The Girl in the Dream-Pravin Agarwal

Book: The Girl in the Dream

Author: Pravin Agarwal

Publisher: Redgrab Books

It is said that our past life can influence the happenings of our present. Do you believe that this is the case?

The Girl in the Dream by Pravin Agarwal is a story that takes place in 2017 in Los Angeles and Madhya Pradesh but finds its roots in the year 1500 AD in the erstwhile Kingdom of Ujjain. Vivaan is a scientist working with NASA, who has recurring dreams of a mysterious girl. His engagement to his fiancée turns into a living nightmare when things from his dreams start turning up in his life. His life takes a turn when he flies to Madhya Pradesh to help a family friend, Rachit. Rachit’s story takes flight during his studies at MNIT, Jaipur where he meets Swara and he falls in love with her when as a part of his ragging is asked to propose to her. Unknown to them, Dhiren, son of the sarpanch of Shivni Village, is in search of an ancient Shiva statue which is hidden in the Shivgarh fort. But how are Vivaan, Riya, Swara and Rachit connected and what is there connection to a 500-year old love story?

The Girl in the Dream is an interesting mix of a love story, a mystery and a thriller. The storyline is gripping and holds the reader down to read it till one reaches the end of the book. The plot is simple yet engaging which adds to the charm of the book. What worked for me in the book was its linear storytelling and a gradual unravelling of the story as the time progressed. The scenes in the book were quite organic and none of them seemed to be out of context. Pravin took his time to build up the concept and that kept the pace of the book going. The one thing that I think can be improved is the grammar structure as the tense of the book was wrong in some parts of the book. The climax of the book was quite predictable but it was in line with the entire plot so that was ok. I would have preferred a bit more flesh in the climax.

Coming to the characterization, I would commend the author for taking time to detail each and every character. Starting with Vivaan, his background was given quite in detail. His stint as a NASA scientist and his background have been explained in good detail using a scene where he gets interviewed. The same goes with Riya, but her character has different shades that give mixed vibes about her. The habit of Rachit to come to quick conclusions was a good quirk and an interesting take, however, the correction on his actions could have been done a bit late so as to maintain a bit of tension in the story.

Overall, a recommendation for people who love romance stories as well as thrillers.

The book scores a 3.75/5 for me.

Grab a copy here.