Book Review: The Girl He Left Behind by Shilpa Suraj

Title and Author: The Girl He Left Behind by Shilpa Suraj
Print Length: 192 Pages
Publication Date: Harlequin India Private Limited (1 August 2014)
Language: English
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Desi Romance


Book Review: The Girl He Left Behind by Shilpa Suraj

Can you leave behind someone you dearly love?
More importantly can that person forgive you and accept you on your return?


Sia was the one Ryan left behind six years ago. Professing to loving her, he had left her without a backward glance. Now after years of loneliness, Ryan is back and determined to win her over. But Sia is no longer that gullible, innocent girl who had once loved Ryan with all her heart. She is now a woman with a past, a past that keeps her awake and one which has shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters for ever.

Things I Loved:

The Girl He Left Behind is Shilpa Suraj’s debut novel and I congratulate her on a job well done!
I loved reading the book and thoroughly enjoyed Shilpa’s unconventional twists and turns in the story.


The cover is catchy and the blurb interest generating. Shipa has the flair for writing and has an admirable comic sense. She is able to lighten the mood of the reader in the midst of some very emotional scenes and keep the story interesting. The story is well paced and the characters and settings beautifully developed to keep the story going forward.

Characters:

I loved the characters in the book. Sia, Ryan, Minty, Adarsh are great together and I had great fun reading the scenes featuring them. The friendship between Sia and Minty and Ryan and Adarsh is sweet and of the ever lasting type. They have faced unhappiness together, celebrated their happiness with each other and also braved the difficulties of their life through the support of each other!

The chemistry between Sia and Ryan is fire and ice. With very unexpected twists and turns, it was an enjoyable journey with these two. The contrast between Sia’s parents and Ryan’s parents is drastic and very expertly brought to life by the author. While I loved Sia’s parents, I totally hated Ryan’s family.

The plot though very common is made unconventional and unique by the author and I just loved the unexpected turns to the story. Nothing happened like I thought it would which was refreshing and enhanced my interest in the story. I could not get up until I had finished the story and thoroughly enjoyed the explosive attraction between Ryan and Sia.

There is comedy, tragedy, heartbreak, emotional upheaval, promises made, love tested and moments that leave a goofy smile on the readers’ face.All in all, a very beautifully narrated story from a very promising debut author, I give The Girl He Left Behind full 5 out of 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and could find no loopholes.  🙂

A fitting leisure read. I recommend the book to all romance lovers. I hope to read more from the author in the future. I hope she writes Minty’s love story next and I hope she pairs Minty and Adarsh! 🙂