Dee Savoy

That’s how Shoban Bantwal describes her latest book, The Sari Shop Widow (Kensington Books, ISBN:  13: 9780758232021). You know from my Vibrant Voices (which I’ll be starting again in February) that I love hearing from ALL sorts of folks.

I haven’t finished the book yet, but I wanted to entice you with a bit of a blurb for the book and a bit of video.  Here first, the blurb:

Pungent curry. . .sweet fried onions. . .incense. . .colorful beads. . .lush fabrics. Shobhan Bantwal’s compelling new novel is set on the streets of Edison, New Jersey’s Little India, where a young businesswoman rediscovers the magic of love and family. . .

Since becoming a widow at age twenty-seven, Anjali Kapadia has devoted herself to transforming her parents’ sari shop into a chic boutique, brimming with exquisite jewelry and clothing. Now, ten years later, it stands out like a proud maharani amid Edison’s bustling Little India. But when Anjali learns the shop is on the brink of bankruptcy, she feels her world unraveling. . .

To the rescue comes Anjali’s wealthy, dictatorial Uncle Jeevan and his business partner, Rishi Shah-a mysterious Londoner, complete with British accent, cool gray eyes, and skin so fair it makes it hard to believe he’s Indian. Rishi’s cool, foreign demeanor triggers distrust in Anjali and her mother. But for Anjali, he also stirs something else, a powerful attraction she hasn’t felt in a decade. And the feeling is mutual. . .

Love disappointed Anjali once before and she’s vowed to live without it-though Rishi is slowly melting her resolve and, as the shop regains its footing, gaining her trust. But when a secret from Rishi’s past is revealed, Anjali must turn to her family and her strong cultural upbringing to guide her in finding the truth.

Here’s the book trailer:

Not for nothing, but isn’t Uncle Jeevan a dead ringer for Lazar Woolf from Fiddler on the Roof?

To find out more about Shoban and her books, check out her website.