Just Missed -Himanshu Bhatia

Book: Just Missed
Author: Himanshu Bhatia
Publisher: Fingerprint Publications

Do you think love stories take time to chart themselves out?

Just Missed by Himanshu Bhatia is the story of the intertwining lives of Siddhartha, a perfectionist who is married to his job and strives for nothing less than the sky, Shreya, the quintessential girl-next-door who is a prospective bride for Siddhartha, and the annoying Shivam who is a flirt and a Casanova by nature. The plot begins on Siddhartha’s birthday when he is coaxed into looking for prospective brides and he meets Shreya through a matrimonial site. Over cups of coffee and meetings, they start getting close and our “married-to-the-job” Sid finds himself attracted to her. Things start getting complicated when Shreya meets Shivam on a flight to Bangkok and develops a hatred almost immediately. As it happens in a love story, things take a turn and slowly this hatred starts ebbing out and situations become tangled. With the wedding in a short while, the question remains, what happens next.

The plot of the book is very well crafted in the sense that the complexity of modern relationships has been captured beautifully. The story initially talks about Siddhartha and Shreya and one is lulled into believing that the story is about them, but only till the moment till the flight to Bangkok happens. I loved how the relationship between Shreya and Shivam is explored. The fights seem extremely natural and that is something that establishes the storytelling prowess of Himanshu. The romance has been beautifully crafted between the characters, and it actually feels natural. The best part about the book for me was the really long date and the way it sets the characters rolling for the climax. While it was super cheesy, I could actually relate to it. The climax of the story was super filmy and yet somehow tied up everything with a bow.

Coming to the characters, Siddhartha as a character was no surprise, specially today where fancy titles and long working hours have become a measure of success. His attention to work was commendable, but it was a mirror that actually shows that we have forgotten that one also has a personal life. Shreya was a bit of an interesting character. Career-driven yet focuses on relationships that are in her life. Romantic to a fault, she was for many purposes, one that balanced out Siddhartha’s lack of interest in relationships. Shivam, on the other hand, was a character that focused on others, rather than on himself. This is evident through many incidents, first with Kanika, and later with Shreya, when he changes his own life just so that others are not inconvenienced.

Overall, a definite recommendation from me if you love reading modern-age romance stories and it scores a 4.25/5 for me.

Grab a copy here.