Any book of best-selling author Sundari Venkatraman is guaranteed to be feel-good, even if there are tense situations along the way.
The Smitten Husband was a quick and cozy afternoon read on my birthday followed by a happy feeling with a mug of-gasp!-masala chai, and was most enjoyable.
Wait, first things first. If you are wondering why chai and not coffee, I just want you to know that I had already consumed four mugs of coffee in the a.m. and thought it prudent to chai it in the afternoon. Sigh. Now that we have that out of the way, let's check out Sundari's latest book!
The Smitten Husband
The Smitten Husband, a romance novella is Sundari Venkatraman's eighth book. This is a hot romance and is Book #1 of the 5-novella series titled Marriages Made in India.
Ram Maheshwari is a successful jewellery designer who has a huge showroom on MI Road, Jaipur. He's tall, dark, handsome and a billionaire to boot. He's twenty-nine and falls in with his parents' wishes when they try to arrange his marriage. The lovely, stormy-eyed Sapna Purohit is from Pushkar. She's managed to finish school and makes a living by doing mehendi designs during weddings. She's always dreamt of a Prince on a white horse, sweeping her off her feet. One look into Sapna's grey eyes and Ram is lost. Only, Sapna's unable to see her Prince in Ram. Being from a poor family, she has no choice but to go along with the tide when the Maheshwaris offer to bear all expenses of the wedding. Does that mean that the feisty Sapna is all set to accept Ram as her husband? She puts forth a condition, after the wedding. Will The Smitten Husband agree to it? *MARRIAGES MADE IN INDIA is a five-novella series that revolves around the characters you have met in The Runaway Bridegroom. The Smitten Husband - my review
You read the book blurb, so you know what the story is about. For a change, it was nice to see that the heroine of the book takes her time over the relationship, while, for the hero, it is love at first sight. Now, Sundari's heroes are always gorgeous and super-decent men. Hot. They are what every woman's fantasy is made of. I like that! When I started reading the book, I was pleasantly surprised to meet my old friends from "The Runaway Bridegroom". This story revolves around the same family and we have a short reappearance of Chandni and Ranveer Singh, who were the lead folks in The Runaway Bridegroom.
As I said, the book was an easy and quick read. So much love and affection threading through both families involved. It is a classic tale of a well-grounded and nice, rich family settled in Jaipur, seeking an alliance the old-fashioned way through an astrologer they trust implicitly to steer them in the right direction. And so he does. He recommends that they meet their prospective bride's family in Pushkar. That the family is poor doesn't matter to them, as they themselves are billionaires. All that matters is that the bride should be a good match for their son.
The rich Maheshwari family heads out to Pushkar to meet the Purohit family and everything seems to be going well, except the bride, Sapna, has her own dreams of meeting her Prince Charming, just as her friend did. How can she be sure that Ram Maheshwari is The One for her? What guarantee that she will like life in the city when she doesn't even know English? Why should she leave the comfort of her routine where everyone recognizes her talents as a mehendi artist? She puts up a series of objections when she meets Ram.
However, she doesn't want to disappoint her own family and goes through with the wedding. She makes it clear to the besotted Ram that they will be husband and wife "in name only". Ram is naturally frustrated. In spite of herself, Sapna finds herself attracted to her husband over the days that follow, when, for appearances sake, they go on a honeymoon as scheduled. They keep up the pretence of a married couple after they return home, since Sapna is not convinced that she loves Ram. Ram, being the decent guy he is, assures Sapna that she can go ahead and enrol in English conversation classes, and also explore the possibilities of setting up a beauty parlor where she can offer her mehendi art services. Once she feels independent, she can decide whether she wants to stay in the marriage.
So what does Sapna decide? Does she want to stay in the marriage? Is she convinced Ram is her "Prince Charming"?
I suggest you read the book and find out. The book is a #1 bestseller on Amazon.in
♥
I loved the closeness among the siblings in Ram's family. I liked that Sapna is outspoken. I liked how the story ended.
I cannot deny that I am a fan of novels that are part of a series and I enjoy the excitement of getting hold of every book in the series and reading them as if there was no tomorrow. One other romance author that comes to mind is Bernadette Marie, with her Keller Family, Walker Family, Aspen Creek series, and many more, with each novel focused around the life and romance of member of the family. Nice continuity. Of these, I enjoyed the Keller Family series most, which has 11 books! So, what I am saying is, I can't wait for the rest of the books in the Marriages Made In India series by Sundari.
Well done, again, Sundari! Thank you for a digital review copy of the book!
About Sundari Venkatraman, the Author
The Smitten Husband is the eighth book authored by Sundari Venkatraman. This is a hot romance and is Book #1 of the 5-novella series titled Marriages Made in India. Other published novels by the author are The Malhotra Bride, Meghna, The Runaway Bridegroom, The Madras Affair and An Autograph for Anjali-all romances. She also has a collection of romantic short stories called Matches Made in Heaven; and a collection of human interest stories called Tales of Sunshine. All of Sundari Venkatraman's books have been on Amazon Top 100 Bestsellers in India, USA, UK & Australia many times over.
See a longer version of Sundari's bio here
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Writer, editor, blogger, social media enthusiast. Love DIY, Coffee, Music, Reading, Photography, Family, Friends and Life. Mantra: Happiness is a DIY Project. In my free time I play with my dust bunnies and show my diabetes who's boss. Tweet as @vidyasury
