Claiming His Bollywood Cinderella by Tara Pammi Series: Born into Bollywood #1
Published by Harlequin on November 1, 2020
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 224
Format: eBook ARC
Source: NetGalley
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He’s a Bollywood superstar, she’s a personal assistant… And their one night proves that keeping things professional will be impossible in this passionate and uplifting Cinderella romance from Tara Pammi.
A brief encounter… A forbidden fairy tale!
The hottest actor in Bollywood, Vikram Raawal has found love countless times—when he’s playing a role. In real life, he’s given up on finding a soul-deep connection and prefers to focus entirely on his career. Until at a masquerade ball, one woman leaves him craving more…
Naina Menon’s first impression of drop-dead gorgeous Vikram left much to be desired. But then one heart-stopping night shows her there’s so much more to him than his celebrity persona. Still, he’s a billionaire, and she’s a humble assistant. Is passion enough to bridge their different worlds
(I received a copy of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
What I loved about this novel was the duel POV. It’s really hard for me to get into romance novels that aren’t told in a duel POV. I’m so happy this story had one because I loved getting inside Naina and Vikram’s minds and seeing them interact and fall in love.
Naina is very intelligent, strong willed and independent, but part of me thought she was a little bit too “prejudiced” against Vikram than I thought she would be. She jumped to conclusions quickly and was pretty stubborn in her opinions sometimes. She almost came off a bit immature when I thought she’d be more mature & going toe-to-toe with Vikram. With that said, I still liked learning more about her and seeing her relationship develop with Vikram and with herself.
Vikram definitely had a “princely” air about him in that he was stand-offish and could be harsh sometimes, but a lot of his personality I think came from his past and his current drive to build up his parent’s company. He’s driven, but cares for his family. I don’t think he was expecting someone like Naina to come barreling into his life, but I felt like he was slightly more open to the relationship than Naina even though he had to end up making the bigger gesture at the end.
This romance was a quick read that dipped into the Bollywood world. I loved seeing that as a backdrop and how it played a role in both of the characters’ development and decisions. It was a nice little escape into a celebrity world in a different country and I loved every minute of it!
While I loved the backdrop, the conflict and eventually the romance, I did feel like this story wasn’t so much a Cinderella retelling as you’re led to believe. I also felt like I had a hard time connecting with the characters at different parts. It felt like the characters weren’t quite matched which made it harder to root for them. But still, I did root for them and I did enjoy seeing their journey and ending. I just felt like it was a bit of a struggle for me in some parts and I wished I connected with the characters more. Sometimes the romance just didn’t work for me. But that’s okay! Not every book or every scene is going to work for every reader. I still ended up finishing this in one setting and enjoying the small escape into this Bollywood romance world.
Overall, an enjoyable read with a great backdrop that allows you to escape for a few hours. Might not be a re-read, but still worth checking out!
Let me know your thoughts about this novel! Have you read it before? Are you interested in reading it? Have you read other novels set in Bollywood? Drop your thoughts below!
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