Her name means “miracle” in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that’s exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai’s Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company. . . . Until one person dares venture into her world.
Tasked at fourteen-years-old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi’s windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi’s eyes to the outside world—and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.
As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into a black market organ ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul's deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe—and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.
Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.
Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review
My favourite couple from A Change of Heart - Rahul and Kimi - finally get their story! If you read my review of it you'll know that I mentioned Rahul being the moral compass of that story. His steadfast loyalty and determination to uncover the truth was what set him apart from everyone else. And his obvious devotion to Kimi was a story I wanted more of.
A Distant Heart gives us their backstory revisiting Rahul's childhood and how he came to know Kimi's family and eventually find a career in law enforcement. The budding friendship between Rahul and Kimi is so sweet and it's apparent that even back then, she was a spunky kid with a fierce will. While he looked at the world in black and white, she viewed the world as a vast, exciting place where all the possibilities were there. In the present, their relationship is strained but that won't deter Rahul from protecting Kimi especially now that the threat from the evil gang lord Asif Khan is even greater than before. Asif who was responsible for his friend, Jen's death. Asif who ran the black market organ trade. Asif who zeroed in on Kimi and has something to do with her heart transplant. Even though Rahul caught Asif, there are still so many questions left unanswered and he knows Kimi can't be truly safe until he gets to the bottom of them.
At the center of this book is Rahul and Kimi's beautiful, complicated friendship, how it developed and shaped who they are today. How their expectations of each other have both held them up in times of need but also held them back. It's also more than that. Honestly, there's so much going on that it makes it hard to put A Distant Heart into just one category, and to do so would be a disservice to its uniqueness. Yes, it's a romance but also a thriller, a mystery, an ode to family and loyalty. Much like last time I have a hard go of it writing a review that feels that I'm doing the book justice. I mean, Sonali Dev is the wordsmith here, an incredible storyteller who infuses passion into all those pages that have captured my attention. Rahul and Kimi came to mean so much to me and A Distant Heart was more than I hoped for.
~ Bel
