A Wild Rose

by Uzma Jafri

Ritu Anand. Vivacious television anchor envied by many, makes the biggest mistake of her life. A man is at the center of it all. Who is he? And why is he after her?

Ritu Anand is a strikingly beautiful and wealthy divorcee, all of 25 years. None but her parents and best friend in life, Sumbul, know the truth of her divorce. Her career too, had gone to dust thanks to her failed marriage and traumatic ill-health. To the rest of the world, Ritu maintains a façade of still being married. In an effort to piece her life together again, she goes back to being an anchorperson after 3 long years…

And a very important part of this new life becomes the enigmatic Anshuman Sinha. Not very tall and with an average physique, deep hazel eyes and sharp intense features, Anshuman is dangerous and irresistible – he is the very picture of 'Ritu's Man'. The devastatingly dashing ‘casanova’ soon has the ‘love starved- Ritu’ eating from the palm of his hand and dreaming of a picture perfect life with him.

The gullible Ritu is soon weaving the tapestry of a picture perfect life, of a happily ever after with her lover. But there is her hidden past to deal with. What was the truth behind her sordid marriage? And coming to the present, what did she know about Anshuman at all?

Will this new life be the chance Ritu was hoping for? Or is this some deep, dark hell?

Has she fallen from the pan straight into the fire?

Is love blooming or have the sinister thorns torn the petals to shreds?

264 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 2013

Reviews

[Ila Garg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks Goodreads Giveaway for the book!

A Wild Rose
By Uzma Jafri
Review By Ila Garg

A Wild Rose, firstly, the name of the book itself attracts the readers. It has kind of mysterious touch to it. Secondly, the cover design is so provoking and kind of magnetising. It somehow manages to indicate the hidden miseries embedded into the story ahead.

The blurb reads as, “Ritu Anand. Vivacious television anchor envied by many, makes the biggest mistake of her life. A man is at the center of it all. Who is he? And why is he after her?

Ritu Anand is a strikingly beautiful and wealthy divorcee, all of 25 years. None but her parents and best friend in life, Sumbul, know the truth of her divorce. Her career too, had gone to dust thanks to her failed marriage and traumatic ill-health. To the rest of the world, Ritu maintains a façade of still being married. In an effort to piece her life together again, she goes back to being an anchorperson after 3 long years…

And a very important part of this new life becomes the enigmatic Anshuman Sinha. Not very tall and with an average physique, deep hazel eyes and sharp intense features, Anshuman is dangerous and irresistible – he is the very picture of 'Ritu's Man'. The devastatingly dashing ‘casanova’ soon has the ‘love starved- Ritu’ eating from the palm of his hand and dreaming of a picture perfect life with him.

The gullible Ritu is soon weaving the tapestry of a picture perfect life, of a happily ever after with her lover. But there is her hidden past to deal with. What was the truth behind her sordid marriage? And coming to the present, what did she know about Anshuman at all?

Will this new life be the chance Ritu was hoping for? Or is this some deep, dark hell?

Has she fallen from the pan straight into the fire?

Is love blooming or have the sinister thorns torn the petals to shreds?

Watch the bookshelves for this fascinating book, a look at a different side to love. After all, are there really any guarantees in love for a happy life ever after?

The lyrical Urdu poetry of greats such as Ghalib and Momin adds an ethereal passion to the heartfelt prose of Uzma Jafri. A truly spellbinding book, a truly impassioned effort.”

Needless to say it is a story of love; a different shade of love. Ritu, the protagonist desires her prince charming like every other girl, but fate has only disappointments in store for her. She is gullible enough to get into traps laid down for her.

Her best friend Sumbul stands by her through thick and thin. Later, she helps remove the blindfold from her eyes. In the journey of the book, Ritu suffers and is deceived despite of her intelligence and beauty (a rare combination). The way Uzma Jafri has penned down this particular story is really appreciable. The author has described every emotion very beautifully. There are episodes in the book that make you feel so anxious for Ritu. You almost develop an unsaid bond with her.

As evident from the title of the book, A Wild Rose, the Rose plays an important part in Ritu’s life as the story of her love life begins with the red, red roses. Love happens to bump into her life as Sarita Bai keeps getting roses for her every morning as per the instructions and ironically it disappears with the roses too. Uzma Jafri has skillfully used this element to create such a beautiful and heart-melting story. In between the story, the readers will find some really interesting Urdu couplets too.

The 264 page book takes you along with it and makes you realise that all that glitters is not gold after all. The story is quite meaningful and the main reason that I loved this book is the apt use of roses in it. They keep the reader’s interest maintained throughout! The narrative is tactfully written and the readers wouldn’t find it difficult to keep up with the pace of the story. The language is easy to comprehend and there would be no difficulty in understanding the various twists and turns in the novel.

One thing I exceptionally liked besides the already mentioned things is the ‘Editing’. Uzma Jafri has managed to give her readers a flawless book both in terms of vocabulary and editing. Plus, the emotions are intrinsic to the book.

The too many turmoil of Ritu’s love life is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens in A Wild Rose. To find out whether she survives the misery of love and after a failed marriage, will she be lucky with Anshuman, what role do roses actually play in her life, how a red rose can bring love in her life and a wild rose can snatch not only the love but the life out of her, how strong is her friendship with Sumbul, when the time comes who will she choose: Sumbul or Anshuman?, will she get her Prince Charming; you will have to read the novel, A Wild Rose.

For a debut writer, Uzma Jafri has done it; she has proved her mettle and yes she is an excellent writer. The way she has captured all the intricate emotions of a dejected heart, kept me glued to this book till the end and also the added suspense in the form of the roses.

The author Uzma Jafri, belongs to an affluent Muslim Family, and brought up in the most cosmopolitan way. She is a feminist at heart, which is reflected in this women centric fiction, A Wild Rose.

Ratings: 4/5

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[Sarika Patkotwar · Rating 2 out of 5]

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of A Wild Rose from author Uzma Jafri in exchange for an honest review. We thank Uzma for the book!

When I first saw the cover and read the summary of A Wild Rose, I thought the book would be emotionally beautiful. Ideally, I would have preferred to give myself some time to contemplate over the story before penning down my final thoughts on it. I, however, have no intentions to take this story with me for long. While the ending of A Wild Rose was exactly the kind of ending I devour, the characters, the story and the writing really put me off.
Ritu, the protagonist in A Wild Rose, has a dark past about her marriage hiding behind her when she starts working nearly two years after tragedy strikes. A news anchor by profession, Ritu is a beautiful woman who still believes her Prince Charming will come riding on a horse and take her to a place full of eternal love. Her most favourite hobby is spending time with her best friend- Facebook.
I had a lot of problems with Ritu. It's understandable when someone seems silly because of their innocence and naiveté but it's a whole new level of silly when, after having experienced so much of hurt and heartbreak, a person still seems innocent and naive. And that's how Ritu was.
When she meets Anshuman, a dashing and well mannered colleague of hers, she easily falls in love with him and in her head, he is the one. I did not get how, after having her dreams shattered once, Ritu easily and willingly gave in to her feelings for Anshuman. Even I, as a reader, could make out there was something totally off about him and it was plain sad that Ritu couldn't see it.
Also, I did not get her obsession with Facebook. I was once as obsessed with Facebook as Ritu, but it was when I was a teenager.
Although a very beautiful and smart woman, Ritu at times seemed a bit shallow to me and so did Anshuman. He was such an irritating guy who thought the world could dance on his fingers. And surprise surprise, his charm and chivalry or the ladies’ stupidity- depends on how you look at it- made him do just that.
Another thing I disliked about A Wild Rose was the writing. There was an amalgamation of the past and present tenses. The dialogues seemed like text messages and the text messages popped out of nowhere. The excessive use and repetition of punctuation marks and sentences along with a change of font where it wasn't needed was annoying to read. Ritu’s voice did not seem like a woman’s at all. I mean, honestly, I didn't care the long details about what she ate and wore.
Keeping everything I disliked aside, author Uzma Jafri has done a good job in capturing the emotions of a woman on her journey to find love and feel secured and cared. A Wild Rose is a good story that has a lot of potential to be a beautifully emotional read but it wasn't up there for me. And the ending was good for me so that's a tiny plus. Also, I quite liked the red rose significance- it was pretty apt. But overall, especially considering the fact that I had high expectations from it, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to like this book.

[Moments Magzine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the mid of the year 2011. In USA, a bank dismissed a recruitment of an aspirant based on his ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ in his Facebook account. The aspirant ‘liked’ some Korean gory horror movies and ‘shared’ some psychedelic images. The Human Resource department took those to tag him as some sick or psycho and refused him as a fit candidate. The guy shared his experienced on the same platform and confessed that it was a made-up image of his. He was a shy and a romantic soul – his girlfriend claimed. Taking a 180 degree turn from this incident – Uzma Jafri’s debut novel placed facebook as a platform to share the real “what’s on your mind” status. Very innocent, isn’t it? And the novel itself is an innocent revelation of an intense love.
A Wild Rose book By Uzma Jafri

A Wild Rose book By Uzma Jafr With a devastating marriage in her past and an honest friend – our wealthy heroine felt butterflies at the first sight and the plot revolves around the drama in course that follows. Loads of moments – suspicions – tears and intense passion follows that galore the novel brightly throughout.

The novel has a tragic overtone throughout. Be it the remorse for the hasty broken-marriage or the suspicion on her current crush or the unpleasant behavior of her boyfriend – the author maintained a continual infusion of the tragic moments. It helped to justify the climax that mounted up to a disturbing ending.

But there were no dearth of love or romance. The ‘butterflies in the stomach’ sensations are excellently depicted throughout. Be it the rush to check the FB status frequently or the hour-less wait for a return message or thinking hell-heaven for the apt reply – the moments takes you right to the year of first crush. The innocence of first love. The taste of first kiss. The feel of first sex. The author portrayed these with utmost care. Serenity. And feelings from the warmest nook of the heart.

But, the characterization in the novel feels half-baked. It never elaborates why a beautiful, famous and wealthy news anchor fell for a crush-at-first-sight after a overnight-broken marriage. It never opens up the character of Anshuman – his intentions or the reasons behind his cheating nature. And, this ends up the novel as a wonderfully directed episode of ‘Emotional Attyachaar’ featuring another debauchery for a single hour slot.

But the show stealer is the Urdu poetries that the leads used to share through Facebook or SMS. The writer’s passion for the Shayaris is evident. And, that takes the novel to a different height altogether. To the height of ethereal passion. Unbound love. Innocent trust. Priceless life!

[Dipali · Rating 3 out of 5]

“AN INTERESTING AND WELL EXPRESSIVE STORY ABOUT BETRAYAL, LOVE, REVENGE AND SACRIFICE … THIS IS A NOVEL BY UZMA JAFRI …”

The story moves around Ritu Anand and her life that has been blemished by a brutal divorce and a counterfeit commitment, that pushes her into her own cocoon of thoughts, All this takes a toll on her life and makes her go away from love and commitment. She used to be a successful news anchor with one of the well known and established agency in her past but the tragedy in her life takes it all away from her. She joins DAG after 2 years of isolation which works as whiffs of fresh air in her life. There she meets Anshuman Sinha, with the first look itself she goes crazy for him. As the days pass in DAG at a relaxed speed so do Ritu and Ashuman start getting close to each other. Eventually all this ends up in a serious relationship. This helps Ritu to overcome her past, although her best friend Sumbul doesn't approves of it and keeps warning her about Anshuman. To which Ritu turns her deaf ears as she is completely blind in Anshuman's love. But there is more to Anshuman than which is shown. The detailed description of Ritu’s past painful memories and friendship between Ritu and Sumbul is something that does play on your emotions in the story. Anshuman’s character creates inquisitiveness in the minds of the reader while Ritu is all charm. Sumbul’s careful, alert and aware nature is also something which can't be ignored. The shayari mentioned in the book goes hand in hand with the concept of the story. The story leaves an impact on the readers mind in the end. The reader wonders if it will be possible for Ritu to see the hidden or real side of Anshuman or will it be too late to realise his undiscovered side. Will her love for him keep their relationship going? To unfold the same you need to read this book.

Now my Positive viewpoints:

The concept is good, the twist and turn in the story is enthralling. The authoress has narrated the story well as it keep readers look forward to what will be next.

Some suggestive points:

Overall the book is really good and very well expressed. The only drawback what I feel is at some places the character of Ritu has been portrayed to be very weak, especially when, it is mentioned that she is today’s working independent girl. Some places she is seen so helpless that she can’t even take a stand of her own. (Just an opinion, others might not agree with me.)

Final words:

Overall if asked I would say...this is a good work done by Authoress… (Uzma Jafri) I would give 2.5 stars to this book.

[Manvi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book A Wild Rose caught my attention due to its striking title and beautiful cover page. The description of the book was also alluring, and so I gave it a read. However, I didn't find this book very engrossing or enthralling. The reason being the protagonist, who is emotionally so fragile that I felt at once angry and frustrated on her behavior. I didn't expect this behavior from a successful and vivacious news anchor having beauty, wealth, intellect, supporting family and a true friend. If even after having all this, she gets into such a state of unrest then it is her weakness of character. People survive even the most tragic losses in their lives and she couldn't survive one break-up, and that too from a guy she suspected so much. The author has a great potential but she should have created a stronger protagonist. Moreover, the story starts from her having crush at the handsome Anshuman, travels through FB and message texts and ends in a heart-break like a typical traditional Indian movie. There is no wow element in the story that could keep me captivated. In other words, the most disappointing feature of the book is its predictability.
In short, I won't suggest this book to serious readers of fiction. The book is a light read for those who are interested in typical Bollywood like stories, or those who want a book to pass time.
Sorry for being so harsh, but I had much higher expectations from this book. I hope the next book from Uzma mam will be far better in every aspect from this one.

[Jkhona · Rating 3 out of 5]

First ever book I won through a Giveaway at GoodReads.com is The Wild Rose. Being true to self, I wasn’t that excited about the title and the cover. Since I am a slow reader, I took a bit long to finish the book and hence it makes me to write a review now. Each chapter made me comfortable with the story and the theme. I have read before similar stories around heart-breaks and patch-ups, but this one is a bit different than the others. Since it is Uzma’s debutant novel, I could correlate her writing skills to mine when I started blogging. Though she has raised the benchmark little higher for the debutants with this title.

The story is in a continuous flow with no abrupt endings to the situations and characters. One could easily correlate themselves to few phases of Ritu’s life, for instance, Ritu throwing away the cautions from Sumbul, or may be the date with Anshuman at Pind Baluchi, the long drives on Noida Expressway, the anxiousness for a simple “I Love You” text message, or those no-reply modes, the magical friend – Facebook etc. From a feminist writer's view, it is an amazing book. For the Critics, it is just another novel. Fit yourself in one of the role and then read the book. Overalll it is a goodread and one must ceratinly read and implement few things in one's life. What things are to be implemented, please read the book and find it yourself.

[Kalyan Panja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Effervescent telly anchor spited by many, Ritu Anand of 25 years is a markedly attractive separated well-off with nobody save for her close relatives and top chum in verve Sumbul, discern the reality of her break up. In an attempt to piece her being in concert again, she sets out back to being an anchor personality subsequent to 3 lengthy years with her profession too, had moved out to grime thanks to her botched nuptials and disturbing frailty. To the rest of the planet, Ritu upholds a smokescreen of still being conjugal in addition to an extremely vital piece of this fresh existence turn out to be the inscrutable Not extremely tall along with a regular body, profound hazel ogles in addition to intelligent passionate incredibly stylish character Anshuman Sinha, dodgy and alluring he is the very image of adore ravenous naive Ritu's gentleman drinking as of the palm of his dispense as well as reverie of a ideal portrait time with him craft the principal blunder of her verve her concealed history to covenant with reality at the back her squalid wedding.

[Meghant Parmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The deep dark side of love is not always explored in books. The approach is quite casual in some.

But this is a book which goes in to a lot of depth to pin point the darker side and some complications of love in haste.

The characters have been sketched beautifully and emotions in the latter half are a plus.

The first half not as exciting as the other.

The tempo of the story is good throughout but the excitement could have been brought in more.

You can relate to the story if you have been part of such ordeal in your life.

It's a beautiful story. :)

[Anjan Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are one amongst those who is always curious about- ‘why all bad things happen to good people’ then I must say this story would leave no stones unturned. A passionate story about love that reflects the true picture of teenager/youth specially females who up till the age of late twenties grow up with the dreams of prince charming coming and sweeping them off their feet. A riveting must read for the fairer sex and an eye opener for all.

For More visit :
http://anjan5.blogspot.com/2013/10/bo...

[Disha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I was bit confused about the title but now I found it is really appropriate "A Wild Rose". A good debut attempt by the author. It keeps you engrossed and curious. It is indeed one sit read.
The start is really nice and fast paced. But a minor glitch I felt later events become bit slow but its alright as it still keeps your interest. Overall a good read as said if you want to look at different side of love until thorns prick.
P.S.: Waiting for the sequel!!

[Pradeep Kuamr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover design is so provoking and kind of interesting,Wild rose is an Heart touching story. The Urdu poetry of Ghalib and Momin adds an ethereal passion to the heartfelt prose of Uzma Jafri. A truly spellbinding book, a graet effort.

[Himani Goyal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some stories make a very long lasting impression on your mind. A wild rose is one such great work of fiction by the Author. Every Reader will love to read this book.

http://www.himanipassion.com/1/archiv...

[Jatin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good and hatke.

Hatke story and well explained.yet very predictable.Enjoyed reading very much.

[Kanchan Pawar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story.. Loved it..

[Gagan bagga · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book the wild rose thanks for giveaway