This is my story, and yours as well !

Book Review : A sip of love and a sip of coffee
Author: Ganga Bharani
Released in : May 2016
Genre: English Romance

I can't live without coffee. And can someone live without love? No. Neither can I.
Honestly, this is my first time in writing a book review and I am so happy to review my friend's (I think I can take the liberty to call her my soulmate) book : A sip of love and a sip of coffee.

I still remember, about 10 years ago, how his presence would create butterflies in my stomach. After all, we were in our teens. I don't know if I created the same feeling in him too but I was least bothered. A great friend, someone I would turn to most of the time be it happiness or distress. We were too close friends that time. I am not sure if I would call that friendship or crush or infatuation or love. We had too many terms to even try and understand them. But, even without understanding all that, didn't we all have this one (more than one) high school sweethearts whom we loved to be around? And, sometimes we would have even imagined spending the rest of our lives with them. Some of us would have gone ahead to even live that dream. This book also tries to take us back to live those nostalgic days of crushes during our adolescence. But, it is also beyond that. This book will make you think a little bit more than that.

Today, as a parent, I wonder if I would be comfortable to sit with my daughter 10 years from now and discuss about whom she likes at school or has feelings for. Will we have such open conversations? Should we have them? This book will open up your thought on that. 

The book is a feel good read, taking us through the a few years of Avanthika and Gautham's lives. It flows smoothly detailing the relationship they have as 'kids' and how it evolves with their age and maturity. This is my story, and yours as well.

Moments I loved: 
The scene where Avanthika speaks about the love her grandpa had for his grandma. I was in tears in this chapter. The author has been intelligent enough to bring in the old generation love into this book. Clever thought!

The scene where the author has explained how Avanthika feels when she receives a text from Gautham after a long time. That's exactly how I have felt too. I could relate a lot. And I am sure a lot of us will.

THE LAST CHAPTER AND WHAT THE MAIN CHARACTERS SAY IN IT, will get engrained in your mind forever.

Characters:
Simple but no beating around the bush. The story revolves around them and doesn't stray too much.

What the author could have written differently:
I felt repetitions at some places like the phone conversations between the two main characters. The author could have replaced them with other unique scenes like how a girl/boy would buy silly gifts for their crushes and how they would feel.

Overall impression:
This book touched me personally.

An authentic high school romance based fiction novel which will take you to nostalgia.

The USP of this book is the different narration technique where the author inserts conversations between the main characters and herself and takes the story along with the characters' inputs. This is something that you will find new and interesting.

To be honest, at many places, I tried hard to stop myself from reading the last chapter because the author kindles your curiosity like that.

 I loved the way the last two chapters were spun, inducing curiosity in the reader.

When we talk about sensitive topics such as this, I am sure the story-telling way will work a lot more than the rhetorical self-help books. This book is a must read for young adults as well as parents.

RATING:

If you ask me to rate this book, I would give 3.9 out of 5.

This is the author's third fiction novel. After reading this, I am definitely going to read her first two books: Just You, Me and a Secret & A Minute to Death.

Looking forward to your forthcoming writings, Ganga. All the best!

The author Ganga Bharani's page: http://scribbledbygb.blogspot.in/