The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale features young star-crossed ex-lovers who stubbornly resist each other's charms while everyone around them--their families and a popular Indian matrimonial website's sophisticated algorithm included--wishes they would just figure it out already!
The story is narrated by Rita, a talented antique furniture restorer with a vivacious personality and two adorable sidekicks, a French bulldog named Freddie and a Jack Russell terrier mix named Harrie. The love of her life, Milan, broke up with her a few years ago, but Rita is doing a pretty good job of moving on. She's in a relationship with her handsome Tinder date, Neil, and likes everything about him except for his maddening habit of talking with his mother as he gets ready for work every morning--nothing kills romance like a daily wake-up call from a lover's mother.
Maternal characters loom large and bring refreshing comic relief to The Shaadi Set-Up,including Rita's and Milan's moms, best friends who hatch a plot to get their children back together. Rita has a good eye for interior design, and Milan is a successful realtor with a listing that just won't sell. It's clear to the moms that he needs Rita's help to make the house attractive to potential buyers. Initially horrified when Milan shows up at her family home (thanks to some devious planning on her mother's part), Rita is blown away by his magnetic presence. She agrees to help him, attracted by the idea of an exciting decorating challenge that pays well. The last thing she wants is to fall in love with Milan again, despite his undeniable charisma.
The Shaadi Set-Up is YA author Vale's first novel for adults (after Small Town Hearts), a pitch-perfect contemporary love story set in North Carolina. Rita is unapologetically sensual and represents a generational wave of confident female literary characters successfully straddling their Indian subcontinental heritage with lives lived entirely in the United States. Convinced that she can deflect her mom's focus on getting her and Milan back together again, Rita signs up with an Indian matrimonial website, MyShaadi.com, and is shocked to discover that the website seems to know her better than she knows herself.
Entertaining throughout, Vale's delightful storytelling will charm readers with mouth-watering depictions of Rita's favorite meals, hilarious antics by Freddie and Harrie and the delicious drama that unfolds as Rita and Milan find their way back to each other. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer
Shelf Talker: This lighthearted romantic drama with a South Asian twist features a woman searching for her soulmate against the backdrop of a gorgeous old house in the North Carolina countryside.