Book Review & Giveaway: There's Something About You by Yashodhara Lal

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Title: There's Something About You
Author: Yashodhara Lal
Paperback: 268 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins(July 15th 2015)
Genre: Fiction
Read: Paperback
Stars: ***/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

 

Summary: (Goodreads)

This is not your typical boy-meets-girl story. Okay, they do meet, but there are some complications.

Trish is twenty-eight. She’s unemployed, overweight, single and snarky. She knows all that. And if one more person – just one more person – tries to fix her, she might explode. Sahil is thirty-five. He has superpowers. Well, kind of. He seems to think so, anyway. He’s also hot (okay, in a geeky kind of way, but still). And he plays the guitar, helps the underprivileged and talks about his feelings. Aren’t guys like that supposed to exist only in fantasies?

When Trish and Sahil meet, magic happens. Real magic, you know, like fireworks, electricity, that sort of thing. But here’s the problem. Trish doesn’t want anyone in her life. She has enough to deal with – dependent parents, flaky neighbours, bitchy editors, the works. And yet, Sahil is determined to be in her life.

My Review:

Note: Thanks Indiblogger and Yashodhara Lal for offering me your book to read and review :)

Cover: Bright and Eye-catchy!

Paper and font: Ebony & Ivory...

Readability, language: Easy on the eye and mind.

Why did I choose this book: Since I've read Lal's first book and had enjoyed it, when TSAY came up on IndiBlogger for review, I grabbed for it. :)

Trish is an ordinary, regular, sarcastic, overweight girl who is trying to find herself while trying to make ends meet. She had been living alone for a few years before her parents turned up and she is now unable to readjust to living with them. She is all messed up or so, she thinks. Enter Sahil into this melee, he's the rich boy who is lost and trying to run away from the family business, the one who wants to do his own thing. The rest of the book is about how it all untangles and unravels.

TSAY's cover is bright, cheery, colourful and inviting. There is a clear connect between the story and cover. The title is one that would work for any romance but in this case, it is only way past mid-point that I made the connect of the title with the story. The blurb is captivating and does a good job of setting expectations.

TSAY is just another romance but with a little twist that makes it a refreshing read. Lal toes a good line when it comes to balancing romance and all others parts of Trish, the protagonist's life. Her creation of various sub-plots to cover the various facets of Trish's life makes the book much more than an out and out romance and more fun to read.

The story is set in present-age Mumbai and Lal's research and knowledge of the city shows. Most of the story unfolds around the sea, Bandstand in particular. Lal's description of the smell, sight and sounds of living by the sea feel real and believable. Especially the parts about living near Shah Rukh Khan. :D

The book revolves around Trish or Trishna as her father calls her. Trish is an everyday girl with her problems of parents, lousy bosses, excess weight, and all that, that I as an everyday girl can empathise with. Sahil her love interest grows on you as the various sides to him are revealed. He turns out to be this lovable kind geek and you can't help but love. And then there's Trish's parents, her neighbours, her co-workers and bosses; they all are well sketched and add masala to the story.

TSAY is structured well and the pace is good too. Starting out with describing who Trish is, Lal goes through the story introducing characters based on need and furthering the story, holding a good pace. The subplots add to the story and don't derail it, there are also no loose ends except one, which maybe is best left to guessing. The build up to climax is great and the end well drawn out too. My only complain is the family secret which I felt was a bit too much and was an easy route out to explain all Trish's troubles.

I enjoyed Lal's style of writing or rather Trish's style of writing. It was fun to read and I found myself laughing a lot of times at Trish's sense of humour and sarcasm. Here's an example -



Notice the numbering on the left? I loved that the page numbers were on the sides of the page in the center so it was easier to keep tabs of the page I was on.

The language of the book is mostly simple with a few rare words I didn't know. Both the writing style and the language is easy on the mind and makes the book an easy read.

I would have given 4 stars except I felt there was too much drama at the end, and some of it unneeded.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it. It's a good one to choose when you want a light read and you'll especially enjoy it if you've known the struggle of finding the woman in you. Recommended for all ages and genders. ;)

About the Author:


Yashodhara Lal graduated from IIM-Bangalore in 2002 and has over 12 years of experience in Marketing. She lives in Gurgaon with her husband Vijay, and their three small children they call Peanut, Pickle and Papad. She blogs at www.yashodharalal.com.

Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart

 

Giveaway:

 
This giveaway is open only to residents in India. To participate please follow instructions in the Raflecopter widget below.
The winner will receive a Paperback copy of the book by book post. This giveaway is not sponsored by the author.

May the odds be ever in your favour! :)

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Congratulations to Manidipa on winning this giveaway! :)