So nobody else has written a review of this yet. I guess I’ll be the first, in advance of our book club discussion next month. I’m not going to say much in this review, because I want to save most of my thoughts for then, but as will be obvious from the title of my review, I was very disappointed in this book. And I’m definitely reconsidering reading Dev’s first book, which I’d put on my TBR previously after it was featured on NPR’s romance reading list.
(I hope I’m not the only asshole who posts my review before the discussion. Oh noooo.)
There were so many things that didn’t work for me in this book I’m almost too overwhelmed to write about them all. So let’s do a list!
- So. Much. Drama. Seriously. I don’t know if this is a legacy of being part of Bollywood, but everything that could possibly be thrown into this story was thrown into this story. Murder, mental illness, rape, sleazy entertainment industry behavior, lost loves, overly cute family members, and so so so much anger.
- Almost every scene in this book was so overwritten. I almost sprained my eyeballs while reading I was rolling them so much.
- The conflict could have been entirely avoided if the main characters would have just talked to each other, which as we all know, is the very best romance trope in existence and everybody loves it and it’s not frustrating to read about at all :\
- The POV didn’t work for me. Ria was too much in her own head, and Dev’s prose was way too focused on what Ria was doing and feeling at all times. It was awkward and too much, and I didn’t like it. A lot of unnecessary details there.
- I was frustrated by the book mostly because every now and then I would see glimmers of a story I could have loved, like the author was just letting herself write and not being so self-conscious about it, and then she would immediately do something to lose me again. I hate being yo-yoed by books.
- Vikram was a frothing ragemonster with an enormous temper at the beginning of the book, and then all of a sudden he turned on a dime and was a complete sensible angel.
- The mental health issues the book brought up I thought were entirely obscured by the dramatics of the plot. It felt like what happened to Ria’s family was only there to make Ria seem like a tragic figure.
- The parts focusing on the specifics of Indian culture were really fascinating, and I wish Dev had focused more on that than all the dramatic histrionics.
On a related sidenote, I’ve never seen a Bollywood film, but would be interested to dive in. Does anyone have a few good recommended starting points for me?
[2.5 stars because the end was better than the beginning]
Oh, worry not, I am going to be posting my review of this soon (it’s part of my slowly shrinking backlog) and now I sort of wish I hadn’t read your review, as it’s going to seem like I’m copying a lot of your points – but only because I agree with you. I would rate it 3 stars, but no more because it took me ages to get into and yeah, Vic was not a great hero, and SO much could have been sorted if they just had an honest conversation.
By all means, reiterate all my points exactly so I can feel justified in my opinions.
I had it rated at three stars, too, but then I realized I’d given three stars to a bunch of romance novels I’d enjoyed way more than this one, and which I think are all better, so I lowered it to two.
I have yet to dig into my copy and your review isn’t providing much motivation to do so :/
I don’t know much about bollywood and am not sure if this applies but this is available for Amazon Prime members and I enjoyed it! Bride and Prejudice. The male lead is no Colin Firth but the rest of the cast was engaging and the musical numbers were fun.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms9xmBn7Z-Y&w=560&h=315%5D
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008Y5LT7G
I’ve heard of that movie! Seems like a good enough place to start as any.
Second the recommendatio for Bride and Prejudice! So good. I’m about 40% through right now, and I decided to look up reviews to see if it was me …
Ha, definitely not you!
I just started, but I’m trying not to color my opinion too much. I’ll read your review when I’m done.
I wish you luck!
I’m stuck at the 40% mark right now and agree with everything you said. I keep hoping it’s going to get better, but it just hasn’t. And it’s so depressing that I put it down and started something new (*shoutout to alwaysanswerb!*). I’m pretty sad about my disappointment with this one. The tone and structure are completely different than her first book, which I very much enjoyed. I’m really worried that the people new to romance are going to be really turned off from the genre by this book.
I’m a little worried about that, too! We’ll just have to make sure they understand regular romance readers don’t really think it’s representative of the genre.
I hope SOMEONE ends up liking it, though.
I feel awful that this one is such a downer, which was not something I had picked up on AT ALL in the blurbs for it. I’ve finished it now as well, and might post my review today, but I am hoping we can do some compare/contrast of what didn’t work versus other books in the discussion on the 1st. .
You shouldn’t feel awful at all! You didn’t write it, and we voted for it! (Well, I voted for the Sarah McLean one, but obviously enough people wanted to read it that it made the cut! And it did sound really good. Those tricksy blurb writers.)
I want to love it. I spent some time in Mumbai for my old job, and was fascinated by Bollywood and Indian weddings and the colorful, musical culture.
I’m about 40% done and have mostly the same issues as you. The drama, my god, the drama. I just can’t with the drama.
And the lack of communication is making me want to tear my hair out. But I’ll keep at it.
Also, I totally second Bride and Prejudice.
I’ll definitely have to check that movie out now.
I’m still waiting on this from the library. I thought I’d give it a read since it was recommended for the book club discussion, but this makes me think I’m not missing much if I don’t get it in time.
You’re really not, but I hope you get it in time anyway. I’m really looking forward to the discussion, even if the book was not great.
I say come join us for the discussion even if you didn’t read the book in time, since I’m trying to phrase our discussion topics kind of broadly.
Okay, I may just do that!
I’ve never read a romance novel, but started this because it was the book club selection.
50 pages in, and I don’t know if I’ll finish it. I just…..hate this book so much.
Yeah, no. You shouldn’t read this book. If you’re really curious about the genre, there are some good recs on ExpandingBookshelf’s review. But from reading your reviews . . . I’m not sure this will be your genre. You never know, though!