Bloomsbury India has announced the upcoming release of Love Bites and Pugmarks in Kabini, a racy, genre-bending romantic thriller from Bengaluru-based writer Lakshmy Ramanathan. Set against the raw wilderness of Kabini, the novel promises a story for readers who believe love is dangerous, unpredictable — and sometimes best tracked like a wild animal.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Dhruv Thimayya arrives in Kabini to capture the elusive black panther known as Karia, he expects a challenge. He doesn’t expect Mira Ponappa — a fiercely independent woman who can row coracles, modernise a crumbling homestay, and handle a country dagger with effortless ease, all while navigating the disapproval of her gun-toting grandmother.

As Dhruv studies the charged interactions between Karia and Kapila, a striking green-eyed leopardess, he becomes entangled in a different kind of pursuit: Mira herself. But in the wild, every instinct has a cost. As the romance intensifies, Dhruv’s obsession with getting the shot may endanger not just the leopards he came to film, but Mira’s life along with his own.

Love Bites and Pugmarks in Kabini is a gritty tale of desire, danger, and the walls people build to protect their hearts. Will Dhruv and Mira outrun their fears — or become prey to them?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lakshmy Ramanathan spent her twenties reporting for The Times of India and DNA, where her instinct for romance, research and human drama first took shape. She is the author of After the Storm and For Bumpier Times. She currently teaches English in Bengaluru, where she delights in drawing connections between Robert Frost’s poetry and Tom Cruise’s filmography — and carefully dodges her students’ questions about her novels.

Love Bites and Pugmarks in Kabini
By Lakshmy Ramanathan
Releasing 16 December 2025