Name- Just Missed
Author- Himanshu Bhatia
Publisher; Petals Publishers
Genre- Fiction
Blurb: While we try to arrange marriages by matching horoscopes and compatibilities, we forget at times that “marriages are made in heaven”. We all love to say that Bollywood romantic movies are silly and that they go overboard in their depiction of love, we actually secretly fantasize to be characters in them. Siddharth Gupta (lovingly called Sid) is an ISB alumnus, who is an ambitious perfectionist. He wants to go up the corporate ladder at a faster pace than his age and is doing pretty well. In his matrimonial search, Sid meets Shreya Malhotra, who herself is an IIM graduate and very career oriented. He finds Shreya the epitome of the “Beauty with Brains” tag and develops a crush on her almost instantly. Shreya and Sid are going steady towards what looks like a ‘soon to be married’ state, but when has life been that simple! On her way to Bangkok for her friend’s bachelorette party, Shreya meets Shivam Malhotra, an IITian, with a living flirting tiger inside him. While Shivam’s cheesy lines ignite hatred in Shreya, it’s only the beginning of a story that doesn’t end in Thailand. “Just Married Missed!” is the journey of a practically arranged crush, chased by crazy filmy love
My review
“Just missed” is a contemporary love triangle connecting Siddharth Gupta (lovingly called Sid), Shreya Malhotra and Shivam Malhotra. The author Himanshu Bhatia has done a commendable job by penning down a good romance story which is a very light read with a satisfactory ending.
A notable feature of this book is obviously its cover. Instead of giving an ordinary title as “Just Missed”, the word “Married” is depicted as intentionally cut off and the guy standing with eyes of hope, looking towards the girl. The blurry image of the girl is quite unique though. This will surely raise the question “what happened between them?” and then the story begins. The story is a combination of friendship, love, parent –children bonding and the dilemma of taking decisions. The language is simple and easy which helps every reader to connect with the characters.
The story also explores how Indian parents hunt the spouse for their children and how their thoughts and wishes impact on the life of their own children. The characters are developed well enough which is also a plus point. There is only a limited number of characters in this story. The author connected these characters so well to move forward the plot with quite an easiness. Pictorial representation of every scene is another plus point, especially the emotions, be it dilemma of Shreya about her feelings, love of parents, feelings of Shivam, crave for love, sacrifice, betrayal, ups and downs of relationships, everything is portrayed as picture-perfect.
The touch of sarcastic humor throughout the story gives a smooth flow which indeed helps the reader to engage with the plot. Initially, the story has been set in Delhi but as it progresses it covers a wide range of places like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Thailand, Amritsar, Goa, Jaipur, Tirupati, Paris.
Overall this book will give a roller-coaster ride of a Bollywood flick which will satisfy everyone’s, romantic heart.
Rating: 3.5/5
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