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These lines of Mehendi Kindle Edition
Shrikanth thought that he was a confirmed bachelor but when his mother refused to get herself treated for cancer unless he got married, he had to get a bride in a hurry.
She needed a husband in name, to save her career while he needed to marry to please his mother. Will they find love second time around? Will they lower their shields and succumb to a mutual passion?
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Product details
- ASIN : B01CLIW6R8
- Publisher : Half Baked Beans (March 4, 2016)
- Publication date : March 4, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 2.4 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 127 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,785,235 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #41,781 in New Adult & College Romance (Books)
- #135,437 in Contemporary Romance (Kindle Store)
- #155,632 in Contemporary Romance (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Sumeetha Manikandan, a Chennai-based author and translator, gained recognition for translating Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan. She started her writing career with romance novels, Perfect Groom and These Lines of Mehendi, both of which became Amazon bestsellers.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2018This was a sweet and heart-warming second-chance romance, and I enjoyed reading it and learning a bit more about Indian culture.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2016I'm not sure what exactly about this book that appealed to me but I really enjoyed the story. Dare I say it was poetic. Not really sure if others will find it poetic but the love story spoke to me as if it was a poem. So glad I chose this book to read. Can't wait to read another one from this author. 😁
- Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2016Disclaimer: I received the PDF version of this book via The Book Club in return for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for the same.
The book consists of two novellas by two authors. Let me deal with them separately.
THESE LINES OF MEHENDI by Sumeetha Manikandan (4-stars)
This is a story set in Chennai and is about Lalitha. The story opens with Lalitha rushing to Bangalore as Suresh, her husband of ten years had committed suicide. The wonder is that she had separated from him within a couple of months of marriage. Unfortunately for her, she had not bothered to divorce him. His death adorns her with the new title of “widow”. This brings her bridal services, at the beauty parlour she runs, to a standstill. How can a widow be employed to beautify brides-to-be?
Desperate to get her business back on its feet, Lalitha agrees to a strange marriage proposal of convenience, to the USA-based businessman Shrikanth. A sworn bachelor, he’s left with no choice but to get married when his mother puts him under pressure. She refuses to travel to the USA for her cancer treatment unless he gets married. And that is how Lalitha and Shrikanth tie the knot. You have to read the book to find out if their marriage works.
The story flows well and brings to the reader the flavours of Chennai as Sumeetha Manikandan takes you through the traditions and social norms unique to this area. The book has been written in crisp language and makes for an interesting read. I, for one, was keen to find out what happens to the protagonists and how they handle their marriage of convenience.
A couple of things that could have been better: Many instances and phrases have been repeated. This could have been avoided to make the book read better. A number of people with their names as Shrikala, Shrikant and Shrimati made it difficult to follow. If it was troublesome for the Tamil in me, it could be worse for people unfamiliar with the territory.
I would definitely recommend this book for lovers of romance.
A TULIP IN THE DESERT by Shrruti Patole Clarence (2-stars)
Charmaine lives with her parents and studies history at Amsterdam University. Her best friend is Ira. Raj who used to live in India, chooses to study the same subject at the same university. Whenever Charmaine reads about Cleopatra’s suicide, she feels herself transported to a different realm. Something resonates deeply within her. Coincidentally, Raj also feels the same on the subject. So the author takes the reader on a journey of discovery even as romance blooms between the two.
I was excited when I started reading this book. I have always been fascinated with the paranormal; anything and everything to do with reincarnation.
The first few chapters have been edited well enough to keep the readers hooked. But after that, the story meanders in many different directions. It goes back and forth in flashbacks, making it rather confusing. There’s no delineation between present and past, especially when Anuj suddenly pops in the picture I couldn’t quite understand where he fitted in the story. Then there are the roles played by Charmaine and Raj in the Cleopatra play at university. Their past life characters and the roles they play don’t match and hence pretty confounding. When the story goes in flashback to Cleopatra’s era, what I would have liked to see is the scenes unfolding in the author’s words instead of the history lesson that I got.
The author is new and this is her first work. She definitely has a good story to tell. With the right editor and guidance, this could have been made into a bestseller. I wish her better luck with her future works.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2018This book was a new adventure for me, and I found the immersion in a culture very different from my own to be interesting and enlightening. It takes place in modern-day India and is a romance through-and-through, focusing on a marriage of convenience between a young widow and a businessman in his 30s who finds himself in need of a wife to please his cancer-stricken mother. It is a slow-burn romance that takes place over several months, but the attraction simmers beneath the surface. Lalitha and Shrikanth have both suffered betrayals, so dipping their toes back into the marriage pool is not a choice either makes easily or really very willfully. Circumstances have thrown them together. Or was it fate?
I enjoyed most the scenes of Lalitha running her parlour, where her main business is to prepare brides with their makeup and for their Mehendi party. I learned so much from this. Even the way a well-to-do household is run was fascinating. And so different. I wouldn't know what to do with a servant who cooks my dinner and cleans my house. Luckily, Lalitha hasn't really relied at all on servants, and her organization skills and cooking skills manage to impress her new husband. That, I can relate to!
The romance was awkwardly penned at times, but at other times I thought it was very poetic. I'll just say it was uneven, but I never lost interest in these two very likable main characters.
I picked this book out for the "Non-Western" book in the Unapologetic Romance Readers 2018 book challenge. It was totally the cover that appealed to me initially. It shows a beautiful woman with intricate Mehendi art applied to her hands, arms and torso. Many, many years ago at my own wedding, my sister-in-law had just returned from a year in India, and she had henna applied to her hands in celebration of her brother's upcoming nuptials. We felt honored, and it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. So, I was utterly delighted to see how this ancient body art was wrapped into a modern story about marriage in India.
3.5 rounded to 4 stars.
Book source: Kindle Unlimited
- Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2020I couldn't out down this novel. This novel gives hope to people who are healing from broken relationships. It makes you want to trust again.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2019Can love happen if the first better half breaks heart, is explained in this book. The communication between two to-be couple expressed through smses and emails brings smile.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2016Loved it. Matter fact, love it so much that instead of going into the house to read the book, I just stayed in the car to finish. Story fills the romantic at heart.
Top reviews from other countries
- CharDeepReviewed in India on February 6, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Love at.. second sight!
This was a simple, heartfelt book. For me, coming from a similar background and belonging to Chennai, I could relate to the places and the customs and Tamil words littered in the book and a huge part of the book's appeal to me was this ability to relate to the milieu.
The book never felt like a social commentary on how people look at remarriage, it just observes the everyday problem of a woman who is thrown in this unfortunate circumstance for no fault of hers. This is a marriage of convenience - for Shrikant he looks at this as a way to get his mother to accept her health treatment and for Lalitha it is a way to earn back her 'credibility' in the beauty parlor work. Lot of progress has been made to tackle discrimination against a widow, but the author choosing this line of work for her protagonist makes it a fair case to convey the prejudices that still exist. This unexpected marriage where both of them are still reeling from past deeds of mistrust dealt to them by their erstwhile significant others and the slow blossoming of relationship one that moves from that of an acquaintance, a friend to kinship, love and marital companionship is shown beautifully even for a book that is not enough pages. There's no real conflict, just a small set of misunderstandings which are easily overcome. I would have personally loved to read more about Shrikant and Lalitha but I am happy with what I got. The love based on trust and mutual respect lasts a long time
Looking forward to read other stories from the author - I enjoyed reading this one!
- JheelReviewed in India on October 8, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars With her poem-like story telling, she kept me hooked to this book and made me complete it in one sitting.
This novella by Sumeetha Manikandan is hypnotic and deeply rooted in the hypocrisy of our society. Manikandan gently prodes the pretence that is ingrained in our minds in the name of marriage and comes out beautifully with this absolute delight. With strong characters and an equally strong yet vulnerable female protagonist as well as a gud premise, this book has all the correct ingredients to be loved by all romantic buffs like me. Lalitha, a beautician is in inner turmoil after she becomes a widow and is shunned from the society because she is now inauspicious. At the same time, Shrikanth is forced to marry because of his mother's deterioting health. So circumstances lead to both of them marrying for convenience. Can they move on from their respective pasts and fall in love again? This clichéd story still succeeded in making me smile and believe in happy endings. With her poem-like story telling, she kept me hooked to this book and made me complete it in one sitting.
- NakshaReviewed in India on July 6, 2019
3.0 out of 5 stars Its an okay read
Not the best - simple romance
- Lohitha RReviewed in India on October 8, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars A simple love story which will leave you with a great satisfaction.
Yes, I call it a love story.A simple beautiful love story of two beautiful souls whose trust was broken in the past.And the story is about how they get into marriage for each other's benefits and later realize the love they have for each other.The other point which the author has made is how people still believe that a widow is inauspicious.The narration is so simple and easy.The distance and time have made them fall for each other.The conversations which both of them share are really sweet.The way Shrikanth handles Lalitha when she shares her past is awesome.It shows his care and concern for her.The same with Lalitha, the way she takes care of his mother and shares his past is lovable.Happy endings are the best, they make us believe in love.You won't stop yourself from completing the book.
- Rucha TareReviewed in India on November 18, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars Crisp, sensible, simple something apart from obvious plots
Spoiler free plot : lalitha venkateshwaran a successful beautician suddenly starts losing her bridal orders after her estranged husband for ten years commits suicide thanks to the superstitious societies that still existed in Chennai. Shrikant, NRI entrepreneur doesn’t want to marry, unhealed by the betrayal of his childhood sweetheart who eloped with his best friend.
Circumstances force them to marry each other, but it is a marriage of convinience.. Will that contracted marriage ever turn real? What if the past peeps? There are several other questions addressed in this book
My take : This was a really nice read, I have always wanted Indian romance authors to attempt something daring apart from mundane inter caste inter religion, college or school romance. Non existence of strong plots make me choose foriegn romance author over Indian always. But this one surely has a sensible plot, again not so perfect characters, twisted situations and non dramatic scenes make it relatable. The novel is crisp without adding unneeded details just for the sake of length. The progresses fast and you don’t feel stuck or bored at any point. The language is super simple and fluent.
Things that worked :
Strong opinionated characters. Relatable non dramatic and real characters. Flow of the story was natural and easy. Crisp and sensible plot
Things I wish were better : A better ending or elaborate ending.
Verdict : 4 /5