The Other Man - Farhad J Dadyburjor

Genre: Romance | Romantic Comedy | Contemporary Romance

Release Date: Expected 12th October 2021

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Ved has everything - he's gorgeous, tall, wealthy, successful and he's getting married to Disha - a beautiful and equally as wealthy woman. There's only one problem - his overbearing mother pressured him into this marriage and he's actually gay.

Ved tries to commit himself to following through with his wedding for his family, and even finds Disha to be a wonderful friend, but then he meets Carlos. A handsome American businessman visiting Mumbai for a few weeks who is everything he didn't dare to dream about. Now, instead of getting ready for his own engagement party, Ved is falling in love. And he needs to decide whether he's ready to risk everything for a chance to finally be himself.

The Other Man takes place just before Homosexuality was finally decriminalized in India, where arranged marriages are still commonplace and even enforced in some cultures. So aside from having to worry about what his seemingly traditional family will think, Ved has to worry about actually being persecuted for falling in love.

At the beginning of this story, I didn't think I was going to love Ved - it felt like the first page was full of forced exposition and Ved seemed two-dimensional and stiff. But I was wrong, and happily so! I fell in love with him very quickly, he was highly flawed and made bad decisions, he didn't know how to take a break, he upset other people and himself, but ultimately he always tried to be there for the people he cared about. The other characters were wonderfully written and vibrant, especially Disha and Carlos.

This book was full of heart and warmth, with tonnes of charm. Brimming with utterly adorable romance, it definitely bordered on cheesy at times but it worked so well. Far too easy to read in one sitting and I will definitely be waiting to see what Dadyburjor does next.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Farhad J Dadyburjor, Lake Union and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Comments

REVIEW: This Could Be Us by Clare McGowan

Genre: Fiction | Literary Fiction Release Date: Expected 1st June 2023 Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group | Corsair Kate has done the unthinkable. She'd worked hard to build a perfect life for herself, while ignoring her growing unhappiness. But when her second child was born profoundly disabled, reality hit. Unable to cope, Kate left - disappearing without a trace. She ends up in LA, with a glittering career and a new family of sorts, but the guilt is still suffocating. Husband Andrew was left to pick up the pieces and care for their disabled daughter and angry, confused son. Bereft and broken, he leaned on Olivia, Kate's best friend. She's been by his side ever since, ignoring her own needs to meet his. Years later, Andrew has written a memoir about his daughter learning to communicate against all odds. But when Kate's new producer husband decides he wants to make a film of it, their worlds collide once again. Now, Kate must return to the life she abandoned and reck...

REVIEW: Live, Laugh, Lesbian by Helen Scott

Genre: Non-Fiction | Memoir | LGTBQ+ Release Date: 19th October 2023 Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Part memoir, part guide, part conversation and all queer joy — Live, Laugh, Lesbian is a brilliantly warm and friendly journey into the queer experience, not only from the author but from plenty of other lesbian, queer, bisexual and pansexual contributors who bring a unique viewpoint and voice and also show a beautiful diverse, intersectional scope of the queer spectrum and welcomes in queer people and allies of any kind to come feel the love. The book is very conversational, talking to the reader in a fun, friendly way — at times I rolled my eyes as the use of “famalam” but as a previous patron of Colours and Chicagos I’m not in a position to judge the Essex-isms. It’s full of anecdotes and observations that were witty and relatable as well as talking is through the more difficult side of queerness like dealing with workplace discrimination, religious trauma and coming out to family...

BOOK TOUR STOP x RANDOM THINGS TOURS: Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen

" This town has secrets that are best left alone." Author Hannah is a success, on paper at least. She's receiving critical acclaim and praise worldwide and her work is regarded as some of the best. She writes literature, not just books. But the reality is, outside of the literary circles nobody actually reads her work. But when she finally snaps at a book event and publicly criticises the genre fiction books that outsell hers, claiming they're easy and mindless she's challenged to write her own crime fiction novel in just thirty days by an author she loathes. Desperate not to lose to him, her editor arranges for her to spend a month in a quiet, cold village in Iceland hoping that the solitude will spark inspiration. But instead of writing a murder story - she's in one . Just before she arrives, the body of a young man is pulled from the icy waters and her search for ideas soon becomes a search for a killer. And if she's not careful, she might end up the...

On Bee's Bookshelf

Search This Blog