The Wedding Tamasha (The Menon Women Book 1) Kindle Edition

Love Indian authors. I saw some reviews that weren’t wild about this book, but I enjoyed it. It was easy to get wrapped up in the characters and easy to begin hoping for the best for the main character- and for her love life. I don’t let bad reviews deter me from reading a good book, and you shouldn’t either!

An engaging romantic Indian drama starting in a Mexican cafe in the US and continuing in the Southern Indian cities of Bangalore and Chennai (Madras) , it weaves expertly through fears of a new immigrant trying to escape an abusive environment while making new yet reliable friends to her arrival in India with trepidation for a wedding even as her own has unraveled much to the disappointment of her traditional parents . We sympathize and root for Shweta as she wonders about old secret loves and journeys through to find her love. Image inspiring descriptions of a southern Indian wedding down to the “thali” worn by the bride and the serious business of cooking food for an Indian wedding make it an engaging read as do the quick changes and ongoing “mini dramas “ that keep the pace moving to the sweet , if expected ,ending.

Delightful and refreshing!! You will find Sudha has the knack to build a story around life's complexities in an easy to read style. Poignant yet playful. I'm sure everyone who reads this book can relate to one or more characters and situations. I know I did and that's what made it even more enjoyable. Did not want to put it down. Waiting for her next book. Heard she's working on it.....

I just couldn't out down this novel. Whilst it dealt with the serious issue of spousal abuse, there was a funny twist to this story. It's one of those novels that make you cry and laugh as well.

Loved this book. It was an easy read :)

amateur writing but an okay read.

Light hearted romance with real characters. Loved the story. Predictable but well paced. Very Well written. Looking forward for more.

This could have been such a great book if the writing didn't completely suck. The idea for the story had so much potential but it just fell flat. So much about this book bothered me, just a few examples:- We are told that Shipra's husband, Virat, thinks that Shweta has gone to India, but several pages later he is one of the people that takes them to the airport! Was he not confused???- Shweta, at one point, mentions she doesn't really drink, but then several times later in the book she is drinking alcohol with the group as if it's no big deal.- Since when is Beezus and Ramona an "adult" movie?!?!- It seems like Shweta's family is pretty traditional, but then they are totally ok with so much. Nobody really questions that she had a man as her roommateI wanted to know so much more about each character, some were just thrown in there for no reason. I still don't understand what Max brought to the story at all.Shweta's character was horrible, most of the time she's acting like a 12 year old, in fact, the book felt as if it was written for tweens. She is constantly getting mad and throwing a tantrum over the randomest things. I almost felt bad for Niru. There was no depth to the characters, there was no deep emotions felt while reading. This woman just left a seriously abusive relationship, so many opportunities to really make this an outstanding story.If you want a quick read without having to really think, or have expectations, this is the book for you.

This book was a really enjoyable light hearted read just perfect for a quick read, the characters and story was so relatable so definitely recommend this book.

I really didn't expect it to be so interesting but it was a real Tamasha. Good read. Will make you so emotional on everything that Shweta is going through. All set of emotions here - sadness, hope, love, romance etc. everything. This book also highlights the weak parts of Indian society where women have to suffer a lot and it is very difficult for them to take big decisions on their own. Wish things change for the better with time.Sudha has written an interesting tale of a woman who is going through marital challenges. She comes out of it but needs support and that itself is a challenge for her. finally she meets the guy she is destined to meet and finds her life. It is quite spicy and interesting.

"Whatever I do next will be for the right reasons, not for the sake of convenience, And only for love."The Wedding TamashaSudha NairWeddings are always fun to attend. And its an unwritten ritual for South Indian families to plant the seed for another wedding(s) in one wedding. The Wedding Tamasha is one such story, a light read in my opinion which I needed most right now as all my last reads are either serious or self help.The protagonist Shweta trying to escape the clutches of an abusive arranged marriage and her father trying to mend it at all costs for the sake of family's respect, the "respect to elder" card easily pulled out the moment kids speak their mind, the gossiping aunties are all too familiar .With the marriage of her brother Simbu fast approaching, her husband Raj makes to it from US with the intent of getting back with her. Things get complicated when her teenage crush Niru pops up in her life again. Marriage plans for Niru with Trisha whom he meets in the wedding gets seeded in both their family members mind during Simbu's marriage,while Niru harbors unprofessed love for Shweta too and lost his chance earlier.Did Shweta get out of her abusive marriage past her father's conservative mind set? Did Niru find the courage to express his love for Shweta or failed again and ended up with Trisha ? Did the untold love story of Niru and Shweta had a happily ever after or did they gave up on love for the sake of family's honour? is the storyline.I loved the description of the wedding and the related functions. And was more in love with the part where food preparation for the wedding comes up in detail, which reminded me of my friend's wedding I attended in Kerala.The characters are all lively and well described and even though the plot was bit predictable like a familiar neighbourhood family drama still its a good, fun read in my opinion.

I know Sudha for more than a year. She was a fellow participant in the Amazon Pen to Publish Contest 2017, we were selected as finalists of the contest, and she eventually went on to win the competition. I had been thinking of reading her book ever since the past year, but I finally got a chance only recently.I had read the sample (the first couple of chapters, I guess) of the book long back, and from that itself I knew that she was a talented author. The admiration only increased as I progressed through the book. Her prose is marvelous. She has employed the third person limited POV approach throughout the book, and she has implemented it almost perfectly, which is commendable for a debut author. The characterization is also done beautifully—using dialogues and actions to gradually “show” their development rather than “telling” it to the readers. I could feel for Shweta, the protagonist, throughout, identify with her fears and inhibitions, and also admire her strength during tough times. The other characters have also been weaved beautifully, each complementing the other and their complex relationships adding a rich flavor to the narrative.The plot is intriguing, and you can’t help but admire its intricacies and the beautiful way in which the interactions between the characters help move the story forward. However, the one flaw that I noticed was that even for a casual reader like me, it was quite easy to predict what would happen at the end. That is something that Sudha does need to work on. One or two scenes in the second half of the book were a bit too dramatic for my liking, but on the positive side, I did get emotional towards the end, which always feels satisfying in a book. Actually, this book would be absolutely perfect for a Bollywood movie; it has all the elements of a blockbuster.The language is classy, and the editing is nearly flawless. I could not find any grammatical errors, and considering how observant I am about this aspect of writing, Sudha deserves accolades for producing such a neat book. I did observe a couple of missing punctuation marks, but that is totally forgivable in a 280-page book. I loved how she has used short, clean paragraphs instead of long ones that make reading cumbersome. Her vocabulary is excellent, and she possesses a huge repertoire of phrases, both of which she uses expertly in her narrative. Another wonderful thing I noticed was how, despite her lucid, easily-understandable language, she plays with metaphors occasionally and weaves lyrical prose that would delight even those readers who like wordplay. Similarly, she has managed to maintain a perfect balance between over and insufficient description, which is the hallmark of a proficient author. I also loved the vivid descriptions of the food, the culture, and the traditions, especially the food which made my mouth water many times. Not many authors can achieve all this in their very first novel.The only other—minor—issue I found was one particular aspect of the relationship between Max and Shweta. It felt a bit unnatural for a married Indian woman who is quite new to the US to get so comfortable and even end up living together with a man, despite him being gay. But that is just my personal opinion, and other readers might feel otherwise.Overall, I think this is a fantastic effort by a debut author, and her future looks very bright in the Indian literary industry. 4.3 stars from my side.

It has been so long since I read a story of a Malayali Family, settled in Bangalore, Karnataka, get their son Married in Chennai. This is a true blue South Indian Novel. The setting dictates the sensibilities and cultural setting of the novel. Sudha makes a smooth transition from the narration which starts in a very different setting in America to India. I am not a big fan of wedding, but this book gives granular details of the preparation and happenings of South Indian Wedding. Though the love track between Niru and Shweta is nicely done, what stood out for me was the real women characters, whom we don't see in Indian novel writing. Be it Shweta, Keertana, Neha, Julie or Shipra, all the woman characters are drawn out so well and their struggles are explained in the flow of the story. There are few minor characters who were not really required for the story, but hey, this is an Indian wedding, you can't just keep anybody away. Grab this book if you are looking for a cute romance with loads and loads of Bollywood references. All the best to Sudha for upcoming books.