Days With My Red Flag Girlfriend-Kajol Aikat

Book: Days With My Red Flag Girlfriend
Author: Kajol Aikat
Publisher: Penguin India

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

What if you had one chance to turn things around in your life?

Loving someone is easy. But keeping them forever? That’s tough. Vikrant Vayu is just another middle-class guy navigating college life in Delhi till one drunken night, when a dare from his friends changes everything. The challenge is to slide into the DMs of Tara Neer, the college’s reigning Instagram queen with an aesthetic feed and a vibe that screams ‘out of league’. He’s not expecting anything. But Tara, intrigued by his charm and wit, starts chatting with him. What follows is an unexpected friendship that grows into something real. From cozy campus walks to viral couple reels and late-night chai dates, Vikrant and Tara fall in love. For a while, it feels perfect. So perfect, they decide to get engaged. Families meet. Rings are discussed. Future feels real. But love in the age of Instagram comes with receipts. And insecurities don’t disappear just because you say, ‘I trust you.’ Enter the red flags, the toxic patterns and online drama. And when those red flags start waving too loud, you’re forced to ask the question no couple wants to answer: Are we fighting for love—or just fighting? Days With My Red-Flag Girlfriend is a raw, unfiltered story about modern love—the kind that’s messy, real and impossible to forget.

The book explores the story of Vikrant and Tara, a love story set in the modern times, in the age of Instagram and social media. Starting as a friendship, Vikrant and Tara’s story feels unconventional. Aikat’s storytelling is gripping and keeps you hooked into the story. What I loved about the book was the fact that there is no sugar coating or rose-tinted perspective into the idea of love. The book presents a love that is imperfect, has layers of jealousy and pain. Another good aspect of the book was the fact that the author does not show anything as right or wrong. There are actions which both of our characters take, and then realise the consequences. The idea of actions and consequences is a thread that runs across the book. The author also presents the impact of jealousy on the people in love, and how a small spark can engulf two people madly in love. While there are good aspects in the book, what did not work for me was the one-sided POV while telling the story. I would have loved a few chapters if they would have been told from Tara’s perspective as we don’t get to see her idea of the relationship and how she sees Vikrant. Having a second perspective would have reinforced the idea of love and relationships a bit deeper. Secondly, the first half of the book is much more engaging and detailed however the second half seems to be rushed with a lot of things happening at once. Another thing that I did not like was the physical abuse and the later actions of Vikrant.

Coming to the characters, Kajol has created the characters of Vikrant and Tara quite nicely. I liked the way he presents the positive and negative aspects of the protagonists in the story. The author does not shy away from presenting the insecurities and the flaws in the characters through the events of the story.

Overall, a book that is well written and presents a side of love that is honest. The book scores a 4.06/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.