Written in the Stars-Divya Anand

Book: Written in the Stars
Author: Divya Anand
Publisher: Penguin India

Would you rather choose true love or career progression?

Written in the Stars by Divya Anand explores the story of Sitara and what happens when all her efforts at political maneuvering, sucking up and even doing her job fail to land her that elusive promotion, and she decides it's time to use the new marketing head Abhimanyu's obsession with his horoscope to her advantage. Soon, she's rescheduling meetings, pitching ideas, and picking launch dates based on his horoscope. Except, Sitara is so focused on manipulating Abhimanyu with the career section of his horoscope that she doesn't pay attention to the personal section. Hilarity ensues when these star-crossed signals result in Abhimanyu pursuing Sitara romantically, without realizing that the 'signs' are engineered coincidences in her quest to get promoted.

The plot of the book is basically built up on the premise of destiny and how timing can affect people, relationships, and work. The story is told wonderfully, and I loved how the author uses romance, comedy, and corporate life to create hilarious situations for Sitara and Abhimanyu. The book starts interestingly with a trivia night in a bar, and how one chance encounter starts things rolling in both our protagonists’ lives. The interesting thing about the book is that none of the things in the book seem ridiculous or over the top. The romance is sweet and subtle, and at no point does it overpower the romantic comedy feeling. I loved the interactions that Sitara has with her cohorts and that adds a nice vibe to the whole book. The concept of destiny and horoscopes is explored nicely, and a shout out to the chapter titles for being in the same vibe as well. The book is a comfortable read, and the pace is just fine so as to keep the reader hooked. The climax is something I really loved about the book, and it brings the story to a close in a wonderful manner.

Coming to the characters, people in this book have been carefully sketched, and no detail has been spared to ensure that there are no plot holes. The characters are wonderfully planned, and each one has a nice role in the story. Another thing I admire about the characters in the book is that they each have unique quirks. From mysterious names to attitudes, each one paints a different picture, and this is the level of detail that drives a good story. One observation that I have is the meticulous planning it would have taken to zero in on Sitara’s name, because it becomes a critical point in the climax.

The book is also a musical journey in itself. As we go through the book, one comes to realize how music connects Sitara and Abhimanyu. There are character building discussions on songs and believe me, this again becomes a critical point in the climax. Check out the Spotify Playlist I made to go along with the book!

Overall, a romantic comedy I would definitely recommend for fans of this genre to read. The book scores a 4.81/5 for me.

Grab your copies of the book on Amazon India, or your nearest bookstore!

This review is in collaboration with MarketMyBook, and a copy of the book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.