Floating Worlds: Would you stop running if you could meet yourself?

by Alpa Arora

“Aren’t you tired of running by now, Ruby?”
“Shiv, there is a difference between running and staying. Also, sometimes you run out of fear and sometimes you run because you finally can. Like a horse running wild on a field. Merely because it can.”

Ruby Khanna, a former scriptwriter and Empty Nester is going through a mid-life crisis. Her coping mechanisms consist of conjuring up sexual fantasies, escaping into imaginary worlds and self-sabotaging her existing marriage. But Ruby has always been an escapist, even as a child, seamlessly travelling between past and present and unable to differentiate between reality and phantasm. Infatuated with Shiv, a younger psychiatrist, she continues to mentally unravel till her frustrated husband, Kabir demands a divorce, Ruby is then forced to begin her healing journey, guided by Raghu, an adman turned spiritual guru.
In order to move ahead, Ruby must first stop running away to face her fragmented selves. She finds a sense of acceptance at her aunt’s home in Mashobra, where she meets the free-spirited Riyaz, who teaches her how to live without judgement. When she attends a spiritual retreat on reclaiming the Feminine Goddess in Narkanda, Ruby bonds with other women just like her and learns to release her past trauma.
But things get precarious once again when she is forced to make a difficult choice. Will Ruby continue living in imaginary worlds or finally confront her reality?

Cover Art © Anita Saran. All rights reserved.

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2026

Reviews

[a_geminireader · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Floating Worlds" is a deep and poetic story about how we sometimes use our imagination to escape real life. The main character, Ruby, is a former scriptwriter who feels lost in her own life. She is a wife and a mother, but she feels disconnected from her family. To cope with her sadness, she drifts into a world of dreams, memories, and "magical realism."

The book doesn’t tell a story from start to finish in a straight line. Instead, it moves in "chunks" of thoughts and memories. It jumps between Ruby’s life as a child and her life as an adult. This makes the book feel like a dream—sometimes a bit confusing, but very emotional and honest.

🍂Main Theme:

Escape vs. Reality: Ruby finds it hard to face the "real world," so she creates a fantasy world in her head to find peace.

Silence: The book shows that the things we don't say to each other are often more important than the things we do say.

The Search for Self: It asks if we are just our thoughts and if we ever truly know the people we live with.

🍂My Experience:

Reading this book felt like taking a quiet journey into my own mind. It’s the kind of story that makes everything else around you disappear while you read. As I followed Ruby's journey, I found myself constantly asking: What is freedom? And what is reality? I really connected with the way Ruby felt "fragmented" or pulled in different directions. It reminded me of how we all sometimes want to find a version of ourselves that feels whole. The book didn't just tell me a story; it made me think about my own life and the beauty in the messy, ordinary moments we usually ignore.

This is a quiet and powerful book. It is perfect for anyone who likes stories about feelings, the human mind, and inner journeys. It teaches us that even when life feels broken, we can still find the courage to be ourselves.

[Khyati Gautam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floating Worlds is a luminous, psychologically layered novel that drifts between the tangible and the imagined, inviting readers into the fragmented consciousness of its protagonist, Ruby Khanna.

A former scriptwriter and an empty nester confronting the quiet disintegration of her marriage, Ruby exists in a state of perpetual flight — not merely from people or circumstances, but from the unsettling weight of reality itself.

Arora crafts Ruby as a deeply complex character whose inner world is as vivid as the physical one she inhabits.

Haunted by longing and disillusionment, Ruby slips effortlessly between memory, fantasy, and philosophical reflection. Her fascination with Shiv, a younger psychiatrist, becomes both an emotional escape and a mirror to her own unresolved desires.

Through Ruby’s dreams, sensual imaginings, and fleeting encounters with mystical figures like the winged Nayan, the narrative blurs the boundary between the real and the surreal.

Floating Worlds engages readers with its meditative structure. The story unfolds in fragments, memories of childhood, moments of marital estrangement, spiritual conversations, and dreamlike interludes, mirroring Ruby’s own fractured psyche.

Rather than driving forward through plot, the novel lingers in introspection, allowing readers to inhabit the protagonist’s restless mind.

Arora’s prose is lyrical and evocative, often philosophical in tone. Her reflections on love, identity, and the human tendency to romanticise escape lend the narrative a contemplative depth.

The novel repeatedly asks whether freedom lies in transcending reality or in accepting its imperfections.

Yet beneath its poetic surface lies a story of healing. Ruby’s journey from emotional escapism to confronting her own fragmented self unfolds through encounters with mentors, strangers, and fellow seekers.

It is not a conventional narrative but a character-driven meditation on desire, imagination, and self-discovery. For readers willing to surrender to its introspective rhythm, Arora’s novel offers an exploration of what it means to live between worlds.

[Rahul Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Between the Veil of Reality & Imagination-
Review of 'Floating Worlds' by Alpa Arora

Quote Alert
"𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫."

Would you shatter something that exists in reality to achieve something that floats in your imagination? How far would you go to be liberated? To feel liberated. Have you questioned your reality? Drifted into the worlds of dream and fantasy to find bliss that evades you in the now? Armed with magical realism, fierce imagination and adequate dollops of philosophy, these are the questions Alpa Arora tackles in Floating Worlds.

Challenging the ideas of love, lust, loyalty and escape, Ruby finds herself getting untethered from the solid reality of her husband Kabir and her son Trilok. She feels herself gliding in a neither-here-nor-there gossamer world of imagination, fuelled by her inability to quench her desires. Sometimes she desires her colleague Shiv; other times she fantasies about kissing a winged half-human-half-angel entity she has named Nayan (because although he comes in different forms and faces, his eyes always remain the same.)
Her dreams are often shattered by insect bites and caked mud, injuries and shock of strangers interrupting her on a beach. When the times comes her to take a life altering decision, what does she do? What will she choose? Well, I am not going to tell you everything here. Pick up the book and find out more.

The book moves in chunks joined by Ruby's thoughts. Like dreams are, the story too is disjointed and nonlinear. Not finishing on one event, leaving it to the reader's imagination. It flits between past and present, shedding light on protagonist's childhood and adulthood simultaneously.

The author has presented that is perhaps the most challenging, fulfilling and demanding melding of fiction and tonsone extent, non fiction. A genre bending writing that won't appeal to you if your attention is flimsier than the wings of a gadfly. The action that occurs between the covers of this book is a surreal ode to magical realism. A sort of cerebral sparring if there ever were one. A mind-to-mind fight. A fisticuff between the neurons.
The author writes:
"The world was a beautiful place, but it was an ugly one too. People? She didn't really care much about them. People thought they loved each other whereas in reality, they only loved the parts of their own selves they saw in others. If someone was different from them, they tried to change them to form a stronger sense of their own self. But that never worked, did it? Sooner or later, love always turned to hate. Were love and hate the same thing?"

Let me warn you. To read this book, you can't be soft between ears. This book, this story warrants commitment of putting youeself down to a chair, immersing yourself in the world created by the author. Even though these are words, they pull at your spinal cord to hold that book rock steady between your palms. And switch off that phone. You wouldn't need that until the book is done.
The author writes:
Ruby, the sea never ends. Think of it as the universe, Aren't all seas connected? Just like God and us. When you look at the sea, think of yourself. Do you think you end when you die? Where do you go? Nowhere. You're still here. You have always been here. Sometimes you are visible, sometimes you are not. Sometimes, we see the sea, sometimes we don't. But the sea is always there. Isn't it?"

Arora's prose thrums with a humane energy. It is like a river and a boulder sitting amidst the flow. Motion and pause. Control and impulse. Her story has a beating heart that adds a vulnerability to the story.
She writes:
"Words were not the only form of communication. Silences were too. They told you exactly what you needed to know, if only you
were fluent enough to read them. But one must not take offence in their truths. There is nothing louder or clearer than silence. Sometimes, it says I love you, sometimes..."

Ruby's fascination with Shiv drives the story forward. Author has depicted it clearly in these words:
"It was easy to fall in love, so bloody easy. Wasn't there something to love in almost everyone? But marriage, it stifled her. She did not want to have sex with everyone. That was practically pointless because the more you sleep with someone the more easily you can see who they really are. And that is how you fall out of love. The trick
to staying in love with someone is to never get to know them that well. Like Shiv. She didn't know what he smelt like at eight in the morning or what his favourite colour on a dull day was. She didn't want to know that at all."

Magical realism forms a major sub plot of the story. It helps fules Ruby's desires and also helps to take the story forward.
Have a look:
"Over the years, the boundaries between the past, present and the future had completely blurred into non-existence. One minute she was here, the other in another world, another country, another life. If what lies between heaven and
hell is purgatory, then what lies between us and all our outcomes is the body. Once, you learnt how to lose perception of your physical existence on this dimension, it was fairly easy to go anywhere."

If Ruby escapes into the world of magical realism to fulfill her fantasies, philosophy anchors the story in the real world. The conversations between the characters are quite engaging. Have a look:
"Where does our world begin and where does it end? Hindus believe in the aatma - the soul, the one which is timeless and indestructible. If the Universe is infinite and so is the soul, are we the whole Universe or is the Universe each one of us? In our world though, we are reduced to thoughts. When we are awake, we are aware of them, we still think, dream, although we are unaware. On the other hand, when we are in deep sleep, we are free from them. Maybe it is this momentary bliss that awakens us feeling refreshed. This dying every night, only to suffer
again. If death is the final bliss, is it because the soul is finally free?"

Pick it up this week.

[Shantanu Chakraborty · Rating 4 out of 5]

On this International Women's Day,
I didn’t choose a story of a strong woman conquering the world.

I chose a story about a woman
trying to understand her own mind.

Floating Worlds by Alpa Arora follows Ruby,
a wife, a mother, a lover of impossible dreams.

To the outside world,
she looks ordinary.
But inside her mind,
entire universes are blooming.

“Nobody knew how to belong anywhere, not even the fish.”

She walks beside the river in Rishikesh
and wonders if rivers can bleed.

She lies beneath moonlit skies,
talking to memories,
to love,
to ghosts of what could have been.

Because sometimes the hardest thing for a woman
is not fighting society.
It is finding space for her own thoughts.

“The soul is not looking for answers. The soul is the answer.”

In Rishikesh, she lies beside the Ganges and calls out to a man who may not exist.
In childhood Nagpur, she resurrects a dead kitten with belief alone.
In moonlit Goa, she swims into darkness — not to die — but to feel infinite.

Her husband calls it drifting.
Her son calls it worrying.
Therapists might call it dissociation.
But Ruby calls it choice.

This novel asks:
Where does imagination end and survival begin?
Is love real only when it is returned?
And if the soul is endless… why must a woman shrink herself to fit one life?

Ruby doesn’t want ordinary love.
She wants myth.
She wants transcendence.
She wants a love that doesn’t rot in routine.

And yet —
the sea cuts her.
Men threaten her.
Reality waits outside her door.

This is a story about the danger of beautiful escapes.
About mental fragility wrapped in lyrical language.
About a woman who refuses to be reduced to diagnosis.
It feels like reading someone’s diary written under moonlight.
Soft. Feverish. Unapologetic.

And somewhere between delusion and divinity,
Ruby whispers what the whole book is really about:

This book will not produce you answers but will definitely shows you the reality world brings. This book is the truth a person should address and accept.

Today, we celebrate women who are still discovering their own worlds.

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The world was a beautiful place, but it was an ugly one too. People? She didn’t really care much about them. People thought they loved each other whereas in reality, they only loved the parts of their own selves they saw in others. If someone was different from them, they tried to change them to form a stronger sense of their own self. But that never worked, did it? Sooner or later, love always turned to hate. Were love and hate the same thing?”

Floating Worlds by Alpa Arora is one of those books that quietly pulls you in and makes you think long after you finish it. It follows Ruby, who feels stuck somewhere between the life she has and the life she keeps imagining for herself. She’s dealing with a distant marriage, motherhood, and this constant feeling that she’s losing parts of who she used to be. A lot of the story moves through her thoughts, memories and imagination, and sometimes even the lines between them feel blurred.

Ruby is not the kind of character you can easily explain, and honestly that’s what made her feel real to me. She’s unsure, conflicted & sometimes lost inside her own head. The way she drifts between reality and what she wishes life looked like felt very personal, almost like reading someone’s private diary.

What I liked most is that the book doesn’t try too hard to give clear answers. It talks about loneliness, love, identity and the quiet struggle of trying to hold on to yourself when life keeps demanding different versions of you. It felt honest in a very simple way.

It’s not a loud or dramatic story, but it stays with you. Floating Worlds feels like one of those books you keep thinking about randomly even after you’re done.

[Harsh Tyagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruby Khanna is a former scriptwriter and empty nester caught in the turbulence of a midlife crisis. Her inner world is full of fantasies, imagined realities, unresolved wounds, and a growing infatuation with a younger psychiatrist, Shiv. Her marriage to Kabir begins to collapse and her emotional instability deepens. Ruby is pushed toward a healing journey that takes her through self-confrontation, spiritual reflection, and new human connections. Places like Mashobra and Narkanda seem to become more than settings here, they become emotional landscapes where Ruby begins to meet the parts of herself she has spent years avoiding.

I liked the fact that the author does not treat healing as a clean or linear process. Nor is it shown as a sudden event. Ruby’s character is written around contradiction: desire and damage, escape and longing, collapse and awakening.

This is a compelling story centered on a woman who is unraveling, questioning, desiring, remembering, and rebuilding all at once. This is a novel shaped by midlife restlessness, feminine interiority, emotional escape, fractured memory, longing, and the difficult work of returning to oneself. Holding the themes of marriage, fantasy, therapy, spiritual healing, self-sabotage, and womanhood woven together, this is a promising book. The reading experience moves through vulnerability, confusion, ache, and eventual reckoning with striking emotional intimacy.

Floating Worlds is an introspective and emotionally charged novel. It is a psychologically layered fiction with spiritual undertones. This book feels personal and resonating.

[Revolutionary Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floating Worlds by Alpa Arora is a hauntingly lyrical work of fiction that reads like an intimate memoir. The novel follows Ruby, a former scriptwriter who slowly begins to feel untethered from the solid realities of her life — her husband Kabir, her son Trilok, and the fragile structure of a marriage that has already begun to collapse.

Without revealing spoilers, what unfolds next is deeply unsettling in the most compelling way. The narrative keeps you awake, gently yet persistently asking: what is real, and what is imagined?

At the very beginning, the author reflects on how she has created entire worlds by living through different characters. That idea becomes the emotional spine of the novel. As readers, we are invited to inhabit multiple emotional landscapes, to slip in and out of identities, and to experience the fluid boundary between fantasy and reality.

This is not merely a story — it is a lyrical psychological portrait. Arora’s prose is atmospheric, introspective, and quietly powerful. The writing is accessible yet layered, making it an engaging read while still offering depth for those who enjoy character-driven narratives.

Floating Worlds is a novel about fragmentation, imagination, and the human tendency to construct alternate realities when the present becomes unbearable. It’s easy to read, emotionally immersive, and thought-provoking long after you turn the final page.

A compelling choice for readers who appreciate psychological fiction wrapped in poetic storytelling.

[Aditi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman who may or may not be unwell. A marriage that may or may not be stable. A river that may or may not be only a river. If one were in the business of summaries, Floating Worlds could be reduced to the story of Ruby, a woman slipping between reality and imagination. That summary would not be wrong. And yet, like all dangerous simplifications, it would miss the book entirely.

Alpa Arora’s novel resists neat interpretation. It does not ask whether Ruby is sane. It asks what sanity even means in a world that demands coherence from women who are internally fragmented. “Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s,” the epigraph announces, and the novel quietly unfolds inside that assertion.

Ruby drifts through cities, through relationships, through versions of herself. “As long as it felt real, it was real enough,” she insists. That line unsettles. Is imagination escape, illness, or survival? The book refuses to decide.
The narrative moves like thought, not plot. Memory interrupts the present. Desire reshapes truth. Love appears both tender and destabilising. Reading Floating Worlds feels like floating with Ruby herself, slightly unmoored, slightly defiant.

This is not a novel about events. It is about interiority. About the fragile architecture of the mind. And about the quiet, radical act of choosing one’s own reality.

[Daphny Aqua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floating Words" by Alpa Arora is a book that sends you into deep thoughts. While at first it felt like you were reading about another classic case of schizophrenia, the book proved you wrong. The book is in no way linked to it and the protagonist simply has quite a vivid imagination, one that keeps you entertained. The book itself is a journey of a woman trying to find her identity amidst the chaos of life. While hanging on to her marriage just for the sake of her child, what happens when she meets one such person who she is very certain is her soulmate? Would she leave her husband for him? What if he was also married? Would she convince him to leave his wife? What happens when she finally walks off her marriage? Will she finally find her peace, her purpose in life?

The author has brought to life through this book some things that we, for some reason, do not talk about as much; the happiness of oneself, especially a woman.

When the protagonist was asked why she was always in a hurry to find answers and why she couldn't go back and start over, she replied “Because I’ve spent my whole life doing that! How many times will I change the roads I walk on?” and I find that so relatable.

This book was something different, something strong and something to ponder on. A must-read for sure.

[Shipra Arora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some minds don’t just think.
They drift…
they dissolve…
they create.
Floating Worlds by Alpa Arora feels less like a story
and more like slipping into someone’s consciousness
soft, scattered and quietly intense.
Ruby doesn’t live in one reality.
She moves between many.
A riverbank becomes a memory,
a memory becomes a dream,
and a dream becomes something she chooses to believe.
At first, it feels beautiful
this ability to escape,
to imagine,
to rewrite pain.
But slowly,
you begin to wonder…
is she healing or is she disappearing?¿?¿
There’s love here
not the loud, cinematic kind,
but the quiet, aching kind that lingers in pauses,
in unfinished conversations,
in people we cannot have but cannot forget.
There’s motherhood, fragile yet grounding.
There’s marriage, familiar yet distant.
And then there’s Ruby
standing somewhere between who she is
and who she wants to be.
The writing flows like thought itself
unstructured, fluid, deeply personal.
It doesn’t rush you.
It sits with you.
and somewhere along the way,
you stop reading her story…
and start reflecting on your own.
Because don’t we all have
a version of reality we escape into?¿?¿
A softer place.
A safer place.
A floating world of our own.
This book doesn’t give answers.
It simply whispers
what if your mind is both your refuge
and your ruin?¿?¿?

[Varma Shagun · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞:
"There was no concept of time here, just a long-drawn sense of being one with everything around and inside oneself."

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?
Trust me when I say this. I almost immediately made up my mind to pick this book up the moment I read its blurb on Amazon.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
The cover illustration aligns perfectly with the story, and the colour palette complements its overall mood. The title, too, feels apt and meaningful.

𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧:
✓ Floating World revolves around Ruby Khanna, a former scriptwriter navigating a mid-life crisis through escapism and fantasies. What unfolds is a narrative that explores nuanced perspectives on love, freedom, desire, and captivity.
✓ Ruby’s character is refreshingly unpolished, flawed, real, and deeply human. I found myself relating to several aspects of her personality.
✓ The story compels you to pause and reassess certain definitions and emotional boundaries in your life.
✓ It isn’t an easy or light read; at times, it can feel intense and introspective. But that’s precisely what makes it impactful.
✓ Honestly, I feel it’s worth exploring, irrespective of gender. It offers a perspective that lingers long after you’ve finished reading.

[Simonti Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book left a deep impression on me. It's the story of Ruby Khanna, a former TV scriptwriter going through a midlife crisis who struggles to tell the difference between her fantasies and reality. The book follows her as she escapes into imaginary worlds, battles with her deteriorating marriage, and eventually embarks on a healing journey to piece together her fragmented identity.

I appreciate how honestly the book portrays Ruby's mental state. She moves seamlessly between past and present, real and imagined, sometimes not knowing which world she's actually in. I found the writing beautifully atmospheric. The author doesn't shy away from difficult topics like postpartum struggles, childhood trauma, and the suffocating weight of expectations in marriage and motherhood. The story elements work together well.

I think this book is for anyone who has ever felt disconnected from themselves or trapped between who they are and who they're expected to be. It's particularly meaningful for women navigating the complexities of marriage, motherhood, and identity.

[Priya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floating worlds by @writeralpa_arora is not your usual plot-driven novel. It is a psychological and philosophical exploration of a woman's inner world.

The story follows Ruby, a woman who often escapes into vivid inner worlds. The narrative box between dreams, fantasies, and reality. There are no dramatic twists in this book; rather, it focuses on Ruby's thoughts and emotional conflict.

It challenges whether reality is fixed or something we construct with our beliefs and perceptions.

The writing is introspective and philosophical, and it reads as a stream of consciousness. I found the language pretty beautiful at times, particularly in the portrayal of the memories.

Most of us may not live in alternate realities like Ruby does, but don't we all sometimes create our own stories in our imagination?

This book feels more like a journey through someone's mind rather than a traditional story. Read it if you like introspective and philosophical

[Suraj Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rarely have I seen a book so aptly named. Ruby is literally travelling in her mind, floating in and out of worlds so to speak.

Ruby married a rich guy who is works at a major international bank and is at a senior position. They have a son Trilok. She gave up her career for Trilok.

But something is not working for her in the marriage and rather than spending her life figuring her marriage out, she prefers to live in ber imaginary world and past.

The book is about a journey of a misfit Ruby trying to wade her way through the world.

The writing is good, it felt dreamy as I resd through the book. Although, to be fair, the book could use some editing, but no major issue that would be a turn off. It is a philosophical book that is also a litfic as the entire book is about Ruby and how she finds happiness in her life.

[Solitude and books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Floating Worlds felt like sitting with someone’s private thoughts. Ruby’s life moves between memory, imagination, and reality, creating a soft yet unsettling emotional space. I loved how the writing stayed simple but carried depth through images, silence, and feeling rather than drama.
What stayed with me most was her slow shift toward accepting ordinary life with awareness instead of escape. That movement felt meaningful and honest. This is a character-driven, meditative novel, perfect for readers who enjoy psychological fiction, inner journeys, and reflective storytelling. It is calm, emotional, and quietly powerful in a way that remains with you long after finishing.

[Gina Scanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is unique and special. Its writer effortlessly weaves in and out of the main character, Ruby's dream state and her reality. The story's themes tackle tense and challenging topics which make it even more enriching and brave, and allow us into this woman's soul as she embarks on a journey of a lifetime, filled with love, loss, and healing.

The novel transcends with thoughtful universal themes and appeal. There are many enriching moments that come with experiencing this story, including what it might take to heal ourselves, and what that journey might look like for us.

[Rubby Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet, unsettling journey into a woman’s fractured inner world.
Floating Worlds isn’t plot-driven—it’s emotion-driven. Ruby Khanna’s blurred line between reality and imagination makes for a haunting, introspective read. The writing is lyrical and immersive, though at times slow and disorienting.
Not for everyone—but if you enjoy psychological depth and layered storytelling, this one stays with you.

[Bhavna Tanwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this book felt like a quiet reminder that healing is rarely a straight path. Sometimes we have to lose the version of ourselves we thought we were before we can begin to understand who we truly are.

It’s a reflective, emotionally layered read about womanhood, trauma, self-sabotage, and the slow, complicated journey of reclaiming oneself.

[Pori Goswami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floating Worlds is not just a novel, it is an experience. Alpa Arora crafts a story that blurs the line between imagination and reality with such lyrical intensity that you begin to question your own perceptions alongside Ruby, the protagonist.

From the very beginning, the prose pulls you into an atmosphere that feels heavy, intimate, and almost dreamlike: “The heavy May heat had settled downwards as night arrived, like a suffocating blanket that offered dull acceptance rather than relief.” The writing is sensory, immersive, and emotionally charged.

Ruby is a character who refuses to exist within neat definitions. She drifts between memory, fantasy, desire, trauma, and longing not because she is lost, but because she chooses to explore worlds others are too afraid to enter. One of the most haunting lines in the book captures this beautifully: “Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s.” This sentiment becomes the heartbeat of the novel.

What makes this book extraordinary is its refusal to simplify mental health, love, or identity. Ruby herself acknowledges the ambiguity of her inner world: “Ruby was aware that this wasn’t real. But it did not matter. As long as it felt real, it was real enough.” That line alone encapsulates the tension that drives the story.

This is a deeply layered, psychologically rich novel that lingers long after you finish it. It is bold, uncomfortable at times, yet profoundly human.
An unforgettable five-star read.