They ended their marriage but they never fell out of
love…
Law student Anita Virani hasn't seen her ex-husband since
the ink dried on their divorce papers. Now she's agreed to pretend she's still
married to Nikhil until his sister's wedding celebrations are over -- because
her former mother-in-law neglected to tell her family of their split! The
closeness they share during the marriage act gives Anita new insight into the
man she once loved so deeply. And reignites Nikhil's feelings for her…
Terrific second chance romance. Anita and Nikhil married
young and divorced after just two years. They haven't seen each other in the
three years since then. When Nikhil arrives at his mother's home for the start
of his sister, Tina's, five days of wedding festivities, he is shocked to find
his ex-wife there. Furious, he confronts his mother, who confesses that she
never told the rest of the family about the divorce. Afraid of the news's
effect on her elderly father, Nikhil's mother begs him to pretend they are
still married until the wedding is over.
Nikhil is very reluctant to play along. He's still hurt
and angry over the way Anita walked away from their marriage. Anita is also dubious,
but his mother made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Forced to spend time
together to keep up the deception, it doesn't take long for old feelings to
resurface. But both of them have significant baggage from their past that must
be dealt with before they can think about giving in to those feelings.
Nikhil is the odd man out in his family. All of the
others are lawyers, while he is a writer. Despite being a best-selling author, Nikhil
gets no respect from his family members. I ached for him because it's obvious
that it hurts. I lost count of the number of times he was put down, asked when
he'd get a "real job," or just plain ignored. Meanwhile, Anita, who
is in her third year of law school, gets all of the attention he doesn't, which
adds to his frustration. I could feel Nikhil's determination to show them all,
even though he did the same things he blamed them for.
I liked how the time they spent together brought back
memories of the good times, which helped make their forced proximity easier to
carry off. With a little more maturity under their belts, they also begin to
see that neither one was blameless in the failure of their marriage. I loved
seeing them open up about their feelings and perceptions during those last days
and realize that they'd still be married if they'd been better at communicating.
It gave me hope for them when I saw Nikhil's pride in Anita's community law
work and Anita's vocal support of him when his family's cluelessness/obnoxiousness
got out of hand.
When Nikhil's ex-girlfriend shows up and wants him back,
she doesn't take well to being denied. I could tell she would be trouble,
especially when Anita got involved. In this case, Nikhil's brother had his back,
and I loved seeing them deal with her quickly and decisively. Unfortunately,
she didn't go quietly and stirred up quite a storm in her wake. I loved Anita's
response.
With the cat out of the bag, Nikhil and Anita have some
soul-searching and decisions to make. I loved Nikhil's advice from his brother
and mother, which helped him realize he couldn't let history repeat itself. I
loved his big moment and seeing that they've both learned from their mistakes.
The epilogue was fantastic.
I loved the setting of a traditional Indian wedding. The
information about the clothes, food, and entertainment was fascinating. I'm not
familiar with the ceremonies, and I loved how each part was shown in a way that
I could easily understand. I also liked how each event that Anita and Nikhil
participated in brought back memories or gave them the chance to clear up
something from their past.
The family dynamics were complex. Nikhil's feelings of
being the black sheep were understandable because of how he was treated. His
backstory made his insecurity when it came to anything to do with the family
law firm heartbreaking to witness. Nikhil's mother irritated me through most of
the book because she was one of the worst offenders, mainly to "save
face" with her relatives. I liked Nikhil's grandfather. He was kind,
funny, and more with-it than most gave him credit for. Nikhil's aunts were a
pain and busybodies of the worst variety. I loved his sister, Tina, and her
support of Nikhil. His brother Rocky bugged me for a long time but redeemed
himself. I liked the younger couples, who seemed more relaxed and fun-loving.
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