World's Best Boyfriend

"Hate is a four letter word and so is love. And, sometimes people can't tell the difference."

About the book:

Written by Durjoy Datta, this novel follows the journey of Aranya and Dhruv. Discriminated and made fun of on daily basis by her family and peers due to her Vitiligo, Aranya grew up to be a headstrong woman. The separation of Dhruv's parents in his childhood has changed his perception of love and relationships.

They both meet and become friends as children and later on drift apart due to a fight which led them to hate each other fiercely. The story takes a leap of some years, now they both meet at an engineering college. Despite having love for each other, they stay under the pretense of hatred. But as the saying goes, it's just a fine line between love and hate.

First things first, I don't generally read a lot of love stories. I got this book due to my impulsive book shopping. And I think I'm quite glad of having read a genre out of my range. Let me just list out some things I really liked in this book:

🦋 The characterization of Aranya. The author has shed light on the stigma around Vitiligo in our country and how the society treats them in a very morbid way.

🦋 Aranya's body image issues and how she overcomes it. Later on, how she starts to love herself for what she is quite beautiful.

🦋 Dhruv's reconciliation with his father. How they talk out their issues. Though it was pretty late, but better late than never.

🦋 Dhruv's character is a thing which I both hate and love. His anger issues, controlling nature are the results of witnessing the separation of his parents. I think his character arc could've been developed a little more.

🦋The writing was very lucid with a pinch of desiness.The backdrop of Engineering college is kind of a classic and a cliche which I love.

This book was a quick read and the story flowed quite quickly much to my disbelief. I thought this book might drag the story a little. Needless to say, it changed my preconceptions. If you like love-hate relationship stories with some stubborn protagonists who wouldn't acknowledge their feelings, then you should have a look at this book.