Book Review: Grounded by Sundari Venkatraman

Once upon a present time, there lived a carpenter in a small town in Bihar. He had three daughters. Instead of listening to everybody’s advice and saving his money for their dowry, he used the money to educate his daughters. 

The three books Groomnapped, Gobsmacked and Grounded are the stories of his three daughters, Surekha, Radhika and Vaishali.

Grounded is the story of Vaishali and Avinash during the Covid 19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown. Having read both the previous books, there was no way I could skip reading this one. I started it at night, thinking I would read a couple of chapters before dropping off to sleep. But sleep fled and I finished the whole book in one go. Of course I was woozy and dreamy the next day, but that is what reading a steamy romance does to you, doesn’t it?

The romance is what holds the book together, but what I like is the character arc. The way both of them grow as people as the book progresses. I like the fact that they are not perfect. I like the fact that they make mistakes. I like the fact that they learn from their mistakes and by listening to others. I like the way the family supports them but allows them the freedom to figure their own way out. 

And I liked the “hawt” cover of the book! It was enough to lift the depression that surrounds us these days. 

For a few hours the book transported me away from the dismal reality of the times to a possibility of more joyous things in life.

Thanks Sundari for writing and for giving us this joy through your books!