A Change of Heart

by Sonali Dev

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org

*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.

Pub Date Sep 27 2016 | Archive Date Oct 03 2016

Kensington Books | Kensington

Literary Fiction | Women's Fiction

Description

Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of the Year ● NPR Great Reads ● RUSA Reading List Longlist Selection ● RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award Winner

“A rising talent.” —Booklist

Dr. Nikhil 'Nic' Joshi had it all—marriage, career, purpose. Until, while working for Doctors Without Borders in a Mumbai slum, his wife, Jen, discovered a black market organ transplant ring. Before she could expose the truth, Jen was killed.

Two years after the tragedy, Nic is a cruise ship doctor who spends his days treating seasickness and sunburn and his nights in a boozy haze. On one of those blurry evenings on deck, Nic meets a woman who makes a startling claim: she received Jen’s heart in a transplant and has a message for him. Nic wants to discount Jess Koirala’s story as absurd, but there’s something about her reckless desperation that resonates despite his doubts.

Jess has spent years working her way out of a nightmarish life in Calcutta and into a respectable Bollywood dance troupe. Now she faces losing the one thing that matters—her young son, Joy. She needs to uncover the secrets Jen risked everything for; but the unforeseen bond that results between her and Nic is both a lifeline and a perilous complication.

Delving beyond the surface of modern Indian-American life, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s page-turning novel is both riveting and emotionally rewarding—an extraordinary story of human connection, bravery, and hope.

Praise for Sonali Dev and Her Novels

“Sonali Dev is a gifted writer who creates characters that capture the heart… I can’t wait for Sonali’s next book.” —Nalini Singh, New York Times bestselling author

“Exquisitely written... A bright, beautiful gem.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review, on The Bollywood Bride

“Dev's prose captures the rich and unique beauty of Indian culture while telling a story that is complex, culturally accurate, and full of emotion.” —Booklist on The Bollywood Bride

“Vibrant and exuberantly romantic…chock full of details that reflect India's social and cultural flux.” —NPR.com on A Bollywood Affair

Advance Praise

“Mystery, adventure, and romance are spiced with Bollywood glamour in this heart-stopping novel…Dev masterfully probes Jess’ and Nikhil’s rawest emotions through her multilayered Rubik’s cube of a plot…This is riveting, heart-pounding drama. Dev takes the characters and the reader on a death-defying ride. A novelist at the height of her powers.”– Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

“Dev deftly navigates the complex themes of bereavement, motherhood, and how the culture of India exists in America. All the while, she swathes tough, fully realized characters in delicate prose and tackles tragedy with both grittiness and sensitivity…With richly rendered characters, heavy topics, and soulful writing, this is stunning all around.”– Booklist STARRED REVIEW

“Just as one heart leads to another – literally and metaphorically - in Dev’s seductive and complex story of love lost and then found, one layer of mystery leads to the next…Dev moves so expertly through the subtle layers of the tender love story that Nic and Jess – and even Jen – will hold a permanent place in readers’ hearts.” - Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

“[A] combination of steamy romance and crime thriller with an issue-driven plot…The triumph of love and hope over tragedy and despair provides an uplifting counterpoint to the dark heart of this work.”– Library Journal

“Dev walks straight into the fire, building her narrative on an unlikely foundation of wrenching grief, gender discrimination and sexual assault trauma, addressing each issue thoroughly and with incredible compassion…Dev's power to wrap the reader in her characters' pain and then soothe it is nothing short of exhilarating…A Change of Heart cements this author's standing as not only one of the best but also one of the bravest romance novelists working today.”– Shelf Awareness

“It has only taken a few books for Dev to prove that she is an author on the fast track. Her ability to deliver richly layered and compelling stories filled with stunning emotional resonance is second to none. This newest novel explores the side effects of terrible grief as well as the hope that comes from building a new future. Utterly compelling and filled with wrenching emotion, this is one book readers will not soon forget!”– RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars Top Pick