Nupur AgrawalIsn’t it absolutely cruel to have exhausted nearly every Hindi/English rom-com out there and sit around waiting for an OTT platform to give us enough mush to release some oxytocin? Thankfully, romance fiction has come to a sweet rescue and how! ‘If I Never Met You’ by Mhairi McFarlane is like a soap opera which I wish existed with a strong female black protagonist like Laurie whose heartbreak reminds you of the one that left you in pieces, only to pick them up on your own and make some sense of them. Now, coming to the next part of the story (which I wish happened IRL), enter Jamie: Laurie’s charming colleague with a reputation of being a womanizer with more than what meets the eye. Then follows a series of them being trapped (literally) in situations which are sometimes driven by circumstances and more so by their own wicked plans. While Laurie oscillates between trying to get back with/at her ex who also shares her workplace and falling in love with her new-fangled fake boyfriend, she develops a bond with Jamie that is as real as it gets: Deep trust and friendship.
This book reminded me of Sophie Kinsella’s books, especially the part where Laurie visits Jamie’s hometown and bonds with his family. Her visit to his small hometown beautifully explores the idea of seeing a completely different side of someone when they are around people who changed their diapers, taught them how to hold a spoon, and loved them through their traumatic childhood secrets. However, just like the most amazing rom-coms, the best laid plan by J and L succumbs to “bad karma” as predicted by Laurie’s best friend, Emily. It’s going to be rough for them to choose between saving their careers and the new found affection for each other. Despite all the good things that this book is made of – A person of colour as the protagonist, calling out sexism, child abuse, fear of not being good enough for the next partner, survivor’s guilt, coping with heartbreak and being a product of failed love, I do think there was something missing. After all the sexual tension and insecurities discussed by both characters at several points, their own experience is rushed and squeezed into very few words that definitely do not suffice. Apart from that, the way their feelings for each other develop over time, has been written and expressed so well that it keeps you grinning and on the edge. If you have reached this point in this long review, do go through some lines and quotes from the book which truly took to me.