Book review: Too Good To Be True by Prajakta Koli
Much ado about nothing
Prajakta Koli aka MostlySane, wears many hats and apparently wears them adroitly: she is an uber-popular digital content creator/actor/fierce advocate for social causes. And now that she has written her debut fiction, a rom-com titled Too Good to be True, you can hear the cheering from fans loud and clear.
The book seems to be having a dream run, with releases across the country, loudly applauding crowds, has stayed on the Nielson BookScan India`s No. 1 Fiction Bestseller chart for weeks, and has recently won the Amazon Popular Choice Book award. The book has its own soundtrack, Saanvare, and excited fans duly sing it at her book events.
The story is a meld of many romantic tropes: adorably scatty girl, super-wealthy TDH boy (yes, at 23 and 31 respectively, they still qualify as girl and boy) the regulation meet-cute, a progress pattern that does the three steps forward-one back tango, and some random flies in the ointment appearing unexpectedly. Basically, it`s a routine chronicling of the wooing game.
Koli`s winning point is that many urban young people will relate to the Avani-Aman waltz, the doubts that creep up in a fledgling romance, the moments of debilitating insecurity, the hesitation to take steps into the unknown.
Breezy and predictable flow
Among the more relatable quirks we are told of is the fact that Avani scans people`s feet to ascertain if they are rich or not so rich ( the former wear their shoes inside their houses, the latter don’t); that Aman`s aftershave generally enters a room before he does; that Avani names her plants Pintu, Chhotu and Ramesh.
The style is breezy, direct, no frills, which cannot but appeal, though the frequent usage of capitals letters for words like `DIMPLE` can quite startle the not- so-young reader. The twin narratives by Avani and Aman are pitched directly to the reader-friend. The story is studded with witty sometimes acerbic comments and rejoinders, all of which make that reader-friend chuckle aloud. God is female, huzzah. Some observations about the world of books are made with sly humour, as when Avani reflects that the in-house book club cancelled more than they met at the bookshop.
Avani temps at the aforementioned bookstore in Mumbai and this is her comment on the place: `it was humble and had a great personality — which is more than I can say about a lot of people I know.` For all the charm contained in her descriptions of the bookshop (which of course has its own café section) Koli keeps it as a definite accessory to the romance being played out in there, not letting the place overwhelm the personalities.
It is clear the story has been written for the young reader. The writing is pretty generic and the narrative often feels over-extended. While the conflicts mostly ring true, the conflict resolution is all too pat to be convincing. Koli has stated that she prefers non-linear journeys to clear-cut arcs but doesn’t seem to have walked the talk where her debut work is concerned, because Too Good to be True follows a very linear (predictable) path all through.
And here and there words are used awkwardly. Like a telling smile for a knowing smile, rung for rang, broody for brooding, mention of Rs 2,000 notes being used in 2023… well, perhaps that`s not of much importance to Koli`s fan base.
However, what quite troubled this reviewer was that there was absolutely no resolution of one of the abovementioned fly- in- the- ointment problems. Late in the day, there is a character who suddenly turns up and is clearly antagonistic towards our heroine. Neither is the reason for that hostility clearly explained not does this conflict get resolved. Also, there`s a strangely silent boyfriend of one of Avani`s girlfriends who keeps making an appearance but does not talk at all, and we aren`t told or shown anything about this mysterious character. Maybe Koli is planning her second book on this particular romance.
In the final analysis, the book is a light and easy read, especially for the occasional reader.
Too Good to be True by Prajakta Koli. HarperCollins Books.307 pages. Rs 399.
This ran in the Deccan Herald of 22 February 2025.
Related Links
Book review: Destination Wedding by Diksha Basu
Book review: Girls and the City by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar
No Strings Attached by Sheila Kumar:
https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/2017/Jul/22/love-and-newsprint-sheila-kumars-no-strings-attached–reviewed-1631373.html
Our Start-up Affair by Sheila Kumar:
https://www.deccanherald.com/features/book-review-our-start-up-affair-by-sheila-kumar-725981.html
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