Book Review - Without You by Preethi Venugopala

From the book cover: When Ananya, a bubbly twenty-year old engineering student, reaches her Grandmother's house in Sreepuram on a month long vacation, romance is the last thing on her mind. However, she meets Dr. Arjun there and falls head over heels in love. 

As it often happens, the path of true love never runs smooth.. Circumstances force them apart even though they were madly in love. She becomes a victim of depression. When everything fails to return her to normalcy, help arrives from an unexpected source. Will she ever find happiness again? Will time allow her heart to heal and forget Arjun? What indeed is true love?

Travel with Ananya to the picturesque Sreepuram, face the chaos of Bengaluru, and relish the warmth of magical Dubai in this heartwarming tale of love, betrayal, friendship and miracles. 

My thoughts: When the author is a good friend and when it's her debut novel, you are definitely curious as to what her story would look like in print. I have been a small part of this book before it got published and it is one very dear to me. I was one of the lucky few who got to see the first 3 chapters initially and so I couldn't wait to read the rest. 

When I finally started reading, Preethi managed to surprise me still. There were quite a few plot twists that I did not see coming. Coming to the story and characters, they are well etched, especially that of Ananya, her grandmother and friends. Coming to Arjun, another version of Mr. Darcy, though he is in love with Ananya, he has his own flaws, which makes him believable. Of course, I could relate to Ananya and love her a teeny bit more. 

The description of the places, be it Sreepuram, Bengaluru or Dubai, the author has done full justice in bringing out a clear picture in the minds of readers who haven't been there. Living in Dubai myself, it was fun to see this place through Ananya's eyes. Turning points in the story like Ananya trying to commit suicide and later her coping mechanisms in dealing with her depression are expressed very well making it easy to relate to. 

Ananya's traits are borrowed from the author herself, like her love for painting and reading and journaling. This is not just a romance novel, it is a story on relationships and I loved the various themes that Preethi has explored, be it the relationship of Ananya with her grandmother who plays an important role or the friends that Ananya makes in Dubai, they all have a vital place in the book. 

I do not want to give too much of the story away, as it will take away the fun in reading it. But read this one, it is an excellent debut and I'm definitely looking forward to the next book from Preethi. The book is well edited and has impeccable language, as is to be expected if you are familiar with the author's blog and her writings, which in itself makes the overall read a pleasant one. A light read, I read the book in a little less than a day. Read it and fall in love!