Now I Love You, Now I Don’t

by Shoma Narayanan

'Umm, in case you're wondering if I slept with your husband, no I didn't,' Zina offered. 'He's not my type.' Now I Love You, Now I Don't is the story of two very different women. Anjali is a traditional wife and mother. No one can guess that she and her husband have been estranged for most of their married life, and their reconciliation is a few fragile months old. Zina, on the other hand, is beautiful, ambitious and completely unscrupulous. Out for what she can get, she is perhaps more surprised than anyone else when she falls head over heels in love with a very unlikely young man. Anjali's and Zina's lives then get inextricably entangled by a series of events that follow. Despite their initial dislike for each other, Anjali and Zina pull together when disaster threatens. But will they achieve their own happily ever after?

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Shoma started reading romances at the age of eleven, borrowing them from neighbours so that her parents didn’t find out. At that time the thought of writing one herself never entered her head. But a couple of years ago Shoma took up writing and was amazed at how much she enjoyed it. Now she works grimly at her banking job through the week, and tries to balance writing with household chores during weekends. Her family has been unfailingly supportive of her latest hobby.

Reviews

[Janhvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read many books by Shoma Narayanan and she is one of the few Indian authors I like to keep up with if I can. So when I saw that she had a new book coming out with Rupa Publications I was excited. Now I Love You Now I Don't is the story of two women who are total opposites and how their lives connect and intertwine. I found Now I Love You Now I Don't to be an extremely average read.

Okay so let's start with the first woman, Anjali. Anjali is the quintessential home maker. Taking care of her daughter and father and overall being a good responsible mother. The only thing is that she has been separated from her husband for many years. The sudden reappearance of her husband in her life brings change into both Anjali and her daughter's life.

I liked Anjali and thought she was a nice person in general. Whom I did not like was Anjali's husband, Sushil. I found that Sushil had absolutely no personality. What I also found highly irritating was how casually Sushil's infidelity was taken during the course of their marriage. I despise how it was portrayed as if a man's needs are greater than a woman's and it was perfectly alright to cheat on your wife. What annoyed me even more was that Anjali, who came across as a perfectly intelligent woman otherwise was so comfortable with this situation.

Then talking about the second woman who is Zina. Zina is the flighty and free spirited girl who is unapologetic about her behaviour. Zina actually knows Sushil and soon finds herself going for Hindi classes to Anjali. Now when I think about it I much prefer Zina's character to Anjali's. Yes, she came off as a bit shallow sometimes but all in all her head and heart were in the right place.

Zina's romance with Ishaan was also a good one. What starts as a purely physical relationship turns into caring and soon something more. Yes it was a bit of a cliche but it worked. I also liked the older woman younger man angle going on here. The conflict in Now I Love You Now I Don't was predictable at best. Things were handled a bit childishly I feel and I wanted more depth and reasoning from the characters. I would definitely recommend picking up some other read by Shoma Narayanan over this one.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by Rupa Publications in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Find more of my reviews at The Readdicts- http://thereaddicts.blogspot.in/

[Diptakirti Chaudhuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A breezy read about two women who are as different from each other as A from Z but connected through friends and relationships.
Likeable characters, known locales, quirky problems. No cheesy romances or stilted love scenes. Smoothly written, smoothly read. Recommended for fans of light reads.

One crib: the salwar suit wearing girl on the cover looks like a full on behenji, probably from Punjab. The character in question is from Indore and not so behenji-ish.

[Shreya Vaid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now I Love You, Now I Don't is a story set in small town Indore and big city Mumbai. Lives of two women collide with each other, despite their mutual dislike for each other. Will they both have their happily ever after? Read more to find that out.

Anjali, a traditional wife, and a mother lives with her daughter Gayatri in Indore. Looking at Anjali, no one could guess that she has been separated from her husband for a long time. But then, fate reconciles her with her husband Sushil, and he convinces Anjali to give their marriage a second chance. They decide to move to Mumbai to have a fresh start, and the problem begins from there.

Zina, a totally opposite personality from Anjali, has been shacking up with Sushil after she runs away from another failed attempt to settle down with Shiven. She is beautiful, ambitious and completely unscrupulous. When she hears from Sushil that his wife and daughter will be moving in with him, she amicably wishes him luck and moves on, only to get involved in their life a bit more.

Anjali settles down in Mumbai eventually and Zina moves on to another guy whom she has fallen for, very different to her nature. Everything seems to move in the right order until series of events created by Shiven that twist the very fabric of Anjali and Zina' relationship. Will they be able to find the peace and order of their lives again?

Now I Love You, Now I Don't has a very promising star that keeps the reader engaged. The language is simple and plots are well planned. I really loved the character sketches of Anjali, Zina and other characters.

But then half way down the novel, the story starts drifting into some other direction. I was under the assumption that story is about Zina and Anjali lives and how they will collide. But eventually in turned into a high school musical fiasco which left me like "What just happened?!" I kept on reading till the climax and then I just kept the book down and sat quietly for few minutes to absorb the whole story line of Now I Love You Now I Don't. It was not something that I was expecting.

All in all, it makes up for an okay read if you are feel like reading something light.

[Naga Lakshmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it

Nice chemistry between the couples. Zina shows how true love can change a person to become better. All the characters felt real.

[Nikita Jhanglani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The relationship between Anjali and Sushil comes across as very genuine; the way they try to mend their broken relationship is very endearing. What’s also endearing is how Anjali finds a foothold for herself in a strange city, using her skills to establish a career. She makes friends with some unique and slightly weird people, also playing cupid on the way. Add to the mix a teenage daughter who is trying to make her place in a swanky school, and you are in for some entertainment.

Zina’s character is beautiful too, and her relationship with Ishaan can be described as cute. However, I thought I could connect more with Anjali and Sushil than with Zina and Ishaan.

A lovely addition to the reading experience of this book is the letters that Gayatri writes to her grandfather, Anjali’s father.