This novella from Indireads is light and fluffy, like candy floss. It is 70 pages of flirtation, passion and drama, staged in Mumbai and amidst the swirling rapids of the Ganga.

JD is the managing director of an advertising agency, who is wrestling with commitment issues after his divorce from his wife Sakshi. Long hours, late nights and work-stress have put paid to their marriage. Sakshi is not willing to let him have face-to-face time with his eleven year old daughter Rohini, and JD is bitter, deciding that long-term relationships are not his thing. ‘He needs a break’, thinks his creative director Monica, as he is always tense, edgy, impatient.

Sonia Mehta is 30, an assistant HR manager wrestling with spreadsheets, performance appraisals, bitchy women and men who come on to her. And last but not the least ― a loveless life. Of course her colleague Navin, a smooth-talking charmer who is quick with the innuendos, would like to change that. She is Soni, his pretty Sonia, and he is quick too in offering his services to give her a neck rub or something further. Sonia needs to come up with a team-building activity for the company’s marketing team to elevate low morale, something that will not break the bank. ‘She needs a break,’ thinks her friend Reena, who suggests that Sonia should take the team to Rishikesh on a white-water rafting expedition.

“Think of it Soni; the water, the hills, the birds, and you and me…” says Navin.
“Actually, that would be the rough waters, the falls, the mountains, the eagles and…oh yeah, twenty-five colleagues sharing the same boat,” says Sonia.

The scene shifts to Camp RapidZ in Rishikesh, where JD is tackling ‘The Cauldron’, a level five rapid for absolute professionals. He enjoys the adrenalin rush of battling nature, and winning. But he makes a mistake when on the raft, and his instructor Rakesh takes a tumble and breaks his leg. JD is forced to stand in for Rakesh and escort the 25-strong group led by Sonia. JD is not too good with people, having built a wall around himself after his divorce and his guilt feelings about having neglected his wife and daughter.

Sonia likes the way JD looks. He is well-built with broad shoulders, has thick, springy, black hair that seems to defy any semblance of order, and a confident swagger. He thinks she has nice legs and nice skin. He catalogues her silky brown shoulder-length hair, her liquid brown eyes, her slender body and delicate pink bow-shaped lips. But very soon he finds out that she has a temper, and soon upgrades the description to ‘shrew’.

Sparks fly. She tells him that his arrogance sickens her. He calls her a condescending, whiny bitch, and takes a dig at the way Navin keeps pawing her. She thinks that at least Navin is light-hearted and playful. Unlike some people. Then they make up, and she embarrasses herself by crying in his arms, unsettled by the stress of the trip and the intense physical attraction she feels for him. More excitement, an accident on the rapids and Sonia’s group returns to Mumbai, cutting short their trip.

Then the heartbreak begins. ‘What if I hadn’t been so aggressive with him the first time we met?’ she muses. ‘What if he hadn’t been angry with me and we both hadn’t said things we regretted later? What if I hadn’t cried in his arms that night but instead just lay beside him…what might have happened?’

JD is angry, short-tempered, struggling with his own list of maybes. Maybe if he had had a fling with Sonia and worked the attraction out of his system, he could have put it behind him and moved on.

They meet again, discover each other’s interests. He likes listening to Lady Gaga, she likes Jagjit Singh. For her, relaxing at home means reading a romance novel with a cup of Bru within easy reach. For him it is surfing the net and following the Grand Prix Circuit. She likes the colors pink and white and he likes white and blue.
Then she finds out he is not a guide, not just JD but Jaiprakash Diwedi, MD. They fight again….

Is this love or lust? Are they moving too fast? ‘If this is love, it stinks,’ decides JD. ‘No cover-ups and half-truths—you have to be upfront, no matter what the consequences. Can you do that, JD?’ asks Sonia.

Can he do that? Is there a happily ever after in their lives? Read Adiana Ray’s debut novella to find out if their slow dance moves on to a fast tango of passion. Check out Rapid Fall for the banter, the emotions, and the glimpse into the dizzying rapids of the workplace. It’s a lovely, satisfying read for a holiday, or a lazy afternoon while sipping a cup of tea. Pick up your copy on Amazon today.