The Debut Novel
happily (n)ever after
A Love Story of One More Day
Some love stories give you forever. This one gives you one more day, and makes you feel every second of it.
An emotional slow-burn Indian love story about family, a rescue dog, and the ordinary days that become everything.
Published 28 June 2026
The story
Viyaan counts everything. The kilometres he runs before sunrise. The minutes Goldie waits at the door. Every dare he has ever chosen over the truth.
Meera is quiet until it matters. Soft-spoken, steady, forever answering his dares with the same three words: maybe next time. She is also, it turns out, the one who moves first. Every time.
A Gujju banker from Bilimora and a Kannadiga trainer from Dharwad: two people nobody would have put together, but Goldie already had. Then life changes everything, and the future they had planned so carefully begins, quietly, to rewrite itself. What they build in its place is a love measured in the smallest, surest units there are: one more morning, one more chai, one more day.
Goldie, the novel’s rescued Indie, is the third protagonist, not a plot device. Readers who love dog-centred fiction will understand why he matters.
Tender, funny, and deeply human.
The particulars
- Genre
- Emotional contemporary fiction
- Length
- 408 pages · approx. 102,000 words
- Setting
- Bilimora, Dharwad, and beyond
- Edition
- Kindle · free on Kindle Unlimited
- Published
- 28 June 2026
- ASIN
- B0H6VFRFHS
Reader fit
For readers who want to feel everything
happily (n)ever after is an emotional slow-burn Indian romance centred on Meera, a soft-spoken but quietly formidable woman who moves first when it matters; Viyaan, who always picks dare, never truth (what he calls the Viyaan system); and Goldie, the rescued Indie who chooses them both. Tender, funny and threaded with heartbreak, it is a family love story for readers drawn to strong female characters, dogs who become family, and deeply felt romances that can make them laugh, ache and cry. Its happily (n)ever after looks nothing like a fairy tale but means so much more. Because love is more than just the good days.
- Reader notes
- Emotional slow burn
- Strangers to lovers
- Opposites attract
- Cross-cultural Indian romance
- Strong female protagonist
- Family-centred
- Found family
- Multiple points of view
- A rescue dog who becomes family
- Contemporary fiction
- Book club fiction
- Free on Kindle Unlimited
Free bonus scene
Meet the characters before you commit
The Dog Chose Her First — get the free bonus scene (opens in a new tab)
The dog remembered her before the man ever looked her way.
A spoiler-free bonus scene from happily (n)ever after. A night at a Rishikesh camp, a rescued street dog who keeps choosing the one woman nobody else is watching, and the quiet beginning of a love story neither of them expected.
- A complete seven-minute scene, set as a keepsake PDF.
- Your first taste of Meera, Viyaan and Goldie.
- No spoilers. Just the beginning.
Free. One email to deliver it, then only the occasional note from me. Unsubscribe anytime.
The author
Jinesh Bhagdev
Being present is a choice. So is being absent.
I’m Jinesh Bhagdev. I wrote happily (n)ever after: A Love Story of One More Day, published in June 2026. I’m working on the next one.
I travel a lot for work, so most of this one got written in the gaps. I write at the end of the day, when everything that had to be done is done.
The title is the argument. There is an ever hiding inside (n)ever, and the book is about the people who go looking for it.
- 2020–2026Six years of workA diary, sticky notes, characters built and rebuilt, plot drafted, beta readers, and seven revisions of the manuscript.
- June 2026happily (n)ever afterPublished on the 28th, and free to read on Kindle Unlimited.
- NowBook twoA second novel is in progress.
Readers
What readers said.
“The last stretch genuinely hurt, and it hurt because the book had first taught me to treasure the ordinary happy bits.”
Shivashankar HKGoodreads — read this review (opens in a new tab) “This book offers an honest slice of life showing the bittersweet everyday experiences with love, career, and most importantly your wellbeing.”
Rohan CGoodreads — read this review (opens in a new tab) “A stunningly beautiful love story that hooks you from start to finish. It’s emotional, deeply touching, and incredibly well-written.”
Bhavin AGoodreads — read this review (opens in a new tab) “A touching read that stays with you.”
ShrutiAmazon — read this review (opens in a new tab) “A book which is grounding in such a way that makes you value life more. A roller coaster of emotions for sure!”
Yoma ShahAmazon — read this review (opens in a new tab)
Book two
What I am writing now.
A second novel is in progress. News about it will appear here first.
In progress
Research
Building the plot, the characters and the theme.
To come
Draft
Not started. Badly and completely, when it does.
To come
Editing
Removing everything that is only clever.
To come
Beta readers
Finding out what it is actually about.
To come
Publication
Date to be announced.
The title, the cover and the release date are all announced to the list first.
Hear it first