She found a twenty-rupee book at a roadside stall. It changed how she thinks about love.

In Kodaikanal, where the mist settles on the hills, Kanmani, an MBA student, picks up a battered secondhand novel called Yaadhumaagi. It tells the story of Madhi, a college rockstar with a guitar and a big laugh, and Isai, a quiet girl who is afraid to say what she feels. Kanmani falls for their love story, and for the mysterious author, Heisenberg, who wrote it. She decides to find him, just to say thank you.

Meanwhile, Ram, who runs the college canteen, has been quietly serving her tea, listening to her book theories and hiding a secret of his own.

Madhiyum Isaiyum is a gentle, funny, heartfelt Tanglish romance about a story inside a story, love that waits, and the people who are closer than we think. It’s written in the way we actually speak, with canteen banter, small jokes, rainy evenings and plenty of tea.

If you enjoy slow-burn romance, college-campus love stories, books about books and the hill-station charm of Kodaikanal, this one is for you.