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aasthaj's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
theeditorreads's review against another edition
5.0
Anuja Chauhan's books are a delight to read, always! The sexual innuendos...the descriptive characters! A wholesome package!
shubhodiya's review against another edition
4.0
Anuja Chauhan books have a summer vacation vibe written all over them--perhaps that's why I associate it with our childhood summer vacation drink "Rasna", and from now on would probably call them that.
Thakur girls have always been a wee bit dramatic for me to consume, but gosh, I inhaled The House That BJ Built. Haven't read Indian ChickLit in a long while, and this book sets it just right. Between property disputes, rekindling romances and a box office hit in the making, this book easily made it to my top favorite books of '22!
Thakur girls have always been a wee bit dramatic for me to consume, but gosh, I inhaled The House That BJ Built. Haven't read Indian ChickLit in a long while, and this book sets it just right. Between property disputes, rekindling romances and a box office hit in the making, this book easily made it to my top favorite books of '22!
jajwalya's review against another edition
2.0
The potential! The potential! Ah well.
Chemistry and Humour toned down, this girl is less annoyingly self absorbed phew (Debjani, okay, Debjani!) but the guy is such a... poofter? Eshwari first, then visionary Bollywood director, then Bam! crush on sorta cousin, goes pseudo Bollywood Action Hero-ish, can't do break up with current girlfriend because Feelings! drama.
Aiyiyiyyy. Probably didn't help that I read this immediately after Those Pricey Thakur Girls.
I reiterate though. Anuja Chauhan is fantastic at this. She really knows how to string together all the minutiae and tie them up, nice and neat.
Chemistry and Humour toned down, this girl is less annoyingly self absorbed phew (Debjani, okay, Debjani!) but the guy is such a... poofter? Eshwari first, then visionary Bollywood director, then Bam! crush on sorta cousin, goes pseudo Bollywood Action Hero-ish, can't do break up with current girlfriend because Feelings! drama.
Aiyiyiyyy. Probably didn't help that I read this immediately after Those Pricey Thakur Girls.
I reiterate though. Anuja Chauhan is fantastic at this. She really knows how to string together all the minutiae and tie them up, nice and neat.
gauriiii's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
medini_l's review
2.0
‘… it was better to demolish the house and keep the family together than demolish the family and keep the house together.’
[a:Anuja Chauhan|1637550|Anuja Chauhan|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1380174467p2/1637550.jpg] is probably one of the few Indian authors whose books I do not hesitate to pick up. Her writing is as witty and humorous as ever, with a lot of Hinglish interspersed in the dialogues and the characters’ thoughts, probably to give it an air of authenticity. Also, I noticed a lot more Hindi words in this book compared to her previous books. (Of this, I can’t be sure. My memory fails me, but it’s just a thought.)
[b:THE HOUSE THAT BJ BUILT|25599937|THE HOUSE THAT BJ BUILT|Anuja Chauhan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1433541695s/25599937.jpg|45185731] is a recap into the lives of the alphabetically named sisters, Anjini, Binodini, Chandralekha, Debjani and Eshwari, The Pricey Thakur girls, now older, with families and problems of their own. Debjani had been my favorite character in [b:THOSE PRICEY THAKUR GIRLS|19227449|THOSE PRICEY THAKUR GIRLS|Anuja Chauhan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394701807s/19227449.jpg|24076846], but here, I found myself liking Anjini a lot more. The sisters’ quarrels, their tenderness towards their father, their attempts to set-up Eshwari with Satish Sridhar and their endless hassles with Bonu was hilarious and compelling.
“We are all vegetarians in RIGID,” Chandu volunteers. “We believe cows are our sisters.”
“And we believe our sisters are cows!” said Eshwari with an inelegant snort of laughter.
The protagonist of this book is actually Bonita Singh: 2nd sister Binodini’s daughter, survivor of a horrific accident that took the lives of her immediate family, leaving her alone with her grandparents and the cows (Yeah, that’s what she calls her mother’s sisters). Basically, I disliked Bonu with a passion. It’s not just that I couldn’t relate with her; I found her an annoying, arrogant, presumptuous, unscrupulous cheat! She wouldn’t even try to bond with her aunts and was being a massive pain in the ass for a good 80% of the book. Also, she was supposed to be 26, but felt more like she was 16. The only ‘good’ thing about her was her relationship with her grandfather, Justice Laxmi Narayan Thakur.
Thankfully, the love interest, Samar Vir Singh, a young, swoon-worthy Bollywood director of 2 hit films and on his way to direct a period drama based on his great-grandparents’ life, was redeeming in comparison. I liked his sense of right and wrong and his relationship with Anjini. I wish I could say the same about his taste in girls.
Recommended to people who enjoyed [b:Those Pricey Thakur Girls|25472292|Those Pricey Thakur Girls|Anuja Chauhan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1430643243s/25472292.jpg|24076846].
b00kr3vi3ws's review against another edition
3.0
I had borrowed ‘The Pricey Thakur Girls’ from a friend and had enjoyed the reading experience of it. So it was a no-brainer that I would pick this book up too. Only this time I delved into the book with some expectations.
The Thakur girls are back and this book is all about how the family wants to sell the house that BJ built. While the central plot deals with that, there are parallel storylines involving the central characters. On one hand we have Samar’s journey of making a film and on the other hand we have Bonu trying to keep her promise to her late mother. And then there is the blooming relationship between Satish and Eshwari.
The many characters in the book play their roles to perfection. Some have grown over two books while some have been late bloomers. The characterization plays an important role in shaping up the book. It is the character relationship and interactions, the family drama and politics that keeps the book entertaining and going. Since Bonita comes across as the stand out protagonist in this book, I have to say that I had a love-hate relationship with her and Samar in the book. I oscillated between loving and hating them as the book progressed and they absolutely drove me nuts. The easy flowing Hin-glish language and a narrative style that oozes humour keeps a reader hooked to the book. Romance, Drama and Comedy fill the pages of this book.
Like I said, having read ‘The Pricey Thakur Girls’, I picked up this book with certain expectations. While most of them were well met, this installment doesn’t really live up to the mark its predecessor made. Still, it is quite entertaining and a quick one-time read.
The Thakur girls are back and this book is all about how the family wants to sell the house that BJ built. While the central plot deals with that, there are parallel storylines involving the central characters. On one hand we have Samar’s journey of making a film and on the other hand we have Bonu trying to keep her promise to her late mother. And then there is the blooming relationship between Satish and Eshwari.
The many characters in the book play their roles to perfection. Some have grown over two books while some have been late bloomers. The characterization plays an important role in shaping up the book. It is the character relationship and interactions, the family drama and politics that keeps the book entertaining and going. Since Bonita comes across as the stand out protagonist in this book, I have to say that I had a love-hate relationship with her and Samar in the book. I oscillated between loving and hating them as the book progressed and they absolutely drove me nuts. The easy flowing Hin-glish language and a narrative style that oozes humour keeps a reader hooked to the book. Romance, Drama and Comedy fill the pages of this book.
Like I said, having read ‘The Pricey Thakur Girls’, I picked up this book with certain expectations. While most of them were well met, this installment doesn’t really live up to the mark its predecessor made. Still, it is quite entertaining and a quick one-time read.
look_whos_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Anuja Chauhan's personal brand of colloquial humour is witty, goofy and ticklish. It has a distinct child-like appeal and through her stories (read the Zoya Factor a while ago) and now this, she manages to give you that much needed 'reading for pure pleasure'. It might seem after a point that all her rom-coms are repetitive but then so are the plots of many movies. Not to be read in succession so as to be able to enjoy fully the cheap thrills packed in these stories.