Tea for Two and a piece of cake By Preeti Shenoy

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TEA FOR TWO AND A PIECE OF CAKE: Fiction

AUTHOR: Preeti Shenoy

BEST SELLER(S): 34 BUBBLEGUMS AND CANDIES and LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. TEA FOR TWO AND A PIECE OF CAKE is her third published book.

SYNOPSIS:

What if life threw you a magnificent opportunity, only to knock you down later and laugh at you? Would you fight back or let it pass?

Nisha's life is far from perfect. At twenty - six, she is plump, plain looking, and without a boyfriend. A chance date and a bizarre twists of events lead her to the altar with suave Samir Sharma, only to be abandoned eight years later. As she struggles to stand on her own feet, Akash, a younger guy, enters her life.  Can Nisha find love a second time?

TEA FOR TWO AND A PIECE OF CAKE is an unusual, a heart warming, and gripping love-story between two people who have so much to lose by getting into a relationship with each other, yet so much to gain.

EXCERPT: I am bathing our seven-month old baby boy when my husband calls to tell me that our marriage of eight years is over. I rush out of the bathroom, wrap the baby in a towel and am cradling the phone in my ear, with one hand on the baby to prevent him from rolling over the bed, and go crashing to the floor. My hands are still wet, and I wipe them hurriedly as I pick up the phone. When my husband tells me in a calm voice that it is over and he is leaving me, I fail to comprehend.

Then my heart starts beating at what feels like a thousand beats a minute. No, it starts pounding and all I can hear is his steely calm voice saying, 'Hello_____ you there?'

MSM Speaks: I had a feeling with this book that it will make me cry. And it did. The story is about Nisha, who was left motherless at 5, with her father steeling his heart to eliminate chances of any grief that he would feel. Nisha was neglected and was more of a loner, as she grew up. She started working in a travel agency, where one day, Fate smiled and threw an opportunity of lifetime before her. Nisha grabbed the chance but fell hard on her face, losing the job and reputation. Then Samir comes in with a magic wand and hands over  to her, the keys to a magical kingdom, which Nisha would not even have dreamed of, to be hers.

After the sudden death of her father, she moves into this magical kingdom as Mrs. Sharma. That's when life becomes worse than what it used to be. Samir leaves Nisha after eight years of marriage for another woman, leaving her with two small children. Broken and shattered beyond repair, Nisha begins a new life, alone with her kids in her old house. Akash, her office colleague and a friend of long time, helps her fill the void that had left a gaping hole in her heart. But what about society, her children, her need to spill out things unspoken and love? Could she afford to take the risk.

Preeti Shenoy with her words, warmed my heart like any thing with her tale. I was riding on a roller coaster of emotions with the protagonist. Her naivety was sometimes annoying and at some places, I thought the author had unnecessarily dragged the story, prolonging the depressing mood. The entry of Akash is blissful and uplifts the mood. The book towards the end gushes forward, making me feel that the author wanted to finish it as soon as possible. Overall, I liked the story and would pick it up again, when I would feel like life  is pulling me down too much. Quite an inspiring work, I'd say!

My rating: 4/5 (Few lengthy bits could have been done away with)
TEA FOR TWO AND A PIECE OF CAKE@ Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd. (c) 2012
ISBN 978-81-8400-279-9
flipkart price: 94/- INR