The One You Cannot Have by Preeti Shenoy (Book Review- 4.9*/5)!!!

       There are few authors whom I pick without thinking twice. As soon as I come to know that they are out with their new book, I pre-order even if the book is not in my budget. Preeti Shenoy is one of those authors undoubtedly. Since her first book, I am in touch with all the 4 books that she has written till date. And seriously speaking, all the books are so perfectly written that I wish I could write even a bit of what she writes. I still don't understand why Preeti Shenoy's last 3 books didn't do better than "Life is what you make it" even when they were at par with the first successful novel by her. Well, talking about her latest 270-pages novel- "The One You Cannot Have", I must say that if ever there would be an IPL-auction-kind-of-a-thing, I will surely have Preeti Shenoy in my team even if I'll have to sell all my valuable assets. :-) If you will ask me to define this book, I would say, I started reading it with enthusiasm, then the book made me fall in love with it. As soon as I ended reading the last word of the book, I thought that's the zenith up to which I can love it but when I closed it and read the TITLE of the book again, it was then that love jumped levels high and I understood how the whole book rotated around the sole purpose of "The One You Cannot Have" and there's no limit up to which I love this book.
   

SYNOPSIS:-

How long does it take to heal a broken heart? Can you ever forget that one perfect relationship you had? Anjali knows who she wants, she wants Aman. Aman too knows who he wants, he wants Shruti. Shruti and Aman were once inseparable. Theirs was a love that would last forever and more. Then, out of the blue, Shruti left Aman. A devastated Aman moved abroad in the hope of forgetting Shruti and to heal. Shruti married Rishabh. Now Aman is back in India and looking for a fresh start. But he is still haunted by memories of his love. Can he ever break free from it? His head tells him to move on, to find love with Anjali, but his heart wont listen. No matter what he does, Shrutis shadow looms large. Can there be a happily-ever-after for any of them? A straight-from-the-heart modern-day romance of unrequited love, of complicated relationships and about moving on when you realise that there will always be the one you cannot have

About the Author:- 

Preeti Shenoy, is among the best-selling authors in India (Source Nielsen scan) weaves magic with her words and pictures. An extremely talented and versatile individual, her Twitter bio reads: “Best-selling Author, Artist specializing in pencil portraits, Poet, Yoga-Buff, Ex-basketball player, Blogger, Dobe-owner, Nature lover, Ted X speaker and a Mother."

       

  Coming to Preeti Shenoy, she has maintained the resistance that her writing style has. Right from the first sentence, you get a feeling that you are reading one of her best works. Every story of the authoress has characters that does bad with some or the other person but still, you can not point one among them and put all the blame on him/her. And that's the most interesting part about all the stories that she has written till date. She has given a totally new meaning to the "Love Story" book shelves in India. She has become a standard in the genre she writes in so much that any female author's book I read, I judge her on the scale of Preeti Shenoy and then, give the ratings. Hope the golden touch in her writings and imaginations stay.

          I love the concept of making every character speak in first person as it gives various dimensions to the story. Book starts with the introduction of all the characters and their current state of life. The great thing is that the same state continues till the anti-climax of the book(almost) but still it does not bore readers even for a second. I was shocked when Rishab suddenly asks Shruti about Aman. Deepika trying to woo Aman is so sensuously written that the writers who describe sex minutely in their book will be ashamed to know that there's a way of saying it all in an innocent yet horny way. I loved the 3-4 articles written by Anjali in her magazine. They are so catchy that it reminded me about the authoress being one of the regular bloggers among the writers herself. :-) I loved Shruti's character the most. The real fun in Anjali's story begins once when she is been ignored by Aman. Later on, I loved the whole scenario of Shruti and Aman's meeting which was kept so real and classy. I loved that in the climax no one gets ditched or isolated. 

          The view about men that the female characters of Preeti Shenoy states lets male know what all they should change in themselves. I appreciated the paragraph where it is mentioned that the problem with men is that they don't express themselves initially and later on, move on without even explaining the reason or trying once again for relationship to work. This is extremely right but largely unnoticed. Preeti's open take in the book about not forgetting the first love made me look in to my own life and relationship which scared me like hell. But the way she has given moral to this whole thing in the end is why this book will remain in my RECOMMENDING LIST for a long time. The only drawback I found was the first part of Anjali's story. Her character only gets alive in the book after 2nd part. Rest, everything is perfect. I give this book an undisputed 4.9/5. 

 Thanks a lot.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!