THE DOWRY BRIDE
SHOBHAN BANTWAL
ISBN# (10)0758220316/(13)9780758220316
September 2007
Kensington Books, An Imprint of Kensington Publishing
850 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022
Paperback
$14.00
343 pages
Fiction
Rating: 5 Cups

Megha Ramnath knows she is in trouble. Her mother-in-law treats her no better than a servant and her husband does whatever his mother tells him to do. When she wakes up one evening and hears the shed door creak, she leaves her bed to investigate. She hears voices and realizes it is her husband and his mother and they are doing the unthinkable. They are preparing a bed of wood soaked in kerosene for her, funeral pyre. She does the only thing she knows to do, she runs.

Kiran Rao has been in love with Megha from the first instant he saw her at her wedding. Even though she is his cousin's wife, he still cannot help himself or stop his feelings for her. He knows she must be horribly mistreated by his aunt and cousin but there is nothing that he can do to stop it. He also knows if Megha was to ever leave her husband, he would want her for his wife but there would be a battle to fight because she would be a divorced woman. For now, he will sit patiently by and watch her, at least that was his plan until she came knocking on his door.

When Kiran cannot sleep after visiting his aunt's house and overhearing part of her plans for Megha, he returns only to find that Megha has run away. She is no where to be found and no one knows where she may have gone off to. Returning home, he finds her waiting outside his door, scared and shaking. Megha tells him what would have happened to her if she had stayed and Kiran vows to protect her and keep her safe. After weeks of staying inside Kiran's home, Megha visits a friend and is taken by a hired thug so he can finish the job her mother-in-law began. Her only thought is of Kiran and how will he survive without her.

Shobhan Bantwal brings into sharp and clear focus the tragedy that sometimes accompanies an arranged marriage in India. This book left me with a feeling of outrage over the crimes that are being committed upon innocent women. However the story does not leave just a feeling of horror over these acts, there is hope as well. It is a story that does have a happy ending after all the terror. Proving that even when you are in a family that believes in the old customs, there are some young brides who will stand up for their rights. This is one story that is a great read for anytime of the year and one that should be read and shared. I hope Ms. Bantwal's work brings hope to women everywhere.

Liadan
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books