Book Title: A Price to Love
Author: Smita Das Jain
Published By: Readomania
Book Title
The book’s title – ‘A Price to Love’, is emotional and redolent.
Book Cover
The book’s cover depicts an abstract image of a lady, two guys, and a building. The image also features a blue-hued gradient towards the woman’s hairstyle and portrays ‘Blues,’ or gray colors of life. This is entirely subjective.
Plot
‘A Price to Love’ by Smita Das Jain is a contemporary romance novel about a couple, Sonia Ajmera, and her husband Sameep Agarwal, living in the Delhi NCR region. Sonia is a well-educated, ambitious woman whom her colleagues and superiors admire, but readers uncover more about her troubles and fears as the story progresses. Despite having a loving partner and a promising career, she thinks something is missing and finds it difficult to manage her work and personal life.
Why, despite marrying the guy she adored, is Sonia unhappy? Why does she spend so much time working? What fears does she have? Is she losing herself? Will she reframe her life and connection with Sameep?
My Thoughts
The plot of the story is simple and intriguing. One may relate to Sonia’s work life and the challenges she faces through the sharp, vivid story and engaging writing style. This is my first book by Smita, and I want to read more of her work because her narration is great. This book’s plot is structured into small chapters, allowing the reader to read calmly, then contemplate and continue. The font and flow of the story are both comfortable and seamless. After a long time, I read a reassuring narrative on human emotions and feelings.
Characters
Because of their realistic expressions and portrayal, the characters in the novel are relatable. A working woman’s struggles with having a family and a professional life, sometimes sacrificing personal time, are wonderfully shown. Other characters, including Sameep and Rishabh, will undoubtedly bring up memories from the readers’ own lives. Every major, primary, or secondary character gets enough scope and space in the plot.
Narration
An engaging narration with equal amounts of intrigue on what happens to Sonia keeps the reader hooked to the story. Reading bout Sonia is almost talking to her, possibly because of how her characterization is designed. The conversations e between Sonia and Sameep in their home or incidents at the office are nicely carved. The interwoven diary entries and the switching between timeframes made the reading experience fascinating.
Language and Grammar
Simple language with good vocabulary is found in the book.
What I like
1. The plot.
2. Sonia’s character.
3. The font.
4. Section the story into small chapters.
5. Mental health being discussed is appreciable.
What I didn’t like
I have one concern about Sonia’s introduction. I’m not too fond of it when a female character is described as fair-skinned, tall, with long hair, and so on. This might lead to gaps in envisioning a character’s physical features. East Indians and South Indians, for example, do not have a fair complexion. I hope the author understands. Furthermore, male characters are rarely described in this manner in books. Unrealistic explanations are a turn-off in a realistic narrative.
How Entertaining is the book?
The book is entertaining for its story, narration, and characters.
Who can read?
The book is for all those readers who like emotional stories with good drama and simple language.
Pick it up if
– you like books with an engaging story
– you wish to read Indian fiction stories that address mental health and other life challenges
Read more
- Book Review: The Colonial Subjugation of India by Amar Farooqui
- Book Review: The Greatest Marathi Stories Ever Told by Ashutosh Potdar
- Book Review: Mahagatha: 100 Tales from the Puranas by Satyarth Nayak
