A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

I read it as an: audiobook

Narrator: Priya Ayyar

Source: Hoopla Digital

Length: 10:23:00

Publisher: Blackstone Audio

Year: 2014

Mili was a 4 year old child bride in an arranged marriage and grew up doing everything she could to become the ideal wife for her husband, an officer in the Indian Air Force, a man she’d never met but who she knew would come for her one day. She went to college because an officer’s wife should be educated, and her studies take her to a post-grad program in America. Meanwhile, her husband’s brother, Samir, famous Bollywood director and notorious playboy, finds himself with a serious case of writer’s block on his next script. When his brother gets in a bad accident and it comes out that his marriage to Mili hadn’t been annulled when they were children as they had thought, he sends Samir to America to get Mili to sign the annulment papers since he himself was bedridden and unable to do it himself. While there, Samir finds himself unexpectedly bewitched by Mili and her onyx eyes. His writer’s block miraculously cured, he devotes his time to writing and to Mili, who was injured and needs help because she’s a klutz and has no one to help. Sam sets himself up as her new neighbor and naturally, drama ensues.

I am not a reader of romance. I read this because it checks the box for one of the 2018 Read Harder tasks. I enjoyed it well enough, I laughed out loud a couple times, but I confess that I find the whole romance genre baffling. Two people meet, they have drama of some kind, they have a big fight for some reason, there is a separation, then they get over it and end up happily ever after. Maybe sometimes the man is an alpha male asshole, maybe sometimes he’s a sensitive beta. Maybe the lady is a shy little wallflower, maybe she’s a spitfire. Maybe it’s a lesbian couple, maybe it’s two men, maybe it’s some other combination on the gender spectrum. But the formula always seems to be the same. I just…it’s boring to know how it will end before you even start reading. Do people read romance just for the sex? This is NOT a rant against this book or Sonali Dev in any way, I just truly don’t understand the appeal, I guess.

As far as romance books go, this one was fine. I liked Mili, she had dreams and did what she needed to carry them out. She had gumption and ambition and learned how to speak her mind. She was a loyal friend. All are qualities I admire and value. Samir was a spoiled brat but he also was loyal to his brother, anyway. He turned out nice enough. I’m not sure what else to say about it, really. It was a fun and fast read, but nothing surprised me or anything. It seemed to follow the formula I was expecting to the letter.

I do definitely want all the Indian food now, though. The descriptions of food, festivals, clothing, and locations were all really vivid and rich, which I loved. Made me want to travel.