Book Review 2014 #4- The Guardian Angels by Rohit Gore

Title: The Guardian Angels 

Source: Goodreads

Author: Rohit Gore

About the story: When 12 year old Aditya Mehta’s life is in danger due to a scuffle with three bullies from his school, it is the fearless Radha Deodhar, the new girl in school, who comes to save his life. Few days later when the same bullies target Radha and almost kills her in a bid to have their revenge, it is Adi who comes to rescue her. That one moment binds Adi’s and Radha’s fates everlastingly. It takes them more than 2 decades to decipher their relationship, for they are definitely more than friends but not exactly lovers. It takes a third person to make them realize that they are each other’s guardian angels. Whenever one is in trouble, the other person has a premonition and comes to rescue.

Although Adi and Radha can read each other’s thoughts even without speaking, they live in a parallel universe that can never converge. While Adi is heir to the multi-billion Mehta Group of Companies that has a dubious history, Radha is the daughter of a social activist and she imbibes these qualities from her father. She joins a popular activist, Sudha Bapat’s, group much against Adi’s wishes. This is not the only thing that Radha inherits from her father. Her beautiful relationship with Adi is ordained the day she comes to know that her family has had a long and tumultuous history with Huntington’s disease and her father is also diagnosed with this dreaded disease that erodes the mind slowly.

Can Radha and Adi ever be together? Will Radha fall prey to Huntington’s disease? Will she sacrifice her own principles and agree to live the charming but empty life inside the Mehta palace that she despises greatly?

My Review: Usually I avoid sappy romances that borders on corny and uses clichéd dialogues. So I was particularly skeptic when applying for reviewing this book. Of course it helped that I had already read some great reviews of the book.

The story revolves around two people with distinct personalities, who are always there to rescue when the other falls in some danger, but cannot be together due to their differences in opinion and principles. What makes the story practical and realistic is the compelling narration by the author in portraying the characters. The author’s words have a strong conviction and it made me want to finish the book without putting it down.

Some of the scenes stand out in my mind long after reading the book. Like the scene where Radha falls into danger due to her protests against a ruthless politician and Adi saves her in the nick of time, but finds her in a state that shakes him emotionally and makes him realize how precious Radha is in his life.

And then there are some scenes which will bring tears to your eyes, especially the climax. I liked the narrative modes used in each chapter. One chapter uses email conversations between the two protagonists while the remaining ones use Radha’s POV as she writes a journal in her diary.

There are other characters that help in moving the plot forward and I liked Vedant, who blindly follows Radha in her journey as an activist. I found myself wishing that his character had been better developed.

This book is undeniably like a breath of fresh air that stands apart among the clichéd love stories being released in the literary scene these days.

Verdict: A strong narrative, compelling plot-line, intense and poignant characters make the book an awesome read.

Rating: 4/5

This book was received from Write Tribe's Book Review Program.