Anjali Kapadia is the queen of Silk & Sapphires, the
loveliest and most luxurious sari shop in Edison, New Jersey's
Little India. While other shops in the area are content to fill
their shelves with inferior merchandise of cheap quality, Anjali
has made sure that her shop carries only top-of-the-line clothes,
accessories and jewelry. She has poured her heart and soul into the
shop that she co-owns with her parents. No wonder it hits her hard
when Mohan and Usha reveal to her that Silk & Sapphires is in
dire financial straits.

Not to worry, though, they assure her. Her uncle, Javeen
Kapadia, is arriving from India to bail the shop out. Her wise
uncle will surely know what to do to bring their business back to a
profitable level. While Anjali doesn't want the shop to fail,
anything would be better than bowing and scraping to her
dictatorial uncle who holds fast to the old ways. Anything at
all.

It isn't enough that Uncle Javeen arrives with his demanding
ways and little criticisms that annoy her mother and intimidate
Anjali. He is accompanied by his young, handsome and mysterious
business partner, Rishi Shah. Anjali's equilibrium is completely
out of whack when she comes into close contact with the sexy
British entrepreneur, whose money and advice seem to be the only
way to save the shop she cherishes. At 37 the widowed Anjali isn't
looking for love. She barely survived the pain of losing her
beloved husband, Vik, a decade ago. She isn't interested in giving
her heart away again, and she sure as heck isn't interested in
giving away any part of her business, especially to her uncle and
his all-too-smooth partner. But what choice does she have?

Anjali had best watch out, though, because she has piqued
Rishi's interest, and he isn't a man to be easily deterred. While
he understands why Anjali is a bit on the prickly side, he wants
her to know that he is only there to help her and not to hurt her.
As Rishi lives and works with Anjali and her family, she finds his
close proximity at first disturbing and later strangely comforting.
He fits in with her close-knit family as if he were one of them,
charming her parents and befriending her younger brother, college
student Nilesh. Still, it isn't enough for Anjali to fully open her
heart to him.

As Anjali fights to save her business and delves into the
mystery of her Uncle Javeen's close relationship with Rishi, who
isn't even family, she begins to see both of them in a new light.
Her crotchety uncle seems to have mellowed, and why is he so
beholden to Rishi? Will it be enough to make her take a chance on
love, or will she miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime in the
name of self-preservation?

THE SARI SHOP WIDOW is a lovely story of a lonely widow who
throws herself into her business and a close and loving
relationship with her family. Shobhan Bantwal paints a vivid
picture of life in Little India with her colorful descriptions of
traditions, clothing, cuisine and characters who will worm their
way into your heart. Somewhere along the way I forgot that I was
reading a story and truly felt that I was spending time with the
kind characters she created. When the book ended, I found that I
wasn't quite ready to say goodbye.