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People We Love: Stories of Love, Longing and the Lives We Almost Lived | New book from one of India's highest-selling authors, Preeti Shenoy
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2026
About the author
Preeti Shenoy
43 books2,469 followersPreeti Shenoy, one of India’s highest-selling authors with over a million books sold, has written seventeen bestselling titles. Known for her accessible style, she explores complex themes such as mental health, gender inequality, and socio-economic divides. Featured on Forbes’ list of influential Indian celebrities, Preeti has represented India at international literature festivals in Birmingham, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.
Her work has been featured in major media outlets, including BBC World, Cosmopolitan, The Hindu, and The Times of India. She has received prestigious accolades, such as the Popular Choice Fiction Award (2021) from the Times of India’s AutHer Awards and Amazon India’s Most Popular Self-Help Book of 2021. She was also honoured as Indian of the Year and received the Business Excellence Award from the New Delhi Institute of Management.
Beyond writing, Preeti is a sought-after motivational speaker, having delivered talks at organizations like Walmart, Infosys, ISRO, KPMG, and Accenture. A fitness enthusiast, artist, and traveller, she has had her short stories and poetry featured in Condé Nast and Verve. She also writes a monthly opinion column for The Indian Express and has previously contributed to The Financial Chronicle.
Connect with Preeti:
Website: www.preetishenoy.com
Email: ps@preetishenoy.com
Twitter/X: @Preetishenoy
Blog: blog.preetishenoy.com
Instagram: @Preeti.Shenoy | @Preetishenoyart
Facebook: preeti.io/fb
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/preetishenoyauthor
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 26, 2026
I really love the concept where we get to know the characters before the events of " It's All in the Planets" and "The One You Cannot Have". It was interesting to see how their past experiences shaped the people they became.
What I liked most about this book was how real the characters felt. Their emotions, struggles, relationships, and dreams were easy to connect with. The stories are not just about love but also about friendship, family, heartbreak, hope, and second chances.
Preeti Shenoy's writing is simple, warm, and easy to read. There were many moments that made me smile, and a few that made me emotional. I really enjoyed how the stories focused on small moments that often have the biggest impact on our lives.
Overall, " People We Love" is a heartfelt collection that reminds us that every person we meet leaves a mark on our lives in some way. If you enjoy emotional and character-driven stories, this book is definitely worth reading.
What I liked most about this book was how real the characters felt. Their emotions, struggles, relationships, and dreams were easy to connect with. The stories are not just about love but also about friendship, family, heartbreak, hope, and second chances.
Preeti Shenoy's writing is simple, warm, and easy to read. There were many moments that made me smile, and a few that made me emotional. I really enjoyed how the stories focused on small moments that often have the biggest impact on our lives.
Overall, " People We Love" is a heartfelt collection that reminds us that every person we meet leaves a mark on our lives in some way. If you enjoy emotional and character-driven stories, this book is definitely worth reading.
July 7, 2026
Perhaps every relationship we mourn, celebrate, or carry with us begins long before we realise it has become a part of us. Every goodbye has an unseen beginning. Every person who changes us has a story we never witnessed.
That quiet truth lies at the heart of "People We Love", a deeply personal and emotionally perceptive collection by Preeti Shenoy. Rather than creating entirely new worlds, the author chooses something far more intimate, she returns to familiar ones. She revisits the lives surrounding It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, not to rewrite their destinies but to illuminate the forgotten corridors of their pasts.
This is an ambitious narrative choice because prequels often struggle beneath the weight of inevitability. Readers already know where these characters eventually arrive. The challenge, therefore, is not what happens but why it matters. Fortunately, People We Love understands that the greatest stories rarely exist in dramatic plot twists. They exist in the quiet emotional architecture that shapes ordinary lives.
These stories are less interested in answering questions than in revealing how people slowly become the versions of themselves we thought we already knew.
From the very first pages, the book carries an unmistakable warmth. It feels less like opening a new novel and more like meeting an old friend after years apart discovering not who they are today, but who they once were before life softened some edges and sharpened others.
The collection is divided into two substantial narratives, Before the Planets Aligned and The One Who Changed Everything, each expanding the emotional universe of the author's earlier books. Instead of functioning as mere companion pieces, these stories stand comfortably on their own, allowing even first-time readers to immerse themselves without feeling excluded.
What makes the collection particularly compelling is its refusal to sensationalize emotion. There are no melodramatic declarations designed purely to manipulate the reader. Instead, the author trusts the emotional intelligence of her audience. She understands that heartbreak often whispers instead of screams.
Aniket's quiet longing for Trisha never feels theatrical. His hesitation, vulnerability, and inability to articulate desire reflect a reality familiar to countless people who have loved silently. Likewise, Nidhi's decision to leave behind the security of corporate life for pottery becomes more than a career shift, it evolves into a meditation on choosing authenticity over convention. Clay, as the author beautifully suggests, may indeed be easier to shape than human relationships.
Perhaps the book's greatest achievement lies in its understanding that love is rarely confined to romance. There is romantic love, certainly, but there is also friendship that asks for nothing in return. There are siblings who quietly shoulder responsibilities so someone else can breathe. There are parents whose expectations are born from love but expressed through control. There are friendships sustained through humour, sacrifice, and presence rather than grand speeches.
Some of the most moving moments emerge not from romantic confessions but from these quieter demonstrations of care. A friend stepping forward without being asked. Someone choosing patience over pride. A family member silently carrying another's burden. These moments give the book its emotional credibility. Because in life, love is often invisible while it is happening. It only becomes obvious in retrospect.
One of the collection's strongest thematic explorations is the tension between individual desire and inherited obligation.
Nearly every central character finds themselves suspended between personal dreams and external expectations. Whether it is parental approval, societal norms, economic realities, or emotional responsibility, the characters repeatedly confront the uncomfortable question that defines adulthood, How much of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice to preserve the relationships we value?
The second story, centred around Aman and Shruti, introduces perhaps the book's most emotionally divisive relationship. Their romance captures a painful reality that extends well beyond fiction, the tragedy of love constrained not by lack of feeling but by social conditioning and familial obligation.
It is here that the book becomes particularly uncomfortable in the best possible way.
Shruti is not written as a villain.Yet she inevitably invites frustration. Readers may find themselves questioning whether emotional honesty also demands moral responsibility. If one already knows that family approval will never come, is it fair to invite another person into a relationship destined for heartbreak? Does hope become cruelty when its outcome is already predictable?
This moral complexity becomes one of the collection's greatest strengths. Nobody here exists purely as hero or antagonist. Every character carries contradictions that feel recognisably human.
The emotional realism extends to the authorst portrayal of contemporary Indian society. Without becoming overtly political or preachy, the book gently examines class differences, career expectations, family structures, generational conflict, and the invisible emotional labour embedded within relationships. These social realities never overpower the narrative but quietly shape every decision the characters make.
In many ways, the setting itself becomes another character. Modern India emerges not merely as a backdrop but as a landscape where tradition and modernity constantly negotiate with one another. Stylistically, the author remains remarkably consistent.
Her prose is accessible without being simplistic.
She writes with clarity rather than ornamentation, allowing emotions to emerge naturally instead of decorating them with excessive metaphor. This restraint becomes one of her defining strengths. The writing never draws unnecessary attention to itself. Instead, it creates space for the reader's own memories to inhabit the narrative.
Many contemporary books mistake complexity for density. The author understands that emotional sophistication often requires linguistic simplicity.
The result is prose that feels conversational yet quietly affecting. Several passages linger not because they are poetic in an obvious sense but because they capture recognisable emotional truths with startling precision.
✍️ Strengths :
🔸Rich emotional depth that feels authentic rather than manufactured.
🔸Familiar characters gain remarkable psychological complexity through their backstories.
🔸Explores love in its many forms romantic, familial, platonic, and quietly sacrificial.
🔸Thoughtful examination of duty, ambition, societal expectations, and emotional resilience.
🔸Accessible, graceful prose that prioritises emotional honesty over literary ornamentation.
🔸Strong sense of relatability, making readers see fragments of themselves within the characters.
🔸Successfully functions both as a companion to earlier novels and as a standalone collection.
✒️ Areas for Improvement :
▪️Predictability occasionally limits emotional suspense due to its prequel format.
▪️Some sections linger longer than necessary, slightly affecting narrative momentum.
▪️A handful of supporting characters deserved greater psychological exploration.
- Readers seeking stylistic experimentation or complex narrative structures may find the storytelling relatively straightforward.
In conclusion, it is not a book that dazzles through elaborate plots or shocking revelations. Its strength lies elsewhere, in its extraordinary understanding of ordinary lives. The author writes with empathy for the messy, contradictory ways people love, disappoint, forgive, and grow. She reminds us that every relationship carries an unseen history and that the people who shape us most are often doing so quietly, through moments that seem insignificant until we look back. Whether you are revisiting the worlds of It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have or discovering these characters for the first time, this collection offers something rare, emotional continuity. It invites readers to see familiar faces with new compassion and to recognise that every life is made not only of the choices we witness but also of the invisible stories that came before.
In the end, the book leaves behind a lingering truth that extends beyond its final page that is people may leave our lives, circumstances may change, and time may move relentlessly forward, but those who have genuinely loved us or whom we have genuinely loved never entirely disappear. They continue to exist in our habits, our fears, our hopes, and the quiet ways we choose to love others that is the invisible inheritance of every meaningful relationship, and it is this tender, enduring insight that makes this book's collection resonate long after the book is closed.
That quiet truth lies at the heart of "People We Love", a deeply personal and emotionally perceptive collection by Preeti Shenoy. Rather than creating entirely new worlds, the author chooses something far more intimate, she returns to familiar ones. She revisits the lives surrounding It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, not to rewrite their destinies but to illuminate the forgotten corridors of their pasts.
This is an ambitious narrative choice because prequels often struggle beneath the weight of inevitability. Readers already know where these characters eventually arrive. The challenge, therefore, is not what happens but why it matters. Fortunately, People We Love understands that the greatest stories rarely exist in dramatic plot twists. They exist in the quiet emotional architecture that shapes ordinary lives.
These stories are less interested in answering questions than in revealing how people slowly become the versions of themselves we thought we already knew.
From the very first pages, the book carries an unmistakable warmth. It feels less like opening a new novel and more like meeting an old friend after years apart discovering not who they are today, but who they once were before life softened some edges and sharpened others.
The collection is divided into two substantial narratives, Before the Planets Aligned and The One Who Changed Everything, each expanding the emotional universe of the author's earlier books. Instead of functioning as mere companion pieces, these stories stand comfortably on their own, allowing even first-time readers to immerse themselves without feeling excluded.
What makes the collection particularly compelling is its refusal to sensationalize emotion. There are no melodramatic declarations designed purely to manipulate the reader. Instead, the author trusts the emotional intelligence of her audience. She understands that heartbreak often whispers instead of screams.
Aniket's quiet longing for Trisha never feels theatrical. His hesitation, vulnerability, and inability to articulate desire reflect a reality familiar to countless people who have loved silently. Likewise, Nidhi's decision to leave behind the security of corporate life for pottery becomes more than a career shift, it evolves into a meditation on choosing authenticity over convention. Clay, as the author beautifully suggests, may indeed be easier to shape than human relationships.
Perhaps the book's greatest achievement lies in its understanding that love is rarely confined to romance. There is romantic love, certainly, but there is also friendship that asks for nothing in return. There are siblings who quietly shoulder responsibilities so someone else can breathe. There are parents whose expectations are born from love but expressed through control. There are friendships sustained through humour, sacrifice, and presence rather than grand speeches.
Some of the most moving moments emerge not from romantic confessions but from these quieter demonstrations of care. A friend stepping forward without being asked. Someone choosing patience over pride. A family member silently carrying another's burden. These moments give the book its emotional credibility. Because in life, love is often invisible while it is happening. It only becomes obvious in retrospect.
One of the collection's strongest thematic explorations is the tension between individual desire and inherited obligation.
Nearly every central character finds themselves suspended between personal dreams and external expectations. Whether it is parental approval, societal norms, economic realities, or emotional responsibility, the characters repeatedly confront the uncomfortable question that defines adulthood, How much of ourselves are we willing to sacrifice to preserve the relationships we value?
The second story, centred around Aman and Shruti, introduces perhaps the book's most emotionally divisive relationship. Their romance captures a painful reality that extends well beyond fiction, the tragedy of love constrained not by lack of feeling but by social conditioning and familial obligation.
It is here that the book becomes particularly uncomfortable in the best possible way.
Shruti is not written as a villain.Yet she inevitably invites frustration. Readers may find themselves questioning whether emotional honesty also demands moral responsibility. If one already knows that family approval will never come, is it fair to invite another person into a relationship destined for heartbreak? Does hope become cruelty when its outcome is already predictable?
This moral complexity becomes one of the collection's greatest strengths. Nobody here exists purely as hero or antagonist. Every character carries contradictions that feel recognisably human.
The emotional realism extends to the authorst portrayal of contemporary Indian society. Without becoming overtly political or preachy, the book gently examines class differences, career expectations, family structures, generational conflict, and the invisible emotional labour embedded within relationships. These social realities never overpower the narrative but quietly shape every decision the characters make.
In many ways, the setting itself becomes another character. Modern India emerges not merely as a backdrop but as a landscape where tradition and modernity constantly negotiate with one another. Stylistically, the author remains remarkably consistent.
Her prose is accessible without being simplistic.
She writes with clarity rather than ornamentation, allowing emotions to emerge naturally instead of decorating them with excessive metaphor. This restraint becomes one of her defining strengths. The writing never draws unnecessary attention to itself. Instead, it creates space for the reader's own memories to inhabit the narrative.
Many contemporary books mistake complexity for density. The author understands that emotional sophistication often requires linguistic simplicity.
The result is prose that feels conversational yet quietly affecting. Several passages linger not because they are poetic in an obvious sense but because they capture recognisable emotional truths with startling precision.
✍️ Strengths :
🔸Rich emotional depth that feels authentic rather than manufactured.
🔸Familiar characters gain remarkable psychological complexity through their backstories.
🔸Explores love in its many forms romantic, familial, platonic, and quietly sacrificial.
🔸Thoughtful examination of duty, ambition, societal expectations, and emotional resilience.
🔸Accessible, graceful prose that prioritises emotional honesty over literary ornamentation.
🔸Strong sense of relatability, making readers see fragments of themselves within the characters.
🔸Successfully functions both as a companion to earlier novels and as a standalone collection.
✒️ Areas for Improvement :
▪️Predictability occasionally limits emotional suspense due to its prequel format.
▪️Some sections linger longer than necessary, slightly affecting narrative momentum.
▪️A handful of supporting characters deserved greater psychological exploration.
- Readers seeking stylistic experimentation or complex narrative structures may find the storytelling relatively straightforward.
In conclusion, it is not a book that dazzles through elaborate plots or shocking revelations. Its strength lies elsewhere, in its extraordinary understanding of ordinary lives. The author writes with empathy for the messy, contradictory ways people love, disappoint, forgive, and grow. She reminds us that every relationship carries an unseen history and that the people who shape us most are often doing so quietly, through moments that seem insignificant until we look back. Whether you are revisiting the worlds of It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have or discovering these characters for the first time, this collection offers something rare, emotional continuity. It invites readers to see familiar faces with new compassion and to recognise that every life is made not only of the choices we witness but also of the invisible stories that came before.
In the end, the book leaves behind a lingering truth that extends beyond its final page that is people may leave our lives, circumstances may change, and time may move relentlessly forward, but those who have genuinely loved us or whom we have genuinely loved never entirely disappear. They continue to exist in our habits, our fears, our hopes, and the quiet ways we choose to love others that is the invisible inheritance of every meaningful relationship, and it is this tender, enduring insight that makes this book's collection resonate long after the book is closed.
June 7, 2026
It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have were two of my favourite titles from Preeti and to meet the characters once again, after almost a decade, was an interesting experience for me.
Aniket and Trisha’s story- “Before the Planets Aligned” gives us a brief peek into how Aniket gets the opportunity to meet Trisha, and how Nidhi comes into the picture. The entire office romance has been written quite nicely and I loved that hesitancy in Aniket’s approach, and Subbu’s reaction to his friend’s situation. The story is simple and I loved how Preeti shows the entire arc of a relationship, from longing, to meeting and the slow development of cracks in a relationship. The hesitations in the beginning of a relationship to the insecurities towards the later stages are wonderfully captured. I also loved how Preeti uses clay and pottery as a way to put forth some very poignant life lessons for the readers.
The One Who Changed Everything, where we meet Aman and Shruti starts off as a meet cute romance. The first half of the story makes you smile with the small, romantic gestures. As things progress, conflict arises and the classic chasm of class, caste and region take over the story. I loved how the story gives context to Shruti and Aman’s story that we see in The One You Cannot Have. Preeti’s writing in this story keeps you engaged, and at the same time raise an important question-Isn’t just love enough for two people to be together. I loved the visual aspect of the storytelling that Preeti uses in this story to show the gap between the families. Be it Aman’s house in Gwalior, or Shruti’s house in Bangalore, the descriptions are vivid and you are able to visualize the difference that the author wanted to portray.
The One I Almost Missed takes the previous story forward and we see the moment Aman and Anjali interact for the first time. Here again, the storytelling keeps you hooked, specially the email exchanges that are a highlight of the story. I loved the tennis metaphor and somehow I resonated quite a bit with it.
While each of the story is a standalone, discrete story, there is a common theme of a sense of duty, desire, family and the idea of freedom-how it changes for each person. I liked the idea that Preeti wove in all the 3 stories that if it hurts you, sometimes walking away and starting fresh might be a better option, rather than holding on. I just have one grouse that since all the stories are in based Bengaluru, I was low-key hoping for a cross-over of our characters. It would have brought an interesting perspective into the stories as well.
If you’ve read Preeti’s previous works, specially It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, then these 3 stories would definitely enhance your memory of these books. If you’ve not picked up the books, then start with this book and then take up the other books to have a complete experience of the stories of Aniket, Trisha, Nidhi, Aman, Shruti and Anjali.
Aniket and Trisha’s story- “Before the Planets Aligned” gives us a brief peek into how Aniket gets the opportunity to meet Trisha, and how Nidhi comes into the picture. The entire office romance has been written quite nicely and I loved that hesitancy in Aniket’s approach, and Subbu’s reaction to his friend’s situation. The story is simple and I loved how Preeti shows the entire arc of a relationship, from longing, to meeting and the slow development of cracks in a relationship. The hesitations in the beginning of a relationship to the insecurities towards the later stages are wonderfully captured. I also loved how Preeti uses clay and pottery as a way to put forth some very poignant life lessons for the readers.
The One Who Changed Everything, where we meet Aman and Shruti starts off as a meet cute romance. The first half of the story makes you smile with the small, romantic gestures. As things progress, conflict arises and the classic chasm of class, caste and region take over the story. I loved how the story gives context to Shruti and Aman’s story that we see in The One You Cannot Have. Preeti’s writing in this story keeps you engaged, and at the same time raise an important question-Isn’t just love enough for two people to be together. I loved the visual aspect of the storytelling that Preeti uses in this story to show the gap between the families. Be it Aman’s house in Gwalior, or Shruti’s house in Bangalore, the descriptions are vivid and you are able to visualize the difference that the author wanted to portray.
The One I Almost Missed takes the previous story forward and we see the moment Aman and Anjali interact for the first time. Here again, the storytelling keeps you hooked, specially the email exchanges that are a highlight of the story. I loved the tennis metaphor and somehow I resonated quite a bit with it.
While each of the story is a standalone, discrete story, there is a common theme of a sense of duty, desire, family and the idea of freedom-how it changes for each person. I liked the idea that Preeti wove in all the 3 stories that if it hurts you, sometimes walking away and starting fresh might be a better option, rather than holding on. I just have one grouse that since all the stories are in based Bengaluru, I was low-key hoping for a cross-over of our characters. It would have brought an interesting perspective into the stories as well.
If you’ve read Preeti’s previous works, specially It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, then these 3 stories would definitely enhance your memory of these books. If you’ve not picked up the books, then start with this book and then take up the other books to have a complete experience of the stories of Aniket, Trisha, Nidhi, Aman, Shruti and Anjali.
June 20, 2026
Omg author preeti shenoy ! You have done it again! Your words have crossed across the realms of fiction and the pages of this book and have reached straight into that very last hidden corner of my heart. I cannot express how immensely grateful I am to you for writing this book and to harper for bringing this book to me 🥹🫶🏻
Where do I even begin? So this book is a collection of 3 stories - long stories, not short ones. All of them features characters from the author's previous two books, which have climbed across my TBRs and have reached my next read status. The first story is very heartwarming - about a guy Subbu helping out his friend Aniket in kickstarting his relationship with Trisha, that somehow lands him in a train journey with Nidhi, a woman who has left the tiresome techie life to a life of her dreams in the world of pottery. This felt like a very heartwarming whimsical story, something that left me with small smile.
But the story that rattled the very core of my heart was the second story - Aman and Shruti. Rather, I should be specific - I connected solely to Aman's experience. And I am furious with Shruti and all the people of the world who are like her. Honestly people, if you guys know from the start that your parents are SUCH "traditional" people and they will never approve of your choice, why do you guys even explore "connections" with other people and give them hope that you can make it work somehow? If you already know something is "inevitable" as your friends call it, why do you guys experiment on other people like this? Is it because, you guys wanted to experience what being unconditionally loved feels like, as subconsciously you know that you don't have that from your parents? I can never forgive you Shruti for what you did with Aman - it was your choice not to hurt him and you chose it the moment you agreed to go on a date with him during your college days. Aman didn't deserve this, not even a bit. But as his mother said, can't avoid karmic debt - but still Aman didn't deserve it. The author narrated his tale so perfectly that for a moment I became Aman in my mind and the tears wouldn't stop. And yes, parents like Shruti's parents, who put legacy and traditions over their children's feelings and vulnerability and exploit them in the worst possible emotionally deplorable way, don't deserve to be parents at all. But the good thing is karma is always balanced perfectly. Anyway, this story broke me and I have to read the main book next asap. (Review in second last slide)
Coming to the last story, it's about another character from Aman's story, Anjali, that takes place at a later time and I like her quite a bit. And honestly, this story gave me a budding hope about Aman's life and how life keeps rolling new chapters in unexpected ways.
Loved loved loved this book author. Please, never stop writing. ❤️
Where do I even begin? So this book is a collection of 3 stories - long stories, not short ones. All of them features characters from the author's previous two books, which have climbed across my TBRs and have reached my next read status. The first story is very heartwarming - about a guy Subbu helping out his friend Aniket in kickstarting his relationship with Trisha, that somehow lands him in a train journey with Nidhi, a woman who has left the tiresome techie life to a life of her dreams in the world of pottery. This felt like a very heartwarming whimsical story, something that left me with small smile.
But the story that rattled the very core of my heart was the second story - Aman and Shruti. Rather, I should be specific - I connected solely to Aman's experience. And I am furious with Shruti and all the people of the world who are like her. Honestly people, if you guys know from the start that your parents are SUCH "traditional" people and they will never approve of your choice, why do you guys even explore "connections" with other people and give them hope that you can make it work somehow? If you already know something is "inevitable" as your friends call it, why do you guys experiment on other people like this? Is it because, you guys wanted to experience what being unconditionally loved feels like, as subconsciously you know that you don't have that from your parents? I can never forgive you Shruti for what you did with Aman - it was your choice not to hurt him and you chose it the moment you agreed to go on a date with him during your college days. Aman didn't deserve this, not even a bit. But as his mother said, can't avoid karmic debt - but still Aman didn't deserve it. The author narrated his tale so perfectly that for a moment I became Aman in my mind and the tears wouldn't stop. And yes, parents like Shruti's parents, who put legacy and traditions over their children's feelings and vulnerability and exploit them in the worst possible emotionally deplorable way, don't deserve to be parents at all. But the good thing is karma is always balanced perfectly. Anyway, this story broke me and I have to read the main book next asap. (Review in second last slide)
Coming to the last story, it's about another character from Aman's story, Anjali, that takes place at a later time and I like her quite a bit. And honestly, this story gave me a budding hope about Aman's life and how life keeps rolling new chapters in unexpected ways.
Loved loved loved this book author. Please, never stop writing. ❤️
June 18, 2026
”Most of us don’t weigh our options carefully. Deep down, we’re scared of rejection. That’s why we say yes, even when we want to say no. If you’re secure enough in your relationship with the other person, saying no becomes slightly easier. But it has to be done with tact.”
- Preeti Shenoy, People We Love
Aniket and Subbu work in a Multinational Company where they developed instant liking to each other through the latter's coding jokes. Two individuals, two separate destinations. Yet each of them carried so much grace to help each other out. Aniket's heart skips a beat, when Trisha waltz into their office like a diva. Subbu is nursing a heartbreak and still he wants to realise his mother's dreams of building a house at Coimbatore.
Then there's Nidhi who's having second thoughts of pursuing a relationship with Manoj due to different wavelengths. The arrival of Vir sends a flurry of emotions within her.
”The hidden rooms inside familiar houses. The stories behind the stories. It was a reunion, a homecoming.”
This was the first line in the book that touched me. It made me contemplate on the fact that, the cover has been designed by expanding on this idea. Shenoy has sketched beautiful characters that remind us of ourselves or people we have encountered in our lives. Their struggles, uncertainty while navigating different paths feel real. We invest so much into the protagonists that their emotions, circumstances shift something within us. Maybe it’s the feeling of being protective and constantly looking out for them. The visceral quality lingers long after the pages are turned. The format of storytelling that features the protagonists of the books - The One You Cannot Have and It's All In the Planets makes the readers love them with all their flaws and shortcomings. The book explores the themes of love, intimacy, familial relationships, friendship with careful precision and sensitivity. Even the arrival of secondary characters doesn't feel unnecessary as they are introduced for the grander scheme of things.
”And as hard as it is to accept, we grow from every heartbreak, every person we have loved.”
- Preeti Shenoy, People We Love
Aniket and Subbu work in a Multinational Company where they developed instant liking to each other through the latter's coding jokes. Two individuals, two separate destinations. Yet each of them carried so much grace to help each other out. Aniket's heart skips a beat, when Trisha waltz into their office like a diva. Subbu is nursing a heartbreak and still he wants to realise his mother's dreams of building a house at Coimbatore.
Then there's Nidhi who's having second thoughts of pursuing a relationship with Manoj due to different wavelengths. The arrival of Vir sends a flurry of emotions within her.
”The hidden rooms inside familiar houses. The stories behind the stories. It was a reunion, a homecoming.”
This was the first line in the book that touched me. It made me contemplate on the fact that, the cover has been designed by expanding on this idea. Shenoy has sketched beautiful characters that remind us of ourselves or people we have encountered in our lives. Their struggles, uncertainty while navigating different paths feel real. We invest so much into the protagonists that their emotions, circumstances shift something within us. Maybe it’s the feeling of being protective and constantly looking out for them. The visceral quality lingers long after the pages are turned. The format of storytelling that features the protagonists of the books - The One You Cannot Have and It's All In the Planets makes the readers love them with all their flaws and shortcomings. The book explores the themes of love, intimacy, familial relationships, friendship with careful precision and sensitivity. Even the arrival of secondary characters doesn't feel unnecessary as they are introduced for the grander scheme of things.
”And as hard as it is to accept, we grow from every heartbreak, every person we have loved.”
July 8, 2026
Every life is a collection of unfinished conversations and almost-forgotten people. Some remain memories; others become the stories we keep returning to.
Reading People We Love felt strangely like opening an old email thread or stumbling upon a photograph tucked away years ago. You remember the people instantly, but you also remember the version of yourself that existed with them.
Through three interconnected novellas, Preeti Shenoy ( our teenage/YA icon) revisits familiar characters from It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, not to tie up loose ends, but to remind us that life rarely offers neat conclusions. Some relationships end, yet their echoes remain.
I found myself deeply invested in the small moments, a hesitant conversation, an unexpected message, a friendship that quietly becomes a lifeline. These stories understand something profoundly true, our lives are rarely altered by grand gestures. More often, they change because of a single person who enters at the right or wrong time.
And then there is Aman. His story left an ache I wasn't prepared for. There is something deeply heartbreaking about loving someone who loves you back and still losing them to circumstances larger than either of you. The grief here is not dramatic; it is quiet and lingering, which makes it all the more devastating.
What binds these stories together is the understanding that people do not leave our lives neatly. They remain in memories, in unfinished conversations, and in the versions of ourselves that existed because of them. Nidhi, Anjali, Aman, and the others are all, in different ways, learning to live with what was, what could have been, and what might still be possible.
By the final page, I realised I had spent as much time thinking about my own people as I had about Preeti's characters, the ones I miss, the ones I outgrew, and the ones who changed me without ever knowing it.
People We Love is tender, nostalgic, and deeply humane, a reminder that we are, in so many ways, made of the people we have loved.
Reading People We Love felt strangely like opening an old email thread or stumbling upon a photograph tucked away years ago. You remember the people instantly, but you also remember the version of yourself that existed with them.
Through three interconnected novellas, Preeti Shenoy ( our teenage/YA icon) revisits familiar characters from It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, not to tie up loose ends, but to remind us that life rarely offers neat conclusions. Some relationships end, yet their echoes remain.
I found myself deeply invested in the small moments, a hesitant conversation, an unexpected message, a friendship that quietly becomes a lifeline. These stories understand something profoundly true, our lives are rarely altered by grand gestures. More often, they change because of a single person who enters at the right or wrong time.
And then there is Aman. His story left an ache I wasn't prepared for. There is something deeply heartbreaking about loving someone who loves you back and still losing them to circumstances larger than either of you. The grief here is not dramatic; it is quiet and lingering, which makes it all the more devastating.
What binds these stories together is the understanding that people do not leave our lives neatly. They remain in memories, in unfinished conversations, and in the versions of ourselves that existed because of them. Nidhi, Anjali, Aman, and the others are all, in different ways, learning to live with what was, what could have been, and what might still be possible.
By the final page, I realised I had spent as much time thinking about my own people as I had about Preeti's characters, the ones I miss, the ones I outgrew, and the ones who changed me without ever knowing it.
People We Love is tender, nostalgic, and deeply humane, a reminder that we are, in so many ways, made of the people we have loved.
June 1, 2026
People We Love takes readers back to the beginning of two beloved novels- It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have and tells the stories of the characters before we met them in those books. Serving as the backstory to both novels, it tells us who these beloved characters were before they appeared in It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, allowing readers to understand their journeys, choices, and relationships on a deeper level. Here, there are two stories—Before the Planets Aligned and The One Who Changed Everything.
The plots of both stories are comforting and engaging, but what truly stands out is the way Preeti Shenoy weaves emotions into every page. Themes of friendship, love, family, romance, sibling bonds, personal dreams, sacrifices, and second chances are woven together with honesty and relatability. Life takes unexpected turns, forcing every character to navigate an emotional rollercoaster of choices, heartbreak, hope, and growth.
One of the things I enjoyed most was not just the romance but the quiet acts of love scattered throughout the stories. Whether it is a friend stepping in when words fail, a sister taking care of children so someone can have a moment to themselves, a loved one going the extra mile, or simply standing beside someone when they need support the most, these moments add immense warmth to the narrative. This book has layers of emotions. We see parent-child relationships, friendships, dreams, sacrifices, and the way life often makes us pause before our biggest decisions. It reminds us that the people who shape our lives are not always the ones making grand gestures, but often the ones who quietly stand by us every single day.
Read the full review on website
https://vidhyathakkar.com/book-review...
The plots of both stories are comforting and engaging, but what truly stands out is the way Preeti Shenoy weaves emotions into every page. Themes of friendship, love, family, romance, sibling bonds, personal dreams, sacrifices, and second chances are woven together with honesty and relatability. Life takes unexpected turns, forcing every character to navigate an emotional rollercoaster of choices, heartbreak, hope, and growth.
One of the things I enjoyed most was not just the romance but the quiet acts of love scattered throughout the stories. Whether it is a friend stepping in when words fail, a sister taking care of children so someone can have a moment to themselves, a loved one going the extra mile, or simply standing beside someone when they need support the most, these moments add immense warmth to the narrative. This book has layers of emotions. We see parent-child relationships, friendships, dreams, sacrifices, and the way life often makes us pause before our biggest decisions. It reminds us that the people who shape our lives are not always the ones making grand gestures, but often the ones who quietly stand by us every single day.
Read the full review on website
https://vidhyathakkar.com/book-review...
June 29, 2026
YAAAY! 😭❤️ A new Preeti Shenoy book! This one definitely deserves a fangirl... okay, fanboy kinda review. Here's my take.
I've read 2 books from her in the past. A Place Called Home, and its sequel Homecoming. I became a fan. So obviously I was excited to see her new release. She has a remarkable ability to find extraordinary emotions in ordinary lives. So naturally, I couldn't wait to dive into People We Love, and it turned out to be exactly the kind of heartfelt reading experience I was hoping for.
The book brings together three short stories featuring characters who the readers may already recognize from It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. But for people like me who haven't read the books, these are standalone stories, and we can eventually get more of the characters in the already existing books.
We meet Aniket, who quietly carries feelings he cannot express. Nidhi, who leaves behind a successful corporate career to rediscover herself through pottery. Aman and Shruti, whose relationship begins with youthful innocence but soon faces the realities of family expectations; and Anjali, a journalist so focused on everyone else's stories that she almost overlooks her own. Each story explores a different shade of love, longing, sacrifice and the choices that eventually shape our lives.
Preeti effortlessly makes every character feel real. Their hopes, fears and relationships mirror the emotions many of us experience but rarely put into words. The book is tender and emotionally rich.
People We Love is a beautiful reminder of why Preeti Shenoy continues to be one of India's most beloved storytellers. This collection celebrates the people who change us, challenge us and leave an imprint on our hearts, whether they remain in our lives or become part of the stories we carry forever.
I've read 2 books from her in the past. A Place Called Home, and its sequel Homecoming. I became a fan. So obviously I was excited to see her new release. She has a remarkable ability to find extraordinary emotions in ordinary lives. So naturally, I couldn't wait to dive into People We Love, and it turned out to be exactly the kind of heartfelt reading experience I was hoping for.
The book brings together three short stories featuring characters who the readers may already recognize from It's All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. But for people like me who haven't read the books, these are standalone stories, and we can eventually get more of the characters in the already existing books.
We meet Aniket, who quietly carries feelings he cannot express. Nidhi, who leaves behind a successful corporate career to rediscover herself through pottery. Aman and Shruti, whose relationship begins with youthful innocence but soon faces the realities of family expectations; and Anjali, a journalist so focused on everyone else's stories that she almost overlooks her own. Each story explores a different shade of love, longing, sacrifice and the choices that eventually shape our lives.
Preeti effortlessly makes every character feel real. Their hopes, fears and relationships mirror the emotions many of us experience but rarely put into words. The book is tender and emotionally rich.
People We Love is a beautiful reminder of why Preeti Shenoy continues to be one of India's most beloved storytellers. This collection celebrates the people who change us, challenge us and leave an imprint on our hearts, whether they remain in our lives or become part of the stories we carry forever.
July 3, 2026
Preeti Shenoy’s People We Love is a tender, heartwarming collection of interconnected stories that serve as prequels to her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. It explores love, longing, choices, and the quiet ways relationships shape who we become.
Before the Planets Aligned is story that
Follows Aniket, a coder hesitant to confess his feelings for Trisha.
Subbu, his friend, plays matchmaker while Nidhi leaves her corporate career to pursue pottery.
Themed in hesitation, timing, courage to follow one’s heart.
The One Who Changed Everything is
Centred on Shruti and Aman, whose romance blossoms during a quiz competition.
Explores parental disapproval, class divides, and whether love alone is enough.
Explores themes like social barriers, resilience, youthful love.
In Anjali’s Story
Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she nearly misses her own unfolding love story.
balancing ambition with personal life, recognizing love in unexpected places.
Revisits beloved characters, offering backstories that deepen their journeys.
Captures everyday dilemmas like career vs. passion, duty vs. desire, family vs. freedom.
Set against contemporary India, reflecting real social dynamics.
Shenoy’s hallmark style is simple, emotionally rich, and healing.
It's a seamless blend of sequels that blends with the current one.
Before the Planets Aligned is story that
Follows Aniket, a coder hesitant to confess his feelings for Trisha.
Subbu, his friend, plays matchmaker while Nidhi leaves her corporate career to pursue pottery.
Themed in hesitation, timing, courage to follow one’s heart.
The One Who Changed Everything is
Centred on Shruti and Aman, whose romance blossoms during a quiz competition.
Explores parental disapproval, class divides, and whether love alone is enough.
Explores themes like social barriers, resilience, youthful love.
In Anjali’s Story
Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she nearly misses her own unfolding love story.
balancing ambition with personal life, recognizing love in unexpected places.
Revisits beloved characters, offering backstories that deepen their journeys.
Captures everyday dilemmas like career vs. passion, duty vs. desire, family vs. freedom.
Set against contemporary India, reflecting real social dynamics.
Shenoy’s hallmark style is simple, emotionally rich, and healing.
It's a seamless blend of sequels that blends with the current one.
June 30, 2026
“...𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆.”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
People We Love is a comforting, emotionally observant read that hits the sweet spot for contemporary romance lovers. Instead of introducing entirely new universe, the author returns to the roots of her iconic books, It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have.
༄˖°.☕️.ೃ࿔📚*:･
The books follows:
Aniket’s story: Begins long before the events of It’s All in the Planets. He’s an ordinary coder who has quietly loved Trisha for a long time but never finds the courage to tell her how he feels.
Nidhi’s transition: Her journey follows as she leaves her successful corporate job to become a pottery teacher, realizing that working with clay is much easier than dealing with people’s expectations.
Aman & Shruti: A prequel to The One You Cannot Have, this story highlights how a chance meeting at a college quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance that immediately hits the hard walls of parental disapproval and intense class divides.
Anjali’s Parallel: A journalist so focused on the news that she overlooks changes in her own life.
🎧༄˖°⋆☕︎.ೃ࿔📚*:･
As an admirer of Preeti Shenoy’s writing, this book felt like a warm homecoming.❤️
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
People We Love is a comforting, emotionally observant read that hits the sweet spot for contemporary romance lovers. Instead of introducing entirely new universe, the author returns to the roots of her iconic books, It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have.
༄˖°.☕️.ೃ࿔📚*:･
The books follows:
Aniket’s story: Begins long before the events of It’s All in the Planets. He’s an ordinary coder who has quietly loved Trisha for a long time but never finds the courage to tell her how he feels.
Nidhi’s transition: Her journey follows as she leaves her successful corporate job to become a pottery teacher, realizing that working with clay is much easier than dealing with people’s expectations.
Aman & Shruti: A prequel to The One You Cannot Have, this story highlights how a chance meeting at a college quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance that immediately hits the hard walls of parental disapproval and intense class divides.
Anjali’s Parallel: A journalist so focused on the news that she overlooks changes in her own life.
🎧༄˖°⋆☕︎.ೃ࿔📚*:･
As an admirer of Preeti Shenoy’s writing, this book felt like a warm homecoming.❤️
June 19, 2026
There’s something quietly comforting about a book that reminds us how deeply relationships shape the people we become, and People We Love by Preeti Shenoy does exactly that.
Even without reading the earlier books connected to this prequel, I was easily drawn into these beautifully layered stories and the emotions they carry.
I loved how effortlessly the story captures the complexities of love not just romantic love, but the kind found in family expectations, friendships, sacrifices, and the silent ways people leave lasting marks on our lives.
Each character feels relatable in their own struggles, whether it is longing for someone, choosing passion over stability, or navigating relationships shaped by society and circumstance.
The writing is simple yet deeply evocative, making every story feel intimate and real. I particularly enjoyed how the book explores the idea that while we often focus on loving others, we sometimes forget to notice the love being given back to us.
Tender, emotional, and beautifully human.
Even without reading the earlier books connected to this prequel, I was easily drawn into these beautifully layered stories and the emotions they carry.
I loved how effortlessly the story captures the complexities of love not just romantic love, but the kind found in family expectations, friendships, sacrifices, and the silent ways people leave lasting marks on our lives.
Each character feels relatable in their own struggles, whether it is longing for someone, choosing passion over stability, or navigating relationships shaped by society and circumstance.
The writing is simple yet deeply evocative, making every story feel intimate and real. I particularly enjoyed how the book explores the idea that while we often focus on loving others, we sometimes forget to notice the love being given back to us.
Tender, emotional, and beautifully human.
June 17, 2026
People We Love by Preeti Shenoy is a heartfelt collection of stories about love, longing, missed chances, and the choices that shape our lives. Each character feels relatable, carrying their own hopes, regrets, and dreams. Preeti Shenoy's warm and emotional writing makes these stories easy to connect with. If you enjoy character-driven contemporary fiction that explores the complexities of relationships, this book is definitely worth reading. ❤️📚
Some people stay, some leave, but all of them shape who we become. ✨📖
Some people stay, some leave, but all of them shape who we become. ✨📖
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