I always thought that was so weird. The author clearly wanted to co-opt some bits of Indian culture but absolutely had to have that blonde-haired blue-eyed protagonist. It's pretty distasteful, I agree.

Sita is so overpowered, lol. That's the first thing I thought of when I remembered those books! She's so physically powerful that no mortal is a match for her, she has basically unlimited financial resources, she's irresistibly beautiful and charming to the point that this boy falls in love with her even after he finds out she murdered his father. (And it was in writing that sentence that I remember that Ray is... a high school student. lol.) I think the outrageous power fantasy must have been part of the appeal, honestly.

I vaguely remember that Remember Me had a sequel, and I may have read it or read part of it? I do not remember what happens in it, and I don't remember multiple sequels so I probably never followed it after that.