Book Review: When Love Finds You
When Love Finds You is Yashodhara Lal‘s 4th book; a contemporary romance set in New Delhi. Like her earlier three, this one too is set in the corporate world and is an insider’s story with an alpha heroine, a loveable hero and a sly villain to complete the mix. But unlike the earlier books, one doesn’t come away impressed. To start with the title of the book and the cover page both could not have been more unimaginative. Honestly, if I had to pick this book from a bookstore, I would have dismissed it as another M&B and moved on to the next rack.
When Love Finds You is the story of Natasha Pattanaik who’s behaviour in office and all around her is similar to what is generalised as the behaviour of spinsters. No, in fact that of grumpy, frustrated spinsters, which is nearly what our heroine is. She is 35, national sales head of an IT company based in Delhi and only talks numbers. Things take a turn when she is bypassed for promotion to the post of business head and in comes Rishabh – showman, people man and a fake man; slimy too. He is deft is his game and is driving Natasha up the wall. At the same time another man walks into the office – the new innovations head. Single dad with a cute dimple, Nikhil is sober and focused. He is not just desirable but is also sending friendly vibes towards Natasha.
For Natasha it is not just the office heating up; things aren’t hunky dory at the home front too. There is an ever complaining neighbour who Natasha feels is exactly like what she may be in future, a haunting past that has been buried too long and a friend who just would not leave her alone. Add to that a confused fitness instructor and her commitment issues, it is a full circus out there.
Lal is known for picking the ordinary and making it fun, atleast that’s what, two of her books we have read point out – Just Married, Please Excuse & There’s Something About You. This one too is about ordinary people and their ordinary, mundane situations with a dose of humour, of course. But this one doesn’t stay with you. The setup is promising and could have made for compelling conflicts and a great story but the writing fails. Natasha’s character is well developed but all the other’s are half baked. You don’t really love or hate a character in the book and that is a big problem. What kind of a story are you reading if you don’t get involved!
The book has pace, the situations are interesting, the chuckles come at intervals and the twists are in place making it unputdownable. But that’s about what When Love Finds You is about. It is a breezy read but only a one time read.
A half baked story that leaves you with questions and a snigger in place of a smile as you close the back cover.
Title: When Love Finds You
Author: Yashodhara Lal
Publisher/ Imprint: HarperCollins India/ Harlequin India
Pages: 294
Genre/ Sub-Genre: Fiction/ Romance
Rating: 2.75 of 5.00
Reviewed for: Flipkart Blogger Review Program
Read the reviews of other books rated 2 star by Team TP HERE
