My entire family recently watched Indian Matchmaking on Netflix and loved every delicious second. The exploration of the tradition of arranged marriage and how it does, or doesn’t, fit into contemporary Indian and American society was fascinating, smart and totally binge worthy. I’ve always gravitated towards stories about India and Indian Americans. While I’d love to travel there one day, my husband’s weak stomach will likely make that impossible. He can barely tolerate takeout from our local Indian restaurant, so I may have to travel to India and learn about Indian culture through the pages of books.

I recently met this author at a fellow doctor author’s book release in Brooklyn. The description of her debut novel sounded delightful, and it delivered perfectly on the promise. The story follows Simran, a twenty-something psychology graduate student and her physician mother, Nandini. Simran has always been the perfect Indian daughter and now she’s planning a traditional Indian wedding to her medical student fiancé, Kunal. But when Simran randomly meets Neil Desai, a charming New York Times journalist whom she’s long admired, she begins to question everything she’s always believed about herself. Her story contrasts with that of Nandini, who’s been working at an unfulfilling job at a local clinic in order to support her family and her husban’d’s career. When she is presented with her dream job opportunity in another city, she must reexamine her priorities and what she truly wants for her future.

An easy read, this lovely book examines many themes about family obligation, tradition and defying expectations. The story is nicely paced and closes with a satisfying and believable conclusion. I loved both Simran and Nandini and Soneela Nankani did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life in the audio recording.

This book is one of my favorites of all time, one of those that has claimed a place in my heart forever. The story follows Sera, a middle class housewife in Mumbai, and her long time servant, Bhima. The women are from different classes, but their lives are intimately intertwined and eerily similar in many ways. This heartbreaking and masterfully written story examines class expectations, traditions and the role of women in modern day India. Umrigar has written many other books, so if you like this one (and I promise you will) there are many more to choose from.

I first discovered this author when I picked up her debut novel, Secret Daughter, a beautiful tear-jerker about motherhood and loss set in both San Francisco and Mumbai. When I saw she had a new book out this year, I knew I had to pick up The Shape of Family as soon as it was released.

This one tells the story of the tight-knit Olander family—Jaya, Keith, Karina and Prem. When an unimaginable tragedy tears the family apart, the members are left to pick up the pieces of their lives and try to fit them back together. A haunting tale about love, the bonds of family and unspeakable grief, this story had me riveted from page one and didn’t let up until the final page.