to Chicago for her cousin's wedding offers a chance to diffuse the coming media storm and find solace in family, food, and outsized celebrations that are like one of her vibrant movies come to life. But it also means confronting Vikram Jathar. 

Ria and Vikram spent childhood summers together, a world away from Ria's exclusive boarding school in Mumbai. Their friendship grew seamlessly into love--until Ria made a shattering decision. As far as Vikram is concerned, Ria sold her soul for stardom and it's taken him years to rebuild his life. But beneath his pent-up anger, their bond remains unchanged. And now, among those who know her best, Ria may find the courage to face the secrets she's been guarding for everyone else's benefit--and a chance to stop acting and start living. 

Rich with details of modern Indian-American life, here is a warm, sexy, and witty story of love, family, and the difficult choices that arise in the name of both.

Release Date: September 29, 2015

Published by: Kensington

Page numbers: 352

Review-

The one thing I've learned after reading The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev is that when a favourite author of yours recommends a read you should get to it stat. I only picked this one up out of curiosity and because Nalini Singh recommended it. I love it when book surprise me in an awesome way and The Bollywood Bride just hit all the right notes for the romance reader in me.

This is the story of Ria. Though the book goes in third person's pov it is completely Ria story but that doesn't mean that we don't get to see our hero's emotions too. Let's start with Ria. Ria is a very popular Bollywood actress. She goes back to Chicago for her dear cousin's wedding but that also means that she has to face Vikram, her first and only love.

I loved Ria. She was such a complex heroine. She tries being the Ice Queen people see her to be but there is a huge turmoil of emotions inside of her. Ria has secrets and she has a past she doesn't want anyone to know about but try as she may she can't hide from Vikram. Vikram seems almost cruel in the beginning but heis trying to cope the only way he knows how. Vikram made for a great hero and I loved how he loved Ria.

The Bollywood Bride is not a fluffy romance by any chance. The book is full of angst and emotions and still it never feels like its overdone or that there is any unnecessary drama. I loved the chemistry Vikram and Ria shared. They were entwined with each other so deep. I also loved Ria's entire family, especially Uma and Nikhil.

Another thing which I loved about the Bollywood Bride was how authentic Nikhil's Indian wedding was. I have read very few books which go into such details with the traditions and the ceremonies. I felt right at home reading it because that is what we genuinely do here in India. If you hadn't guessed already, I've become a huge Sonali Dev fan and I am so looking forward to reading more from her.