Without You - Book Review

Title: Without You 

Author: Preethi Venugopala

Publisher: Write India Publishers

ISBN: 978-93-84180-19-5

Number of Pages: 198

Price: 150 [INR]

Genre: Romance

The Blurb:

When Ananya, a bubbly twenty-year-old engineering student, reaches her Grandmother's house in Sreepuram on a month long vacation, romance is the last thing on her mind. However, she meets Dr. Arjun there and falls head over heels in love.

As it often happens, the path of true love never runs smooth.. Circumstances force them apart even though they were madly in love. She becomes a victim of depression. When everything fails to return her to normalcy, help arrives from an unexpected source. Will she ever find happiness again? Will time allow her heart to heal and forget Arjun? What indeed is true love?

Travel with Ananya to the picturesque Sreepuram, face the chaos of Bengaluru, and relish the warmth of magical Dubai in this heartwarming tale of love, betrayal, friendship and miracles.

My Review:       

Characters:

      Meet Ananya, a bubbly twenty-year-old engineering student, who loves nature, painting and reading. 'Tomboy' - that is what people call her back home. She loves spending time with her dear ones and Ammamma is her favorite person. But there is a secret that no one knows yet - a crush that she has been harboring on a person she hasn't even met!

       Meet Dr. Arjun, the scion of the 'Shine' group which has branches all over the globe. But Arjun is passionate about serving people and loves his profession. Twenty six year old, he has girls falling for him but Arjun has eyes only for one girl - Ananya, who stole his heart at the first glance.

Plot:

       Sweet and unsuspecting Ananya reaches her grandmother's house in Sreepuram on a month long vacation, barely having the idea of what life has in store for her. When she meets Dr. Arjun, about whom she has heard a lot about from her cousin Vishal and grand mom and whom she has harbored a crush on, she cannot help but fall head over heels in love, again! Soon she finds out that Arjun harbors the same feelings towards her and her joy has no bounds. With everything going smoothly, she feels like she is on top of the world!

       But life doesn't work that way! Soon things take an unexpected turn and Arjun and Ananya are separated. The bubbly girl is now at the verge of depression. She barely manages to keep up with the help of her friends - Khushi and Poornima. But then, the real help comes from an unexpected source. Will Ananya be able to get over Arjun? Or will life give her another chance? Does miracles really happen in real life? You have to read this amazing story to find out more.

Things that worked:

       I loved the depth given to each characters. I love how they are portrayed in a way that makes you feel you know them in real. Or maybe, you are one of them. The way Preethi has handled emotions in this novel is commendable. I was in Ananya's shoes throughout the story, finding love through her, crying with her and then rejoicing with her. The mischievous Ammamma, the caring cousins, the ever-so-faithful friends, they all balanced the story perfectly.

       The narration barely gives you the feeling that this is the work of a debut author! The language is eloquent and I loved the flow of the story. The very beginning of the story, which goes as follows, kept me hooked.

Every night, when I put my pen to paper, I wish to rewrite our story. I yearn to begin it where it ended.

I want to re-script the end, the middle and the beginning. Then I realize that I love the beginning of our story, I cherish the moments at the middle, and the end, have we written that yet?

       I loved these lines and instantly had felt a connection with Ananya and I couldn't wait to explore her world with her. An awesome job done by Preethi.

Things that didn't work:

       The only thing which didn't work for me was the way Colonel's story turned out. Though Preethi has managed to put it in a way that fits with the story line, I was still skeptical about his reality. Apart from this, no complaints!

Verdict:

       If you are looking for something to keep you busy over the weekend, pick this book up. If you are a romance reader, you will love it for sure. 

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Until the next review,

Keep Reading :)

Love,

Swathi :)