It is the story of the promise made between two persons, Shamhavi and Arjun. The promise to be with each other despite the circumstances, the promise to love forever. 

The Promise

By Nikita Singh

237 pages, Grapevine India

The Promise is the fourth fiction book of the national bestselling author, Nikita Singh. It is the story of the promise made between two persons, Shamhavi and Arjun. The promise to be with each other despite the circumstances, the promise to love forever.

In the novel, Shambhavi is a happy go lucky girl. Whenever she enters a room, it brightens up with her cheerfulness but behind this all there is a girl who is going through a lot. No one sees the pain in her eyes. She is an interior designer by profession. She works a lot as she needs money for her father’s medication who has brain tumor.

Arjun Datta is the infamous owner of the Datts Enterprises, a well-established furniture company. He is a very private person, very few people have met him. He is charismatic, elusive and stinking rich. Money is the only thing he loves and hates at the same time. He is trying to run away from his past. His dark, brooding, and secretive looks attracts people like magnets, at the same time, his icy demeanor often scares the hell out of people.

During one of her projects, Shambhavi meets Arjun. Arjun is a loner, he doesn’t believe in love. Till now, he has lost everyone he has loved including his family. His heart is broken, he has decided never to love again. His past still haunts him, he refuses to move on but still whenever he sees Shambhavi he finds emptiness in his life. Eventually, he falls for her. They are so in love and promises are made but everything falls apart when he finds out that Shambhavi is pregnant. He feels cheated as he thinks that history is repeating itself and leaves her.

Are they not meant to be toghether? Are these promises also made to be broken? You have to read the story to find out.

It is an intriguing story. For the starting 50 pages, the book is a bit boring but in middle plots gets interesting. One-fourth of the book is similar to a Bollywood melodrama but Nikita Singh made a great effort to make the story a page turner. She kept the conversations to be crispy and neat. Her characters are so lively. She has the ability to keep readers hooked throughout the story. She has not added any mature content to the book keeping it appropriate for every age group. She has described all the emotions in a very beautiful way. She manages to bring out tear in my eyes at some point in the story. She doesn’t leave any stone unturned.

She didn’t keeps the readers blindsided with Shambhavi’s story. She also tells the story of Arjun, his past, his thoughts. But somehow, on the whole, the story seems to be only Shambhavi’s. I wish author could have written a bit more about Arjun’s life. However, this story is a sweet emotional romance with witty retorts, lots of ups and downs, and interesting plot.

If you are looking for a cliché, a typical emotional romance, you should give it a try. But if you are fan of thriller and literature, this novel is not meant for you. It will be a good read for amateur readers and teenagers.