The move from the dingy Lovely Beauty Parlour to the upmarket Nancy’s Factory would be reward enough for most hairstylists. Gifted, young Tuki has her sights set on a bigger prize – owning a salon! Her well-laid plans start going awry as soon as the handsome tattooist Faraaz joins Nancy’s Factory. Tuki needs to handle Faraaz’s advances, figure out the mystery behind the disappearance of the elderly, eccentric, brilliant writer Bijoy Dutta and rescue the multilayered Sweety Bhabhi from destitution.
Finding herself at the heart of one storm too many, Tuki decides to run away from the leafy lanes of Bandra to the old-world Portuguese villas of Goa. In the comforting embrace of the village Aldona, she struggles with her rather untimely attraction to her enigmatic neighbor, the charming Arvind, and sharing the house with Bijoy, haunted as he is by the ghosts of his past.
Armed with nothing but a pair of scissors and the jigsaw pieces of her broken dream, Tuki has to navigate through Mumbai, Goa and London to find out if the universe is conspiring to make her or break her.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
This is such a fun book, people. I read it from end to end, and I just liked it so much.
The main highlight of this book is Tuki herself – the girl with big dreams and an even bigger heart. She is awesome.
It’s such a refreshing change to have an intelligent protagonist, self-confident (eye roll at you, Sophie Kinsella heroines) and determined.
Tuki has a grand plan of opening her beauty salon one day, and this isn’t simply a pipe dream. She has a business plan and enough savings of her own to build on her dream.
Unfortunately, life gets in the way, and her plans fall apart. Suddenly left with no job and no savings, Tuki falls apart and flees to Goa, and the rest of the book deals with how she bounces back from this setback.
My Review With Minor Spoilers
Overall, I recommend this book to all lovers of chick-lit. This is a well-written book with a very entertaining story. The story’s setting with all the beauty parlor politics is unusual but fun, and the side characters are also very well-rounded. My favorite character has to be Tuki’s pet dog Kaloo who doesn’t do anything but eat all day but still manages to be adorable.
The author Parul Sharma‘s depiction of small-town life in Goa is also spot on. Reading these sections made me want to visit (and stay for a while) in Goa again. Sigh! I love that place.
That’s not to say this book is perfect. I liked that Tuki was an enterprising go-getter, but the plot deals with her issues in a very Cinderella-esque way with a dashing man coming to her rescue and helping her set up her business. I would have preferred that Tuki set about achieving her dreams independently without her boyfriend’s help. I don’t want to reveal anything more, but I found this section of the book quite unbelievable and irritating. Tuki’s character suddenly seems to change from a can-do girl to a cannot do anything without a support girl, which annoyed me.
However, if you are willing to suspend disbelief for this particular plot point, I think you will enjoy the book.
Thanks to the author Parul Sharma for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Updates to Snubnose’s Blog
Snubnose has updated her blog with her book review of Esio Trot by Roald Dahl. If interested, head on to Jahnavi’s Thoughts and Dreams for her take on the book.
Ok I must read this book because I am from Bandra but my family is originally from Aldona! All I need to do is attempt to start a beauty salon and I could be Tuki.
One question though – is this book part of a series, and if so, is it the first one?
@The Bride This is a standalone book.