Hashtag Story-Garima Batra & Prarthana Earla

Book: Hashtag Story
Author: Garima Batra and Prarthana Earla
Publisher: Half Baked Beans

What was the silver lining in the pandemic-induced lockdown for you?

Hashtag Story by Garima Batra and Prarthana Earla is the story of Ananya and Saket who meet in a shared cab and slowly bond over their shared love for books and  startups. To keep things simple, both of them agree on a no-strings-attached relationship, and all goes well. Until the COVID pandemic induced a lockdown and they were confined to the 4 walls of their respective houses. As the time passes and the impact of the lockdown becomes to surface, it impacts both, Ananya as well as Saket, and things take a turn in their lives. Enter Jeev, a character that destiny brings to their lives, unknown to them that he could change their lives forever. Can love blossom in these testing times, or would that become a casualty of the lockdown as well?

The plot of the story is quite contemporary as it explores the work-life balance of modern couples, stresses due to the pandemic and the prevalence of dating apps. The idea of a love starting in a shared cab is quite interesting, and I loved how the authors have actually used the initially innate conversations into a starting point of a love story. The story is believable, and relating to the incidents, especially the virtual dates, the step-by-step cooking, and the realizations of what is important in life. The interaction on Hashtag Story, and how that plays out was surprising as well as an excellent way of narrating the feelings of the characters. While a well told story, it does need a second round of proofreading as there were grammatical issues, though nothing very critical, but does impact the overall reading experience. The subtle yet direct plug to a party planner was cheeky, as well as it almost broke a wall to the reader directly. The climax was quite romantic, and I loved the way it plays out.

The book focuses primarily on Ananya and Saket, and we see their life play out in the book. While initially it was difficult to understand their reluctance to commitment, the backstories which feature towards the midpoint of the story actually provide the context, and suddenly the pieces start falling into place. The character arcs of both Ananya and Saket are well sketched, and the impact of pandemic as well as love on their lives is quite visible. Jeev, however was a surprise, and a good one at that with the role he plays in the story.

Overall, it was a fun and interesting read that scores a 3.88/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book here.