Book Review: Glitter and Gloss

Book: Glitter and Gloss

Author: Vibha Batra

Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Genre: Fiction | Chick lit

Price: 199 INR

Pages: 184

Blurb:

Misha is a make up artist who, after a series of mishaps and twists and turns, falls madly in love with Akshay who reciprocates her love with ardour. The only hitch in this perfect romance is her prospective sister-in-law who thinks Misha is everything a Bahu shouldn’t be: garrulous, geeky, gawky, gainfully employed (especially the last bit). The questions is will Misha win Didi (and the Kha-Pee Panchayat) over with her Stepford Wife Act? Will she continue to be the poster child for the inherent evils of the Bahu Brigade? Or will she learn to ‘lau’ herself before the whole world and its wife can do the same?

My Rating:

Plot: 3/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Character Sketch: 3.5/5

My Review:

"Glitter and Gloss" is the story about a girl called Misha, who suffers from low self-esteem issues which is partly because of a dysfunctional family and partly because she wants to be accepted by everyone. 

Misha lives in Mumbai. Her flatmate is a guy called Sammy, who is one of her best friends. Her other best friend is Poulomi. She works in M.A.C and aspires to be a bridal male-up artist. She meets Akshay Agarwal, the owner of  Agarwal Jewellers in a fashion event and gets attracted to him instantly. 

They meet a couple of times again and realize that they have found their true love. All goes good in their paradise until the elder sister of Akshay enters the scene. Misha tries too hard to impress her and in the process, tells plenty of lies and pretends to be someone she is not. Will Misha accept herself before getting accepted by Didi? This forms the crux of the story.

The plot is simple, but the way the author has narrated the story keeps you entertained till the last page. With some hilarious moments and plenty of funny one-liners, you cannot stop yourself from laughing while reading the book. 

The characters of the book are well sketched too. I loved the way the author has sketched the character of Misha. She is funny, sweet, adorable and at the same time, she is vulnerable. We find her complaining about her imperfect nose or feeling embarrassed because of her mom's boyfriend. In order to get accepted, she doesn't mind saying a hundred lies. In the blinking of eyes, she tells to Didi that Sammy is gay so that Didi doesn't think otherwise about her flatmate.  

The characters of Didi, Poulomi and Sammy are well sketched too. I enjoyed reading the banter between the three friends. However, the character of Akshay was not as well sketched as Misha. I wish there were more layers to his character.

I felt Glitter and Gloss ended too soon, before I wanted it to finish. I wanted to see Misha evolve into a confident lady who loves herself, after she visits the counsellor and understands that she is suffering from low self-esteem issues. However, the book ends too soon before we can see some solid changes in Misha's personality. 

Overall, it is an entertaining weekend read. The novel is fast paced and can be easily read in a few sitting. I am going with 3.5

Recommended to anyone who is looking for a light hearted weekend read. Go for this one as it will make you laugh out loud. 

I got a review copy from the author for an honest review. The opinions are my own.