Category: Book review

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Review of Divyastra

BLURB
“Thousands of years ago, Indian Yogis possessed the knowledge to obtain the weapons of the gods. However, this knowledge could only be transferred from a Guru to his disciple by word of mouth. In today’s world, one mystic, who calls himself Guruji, still possesses this knowledge and is using it to empower an innocent person’s life. Only, this empowerment could be a deception and the innocent person is a thirteen year old boy with a stutter… In this intertwining tale, an ambitious yet unsuccessful Shankar, in search of his identity, is manipulated to embark on a never-told-before fantasy tale; only to rediscover the father he never knew and unmask the mystical Guruji. Amidst this confounding concoction of ancient myths, deluding personas and dispersed emotions, will Shankar ever be able to separate fact from fiction and find his true identity?”

MY REVIEW

The book is a definite must in the list of people who love mythological thriller. With this book going in rounds in social media say promos or reviews ,it sure did create a lot of attention.

The book starts with an eminent physicist, giving a lecture to a mass gathering. During the course of his lecture he is being questioned by a young lad who seems to be intellectual,but does have a lot of questions in mind and those definitely would need to be answered only by Vyas, the scientist.The young lad has a flashback which has a connection with what is happening currently.

The lecture was given with the thought that the modern weapons that are being created or developed were actually in existence as per the ancient scriptures and Vedas.What does the title divyastra mean? What connection does it have in the story between a physicist and the young man.

The author has done a commendable job taking us through the plot. No place in the book gives you a feeling to keep the book down. The book does not bring in complicated terms. There is a glossary behind incase you need it.The parts of lecture explaining the existence of weapons in ancient times does give us a lot of information. This really shows the amount of effort put in by the author.

The narration is simple and lucid. The blurb not revealing any of the mystery in the book is another positive aspect.

BOOK DETAILS

Publisher : WorditCDE

Pages : 233

MY RATINGS

Title 4/5

Plot 4/5

Cover 4/5

Writing and presentation 4/5

Overall 4/5

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Review of Sanjana’s seduction

BLURB:
Sanjana is a beautiful Indian woman, in love with and married to Rohit for ten years – a man who has recently cheated on her. As she tries to recover from Rohit’s corrosive impact on her life, Sanjana reaches out to her sister Radhika for solace. With Radhika’s help, Sanjana rediscovers the pleasures of casual sex and in doing so, rediscovers her own sexuality and happiness.

MY REVIEW:

The book is a short fast paced read that can be finished in almost half an hour.

As the title claims you are openly given an idea of what the book is about or what genre the book would be about. It is strictly advised that only mature adults pick this up.

The book is of erotica genre that is evident from the title. The narration was good and done well at places.

The plot is about Sanjana , a lady who experiments casual relationships in the midst of her divorce with Rohit. The plot does not speak about how the marriage happened or why did it fall apart. It starts with Sanjana masturbating. She goes crazy seeing an actor on screen.

I quickly finished the book during lunch break and sat down for a review. This is the first book in the edge of ecstasy series.

Do pick this if you are looking for a quick read in erotica.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Publication date: 10 Apr 2019
  • Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B07Q7N2R1Z

MY RATINGS:

Title -3.5/5

Writing and presentation -3.5/5

Plot -3.5/5

Cover -3.5/5

Overall -3.5/5

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Review of Bestseller

BLURB:

Akshay Saxena, an out of work editor of a defunct literary magazine in the UK, is told to move to India for a year to help shore up the value of Kalim, an ailing Indian publisher. Akshay finds himself in a job where he has to do the impossible. Angus Lee, the new owner of Thomson Lee Books, wants at least five bestsellers in the coming year, failing which the business would be wound up. He has to find a way of making a success out of books he would never publish or would never even read. To complicate things further, he has to contend with motley crew of has-beens and misfits working for the publishing house as well as wannabe writers, dealing with their follies and derisive tactics, and battle his own affections for Zorah Kalim, the impulsive daughter of his former boss. Will he succeed in bringing out that one ‘bestseller’ from his publishing house? And what about his own life and love in office? Find out in this riveting read.

MY REVIEW:

A sudden burst of reviews and promos for the book really did make me want to read this. And must say the decision to buy this was worthy. Writing something about the publishing business in India and with elements of friendship, romance in it couldn’t have been widely thought of.

The author has taken up a different plot for the satire genre and has done complete justice to it. The books clearly lists out the various happenings that take place when a book is into publishing to become a “bestseller”. The humorous elements out into the plot makes it an engaging read.

The book is about an Indian who returns from UK and takes up an Indian publishing house job and to revive the business of the failed enterprise. Does he keep up his job by Publishing five bestsellers a year is the rest of the story.

It is a light read and a great book to go with your relaxing time. The book cover makes more sense as you progress through reading the book. The plot could be easily visualized giving credit to the narration and the simplicity in writing.

Overall it was an engaging read and I would definitely recommend this to people who prefer humor since there are a lot of LOL moments in the book making it an interesting read.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:196 pages
  • Publisher:Rupa Publications India (3 November 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9353332648
  • ISBN-13:978-9353332648

MY RATINGS:

Title: 4/5

Writing and presentation: 4/5

Plot:4/5

Cover: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ahmed Faiyaz is the bestselling author of Love, Life & All That Jazz…, Another Chance, Scammed and the editor of the Urban Shots anthologies. He was born and raised in Bengaluru. Apart from being a passionate writer, he dabbles with film-making and travels to lesser-known destinations to better understand life and the times we live in. He lives and works in Dubai, with his two boys and their tabby cat named, Bob.

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Review of lost and found in Banaras

BLURB:

Banaras celebrates death, but what does it do to the living dead? When three-year-old Brinda is widowed after being married for a few hours, her family refuses to take her back in. Deemed ‘munhoos’, she finds her way to Nirmala Ashram in Banaras where she leads a life of child widow under the watchful eye of Vasanti Bua and her friend, Debi. She and Debi are just another shade of white in the city’s numerous ‘white shadows’ until Sia and Uday return to Banaras. As visitors to the ancient city, they assumed that the unfinished stories of their past were long behind them. Little did they know that Banaras was waiting with its unspent debt and the dishonest voices would find their way back to them in Brinda and Debi. Will Banaras, standing at the crossroads between the ancient and the modern, help them expiate? Will they find what they once lost—love, longing or perhaps nirvana?

MY REVIEW:

A sober read that brings up the lives of innocent widows in Banaras is the story in this book. The book starts off with young Brinda and her brothers playing. Brinda is young, I mean very just that she is 3 years old. The house in the village is gearing up for a major celebration. No you’re wrong if you assume it would be the carnival or temple fest, it’s Brinda’s marriage. Yes, you heard me right, the three year old girl is being married off to an eleven year old boy, Biswaas.

The celebrations take place in a grand manner. Brinda is married to Biswaas who is from another village. So soon after the marriage and feast she is being sent off. Biswaas seemed disinterested right from when the marriage talks were on. Brinda cries her lungs out when she is being sent, but that is how it is in the villages. Upon her arrival she is welcomed by the siblings and her mother in law. Few moments later there is a strong downpour after which there are floods. The entire family except her father in law is lost and she keeps sobbing. When taken back to her village, things are not in their favor and she is marked as a sign of bad omen. Her brother Jhulan takes up an oath to come see her soon.So the father in law who is suffering a deadly ailment is forced to send her to Nirmala ashram run by Vasanti Bua , a home for the widows.

She being the youngest takes time to settle but is close with Debi upon whom there are numerous eye of the landlord for flesh trade. Vasanti Bua, safeguards her from the evil eyes and runs the ashram. Sia who returns to Banaras wants to bring this out to the world and give these young women a better place to live. Uday, a journalist photographer, stumbles upon SIa who then enlightens him the current situation. What happens next? Does Brinda meet her brother, what happened to Biswaas, Does Sia reunite with her love? Who takes over the ashram after Vasanti Bua is the rest of the story.

The author takes the plot in a slow pace and the sufferings of the widows and condition of the ashram is something we worry off. The vocabulary used is simple and easy to understand. It is a slow read and took me a couple of days to finish. I would not say this is a gripping read, but has a different style on its own.

The cover design could have been better. The characterization is done well with few characters playing their part. Nothing is over exaggerated. The narrations with respect to Sia’s life flashback could have been briefed instead of a longer write up.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:232 pages
  • Publisher:Readomania (17 August 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9385854666
  • ISBN-13:978-9385854668

MY RATINGS:

Title: 4/5

Writing and presentation: 3.5/5

Plot:4/5

Cover: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.75/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mona Verma is an alumni of prestigious Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi and an award winning author of 6 works of fiction, A Bridge to Nowhere, God is a River, the White Shadow, the Clown of Whitefields and other stories, the Other and Lost and Found in Banaras. She had edited various science journals, self -help books, biographies and is a regular feature writer for online newspapers. She is on board of various Universities as an advisory expert and is much sought as visiting faculty for Creative writing, Haiku and Limericks. She is now a member of FICCI and member of Writers’ meet called for by Governor of Uttarakhand, at Rajbhawan Dehradun. A Paul Harris fellow, she actively volunteers with Interplast, Germany and Rotary International foundation for the treatment of surgical accidents and burns victims. Recently, she has been honored with the executive membership in the Management Committee of Anushruti, a social initiative of IIT, Roorkee for the exemplary work done for the special children at Anushruti. She is also serving as a member of the Academic Review Committee with Anushruti, IIT Roorkee. Presently, she co-owns and runs her firm Disha, an education consultancy and thought leading initiative, which deals with corporate, organizational and faculty/student trainings in schools and Universities. Apart from the above, she has a keen interest in classical music, charcoal sketching, oil painting, photography and travel.

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Nurture is to take care of #writebravely #celebratewritetribe

Nurturing is to take care of, feed and protect so a person when referred as a nurturing person is someone who is protective and caring.

A relationship cannot survive by itself. Only when two people take care and nurture and give to each other in a way, there is a mutually favourable connection that helps in sustaining the relationship.

What are the ways you can nurture your relationship?

Loving, honest and frequent communication– Talk it out I say but with love and honesty.

The inclination to work through hitches and differences. -Try to learn to face the discomfort that comes with opinions that differ.

Thinking out of box together – The desire to do something new, step out of comfort zone by both of you, makes you build a stronger bond.

Sense of humour and a diversion from routine – Don’t just keep saying that you are working on relationship, take time out have fun.

Compliments and emotional support– Keep that trust factor on, if you get a feel that he doesn’t like or respect, the connection is gone forever. Lift up each other when the other person is down.

Love, romance, and sex- These are the foundations of a loving relationship. You can always rekindle the spark, if you know how. Do it and keep it going.

Sharing a common goal – That journey of working together towards a goal is always that we should be looking forward to, so that we pursue it together.

Admit, forgive and forget– To err is human. We all screw up. Trying to understand and let go of the mistakes the partner make swill make life even more joyful.

Share what you learnt with your better half. – You learn something new or a truth that you discover about life, make sure you share it with him. It does bring you a positive response.

Gestures that make HIM happy and also nurture your bond

  1. Compliment him in front of other.
  2. Food is the way to a man’s heart so get started.
  3. Be quick to apologize.
  4. Give him some man time.
  5. Plan a day for only the two of you.
  6. Say that he is handsome often.
  7. Get him the gift that he really wants.
  8. Put yourself first.
  9. Take time to invest and save money
  10. Write out a letter to him.
  11. Kiss him often.
  12. Learn about his hobby and get yourself involved.
  13. Initiate sex more, be romantic and playful as well.
  14. Appreciate him when he does something good.
  15. Go to him for advice and follow it.
  16. 15 minutes of talking daily. Only the two of you.

One more thing I would add is to have a meal once a day together. Take time to serve each other, enjoy the food and feel loved.

I’m Writing Bravely for the Write Tribe Festival of Words – March 2019’

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Review of Pyjamas are forgiving #instacuppa #superbloggerchallenge

BLURB:

There sitting on that porch, that light-eyed man, a pitta like me, was my ex-husband and that woman whose inner element I was unaware of, unless bitch is accepted as an undiscovered fourth dosha, was his young wife. In the serene sanctuary of Kerala’s Shanthamaaya spa where food is rationed, sex forbidden and emotions centred, Anshu meets someone familiar and deeply unsettling – her ex-husband. Bittersweet, funny and wise, Pyjamas Are Forgiving confirms Twinkle Khanna as one of our great storytellers.

MY REVIEW:

When Twinkle Khanna made announcements for releasing her third book, it piqued quite a lot of eagerness and interests in her fans and minds of other readers. Since the second book did not do seemingly well, the timing that the release came in, it set the minds of the readers who were expecting a comeback.

The plot begins with the protagonist, Anshu ; a 40 year old divorcee who seeks rejuvenation and is a regular at the Shanthamaaya sthalam, Kerala. No it is not a spa when I meant she sought rejuvenation, it is an Ayurveda Ashram by Dr. Menon where people come in seek of freedom from the doshas that plague them.

Anshu seeks peace from her fast paced life in Mumbai and comes to Kerala seeking peace and tranquility. She signs up for the 28-day rejuvenation program, which holds her a lot of surprises. Among those who signed up, Anshu’s ex-husband Jay and his new wife Shalini are also included. Anshu is in for a roller-coaster ride of innumerable emotions at having to come to terms with her ex’s presence in such close vicinity.

Shalini can be described as everything in opposite to what Anshu is. She is young, flexible, beautiful and thin. It no longer is surprising that Jay fell for her when Anshu was still starting to get used to marriage and its many bizarreness. Anshu’s heart still skips a beat seeing Jay; even though they have been separated for over a decade. After all its her first love so she cannot get over so soon.

All the characters we are introduced in the book are realistic and serve a purpose of their presence.

The writing style as always is filled with wit and humor and it cannot go wrong if I say it is generously present throughout the book. But even then it did not make a strong impact.

The book is a short read but loses the engaging or the intriguing factor somewhere in the middle as it becomes monotonous. At some instances Anshu’s encounters with Jay and the instances handled seemed to lack luster and was becoming repetitive.

The cover of the book is designed so well; in fact, it was one of the factors that pushed me to read the book. But we also know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:256 pages
  • Publisher:Juggernaut (7 September 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9386228971
  • ISBN-13:978-9386228970

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 3.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Twinkle Khanna is one of India’s top-selling writers and the author of two national bestsellers, Mrs Funnybones (winner of a Crossword Book Award 2016) and The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad. She is one of Times of India’s most read columnists and has won numerous awards, including India Today Woman Writer of the Year, Outlook Award for Most Inspiring Woman of the Year and Vogue Opinion Maker of the Year. She is the founder of Mrs Funnybones Movies and in 2018 produced the highly acclaimed film Pad Man. Khanna lives in Mumbai with her family.

This article is written as a part of SuperBloggerChallenge conducted by Healthwealthbridge.com , Allaboutthewoman.com and powered by Instacuppa and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. SuperBloggerChallenge is not responsible for any infringement caused.”

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Review of Something I never told you #superbloggerchallenge #instacuppa

BLURB:

When in love, you tend to take each other for granted, and sometimes, that can cost you a lifetime of togetherness . . . Ronnie knew that his first crush was way out of his league, and yet he pursued and wooed Adira. Shyly and from a distance in the beginning, and more persuasively later. He couldn’t believe it when the beautiful Adira actually began to reciprocate, falling in love with him for his simplicity and honesty.

Slowly, as they get close and comfortable with each other, life takes on another hue. From truly magical it becomes routine. There are fights and then making-up sessions-a clash of egos and doubts.

Things begin to change for the worst.

It is too late. Ronnie and Adira will probably never find their forever after . . .

MY REVIEW:

This book is yet another love story with the usual struggles. Raunak or Ronnie as he prefers to be called falls in love with Adira. Both are from middle class background. The story goes back and forth between the past and present.

Raunak is late for his first day at office and looks to have lost his metro card somewhere in the commotion with the auto wala regarding the fare. On searching around he notices that it is under the dupatta of a beautiful girl who is seated on the staircase talking on her mobile. I know that sounds cliched. On looking at her he realizes that she is not an unknown face but someone he knows very well.

This girl is Adira. Raunka’s maternal grandma has a PG at home, one of whom was Adira. Raunak immediately fell in love, the first day when she came into the place. Raunak hangs out with his cousins or more aptly the only friends he has during weekends, who help Granny with managing things for the house. A few formal hellos were the conversation exchanged between Raunak and Adira. Basically he is very shy to express his liking for her. This is evident in few instances where he buys a silver charm bracelet for her birthday and places a note on it without writing his name, consequence of which some random guy unknown to him in the party claims he was the one who presented it.

Bamm!! Our hero loses his chance. Yet again when Adira falls sick, he gets medicine and makes someone else hand them over to her and she thinks it was Rohit, Raunak’s cousin who took the pain of getting her medicines. Here we go again. At the same timeline, his cousin Piyush falls in love with Tamannah, Adira’s friend, proposes and they are all set for marriage.

Upon the metro train journey Raunak loses track of Adira and ends up late in office; halfway through an important meeting with the clients and his team. But a sign of relief is that through the window he catches a glimpse of Adira is happy that she works for the same company too.

Like a God given chance, Raunak and ADira are on the same team who travel to Melbourne for a client project. That is when they start talking casually. Raunak’s lead helps him understand that he is delaying a decision to go up to and confess his love to Adira.

Raunak decides and proposes, Adira replies saying she needs time to think but he is definitely more than a friend. IN between we have the usual opposition from Adira’s mom refraining her from any male company, she absconds, they meet again at Piyush’s marriage.

What happens to them? Do they reunite is the rest of the story.

The story started off in a good pace and somewhere in the middle that seemed lost. It again regained the pace during the climax. Part of the narration seems to be dragged and things are explained way more in details in the middle which kind of is not engaging.

The vocabulary was good; the narration is clear. Over all is a one-time read and a usual love story. The cover design is too good that makes you want to pick this up. Kudos for that.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:256 pages
  • Publisher:Penguin (14 February 2019)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:0143445901
  • ISBN-13:978-0143445906

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 3.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shravya loves to find hidden stories around her and write novels about them. Formerly a corporate employee, she managed to flee the madness after a few years of boredom to become a full-time writer. She is a sucker for romance and strives to pen down exciting stories. When she is not reading and writing, she is out enjoying nature, playing with her dogs or cooking for her family.

She lives in Melbourne with her family, in a house with a barren backyard and a lifetime’s collection of books.

This article is written as a part of SuperBloggerChallenge conducted by Healthwealthbridge.com , Allaboutthewoman.com and powered by Instacuppa and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. SuperBloggerChallenge is not responsible for any infringement caused.”

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Mother tongue – a must teach to your toddlers #superbloggerchallenge #instacuppa

The sudden burst of mother tongue related posts and videos doing round is not because of a campaign or a contest. February 21 is observed as International mother language day worldwide. If this is observed worldwide that shows the importance of mother tongue. This is observed to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. This also familiarizes or brings awareness of a concept called multilingualism.

Going to the history of when and how this came to existence, it was Bangladesh who came up with the initiative and was approved at the UNESCO in 1999.This has been observed since the year 2000. The utmost powerful tools of conserving and evolving our physical and insubstantial heritage are the languages we speak.

Necessity of teaching your child mother tongue

Mother tongue has a major role to play in the child’s overall development. If the foundation of learning the mother tongue is strong, it is easier for the child to learn other languages. When your child is given exposure to learn to develop skills in more than one language, the easier it is for them to learn how to use them effectively. This will not be the case with a child who knows only one language. Children when exposed to learn more languages are capable of processing information in different language thereby making them more flexible.

Learning the mother tongue also helps in developing better literacy in turn increasing the vocabulary of the child; thereby making it easier when the kid goes to kindergarten.

Learning the mother tongue helps the child to feel more connected with the roots and culture. That will not be the case with children who are brought up in a place where they do not have much exposure to their mother tongue. As a result, they feel left out when they are back to where they belong.

How do you teach mother tongue?

  • Start teaching mother tongue at home
  • Communicate to them in mother tongue
  • Grandparents are a great learning source to teach mother tongue
  • Gatherings of like-minded people, in this case people who have same mother tongue
  • Read books in mother tongue.

How did I incorporate mother tongue in my toddler’s vocabulary?

  • I always teach my daughter the name of an object in tamil(my mother tongue) and English. In that way she is able to identify the object in both languages.
  • I always insist she calls me Amma(mother in tamil) and not mummy or mom. Same goes with Appa(father). She is taught the various terms for relatives only in mother tongue tamil.
  • Though she enjoys watching rhymes in English, there are equally good rhymes available in tamil as well. So she is exposed to both cultures.
  • The people in the house converse with her in Tamil to which she responds back well and I can also see that since us the elders talk in mother tongue at home she has picked up words from conversations and is able to use them in situations as she needs.

So let us be strong in teaching our kids the mother tongue so that they do not forget their roots and also help in preserving the vast heritage.

This article is written as a part of SuperBloggerChallenge conducted by Healthwealthbridge.com , Allaboutthewoman.com https://allaboutthewoman.com/woman-health/ and powered by Instacuppa https://instacuppastore.com and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. SuperBloggerChallenge is not responsible for any infringement caused.”

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Mother tongue – a must teach to your toddlers #superbloggerchallenge #instacuppa

The sudden burst of mother tongue related posts and videos doing round is not because of a campaign or a contest. February 21 is observed as International mother language day worldwide. If this is observed worldwide that shows the importance of mother tongue. This is observed to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. This also familiarizes or brings awareness of a concept called multilingualism.

Going to the history of when and how this came to existence, it was Bangladesh who came up with the initiative and was approved at the UNESCO in 1999.This has been observed since the year 2000. The utmost powerful tools of conserving and evolving our physical and insubstantial heritage are the languages we speak.

Necessity of teaching your child mother tongue

Mother tongue has a major role to play in the child’s overall development. If the foundation of learning the mother tongue is strong, it is easier for the child to learn other languages. When your child is given exposure to learn to develop skills in more than one language, the easier it is for them to learn how to use them effectively. This will not be the case with a child who knows only one language. Children when exposed to learn more languages are capable of processing information in different language thereby making them more flexible.

Learning the mother tongue also helps in developing better literacy in turn increasing the vocabulary of the child; thereby making it easier when the kid goes to kindergarten.

Learning the mother tongue helps the child to feel more connected with the roots and culture. That will not be the case with children who are brought up in a place where they do not have much exposure to their mother tongue. As a result, they feel left out when they are back to where they belong.

How do you teach mother tongue?

  • Start teaching mother tongue at home
  • Communicate to them in mother tongue
  • Grandparents are a great learning source to teach mother tongue
  • Gatherings of like-minded people, in this case people who have same mother tongue
  • Read books in mother tongue.

How did I incorporate mother tongue in my toddler’s vocabulary?

  • I always teach my daughter the name of an object in tamil(my mother tongue) and English. In that way she is able to identify the object in both languages.
  • I always insist she calls me Amma(mother in tamil) and not mummy or mom. Same goes with Appa(father). She is taught the various terms for relatives only in mother tongue tamil.
  • Though she enjoys watching rhymes in English, there are equally good rhymes available in tamil as well. So she is exposed to both cultures.
  • The people in the house converse with her in Tamil to which she responds back well and I can also see that since us the elders talk in mother tongue at home she has picked up words from conversations and is able to use them in situations as she needs.

So let us be strong in teaching our kids the mother tongue so that they do not forget their roots and also help in preserving the vast heritage.

This article is written as a part of SuperBloggerChallenge conducted by Healthwealthbridge.com , Allaboutthewoman.com and powered by Instacuppa and should not be repurposed, republished or used otherwise. The content herein is owned by the blogger. SuperBloggerChallenge is not responsible for any infringement caused.”

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Review of Aranghya and Jahar – Bandahar series part I

BLURB:

Evil Sorcerer or Tyrant? Mercenary or Warrior Prince? Songstress or Mythical Nymph? Three Protagonists conjoined by the wrath of a wasteland create an unprecedented history Only one thing stands between an evil sorcerer and his will to destroy a flourishing empire – Shikhanderi’s love for Ishanya Will Shikhanderi’s quest for his identity rock the very foundations of Bandahar? Will Shikhanderi and Ishanya’s love ever see light in the darkness that is Jahar? From a first time writer, comes a thrilling tale of adventure, myth, and fantasy.

MY REVIEW:

The plot involves many characters of whom Mithilesh is the King of Aranghya, part of Bandahar which comprises of seven kingdoms. He has been warned that he would be killed by a golden serpent. And also been warned by the dreamers that he would have to get rid of Kindgom else his entire dynasty would have to be wiped out of history.

Even after having all these thoughts in mind, the King wants to marry of his daughter Princess Binodhini to Prince Vikrant (Prince of Kingdom Dwadesh of Bandahar). But as a twist the prince is in love with Ishanya, the daughter of a sage and is someone who sings well. Her voice is known to be magical with mystical abilities. A love triangle exists between Binodhini, Vikrant and Ishanya.

The book begins with a scene which introduces the main Protagonist Shikanderi. The initial chapters give you an idea about the Kingdoms. There are too many plots involved like the Kind and his destiny, the relationship between the kingdoms, the prince and the princess. There is one more character, Karmachakra involved who wants to invade Bandahar and has ill intentions that he kidnaps women to satisfy his intentions. He is a great sorcerer.

What is the fate of the King Mithilesh, what happens to the kingdoms? Does the serpent kill the King? Does Karmachakra invade the kingdom? Whom does the Princess marry? Do Shikanderi and Ishanya unite is the rest of the story.

The narration seems a bit complicated to understand, but no worries you are provided with a glossary at the end. The too and fro between past and present, too many little plots make it a bit tough to continuously read.

The names of the characters and few serious sequences were worth mentioning.

The books cover shows open sky with some explosions which could have been better for a serious plot like this. But the cover does not reveal what the book actually holds.

Overall the book deserves its place in good one time read list.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format:Kindle Edition
  • File Size:2347 KB
  • Print Length:147 pages
  • Sold by:Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited
  • Language:English
  • ASIN:B07M6GG7GX

MY RATING: Cover: 3.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 3.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5