Marriage Unarranged by Ritu Bhathal ~ Book Review

I am absolutely thrilled to be today’s stop on the blog tour for; Marriage Unarranged by Ritu Bhathal, I am incredibly excited to be sharing my review of this laugh out loud romantic comedy.

It all s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶e̶d̶ ended with that box…

The year 2000 and Aashi’s life was all set.
New Millennium ,exciting beginnings, new life.
Or so she thought.

Like in the Bollywood films, Ravi would woo her, charm her family and they’d get married and live happily ever after.

But then Aashi found the empty condom box…

Putting her ex-fiancé and her innocence behind her, Aashi embarks upon an enlightening journey, to another country, where vibrant memories are created, and unforgettable friendships forged.

Old images erased, new beginnings to explore.

And how can she forget the handsome stranger she meets?
A stranger who’s hiding something…

Coming Summer 2023 , book 2 in The Rishtay Series

Buy Links

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marriage-Unarranged-Rishtay-Book-ebook/dp/B09SBSSD67

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/Marriage-Unarranged-Rishtay-Book-ebook/dp/B09SBSSD67/

Review

Firstly look at that cover…go on scroll up, take a look and the gorgeousness of it, I’ll wait here…..

Seen it? Isn’t it so pretty?

It was that and the title which caught my eye instantly and once reading the synopsis I knew that I needed to read this book and by Jove am I so pleased that I did, I am complete love!!

This is the first book I have read by Ritu Bhathal….why, oh why have I not read her work before now? Well, that will certainly be resolved, I can’t wait to load my Kindle with more of her gorgeously feel-good and wonderfully witty stories.

Aashi is about to be married to Bollywood star; Ravi, but she soon comes to realise that Ravi isn’t all that he appears to be, she finds some rather incriminating evidence of his personality and before they say their ‘I Do’s she breaks off the engagement. Good for her, I say! But, not so good for her as she understands more than most that her actions could bring huge embarrassment and scandal to her family.

Aashi is a wonderful young woman, she is a little naive and far too innocent for this big bad world but I really liked her loyalty to her family and friends, it’s heartening and speaks to me. She worries and stresses for them, but she also must make the right decision for herself and that pushes her towards a trip of a lifetime, one that will open her eyes and her heart to wonders and experiences which will change her completely.

I loved that instead of wasting the honeymoon or cancelling it she chose to go on honeymoon herself along with her two brothers; Bali and Sunny and her best friend; Kiran they all head off to India. I am in absolute love with the colourful and vivid descriptions of this beautiful country, I’ve never been personally, but I have a few friends who have been who have had the most magical of trips, and India has always appealed to me; whether it’s the actual country, the people, the buildings, the food – who knows! Reading this is as though we the reader are beside Aashi steps out of her comfort zone and has the adventure of a lifetime, I loved learning about the culture, the traditions even the sights and the aromas it’s so wonderful and…well, colourful.

I really liked that at the beginning of the book there is a reference page which has a list of Punjab terms which will appear throughout the book, it’s incredibly useful and once you start absorbing yourself into the story and getting to know the family you soon fall instep and forget all about the reference list.

This is all about self-discovery, it’s about family and friendship with a lovely hint of romance. There is so much emotion laced through the pages, but most of all I felt incredibly happy while reading it, I was smiling throughout and was left wanting more colour in my life – which for someone who lives in black says a lot 😉

It’s cheerful and charming, a definite must read and I can’t wait to read more from the series.

Author Bio

Ritu Bhathal was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but of Indian origin. This colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her. From childhood, she always enjoyed reading. This love of books is credited to her mother. The joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry. Winning little writing competitions at school and locally encouraged her to continue writing.

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, she has drawn inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that she writes. A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, she now deals with classes of children as a sideline to her writing! Ritu also writes a blog, www.butismileanyway.com, a mixture of life and creativity, thoughts and opinions, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog Category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards and Best Book Blog in 2019.

Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.

Follow her at
Facebook : www.facebook.com/RituBhathal/

Instagram : www.instagram.com/ritubhathalwrites/

Twitter: twitter.com/RituBhathal

TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@ritubhathalauthor

Website: http://www.ritubhathal.com/

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