Polka Dots, Pony Tails and Purple Pouts

This book is a story about three young girls – Jazmine, Tia, and Leena, who rent a house together in Pune. The book explores their loves, lives, and their friendship with each other.

This is a light (very light) chick-lit novel that will appeal to younger readers who are looking for more contemporary/modern romances apart from the stereotypical Mills n Boon type of stories.

I remember loving these types of books during my younger years – the formula hasn’t changed much since then. Three girls with very different personality types share a house and go through their ups and downs while they look for love and sometimes professional satisfaction.

So, when I read this book, I didn’t feel anything really new coming from it. It’s quite possible that I have outgrown this genre. Younger readers may love this book.

The title is very descriptive of the three characters’ dress-up style.

Polka dots is Tia, who is very sweet and nice, fashion forward, but also a very good cook…all in all, the perfect dream girl.

Pony tails is Leena, who is shy and always hides behind her fringe and ponytail. Some bad experiences in her past have led her to lean towards older (and sometimes married) men, as she views them as more stable and less frivolous than younger men.

Purple pouts is Jazmine – the wild child of the bunch. She is the one who loves to party, sleeps around without any qualms, and generally lives life to the fullest. Until, of course, the day she needs to face the consequences of her actions.

The story as such is fairly predictable, even for a non-romcom reader. All the girls go through their share of heartbreak and tough times before they find their respective Mr.Perfects. In terms of the story, I liked it, but I wish certain parts had been fleshed out more. The story and characters rush forward in places where it would have been better to pause and contemplate their actions.

Events like Jazmine’s abrupt forgiveness of an ex, Leena’s abrupt love affair with her colleague (without showing any wish to look back and understand her past mistakes and resolve open issues), make the story flow at a very superficial level. Only Tia’s love affair shows some depth, and even then, it is rushed to a conclusion.

Basically, I like this book. It was nice, but it could have been even better if the book were a little longer and a little more time invested in giving the girls a little more depth. As such, it makes for a light airplane/travel read when it had the potential to be a lot more than that.

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I also read this book as part of the Indian Quills Reading Challenge.