The Rearranged Life by Annika Sharma **Blog Tour & Review**

Nithya, a vivacious, intelligent and driven college senior has always known what she has wanted: a successful career in medicine and the love of her family. She's even come to terms with the idea of an arranged marriage, a tradition her conservative Indian family has held up for thousands of years.

When a night of partying puts her on a collision course with danger, Nithya's entire life changes. 

Enter James St. Clair, the smart, challenging and heartbreakingly handsome American. 

As Nithya and James fall in love, she questions the future she and her parents have always planned. Now, Nithya has a choice to make: become a doctor and a good Indian bride, or step away from her family and centuries of culture to forge her own path. 

The decision she comes to takes her on a journey that transforms how she sees her future, her relationships with loved ones, and how she learns to put herself back together when even her best-laid plans fall apart.

**4 Cultural Stars**

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I instantly thought 'Bend it like Beckham.' And because I had enjoyed this movie and every kind of similar story, I thought that I would finally read a different kind of forbidden love, so it didn't take me long to decide that I was excited to be reading this story.

In the western world, arranged marriages are seen as ghastly or inhumane. In India, it's the norm.

Nithya is a girl from India who was born and raised in America. She's trying to blend in, her whole life, trying not to forget where she came from, but also trying to assimilate in the place she's living, along with a much different culture than the one she's following. So far she's been in a great place, even though she had to make sacrifices through the years.

Our heroine is supposed to marry an Indian, a guy with the same culture, a guy that her family will approve and arrange the whole thing for them. Nishanth seems to be the perfect soon-to- be husband. He's a nice guy, fun and their parents are old friends, so he seems to be the perfect match. But what happens when Nithya's heart seem to be already stolen by James? A typical american boy, who came in her rescue and ever since occupied her mind?

Nithya is fighting against what she wants vs what she's supposed to want. What she desires against what everyone expects from her. Compromising for her family's sake or crushing them down. She owes everything to them, so could she really be that selfish and ungrateful? Can she stand up for her own choices or go along with her family's as she always did?

This is really a very challenging novel. I could really understand Nithya's feelings and hesitations. I think that everyone would want their family's approval when it comes to your other half. When you have a close relationship to them, it is significant to not disappoint them with your choice. Of course if they love you and understand you, they should also support you no matter what (in my humble opinion), but I still understood that it's not easy when it has to do with a much different culture.

"Who would want to be with someone who has no choice about what to do? Who wants to risk falling in love with someone if they might end up belonging to someone else?"

I really enjoyed this journey and liked the turn of the events, but I was also slightly disappointed with a few matters.. I'm going to add them in a spoiler section, so if you want to read this book, don't read them. (view spoiler)[
1)I liked the boy from India and I felt like we didn't get a closure from his character. I wanted to see how he responded to the turn of the events. Yes, he mentioned that he would be her friend, but he was also into her, so I did felt bad for him. And I won't deny that I shipped him with her, at some point. I wished she would end up with her, because he was a really likeable character. But the true reason is another one of my disappointment.
2)James didn't fight for her. He didn't do anything. He just waited for her. Yes, he gave her space and all that, but if he loved her, I'd like to see him working for that. For me it seemed that NIthya was on her own battle without his support and that's when I wished she would have chosen Nishanth instead. (hide spoiler)]

I would definitely recommend this book, if you like forbidden romances. It's not a light read, since it's going to put you into thoughts, but it's not as heavy as I thought. I expected more drama to be honest. It's a nice journey with many elements from India, showing you things about their food, their wedding or christmas ethics etc. I think you're going to enjoy it. :)

PS: I would love to read more about their journey after the point we left them. You know, when a door closes another one opens, so why not? ;)

Arc kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review 

View all my reviews


Annika Sharman Bio:

Annika Sharma was born in New Delhi and brought up in the United States, where she moved with her parents as a baby. A proud alum, she graduated from Penn State University with dual degrees in Biobehavioral Health and Neuro-Psychology, and minors in Biology and Human Development and Family Studies. She received her Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education before pursuing her dreams of becoming a writer, landing her agent Stacey Donaghy of Donaghy Literary Group while daylighting as a preschool teacher. The Rearranged Life, her first novel, was written in the month before graduate school.

Annika, a Gryffindor and Scorpio, spends much of her time dreaming of adventure, working on her next book, going on Starbucks runs with family and friends, shopping online and watching superhero movies.

The Rearranged Life, will be hitting shelves on May 15th, 2015, published by Curiosity Quills Press.


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