REVIEW: A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev

In A Distant Heart (Bollywood #4) by Sonali Dev, Kimaya “Kimi” Patil knows she will forever be both a source of wonder and of concern for her beloved parents. They went through more heartbreak trying to have a family than any one person deserves. But it’s when Kimi is diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, leaving her hidden away in a disinfected room in their palatial home in India, that pushes them to make decisions that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. One of the biggest is when Kimi undergoes a heart transplant after years in isolation. Her only view to the outside world aside from her windows was through her unlikely friend, Rahul Savant, a teen who grew up in the slums and was a servant at her family’s mansion. He turned out to be everything to Kimi. Although years later, when it appears her feelings are not reflected in the same way, she may just push Rahul to the breaking point, ending their longtime friendship she so dearly cherishes.

‘It was trust. It was why she could push him away and pull him to her whenever the fancy struck, because she trusted that he would always come back, and as along as he was there, everything always turned out okay.’

Rahul will never forget the day he first saw Kimi–or the reason that brought him to The Mansion in the first place. It’s strange how both the best and worst things can happen at the same time. He didn’t want to ask for help from Kimi’s father, a very powerful politician, but it brought Rahul into her world, and for that he has always been thankful. Even though it seems at times that he has brought nothing but darkness to her life. Now grown and a police officer like his father before him, Rahul is tasked to end a black market operation that deals in human organs. As he chases down the leader and tries to unravel the connection it has with Kimi’s surgery, he’ll be forced to decide where his loyalties lie and how he can avoid hurting those he loves most.

“Don’t,” she said, looking up at him. “Don’t make everything about my health. Is that all I am to you? A sick friend? Has it always been only sympathy? Is that all I am, your charity case?”
You’re my heart. He wanted to tell her. My heart.

Sonali Dev’s beautiful prose wove a complicated and deeply emotional tale for readers in A Distant Heart. Ultimately a friends-to-lovers trope, there was also a good bit of suspense and a layer of lies and deception which kept the plot moving at a fast pace.

‘He had sworn to help her live on her own terms, with complete freedom. He had let her go. Except, here they were with her in need of protection again and hating him for it.
He hated himself for it too.’

I really do enjoy Sonali Dev’s writing style. It’s very lush, with rich descriptions, proving she knows just how to evoke the right amount of emotion out of every scene and every bit of dialogue. This was was an interesting story for many reasons but what I loved most was that it was a dual timeline. We got to watch Rahul and Kimi as teens, meeting and becoming fast friends, and then we watched them struggling present day with their strong connection and defining it in a way that wouldn’t hurt either of them or their families.

The disparity between how they grew up–Rahul basically in the slums, and Kimi in The Mansion, as they called it–affected their relationship in both positive and negative ways. I thought their friendship helped open up their eyes to the differences around them, making them each aware that they had their own struggles, no matter what economic standing they came from. The only part that I didn’t agree with was how Kimi “tested” Rahul’s loyalty. It just felt like she was manipulating him and playing games to a certain extent, telling him she never wanted to see him again knowing he would come back the next day and the next until she deigned to see him.

I did end up liking Kimi overall though and thought she was a tough young woman, making up for her body’s shortcomings by being mentally and emotionally strong. Rahul was a great match for her in that he was highly intelligent as well, keeping Kimi challenged, but he was also thoughtful and caring, even though he gave the appearance of being mostly physically strong. Neither of them had an easy life–and I have a feeling that some of the situations they were in might be difficult for some sensitive readers. But it was touching to see how Kimi and Rahul shored each other up through every crisis they faced, deepening that bond between them.

Whether read as a standalone or as part of the Bollywood series, I think readers will be captivated with A Distant Heart–a poignant, sometimes heartbreaking novel, which revolved around the choices each character made and the serious consequences that had to be dealt with afterward.
 

Book Info:

Publication: Published December 26th 2017 | by Kensington | Bollywood #4

Her name means “miracle” in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that’s exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai’s Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company. . . . Until one person dares venture into her world.

Tasked at fourteen years old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi’s windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi’s eyes to the outside world—and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.

As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into a black market organ ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul’s deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe—and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.

Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.

Praise for Sonali Dev and A Change of Heart

“In Dev’s seductive and complex story of love lost and then found, one layer of mystery leads to the next. . . . Will hold a permanent place in readers’ hearts.”
–Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“Dev deftly navigates the complex themes of bereavement, motherhood, and how the culture of India exists in America. . . . This is stunning all around.” –Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

“Mystery, adventure, and romance are spiced with Bollywood glamour in this heart-stopping novel…. Riveting.” –Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW