The House that BJ Built - Anuja Chauhan

Back of the Book (Goodreads):

I’ll make my sisters squirm like well-salted earthworms. I won’t sell. Even my jutti won’t sell. And if I die na, then even my gosht won’t sell!

The late Binodini Thakur had been very clear that she would never agree to sell her hissa in her Bauji’s big old house on Hailey Road. And her daughter Bonu, is determined to honour her mother’s wishes.

But what to do about her four pushy aunts who are insisting she sell? One is bald and stingy, one is jobless and manless, one needs the money to ‘save the nation’ and one is stepmother to Bonu’s childhood crush-brilliant young Bollywood director Samar Vir Singh, who promised BJ upon his deathbed that he would get the house sold, divvy the money equally and end all the bickering within the family.

Is Bonu strong enough to weather emotional blackmail by the spadefull? Not to mention shady builders, wily politicians, spies, lies and the knee-buckling hotness of Samar’s intense eyes?

The Review Part:

I remember the time I first read Battle for Bittora, the second book by Anuja Chauhan. I went through the whole book in the span of a few days. I read through meals as well. I experienced something of a similar nature with the House that BJ Built. Being a huge fan, I have always recommended Anuja Chauhan’s books to my friends. In case you haven’t read Those Pricey Thakur Girls already, it would be a good idea to do so before picking up The House that BJ Built in order to get the basic setting of the plot line.

The book starts out at a slower pace and Anuja Chauhan takes her time to lay out the groundwork for the characters and the story to properly build up. It’s like preparing all the ingredients for a sumptuous feast to be made the next day. We get to understand what the characters from the previous book have been up to for the last twenty years. We also see who the book is circled around essentially and where they stand now. But, this being Anuja Chauhan’s book, we also know that she will do justice to all the characters and sub-plots.

Now to the sumptuous meal part. After the introductory pages, it’s a rollercoaster ride from there. I had such a difficult time keeping the book down. Anuja Chauhan delves into the story of a familial property dispute with great gusto coming up with exceptionally interesting sub-plots. There are inner monologues of several interesting minds, outright family drama, politicians, an age old story, lawyers, Bollywood and so much more all weaved in and out of an electricity bhara romance (An ode to the charming use of Hinglish in the book J)

One of my favourite things about this book is the humour. I think I must have giggled out loud too many times while reading certain hilarious parts of the book. The conversations between not just the main protagonists but also the multitude of other characters is witty and fast-paced throughout the four hundred pages of the novel.

The romance between Bonu Singh and Samar Vir Singh is adorably cute, gripping and worth rooting for. Bonu is certainly different from her previous female leads. I liked her gutsy spirit and disarming innocence. Samar is another stellar hero that worthily joins the ranks of Nikhil, Zain and Dylan. 

This is my “What Next?” novel for sure. By that, I mean I kept wondering what would happen next at the turn of every page. A lot of questions that I was curious about in the previous book were answered in this one. The only thing I am sad about is that I have to wait for a while till she writes the next book.

Until then!

The Perennial Reader J