The Bollywood Bride

De: Sonali Dev

Narrado por: Priya Ayyar

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 defuse 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.

©2015 Sonali Dev (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great series!

This book is well written and performed. If your looking for your next Ceres to read come out read them in order as I did not. However, I still enjoyed listening to them.

Can't get enough of India, Pakistan, Bollywood....

Funny story, good characters, rings very true on many counts.
A typical love story: struggles with misunderstandings.
Nevertheless, it's fun to travel along on these journeys, with excellent narration.

Good Storry, Bad Narrator

Loved the story, but the narrator reads without emotion. She's very monotonous and it takes away from the story.

Enthralling

From the prologue, I was hooked. The author gives just enough information to leave you wanting more all the way until end. Add that to the fact that you feel like you're inside the book, feeling the emotions with the characters, and it is truly a wonderful listen.

So, heartbreaking and beautiful!

The only reason I did not give this a full five stars is simply because second chances aren't my favorite trope... It has nothing to do with the powerful storytelling Sonali Dev always delivers. I have read several of her books and always walk away feeling so much and this was no exception. I can't wait to read the next book.

It's currently available for Audible members!

Typical romance novel

I always like to read a romance novel here and there. The author does a great job in a few of the story lines and then others - a man feverishly in love with a woman that keeps running away - gets a bit stale after hours of listening.

However! It was a fun listen and the narrator does a phenomenal job of delivering the story from a culture that isn't typically main stream.

Slow start but nice story

It took me awhile to get into the story but I kept listening as I had enjoyed the first book of the series. And over time I did start enjoying this one too.

Engaging and fun while also dramatic and sultry

I really enjoyed the family dynamic and the authentic way this story wove together love and pain. Definitely a romance story but the characters were engaging and dynamic.

True Thought: How Many Awards Did This Book Earn?

Sonali Dev is a lyricist with deep emotional intelligence. What a satisfying read! Ready for more. (I want the aunties to adopt me.)

A Strong 4 Stars!

I find that I really enjoy a second chance romance when it's the hero who's been spurned, and when they finally reunite, there is some serious resentment. Not everyone will, so be forewarned, but I loved how the author handled the couple's reunion. Vikram wasn’t happy to unexpectedly see Ria and it was absolutely delectable to watch it all go down. Lots of angry tension that gradually shifted to sexual/romantic tension.

I also enjoyed the interactions between all of the extended family. Family were constantly around as they prepared for traditional Indian wedding for Ria's cousin. It read like a modern day Regency house party. Albeit, culturally, not at all like that. :) It was fun and sometimes, frenetic.

Since this was a second-chance romance, there was a great deal of sensitive back story to weed through in order for this couple to finally have their happy ending. Back stories that were heartbreaking, as well as convincing. I enjoyed this couple, their extended family, and traversing their road back to each other.

The narrator was perfectly fine, but since I periodically switched from listening to reading and back again, I found that I enjoyed reading over listening. I feel that the narrator didn’t present the story with the expressive reading that it deserved.