Edward Cullen – Bella Swan
Christian Grey – Anastasia Steele
Akshay Agarwal – Misha Chaturvedi
What is common among the couples listed above – each of them has a sauve, drop-dead gorgeous looking guy who is talented and rich, and a bumbling, tripping-over-her-own-feet (in this case, words), middle class girl; both of whom are drawn to each other and eventually fall in (forbidden) love with each other. Vibha Batra’s ‘Glitter and Gloss‘ takes this age-battered story a step further.
Glitter and Gloss is the story of Misha, a wannabe make-up artist, sweating it out in Mumbai to achieve what she has always dreamed of. And then she encounters the gorgeous millionaire Akshay, and their love develops in quite a Twilight-esque manner. This is where the similarity stops. The second half of the book is dedicated to Misha’s struggles to “fit in” as the intended bahu of the Agarwal household, run with an iron hand by ‘Didi’ – the designer bags-toting, designer dresses-clad, sanskari elder sister of our hero. A few twists and turns, and skeletons-out-of-the-closet later, Misha is accepted into the household with the blessings of everyone.
Glitter and Gloss is the perfect romance (no, not the Jane Austen kinds; more like a Mills & Boons in an Indian setting); the characters are quintessentially drawn straight out of M&B, the story interesting and crisp, and in the end everyone gets to live happily-ever-after. The book starts out dull, but hooks your interest in the second half. The language is free-flowing, everyday banter-ish and will appeal to a large Indian reader base. One may be treated to an overdose of M.A.C. products (I honestly did not know the brand retailed that many products in India, before I read this book!). The cover is attractive and definitely stands out.
Ardent lovers of the classic romance genre will not like the book. It strictly remains the perfect light romantic comedy one would read on a two-hour long flight, or a long bus journey.
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Our Rating: 3/5
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