The second book of the Jasmine Villa series, citing the star-crossed love of Ana Hasan and Luqman Ahmed, has many ‘OMG’ moments

Andaleeb Wajid’s book transported me to my teenage years. Those were the days of binge reading Mills & Boon, twisted situations in which handsome, daring men and coy women came together, thanks to their sizzling chemistry, and left us walking on the clouds, hand-in-hand with the dashing prince.

Romance gives us rose-coloured glasses, melts our hearts and then folds us in dreamy cocoons. Of course, real life is a not a 250-page, pacy read and the decades change our perceptions, but none can deny that our constant longing for this steamy love is always on. This is the desire that Wajid’s book fulfills.

Jasmine Villa is the loving home of the three beautiful Hasan sisters—Tehzeeb, Ana and Athiya. They are brought up in a solemn manner by their father Yusuf Hasan, after their mother dies of cancer. Well educated, the girls are bright and respectful. However, fate has cast a love net and the three are destined to find their own prince charming, breaking the norms set by their father and his upbringing. I have not read the first book which is based on the love story of Tehzeeb and Ayub. However, this is the gist I got from Loving You Twice, which has subtle references to the first book. The last one would be around Athiya and Farhaan, going by the end of the second book.

Unlike a lot of western authors who take us to exotic locales, Wajid’s romance is centred around her milieu. She takes us into the conservative world of south Indian Muslim families in Bengaluru. There is nothing unusual in the plot. We have seen these societal norms and habits picturised from the black and white movie era. Girl loves boy, never says a word, society gossips and fate jumps in. It’s a world that most girls will relate to—where freedom comes with conditions and the control switch lies in the hands of the elders.

Ana and Luqman meet for the first time at Tehzeeb’s wedding with Ayub, all this is from the first book. Luqman has it all—good looks, a lucrative job in the IT sector, a rich family and women who swoon over him. The pretty and demure Ana is sceptical about him. A graduate in psychology, she is a counsellor in a school.

Loving You Twice opens with Ana on her first flight to Malayasia, nervous and excited at the same time, seated on the window seat. Cupid plays truant, and Luqman is seated next to her on the middle seat. Her nervousness makes her forget the skepticism, after the initial shock of seeing him, and the two warm up to each other. Cupid’s arrow has struck, but the young ones don’t know or don’t accept. Then, the plot unfolds like an old-fashioned Indian setting.

The book is a classic Bollywood movie with drama, despair, fights, ill-timed entries and exits, lies and truths, traditions and sacrifices, liberal friends and helpful siblings. Wajid keeps the readers hooked with intense, intimate scenes, not shying away from the smallest detail. It’s not making out, but making love.

In this world of Hasans and Ahmeds, misunderstandings blow up despite the initial bonhomie. Social status differences are spelled out, girls are termed as gold diggers, storms blow the love hot and cold. Friends and siblings take hold and push the situation in favour of the young lovers, who realise the eternity of love too late.

Wajid’s characters are well developed and the environment well narrated. Her girls are not meek doormats, but respectful and moral. Their love is pure and their intentions clear. They are bold with the men they love and mindful of their actions in public. They seek partners in their life, not masters. The young men in love are liberal, but there are old, rigid hats too. Norms are broken, and new limits defined. A father’s heart softens in the face of true love. Eventually, love finds a way, a truce of sorts, as rigid, outdated ideals are discarded. And Wajid left the book open-ended, as a teaser to the third book.

The editing could have been better. Overall, the book is fast-paced chick lit that would please older women as well.

Book details
Publisher: ‎Westland
Language: ‎English
Paperback: 296 pages
Price: INR 399, Kindle edition available

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