Priya has always been sensible. As a child, whilst all of her friends obsessed over boys, horoscopes and make-up, she had her head down in her books and studied as hard as she could in order to get the best possible grades. Having now achieved her dream of working for the BBC as an award-winning documentary maker, Priya finally feels as if she’s reached all of her objectives and become a success…so why does her mother always make her feel like such a failure?
Fast approaching the age of thirty, Priya’s mother begins to despair. How will her workaholic daughter ever find a good Indian husband when she is always in her jeans, T-shirts and boots? Priya’s last boyfriend, Vikram, was absolutely perfect for her, but feisty Priya had scared him away with her independent spirit, modern ideas and lack of respect for tradition and culture.
Priya would love nothing more than to make her parents’ dreams come true and finding a decent man to settle down with. But whilst her parents – especially her mother – espouse the benefits of arranged marriages, Priya is determined that she will only get married to a man who will love her, as opposed to a man who will marry her only because he has been told to do so by his parents!
On her way to India for her younger sister’s Neesh’s wedding, Priya hopes to absorb as much as she can of her culture – and to pencil in some work for another documentary which might just win her a BAFTA! Accompanied by her good friend and cameraman Ray, Priya hopes to get started on filming a documentary about an ashram in India that seems shrouded in mystery.
Priya is determined to find out the truth about the ashram which is fast gaining popularity as being a place where miracles happen. Cynical Priya cannot help but wonder whether there is any truth in the rumours circulating or whether it’s all just a publicity stunt. Priya vows to get to the truth…if only she can stop herself from getting distracted by sexy Noah, who works at the ashram and who is the first man to get under her skin in years! Yet Priya cannot shake this feeling that he is hiding something from her…
What is Noah’s secret? Is the ashram legit or is it merely a smokescreen for nefarious goings-on? And will Priya have to compromise her journalistic integrity for the sake of love?
A fast-paced page-turner that is sprinkled with plenty of sass, sizzle and humour which will have you laughing out loud, Eastern Promise is a fantastic story about family, loyalty, friendship and romance that is very enjoyable. Although, the ashram sub-plot was at times rather tedious and laborious, Eastern Promise is packed with enough funny one-liners, witty banter and feel-good charm to keep you engrossed from the first page to the last!