Romance Literature: Asian Chick Lit

A desperate lie leads to true love in Banerjee's predictable but fun debut. At the Kolkata, India, wedding of her younger sister, Indian-American matchmaker Lina, who lives in San Francisco, gets so fed up with her great-aunt's talk of arranged marriages that she tells everyone she's already engaged. Too bad Lina isn't even dating anyone, much less the rich, cosmopolitan fellow named Raja she claims as her fiancé (she invents him, based on the real Raja Presad, a prince she met at her sister's wedding). In what becomes a Bridget Jones's Diary meets Monsoon Wedding–style escapade, Lina must find the Mr. Right she's supposed to already have. Publisher's Weekly

Lakshmi Sen was born with a magical ability to perceive the secret longings in others. Putting aside her own dreams to help run her widowed mother's struggling Seattle sari shop, Mystic Elegance, Lakshmi knows exactly how to bring happiness to customers -- from lonely immigrants to starry-eyed young brides. And to honor her father's dying wish, she has agreed to marry a respectable Indian doctor who will uphold her family's traditions.

But when a famous Indian actress chooses Mystic Elegance to provide her wedding trousseau, Lakshmi finds herself falling for the actress's sexy chauffeur -- all-American Nick Dunbar -- and her powers seem to desert her just as she needs them most.

Jen Nakamara Taylor didn't have a conventional childhood. In her hometown of Dixieland, Arkansas, most girls' mothers didn't serve sushi at their tenth birthday parties. As a television producer living in Chicago, she thinks she's left her childhood insecurities behind. Then she receives an invitation to the marriage of her grammar-school crush to her beauty-queen cousin. The subsequent search to find a suitable date, eventful trip back South, and the riotous wedding are all hilarious, but the real appeal of this book lies in its portrayal of a woman confronting her past and embracing her present.

A new novel takes a look at young women trying to navigate the world of modeling and balance hot careers with the other priorities in their lives. Beautiful Tanaya Shah leaves her home outside of Mumbai, India, to meet Tariq, the man her grandfather wants her to marry, in Paris. Although Tanaya has always longed to visit Paris, she is reluctant to marry and the engagement is broken off. Rather than return home, Tanaya decides to stay in Paris against her family's wishes. A one-time waitressing job at a fashion show leads to a chance turn on a runway when one of the models gets hurt, and it isn't long before a talent scout convinces Tanaya to give modeling a go. Booklist

Lindsey Owyang made her first appearance in The Dim Sum of All Things (2004). The sassy Chinese American returns, and now that she's found love, her new quest is discovering more about her family's background. She has taken a part-time job at the Catholic grammar school she once attended, which has brought back the feelings of not belonging that troubled her as a child. She also realizes that she knows very little about her grandparents, and some mysterious photos send her in search of family history. Further complicating matters, Dustin Lee--a childhood crush--has suddenly reappeared. Although she's in love with Michael, she's more than a little curious about what it would be like to date a Chinese guy. Keltner maintains her sense of humor even as she deals with the complex emotions surrounding cultural displacement and family relationships, and fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this funny, multifaceted novel. Booklist

Wong Keltner's spunky novel about a third-generation Chinese-American in San Francisco delivers a left hook to knee-jerk political correctness and offers a comic, honest take on what it feels like to be part of two cultures. Lindsey Owyang is a modern 20-something, underemployed as a receptionist at Vegan Warrior magazine (she's a "closet meat-eater"), who unexpectedly finds herself falling "in like" with Michael Cartier, the magazine's white travel editor. But dating's tough when you live at home with a traditional Chinese grandmother and even harder when that grandmother is constantly trying to set you up with the children of her mah-jongg partners.

As a junior associate at the most-sought-after marital mediation and divorce boutique in Beverly Hills, Monica is part mediator, part lawyer, part marriage therapist and all celebrity babysitter. She's so good at her job that she's handling the firm's superstar clients Cameron and Lydia Johnson—Hollywood It couple Camydia. Although things would be easier if the only other female associate would stop sabotaging her career, and if the drama queen she refers to as mother wasn't moving back home!

When the latest Camydia scandal breaks wide open, it's time for Monica to save the day, to don her Prada cape and matching bag, then wreak havoc on her offi ce rival and run circles around the paparazzi. Everyone's watching to see what Monica will do… hey, are those claws on that French manicure? Amazon.

Raveena isn't having much luck in Hollywood as an Indian beauty, so when her agent nabs her a starring role in a Bollywood film, she jumps at the chance and relocates to Bombay. Singh paints the scene with broad strokes: the bad guys are short and greasy, the gay best friend is predictably campy and supportive and Raveena proves unfailingly plucky. We get a few quick sketches of the teeming Indian streets and meet a host of comic Indian characters, including Raveena's eccentric Uncle Heeru (a failed actor who lives in a house overrun by pigeons), a lecherous Bollywood director and the extraordinarily handsome romantic interest, Bollywood mega-star, Siddharth. Publisher's Weekly

Former stockbroker Scott Wilder recruits Indian-American psychic Anjali Kumar for his San Francisco ghost-hunting firm, the Cold Spot. Soon, the pair picks up the telekinetic drifter Coulter Marshall, whose golden-boy looks get more ink than his talents. The trio lands jobs removing spirits from expensive homes, but Singh's ghosts aren't scary in the least; they're just a pretext for the heroes to zip around the Bay Area and for Scott's ex-girlfriend, parapsychologist Vivica Bates, to re-enter the picture with her own paranormal investigation team. By the time the teams go head-to-head at a military base to impress the Department of Defense by exorcising the spirit of a tortured soldier, the mission is less important than the goofy antics that ensue. The spooky moments are brief, but the book's unlikely heroes make for pleasant company. Publisher's Weekly.

Minal Sharma, MBA. Five foot ten twenty-nine-year-old with a hyperactive conscience and a ton of attitude. Minal wants it all-a successful career at International Foods, a lifestyle to match, and a 'totally cool' guy who'll buy her diamonds, bring her flowers, and laugh at her jokes. But given the unending record of her life's embarrassments, it's not going to be that simple. Especially when her mother has decided to take charge of the matrimonial front, and the choice Minal has to make is between a wild and sexy radio jockey and a brilliant but boring oncologist. And it doesn't help that her new colleague on a make-or-break 'Cakes' assignment is a nasty, grudge-bearing kid from her childhood who just might be out to sabotage her career.