Busted in Bollywood by Nicola Marsh

Title: Busted in Bollywood
Author: Nicola Marsh
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Courtesy of NetGalley
Expected Publication: December 6, 2011

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Synopsis:

Shari Jones needs to get a life. Preferably someone else’s.

Single, homeless and jobless, Indo-American Shari agrees to her best friend’s whacky scheme: travel to Mumbai, pose as Amrita, and ditch the fiancé her traditional Indian parents have chosen. Simple. Until she’s mistaken for a famous Bollywood actress, stalked by a Lone Ranger wannabe, courted by an English lord, and busted by the blackmailing fiancé. Life is less complicated in New York.

Or so she thinks, until the entourage of crazies follows her to the Big Apple and that’s when the fun really begins. Shari deals with a blossoming romance, an addiction to Indian food and her first movie role, while secretly craving another trip to the mystical land responsible for sparking her new lease on life. Returning to her Indian birthplace, she has an epiphany. Maybe the happily-ever-after of her dreams isn’t so far away?

Busted in Bollywood was just what I needed after a week-long reading marathon. I needed something light, fun, and sexy with a whole load of drama thrown into mix. Written in first person, Shari draws you into her journey to Mumbai, India to dump her best friends arranged-fiance. Ms. Marsh does a wonderful job bringing you into the Indian culture. Explicit details about their food, customs, and of course...the world of movie making in India.

We find Shari Jones with a broken-heart and downing mojitoes with her best friend, Amrita Muthu. Shari has agreed to travel from New York to India to impersonate Amrita. Amrita's parents have promised her to a man she has no desire to meet, much less marry. Interesting part is...she hasn't even seen his picture, throwing it in the trash when her parents gave it to her. Now, Rakesh, said sorta-fiance, is much smarter than Amrita or Shari gives him credit for - not to mention rich.

Shari arrives in Mumbai and meets Amjali...Amrita's crazy aunt. Her aunt is on the facade and has her own reasons for helping. Amjali is fantastically funny and left me laughing out loud on several occasions. She is a fiercely protective woman, placing herself directly in the lions den in order to save her niece from a lifetime of regret. She believes Amrita should be allowed to make her own decisions about love.

Once Shari meets Rakesh, she realizes that Amrita must meet him...and not just because he knows Shari isn't Amrita...but because he is simply amazing. Funny, rich, handsome, smart...everything any woman would want. However, a serious issue arises when Shari agrees to continue with the charade so neither family becomes suspicious. Someone enters the picture that could ruin everything, all the while, sweeping Shari off her feet. Someone else knows that Shari is not Rakesh's beloved Amrita. Someone else who is funny, rich, handsome, smart, and sexy-as-hell.

Once back in America, things begin to take off. Romances blossom, parents come out of the woodwork, drama arises, sex ensues. You know...all that fun stuff.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The only complaint I have is that it started off entirely too slow. I need books to get right down to it. The first couple of chapters were fluff...stuff I could have lived without. Now, with that said, Ms. Marsh knows how to keep the sexual tension flowing and the pages turning. Rama Mama is someone I hope I never meet in person.

*This book was provided by Entangled Publishing via NetGalley as an uncorrected e-proof in exchange for my honest review.