How often do you find and enjoy a book that makes fun of your culture, the state you live in, arranged marriages, and religion too? Not often, right? I didn’t think it was possible either until I found Goddess for Hire by accident on amazon.com one day. You know how Amazon always suggests purchases when you add something to your cart? Well, I am the idiot who always ends up ordering the suggested books. And more. Let’s just say that for me Amazon is like Target…I go in intending to buy toothpaste and 45 minutes later I’ve spent $100. Anyway, thanks to Amazon’s “Search Inside this Book” feature, Goddess for Hire had me hooked from the second page: “Indian people like to bitch about the big bad British ruling India for two hundred years. Big deal. Try growing up in Orange County. Most of my cousins sport blue contact lenses and dye their hair ash-blond. How’s that for colonial impact?”Maya Mehra is Indian, unmarried, and 30-years-old. These three qualities alone qualify Maya as every Indian parent’s nightmare. To add insult to injury Maya has no career to speak of, no husband on the horizon, and still lives with her parents in Newport Beach, California. She spends her days shopping and keeping Starbucks in business, while trying to fend off her matchmaking aunts. She wonders what her purpose in life is but she is too lazy to attempt to figure it out. Her situation is not just sad but hopeless too, and her family has no idea what to do with her.One day Maya finds out she is the incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Kali and her job is to save the world with her supernatural powers. At first she thinks the whole thing is a joke…how can she, a totally non-religious person be a Goddess? But Maya grudgingly begins fulfilling her purpose of helping others and fighting evil. Meanwhile she meets Tahir Sahni - a guy her parents are trying to set her up with. Tahir is handsome, smart, and doesn’t take her crap and Maya finds herself falling in love for the first time. The only problem? Tahir is not at all interested in her!The author’s quick wit and light-hearted writing takes you through the rest of the book and Maya’s adventures as she battles the bad guys and fights to win the only good guy she’s ever wanted. I found myself laughing constantly as Maya bumbled around Orange County in the canary yellow H2 Hummer her dad refered to as “a weapon of mass destruction.” I rooted for her and Tahir to have a happy Bollywood-ish ending. I cracked up constantly at not only the references to the shallow Orange County crowd but at the authors relatable Indian anecdotes as well.The premise of this book is ridiculous and silly but I loved it anyway. It is so nice to finally find an Indian-themed book that doesn’t involve the main character being widowed, tortured by her in-laws, or crying over an arranged marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I love those kinds of books too, but sometimes you just need a happy, light story that keeps you engaged and laughing for a few hours.Sonia Singh isn’t going to win any awards for this book but I think her humor, sarcasm, and literary style are great. If you liked the Shopaholic series you will love this book too! Definitely check it out.Ameena DinFreelance Reviewerhttp://www.fancythatfancythis.com
I saw this book randomly at Borders and remembered it being mentioned on Dev's site, so I thought I'd pick it up. The cover was pretty (yeah, yeah) and it sounded like it would be pretty funny.I finished the book in about two and a half hours. It was such an easy read! And it was hilarious! So many funny one-liners and memorable conversations. While I was reading I kept pausing to read some stuff out loud to my sister, who then commented, "What, are you gonna read the whole book to me?" I couldn't help it - and I kept laughing out loud every few minutes.The buildup of the story was great. But I gave it a lower rating because I felt that towards the end, things started happening way too quickly. Abruptly is the right word. The events kept speeding by, one after the other, at a supernatural pace, which I didn't feel was very realistic.Despite that, the book was absolutely delicious. From the back cover: "A hip chick from Newport Beach, California, who's just turned thirty, discovered she's the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Kali, and happens to be unemployed and still living with her parents. Saving the world, though, may prove to be a curry-scented breeze compared to dealing with her extended Indian family. In their eyes she isn't just the black sheep -- she's low-grade mutton. "To make matters worse, despite frequent and therapeutic bouts of shopping and Starbucks, and the mentoring of a Taco Bell-loving, Coca Cola-guzzling swami, Maya has trouble just surviving, thanks to the attentions of a Kali-hating fanatic and a matchmaking aunt hell-bent on finding her a nice Indian boy. Maya has no interest in boys. She wants a man and she may have found one. "He's tall, dark, and gorgeous ... and completely uninterested in her. "In the name of all that's holy and fashionable ... what on Earth is a goddess to do?"
Do You like book Goddess For Hire (2004)?
Self-centered, vain, useless and immature Indian American Princess falls in love with the man her meddling relatives arranges for her to marry, while she also learns she is an incarnation of Kali. The gods only know why the man falls in love with her, as the heroine is shallow, not overly bright, incurious and ignorant, lives on absolute garbage foods and unapologetically drives a Hummer (goddess of environmental destruction and unnecessary health risks, apparently).I wouldn't waste my time with this one...the only redeeming feature is that the book is mercifully short and over with quickly.
—Linda
Goddess for Hire was chick-lit with a twist. The main character, Maya, is a 30 year old Indian-American woman with no job and no love life, who is basically living life by mooching off of her parents. Then her family sets her up in an arranged marriage and at about the same time she finds out that she is the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Kali. The book was a cute, light and quick read and I found the 'goddess' twist entertaining. The story was predictable in the way that chick-lit often is and and the characters weren't really well developed. There were funny bits, but some of the one-liners seemed contrived.
—Jessica
I hate when I bring home a book that looks interesting, smart and funny...and it turns out to be Chick Lit. There are some nice moments in this little novel, most having to do with the character's interactions with her family, her culture (defined by her family) and her culture as she defines it (Orange County shopaholic fashionista).But the heroine is a spoiled brat with very few redeeming qualities. The superheroic bits don't fit in at all. The love story made no sense. If you don't care about name brands and have more on your mind than weight loss/gain, don't waster your time (but this is why I avoid "chick lit" whenever possible).
—Stephanie
