Cat's Books: Romance

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.

Review

I always approach books with rave reviews very carefully. The hype sometimes makes a very good book disappointing because I expected to it be amazing or if it is a decent book makes me harsher than the the writing deserves.

This is a very good romance. I struggle between a 4 or a 5 star rating but it because it is the first offering by Dev I decided on the 5 star rating.

This love story has depth and is set inside complicated families structures and friendship that make the main characters compelling. The geographical, cultural, and time settings (India in the midst of social change for women and other groups and America's Indian American sub culture) also give the tale a vibrancy. The detailed food talk is a pleasure as well.

We are where we are from--our pasts, our langauge, our geography, our family and Dev does a lovely job creating her characters out of this truth.

I loved Mili right away. Who wouldn't? She is naive in ways that are a bit uncomfortble but she is also fierce, accident prone, smart, funny, loving, and adores food. I think more about her profession and work would have enriched the story but overall I am a Mili fan.

Samir took me a lot longer to warm up too. His abusive past doesn't really make up for his callousness. He is a mass of contridiction as he seems at once very aware of women's postions in Indian society and then cluelessly cruel and not understanding. His character does have a nice arc of growth. I have a soft spot for the male beauty burden trope and this book does a wonderful job with that.

The romance is a gradual build and Mili and Samir are friends first. It is this friendship and all the little details and lushness of couple time that make me a fan of this book.

I am not sure I trust Dev enough to read the next book set in this world as it is a reunited loverd there (which is far from my favorite) but I have to agree with the crowd-this is a specail book.