Author: Neha Bindal

Neha Bindal Length: 171 pages

171 pages Genre: Romance

Romance Paperback

Publisher: HALF BAKED BEANS (20 July 2018)

BLURB

Taara Maheshwari, a single woman in her thirties and a successful lawyer, is tough from outside but a die heart fan of romantic movies from the inside. She grew up seeking her “happily ever after’ but amid various heartbreaks and culture of modern age short-term relationships, her belief in “true connections” got replaced by the comfort of being “emotionally disconnected.” After she turned 31, her parents persuaded her into meeting a guy for marriage who sounded just perfect for her. Acting on impulse, she told her parents that she would meet him only if they let her go on a trip to Europe. As Taara went on to explore the world, she experienced what actually happens when a single Indian girl travels to Europe all by herself. Is it only about dancing, singing or falling in love? What happens after you fall in love? Does love conquer all? Only her story would tell.

REVIEW

Travelling is an incredible and delightful means to explore, discover and rejuvenate yourself.

Taara decides to go on a month-long Europe trip in exchange of fulfilling her Dad’s desire of getting her married. And she sets off rather quickly as the novel begins abruptly and moves on with a hard-to-catch pace. I found it a bit difficult to absorb her regrets, her remorse, grief, betrayal, and every memory of her past that kept hovering on her head.

The book is centered on Taara who is on her way to a quite absurd term in our Indian mindset for women, ‘solo travel.’ Yes, she chooses to move around the beautiful locations of Paris, Switzerland, and Italy, all by herself. This aspect of her personality fascinated me. I liked her resolve to let go of her past and vent her pent-up emotions to feel invigorated. She does feel changed over the course of her journey. She learns to stand for herself, get over her inhibitions, open herself to new people and accept the life as it comes. Her transformation got me completely. She explores herself and comes to terms with herself. It is a brave thing to face yourself. She does that. That’s intriguing. Oh! And the description of the cities of Europe is captivating. I felt like traversing through them. Now, I so badly want to go on a solo trip.

No matter who we are, what we do, or where we live, deep inside we all feel incomplete. It’s like we have lost something and need to get it back. Just what that something is, most of us never find out. And of those who do, even fewer manage to go out and look for it.

The cover is extremely attractive. You could not take your eyes off it. It does justice to the story of Taara Maheshwari completely.

The writing style is kept simple. Said that even a newbie would find it easier to grasp and enjoy the journey of Taara. The story goes on smoothly. The pace has been steady throughout the book. What I specifically disliked about the book was its adaptation into a soft porn while Taara and Fred make love. Agreed that people in love tend to ‘want’ each other but in my opinion, love could be expressed and illustrated in a more beautiful way. It does not always have to cross the lanes of wild and steamy love-making sessions to attain peace. Sex is natural but not the only way to say that the two entangled bodies are in love! I cringed reading that and skipped it everytime I happened to arrive at any such instance.

The narrative is good. The plotline and the concept of solo travel are really nice but the whole narration could have been better. Rest, it is good for a one-time read!

My Rating: 3.5/ 5

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