The Bewildered Bride was the first book I read by Vanessa Riley and it definitely won't be the last. Forces outside their control kept Adam and Ruth aThe Bewildered Bride was the first book I read by Vanessa Riley and it definitely won't be the last. Forces outside their control kept Adam and Ruth apart and it was lovely watching them reunite and fall in love all over again!
Merged review:
The Bewildered Bride was the first book I read by Vanessa Riley and it definitely won't be the last. Forces outside their control kept Adam and Ruth apart and it was lovely watching them reunite and fall in love all over again!...more
I’ve seen comments that this book leans more towards women’s fiction than romance. I’m inclined to agree but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. ThisI’ve seen comments that this book leans more towards women’s fiction than romance. I’m inclined to agree but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. This book filled my heart with warmth, and healed some of the parts still broken from Before I Let Go. This Could Be Us is Soledad’s story. She learns the truth about her horrible husband and is left to rebuild her life for herself and her daughters. Along the way, she discovers her strengths and what she had hidden about herself. Eventually she does fall in love with Judah and that is a beautiful story as well. He’s a delightful hero and allows Soledad the time to heal herself. But this story is really a love story about Soledad and it was refreshing and heart-lifting to read....more
For someone who's favorite Shakespeare is Much Ado About Nothing, it should not have taken me to chapter 25 to make the connection between the weddingFor someone who's favorite Shakespeare is Much Ado About Nothing, it should not have taken me to chapter 25 to make the connection between the wedding venue being named Messina, which is the location of the play. There were on of the nose parallels between Tastes Like Shakkar and Much Ado (I live for the play on "'I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me" with Bobbi declaring she'd rather hear a dog bark at her Jersey City apartment.) Plus the bickering between Bobbi and Bunty, with props for Nisha Sharma giving them a backstory as to why they bicker. There was Deepak in the role of Don Pedro, matchmaking friends, a villain trying to sabotage the wedding, and aunties as the night watch. But the story was also modernized with losing the Hero/Claudio/"dying" of grief storyline which admittedly would have been hard to pull off. Instead we get family drama from both Bobbi and Bunty's families. There's a lot going on in this book but it all comes together so well. And it's so sexy too! We get to see Bobbi, the always in control wedding planner, submitting to and even being tied up by Bunty when they do get together. And those scenes are scorching.
One of my favorite things of Much Ado is how the bickering turns into love and then the devotion especially shown by Benedick. Our Benedick (Bunty) has a tougher time in this story as he is being pulled away from Bobbi by his family obligations. This is where Nisha Sharma ties the story with intergenerational immigrant families and guilt in such a skillful way. This story had heart and was so complex and beautiful at the same time. You get the quirky Shakespeare callouts, the steaminess, the caring moments between friends, as well as family pressure, stress as things go wrong, hysterical aunties and all come together to form a gripping love story you won't want to put down!...more
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