Rating: 3.5

This book has been everywhere! It was a January pick for Book of the Month & GMA. It has its own table at my Barnes & Noble. I expected it to be a 5-star for me. Unfortunately, it was not. That's not to say it's bad; it isn't. Its story just didn't resonate with me (especially at 500+ pages).

I've never really been a fan of stories about the anti-hero. I'm the girl who's going to take Ted Lasso over Tony Soprano. So this book, which centers some pretty despicable people, didn't absorb me as much as it might other readers.

Set in the opulent, drink-and-drug-drenched world of modern India, it follows three characters—Ajay, a boy from a poor village who becomes Sunny Wadia's protector; Sunny, the son of an Indian mobster; and Neda, a journalist who forms a connection with Sunny. With the pace of a movie and a lush, cinematic scope, it zings back and forth through a non-chronological narrative that's fast-paced and engrossing at first, but becomes overly long about halfway through.

Ajay's story is the most compelling. His rise from poor village boy to muscle-to-the-mob is fascinating and heartbreaking. Sunny's story is more muddled, with his connection to Neda the most interesting part. I liked the fast-pace of the first half, but in the second, some characters (one who was literally just introduced) take center stage and made me wish for the story to get back to the main trio. While intriguing in parts, the ending was too drawn out and lacked closure...until I read that this is the first in a planned trilogy. Reading book #2 is going to be a wait and see for me.

While this one didn't wow me, that's not to say it won't wow you. If you like characters who fall victim to the corrupt forces in their families and lives and struggle to make good choices because of it, you'll like this one—especially if you like books with a movie-like pace and structure.