Horseshoe Garage by Hitesha Deshpande

Though he has gotten used to his salary and his job at Grant Motors, Sarvesh still finds himself waking up in the middle of the night, his heart pounding with the excitement of a Neo-Racing dream. The technologically advanced cars and the smell of the burnt rubber of the tyres haunt him all the time. When Neo-racing creates space for a team from India, Sarvesh is determined to be a part of it. Tagging along as a non-description member of another giant team is not going to suffice. Along with his best friend Rags, he is determined to lead his own team on to Neo-racing race circuits. Naaz is an orphan who has been raised in a garage and has never studied beyond the fourth grade. She has taught herself all that she knows about cars by working alongside sweaty mechanics. This knowledge allows her to deduce in three seconds that the car design created by Sarvesh and Rags will not qualify for New-Racing. Friendship is tested, loyalties are questioned and spirits are broken in this challenging race to achieve an impossible dream

This is Hitesha's second book I read and it was worth the wait. [ Read the review of her first book here ] I remember staying awake all night to finish this one and that does not happen often now-a-days.

Nothing pleases me or tempts me to pick a book more than a neat and meaningful cover after the synopsis has been processed by my brain.

So for first impressions and the excitement to go on a journey for fulfilling one's dreams was spot on for me.

Personally , when I know the end of a story , it is more endearing to me [ I read the end of any thriller after 100 pages and then continue to finish the book ]. It is a good enough challenge to fill in the blanks of how , who , when , where about every single event that leads one to the climax.

So , yes , the story had a bit too many twists for my liking . The plot had few cliches which I certainly did not understand or like now that I reflect on the book. BUT , did I think of these as much when I was reading the book ? Hell NO ! I finished the book in 2 days and I loved every bit of the attention this book demanded.

When it comes to Indian fiction that is not entirely based on finding love or spending your day plotting how to woo your next-door-girl character , I will totally recco this book , specially to guys.

Dude ! such terms and such details about making a car .. Hats off Hitesha for so much research and details. And to even make it bearable for an technologically challenged person like me !

what I loved most about the book [ and the previous too ] are the characters ! So damn real , so much possibly flawed and yet heroes in their own stand. I totally love Rags and his girlfriend for being the most adorable couple I have read in recent times.

there is a dream , there is friendship , there is action , there is drama , there is love and then there is more of melodrama. There is a wedding , there is the same  dream still alive , there is victory , there is joy and then a very happy ending.

Ah! I can still imagine my smiles when I closed the book (washing away any bit of frustration I had as the book's end dragged a bit )

My rating : 3.5/5

Knots and No Crosses by hitesha Deshpande

Heartbreak after heartbreak, he still dreams of a perfect wedding...

"The woman he had no intentions of loving, but who he did love, hopelessly. The woman he had no intentions of dating, but had ended up committing himself to. The woman who had always been four years older than him, but realized it only when she was about to hit London for a PG course.

The woman who had gotten into the car without looking back once, as he stood there on the empty streets outside the institute nursing a broken heart.

Patty, the woman who was today married to some investment banker and a mother of a four year old, who had somehow heard of his wedding and had decided to message him. She sure deserved an invite."

Synopsis:  Akkie’s relationships have followed a trial and error pattern. He finally meets the one woman who completes him. They both plan their ‘dream wedding’, only, the wedding turns out to be anything but a dream! As Akkie tries to placate his agitated bride three days before their wedding, his past catches up with him, spelling disaster after disaster. The crunching blow comes, when the son of his first ever girflriend calls Akkie ‘Papa’ in front of a room filled to capacity with the bride’s family. The wedding gets called off.  But Akkie knows, there is no one else for him, but her…

Nimue Says: I had never seen such a clever synopsis,was much more impressed after reading the book !! whoa , what a fun ride this book was. Detailing the events of 3 days before Akkie's wedding plus all the relationships he had over the time , this book is nothing like a predictable tale. Even if the future of most of his relations could be predicted , the ups and downs he had , the lessons learnt and his hopeless plight at the end of each of such phase was both hilarious and bit touching. Akkie who imagines a scenario of marrying the girl with whom he is , thinks of conversations his family will have with him regarding to the gal actually symbolizes his desires for a steady relation. I could so relate to him at such times. Even though I found one or two descriptions a bit too much made up, over all, the book maintained its humor , the goof ups , accidental meetings and a theme its all fate , how and where you meet your love. and till then, the ride is a learning for all of us.

Akkie is a really nice , hard working , sincere and charming guy. The girls in his life all are as different from each other , as their impact on him. His fiance is caring , nervous before the wedding and much understanding till things go really haywire.  Akkie's family is a typical Indian ensemble, gathered for a big fat wedding ! 

Go on, read this one any lazy day and you will be smiling for hours, trust me.

Ratings : 4.5/5

Other details:

ISBN: 9788122310481
Pages: 188
Price: Rs. 175.00