Bad Girl Gone Rogue by Andaleeb Wajid
My take on the book:
Inaya Khan, CEO of Ixora Skincare, is a young and successful entrepreneur, who built her multi-million empire from scratch with her hard work and determination. However, Inaya’s mother refuses to acknowledge and appreciate her success, instead believes her daughter’s worth depends on her being married.
On Inaya’s next visit to Bangalore, her parents setup two marriage alliances — her mother sets her up with Azam and her father with Ayaz. While her first meeting with both of them ends as a disaster, Ayaz insists on spending more time with Inaya to know her. The pleasant memories of their first date soon turn sour when a business deal gets in the way of their relationship.
Will Inaya and Ayaz be able to sort their misunderstandings amid family pressure to get married, forms the rest of the story.
This is the second book in the Bad Girls series after Bad Girl Gone Good, and is about Inaya’s story who was briefly introduced in the first book. When I read about Inaya in book one, I was intrigued by her background as an entrepreneur who owned a skincare brand — her story in book two has lived up to my expectations and had more in store.
The author contrasts the different stages of being an entrepreneur — a struggling one through Ayaz and a successful one through Inaya, and the support they get from their respective families. For a story focusing more on the female protagonist, Ayaz’s character is designed very sensibly. While Inaya’s mother is over dramatic at times, her thoughts about marriage being the highest priority in life than professional success is very relatable, especially for young girls in this country.
Aisha in book one justified the Bad girl tag, Inaya is the mellowest among the three girls, so other than the climax where she goes rogue, I did not find justification for her Bad Girl tag. Rebel, may be. Also, I wanted to read more interactions between Inaya and Ayaz as their relationship is so interesting, that I yearned for more by the end of the story.
There are sequences which can be guessed by the reader before-hand, but the author’s narrative style keeps the reader engrossed. I read only one book from the author earlier, but after this book, I am eager to pick more.
If you like reading urban stories with strong characters, then pick I highly recommend this one.
My rating:
4/5.