Not You Please : An Indian teen romance

by Anuradha Dev

Since the first time he humiliated her in middle school, Mishti has never seen Vikram as anything but an arrogant bully--gorgeous, but a bully just the same. Despite the fact that they attend the same high school, she's managed to avoid him. After all, it's not like they run in the same social circles. But the year before graduation, their English teacher assigns Mishti and Vikram to a group project along with Saahil, Mishti's crush. The timing couldn't be worse...because this project has the potential to make or break Mishti's high school career. To get into New York University, her dream college, Mishti has to make this trio work.

As they're forced to spend time together, Mishti is prepared for Vikram to be a lot of things-irresponsible, lazy, rude-but the last thing she expects is to like him.

But with a history of hurt to get over, and a perfect guy like Saahil vying for her attention, will Mishti be able to trust Vikram with her heart again?
A funny and heartwarming love story set in an Indian high school.

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2025

About the author

Anuradha Dev lives in the heart of India, Indore, with her husband, two teenage kids, her in-laws, and a dog. She teaches creative writing to kids and enjoys it immensely. Her two life loves are books and kids, so she has combined her passion into her profession. There’s nothing more intriguing than listening to kids coming up with outlandish ideas.
She used to write as a child and has revived her love for writing in the last few years.
Her works have been published in Potato Soup Journal, Literary Yard, and Page and Spine.

Reviews

[Amreen Shaikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG, this story was like nostalgia from school days. Remember the happy days of your life, school, events, sports, cultural activities, debates, and all the other competitions. Making new friends, having groups, late-night studies, night outs uffff everything was such a bliss.

Well, this book is a perfect recall of your happy days. Every page reminded me of how we spent those years. The emotional quotient was on mark, the ups and downs were penned perfectly, the friendship goals, the best friend feelings, every part felt so real.

Vikram and Mishti rocked in the story. Vikram is the guy who is naughty yet a perfect student with sports and academics. Mishti, on the other hand, is a calm and composed girl. There was a time when they were not able to stand each other's company but now together, they are a blast of fun and feelings. Yes, they definitely shared their hard days, misunderstandings, and heartbreaks, but they never lost the spark they shared. Nancy, Megha, Shivam, and Sahail played their role amazingly. Yes, you will be surprised by a few things at a later stage, and trust me, the surprise is what the book needed to make it more exciting.

I enjoyed reading this story and recommend it to all romance readers.