Sunset by the River-Sameer Saxena

Book: Sunset by the River
Author: Sameer Saxena
Publisher: Flipping Pages

Can love cross the highest of hurdles?

Sunset by the River by Sameer Saxena is the story of Ayaan Vaidya, a successful engineer, working for one of the largest MNCs in his field, when one day a call from an unknown number threatens to change his life forever. The call opens the wounds from his path and opens a Pandora’s box of secrets, one that he had walked away a long time ago. A story spanning from New Delhi to Japan and to Jaipur, this is a story that is quite different from the usual love story.

The plot of the book is extremely engaging, and the story is something that would connect with a lot of people across ages. While the story seems like a regular love story, it is a lot more than that. The story deals with something extremely important and disclosing that here would be akin to revealing the plot. Sameer has woven a tale that would make you rethink friendships and the importance we have for them in our lives. The story also questions some age-old superstitions that we have and how then can force people to take extreme steps. The story is extremely well researched with the author taking his time to detail scenes, emotions and plot, so much so that one might just turn to the internet to look for more. The idea behind the story is commendable, and yet it is not very fact heavy to make it a difficult read. The climax of the book was unexpected and took the plot to a different level. The title of the story and the cover are an integral part of the story and when that happens, it is completely an aha! moment.

The book focuses on 3 primary characters-Monisha, Ayaan and Tripti and how their lives intersect and impact each other. Sameer took his time to detail out the characters and that added a different charm to the story. the characters are simple, yet have an interesting touch to them. The element of friendship and love between the characters was quite emotional and there were scenes that were quite magical.

Overall, a definite recommendation from me that scores a 4.13/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book here.