This has been a long overdue review. I received the review copy from Blogchatter sometimes in 2022. Life happened, I moved houses. Unfortunately, the copy ended up in some wrong box during the move. Recently, I stumbled upon it.

When you are dialled in for achieving success in your career, your focus on life kind of takes a backseat. Isn’t this a part of the “Career Romance” trope? When you are running behind a successful career, you end up being alone for a longer time. Then suddenly you stumble upon a person who breaks the spell and reveals the joy of life. This is what Pursuit: Drawn by Destiny is in a nutshell.

Should you read it or not?

Pooja has written a nice pacy story which hooks you in from the start with a nicely crafted strong female protagonist who is ambitious, courageous and hungry for success. She has developed the story around this character and keeps you interested in the book. On the other hand, the book lacks in the development of other characters. It feels like the author ran out of paint when she reached the portraits of other characters. They feel like abstract forms without much detailing and story arcs of their own.

Most of the story moves in the expatriot circle of Mumbai. Yet it feels like the story is set in some fictional place. Characteristics of Mumbai are missing from the story. It feels like expats in Mumbai are moving with their own bubble indifferent to their surroundings and dealing with only of their kinds.

If you are hungry for some romance novel with full Bollywood style masala, this book will grab your attention. A director can see a good movie in this story for sure. As a debut novel, it has done a great job of keeping you engaged enough that you will not put the book down till you finish. Hope Pooja improves leaps and bounds in her upcoming stories.

This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program and I received this copy of Pursuit in exchange for my honest review. You can read more of my book recommendations here.

I am participating in blogchatter’s TBRChallenge