The Girl he left behind by Shilpa Suraj

                        Originally reviewed by Roshni.K.J.

Title:The Girl He Left Behind
Genre:Romance(Mills & Boons series)
Author:Shilpa Suraj
Publisher:Harlequin India
Price:150 INR
Pages:180+
Year of Publication:2014
Source: Review copy from author via alop

               First things first.'The Girl he left behind' by Shilpa Suraj is a desi Mills & Boons story.So,if you picked up this book thinking it to be a literary gem(which I don't think anyone would mistake it to be,thanks to the cheesy cover page),I suggest you return it to the book-seller as early as possible and sue him for trying to rob you off your hard-earned money! On the other hand,if you had laid your hands on this cute little book expecting to spend your Sunday afternoon with a light,breezy,romantic read,I must say that your money was well spent.
             The moment I saw the book, what impressed me the most was it's cover page, it was not only cute, but also gave me some sort of an idea that it would be just another 'teenage- girl reader' oriented love story. But let me confess that all my pre-conceived notions vanished to thin air once I started reading the book. The author through her debut work is trying to tell the story of a successful career woman(Sia) who, in spite of her failed personal life manages a bright career without any hiccups.

            The story begins with the return of her ex(Ryan), which temporarily proves to be a setback for her, bringing up all the ghosts of her past. But Shilpa has tried to show Ryan in a good light by bringing out his various attempts at trying to win her back.

            The book is a good read for all those who enjoy cute successful love stories. The author has really done a good job in bringing out the feelings of a woman who has been dumped by her boyfriend and happens to marry another guy later which ends in a divorce. The mentality of a woman who sees her first love coming back to her after a long gap of 6 years has been well written.

Initially though the reader may hate the hero for having dumped the heroine, as the book progresses his past story is brought out which makes your heart go out to him. The portrayal of the hero as an illegitimate child and that being the reason why he leaves her catches the mind of every reader. He comes back to her after a period of 6yrs as a successful entrepreneur.

            What I liked about the book is the way Ryan tries to win Sia over, initially by acting as though he doesn’t care and later by caring too much about her.What I didnt like though was the portrayal of Ryan’s parents as money minded individuals. The climax of the story is lame and too Bollywoodish,to say the least.
         All in all the book 'The Girl he left behind' is a good read and undoubtedly a decent attempt by the first time author. I appreciate her writing skill and her realistic and honest portrayal of all the characters without any confusion.

Bottomline- Decent debut.I'm giving it a three out of five.

Ps:This book has nothing to do with the 1956 Hollywood Romantic Comedy with the same name

-reviewed by Roshni.K.J