Books

Book Review: Sister of the Bollywood Bride by Nandini Bajpai

Sister of the Bollywood Bride by Nandini Bajpai is about a young girl named Mini who’s in charge of planning her sister Vinnie’s wedding. With her dad focusing on his new start-up company and her sister is preoccupied with her medical residency, Mini is the only one available to plan it. Their mom died and even though Mini knows more about computers than weddings, she knows their mom would’ve wanted Vinnie to have a big Bollywood wedding. Unfortunately, Mini only has two months to plan this wedding and doesn’t want anything to distract her, especially not Vir Mirchandani. When a hurricane is headed for Boston, will Mini be able to step up for her sister’s sake?

Sister of the Bollywood Bride is perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi. Content warning: This book talks about dealing with grief and the loss of a loved one.

Highlights

  • I loved that Mimi wanted to go the extra mile for her sister. This book showed what a close family is like in a desi household and I would love to see more books like this!
  • There is undeniable chemistry between the two main leads: Mimi and Vir. Vir is always there whenever Mimi needs someone. It’s cute to see how he’s so reliable.
  • There’s a strong emphasis on spending time with loved ones and going the mile for those whom you care about.

 

Lowlights
  • The scenes with Mimi’s friends are relatively abrupt. I would’ve loved to know more about Mimi’s friends and what they’re like.
  • I would’ve liked to see someone from the groom’s side help out at this wedding! Typically, events are held on both sides so that would’ve been nice to see but I also get that this novel focused mainly on the event held by the bride’s side of the family.

 

Final thoughts: This book is adorable and ideal for Sandhya Menon fans! I loved reading about Mimi, Mimi’s sister, and Vir! The characters are loveable and it’s refreshing to see an Indian teen embrace their culture. As a South Asian, it meant a lot to see a book with desi characters and a close-knit family!

 

You can follow Nandini Bajpai here!

Amani Salahudeen

Amani is pursuing a Master's in Teaching (Secondary English Education) and enjoys writing about YA books in her free time. Her favorite authors include S.K. Ali, Chloe Gong, Sabaa Tahir, Hafsah Faizal, Sandhya Menon, Angie Thomas, Lamar Giles, Nic Stone, John Green, and many others!

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