I don't want to be unkind and discourage authors but I'm not sure what to say about this book.
There is lots of detail about the wedding preparations and the customs of the ceremony which is interesting to someone who is not of that culture.
The story is a bit of a mess.
Before anything I will point out it doesn't really have an end. Is it continuing? Was that it? There is no information and if that was the end I don't get it.
All the characters are obsessed with wealth, brands of shoes the Heroine wearing, how much all the jewelry is worth even the heroine.
At first I found her shallow but the author I think was trying to convey the alternative to marrying wealthy was to be poor with issues with water etc which was an interesting concept but I didn't think the way it was written worked.
There may be possible triggers of rape, not huge detail of intimacy but some. ( )

I don't want to be unkind and discourage authors but I'm not sure what to say about this book.
There is lots of detail about the wedding preparations and the customs of the ceremony which is interesting to someone who is not of that culture.
The story is a bit of a mess.
Before anything I will point out it doesn't really have an end. Is it continuing? Was that it? There is no information and if that was the end I don't get it.
All the characters are obsessed with wealth, brands of shoes the Heroine wearing, how much all the jewelry is worth even the heroine.
At first I found her shallow but the author I think was trying to convey the alternative to marrying wealthy was to be poor with issues with water etc which was an interesting concept but I didn't think the way it was written worked.
There may be possible triggers of rape, not huge detail of intimacy but some. ( )

The writing was very well done and the imagery and description were amazing.

My problem was that the book was all over the place IMO. I never knew when the characters were going to behave positively or negatively to each other and I left the book without a clear understanding of what it was the author was trying to accomplish or convey. ( )

I received an eBook copy of this book from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Let me start with saying that I had also purchased this book, prior to it coming up as a potential book for me to review. I have a varied list of purchased books, and Amazon with its recommendations popped this one into my list as I have a few other books by Indian authors that center around women and their relationships.

Part of the joy of reading, for me, is the ability to gain perspective on another’s beliefs, traditions and see the differences and commonalities that we all share. In this story, the author has clearly detailed the struggle of a modern woman existing with traditional values that have been in existence for hundreds of years. In addition, her own guilt tends to allow her to behave in less than logical ways: a rather begrudging acceptance of her parent’s choice for marriage turned sideways in a rather Stockholm-syndrome like reaction to the man she has married – against her will, and with his disdain for the custom.

The story does jump about quite a bit: rich with imagery and information it takes a bit to fix all of the strangeness to the western reader to complete the picture. And the author has provided a glossary of terms that are frequently used throughout – my suggestion is that you look at those before starting in on the book; it does help to eliminate some of the strangeness. What I found is that the characters of both Sheetal and Sanjeet are developed with care and a completeness that depicts, better than expected, the inherent conflicted feelings they both have with the situation. What I don’t have experience with, is the overtly traditional and paternalistic society in which she is expected to live: where some of her reactions feel overblown or excessive to me – they do seem to fit with both the story and her character. So the tug of the modern against the expected and traditional is a core component of her psyche and her actions. Sanjeet, on the other hand, is a spoiled brat of a man child – who will bully, batter and berate to get the submissive and compliant reaction he wishes to have, while all the while wanting a ‘western style’ woman who flouts the conservative norms of their society. And he can’t express love or caring in words – it is done with grand public gestures rather than softly spoken words. His behaviour and mood swings deepen the conflict within Sheetal: because there is a ‘one she left behind’ that she sees as the behavioral polar opposite from her husband.

The whole story reads very much like a fly on the wall that is privy to all of the secrets that you don’t share outside your own family, and as such tends to jump about a bit. But the overwhelming sense I got from this story is that it felt ‘real’. I could easily imagine the conflicts and the struggle that Sheetal experiences in coming to claim her place as the wife, and the constant intrusions of a modern sensibility meeting the traditional expectations. It was not an ‘easy breezey’ read, at times it was certainly uncomfortable: but still and all quite a good book that left me with a better understanding of the tradition of arranged marriages and the pitfalls that can arrive with them. It’s an interesting peek into the world of the privileged and wealthy in Indian society, where everyone seems to have some conflict with traditional expectations and the modern wants. I’d gladly read more from this author, and am happy to recommend this book.
( )

Being forced into a marriage she doesn't want, Sheetal Prasad abides by her parents conquest to give her away to a prestigious family. Leaving behind the man she loves, for a man she can barely stand to look at. Forced into life of her duty as the wife of Sanjeet Dhanraj, India's own royal family and her desire to live her life the way she wants, Sheetal goes through a journey in discovering who she is.

We're first introduced to Sheetal who is breaking things off with Arvind, the man she loves. Coming from an Indian background, Sheetal has no choice in the matter of who she marries. Her parents have already found a bachelor suitable to take their daughters hand and that man just so happens to be Sanjeet Dharaj, of India's prestigious royal family. I understood where Sheetal was coming from when she gave up the man she loved to marry someone her parents set her up for. She was torn between doing what she wants and following her traditions and not disappointing her parents. This book is a roller coaster all it's own. At first we have Sheetal despising her husband, and won't give in to him or his family and their "rules" in the slightest bit, and next thing you know she's pining after him. Which was definitely a roller coaster for me. I wanted to scream at her to not take his crap and stand up for herself and stand up to her parents so that she could be happy and not miserable. Which kept me reading, I wanted to know if Sheetal would finally blow up and take advantage of her situation and turn tables.

I liked that even though you're thrown into the modern world of the Indian culture, you're still given the grounding principles of the culture and lifestyle and lead by a rope to try and understand why things happen the way they do. Yeah, it might seem far fetched to our normal lifestyles and love lives, but you're definitely pulled in and able to differentiate between duty & desire. The characters are definitely their own person, they each stand out and play a role that help carry the story. What I didn't like about this book, is that I think Sheetal was very weak as a person at points. She kept giving excuses for why people did what they did. But I liked that in the end she got it together and finally came to the point where she matters and that she needs to put herself first and focus on what she wants, her desires and not fall victim to everyone's crap, regardless of traditions.

This book was pretty good, I was a bit iffy about starting it as first, but as I read I became hooked, despite my urge to scream at the main characters. If you're up for an adventure into the lifestyle of the Indian culture & seeing through the eyes of a modern Indian woman and her struggles with duty and desire, then I would definitely recommend this book to you. ( )