Secrets and Sins by Jaishree Misra

Secrets and Sins is the first book that I have read by Jaishree Misra and found it to be a very enjoyable read and nice introduction to another new author for me.

Secrets and Sins tells the story of feisty, rebellious Riva Singh and shy Aram Khan, whilst at university embarked on a passionate affair that fizzled out when Riva decided to have a relationship with reliable and trustworthy Ben who later becomes her husband.

Fast forward fifteen years and Riva is now a successful novelist and Aram is a Bollywood star lusted after by millions of women and Ben has been made redundant in his job as a banker and dreams of becoming a writer but is slowly becoming jealous of Riva’s success, creating a new tension in the once perfect relationship.

Even though they broke up, both Riva and Aram still think of each other and continue to follow each other from afar through their public careers. And as if by a twist of fate both are asked to be judges at the Cannes Film Festival. Old feelings ignite as they come face to face for the first time in so long and Aram has to battle with his desire for Riva and try to keep his loving family together, as well as keeping as his image in tact as the good living Bollywood star. Caught up with her own guilt, Riva knows that if she gets too close to Aram, she is in jeopardy of losing everything that is important to her.

The smaller sub story in Secrets and Sins was also quite interesting with Riva’s and Ben’s best friends and married couple Susan and Joe. As Joe embarks on a torrid affair with Kaaya’s, Riva’s younger sister, who is an incredibly dislikable character, terribly vain and selfish but unfortunately for Joe, he is besotted with her but she is just using him as a play-thing. Susan suspects that Joe might be having an affair when she overhears him talking intimately on the telephone, distraught she decides that she will confront when the time is right.

I quite liked this book, I thought all the characters were so complex as they battled with their feelings trying to stop them from doing what feels right. An enjoyable but complicated read about star-crossed lovers, that is certainly rife with Secrets and Lies as the characters try to keep the one they love from being hurt and doing the right thing.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1847561853″ target=”_blank” ]Secrets and Sins on Amazon [/amazon_link] and other good bookshops.