Title: Blue Eagle
Author: Sharada Kolluru
Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
First Publication: 2021
Language: English
Book Summary: Blue Eagle by Sharada Kolluru
Neil Randhawa, a wine connoisseur from Italy, lands in New Delhi to fulfil a stranger’s wish of offering a wine called Blue Eagle to God Kal Bhairav in Ujjain. But unfortunately, he loses the wine bottle worth four crore rupees as soon as he walks out of the airport. Therefore, he goes to a police station where he narrates his life involving his mother Rashmi Randhawa with whom he recently had a conflict that serves as a catalyst to the story forward.
At the same time comes to the police station, Moe Kyaw Somani, a young dynamic girl from Yangon after losing her 12th grade certificates while she was on her way to Lady Shri Ram College to give an audition, as part of the admission process for an under-graduate course in Political Science. So, she too narrates her story of three generations in Myanmar who have been yearning to bring a change in their country and in order to make that happen how important it is for her to join the prestigious college where Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had once studied.
Behind this exorbitant wine bottle and the top ranked certificates are the emotions of these two individuals who try to help each other with their purposes in life while something called love blooms between them slowly.
Book Review: Blue Eagle by Sharada Kolluru
Blue Eagle is a story of two strangers meet in a strange circumstances and fall for each other. Neil, a wine connoisseur from Tuscany, Italy loses his expensive wine bottle worth 4 crore rupees as soon as he lands in India. Moe Kyaw Somani, a young spirited woman from Yangon, Myanmar, lost her certificates while going for an audition in New Delhi. Both, Neil and Moe, first meet at a police station while filing complaint for their lost items. They both fall in love slowly while helping each other with their purposes in life.
Blue Eagle by Sharada Kolluru was a perfect slow burn romance with just the right amount of tension and the perfect setting. It takes the reader directly into the lives of Neil and Moe. When these two lost souls meet, the connection is immediate and strong. What was meant to be an accidental meeting in a police station, turns into something much more poignant. Despite both parties resisting any form of a relationship due to a whole host of personal baggage, life works in mysterious ways and it transforms this potential couple’s outlook on love. Their first meeting in police station turns in a different kind of connection between Moe and Neil. They discover the true value of friendship and support. Despite the obvious level of attraction that simmers between them, they learn to connect on a different level. Along the way, this couple confront their personal demons, difficult pasts and they learn to trust again. But are they ready to let love into their lives?
With emotional highs and lows, Blue Eagle was consuming and heartfelt. The lead characters are interesting, well presented and haunted by their pasts, as well as present day hang ups. Author Sharada Kolluru paired this couple up very well, they complimented each other but there was also a sufficient amount of tension between Neil and Moe which helped to move the novel along. I liked the initial attraction between these two, the complications, personal baggage, trust issues, the obvious chemistry, tension levels and eventual pathway to happiness. Supporting these two are great cast of secondary characters who lift this novel to greater heights. Personal relationships, friendships, extended family and support networks remain of the utmost importance in Blue Eagle. I appreciated author’s focus on these aspects within her novel.
From the outset, it is easy to assume that Blue is a standard contemporary romance. However, author Sharada Kolluru proves her worth as an author by including some weighty themes within her book. From passion, loss, grief, trauma, and risk, Blue Eagle treads delicate emotional ground. Each of these issues is touched on with insight, personal connection and sensitivity. The experiences of the characters were heartfelt and genuine. The underlying message that love and the strength of personal relationships in overcoming trying times remains clear in author’s approach.
Blue Eagle proved to be an engaging read, complete with a satisfying end. I cheered these characters on in their emotionally tough search for their lost items and personal acceptance, true love, happiness, fulfilment and recovery. Highly recommended.
