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January Book Club - The Full Moon Bride

The Full Moon Bride
by Shobhan Bantwal

Description:
What makes a marriage—love or compatibility? Passion or pragmatism? Shobhan Bantwal's compelling new novel explores the fascinating subject of arranged marriage, as a young Indian-American woman navigates the gulf between desire and tradition. . .
 To Soorya Giri, arranged marriages have always seemed absurd. But while her career as an environmental lawyer has flourished, Soorya is still a virgin, living with her parents in suburban New Jersey. She wants to be married. And she is finally ready to do the unthinkable. . .
 Soorya's first bridal viewings are as awkward as she anticipated. But then she's introduced to Roger Vadepalli. Self-possessed, intelligent, and charming, Roger is clearly interested in marriage and seems eager to clinch the deal. Attracted to him in spite of her mistrust, Soorya is also drawn into a flirtation with Lou, a widowed colleague who is far from her family's idea of an acceptable husband. In choosing between two very different men, Soorya must reconcile her burgeoning independence and her conservative background. And she must decide what matters most to her—not just in a husband, but in a family, a culture, and a life. . . (from Goodreads)

The Good:
We all agreed that we loved the cover art. It just makes the book inviting. We liked that Soorya was a big girl and didn't have to lose all her weight to find her happy ever after. Yes her weight was talked about and she was on that weird color diet, but it wasn't important for her to lose the weight to find the right guy. And we were all very happy that she ended up with the right guy for her.


The Bad:
I'm sad to say that even through we liked the book, we found more things we didn't like than we liked (if that makes sense).  We felt that Soorya was a bit too immature for her age, though we could see how it might have been due to her upbringing and her way of life. It could have been this that led to the comment that she also was very insecure with herself.

We also questioned who the audience of the book was, we felt there was a bit too much explanation and if we felt that way how would Indian-Americans feel reading the book and already knowing all these details?

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