Indian romance writers talk about their favourite love stories

Love is a universal emotion. No matter where or when love stories are set, the emotion resonates with the readers even if they have never fallen in love themselves.

There is something about love stories which warm the cockles of one's heart and makes them timeless. This Valentine's Day, we asked popular Indian romance writers about their favourite love stories and why they like them. Here's what they had to say:

Bestselling author Preeti Shenoy is known for her books 'Wake Up Life is Calling', 'Life is What You Make it', 'Why We Love The Way We Do' among others. When we asked the Write India season 1 author about her favourite romance novel, she said, "'The Time Traveler's Wife' is my all time favourite book. It just happens to be a love story. Audrey Niffeneger is a brilliant writer and I loved the concept of time travel, the connection between Henry and Claire and the superb writing."

(Book cover: Vintage)

King of romance writing in India, Ravinder Singh said that his favourite romance novel is 'The Notebook'. Sharing more details, the Write India season 1 author said, "This is one love story in which the protagonists found each other only to lose and then find each other back and in a way strangely lose themselves due to the disease the female protagonist suffers from. This is one novel in which the characters grow old as well. It is heart-breaking to see the old man narrating their love story to his wife/partner every day, which she forgets the next day due to her memory loss. She doesn’t recognise him and yet it is his love for her which makes him put all the efforts everyday, hoping that someday she would remember it all. She does on one occasion but that’s so short lived. That moment is very very emotional."

(Book cover: Nicolas Sparks official website)

India's first Mills & Boon author Milan Vohra's favourite romances are the ones which aren't conventional love stories and have imperfect characters, just like in real-life. Talking about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘Americanah’ being her favourite romance novel, Milan said, "It doesn’t qualify as a 'romance romance' but the romance between Ifemelu and Obinze runs through the book, from the time they were high school sweethearts. I like it because it’s set in reality, it tells a bigger story of their lives’ journeys – from their initial years together in Nigeria, to Ifemelu immigrating to America, her discovery of racism, and an understanding of what it means to be black, Obinze’s dangerous, undocumented life in London. It’s an unusual story of self-discovery, of identity, love for their country and all of it becomes integral to a realisation of their love for each other after 15 years." "

Her second favourite love story is Graeme Simsion’s ‘The Rosie Project’. "This is a great book that built really unusual, imperfect characters and fantastically combines humour with romance. It’s unusual to find male writers who do romance which isn’t overly syrupy/ sentimental or in the sick-lit category – which also often falls into the overly sentimental zone. 'The Rosie Project' made me laugh out loud too many times to count. Don Tillman the male protagonist is like Sheldon Cooper taken to totally new heights. The secondary characters too though sometimes far-fetched, stay true to character once you accept their inherent kinkiness," she said.

Milan's latest book Óur Song' released in 2019.

(Book covers: Fourth Estate;Penguin UK)

Sudeep Nagarkar's favourite romance novel is his own book 'All Rights Reserved For You' which is based on his love story with his wife Jasmine. "Apart from it, 'PS, I Love You' is an all-time favourite which I read as a teenager. It's difficult to say why I love it... sometimes you just develop this strange connect with some books that they stay with you."

(Book cover: Harper)

Author of 23 books, Andaleeb Wajid is known for writing Young Adult, Romance and Horror novels. Sharing her thoughts on her favourite love story she said, "'Last Chance Saloon' by Marian Keyes is one of my all time favourite romance novels. I like it for the slow developing chemistry between the leads while the secondary characters who are also struggling with various issues make their mark memorably." Andaleeb's latest book 'A Sweet Deal' released in September 2019.

(Book cover: Penguin UK)

Author Kiran Manral has penned love stories like 'Once Upon A Crush' and 'True Love Stories'. She told us that she has not one but two all-time favourite romance novels. Talking about the kind of love stories that warm her heart, Kiran said, "I love the love stories which aren’t traditional romances; but those which define how I was introduced to the unconventional idea of the fact that love might not really be all roses and moonlight. The first was 'Jane Eyre', older man with a dark secret. Then there’s 'Gone With The Wind' in which Scarlet O’Hara pines for the unavailable Ashley Wilkes all through only to realise when she loses him in the end, that her true soulmate was Rhett Butler."

(Book covers: Fingerprint! Publishing; Amazing Reads)