Tag: book reviewing mom

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Review of The gorgeous dozen

BLURB
June 16th. Twenty years ago, Ricky and her friends made a promise. They would have a reunion after two decades in Pop Tate’s, a famous milkshake shop. But when the day came only two of them made it. This prompts Ricky to go on a journey and seek the ones who broke the promise.
Modern life is not very conducive to long term friendships. Circumstances and situations change so quickly that it’s difficult to maintain loyalty and keep in touch for too long. The Gorgeous Dozen is a celebration of those golden years that we have all experienced in school, when the best friendships are made. It is one person’s quest to seek friends from a time long forgotten. For Ricky, it is as much a journey of self-discovery as it is about exploring our glorious and diverse nation.

MY REVIEW

If you want to go down memory lane and take a peep into school life and the lovely memories, I’m sure you have picked up the right book.

The gorgeous dozen does rekindle those memories and makes you time travel back to those golden days of happiness and enjoyment.

To keep in touch with your friends in the era where social media was long lost friend is truly great. The book is a light and an engaging read. I got the book signed by the author on exchange for honest review as part of blogchatter book review program.

I was happy that the book chose me. Yes not making it up, I was supposed to review another book and I’m not sure what really happened, the book never came and I was offered this. And I’m glad I made no mistake of denying an opportunity to review a good read.

A promise made by the girl gang, yes this happened, happens and is still happening to be in touch no matter what happens. They make a promise to meet at the exact same place a milkshake shop after twenty years.

Did it happen? Yes, not all from the gang. So Ricky takes up a challenge to set out on a roller coaster ride to find and reunite the others. As she travels across the country and gets to know different cultures ,creed she unveils truth of how life treated the others.

The cover actually makes you relate or gives you a glimpse of what’s it all about. I loved the simple and coherent writing and yes I finished it quick at a stretch.

Ricky on one hand has a personal problem in her relationship to deal and on other hand sets out to reunite the both dozen. Does she do it ? I will leave that you to read the book.

In the world of social media , Ricky did not resort to them for the reunion. She did not depend on Retweets, reposts or likes or forwards. She set out on her own legs to get the search on.

I loved the fact that this being a debut novel the author chose to write from an opposite gender point of view and has succeeded.

MY RATINGS

Title -4/5

Plot -4/5

Writing and presentation -4/5

Cover -4/5

Overall -4/5

BOOK DETAILS

Publisher : APK publisher LLP

Length :130

ISBN -10 : 938179152X

ISBN 13 : 978-9381791523

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vivek Aiyyar is an author based in Pune. He has contributed poems and short stories to numerous publications. He has worked for a music magazine and covered rock shows and done interviews with leading Indian rock bands. He is also a movie buff and football fanatic. He balances a day job, a little baby boy and a very restless mind along with his writing.
The Gorgeous Dozen is Vivek’s debut novel. He can be contacted on vivek_aiyyar@yahoo.co.in

This review is a part of for the Blogchatter Book Review Program. The Book was sent to me for a review and all views are honest and mine.

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Review of the lonely tiger

BLURB:

He looks down where the forest was And lets out a long, sad sigh. ‘Where did my home go?’ he cries.’Where and why, oh why?’

The rapidly shrinking forest has a lonesome, friendless tiger who is left with only his own shadow for company. Whom should he play with now that all his fellow tigers have disappeared?

In the tug-of-war over living space between people and the wild, where will the animals go if more forests are cut?

One Lonely Tiger illustrates this urgent threat of extinction and loss of habitat among valuable species, and asks the pressing question: are our trees, wild animals, birds and insects safe amidst us?

Gorgeously illustrated and thoughtfully narrated, this book sensitizes young readers to the pathos and loneliness of our wildlife and the ecological crisis around us.

MY REVIEW:

One lonely Tiger. The title gives you an insight of what the story would be about. With farm lands and forests being depleted for human civilization development, do we take the time to think what would happen to the flora and fauna.

We think selfishly of our development and join hands to build corporate jungles, by destroying natural jungles. Are we being fair? The animals which we teach to our kids at home saying Lion and tiger stay with families in den in the forest, have now lost their homes and family. Do we tell the kids we are in a way responsible for such fate? I hope when we read the story to our kids, we impart them knowledge about deforestation and its ill effects and also a chance for us to know what after effects take place.

Do we care about the lives of animals’ post deforestation? No.

The lonely tiger here in this book is a story of a single tiger who wanders in the forest day and night. He has no one to be with and so ends up playing with his shadow. While wandering he comes across a group of jackals and helps them in counting their tails. And then meets babbler clan, the tiger asks them about their total numbers for which they reply they would count in the air. There comes a elephant, who the tiger tickles on climbing the trunk. The elephant laughed, helping the tiger up, but it fell down as the elephant wobbled.

Tiger meets a wise owl who suggests the tiger stick to playing hopscotch or counting tress that would make him fit to be a tiger. The tiger loving the idea begins hopscotch counting from one. HE is being cheered by the animals and when he counts to ten, he hears a loud noise of the lumberjack cutting down trees. This leaves our tiger worried that he would have no more trees to count.

So the sad tiger takes off to space to count the stars, craters on the moon and then to mars. He is being photographed by the skies, thunder and lightning. Does he feel lonely up there? Oh of course yes. When he is lonely among the stars he looks at his home on earth and cries where did the forest go and why?

And all the animals call out to him saying more trees are planted and to come back. Now after reading the book we realize that the tiger leaves its own habitat just because his home is being destroyed by selfish humans. Shouldn’t we be ashamed of these kind of deeds. Let’s pledge on this world environment day that we would preserve forests and pass over the wonderful wildlife for the coming generations.

MY RATINGS:

Title: 4/5

Plot: 4.5/5

Cover: 4.5/5

Writing and presentation: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A journalist and children’s author, Benita Sen has written several books – fiction and non-fiction – for children and young people. A couple of her stories have been included in English textbooks by a leading publisher. And some of her stories have earned recommendations internationally. …

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Review of the jumble sale

BLURB:

Zadi is part zombie, part fairy with a little bit of robot, which makes her a misfit monster. She lives with other misfit monsters, with their quirky parts in their makeshift town. They survive by hunting at the nearby hunting grounds taking items discarded by humans and making them into something useful. Hunting is risky because they could be captured by humans. Zadi is an excellent hunter and maker, but now she’s finding it difficult.Something unusual has happened. There have been no new deliveries to the hunting grounds. This means there are no new items which can be used to recycle into something useful, and they are beginning to worry and fight with each other. Can Zadi come up with a plan which will help the misfit monsters and bring them together as a community? Enter the world of the misfit monsters, their quirky lives, and be part of their fun and adventures.

MY REVIEW :

What do we understand by the term misfit monsters? This is the first time I’m hearing of it.

Let’s take a look at the plot. A simple intriguing plot that involves a little girl, Zadi. She is a zombie , a fairy and a robot. Yes you heard me right, she’s a little of all the three . That’s the reason she is termed a misfit monster.

She with the other monsters live in a makeshift town. So how do they survive? They pull up stuff discarded by humans in hunting grounds and use them to make it into a valuable object. But this does have its own risks. They could be captured by humans. So requires a lot of cautious behaviour which Zadi exhibits and she is clever too.

But off late there is nothing discarded which chains to nothing could be hunted and made into useful object. This leads to a lot of chaos. So Zadi is worried. What does she think of to counter this problem and bring the clan together. Can she overcome the situation in a clever way and keep the misfit monsters together.

A lovely read for the middle grade section and I’m sure the kids would love to know what Zadi had in mind to tackle the situation. Zadi is cute and has a chirpy nature.

The narration is simple and easy for children to read and understand. I appreciate the simplicity of the words used.

BOOK DETAILS

  • Publication date: 4 Jun 2019
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B07PVRV5XT

MY RATINGS

Title :4/5

Cover : 4/5

Plot :4/5

Writing and presentation :4/5

Overall :4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lily Rose enjoys world building and creating characters for these unusual worlds. She enjoyedcreating the misfit monsters world, and is looking forward to writing more of their adventures.

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Review of PB and J by Christine Reynebeau

BLURB:

“You can do anything, anytime, any day!”

Grab this Children’s Book and join Lucy as she tries to get the jelly jar open!

For ages 3-9… She wants to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but can’t get the lid off the jar. No matter how many times she asks her parents for help, they just keep telling her she can do it herself. She tries everything to get the lid off the jar, but ultimately, there is only one thing that works.

This story is a reminder of the potential we all have in us to do whatever we set our minds to. Sometimes we just need someone to believe in us. Great books for families to add to their bookshelf.

“After they read it the first time, they immediately wanted to read it again!” -Amazon Review

This book takes real world lessons and makes them fun and palatable.

The stories are designed to use strong vocabulary and encourage the start of dialogue with parents and their kids.

Great for elementary schools, at bedtime, or as gifts. Help parents to start the meaningful discussion about the power of perseverance and the value of believing in ourselves!

MY REVIEW:

A simple read that makes you understand the power of believing in yourself and make you own the “I can do it’ attitude. How often we have seen people failing just because they do not want to give it a try or are lazy. Sometimes we see people giving up after the first failure. Or if they know there is always someone to reach out to who would get it done. This book will help you overcome that.

The story is about Lucy who wants to make herself a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich. She tries to twist and turn but it doesn’t open. So what does she do? She decides to let Daddy open it for her. But did he do it? No. Why? Because he wanted her to try and he said he believed in her that she could do it; continued reading his paper. So she tries with her shoe, knocking with her fist and to the dog. Nothing worked so she reaches out to her mom. She also insisted that Lucy try on her own and she believed in her.

She tried with scissors, brush, tossing it to her brother which dint work either. So after many attempts by herself and by being denied by her parents, she finally succeeds in opening. After all, “You can do anything, any time and any day”.

Believing in yourself is a great capability. So how do we teach that to kids? Start with small things at home. Taking their toys, clothes or books. This book is a great way to do things on their own and teach them to be independent.

I loved reading the book and I’m sure my kid will love it too. The illustrations make it even more easier to read and understand by the kid on her own.

MY RATINGS:

Title: 4/5

Cover: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Writing and presentation: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine grew up in Green Bay, WI, graduated from the University of Wisconsin- River Falls in December 2012 with a Bachelor of Science- Animal Science, and has worked in the youth development field, for both the YMCA and Boy Scouts of America, for 9.5 years.In 2013, she was accepted to publish with Mirror Publishing. She published PB & J first, June 2014 and it took another two years to publish GUTS, June 2016. September 2017 was the start of this great new adventure, Dreambuilt Books. In 2018, She published KIND (April 2018) and RESCUE (September 2018). She is a motivational presenter for writers & librarians, connecting my career and my passions. In both 2017 & 2018, she presented several topics at UntitledTown Book Festival. She has presented for Workforce Development programming and Church Library Associations.

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Review of celebration by Christine Reynebeau

BLURB:

Henry and Lucy are asked to stand up at a wedding! Together they discover meaning in the big celebration. This is a story about the celebration and values that come with love; it’s a small reminder that love is very important in our lives. This is a wedding book that walks you through the day and helps ring bearers and flower girls to understand their role in the big day.

Use this book for children as a tool to open discussions about weddings, love, family and values! This book makes a great wedding gift for your ring bearers and flower girls. This is a book that will allow any family to talk about love and what that marriage connection means.

MY REVIEW:

The book begins with a wonderful note from Christine. A note that is straight form her heart, which goes like.

The book is dedicated to all who celebrate her wins and give her roots in her storms .This is to each one of them to know that your love matters and is worth celebrating.

That gives you an insight of what the book is about. The book celebrates love and union of two people in love that ends in happy marriage, which is the beginning of a wonderful lifetime with loads of happiness,

So what really happens on the day of marriage? It is a day when the flowers and the dove dance. The bride is dressed in her best and the groom is suited up. Guests take up sides in the aisle. The important ones stay close near the altar. The ring bearer (Henry) brings the rings to the front and so it is ready to be exchanged by bride and Groom. The flower girl (Lucy) walks ahead of the Bride welcoming her with a petal shower. The book brings out the important role of the flower girl and the ring bearer. Also stresses the truth that marriage is a promise and it is special that they have chosen the two.

The vow they take to be together at good and bad times. The day marks the beginning of life that they live together happily. The ring bearer and the flower girl are special in their first day of life. So let the celebrations continue until the music ends. Love is the only thing that matters in marriage, friendship and family.

That is actually the root that holds you in a storm and makes you heart warm. So it ends on a note that says that if you find someone who loves you to the moon, it calls for a celebration with everyone in the room.

I personally like the choice of words and the way it ends on a rhyming note. The book is wonderful medium to introduce marriage, vows, celebration and love. How cute are the illustrations that equally support the narration. The choice of words are simple and easy to understand.

The book talks about the presence of near and dear ones and the love that envelopes the surrounding during the celebration. A wonderful read which brings out so much happiness.

MY RATINGS:

Title: 4/5

Cover: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Writing and presentation: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine grew up in Green Bay, WI, graduated from the University of Wisconsin- River Falls in December 2012 with a Bachelor of Science- Animal Science, and has worked in the youth development field, for both the YMCA and Boy Scouts of America, for 9.5 years.In 2013, she was accepted to publish with Mirror Publishing. She published PB & J first, June 2014 and it took another two years to publish GUTS, June 2016. September 2017 was the start of this great new adventure, Dreambuilt Books. In 2018, She published KIND (April 2018) and RESCUE (September 2018). She is a motivational presenter for writers & librarians, connecting my career and my passions. In both 2017 & 2018, she presented several topics at UntitledTown Book Festival. She has presented for Workforce Development programming and Church Library Associations.

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REVIEW OF THE SLEEPLESS BEAUTY

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THE WEST GAVE THE WORLD ‘THE SLEEPING BEAUTY’.
NOW, FROM THE EAST, COMES ANOTHER CHARMING AND EXCITING FAIRY TALE – ‘THE SLEEPLESS BEAUTY’!!
In a small kingdom somewhere in the Himalayas, the beautiful young Princess Ramya cannot sleep. It all started soon after her mother, the queen, passed away, when the princess was only twelve. Her father, the king, tries everything to make his little princess sleep, but nothing works. The princess develops such an inability to sleep that she becomes known in her kingdom and far beyond as the Sleepless Beauty.
The king wishes Princess Ramya to marry and take over the reins of government, but the princess is determined not to marry till such time as her sleep is restored. Eventually, the king announces a competition whereby whichever prince succeeds in getting Princess Ramya to sleep will win her hand. Meanwhile deadly foes of the kingdom wait and watch in the wings, planning to launch a surprise attack. This exciting, romantic tale, with comic interludes, will appeal to readers of all ages.

MY REVIEW

The book is a very short read and I completed it during a cab journey that took an hour. It sure did keep me engaging.

From the cover, it appears like a children’s folktale. But this can definitely give joy to adult readers as well.

The book talks about family, emotion and love.

Situated in the Himalayas, the kingdom of Bhangra is ruled by King Bhoj and queen Mohini. They give birth to a lovely daughter, Ramya. Mohini passes away when Ramya is 12.

Bent in sadness, and lack of concentration Ramya fails to sleep and had become a trait explaining her. The princess who never sleeps. King is very worried about the situation. His daughter has everything except sleep. So he announces a competition wherein he invites Princes to make her sleep.

The ending is definitely not predictable. I was thinking of a situation and it did not end that way.

The cover supports the plot and the true feel of the fairytale genre.

The simple writing style and cute nuances taken care makes you go aww. The importance of love is portrayed very well.

The characterisation is done very well, especially that of Princess Ramya and Prince X ( I am not revealing the name). To know how the princess slept please go purchase yourself a copy of the book.

BOOK DETAILS

Format : Kindle edition

Pages : 90

ASIN : B07PFVYLT6

MY RATINGS

Plot 4/5

Writing and presentation 4/5

Title 4/5

Cover 4/5

Overall 4.5/5

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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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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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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.