Tag: bookoholics

Posted on

Review of The day he was gone

The day he was gone

BLURB:

Reeva Panchal has had a traumatizing past, but she is trying to build up her life again from scratch with her skill in art. When she receives a surprise marriage proposal from the wealthy hotelier Agnivesh Solanki, she can’t help but feel odd about it even though her parents are insistent that she agrees to it. With Agnivesh’s entry into her life, all her problems seem to alleviate at an unrealistic pace, even though Agnivesh continues to exude a dark aura for her. What unfolds is a series of unprecedented events where relations are broken, mistakes are made and the past is dug up to destroy as well as heal.

MY REVIEW:

Reading through the blurb and at a first glance the book seemed to be telling an ordinary story. But once I started reading it, I realized I was wrong. No, the author proved me wrong. The book starts with the protagonist Reeva receiving a marriage proposal from a millionaire Business man Agnivesh. No one including her parents are clueless about this guy and his whereabouts when suddenly he proposes to marry their only daughter.

Sumitra, Reeva’s mom gets elated since she gets the surety that her daughter would be well settled if she marries Agnivesh. But on the other hand Prakash, Reeva’s father is a person who understands his daughter and does not pressurize her to get into wedlock. Especially with a stranger who pops out of nowhere.

Reeva owns a handicraft workshop where she supplies gift articles for smaller celebrations. She initially resists Agnivesh, but after getting to know him over a couple of instances she falls for him finally.

The book alternates between the story between Reeva and Agnivesh and chapters from a diary “All about Sona”, where we see a letter being addresses to the diary by a guy about his to be girlfriend whom he names Sona. The part where both stories intertwine is just amazing.

The characterization is just done perfect. Especially that of Agnivesh. There is not a single spec of doubt that arises though he is portrayed to be a reserved stubborn guy initially. Getting to know he has a past and that has Reeva in connection is woven pretty well.

Reeva’s part, I won’t say is subtle, but the emotional struggles she undergoes from within and how she tries to hide them from the outside world makes her a strong protagonist. She does not fall for Agnivesh immediately when the proposal is received. She is curious to know who he is and how did he know of her and propose a marriage. She takes time to understand him and believes him completely when she is shattered by an instance which makes her solely dependent on him to prove her innocence when her own parents accuse her.

Prakash is a protective father, who does not thrust decisions on her but also wants her to settle in a good manner.

The writing is crisp and clear. Nothing was difficult to understand or required a dictionary peek to understand terms.

The cover is designed well with the picture of a girl looking dejected portraying that she is thinking of her past and in engrossed in it completely.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format: Paperback
  • Publisher:Invincible Publishers; First edition (23 September 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9388333039
  • ISBN-13:978-9388333030
  • ASIN:B07HLM164P

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born and brought up in Pathankot (Punjab), Anjum Awasthi Malik is presently residing in Noida (U.P.). She has done her Post Graduation in Engineering from G.G.S.I.P.U. Delhi and has seven years of experience in the technical world. Last she worked in Centre Development of Advance Computing (CDAC), Noida. She took a break from work to look after her kids and meanwhile started writing the stories which have always been there in her mind. ‘The Day He Was Gone’ is her second book. Her first book ‘The Twist of Fate’, published by Invincible Publishers in December 2017, is widely appreciated by the readers and has several positive reviews on Amazon as well as Goodreads. With her writing and narration style, she has carved a niche for herself. She has always been a creatively inclined person.

Posted on

Review of Daredreamers : A startup of superheroes

BLURB:

India’s first start-up of superheroes with a mission of saving lives is here to kick ass.

Rasiq is riding the highs of life thanks to his successes as an investment banker. But his arrogance soon gets the better of him and he ends up losing everything he holds dear. Managing to salvage only his grit from the wreckage, Rasiq reboots his life and teams up with five uniquely talented superheroes to start a rescue venture

– DareDreamers.

These superheroes Nick: a crazy inventor; Halka: an inhumanly strong man; Arjun: a champion shooter; Natasha: a Bollywood stunt-double; Dr. Vyom, a medical Sherlock Holmes; and, of course, Rasiq: the mastermind combine their unique talents to deliver spectacular rescue operations. Their skyrocketing success, however, comes at a price an enemy hell bent on tearing down their fame and reputation.

Will DareDreamers defeat its wily adversary? Or will it become yet another failed start-up?

Treachery, action and adventure come alive to make DareDreamers a page-turner.

MY REVIEW:

What are the odds of five people from different professions coming together to launch a start up? Well, that is the outline of this book.

It is like a trigger or an experience that gives you the drive to make you think out of the box. It makes you want to be independent. Gives you the boost or confidence to come up with something new.

Rasiq, a graduate from IIT and IIM gets placed in an investment banking firm. What initially gave him the feel of the only student to be recruited to the firm, that gave him a sense of pride, took a complete detour and made him realize perhaps those who weren’t chosen for the position were luckier.

The work pressure was immense, adding to it was the rage among the peers to allot him work. Though he did make quite a lot of money, it did not give him the feeling of happiness. His love life became a mess since he was unable to devote time to his girlfriend Ruchika.

Rasiq learns to spend and enjoy from his superior. Over a point of time, he quits and gets back home. The immense pressure from his father builds up and one day he met up with an accident which is where he gets the spark to launch a startup.

And his team of five are: Halka, a strong bodybuilder. Natasha, an acclaimed stuntwoman in Bollywood. MD Vyom, a medical practitioner. Arjun, a sharp shooter. Nick, the crazy inventor.

So, they get their first assignment which was successful, and they keep getting a few more down the lane. This is when their competitor comes into the picture, and plays a spoilsport. How they come out of it is the remaining plot.

The narration was simple and intriguing. A lot of emotions were brought into the plot- romance, friendship, action, sympathy, suspense.

The vocabulary used was simple and does not require any lookup. The pace was well-maintained throughout the book.

The pro, in the beginning, is a notable mention. The editing was perfect.

The cover design gives you a snapshot of what’s the book about and not to mention the efforts that went into the title. All this put together has given a great output. Kudos to the father-son duo.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Paperback: 296 pages
  • Publisher: Rupa Publications India (14 August 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:9353040876
  • ISBN-13:978-9353040871

The book is available on Amazon.

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4.5/5

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Kartik Sharma is a graduate from IIT and IIM-A who is passionate about writing.

Ravi Nirmal Sharma was an investment banker who quit his career to involve himself more into writing.

Posted on

Review of on the open road by Stuti Changle. #myfriendalexa

On the open road

BLURB:

Myra wishes to break free of her cubicle. Kabir wonders what life would be to build on his own. Sandy drops out of college to work on the next big startup idea. Ramy inspires millions of his generation on his travel blog – on the open road.

on the open road – THREE LIVES, FIVE CITIES, ONE STARTUP, revolves around the lives of these restless and dreamy 20-somethings as they battle their inner demons and the societal taboos to live life on their terms. It is an emotional journey of following one’s heart. The journey entails undying friendship, love and loss, happiness and depression, fear and conquest, dreaming and achieving.

Will they be able to embark on the hard yet empowering journey to their true selves? Or succumb to the hardships on their road to freedom?

MY REVIEW:

The story revolves around three people- Myra, Kabir and Sandy. We have the struggle part described for all three of them. Myra is fed up of her 9-5 cubicle life but longs to startup a business with friends. Kabir is a rich gyu who has his family business, but he wants to have a business of his own. Then we have Sandy who is Kabir’s friend, who’s a college dropout and has his own startup creating apps but is not very successful.

We have another Character Ramy(Myra’s friend) to whom people look up to. He is a traveler and a blogger. Kabir and Sandy draw inspiration.

The plot is something that every single person in the corporate rat race can relate to. It has elements of love, friendship, dream, travel and success. The writing is simple and crisp. I completed the book at one go. The book is mentioned as unputdownable on the cover, since its fast-paced. But seriously, it did not let down my expectation and has lived up to it.

Stuti, coming from the corporate background herself has brought out the experiences just as it is in reality.

The one liners and the quotes will inspire anyone with ambitions but has inhibitions to proceed with it. I have listed out some of the one-liners I liked.

I loved the cover and how the title aptly suits the plot. I loved reading the second half especially. The characterization was done brilliantly with no sugar-coating. They were genuine in their portrayal.

Anyone who has a dream of owning a startup should give this book a read. I felt people from other walks of life could find it a little difficult to relate to the experiences noted by Stuti. Though the book is a light read, the amount of experience and self-motivation we gain is a lot. The book makes you self-introspect to think ahead of career and make decisions.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Book name: On the open Road
  • Author: Stuti Changle
  • Paperback:188 pages
  • Publisher:Invincible Publishers & Marketers (2 March 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9387328465
  • ISBN-13:978-9387328464

The book is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/2zqBsZY

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 5/5

Writing and Presentation: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

ACCOLADES:

Winner of ‘Notable Mentions’ in Amazon Kindle’s Pen to Publish competition

‘Unputdownable, lively and fast-paced, it promises to inspire the youth to pursue their dreams.’- Ashish Kashyap, founder – Goibibo & redBus

‘The book reflects you and me. A great group of characters who bring life into a great story. It’s a must-read.’- Neha Hinge, Actress & Miss India 2010

Quotes from on the open road:

“Somewhere between the right and the wrong, the past and the future, there lies a now. Don’t let it go. For ‘now’ often leads to a new road!”

“Life proves to be one hell of a ride. All you’ve got to believe is that the things that do not work out lead to the ones that do! As the journey goes on, there’s a lot more to learn.”

” Citylights seem glorious at night, the high rises stand in splendor, in my mind I have a fight,what do I want in life? I wonder! ““Whenever you have a problem, try to enlarge your perspective, look at the sky and the stars.”

“If you feel that the cubicle isn’t for you, build some for others!”

“We belong to a generation full of broken hearts and wandering souls, just blank from the inside, in a constant search for ourselves, looking for something we don’t know yet, in the empty spaces of life. It is not that we can’t do great things, but we’re raised to believe – we can’t!”

“When you work on what you love; it acts like meditation. If each one of us does what we love and pour our heart and soul into it, we would not have to meditate elsewhere at any point in time.”

About the Author (in her own words)

A minimalist at heart, with every passing day, I find myself moving farther from the never-ending quest of owning material possessions and a step closer to owning a vast ocean of experiences. In 2016, at twenty-three, I packed a rucksack and left Mumbai, in search of my true self. I met people with extraordinary stories – the travelers, the entrepreneurs, the artists, the visionaries and the saints, who inspired me to the core and gave a new direction to my life. on the open road draws inspiration from my real-life experiences and I wish to inspire my readers to follow their dreams.

Share your thoughts about the book using the hashtag #OTOR

She interacts with the readers’ community through Instagram Live and Facebook Live. @stutichangle

About the Author

A post-graduate in management from the prestigious B-school IMI, New Delhi and a graduate in Computer Science and Technology.Winner of Notable Mentions in Amazon Kindle’s Pen to Publish Competition.

I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter .

#sindhusblogs #myfriendalexa