Glitter and Gloss by Vibha Batra: a review

There are moments in life when after reading heavy books, you crave for an easy breezy ride. A simple book with less complications and something that'll be over in one sitting. Vibha Batra's Glitter and Gloss gave me one such escape. I found my way breezing through the pages and laughing through the major part of the book. Written with a specific audience in mind, here's what the blurb says about it.

About the book- Misha is a make up artist who, after a series of mishaps and twists and turns, falls madly in love with Akshay who reciprocates her love with ardour. The only hitch in this perfect romance is her prospective sister-in-law who thinks Misha is everything a Bahu shouldn’t be: garrulous, geeky, gawky, gainfully employed (especially the last bit). The questions is will Misha win Didi (and the Kha-Pee Panchayat) over with her Stepford Wife Act? Will she continue to be the poster child for the inherent evils of the Bahu Brigade? Or will she learn to ‘lau’ herself before the whole world and its wife can do the same?

See the way the blurb has been written? That's exactly what you'll be finding in the book itself. Written in Hinglish (Hindi+English) this book is surely for the audience who adores chick-lit ! Right from the get go you're introduced to Misha, the makeup artist who's clumsy and sassy, also working at M.A.C, having a dream of doing bridal make-up and the present generation owner of Agarwal Jewellers, Akshay Agarwal. They have this sweet chemistry and everything gets going from the start.

You're also introduced to an unorthodox atmosphere around the whole story. Misha sharing an apartment with a guy (Sammy), Akshay’s Didi and Jiju living at Akshay's palatial bungalow, Misha’s parents separated and her mom dating a guy only a few years older to her. All this makes for a great premise of a story. But somewhere I felt, it lacked the punch. Written mainly in a conversational format with either two or more people or the protagonist and her mind, this book falls short at that.

Okay! I give in. I am a makeup enthusiast just like Misha but the whole book seemed like a paid advertising by M.A.C cosmetics where every second page had a reference to it's products with specific shade names and range titles by the company. I do understand that it hits home for the makeup enthusiasts who would have a great imagination if they're told that Misha is wearing a M.A.C lipstick in the shade Ruby Woo, but for the people who have no idea about that, it might feel kiddish to even mention what kind of a makeup remover Misha uses.

Then, the language of writing, Hinglish as I mentioned, wouldn't hit home for the non-hindi speakers. They wouldn't understand half the dialogues mentioned in the book. Innuendos which were unnecessary (or, necessary given that's how Misha was portrayed) filled the book. There wasn't any strength in the book. Also contradicting myself I would say that the book had the necessary storyline. The drama and the plotline but the author could've made it much better if not written in a rush (so it felt).

Grammatical errors were there in the book. But all in all, this was a fun read and a good book for light readers who also likes a social dose in their reads. I would recommend this book to young adults and be sure that they'll like it. Oh, by the way, I loved the cover of the book. It's so pretty and girly! Looking forward to more from the author and expecting even more from her, this was 2.5 out of 5 for me.