Straight as a Jalebi by Ritu Bhathal #BookReview #BlogTour

 

Who knew that an innocent trip to India in the year 2000 would have such an impact on his life? 

Sunny had only gone as a chaperone for his sister and her best friend and to attend to a few business matters. He ended up with a deal that would change the shape of his professional future and possibly his personal one too.

Battling the pressures of marriage by his family isn’t Sunny’s only fight, as he finds his feelings for a certain ‘friend’ may be more than just friendship.

But how can he tell anyone how he truly feels? Because the road to love isn't always straight...

It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Straight as a Jalebi today. Many thanks to Ritu Bhathal, Spellbound Books and Zoe O'Farrell from Zooloo's Blog Tours for inviting me and for my advance digital copy of the novel.

It's currently Pride month so what better time to read a romance novel about a male male relationship which celebrates love while exploring the challenges of being gay amidst traditional cultural taboos. Straight as a Jalebi is the second book in Ritu Bhathal's The Rishtay Series about relationships within a British Punjabi family and immediately follows events in the first novel, Marriage Unarranged. I loved Marriage Unarranged (and will be sharing a review soon) so would recommend reading the books in order if you can but Straight as a Jalebi can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone too. 

While the first book mostly followed Aashi, with a sub-plot featuring her brother, Bali, the focus this time is on their quiet older brother, Sonny. He is gentle soul, his kindness shone throughout Marriage Unarranged and I welcomed seeing him given centre stage here. However, he really isn't given an easy time of things and his sense of guilt is almost palpable at times. Poor Sonny is torn between accepting his true feelings and his understandable fear of people within his family and  the wider community discovering he is gay. The chemistry which develops between him and flamboyant fashion designer Milan is beautifully realised throughout; despite the anxiety and shame Sonny experiences, the aching longing they share for one another is inescapable. 

The pair's business relationship and an upcoming wedding means their paths keep crossing and seeing Sonny gradually admit he is attracted to a man and then to act on those feelings is both heartwarming and fraught with tension. Sonny's parents are wonderful, loving people but they are still traditional Sikh parents and Mummy-ji in particular is constantly worried about what others think of them. When Sonny accompanies her on a visit to their family village in India, his attempt to shut down a discussion about his prospects for marriage results in a misunderstanding which consequently leads to events snowballing beyond his control. As both he and Milan become caught up in their respective families' plans, their love becomes increasingly bittersweet and it seems as though whatever happens, somebody will be hurt. 

This is a warm and touching romance but it is a realistic portrayal of what it meant to be South Asian and gay at the start of the millennium. It's also worth noting that this became a difficult time for many brown people in the Western world and while there are mentions of that happening in Straight as a Jalebi, I wonder if it's something which will be examined further as the series progresses. The detailed depictions of religious and cultural customs, food and entertainment bring the British Punjabi Sikh community to life and the scenes describing a Sikh wedding are especially fascinating. However, it's the chapters set in India which are perhaps most captivating. Ritu Bhathal brilliantly captures the sense that it's a country of contrasts and not just through the vast chasms that exist between those living in poverty and extreme wealth; the differences in village life compared to cities like Delhi and Mumbai also serve to remind us that it was a country still bound by beliefs and tradition but on the way to becoming a world superpower. 

I fell in love with Sonny and Milan and became completely invested in their relationship – obviously I'm not going to give away any spoilers but I can say I thought the storyline was handled with insight and empathy. Straight as a Jalebi is a compassionate, witty and thought-provoking romance, filled with authentic characters. I highly recommend it and can't wait for more!

Straight as a Jalebi is published by Spellbound Books and can be purchased from Amazon.

Follow the blog tour, details are below.

About the Author

Ritu Bhathal was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but of Indian origin. This colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her. From childhood, she always enjoyed reading. This love of books is credited to her mother. The joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry. Winning little writing competitions at school and locally encouraged her to continue writing. 

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, she has drawn inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that she writes. A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, she now deals with classes of children as a sideline to her writing! Ritu also writes a blog, www.butismileanyway.com, a mixture of life and creativity, thoughts and opinions, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog Category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards and Best Book Blog in 2019.

Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.

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