Some books leave a lasting impression. Others, unfortunately, leave you wondering why you started them at all. This book falls firmly into the latter category.

Marketed as a NATIONAL BESTSELLER, this book attempts to explore themes of love, betrayal, and emotional conflict between friends. However, what could have been a sensitive and nostalgic story turns into a frustrating, amateurish attempt at storytelling.

The biggest issue is the writing itself. The language is broken, unpolished, and full of grammatical errors. The author tries to sound profound but ends up being confused. Sentences often read like unfinished thoughts, and instead of drawing readers in, they push them away. What’s worse, there are long patches of dialogue in Hindi (likely meant to feel authentic) that instead come off as jarring and awkward, acting more like speed bumps than enhancing the story.

The characters, including the protagonist, Dev are paper-thin. Their motivations are unclear, their actions inconsistent, and their emotional arcs barely developed. We’re told there's a love triangle and emotional fallout, but it’s never truly felt. Their conversations are forced and lack any real emotional punch. As a reader, it’s hard to connect with any of them, let alone care about what happens to them.

Dev, the protagonist, is particularly difficult to empathise with. He comes across as confused and directionless, not just in the plot, but in voice. The supporting characters are equally vague. Instead of layered, conflicted individuals, we’re left with one-dimensional outlines that never come to life.

The pacing is sluggish, the structure loose, and the transitions between scenes clumsy. There’s no real narrative grip to hold the reader’s attention. Important emotional moments are either rushed or dragged out to the point of tedium. There's a lot of telling and very little showing. And when you finally expect something meaningful, you're hit with more awkward dialogue or a poorly written monologue.

The book doesn’t evoke emotion, instead it demands it, without earning it. The story tries hard to be deep and moving but ends up feeling superficial. The emotional beats are either underwhelming or melodramatic. Even the heartbreak, which should be the most poignant part, comes across as flat and unconvincing.

In all honesty, this book reads like an underdeveloped draft that needed much more work before being published. I am especially miffed with the team at Penguin who probably slept through the edits of this book. I wonder what the marketing team was high on when they labeled the book with the 'NATIONAL BESTSELLER' tag. (I really want to know who declared this book that!)

Don't get me wrong, the story has potential with themes like lost love, broken friendships, the pain of growing up, but it is completely buried under poor execution and clunky writing.

As a reader who appreciates emotional, character-driven stories, this was a deeply disappointing experience. There is no shame in writing a debut novel, but there is a responsibility to respect the reader’s time and attention. Sadly, this book does neither.

Can We Be Strangers Again is a missed opportunity, and possibly one of the weakest books I’ve ever read. Unless you're looking for a case study in what not to do when writing contemporary romance, you’re better off skipping this one.