On Writing and Storytelling: A Reader Who Truly Sees

A Reader Who Truly Sees: My Appreciation for Pooja Gudka’s Reviews

The author also explores multiple philosophical aspects of life, such as true love, happiness, friendships, loss, and regret. Things most adults are familiar with. We also learn the importance of confessing our feelings when we have the chance because life is so incredibly unpredictable. – Pooja Gudka on Reunion: A Story

Every writer hopes for readers who don’t just enjoy the story but understand the emotional terrain beneath it — the quiet motivations, the unspoken regrets, the small acts of courage that shape a character’s life. Over the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to receive thoughtful responses from many corners of the blogging world, but few have engaged with the Reunion Duology and its companion novelette with the clarity, empathy, and emotional intelligence that Pooja Gudka brings to her reviews.

Her reflections on Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen form a kind of conversation — not just with the books, but with the emotional architecture behind them.

I will say there are some beautiful moments, some heavy moments, some thoughtful moments, and most importantly, the plot deals with the complex nature of relationships that humans have with one another. – Pooja Gudka on Reunion: Coda

Seeing the Heart of the Story

In her review of Reunion: A Story, Pooja immediately recognized the universal ache at the center of the novella: the one who slipped away, the confession never made, the unpredictable turns that shape a life. She connected with Jim Garraty not as a fictional construct, but as someone navigating the same philosophical terrain we all cross — love, regret, friendship, and the fragile courage of speaking the truth while we still can. As a historian herself, she also met Jim on his own ground, which added a resonance I deeply appreciated.

Reunion: A Story: A Novella

Book 1 of the Reunion Duology (Revised Edition, 2023)

The plot was what drew me to the story. I’m not usually drawn to romance novels or anything particularly romantic. But the summary for this book really drew me in because it’s something most of us can relate to- lost love. We all have “the one that got away.” Well, most of us do anyway. Also, as a historian myself, I loved that Garraty’s character was a historian and was intrigued by that.

The author also explores multiple philosophical aspects of life, such as true love, happiness, friendships, loss, and regret. Things most adults are familiar with. We also learn the importance of confessing our feelings when we have the chance because life is so incredibly unpredictable.

The characters were relatable, emotion-evoking, and thoughtful, and I loved that the characters grew and evolved. Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Following the Emotional Continuum

Her thoughts on Reunion: Coda showed a reader who didn’t just continue the journey — she understood its evolution. She saw the shift in scale, the deepening of themes, and the way memory, loss, and emotional inheritance shape the adult Jim. Her comment about the writing being intelligent without pretension meant more than she probably realized; it captured the balance I always try to maintain. And her sensitivity to the complexity of human relationships — the way we crave connection even as we struggle to navigate it — reflected exactly what I hoped the novel would evoke.

Reunion: Coda

Book 2 of the Reunion Duology (Novel, 2025)

Firstly, the writing was excellent. I felt drawn in from the moment I began reading, and I think it helped that I was already familiar with the characters. I appreciate that his writing is incredibly intelligent and well done without crossing the line into being pretentious.

I thought the themes that Alex Diaz-Granados chose to explore were very meaningful. Lost love, loss in general, and being stuck in the past/memories of the past are things we can all relate to.

I really enjoy the way Alex creates characters, because they very much feel like real people. They have flaws, and they have redeeming qualities, just as most of us do.

I won’t go into the details of the plot because with books like this one, giving away too much can ruin the experience for other readers. But I will say there are some beautiful moments, some heavy moments, some thoughtful moments, and most importantly, the plot deals with the complex nature of relationships that humans have with one another. We crave love, social interactions, and connections, yet when we achieve them, things are often more complicated than we realise.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Reunion: Coda by Alex Diaz-Granados. I had pretty high hopes for this book, and he delivered. If you enjoy a poignant, thoughtful, and well-written book, this one is for you. I highly recommend it. And if you haven’t read the first book in the series, please do, as it will help you understand the plot of this one much better.

I really enjoy the way Alex creates characters, because they very much feel like real people. They have flaws, and they have redeeming qualities, just as most of us do. – Pooja Gudka on Reunion: Coda

Honoring the Quiet Moments That Shape a Life

With Comings and Goings, Pooja reached into the emotional core of the Garratyverse. She understood that this wasn’t a romance, but a story about presence, timing, and the rare grace of being met exactly where you are. She saw Kelly Moore with the same tenderness I wrote her with — patient, grounded, never leading Jim but walking beside him. And she recognized the story’s purpose: not to create a lifelong bond, but to illuminate a formative moment that gives a young man the strength to move forward.

Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen

Related to the Reunion Duology (Novelette, 2025)

Alex Diaz-Granados has a real talent for making characters that are extremely realistic. They don’t feel like two-dimensional characters on paper when you read them. They feel like real people that you can connect with.

Both Jim Garraty and Kelly Moore are characters that are easy to like and enjoy reading about. And they have wonderful chemistry all throughout the book. For the moment at least, they are exactly what the other needs and years for.

We have read about Jim Garraty’s experience during high school and after college. But this book focuses on his experience after first finishing high school and moving to a new place for college. The feelings of loneliness, experiencing a lot of change all at once, and finding oneself are something a lot of us go through in that phase of life when we’re still very young adults. Garraty’s character perfectly encompasses that.

When he attends a party he wasn’t excited about going to, he meets Kelly Moore. They instantly feel a connection between them. As the summary mentions, it’s not love. And I’ll say that this book isn’t a romance, at least not to me. It’s more about human connection and meeting the right person at the right time.

Jim finds himself with Kelly at her place, and through deeper conversations, they begin to understand one another, and do something I find beautiful:  they allow one another to be their authentic self. Neither feels pressured to be someone else. They connect exactly as they are. I particularly enjoyed how Kelly was patient with Jim, not leading him but rather being beside him through it all.

As I said, this book isn’t about love or the kind of connection that makes you want to spend your life with someone. Of course, Jim and Kelly will remember the night they spent together. But they will think of it as finding what they needed in that moment so that they could have the strength to continue on and move forward with their lives.

I would highly recommend reading Comings and Goings. It’s a fantastic book that I think most readers would enjoy. But I would really recommend reading the Reunion Duology first to properly understand the characters, particularly that of Jim Garraty.

A Reader Who Reads With Her Whole Self

Jim finds himself with Kelly at her place, and through deeper conversations, they begin to understand one another, and do something I find beautiful:  they allow one another to be their authentic self. Neither feels pressured to be someone else. They connect exactly as they are. I particularly enjoyed how Kelly was patient with Jim, not leading him but rather being beside him through it all. – Pooja Gudka on Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen

What moves me most about Pooja’s reviews is not the praise — though I’m grateful for it — but the way she reads. She approaches stories with empathy, curiosity, and a willingness to sit with their emotional complexity. She sees characters as people. She honors the quiet beats as much as the dramatic ones. And she understands that sometimes the most meaningful connections in fiction — as in life — are the ones that help us become who we’re meant to be.

Pooja, thank you for reading with such care. Thank you for meeting Jim, Kelly, and the others where they are. And thank you for reminding me why I write: to reach the readers who are willing to feel alongside the characters, to reflect, to remember, and to be moved.

Your words meant more than you know.