Category: fiction

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Review of Was it love

BLURB:

Leila Rajput is a young girl, struggling with life and relationships, dealing with the trauma of a past life-event. Unaware of her true potential, she has almost given up on life, till she meets this dynamic, near-perfect Vikrant Rao via internet. He identifies her potential and offers her a strange arrangement to be her mentor. He teaches her the basics of life, makes her realize her dreams and helps her in achieving them step by step. Under his guidance, she evolves into a confident and independent woman. They eventually fall in love and Vikrant relocates to her city, where he meets her friend Maya. While he solves Maya’s life conflicts and helps her elope with Shahan, he charges a fee none could ever imagine. Is Vikrant a villain or a victim of greed? Did he truly love Leila or was she just a puppet to reach his next victim? Was it Love? is a story of Leila’s journey through emotions, trials, betrayal and the devil called love.

MY REVIEW:

The book starts with childhood friends Leyla and Maya, on their way to attend an annual party of corporate Inc, which is where Leyla’s boyfriend Vikrant Rao works. Leyla and Maya are now 20, completing MBA and joining the same investment banking company. Maya fumes as she is not okay with Leyla’s rash driving. They end up reaching the party on time. They are received by Vikrant and Shahan(Maya’s boyfriend). Vikrant introduces his beautiful girlfriend to all his colleagues.

Leyla meets Vikrant over the internet( he stays in US), a few years back when she was in college. They started commenting on a blog platform and which in turn bloomed into daily ritual of talking to each other over voice chat. Leyla is insecure and is being mentored by Vikrant to be a better human being and refining her thought process. The mental relationship with Vikrant costs Leyla her relationship with family friend, Avi. He dumps her and she is broken. Vikrant molds and motivates her at this point where she fails in love with him.

They come to a point where they cannot be with each other. Vikrant relocates to Delhi. Leyla makes him meet her friend Maya and offer her some piece of advice since she is in a personal turmoil.

She is in love with Shahan and there would be a religion problem if they come to seek parental consent for marriage. Shahan plans to move to US to pursue executive MBA. Vikrant advises gun to leave and makes a plan for Maya to pursue fashion design in the US so that she and Shahan can elope and live happily together.

Shahan and Maya were delighted on hearing the plan however Leyla is skeptical about it. She somehow notices a change in behavior of Vikrant. Shahan leaves to the US and Maya frequently visits Vikrant to discuss their plans. This goes on for a while until things are uninformed to Leyla and Vikrant starts to ignore her.

Leyla becomes disturbed which is noticed by her boss, Aman. He in turn decides to help her out. Leyla confesses the whole story. Aman, discovers a gruesome truth about Vikrant which leaves her shocking. Aman helps her with the situation and also confesses his love to her.

What happens to Maya? Does she reunite with Shahan? What is the truth about Vikrant? Why does he avoid Leyla and what are his intentions? What happens to Leyla, does she reunite with Vikrant ot she accepts Aman is the rest of the story.

The book is a short read. Initial chapters consist of the chat exchanges between Vikrant and Leyla, which was kind of monotonous. They have poetic exchanges which tends to slows down the pace of the story.

The character of Vikrant is very hard to predict. At one moment he seems to be too pleasing when he talks to Leyla, at a later point he looks to be behaving with a reason to accomplish something else. Leyla on the other hand is gentle, insecure and vulnerable.

The narration is good, except for the dialogues part which could have been minimized. The ending could have been better. I would not term this as a suspense read, since I found that element missing. It was overall a light and a quick read.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:192 pages
  • Publisher:Srishti Publishers & Distributors; First edition (10 August 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9789387022300
  • ISBN-13:978-9387022300
  • ASIN:9387022307

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 3.75/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Neha Sultania belongs to a culturally rich Punjabi family that originally hails from undivided India, now Pakistan. After her post-graduation in Business Administration, she took up banking as her career choice. A creative bent of mind has made her inclination strongly towards storytelling and poetry. Interest in mysteries and mystical nature of the universe has also made her wander into the deep occult sciences, making her a student of Vedic astrology.

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Review of the watchmaker and time

BLURB:

Pedro’s love for watches was born out of a strange incident in his childhood. Over the years he has become one of the most renowned watch designers in the world also holding the title, ‘the Maestro of Time’.

One fine day, he gets challenged by his granddaughter on the fundamentals of Time. Unable to answer her innocent questions, he realizes that all his life he had been creating watches but had failed to understand what Time was all about. He gets on to an interesting journey in search for answers.

The journey unfolds with the puzzles of his past guiding him ahead as one after the other his beliefs start getting shattered. Will the puzzles of his past ever let him get to the future? Will he ever find out the true essence of Time? Join this watchmaker in his enriching and thought provoking journey in search of time.

MY REVIEW:

If you are looking for an engaging short read, you must definitely go for this book. Simply one of the best reads I have come across this year. When I initially signed up for review, I thought that the plot would sound very complex and would take a lot of time for me to complete. But the author proved me wrong completely. Would you below I completed the book in 45 minutes.

The book starts with Maria, an eight-year-old looking around a room full of clocks. She is dumbstruck by the collection and is keen to find which clock is new. She is a regular visitor and can find out if anything new is occupied in the room. Right in front of her, we see a 70-year-old man, looking down and working seriously. The man is none other than, Pedro or the “maestro of time’ as he is known. He is Maria’s grandpa and was currently working to fix her watch. He loves to work quietly and when he’s into work, he’s into completely a different world and does not want to be disturbed. His world while working is only him and the clocks.

His work is interfered when Maria, tries to open her purse to look at her new flipbook. That is when it all starts. She starts questioning him on what is time and where is it. Pedro is startled when Maria questions him and makes him realize that all these years he’s been working with watches and he had missed thinking about these.

Pedro receives a phone call from his friend Stuart, post which Pedro and Maria are on their way to see Stuart. Stuart hands over a black box and a letter to Pedro. The letter was from Edward who is Pedro’s opponent counterpart from whom Pedro was expecting a solution to his long-running question in mind. The letter read out that Edward was unable to help and is unaware of any solution that would help Pedro.

When Pedro was a kid, he went out on a trip to Stonehenge with his parents and uncle. Pedro dreams of an old man chasing him and wakes up with a loud cry. That startles uncle Joseph, who ends up crashing the car into a tree. Unnoticed by anyone Pedro realizes they are so close to Stonehenge and he sleeps on the open field when he again sees the old man who gives him a watch. The watch has been running till now when Pedro is 70 years, but the question is how since it does not have a battery or cell.

Pedro meets Reishi, a spiritual man, who gives a word of knowledge to Pedro about calmness and disturbance. It is after this meeting; Pedro decides to go back to Stonehenge to find out answers for the underlying mystery of the watch.

Does he find the answers? Who was the mysterious old man? What is the relationship between what Reishi told Pedro and what he is about to discover?

The narration is just right with the amount of pace that it puts into the reader’s mind. Those cute aeroplane drawings made to explain time concepts make it an additional reason for you to like the book. The editing was fine and the plot was simple and easy to comprehend.

Pedro’s character was thought out well, to have the maturity and knowledge of a seventy-year-old man and the childishness he has when he is around Maria are commendable.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback: 118 pages
  • Publisher: Embassy Book Distributors; First Edition edition (27 November 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:9386450984
  • ISBN-13:978-9386450982

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4.5/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Devang Kanavia is a passionate storyteller who ventured into the world of writing with his first book, Best Sellers: Because Everything Is About Selling. A notable speaker and leadership coach, Devang is a versatile author with a perfect blend of science and philosophy. With a lucid and compact style of writing, Devang uses powerful analogies to question the obvious and explore the oblivious while creating page-turners, be it Management or Fiction. In The Watchmaker And Time, he explores one of the most enigmatic subjects, Time, and weaves a delightful and thought-provoking tale unravelling the mystery of Time.

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Review of Kaalkoot

BLURB:

January 1944 Holed up in a Himalayan hideout, freedom fighter Manohar Rai has to take a chilling decision – one that could mean life or death for millions of people. His only hope is a mysterious young man, who goes into hiding hours before Manohar is shot dead in cold blood. June 2018 A forgotten legend from the upper reaches of the Himalayas is rearing its ominous head. The world will be brought to its knees. KaalKoot will strike again. Only three people have a clue about the horrors that are about the unfold. The only hope for survival lies buried deep in the remotest corner of Himalayas. But a terrible fate awaits those who seek it. Is it already too late Is KaalKoot – the primordial plague – unstoppable.

MY REVIEW:

This is one book that made me regret my decision. No I did not mean it in a way that I regretted choosing the book. The book’s initial part did not make me glue to it. I read the book taking frequent breaks, but once the plot began racy, the breaks were gone far off and you wouldn’t believe starting I completed the book from part II till the end in one stretch. Such gripping and intriguing was the narration. It made me think what was next or who is next?

The story starts with an introduction to Manohar Rai who keeps a certain information a secret from the government. The story dates back to in the 1940s. But when he suspects that the secret would be sneaked out, he decides to confide it within a youngster. And then there was no information about what was confided and who the youngster was.

Professor Bani and few others are into research about this, gather so much information and a lot of background studies, come to know that the secret that was confided or a weapon that could have possibly been used in the past is to be put in use in the current future. HE along with Professor Hudson, Bavedkar and Steve are aware of it. There is an opponent group headed by Maestro or Doc as he is called; who rediscovered the weapon and is planning an attack with it, to make these professors come out with the secret.

The story starts with a series of disappearances, murders. Sameer is on the verge of losing his relationship with Ananya. This is when she is kidnapped, because she helped out Professor Bavedkar. Sameer tracks the clues left behind and has unknowingly put himself into the quest of solving the mystery of the weapon or “Kaalkoot’ as it’s been known widely.

Damini an agent with ACG, an investigative agency heads this operation guided by her chief. She along with Sameer set out on a journey of mysterious findings from a flashback being told by Professor Bani. Professor Bani, saddened by the sudden disappearance of Bavedkar and demise of Steve, is forced to talk about the ancient history of Kaalkoot.

Together when they plan to set out to rediscover the secrets that the youngster left, Damini is demoted and is cleared from handling the case. But she offers all help to Sameer to accomplish the task.

The British on knowing that the Japanese coming into power might also take over India, plan to destroy the evergreen lands to rubble. And to do this, they used a weapon. People are killed, leaving no evidence of existence. In order to save the richest of literature and artifacts of our nation, the youngster travelled the length and breadth of country and gathered them and secretly hid them in a place that nobody knows. The place also holds another secret, which I am not about to give out and will leave it for you to find out when you read the book.

After much struggles, does Sameer find out the secret hideout, does he discover the treasures of the nation? Does he reunite with Ananya? What happens to Damini and the opponent maestro is the rest of the story.

Though the book starts in slow pace, it gains momentum at the right place. The editing was perfect. I really appreciate the narration style of the author, not giving up the entire secret at one go and making your eagerness drop. Chapter by chapter, the need to find out increases which makes it an interesting need.

The book is divided into parts and in turn into chapters. The chapters also include simultaneous narrations from various scenes, which gives you a complete picture on what is happening is a reaction to the action in one scene.

A well thought out plot, executed perfectly.

I got the book as part of the review program in outset .

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Reading level:12+ years
  • Paperback:343 pages
  • Publisher:TreeShade Books (7 December 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:8193642457
  • ISBN-13:978-8193642450

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Venkatesh wears many hats. In his roles as private equity investor, executive coach, business leader, entrepreneur and Board member, he has helped businesses thrive and grow. He has spent a significant part of his professional life in the stock markets with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan and continues to be an avid investor. Venkatesh has been keenly interested in Eastern philosophy and mysticism right from his college days at IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta. He has found his inspiration to write in rather curious settings – while crawling through war tunnels in Vietnam, coming face-to-face with a bear in the Nilgiris, chancing upon an Indus Valley ruin while on a road trip, listening to “Madhushala,” or just drinking cutting chai by the roadside. He is passionate about self-discovery and the power of stories to inspire and transform.

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Review of together forever to never

BLURB:

No one can love like you… if I lose you, I will be left with nothing’ So says Sariyanka, a girl from a small town, madly in love with Samar. Having lost true love once before, Samar too believes that Sariyanka is his other half whom Zeus, the Greek God had separated from him.. In a chance conversation with his friend Mayank, Samar discovers some shocking truths. As the story unravels, a series of events follow that forever change the meaning of love for Samar. Is Sariyanka the one Samar calls his ‘other half’? Will Samar get the love that he always longed for? This highly anticipated novel by Satish Goyal is an emotional roller coaster that bravely explores the highs and lows of love. It’s a story of love – unshaken and unquestioned; yet unfulfilled and unrequited. A saga of deceit served on a platter of lies. About the author: Satish Goyal is a finance professional and works at a US multinational company. Since his days at the university, he had dreamed of writing on subjects close to his heart, but had put those dreams on hold to focus on his family and career. He finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with his first novel ‘Together Forever To Never”. Satish believes that success cannot be measured in terms of wealth or titles. The true measure of success is happiness that one is able to achieve in life. Satish is now writing his second book, “The Coaster Series”.

MY REVIEW:

Samar and Monali, sweethearts at young age, married happily for ten years. Samar, the protagonist has everything in life-great career, a loving wife and an adorable son. If life is described as a fairytale, their story should definitely be one of the chapters.

While the story goes on happily, a tragedy struck. Monali exits their world and leaves Samar in deep sorrow. Human spirituality, psychiatrist’s advice, he embraced life again. There we have another entry. Sariyanka came into his life. That is when he realizes he has found his better half. They fell in love madly with each other.

One fine day, when he was conversing with his friend Mayank. He comes to know a shocking truth. The truth gets proved by a couple of evidences which raises a doubt of loyalty on Sariyanka. After deep thinking, he confronts her and gets shattered. He moves on after a long struggle. A very engaging tale that makes you enjoy the feeling of love.

I loved the way it was printed the quality of paper used. Being a debut novel, it was written well and sequences placed at the right points. The narration was good and the character portrayal was really good.

Love makes you blindly trust people, that makes you forget everything. But falling in love with the right person makes the difference.

I just loved the way the cover is designed, that makes you want to pick it up and read it right away.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback: 188 pages
  • Publisher: Paper Towns Publishers; 1 edition (15 December 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B07LDVQL3J

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

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Review of Endurer – a rape story

BLURB:

Life was a fun fed roller coaster: New found love, drugs, cat-fights, patch ups, crushes, night hangouts, and unplanned trips. Like any girl, not in the wildest dream, Palak could imagine that after attending a Rave Party, she will wake up to the horror of finding herself raped. In traumatic conditions and struggle between sanity and hallucinations, she is compelled by the circumstances to leave her world. Already fighting a war within, her stances take a toll witnessing horrifying tales of women and girls. Little did she know that this catastrophe was not enough for one lifetime, and a storm – was just cooling its heels. Will she be able to carve her path while facing the rapists, her tyrant father, appearances of her passed away mother? Should Palak let her life to be decided by people, society, and taboos? Would justice return her life or revenge lend her peace? A heart-rending story of a girl, whose beliefs and honor has been battered, stands up to make choices, rediscovering the meaning of life.

MY REVIEW:

After Nirbaya, the word ‘rape’ brings in a chill whenever we hear. Though we have several acts, security for women, the crime is happening at some corner of this country.

This book brings out one such case. The book initially describes the high-fi lifestyle, rich kids, parties, drugs, alcohol. The protagonist Palak stays in the hostel with her friends. They enjoy life at the fullest. High-fi car rides, drinks and what not.

At one such instance the friends plan to attend a rave party which is considered illegal. Initially they had fun, but as time goes on they do not realize what is happening due to the amounts of intake. On Awakening, Palak realizes she’s been raped. Unaware of who did it, they all zero in on Rohin who seems to be missing post the party. A porn video of Palak being raped in on circulation which adds to her depression, as she starts getting panic attacks frequently.But the twist is Rohin later comes into picture and takes Palak to his hometown to heal her from depression. He proposes her when he goes to hometown. There Palak meets Sethani and Meethi, the women in Rohin’s family. These women were also subject to harassment and rape in younger age.

Palak is showered with love and affection by them both. Meanwhile, her friends also arrive there to see how she cope up. That is when Rohin makes a plan to find out the culprit. What happens then? Who is Sethani ? How is she related to Meethi and ROhin? Do they find out the culprit and male them pay for the cruel crime? is the rest of the story.

The pace of the narration is apt for the plot. The characterization is brilliant, especially that of Rohin and Palak. There are a lot of emotions conveyed, that make you feel since the book is being narrated in first person.

The front cover looks so intriguing, the design makes you go aww and conveys a lot of emotions. Rohin is not very outspoken but is a secret admirer of Palak. Jahan on the other hand openly expresses his liking.

I really appreciate the author for taking up a bold subject and handled it in a great manner.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:224 pages
  • Publisher:Write India Publishers; First edition (16 September 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:8193653572
  • ISBN-13:978-8193653579

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kapil Raj is an author and a professional based at New Delhi, India. His writing reflects the understanding of the social functioning and human psychology.With the heart of a philosopher, mind of a realist, and a deep-rooted non-conformist, he lives many lives, yet stealing the time for the most precious thing which matters to him: crafting plots, playing with characters and weaving the stories with inscribed messages.He actively runs a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram/realistespresso reflecting the other interests like photography and poetry.

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Review of Because I promised

BLURB:

At their college farewell party, Varnika publicly rejects Sushant’s candid proposal in the most disrespectful way imaginable, leaving everyone – including her gang of cousins – dismayed. She feels that her reasons are valid, for doing this to her best friend. What exactly are her reasons for making this upsetting choice? Did her mother’s move to Mumbai during Varnika’s formative years have a bearing on her? Or is it more than that? What is she planning to do at the NGO for eunuchs? Will she succeed in her chosen career? Would she be able to overcome her inhibitions before it is too late? This is Varnika’s journey as she overcomes her personal reservations and professional challenges, all the while contemplating her promise to lock her heart away.

MY REVIEW:

Get yourselves ready before reading the book, since there are lot many characters you need to keep in mind when you start reading. The book’s plot is kind of usual, a proposal being rejected, career prospects, hard work, success and so on. So the book has all sorts of emotion- friendship, romance, family drama, brother- sister sentiments.

The book starts off with an extravagant farewell party organized in the college. Sushant grabs this opportunity to open up his feelings and confess his love to Varnika, the female protagonist who is going be the driving factor of this novel. Sudhant proposes with a bouquet on one knee during the time when folks are almost gloomy and tired after an enthusiastic anthakshari which again was Sushant’s tactic to get Varnika into his proposal plan. That particular proposal episode was well thought out I must say; was indeed good to read through that part. But in vain, Varnika out rightly rejects.

Varnika stays with her extended family and her cousins along with her grandma, fondly called by all as Badi ma. Varnika’s mom Beena is settled in Mumbai, whom she visits as and when she gets time. Varnika planned to settle with her mom post her graduation. Varnika is showered with love and care from cousin brothers, sisters.

So after the graduation she moves to Mumbai and instead of taking up responsibility in her mom’s business, she decides to work in the NGO, started by her grandfather which is run for eunuchs and their well-being. Beena initially has hesitations, but agrees to it finally. Sushant meanwhile pursues MBA in Bangalore. Ulfat bi is one of the care takers at the home, who becomes the guiding light, friend , philosopher to Varnika. She also realizes that Varnika is in love with Sushant but is stopping herself to bring out her honest emotions.

In the amidst of this, Varnika is challenged by a bigshot to raise 50L for the NGO in a fair. So there begins a racy pace in the narration that they decide to accept the challenge. Beena brings in Sushant to assist her. What happens in the end? Does she win the challenge? Does she accept Sushant is the remaining part of the story.

The writing style is simple and engaging. Even though the plot seems to be usual the narration and other factors make it a good script for a Bollywood movie.

There are a lot many characters. Varnika’s cousin brother Swayam and his wife Avani, who are fond of her. Avani who is an equally enthusiastic character wishes to pursue fashion designing instead of settling in, bearing an offspring as per wishes of Badi ma. She even succeeds to pursue the course.

Varnika’s cousin Golu, a little chirpie kid. Tapasya, another cousin whose adolescent but still wishes to be considered an adult and to be involved in discussions.

Though there are many characters, the role of each is carved perfect and not over dramatic.

Overall, it’s a good read.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format: Paperback
  • Publisher:GJ Group (2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:8193660250
  • ISBN-13:978-8193660256

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

About The Author

Anupriya belongs to that generation of Idiots (the proud ones though), who did their engineering first and then decided on what they actually wanted to do. She completed her MBA in Human Resources and worked in the corporate world for 8 years, before taking a professional break. A mom by day and a reader/writer by night, Anupriya is a die-hard romantic. Yet she believes that love (in any relationship) is a part of life, not, the heart of life. And she aims to bring to the world, stories around this theme.

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Review of All you need is love

BLURB:

Neil and Gauri have made it big and are enjoying life with their doting daughter Neilakshi. Holidaying in Cuba, little do they know that the selfie they send back to their daughter in India will be their last, as they are attacked by mysterious men. They cannot be traced and there are rumors of murder. The governments of both the nations jointly investigate and try to find them at war footing level. Their friends wonder why someone is hell-bent on breaking the lovers apart, this time forever. Who it could be – Rachel, Neil’s hostile lover? or Arya, his college time girlfriend? or is it something much bigger than they could have ever imagined.

MY REVIEW:

Phew! It was one thrilling read that went back and forth between the past and the present. The pace was so racy that it makes you want to think “What’s next? What’s Next?”

This is one of the books in the Trilogy written by the author.

The plot starts with the billionaire couple Neil and Gauri riding their car in extreme speed after attending a concert. They have some romantic exchanges after stopping for a while. Gauri decides to click a few pictures and send them over to Tom, with whom they have left their daughter Neilakshi.

Once they start their ride, there is a volley of gunshots heard and the car skids, hits a tree trunk and is hanging down a cliff. There was no blood spill, since it was all washed out in the heavy downpour, Gauri was never to be seen.

This is where the pace kicks. Sreedhar and Alicia who were Neil and Gauri’s host, panic, since Neil and Gauri haven’t returned after the concert. They decide to keep Tom and Mehr informed. Tom blasts Sreedhar for being so passive and urges him to act immediately. Soon, the news is all over the media and a search for the two begins.

Meanwhile, the story goes back and forth on how Neil establishes the company and the possible suspects who would have planned the crime. Who planned the attack? What is the background that led to this? DO Neil and Gauri survive? What happens to their daughter is the rest of the plot.

A number of characters are involved, so makes it a bit difficult to quickly recollect who is who. A brilliantly thought out plot put into flawless writing.

The narration is easy to understand and crisp for a complex plot. I loved the character of Gauri. The kind of love that she has for Neil and the way it is portrayed throughout is simply commendable.

The cover design is mention worthy, applause for that which is one more reason for you to pick the book.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:176 pages
  • Publisher:Srishti Publishers and Distributors; First edition (10 November 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9387022420
  • ISBN-13:978-9387022423

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Arvind Parashar is the bestselling author of three romantic thrillers. All You Need Is Love is the final part of the ‘Messed Up!’ trilogy. Apart from writing, he is also an artist, a well-known motivational speaker and the face of many prestigious literary festivals. He manages his passion of writing novels along with working as a Vice President in a large corporate firm.

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Review of Magic square

BLURB:

Amudha is a Ph.D. scholar, practically living in her research lab, leading an uneventful life. Amudha’s life takes an adventurous turn, when she finds a puzzle in an old Mathematics book. Surprisingly, the puzzle has nothing to do with Mathematics. Amudha embarks on a journey to solve the enigma. Every twist and turn in her journey is filled with suspense and surprises. The journey challenges and threatens Amudha. Whenever Amudha solves a part of the puzzle, a new one presents itself. Will Amudha solve the puzzle? How far does the rabbit hole go? What awaits her at the end of it? Will Amudha be the same person if she comes out of it? Read on Magic Square for answers.

MY REVIEW:

Well, if you are looking for a short read with an intriguing mystery to be unveiled, you can definitely give this a try. Magic square is a debut Novella by Salini, but stands out good with very minimal characters. As the name sounds, it isn’t deep into mathematical knowledge or concepts but mathematics does play a role.

Amudha the protagonist is a PH.D scholar. After being rejected by umpteen interview panels. She finally decides that Ph.D is the destiny for her. And she also made it to the list of candidates chosen by Prof. Murthy. She practically starts living in the lab, since she feels ignored at home between an elder sister and a younger brother who take away all the attention from here. Dheeraj is also one of the research candidates, but has practically been longer in Murthy’s lab than Amudha.

Amudha had gotten used to being with Dheeraj that she is confused if she is in love or it was just like how she was attached to every table and chair. Dheeraj hopes on every submission that he would be called by the professor to intimate that he would graduate the next year, but it just doesn’t seem to happen. One fine day hes given a list of problems to be solved. HE together with Amudha search google in all possible ways but couldn’t find even those questions online.

That’s when Amudha decides to take Dheeraj to her favorite place next to lab, an old library. The place is not organized with books lying around on all corners. She tells Dheeraj to help himself to find the solutions to the problems and not to divert himself to other areas.

Dheeraj while going through random piles of books uncovers a discrete mathematics textbook from the year 1965. It belonged to L V Sreenivasan. The book had solutions to all the problems he was puzzled with. HE began to worship this unknown person. Amudha also takes time to see the book where she notices a tamil poem of few lines written to a person named Harini.

While Dheeraj goes to spend his Christmas vacation in north India, Amudha decides to go in search of L V Sreenivasan. Thanks to the name of the college written on the book, she first calls the reception, then to the records department; only to know that she has to go in person to Chennai; to meet the registrar to gather that information.

Does Amudha find the unknown L V Sreenivasan immediately or what are the situations she is put through, does Dheeraj help her is the rest of the story.

A wonderful gripping read, I finished the book at one go. The writing style is simple. Characterizations are given very much importance. With just few characters each doing a critical part does give the plot a heads up. I found few editing mistakes at places. For a debut novel the choice of plot and writing style is appreciable.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format:Kindle Edition
  • File Size:4432 KB
  • Print Length:62 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage:Unlimited
  • Sold by:Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited
  • Language:English
  • ASIN:B07KSHCVQL

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The Author an Indian-English writer who lives in Bangalore, India. This is her debut English fiction novella. She is an engineer by profession but she enjoys writing stories and travelogues. She has recently quit her job to start full time writing. She can be reached at sasidharan.salini@gmail.com

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Review of The death wish

BLURB:

“Detailed observations of human behavior and the complexity of human relationships…” – The HinduAs a man decides to end his life by jumping off the roof of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.Should he; should he not? Is there something to change his mind at the last minute?

MY REVIEW:

This book is yet another gem in the “it’s all about love series”. The plot revolves around Abani Halder, an old man who is on the verge of committing a suicide. The story begins with the description of tall buildings in the city, the sun setting down, children playing around. Abhani , the old man rewinds his childhood.

Shibu as he’s known to be called is Abhani’s father. He sells flutes on trains. He plays it while sitting beside windows at home, listening to which Abhani falls asleep peacefully. His mother on the other hand cooks their food. It’s a typical daily wage earning scenario. Shibu is also an alchoholic who spends his earnings in drinks. And on that fateful day he takes up more than usual and slips between the train steps and platform and ends up dying.

His mother takes up the burden to work an extra mile to meet the needs of the family. Abani on the other hand realizes his responsibility and studies hard. He longs to buy a saree with his first earnings for his mom, just like how the heroes do in movies he’s watched.

But fate played its part again, two days before his first salary day his mother dies and so does his dream of buying her a saree. All this flashes across Abhani’s mind. The only thing that was sweet about his childhood is the prashadh and aarti his mom prepares on his birthday.

His current life, he thinks that he is a burden to his son and daughter in law. More recently he was confined to his own room, rather than the common areas. He gets humiliated in a way he does not accompany them when guests pay a visit. His opinions are not to be taken into consideration. He clearly knows that he cannot live there anymore and remembers a thought that suicide is comforting.

When all this plays in his mind, he notices that all vehicles come at a standstill on the road. A lady sprang in action to save a child from going under the wheels of a truck. HE realizes that the lady could only be the mother’s child who would have dared to do such a thing. Does this change his mind? Does he die or he continues to draw strength and lives with the family is the remaining story?

The blurb took my attention and I chose to read it immediately. It’s a short read but a satisfying one.

Some situations in life make us realize if we are really important to live this fully or to stop it ourselves. But time teaches a valuable lesson to think and make a decision.

The narration is wonderful and the character of Abhani has been beautifully portrayed. There are no mistakes in editing and the cover design supports the plot and is also one of the reasons for me to pick this book up.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format:Kindle Edition
  • File Size:232 KB
  • Print Length:21 pages
  • Publisher:Srishti Publishers & Distributors (22 October 2018)
  • Sold by:Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited
  • Language:English
  • ASIN:B07GXNL2XY

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

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Review of Once upon an IAS exam

BLURB:

Vishy’s worst nightmare-failing the UPSC’s Civil Services exam-has come true. He is plagued by insecurity, fear and doubts. The mother of all competitive examinations has rejected him and he needs a reason to live. So, what does he do? He tells his best friend Rithika, ‘I love you. Will you marry me?’

In Once Upon an IAS Exam, twenty-five-year-old Vishy tries to overcome the uncertainty and confusion about his future and figure out ways of convincing Rithika to marry him. Things turn even more interesting, funny and emotional as Vishy reattempts to conquer ‘Mount IAS’. As he tries to take his academic and love life towards safety, he seeks refuge in the world of IAS coaching centres.

Set in the bustling Civil Services exam coaching hub of Anna Nagar in Chennai, this book is a hilarious account of the actuality, stress and struggle faced by millions of candidates who prepare year after year for one of India’s toughest exams. Join Vishy as he sets out to prove his mettle to the world-and himself. Will Rithika accept the love of her best friend? Will Vishy overcome his sense of failure? Will there be a happily ever after?

MY REVIEW:

Once upon an IAS exam is a hilarious, motivating read by Dr. Vijayakarthikeyan. It tells us the struggles of a UPSC exam aspirant and the hardships they go through to achieve success. The protagonist Vishy alias Vishwanathan is introduced as a person who is in serious search hunt for a good UPSC coaching center after having flunked the prelims. He goes about the streets of Annanagar,one by one of each coaching center and finally settles to getting admitted to one- Great minds run by husband and wife duo Geetha and Natarajan.

They are themselves staffs who handle one of the optional subjects in the coaching center. He also confesses his feeling to his long time BFF from school Rithika. Rithika is a typical girl next door kind of character, who seeks a time out to think of and decide if she’s in love with him. They part ways and continue with their own life. Time and again their thoughts cross each other but respect each other’s privacy and understand their primary goal and stay away. Rithika took up the usual job in one of the top MNCs in the city.

Vishy became friends with Vinod and Ashok who are also IAS aspirants from the same coaching center. Ashok and Vinod stay in the hostel sharing room, which is primarily a storehouse for their books and they actually spend a lot of time in terrace. All three spend a great deal of time with each other having fun and also study together. Vinod is love with Neena from the neighboring coaching center which is at arm’s reach from their classrooms. After constant support and courage from Vishy and Ashok , Vinod finally opens up his feelings in a hilarious and silly way to Neena

Rithika, on the other hand has a bunch of friends- Sid, badri, harini and dharini who makes her workplace fun. There comes a corporate singing competition where in all of them except Sid participate. It’s also the time Vishy loses track of where he kept his hall ticket for UPSC prelims. Rithika though is one of the finalists for the competition leaves it and makes sure she finds his hall ticket and helps him reach the examination venue with peaceful mind. Rithika not only stops here but also does another wonder, which takes everyone by surprise. At one point where everyone is cursing her, she blurts out the surprise leaving everyone awestruck.

It becomes a ritual that Vishy’s father unknowingly gets hurt every time before his exam and which proves successful for him, that is something like a lucky charm. What his father does when he is about to turn up for an interview is a wonderful gesture.

The book has its elements of humor, pace, seriousness, friendship, bromance, romance and perseverance being portrayed in a beautiful manner. The characterization of everyone including the protagonist is etched to perfection. Vishy would now stand as an inspiration of person who had never ending belief to achieve success. Ashok, never shows out that he is the son of business magnet, leads a simple life and also aspires to clear UPSC. Babu(you will know once you read) will definitely be a role model for every UPSC aspirant.

The writing style is crisp and clear and couldn’t find any mistakes in editing. The author has made the serious subject of clearing UPSC a wonderful read by mixing elements of romance and humor in it.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback:142 pages
  • Publisher:Rupa Publications India (20 October 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9353045959
  • ISBN-13:978-9353045951

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 3.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author is the current Commissioner of Coimbatore Corporation, who has drawn from his experiences of becoming a civil servant. He has authored three Tamil bestsellers, Ettum Dhoorathil IAS, Adhuvum Idhuvum and Orey Kallil 13 Maangai.