A pentalogy in progress, with three books out for people to devour. The Heaven Series begins with the City of Pillars. The name of the first book is an ode to the name of the Female Main Characters. And, to some extent, also foreshadows the eventual tragedies that the girl would face and overcome with a soldier by her side. The Heaven Series Spans 3 decades. 

Decade One: They meet, and they Part. Decade Two: They meet, They Part, Decade Three: They meet, they belong. At least for some time. A political Romance set in Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh (because Ladakh is very important to this journey, make no mistake). 

City of Pillars is set in the winter of Kashmir and the winter of the relationship between Atharva Singh Kaul and Iram Haider. Atharva, the soldier turned politician, and Iram, an introverted writer. If there is a thread binding soulmates together, theirs shines the brightest. They meet never to belong till they do.  Election brings them together, election tears them apart. Their past brings them together, their past tears them apart.

The world this story takes place in is real. It tells you the story of Kashmir. It tells you the story of how two lives were affected by the Jannat that is Kashmir, they're both homeless in a sense and they both find a home in each other.

The way they fall in love is the way snow falls, slowly, elegantly, and then, like a storm, all at once. He asks her, How do you know everything and not this? He is helplessly in love with her, and so is she. She has nowhere else to go but him. Truth is, she sees everything, she knows what is between them is not a fluke, but she dares not hope.

She knew Kashmir once. Srinagar was her city. But then, like hundreds and thousands of others, she was pushed out of the city. When she comes back, nearly a decade later, the city has moved on.

But he gives her back her Srinagar, in the little things, in Tchot, in Ittar, in Shikara Rides, in early morning rides she didn't want at first.

Theirs is a story that is best experienced on your own. The little things are what make this series worth it. There are moments of chaos, and there are moments of happiness. There are moments of bliss and there are moments of heartbreak. Heaven comes alive for the first time in The City of Pillars. And then, like Kashmir, Heaven turns to hell, and you're left screaming, crying, sobbing, gasping for air. You don't want the book to end and it does.

Fortunately, book 2, The Space in Between, soothes you. Fortunately. Atharva is a man who knows Iram is his to protect. Fortunately, he is the kind of man who leaves but never takes his eyes off his Iram, even when he knows he should not because maybe.. just maybe he can not. 

He soothes her when she is hurting. He calls her Myani Zuv even though he has no right to call her his life yet. He throws flowers on her balcony. He sends her songs of separation that are not sad.

And then, he marries her. He holds her close and she holds him in return just as tight while heaven and hell coexist in Kashmir. Then, like always, the bliss of heaven turns to ashes. He breaks but doesn't wither, and you're left gasping and sobbing and crying again, till heaven comes back.. you hope heaven comes back.

When I think of the Heaven Series as a whole, I know that heaven, hell, Kashmir, World, reality, illusion, past, present, future, and all collide in mess. In a beautiful.. flowy.. mess of emotions.

The world needs a man like Atharva Singh Kaul and a woman like Iram Haider Kaul. Kashmir needs a man like that, and his Jannat— needs a man like that. But, this third installment of the Heaven Series makes it clear that Heaven and Hell don't just coexist in Kashmir, they also co-exist in Iram Haider Kaul.

Beyond This Heaven is the story of their marriage, but the first chapter itself makes it clear that it is also the story of a broken heart. They spend two years in a soft, hard, rocky, strong, marriage and Iram has finally clawed her way out of the survival mode.

But when Heaven turned to hell, she went right back, as if she'd never left. Atharva, the man who thrives on being Iram’s protector is left flailing on what to do as she refuses to be protected, she refuses to stay put and let him fight demons on her behalf.  She wants answers and she wants them on her own terms.

This book, especially, is more about Iram than Atharva.. in the end. Because Atharva in this book is more about Iram than he is about himself. This book is about Heaven being inseparable from hell. Of them being the two sides of the same coin. This book is about home. And how that home shatters leaving a little less than ash and a little more than smoke in its wake.

The books are a black hole. If you reach out to the author, Bhavini K Desai, She will tell you as such. You may or may not believe her, or me. But if you have a Kindle device/Kindle App, a love for reading, crying, heartbreak, and more, and decide to pick up this series, welcome to the cult.