Book Review: Finding Juliet by Toffee

There are stories that are good and there are those that are bad. Then, there are those that are brilliantly written and some that are not so well written. Finding Juliet by Toffee is a story that is almost good but as a reader you wish that it was presented in a better way.

We follow the story of Arjun, the protagonist, from his school days to corporate world and all through he is only worried about finding the prettiest girl in town and laying her. He maybe looking for his Juliet but acts more like a Roadside Romeo with no control over his raging hormones or his ego. So he somehow manages to fall in love within minutes of seeing a girl and needless to say, goes through one too many heartbreaks and every time his ego takes a beating.

He acts all clueless about girls and finds a mentor in his colleague, Krish after several heartbreaks and changes into someone who can impress any girl. But the million dollar question: does he find his Juliet? That you will have to read and find out for yourself. (Can't spoil someone's hard work now, can I?)

The writer has a clear idea where he wants to take the story but first person narration makes it more like a diary than a novel. Use of slangs, shortened words, useless phrases could have been avoided. The flow breaks sometimes and getting your focus back to Arjun requires some effort. The book may be enjoyed by those in their early teens.

P.S. I received a copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Someone to Love: Book Review

“Kuku and the Crow”. Two people, best friends since they were kids. One hyper-emotional, the other calm. Two friends who in one day lost a lot when they had almost all.

Someone to Love by Ruchita Misra is a story about Atharv and Koyal who have been friends since their childhood. Their bond runs so deep that they can understand each other's unspoken words and Atharv always knows when Koyal is in distress, even when time-zones separate them. Life takes a drastic turn and they find themselves on different paths with so much hatred that they can't seem to move beyond it. Was it just friendship between them or love? What really happened that affected their perfect friendship? Does Koyal find someone to love? All the answers unfold as the story progresses.

The individual struggles of both protagonists have been painted well. Specially Koyal's plight and her struggles in life have been well portrayed. The story starts with a new bride giving herself up in her marriage and from there on her life becomes a continuous nightmare and she seems to have resigned herself to it. In the first part, the story moves between Koyal’s current nightmarish life and her childhood which was almost perfect with her best friend Atharv in it. We are not told until the end as to what happened that made Koyal so full of anger that she destroyed her life and a part of Atharv.

The author has built a sweet story which is neither too mushy nor too dark. It is easy to sympathise with them both but the characters could have been given more depth. As a reader, sometimes you wish there was something more, maybe some more feeling in the words and there are too many philosophical lines which could have been done away with. A good enough book to be read over a lazy weekend.

P.S. I received a copy from Writersmelon in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.