ABOUT BOOK
Life is a
bitch and I am one of its victims. I had the perfect life. I was blessed with
the perfect boyfriend, a perfect best friend, the perfect set of girlfriends
and perfect choice of career. There were some loopholes but then they went
beyond my perspective. Overall, I had the kind of life people would ideally
like to have but happy times aren't meant to last forever.
Sometimes
we feel that we have figured life but that’s something that is never going to happen. You know why? It’s because
it has this habit of kicking us right in the middle of ecstasy. No wonder, it
did the same with me.
This is
my story, my story of that exploration within, my feelings, my emotions, my
thought process, my priorities, my conflicts and my journey into the temptation
of love, lust, lies and betrayals. This is the story of Kritika and a man who
gave her life another dimension, Tanishq. This is a story of the complexities
of relationships and the trap that a simple idea of sensuality, pleasure and
euphoria can put you into. This is a story for everyone who has loved, lost and
fought for survival and love, together.
Paperback: 159 pages
Release date: 1st July 2014
Language: English
ISBN-10: 8192960919
ISBN-13: 978-81929609913
Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13 x 1.2 cm
Paperback: 159 pages
Release date: 1st July 2014
Language: English
ISBN-10: 8192960919
ISBN-13: 978-81929609913
Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13 x 1.2 cm
ABOUT AUTHOR
A
full-time writer, Harshita Srivastava is the author of 'One In A Million' that
got published by Mahaveer Publishers in April 2013 in her final year of
Mechanical Engineering at G.L.Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management,
Noida. She is an avid reader and a prolific blogger. She loves reading classics
and is a diehard Mills and Boons fan. She loves to see happiness around her so
she’ll always be found motivating people or making them smile. Apart
from writing, she loves travelling, reading, listening to music and spending
time with friends and family.
REVIEW BY OUR READERS
REVIEW BY
MEGHANT PARMAR
Love is an
ancient potion which is quite a mystery. It might not play true to you at times
and sometimes it might turn out according to your wishes and desires. Author
Harshita Srivastava in her latest book "Bad Romance" catapults the
readers to yet another journey of love which is filled with a lot of passion
and desire. So will it be able to live up to the expectations? Let's find out.
Life is a
bitch and I am one of its victims. I had the perfect life. I was blessed with
the perfect boyfriend, a perfect best friend, the perfect set of girlfriends
and perfect choice of career. There were some loopholes but then they went
beyond my perspective. Overall, I had the kind of life people would ideally
like to have but happy times aren't meant to last forever.
Sometimes
we feel that we have figured life but that’s something that is never going to happen. You know why? It’s because
it has this habit of kicking us right in the middle of ecstasy. No wonder, it
did the same with me.
This is
my story, my story of that exploration within, my feelings, my emotions, my
thought process, my priorities, my conflicts and my journey into the temptation
of love, lust, lies and betrayals. This is the story of Kritika and a man who
gave her life another dimension, Tanishq. This is a story of the complexities
of relationships and the trap that a simple idea of sensuality, pleasure and
euphoria can put you into. This is a story for everyone who has loved, lost and
fought for survival and love, together.
First
look at the title and the cover and it mesmerizes with its blend of colors and
a lone figure which has been cut out staring at waves. The hidden expressions
of the woman add curiosity in the mind as what to expect from the book. The
title hinting at something bad about to take place in someone's life. The blurb
talks about life and its ways of making you work for yourself to survive. The
blurb's length is too long and should have been kept short for the readers to
get hold of more of the story from the book.
The story
is of Kritika Mathur, a young girl who lands up in Greater Noida to chase her
dreams and ambitions of becoming a RJ and to pursue engineering. The freedom
soon engulfs Kritika and she enjoys every bit of it breaking the monotony of
her home as she falls in love with Vikrant. Gradually love blossoms and along
galore problems which are too dominant to be ignored. With friends by her side
especially Tanishq a guy who doesn't leaves much of an impression the first
time they meet in the college becomes her life savior. So will Kritika be able
to live a fairy tale romance? What role Tanishq and Vikrant play in her life?
Will life ever be same again for the young girl with soaring ambitions and love
in her heart? That's what the story is all about.
When it
comes to justifying the tagline love, lies and betrayals the book scores some
serious brownie points. It manages to skim out balanced effects of love i.e.
both positive and negative and imbibed in the story line with great effect. The
struggle of a girl and her transition from a girl to woman has been given a lot
of limelight and manages to capture the best of the moods and emotions and enthrall
the readers. The story embarks on a turmoil yet captivating love story which
keeps the heart beats pumping all the time. It has that ticklish effect as well
as the glaring dungeon dark side and the twisted human psyche which adds and
lends voice to the whole idea. The physicality of love too barbaric and
sometimes too cozy and has been shown with diligence. The emotions cropping up
at the right places with the right mix of joy and sorrow which one experiences
while being in love.
The book
lacks in capturing the mental aspects of love fully. It fails to encourage the
characters to grow along with the story rather than choosing to leave them in a
limbo at times. The story has some abrupt events and incidents which don't
quite add up and shades the progress of the story. Editing turns out to be
another big blemish with glaring mistakes being made grammatically, character name
goof up, a spelling mistake and entire repetition of two paragraphs describing
love in one of the chapters which had already made an appearance in the chapter
before. The book towards the end feels out of place as it wounds up without the
thoughts of the other characters being expressed or given voice.
All in
all the book does manages to show a girl's courage to fight and live on her
life with dignity and respect shedding appropriate light on the delicate
subject of trust and commitment. The book manages to shed the tag of a typical
romance saga and delves into the inner turmoil of women when they are in love
which is felt largely nowadays in the society. But it lacks the punch at times
and leaves a lot to imagination which doesn't quite leaves a glaring impact. A
book to be read and pondered upon with some nasty and some heartfelt romance.
RATINGS: 3 OUT OF 5
REVIEW BY
KRITIKA NARULA
Review: The
tagline "Love, Lies and Betrayal" aptly sums up the themes around
which the novel revolves. It is the story of any girl-next-door. Life in a
hostel, a string of relationships, et al forms the core of the plot.
The best
part of the novel is that it comes in layers: First, it manifests itself as a
fairy tale romance, then it resurfaces as a story of two people oscillating
between infatuation and superficial love (peppered with the inevitable love
triangle) and finally takes a plunge when it delves into the darker human
emotions, harsh living realities, and gory human frailties. It soon undergoes a
metamorphosis into a saga of shattering human fallacies and an encounter with
the ugly truth. And the truth is: Stories about real relationships flummox and
fluster you beyond measure, that reasoning between the rights and wrong becomes
almost difficult. The part of novel which has interplay of these themes is the
best part.
I managed
to read it and finish in a couple of hours, so it can become a good
one-night-read.
The
downside is that for one, there has been a lot of scope to do footwork. For
instance, the character sketches could have been worked upon, because a book
can get under the skin of a reader only through the characters. Also, a reader
is interested in knowing the personality of characters: what makes them. Same
goes with the expression and description of critical and crucial incidents. It
is for the same reason that we get abrupt beginnings and endings. Also, editing
finesse has been conspicuous by its absence.
Overall,
it is a kind of 3.5/5. A .5 extra for the potential of the storyline.
Best
Lines: We don't
stop loving people. People die but does our love for them depreciate? It's just
that we get used to being without them.
Judgment: A raw,
bare and verbatim depiction of contemporary relationships is how this novel can
be best described.
REVIEW BY ABHILASH RUHELA
After
reading few mediocre-quality books, the latest book of Harshita Srivastava
named "Bad Romance" came like a breath of fresh air. The tagline of
the book says "Love, Lies and Betrayals". The cover page of the book
is very soothing. Though the title seems to be cliché but
after reading the book, you will understand why it is named so and how it is better
than other romantic stories being published by Indian authors. I am stunned by
the quality of the story written by Harshita at this age. Reading this book has
been a wonderful experience and it is one of the most special books I have read
recently. I found a touch of Durjoy Datta and Preeti Shenoy's writing in
Harshita's Bad Romance. I haven't read her first book but after this, I am
looking forward to her future works.
A very
simple character based story tells about different emotions a girl goes through
in a relationship where she isn't treated like a princess as every girl dreams.
But for the sake of love, she is quiet and keeps suffering all the tortures.
Suddenly, she starts getting attracted towards her best friend and finds herself
sharing some wonderful quality moments with him. Both of them decide to come
together but yet again she finds challenges coming in this new relationship.
She is still together with her first boyfriend and this makes the whole thing
more complicated for her. And then comes a twist which changes everything in
her life and she takes a step that not every girl in India would possibly take.
Such a
beautiful and complex character-based story is written in a very easy and good
language. You will find each and every word placed at the right spot which
makes your reading journey more special. The command that the authoress have on
the language is commendable. She makes you feel the journey of the protagonist
as if it is your own tale. At different moments, even you want to meet her
boyfriend and beat the hell out of him. You feel bad when she starts failing in
her new relationship too. The best part about the book is that author has kept
conversations as less as possible and narration as much as possible. The climax
makes you weep strongly and I wanted Harshita to write more to make us know
what happened later in the story. After turning the last page,
"Waah!" came out of my mouth unknowingly and that speaks a lot about
the kind of book this is. I feel like personally meeting the author and telling
her how beautiful her writing is. It is that kind of a work. I give the book
3.75* out of 5. Recommended!
REVIEW BY HEENA AHUJA
Blurb:
Life is a bitch and I'm one of its victims. I had the perfect life. I was
blessed with the perfect boyfriend, a perfect best friend, the perfect set of
girlfriends and perfect choice of career. There were some loopholes but then
they went beyond my perspective. Overall, I had the kind of life people would
ideally like to have but happy times aren't meant to last forever.
Sometimes
we feel that we have figured life but that's something that is never going to
happen. You know why? It's because it has this habit of kicking us right in the
middle of ecstasy. No wonder, it did the same with me.
This is
my story, my story of that exploration within, my feelings, my emotions, my
thought process, my priorities, my conflicts and my journey into the temptation
of love, lust, lies and betrayals. This is the story of Kritika and a man who
gave her life another dimension, Tanishq. This is a story of the complexities
of relationships and the trap that a simple idea of sensuality, pleasure and
euphoria can put you into. This is a story for everyone who has loved, lost and
fought for survival and love, together. (Via Infibeam)
Verdict:
As the blurb clearly states, the story revolves around Kritika and her life.
When she was on the verge of feeling that her life is flowing perfectly on her
side, with all the kind of friends everybody dies for and the love life with
the perfect guy who cares beyond limit for his girl, her life and destiny
kicked her right in the middle of her happiness. What will she do in such a
situation? How will she clear the mess created? Will she be able to find out
the real reason of such a mess in her life? Let’s read the book and find
out.
Positives:
1) Good
story line.
2) Lovely
cover.
3) Font
size if good enough and won’t hurt your eyes while reading no matter how big specs you have.
Negatives:
1) Too many editing hinges which makes it tough
for the reader to built interest. Every few pages there are mistakes which
could have been avoided to make the reading fluid.
To sum up
with the review it’s a good story line stating the position of a girl who goes
through ups and downs in her life because of the decisions taken in her life.
The story covers the most used abuses women in our society faces – verbal
abuses, and she tackles these things in her life. Only if good attention was
paid to the editing part this book could have been a 4 scorer book. All in all
it’s a nice read though you need to pay attention to build interest
leaving the editing issues aside.
Ratings:
3 OUT OF 5.
REVIEW BY
SANDEEP SHARMA
RATINGS:
Cover:
4/5
Theme:
3.5/5
Characters:
3/5
Writing Style:
3.5/5
Narration:
4/5
Overall:
3.5/5
OVERVIEW: When you
open yourself towards life, life starts to test you. That’s what
happens with Kritika. In her own words, she had everything, a perfect life, a
perfect boyfriend, a perfect best friend etc. Overall she had the kind of a
life people would ideally like to have. But the moment when she thought that
life is easy, it kicked her right in the middle of ecstasy. She started to play
with her life and life started to play with her. This is Kritika’s life of
love, lies and betrayals.
REVIEW: First
thing in the Beauty section of the book which I would like to mention is that,
I loved the book cover and the title. It’s subtitle, ‘Love, lies and betrayals’ summarizes the whole story in a short go. The book quality is
marvelous and for that kudos to the Gargi team. Secondly, let’s start
with the story-line. Right from the first chapter of the book, Harshita clears
her view that she is going to deliver a pretty harsh and a bit realistic ‘Bad Romance’ story.
Story is pacy and gripping. Writing style is fantastic. Harshita knows how to
hold her audience till the very end. At the start of every chapter, author
tries to explain the dilemma of her protagonist which helps to bind the reader’s
attention. They are beautifully written and never seems to be exaggerated or in
simple sense, ‘boring’.
One of
the best features of the story is the depiction of the hostel life of girls.
Kritika and her friends’ story of hostel life add up to the beauty of the story.
Now
coming up to the Beast section of the book. The story seems to be predictable
at the end. Author had a pretty ‘full of potential’ kind of
a story in her mind but at the end story seems to be slipped all over the floor
just like a donkey with skates over the ice. Another thing which I would like
to mention is that the story shows only the prospective of Kritika, it never
speaks up about the other characters dilemma. Well it would be okay, if author
haven’t shown the section where two of Kritika’s
boyfriends speak to each other over the phone. That section creates a bit
misunderstanding.
VERDICT: Every
other book claims to be different from others but this story is genuinely
different from other of its league. GO FOR IT.
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