Author Shobhan Bantwal has created a story about tradition, history, family values, and love. She sprinkled in bits of humor for a well-blended novel.
While the outline of the story is familiar - woman falls for man she’s suppose to help find a wife - there’s more depth here. Bantwal brings traditional Indian customs together with modern second-generation spunk. She shows the inner battle modern Indian-Americans face while dealing with century old traditions and customs still held firmly by their parents.
Meena Shenoy enjoys her job as marketing and public relations manager at Rathnaya, Inc. At 31, she is being urged by her family to marry. She dates but hasn’t found the one to hold her attention. That is until she met the CEO of her company, Prajay Nayak.
Meanwhile, Prajay is also being pressured by his family to marry as he nears 40 years old. On a whim, Prajay enlists Meena for help. He wants her to place an ad seeking his perfect bride.
Reluctant to do so at first, Meena finally agrees to find a bride for the man she’s fallen in love with. Prajay’s requirements in a bride in no way resemble Meena. He wants statuesque to match his six-foot frame, Meena’s petite and weighs around 80 pounds.
From there the adventure begins. The pair is faced with following traditions or their hearts. THE RELUCTANT MATCHMAKER moves at a steady pace and holds your attention from beginning to end. For readers not familiar with Indian traditions, it is enlightening. This is a fun story for all readers.
The Reluctant Matchmaker by Shobhan Bantwal, Kensington, @2012, ISBN: 978-0758258854, Paperback, 352 Pages
FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me as part of the author’s blog tour in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.
Do you enjoy reading and learning about other cultures and traditions? Thanks so much for stopping by today.
**NOTE: Please be sure to stop in on Tuesday, Aug. 14, when author Shobhan Bantwal joins us as part of her Premier Virtual Author Book Tour. She will be answering some questions about her writing and about featuring an Indian-American protagonist. In addition, she will be offering a giveaway. See ya then.
This sounds like a wonderful book. And yes, I do love reading about other cultures.
ReplyDeleteMason - What an interesting context for this story! It sounds as though this is not just a solid plot but has a fascinating cultural background to it too. How neat!
ReplyDeleteEven though those premises are done a lot, I love them!
ReplyDeleteI do like reading about other cultures. The only way we broaden our world view is by meeting people from other places and other cultures, even if it is only in a story.
ReplyDeleteI beleive learning about other cultures can bring our world together. Thanks for taking part in the tour. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book!
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