For Pia, regular life is a thing of the past. She is now an Army wife. From ‘just Pia’ to an Aunty, a memsaab and – her favourite words in the whole wide world – Mrs Pia Arjun Mehra.
At twenty six, Pia finds herself having to suddenly be more ‘lady-like’; focus on themed ladies’ meets, high teas and welfare functions; and deal with long (unexpected) separations from her husband, extraordinary challenges, a little heartache, and, well, growing up.
In the mysterious and grand world of Army wives, Pia learns that walking in high heels is okay as long as you don’t trip on combat boots. She learns that ‘civil’ is also a noun, that JCO and GOC are (very!) different, that snacks are ‘shown’ and WTF is better explained as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Yes, it really is a new world!
Let this quirky, hilarious story of the first year of Pia’s Army-wife life show you that the spice to a soldier’s life is most definitely his better, very strong, bloody extremely elegant, never-cussing, witty, warm and passionate half, his Army wife.
Review-
I had no expectations whatsoever before I started Soldier & Spice. I thought it would be a nice read. I so did not expect myself to enjoy it as much as I did. Soldier & Spice was an amazing read. The topic was how a civilian girl becomes an Army wife and how her life changes. I'm pretty clueless where the Indian Army is concerned but I loved it.
Pia is our protagonist. It has been a month since she married the love of her life, Arjun. Arjun is in the Indian Army so its obvious that now Pia has to live the life of an Army wife. I loved Pia. She was fun! It was so easy to relate to her. She was bubbly and outspoken and quirky. Confident as a modern woman but still she had her own awkward moments which made her that much more adorable.
I loved being inside Pia's head and discovering a whole new world living as an Army wife. She has to go through a ton of changes from just being Pia to Mrs. Pia Arjun Mehra. We get to see her wobbling through etiquette classes and various high teas. The Army is made up of hierarchy and it demands discipline even where the wives are concerned.
Another thing I loved about Pia was her relationship with her husband Arjun. Arjun was a typical male not even attempting to guess what goes on Pia's head. He loved his wife to pieces but he still didn't get the mysterious workings of the female brain. Pia and Arjun's bond was full of love, playfulness and passion. They made a great couple who stood by each other through thick and thin.
Sarika and I have had the pleasure to meet Aditi. She is a wonderful a person and her personality shines through her writing. For a debut author, the book was so well written. Soldier & Spice made me laugh out loud several times. The book left me with a content smile on my face after finishing it. I would recommend Soldier & Spice to everyone.
*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.
