Book Review - Someone Like You by Nikita Singh and Durjoy Datta

About the authors:

Nikita Singh is the author of the book Love@Facebook and Accidentally In Love. After pursuing a degree in Pharmacy, she decided to try her hand in writing. Durjoy Datta is an engineer, and also has a management degree. He is the author of several books like Of Course I Love You and She Broke Up, I didn’t. This is the authors’ second collaboration after the novel If It’s Not Forever.

The book in a nutshell:

The novel is about a girl, Niharika who’s an introvert and a self-opined geek. She’s the plain girl with no interest to dress attractively, or date, she’s more into her academics… you could say she’s an exaggerated version of a first-bencher, with those thick glasses and eager to live up to people’s expectations. She’s had her heart broken early, and isn’t looking to repeat that experience and the repurcussions of it.

She gets into a top college away from her hometown, is called to Delhi by her sister (who’s that perfect girl, according to her) and she returns a changed person. She loses the glasses, begins to wear attractive dresses than old “rotten jeans” and well, changes into a girl. The once non-shopping girl then nearly gets into an accident when she comes out from shopping (strange, isn’t it?) and kind of falls in love with the guy who nearly hit her. She begins believing in relationships again when voila, she finds out they guy has a past that makes it personal for her. So dumping him immediately, she heads off to college.

After that, it’s like a college story. She finds a best friend Tanmay, who defends her against the college senior “bully”. He’s that introvert type like her too, and when she finds that Pia, her roommate is a rich, kind-of spoiled brat, she tries to set up the two of them up. When they seem to jump into trouble, a senior seems to come to their rescue. Meanwhile, the old boyfriend Akshat tries to win her back, and she finds herself attracted in a way to the senior guy. It’s like a roller coaster of her relationships. In between, a tragedy is thrown in that we kind of begin to expect as well.

What I liked:

It’s a light read. That’s the thing I liked the most. You can read it quickly, like if you are having some time traveling back in the office cab or college bus perhaps. The plot and narration is simple, as is the English. It’s romantic but not to the point of being mushy or sickly sweet. The events seem understandable in the order, though sudden at times. And the cover design is quite simple as well.

What I didn’t like:

It seems filmy. Literally. I know we as authors are influenced by other authors and movies, but I could see some scenes right out of movies, and a line or two that’s quite similar to the dialogue in them. I didn’t like that part. There is nothing very “new” in the plot, we know or probably expect what will happen at the end.

Closing thoughts:

It’s a one-time read for me. Neither very excellent, nor close to mediocre. A light read that’s enjoyable.

---

Rating: 3 Stars

Book details:
Title: Someone Like You
Authors: Nikita Singh, Durjoy Datta
Genre: Fiction / Romance
ISBN: 978-0-143-41769-9
Publishers: Penguin Metro Reads
Price: INR. 140


Reviewed by: Leo
Shared with First Reads and IQRC

Till The Last Breath... Durjoy Datta

Till the last breath by Durjoy Datta tells the story of life from the window of awaiting death round the corner scenario using four central characters and chapters swinging around their lives in separate and mixed narratives. The book its own set of highs and lows just like the life of people it talks of.

From everything that Durjoy has offered in the past, TTLB is the kind of story you would least expect from him. Unlike his immensely successful Deb and Avantika trilogy, TTLB’s central theme is not revolving around relationships, lust, infatuation and modern day college couple’s lives, instead it talks of something much more serious than that – terminal illness and change of life as a consequence of it.

Most of the book is set around the events and turbulence of thoughts experienced in room 509 of GKL hospital where two patients Dushyant Roy and Pihu Malhotra finds themselves facing death. The doctors operating them – Armaan Kashyap and Zarah Mirza are both young, charming and successful in their different ways but as they work on case of Pihu and Dushyant, they find each other facing their respective past demons and get their own lives permanently altered in the process.

I will talk about separate characters and book as a whole in the course of this review further. Dushyant roy is a spoiled young muscular boy, he is an addict and has self destroyed himself while taking substance abuse as a support after things have gone wrong in the course of his life. His jaded girlfriend Kajal Khurana and his past visions of a dysfunctional college life romance with and around her is used to show a picture of why Dushyant is where he is. Their story is written in easy college narrative, using typical Durjoy phrases and slangs of campus life. Insights of Dushyant become predictable and irritatingly repetitive at many instances as there are many drag portions featuring his life and Kajal’s post their separation. Durjoy is less innovative and offers no new substance using their college era narrative in major part of the book and sometime the sudden change of emotions experienced by both of them, donot appear believable. They are too radical and fluctuating if you ask me.

Zarah Mirza, working under Armaan treats Dushyant. There are descriptions about her skin and appearance at various instances and she appears to be cut across as the most visually delightful person in the book. In the first half there are unanswered questions around her immense hatred for men, but those are answered in some predictable ways. Even her sudden too much liking for Dushyant and her possessiveness for him when Kajal re-enters Dushyant’s life is not written in much detailed way. Someone who was brutalized by drunk men cannot solely have a soft change of heart for another drunkard on mere possibility of his painful association with a jaded lover. The entire concept of their liking for each other is too shallow and could have been rewritten in much better ways.

Pihu Malhotra is a medical student. She is too good to face the painful and merciless disease that she gets at a ridiculously young age. She is a bright light in the otherwise dark setting of the first half of book (The second half has everyone bright, who was grey or even pitch dark in the first one – weird!!)

Pihu is my favorite character in the book, irrespective of how cliché her flirting text with operating Doctor Armaan appears to be, there is a heart to it in the right place. She is cute, funny, optimistic and stands for the courageous aspect of facing death in the book. The description of her ways of winking like a child, flirting like an amateur, desire to experience love once before death is all written in simple yet beautiful way. She is a charmer and with her letter at the end of the book, would find place in a soft corner of your heart – much after the book gets over.

Armaan Kashyap is half well cooked and half stale. I could not help but notice how he borrows his first name from a lead character of a hit hindi soap “Dil Mil Gaye”(Armaan Malik, I guess was the name of the doctor there) and how his initial behavior of rudeness and physical build reminds of of Dr. Rahul Mehra in first episodes of Sanjivni on star plus, when in 2004 – Gaurav Chanana used to play his character.

Armaan Kashyap is brilliant and successful, as quoted again and again but he shows too much fluctuation in both his acts as a doctor and a coworker with respects of his scenes with Pihu and Zarah. He is boringly rude and predictably funny and charming in other parts.

One of the key problems of the book is repetition of texts and phrases as well as lack of originality in the inner plots, while a heartwarming ambition on the over all message – much of which is delivered only by one of the four major characters. In the middle somewhere you get sick of repetitive introductions while writer switches between life of these four and again and again tells us the same things about them in the initial lines of each chapter named over them. The concept is crisp and has been followed by master storytellers of commercial fiction like Sidney Sheldon but Durjoy though ambitious, fails to leave much impact in the style he chose because of the maximized things he tries to express using minimal internal visions and subplots.  Apart from  Pihu, all other characters have somewhat friction stricken relationship with their parents and considerable time has been time to how grateful life can be if your parents love you, something that starkly shapes why Pihu is different from Armaan, Dushyant, and Zarah – and has lesser mood swings and aggressive impulses. For a writer whose mass following is in 18-23 aged readers of young college going crowd is huge, that is an appreciable point to touch in the story which continuously remains close to subject of satisfactory and unsatisfactory diversion of death.

I would give a 3 on 5 to Till The Last Breath by Durjoy Datta -  2 and a half of this is for Pihu Malhotra and her explanations of life and death and half of which is for Durjoy for attempting a change in theme.  I expect better things to come from the popular author in days to follow. He is a young publisher of himself and can experience or experiment change in betting upon him again on a different pitch of a story in future again.

If It's Not Forever! It's not love - Durjoy Datta And Nikita Singh

AUTHORS - 

Nikita Singh

Nikita Singh was born in the city of Patna and was brought up in Indore, in Madhya Pradesh. She is pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy and writing is a hobby of hers that has accidentally bloomed. Nikita constantly interacts with her fans to get their feedback regarding her work.

Bestsellers by Nikita Singh are:

Love @ Facebook, Accidentally in Love

Durjoy Datta

Durjoy Datta is the author of five bestsellers. All his books have sold more than a million copies over the last three years and he was the third highest bestselling author in India in the year 2011. He is considered to be one of the youngest and prolific writers in India. He is an alumnus of DCE and is presently studying management at MDI, Gurgaon.

Ohh Yes, I am Single. And So is My Girlfriend!, Of Course I Love You, Till I Find Someone Else, She Broke Up, I didn't. You Were My Crush!, Now That You're Rich! Are other bestsellers under his name

SYNOPSIS –If It's Not Forever. It's Not Love. is a gripping tale of Deb, Shrey and Avantika's mission to put together pieces of a diary written by a man who lost his life in the Delhi blasts. What continues is a series of adventures that leads them into a path of self-discovery and realization.

Pulkit Speaks – give it a try – If you like to read books from this section of the shelf. You can gift this to your girl and make her smile.

This is the sixth book by the Durjoy, and has all the elements that one can expect from a Durjoy Datta novel. Those who do read him (I guess they are millions judging by the number of them being sold) know precisely what I am talking when I say ‘his stuff of writing’.

In all such books there is a scope to point out specific mistakes and fallacies but I will try to judge this one solely on the basis of the outer idea.

It is the story of Deb, a writer cum publisher, whose life takes a dramatic turn when he miraculously escapes a powerful blast in New Delhi. He escapes unhurt, but he is emotionally weakened. He finds himself facing internal fears that he never knew existed in his persona. (Now since it’s a Durjoy Datta book – his world is of the kind – that when the guy is sleepless and his girl is concerned about him not finding enough sleep, she is considerate enough to tire him in bed in an effort to make him sleep somehow so that he does not end up spending the sleepless night thinking about the blast – ah! The fantasy world).  He realizes that life is too short, and one should not shy away from confessing his/her true feelings. Still scarred and haunted by the tragic incident, he visits the blast site and finds a half-burnt diary – a diary written by someone, with initials RD, who, possibly, died in the blast. The major plot of the story starts from here. 

Deb takes up the responsibility and a journey, to convey the ‘final’ words of RD to his true love, Ragini.  Avantika - Deb’s true love, Shrey – Deb’s best friend, and Tiya – Shrey’s girl friend join him on this journey to unravel the unsolved and unspoken love story, closely finding the meaning from that story in learning lessons in their own life. Side by side there is a story involving Deb and Avantika and the challenges that they are facing as their relationship age – the fears that even a confident girl like Avantika can end up thinking, watching herself change into a women from a girl and the role that a boyfriend like Deb can play to redefine compatibility and love (read sex).

The highlight is this book – Is the simplicity of that diary script. It is amateurish and that’s what makes it closer to the reality that we know.  It scores on the dimension of the innocence and straightforwardness involved in Ritam’s narration of the Ragani era.

Negative, which I felt, is too much reference about sex, in the first half of the book (when the present time of Durjoy and Shrey is being talked about). It, momentarily, diverts the reader. This part puts the book on a downslide because of genuine lack of humor and sometimes it appear as a horny narration of a boy telling how many times he and his friend ends up making out with their girls in the day. The character of Shrey unlike his first book (OILY) – lacks the element of surprise about him (though the effort has been made to do so – but words and substance have been disappointing in this regard)

The Idea and the central theme – of the entire diary story chase are relatively new and interesting and it has material idea to make it to a major flick adaptation. There are good moments about this one – enough that you can give it a try and the end lesson – good enough that you can gift this one to a teenage girl or guy that you know (girls of any age – would love this one – unless they are intellectual enough to deny that they don’t believe in love of the kind written in the book – which obviously would be a lie)

Rating – 3/ 5  

For teens, for those in long term relationship, for those rediscovering life in regards to love, for girls hoping to have a boy friend like Deb, for people who are yet to discover erotic text written in love making scenes of Sidney Sheldon, for those who likes to believe that there is love (the hopeless romantic junta), for those who are looking for a cheap but memorable gift for their emotional girlfriends.

You were my crush.... till you said you love me

AUTHOR - Durjoy Datta is bestselling author of five books, Of Course I Love You! (2008), Now That You're Rich! (2009), She Broke Up, I Didn't! (2010), Ohh Yes, I Am Single! (2011) and You Were My Crush! (2011). All these books have enjoyed prolonged stays on various bestseller lists including and especially the Flipkart.

All his books are apparently (as written in its texts time and again) inspired from real life incidents.

From the cover stats, His books have sold a total of 1,000,000 copies till date making him one of the highest selling Indian authors till date and also One of the youngest and the most prolific authors in the newly emerged coffee table paperback Indian fiction scene.

Durjoy is a mechanical engineer from Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and did his management from MDI, Gurgaon in 2011, he now co-owns a publishing house with other writers of similar genre like Sachin Garg of the “I’m not 24, I’ve been 19 for 5 years” fame.

Orvana Ghai is the co-author of this book

SYNOPSIS – Durjoy Datta's fifth book highlights itself as a true story based on his misunderstood brother - Benoy Roy. People say a lot of things about Benoy.

'I love him, but I don't want him to drive a Bentley,' his mom says, Or used to say. She is dead now. He drives a Bentley.

'He is a stranger to me. I haven't seen him since he was eight. I receive his credit card bills though,' his dad says.

'He should stop drinking,' his maid says.

'...stop bribing professors,' his best buddy, Eshaan advises him.

'Good for nothing, brat!' his best friend, Diya says.

'I never want to see you again. Stop stalking me or I will let my boyfriend know,' the love of his life says.

'You're the best,' his brother, Deb claims.

Between all this, who is the real Benoy?

This story is about him picking up the pieces of his life and trying to find a meaning out of it. A big car, a big house, does it solve anything? Why is that despite having everything, he has nothing?

You Were My Crush! is Durjoy's fifth book.

Pulkit Speaks – Nothing new to offer.

In the mid-end of last decade, when Indian Fiction scene started gaining popularity with the rise of Chetan Bhagat jonour of first person light hearted narrative, one of writers that emerged to be a highly loved person of that style was Durjoy. I have been closely following his rise right from the start of his writing career and have read all his works so far. Love them or hate them, but you can’t deny the fact that he sells, and sells big time.

This is his fifth book, as I have mentioned in the synopsis, it also is a Flipkart bestseller, and have great reviews there. Saying all that, I personally felt that this book is among all his titles, the most predictable, boring and substance less. After the days of “Of Course I love you… till I find someone better”, and “Now That you are rich… Let’s fall in love”, Durjoy’s ability to bring something fresh on the table have constantly been on a low down. His last three books, including the one I am reviewing this time have failed to bring on my face a fresh story, that has characters not resembling his first two titles.

In third and fourth book, he almost re-narrated the first two in more elaboration and yet succeeded in selling so many copies, which shows that he does have a fan base, which reads his work irrespective of the originality of Idea and storyline base that it offers.

The third and fourth titles, still had more moments of fun as compared to this one. This book clearly shows how it has been rushed into publication and lacks the Durjoy Magic that his initial books had. Benoy Roy’s character has nothing new to offer, he has no shades that have not been displayed by Deb in some portion or another in past titles. His dad is almost too perfect to be true and you can almost predict 100 pages in advance to the end, how eventually he will fix everything in the same manner that he eventually fixes it. At times, its over flattery and attention for his charm, that makes it a little boring. His best buddy Eshaan is almost a side kick, that has no shade of his own, he fails to leave any impression on the mind of the reader and is almost never present in the story. Same tragedies have struck to Deb and Avantika, they are there, god knows why? And yet never there in any of the plot or main script scenes doing anything noticeable, the sheer presence less existence of those two is something that’s almost disturbing for someone like me, who have read so much about them in the past from his pen. Either those two should have not been a part of this at all, or they should have been given more backbone than what they eventually got. Diya, initially appears as a strong confident ambitious and composed girl who gradually become a close friend of Benoy, but after the entry of her super gorgeous sister Naina in the story, she is nothing but a name being mentioned once in a while after every few pages, just to remind readers that she is there and will suffer big mishaps just to connect dots of Benoy’s love life in the end. Their parents, in the story almost have no opinions of their own. They are confused and right from start to end, appears to be dependent on mercy of others wisdom to see the obvious. Naina’s fiancée is almost a ruthless mean greedy boy, one can wonder over the course of entire story what she might have initially seen in him, considering she is smart and beautiful and not so stupid and he is dull boring and almost a bastard. He is just black and have not even a shade of grey and there hardly is a line where he shows any charm that can make us believe that Diya and Naina’s parents were indeed in their senses when they agreed to marry their rose petal young daughter to him. I mean just because he showed up at their door and accepted a relationship with her, cannot be any substance full reason to accept him as a son in law, considering the asshole he is in the whole of book.

The girl Naina, plainly comes out of fantasies, too good to be true like most of the leading ladies of Durjoy’s books, she too is smart, witty, confident, cute, charming and almost a sex goddess in bed. The love between her and Benoy, happens too easily and almost reaches its climax of success abruptly in the same manner. Their chats and sms’es being the only cheesy lines that can make one smile, this book otherwise suffers from so much lack of humor that by the time story drags to the accident of Diya and the frenzy surrounding it, one seem to have lost all interest in the core plot of Benoy’s life. The case might be that something which appeared fresh in the life of Deb in earlier novels is now nothing more than a repetitive overdose of predictable sex and boring conversations when u talk of this one.

I feel let down, by this one more so, because I was looking forward to see the independent writing of Durjoy, a person who already has a market base and could have experimented more in himself, especially since he was also the publisher of this one. But to one of his regular readers in me, he failed to deliver on grounds of not only story(unlike past two), but also as a fun-read, something his books are otherwise. The title is more interesting then the book. I have purposefully not said anything about Orvana Ghai’s writing because I am still waiting to read her, in any non collaborative write up.

Rating – 2 on 5. (Those 2 are for the cute chats and sms'es exchanged between Naina and Benoy in a few pages,somewhere in between). I restate despite being his critic from last two years, This writer is capable of far more then what he delivered this time again. A big let down and waste of 100 bucks. Looking forward to read him again, when he comes up with yet another title in the end of Feb. A book that, according to him, is his personal hard worked project.

Price – 100 Rs

Publisher – Grapevine

Purchased from CP, New Delhi

PS – Admin talk – right at the start of this year, in Admin address, FL talked about how we are planning to make the website, more and more colorful, interactive and engaging for your experience.

For this, we will be coming up with reading challenges, book review targets, games, personal Get Together events for Readers and writers of this page, Authors Interviews that would feature many bestselling writers from Indian Fiction scene especially and something for which we are planning to Hire a reporting interviewer too, Book giveaways would be there like always, once in a while to bring a smile on your face… and many more other exciting things.

All your suggestions are welcomed in regards to the same. A constant feedback will keep us make sure, that we are on the right path. And by right path, I mean, the path that u want us to tread on.

So mail at alotofpages@gmail.com or contact us on Twitter or Facebook to make sure that u let us know, everything that’s in your mind. We shall answer every mail or message received, that’s a promise that I make in our endeavourer to keep this medium as interactive as it can be.

Of Course I Love you...! Till I Find Someone Better - Durjoy Datta and Maanvi Ahuja

OF COURSE I LOVE YOU...! TILL I FIND SOMEONE BETTER: Indian Fiction novel

AUTHOR(S): Durjoy Datta and Maanvi Ahuja

BEST SELLERS: Now That You Are Rich! Let's fall in love, She Broke Up! I didn't...I Just Kissed Someone Else!, Ohh Yes, I am Single...! And So Is My Girlfriend! and You Were My Crush!...till you said you Love me!

SYNOPSIS (From Book Cover):

What do you think when a guy asks a  girl out?

He wants to take her out on a romantic dinner by the pool side?

Maybe a movie on comfortable lush lounge chairs?

Nah! Let ask Debashish Roy instead.

'If she doesn't kiss me within the first half an hour,

I am done. I go home,'he says.

OF COURSE I LOVE YOU...! is the story of Debashish Roy as his love life reveals the dirty secrets behind most relationships. What do men think? What do they really want when they say they love you? What are they looking at - your face or your cleavage? Debashish Roy is any girl's worst nightmare. But what happens when Deb, the terrible boyfriend, meets the perfect woman? Or does he lose himself while he falls helplessly in love?  Read this story as Debashish Roy, the guy who thought he knew everything about relationships, struggles his way into love. Will he come of out?* Will it destroy him? Will he ever be himself again?

EXCERPT: 

Before Breakup with Smriti: 'Aren't you feeling cold?' I asked, as I rubbed my hands. Obviously, she wasn't. All girls have an internal heating system that is activated once they put on their halter-necks and short dresses! 'No, are you?', she asked. 'No, I thought we will sit in the car; there is too much noise out here,' I said. 'Are you sure?' she said and smirked at me.Now, what was that supposed to mean? Was that a yes? If it is, why doesn't she bloody say so? Can we please cut the crap and make out? At least kiss, damn it!

After Breakup with Avantika: 'Yes, I would have kissed you and then had it felt good...that would mean you love me. That's easy, no?' she asked. She was a lunatic, after all. 'It doesn't happen that way. You need to be in love to kiss. I am not in love right now.' I didn't believe what I just said. May be I had gone insane too. You have to be in love to kiss?

MSM Speaks: Ah! Another Chetan Bhagat wanna be, another tale set in Delhi, another love-lust and everything in between saga - I would have said. Yes, I had full plans to hate Durjoy Datta and his crappy novel, but as they say, half done is undone. I hated, absolutely hated the dirty perverted mind of this guy! I thought I will drop it, duck out! I couldn't handle another Saga of how-my-life-sucks-without-sex. Deb hits on everyone every chick! And no, that is not the surprising part! The surprising part is how through entire three-fourth of the book, till page 154, he manages to get girls-their cherries or attention, both! With the looks he describes himself to carry, I couldn't figure out, whether the girls were blind or whether he had some secret love potion! Apparently a nerd, but Deb still fails to get through any of the academic endeavors? Apparently ugly, but still manages to get hot girls? Yes, I WAS annoyed and hated it, absolutely hated it! I didn't want to read what your organs do or what you think of girls' humongous assets! I don't!  Give me a story!

And suddenly out of the blue, a Massive Breakup Blow is thrown on him (and on us, the readers).... My heart went out to him, yes. I am surprising myself by saying this - but this idiot of a guy, turned smart, sensible and a good-mature writer after the breakup. See, the excerpt? He ain't ready to kiss! :P And yes, he learnt to value friendship. I liked the description - Deb used the guy, but yes, learnt that sometimes, true friends are those who care about you, no matter how, who or what you are. This friend shows Deb what love is and it's not the number of women you lay, but ultimately, about the one you love. Things were looking upbeat towards the end of the book, when I had begun to think that maybe it's the lack of women and the melodrama which can save this book. may be this guy can really write well....when my hopes were crashed. 

Enter Girlfriend. The entry is so snap, the writing so shoddy, that I couldn't slip through the transition. I could just understand that they just had s-e-x. Whoa! Wait, how? What happened to the sensible Deb I just saw from page 154 to page 212? Sigh. I was just glad, it was over. No, I am NOT picking up other books from the series of Yes! I am Cool 'Cause I am a Writer...though I am trying not to sound like Five Point Someone! (I thrashed you Durjoy Sir, after all, sorry, couldn't help it mate, you had me there.)

The Brownie point was on the cover page overleaf - Durjoy's and Maanvi's photo. I think Durjoy is really cute. That's it. No More Brownies for you.

*Grammatical Error - this book has many. But it's not Durjoy's fault, we know that.

My rating: 2.75/5 (I am generous yes, because of the cuteness of the Writer and Some Sensible Portion)

Of course I love you...!@Grapevine India Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2011

ISBN 978-81-922226-0-8

flipkart price: 95/- INR (including delivery charges: 65+30)

Pages: 224