Good lord, I’m tired of reading about Damani’s biceps, fit body and Dr Thelma Hermin Hesse.

Your Driver is Waiting is supposed to be inspired by the iconic movie Taxi Driver but it was nothing like that. Priya Guns creates a protagonist who’s strong, queer and funny (she tries) but even though the character had all it took to be brilliant, it was the storyline and weak writing that didn’t work for me. I wanted to like this novel. I mean, what’s not to like about a female taxi driver being brave and fearless in the face of odd passengers even in the middle of the night? She also goes gymming, is obsessed with her body and CANNOT stop talking about it. It gets quite annoying after the initial few pages. And it continues till the end of the book.

Damani lives with her mother in an unnamed city. She is also an activist of sorts, has a bunch of friends who speak up about immigration and other issues. Having lost her father, she becomes her mother’s carer, who is now grieving and refuses to get up from the couch. Amidst all this, Damani falls in love with a rich white girl named Jolene. There’s sizzling chemistry and romance but right when Damani thinks she knows everything about Jolene, something strange happens.

Damani’s character comes off as ‘trying too hard to stay relevant’. And perhaps this was why I couldn’t connect with her. The story in itself wasn’t too intriguing and the writing didn’t help either.

This book certainly wasn’t for me but I do think I’ll read her second book whenever it’s out. Thanks for the copy @penguinindia ✨