Reviewed by Maria
This took me a while to read as I had to do so in my computer time. No e-reader as yet, you see. Well, what can I say?
It's romance author Nicola Marsh's love song to Bollywood. Bollywood? The Indian Hindi language film industry to be precise. Nicola is a Harlequin Mills and Boon author. She writes exquisite romance novels. She's also a fan of what could be called Bollywood 'masala' movies. Movies with lots of singing, dancing, crazy plots and over the top characters. Pure entertainment. If you like a film, you can actually watch it over and over again and never be bored. I should know, I've watched loads of them along with my family.
This novel could be described as Bollywood meets Mills and Boon.
If you enjoy romantic fiction (as I do) and Bollywood masala movies (as I also do!) you'll adore this! It's a little gem. Entertainment all the way. I could actually picture this as a Bollywood movie as I read, dance scenes and all. I think that was the idea.
Shari the heroine, a feisty New York lass of Indian origin, somewhat down on her luck after coming out of a bad relationship, agrees to help out her best friend, Amrita. She goes to Mumbai to ditch Amrita's unwanted fiance. The results are beyond what anyone could foresee and Shari finds her knight in shining armour too.
I know slightly more about India than most western readers would which can be a pain. I first thought the Rama and Muthu families were south Indians who had migrated to Mumbai. Then I noticed a predominance of north Indian names in the families and I thought 'hey?'. The wedding scene I read was north Indian too. Then it struck me! Mumbai (Bombay!) is in western India. Hindi movies are watched in northern India and there are a great many south Indians in the Bollywood film industry. Enough said. A north Indian Bollywood actor recently had an arranged marriage with a south Indian and the wedding was a traditional northern one. The truth is, Mumbai is a bit of a cultural melting pot. I could almost hear Shari telling me to quit the hell analysing and get on with reading the book. So I did.
I found the scenes where Shari visited her Indian birthplace very touching and think that there could possibly be material for another novel there. Shari's parents' love story maybe?
My conclusion? Paisa vasool, as we say in (north) India. That means value for money, BTW.
Review by Nas
BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD by author Nicola Marsh is a sensational story releasing in December 2011.
Shari Jones agrees to impersonate her best friend and travel to India to break-off Amrita’s arranged engagement to Rakesh Rama. Going to a welcome party at the Rama’s, she is called on her impersonation by Rakesh at first sight. He has seen the real Amrita’s photo. Yet he wants Shari to continue the charade in exchange for fixing him a date with the real Amrita. Then there is the added tension of Rakesh’s business partner, Drew Lansford, who also saw the file and thinks Shari is out to fleece business tycoon Rakesh by pretending to be his betrothed.
Shari has fun at Drew’s expense by keeping up the charade all the while drawn to his mersmerizing eyes and hot bod!
Then there’s a stalker after Shari, taking her for a famous Bollywood star!
After clearing up the misunderstanding, Shari and Drew get in to a fling when he visits New York. While Rakesh and Rita get into a cozy romance after the first sight!
But what will happen when Rakesh’s parents find out that Shari is not Rakesh’s intended? And especially when they catch Shari in a clinch with Drew?
And can Shari get the happy-ever-after with Drew as is her heart’s desire?
Opening up her heart and living with Drew back in Mumbai had restored her faith in herself. She felt herself healed from past betrayal by the vibrant country and the love of an incredible man. But can this love turn into something long-term?
BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is an incredible inner journey of Shari as well as the trip to Mumbai and her growing love of India. Shari experiences the exotic Indian cuisine amid the dazzled and frazzled Mumbai, with its unique smell of diesel fumes, sandalwood and smoke from burning cow-patties!
USA Bestselling Author Nicola Marsh’s BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD is truly a magical read. The witty banter and the flirting, the breathtaking romance, the spectacular emotional punch, and the believable conflict of how Indian families organize and interfere in any and everything had me flipping pages late into the night. The vivid atmospheric details amid the fast paced story kept me spell bound!
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