Book Review: Done With Men by Shuchi Singh Kalra

Title: Done With Men
Author: Shuchi Singh Kalra
Paperback: 109 pages
Publisher: Indireads Incorporated ( February 14th 2014)
Genre: Chick Lit
Read: ebook
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon
Summary: (Goodreads)

Travel journo, Kairavi Krishna (Kay) has had it with men. After a series of disasters (losers, philanderers, leeches, mama's boys and possessive psychos), she is all too tempted to walk out on the prospect of ever finding love. Accompanied by her best friend and flat-mate Baani, she sets off for Goa, hoping to get away from her miserable love life and vowing to stay clear of the male species.

Goa however, has a host of surprises in store for her. Ricky, her pesky ex-boyfriend, is busy painting the town red with his hot new girlfriend. Now what is poor Kay to do other than overdose on vodka, smoke pot, get an outrageous tattoo and fall off the hotel balcony? She wakes up in the hospital to the tender ministrations of Dr.Vivian D'Mello--young, suave and handsome as hell. Will Kay stick to her guns or will she fall for his ridiculously sexy charms? And what's up with the mixed signals he's giving out?

My Review:

Thanks Shuchi Singh Kalra for offering me your book to read and review :)



Cover: Simple, bright and eye-catchy!

Paper and font: So large, I had to manually reduce it :)

Readability, language: Easy on the eyes and mind.

Why did I choose this book: Really needed some light reading and a book on a girl done with men seemed perfect for that :D

After her most recent heart-break Kay jumps at the chance when she gets an assignment in Goa. She hopes that the distance from her ex and the Goa carnival atmosphere will ease her heart and heal it. But in Goa she bumps into her ex, which leads to a night of debauchery, which in turn lands her in the arms of a rather hot doctor. Oh Kay, what will happen of you...

'Done With Men' are words I've said and heard innumerable times after a break-up but they are rarely final, somehow love does happen again sooner or later. Looking at it that way, the title is appropriate for a book where the heroine falls out and then right back into love. The cover caught my eye with a simple illustration of a woman sitting alone by the beach by herself and the blurb was interesting enough to make me want to read the book.

The plot of heart-break followed by finding prince charming is an old one but Kalra spins it well and it almost feels new. The book revolves around the life of Kay and is true to life in that Kay almost makes a fool of herself at every bend of her love story. It's something we have all done when we were young. A simple story without any major sub-plots or complications.

Mostly set in present day Goa, Kalra uses the carnival and Goa's party scene to set the stage for her story. That's about all it does, it's that hazy backdrop with not much detail or clarity. However this one is forgivable as Kalra focuses in-depth on Kay and hey, it's a novella.

Though Kay is the central character, there are quite a few other supporting characters. There's Baani, Kay's best friend and flat-mate, Ricky, her ex, and Dr.Vivian D'Mello, Kay's love interest among others. All the characters have a role to play and they all tie up neatly in the end. I liked most of the characters too, but I wish Vivian had had more spine, he seemed a bit of a sissy (for want of a better word).

The first half of the book is fast and gripping, especially when Kalra hints at some girl-on-girl action, but she veers away all to soon to chase the man and there it gets a little dull. I could have done with more drama there. However Kalra ties up all the loose ends and pairs up characters quite neatly at the end.

Over all this is a good, quick read in-between larger books.

About the Author:
Shuchi Singh Kalra is not just a writer, but also an editor and blogger. She has been published in a large number popular magazines over the years since she started writing in 2005. She is also the owner of Pixie Dust Writing Studio, a writing and editing firm and the Indian Freelance Writers Blog. Shuchi lives with her army husband and toddler. You can connect with Shuchi on her facebook page.

Buy On: Amazon