Writing has never been my forte. I do enjoy writing book reviews but that’s the extent of my writing. So whenever I get a chance I love to read books by new authors. Most of these authors amaze me with their writing. Sometimes it’s not even evident that it’s their first or second book. Thank you to @pristine.books and @bluerose_publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. Bella is the second book by author Sunil Kaul.
Bella is a coming of age story. The book takes us through the life of Bella from her childhood to old age. Bella is born in a gypsy family and becomes the first child in their clan to get educated in a proper school. She is bold and ambitious. She is strong like her mother and will do almost anything to accomplish what she set her sights on. In her race to success, she forgets the real meaning of being happy.
The book started off really well. The best part of the book for me was Bella’s childhood. She is loved and cherished by her family and the entire Kaliwal clan. The scene between Bella and her mother Shanta on the first day of school reminded me of my son’s first day. Shanta’s character was a pleasure to read about. She is tough, resilient and has good values making her an important member of the clan. I loved how she manages her two husbands and two children. Yes, two husbands!
Almost always, the protagonist in a book is shown as a very good person with strong morals and values. But to be honest, sometimes these kind of look fake. Bella is portrayed as very ambitious. She is ready to go to any length to make sure she holds the power and money. She is not exactly heartless but she doesn’t stop working towards realizing her dreams even if it means hurting someone who loves her. Due to this, it was a very different read for me. At times, her behavior did make me cringe but I think this made her character more real. Her journey through the ups and downs of life makes her realize the value of things/people she had ignored or left behind in the race to success.
The book is seriously fast paced. I love fast paced books but this was too fast even for me. At times I felt as if I was watching a movie in fast forward. This is bound to happen as the book is a little over 200 pages and covers the entire 65+ years of Bella’s eventful life. Having said that, there was no disconnect between scenes. Nothing felt incomplete. Everything was wrapped up nicely in the end.
There were a few plot holes along with some spelling and grammatical errors. But these were very few and did not really dampen my reading experience.
Yes, the book could have been done better by making it longer and slowing down the pace. Nevertheless, it was still a good read for me.
My Rating: 3.5⭐/5