Book Review - Chasing Pavements

This review was posted on the book's Smashwords page.

Book: Chasing Pavements

Author: Neha Yazmin

Reviewer: Smashwords customer

Rating: 5 stars
Available via: Smashwords, Apple iBookStore, Diesel eBook Store, Barnes & Noble Nook Store, Sony Reader Store 

"It was very stupid but it was also very true. Mukti was in love with him and she didn't even know his name." 


To introverted and socially withdrawn singer and songwriter Jamie, life has no meaning unless childhood love Sarah returns to him. Roaming through life without living it, shutting the world out, he has long since given up on a potential career in music.

It is only when he meets the unexpectedly inspirational Mukti, who instantly falls in love with him, that Jamie is lured out of the black hole he has banished himself to for years. Suddenly, his creativity knows no bounds and he feels torn - he has to see her, but what will she make of his tortured soul? Little does he know that Mukti has her own secrets and is just as troubled as he is. Her name translates as 'freedom' in her native tongue Bengali, but she is anything but free.

Torn between his unconditional love for Sarah, and his undeniable need for Mukti, Jamie's life is in more chaos than ever before. And when his estranged mother Tanya becomes intent on sabotaging his relationship with Mukti, Jamie stands to lose the two women he cannot live without.

Set in contemporary London, 'Chasing Pavements' is a unique love story between two unique characters.

~~~ 

Opening with the lines “It was awfully quiet in his head”, Neha Yazmin’s novel grips you from start to finish. Who is he, you ask? Jamie York, an aspiring singer-songwriter from East London. Suffering with a severe case of writer’s block, he has become introverted and cuts himself off from the world. That is, until one day he sees Mukti by the needle sculpture. He senses her watching him and is surprised to discover that song lyrics flood his mind. The silence is broken and he just has to find out why.

But this isn’t your typical love story. His writer’s block might be gone, but Jamie is still haunted by the shadows of his past. And Mukti Khan, a research analyst starting a new job in the city, has a troubled past of her own. Together will they find the strength to come to terms with the past and make a fresh start in life? Or are some problems just too big to overcome?

There are so many things I love about this novel. Jamie’s creativity. Mukti’s determination. Twists and turns with every chapter. But most of all, I love that you get to see the characters grow and develop. When you reach the last page, it feels like you’ve been a long journey with them- but yet it’s a journey that you want to do all over again!

Another thing that I should mention is that there is a playlist! It’s something that many authors are now doing - including Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight series - where they share the playlist of songs that inspired the chapters in the book. I think it’s a really cool idea and it adds another dimension to the novel. You get an insight into how Adele’s ‘Chasing Pavements’ and other songs from other artists inspired Neha Yazmin in her writing.

I can’t wait to see what other novels (and playlists!) are to come from Neha Yazmin. I recently found out that her second novel is out - ‘Poision Blood’ – so looking forward to reading that next!