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Tuesday, November 3, 2015

When Our Worlds Collide by Aniesha Brahma : A Review

BOOK TITLE: When Our Worlds Collide
ASIN: B017EL0B2E
AUTHOR: Aniesha Brahma
GENRE: Fiction
NUMBER OF PAGES: 117 (approx)
FORMAT: Digital
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The author sent me a copy for review, and I thank her for it!

SUMMARY:
Akriti has led a pretty much sheltered life.
Zayn has been shuttled from city to city when he was growing up.
She is comfortable watching her life from the sidelines.
He wants to feel rooted to a place he can call ‘home’.
They meet each other quite by chance.
And both seize the chance to be someone they both need in their lives:
For Zayn, it’s a 'Partner-In-Crime'.
For Akriti, someone who just knows how to be there for her…
When their worlds collide,
It is not what either of them expected it to be.
Zayn has a steady girlfriend. And Akriti has a crush on him.
What happens these two become friends?
The biggest adventure of their lives? Or the road to heartbreak?
What happens when two completely different people collide?
Do they become friends? Or, is their friendship doomed from the
start?
'When Our Worlds Collide' is the story of two twenty-three-year olds,
Who are finally growing up and finding their feet in the world.
A tale of friendship and love, crushes and betrayals, messes and second chances,
Marriage and divorce… and the elusive happily ever after!

REVIEW:
A book that I am glad I picked up to read.

FIRST IMPRESSION:
The aesthetic appeal of the cover was one of the first things I noticed about this book. The aptly worded title and the cover image drew me into the book.

Since this was a digital copy, my comments are limited to the kindle formatting and the typeset, which are smooth enough. I delved into the book before I had even fully read the blurb!

THE STORY WEAVES ITS MAGIC:
From page 1, the story had a strange magnetism.

“This is real life. Most stories when they begin, give you the feeling that it would end in ‘and so they lived happily ever after’. But there are some stories – sometimes much greater than epic love stories – that touch you right in the heart; and stay with you forever.”

The story is simple in its elegance. It is the story of Akriti, narrated in first person. (Except the prologue – that is something to watch out for!). Akriti is self effacing, afraid of change, and comfortable staying out of the limelight. Zayn, on the other hand, is used to being shunted from city to city due to his father’s job, and they each have a chance meeting.

It is not exactly ‘serendipity’ because Akriti feels out of depth and realises that she has a crush on Zayn, a crush that literally ‘crushes’ her because she knows him only after being introduced as her ex classmate’s boyfriend. Akriti faces a weird request from her friend, Nimmi, and this request changes her life’s path in ways she could never foresee.

Pitted with each other, Zayn and Akriti develop a friendship when he asks her to be her partner in crime. Akriti finds in Zayn someone who understands her. He asks her to accompany him, and help him complete his bucket list. Zayn is everything Akriti is not, but he wants her to move out of the shell and live a day at a time.

From late night drives to boat rides and reciting poetry, Akriti does a lot since she meets Zayn. I appreciate the author for not bringing a torrid affair and subsequent heartbreak. Yes, there is heartbreak, but the reason is not what is expected in contemporary romance books these days. There are no shockers in the book, but by the end, the reader is left with a ‘It’s a small world’ kind of feeling that speaks volumes about the power Aniesha has to use the right words to craft her story.

Another notable feature of this book is that it also has a beautiful ‘support cast’. The focus is not only on the lead characters but also on characters like Ayoub, Akriti’s co worker in the cafĂ© she works for, Gia and Esha, who give the story a much needed depth.

Every character has something to offer to the plot, with none seeming overwhelming or out of place. Starting from Akriti’s mother to Ritwick, a guy who makes only two appearances in the story, everyone has a role to play. It is heart warming, gives a pleasant feeling and has a few lessons to take back.

The story stayed in my mind long after I had finished reading it, and I loved Akriti’s decisions at the end of the book, and the beautiful last line. Unexpected, pleasant, a memorable ride.

LANGUAGE AND PLOT:
These get a special mention not only because they are good, but also because, they are such a rarity these days. The plot is not predictable. It seems so, but is not. There are predictable elements, but the overall story is a poignant tale of a 23 year old who deals with life, love, heartbreak and a troubled childhood. (And yes, these words seem part of a much abused formula, but when seen in the context of the story, they mean something entirely different).

The language is a treat to read. Simple, without many complex words, but a good word structure. There are a few memorable dialogues given at regular intervals throughout the story.

SPECIAL MENTION:
The quotes at the beginning of each chapter – especially the one by Akriti. In no way philosophical, nor preachy, these formed an important part of the story and gave it a special flavour. I really tried to choose a few special ones and mention here, but could not do so without revealing key aspects or sounding bland when seen out of context.

WHAT I LIKED:

  • The characters of Akriti’s mother, Ayoub and Riley are my favourites. They have a great depth that shows the author’s brilliance in writing.
  • The description of the bucket list made me want to make one for myself and act upon it immediately

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

  • There really are not many complaints. The epilogue gave a believable closure to the story. While I would have preferred two characters to have acted differently, that is surely story related, and not an actual complaint!


VERDICT:
Don’t miss this one! It is not your run of the mill contemporary romance. This book offers a lot of take home moments.

RATING: 4.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aniesha Brahma knew she wanted to be a writer since she was six years old. She was schooled in Dolna Day School and went on to pursue B.A., M.A., and M.Phil in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur Univeristy. She currently lives in Kolkata, with her family and five pet cats. The Secret Proposal was her debut novel, followed by The Guitar Girl. She was a contributing author with her story The Difference, in the anthology: Voices, Old & New. When Our Worlds Collide is her third work of fiction, and first novella.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle

PRICE: Rs. 99 for Kindle

BOOK LINKS: Amazon India

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this review, Dhivya! I am glad you loved the book. :))

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    Replies
    1. I loved reading this. It was a story I related to :)

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