Tag: bookreview

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Review of The new dewtas

BLURB :

Neer, the head priest of the Himalayas, is troubled by the horrifying visions in his dream. On Ganga Maiyya’s behest, he embarks on a journey to the doomed island of Bali. The island, plagued with cyclic torments of Sekala and Neskala and suffering from constant rainfall, faces an imminent danger of drowning in sea. However, Neer’s power was no match for the strong evil forces that kidnapped the king and the queen, activating the volcano of Mt Agung. With the neighboring king of Java on his toes to attack and conquer the struggling island of Bali, will the gritty prince Erlangga, assisted by Neer, be able to save his kingdom? Read to find out how people turn towards the new dewtas introduced by Neer as the end becomes evident and how Eka-dasa-Rudra helps in arousing the most furious energy of this world, Rudra.

MY REVIEW:

The plot begins with Neer, the head priest of the Himalayas being troubled by horrifying visions about the island of Bali in his dreams. Erlangga, the prince of Bali is trying to save his land and his life at the same time from his maternal uncle, Gajah Meda. Kebo Chiwa, the army chief of Bali also accompanies his prince.

Kebo Chiwa tells, Neer about how the queen of Bali under the influence of their Priest Empu Rahuraan has converted into the wicked witch, Rangda. Her evil forces and glimpses of destruction are the visions that Neer gets in his dreams. On a directive from Ganga Maiyya Neer sets out on a journey to save the island of Bali.

During the course of his journey on the ship, the captain who’s already a friend of Neer introduces him to Erlangga and narrates the evil happenings in Bali. Neer then discloses the visions and about his mission. Neer has a magic stone that keeps him in his well-being and on orders from the captain that the precious thing might get lost, he secures it in a safe place. But the absence of the stone and the touch of it on his body takes a toll on his health and due to which he is forced to keep the stone with him as always; against the orders of the captain.

As they set out on the journey, they face horrific storms, during which the captain makes a decision to have the prince, Neer and the army chief transferred to a ferry boat, since the ship is out of control and is on course into a horrific storm. Together, the three of them get going on the boat, the captain also gives them his lucky coin as a token of love and for the wellbeing of the three who are about to witness, the dispute between good and evil.

As they set out on the journey, Erlangga under the guidance of Neer try to save Bali from the evil forces of Rangda and Gaja Medah. The continuation of how they accomplish destruction of evil and bring in new Gods to the beautiful land of Bali is the rest of the story.

What was the guidance given by Neer, do they save the land and what happens to Erlangga , who rules the land then on is the rest of the story. I am not giving it out now. The characterization is simple, with few characters the author has conveyed a good message and each character served its purpose.

The writing style is simple and crisp. If you are a lover of mythological genre, then the book is an apt read for you. The cover design could have been better. I do not see the copy as a reprint but I thought the quality could have been better.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format:Paperback
  • Publisher:Leadstart Publishing Services Pvt Ltd (2018)
  • ISBN-10:9352010779
  • ISBN-13:978-9352010776

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 3.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4.5/5

Writing and Presentation: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

About the Author :

The author, Suraj Kothiyal, hails from the beautiful city of Dehradun with his family roots belonging to the Himalayan region. A mechanical engineer and an MBA in marketing, Suraj, had five years of corporate experience before he started his own entrepreneurial journey. Today Suraj’s construction firm develops beautiful living spaces for its customers in Dehradun. He has been writing since childhood. Initially the hobby started out as writing poems in Hindi for school magazine. His collection of Hindi poems can be seen on his personal blog that goes by “poems.surajkothiyal.com”. As a child, whenever Suraj went close to the mighty mountains of Himalayas, they whispered a story in his ears. These stories later ignited a passion in him to write historic fictions and it’s his endeavor to bring to light the highly diversified and rich cultures across the world. This book is inspired by a popular folklore in Bali that talks of a Hindu saint namely, Maharishi Markandeya, who came to Bali from India and introduced Hinduism on the scenic island.

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Review of the Hidden children

BLURB:

Shayamukthy cruises through life: shooting hoops, daydreaming and listening to her favourite books. Even moving from the US to India, to a new school, a new culture, hasn’t really rattled her. But something isn’t right anymore and it begins when a New Girl joins the school. She pulls Shui into a world of magic and wonderment, a world she has been hidden from all her life. What starts as a quest to look for a lost book, hurtles Shui into a world where people live in trees, talk to the dead and speak to butterflies. But like all power, magic comes at a steep price and under all things wondrous lie demons waiting to crawl out. The more Shui learns, the more she doubts everything and everyone around her. Will she be able to master her powers, or will they devour her and everyone she loves?

MY REVIEW:

Firstly, the book is one of a kind. Yes, longing for a young adult fantasy by an Indian author. This book best deserves to be one of it.

The book is about Shayamukthy who daydreams and listens to books. She moves to India from the US. The change in diverse culture, the language, a new environment and new school do not seem to bring in a change in her. She is not upset by the vast changes that she encounters when she moves here.

Shui joins the school and there begins the adventure. When she comes across a floating pencil and a girl who speaks to butterflies’ things start changing. The authors narration and references to Mumbai are truly wonderful. And what more the book has illustrations that’s makes the reading part more interesting.

The plot is intriguing and a gripping read which we can finish at one go; though the book seems to be on the bulkier side.

The writing is simple and narration is subtle. YA fantasy that was long awaited has now hit the bookstores , so why wait , grab your copy of the wonderful read.

BOOK DETAILS:

Reading level:12 – 16 years

  • Paperback:420 pages
  • Publisher:Two Ravens Publishing (13 November 2018)
  • Language:English
  • ISBN-10:9353216206
  • ISBN-13:978-9353216207

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 4/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Travel writer and novelist Reshma K Barshikar is an erstwhile Investment Banker who, as she tells it, ‘fell down a rabbit hole and discovered a world outside a fluorescent cubicle.’ As a travel and features writer, she contributes to National Geographic Traveller, Harper’s Bazaar, Grazia, The Sunday Guardian, SilverKris, The Mint Lounge and The Hindu. Fade Into Red, published by Random House India was her debut novel and featured in Amazon Top 10 Bestsellers. She also holds well renowned workshops for young adults at both BDL Museum and Kala Ghoda and is keen to build a strong Young Adult reading and writing community to fill the desperate lack of young adult fiction in the Indian Market. Her new Young Adult novel, The Hidden Children, will be launching at the Vizag Junior Literary Festival. Reshma is from the ISB Class of 2003. She calls both Mumbai and the Nilgiris home.

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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.

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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.

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Review of Twenty three : Collection of short stories by Bikramjit Sen #myfriendalexa

twenty three: collection of short stories

BLURB:

Everyone has a story to tell or a story that deserves to be told. Since no person is the same, everyone’s life is a unique tale. This uniqueness of different lives is honoured by Twenty Three: Collection of Short Stories that narrates the lives of various people. Twenty Three tells all kinds of stories, ranging from stories of ordinary people to those of paranormal entities. So, step into different dimensions as you flip through the various stories of Twenty Three.

MY REVIEW:

Well the book is a collection of 23 short stories just as the title says. Each portraying a different human emotion. The authors thoughts before each chapter is something that would not be liked by all. Since at places it seems like it takes too much importance drifting away the focus.

While some stories are exception, some led to a drag to the pace that was already set by the previous chapters. The book speaks about death, re-incarnation, psychology, spirituality. This shows the author’s interests on the topics.

Some of the emotions portrayed are those which are neglected by us. The author should be applauded for making each emotion a center of focus in each chapter.

Outer, Heated, the legendary tale of Jatayu are few chapters I personally liked.

The characterization was very well maintained throughout each chapter. The narration was excellent and played a pivotal role making the book a definite page turner.

A commendable job on the cover design which is a portrayal of colors depicting emotions surrounding the human life.

The editing was perfect; amongst the recent books I’ve read.

twenty three: collection of short stories
twenty three: collection of short stories

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Format:Kindle Edition
  • File Size:3080 KB
  • Print Length:178 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN:1948321254
  • Publisher:Notion Press; 1 edition (16 December 2017)
  • Sold by:Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited
  • Language:English
  • ASIN:B078BG7R1D

The book is available on amazon https://amzn.to/2zpldfC

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.5/5

Title: 3.5/5

plot: 4/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bikramjit believes he is an old soul. He was born in the City of Joy (Kolkata, India) on Friday the 13th in the wintry December of 1996.

He’s a student of English at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University (Uttar Pradesh). He presently resides in the Capital of Nawabs (Lucknow, India) with his mother, Mausumi Sen, and father, Surajit Sen. He is the only son of his parents.

He immensely loves being a writer. Sometimes, we need people like him to motivate us to follow our passions. Since childhood, he always has been inquisitive towards topics regarding philosophy, mythology, religious history, paranormality and finds of ancient times.

He is an introverted person who loves being in Mother Nature’s lap. He is very intelligent and contended, not wild at all. He just loves his freedom and doesn’t let his heart settle in a cage. He is always willing to burn for everything he has ever loved. He’s one of a kind. He’s divine, and he doesn’t have to wait for anyone to tell him so in order to believe that about himself. That’s what makes him so inspiring.

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Review of Sneak peak by Krishna Kumar nair

BLURB:

THIS BOOK IS FOR ALL THOSE DARING HEARTS, WHO HAVE SECRETS OF THEIR OWN AND WOULD WANT TO CONFESS A FEW IN FRONT OF OTHERS. Sneak Peak will take you through a time when APPLE was still a fruit, children spend time playing with each other rather than in front of computers and a time when people rescued a dying person instead of taking their video and posting on Facebook. There was a simpler time in the 80’s and 90’s and those who lived those times and who didn’t, will equally love what you are going to read here. It’s not my story but it is yours too! The hero of this story is not Dhyankumar but the story itself. Here Dhyankumar closely post-mortems the various phases in his life, how he felt and how different it would have been, or should have been, had he thought in a different way. The book deeply emphasizes the values of friendship and how it can change one’s life and sometimes destroy the same.

MY REVIEW:

The book is of a different genre from the current trend that prevails. I felt like reading out from a diary of kind born in 90’s, keeping in mind I am one such. It brings out numerous nostalgic incidents.

It speaks about an era of no social media intervention. Yes, that’s right no mobile phones, no tabs. Leading a simple life enjoying a vacation with no social media check-ins, hanging out with cousins, TV series and cartoon and most important of all staying with our grandparents. Isn’t that a wonderful feel, staying as a complete family with many people and relatives, helping each other out, laughing, sharing. This I feel is something that the current generation is missing out on.

Though we have several advancements in technology and comforts at all levels, the concrete jungle can never equal the above mentioned joys.

The book is about a protagonist Dhyankumar who introspects the various phases of his life. The narration portrays his life filled with love and affection as a boon of staying with grandparents. A couple of mischievous events and few confessions make it an interesting read.

The pace of the story seems to be slow at places and characterization needs betterment. The cover design could have been improved. With no surprise elements the narration is pretty good except for the slow-paced parts which seem dragging. The language is simple and crisp making this a good choice for one time read.

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 3/5

Title 3.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Writing and Presentation: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Title : Sneak peak
  • Author: Krishna kumar nair
  • Genre: Realistic fiction
  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 3259 KB
  • Print Length: 142 pages
  • Publisher: Half Baked Beans (26 July 2018)
  • Sold by: Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings Private Limited
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B07FY9KL7N

The book is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/2O3kW7d

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Review of Hungry Gods by Richa Lakhera

BLURB:

Beaten and brutally raped, her body is never found. However, the killers make one mistake. They leave a witness, a witness who has nothing to live for except revenge. And when he crosses the boundaries of time to make the guilty pay, a whole lot of dark characters come to light. There is Valentine, the superstar brand ambassador who sells anything for a price; there is Medici, a pharmaceutical company fraudulently manufacturing banned drugs; there is the perverted and sinister minded Dr Ranga and there is Este, the prostitute whose dark secret will blow up a daughter’s sanity. So, is there another murder waiting to happen? Will Police Inspector Dorab Silva be able to connect the clues to prevent another crime? Will these gods of greed be exposed? And yes, you will be surprised by who you will find there, finally. Deeply unsettling, Hungry Gods takes a hard look at greed for wealth and power.

MY REVIEW:

The first thing that struck me when I was asked if I can review this book was what made the author choose this name. I initially thought that it was something of mythological sorts but when I googled and saw the cover my opinion was completely proved wrong. The cover design conveys a lot. In fact that’s one of the stand out features of this book. I went through the blurb and which made me even more anxious that was eagerly waiting that the book would get delivered to me sooner.

The book is based on the tagline Drugs, Sex Cults, a horrific crime and an unthinkable revenge. The revenge here is by a son who witnesses him mom being abused and killed by a group. Bu the way in which the narration is taken is what which makes the book stand out among similar books of this genre.

It is very difficult to keep track of all characters since there are a lot of them, a LOT I say. The writing style of the author is on par with that of international authors. Its crisp, subtle and brilliant. She has a good command over the language and an extensive vocabulary.

The narration is from first and third person perspective which is confusing a times to relate the consecutive events. A clearer description of the place and time could have made it better.

Writing was very intriguing and intense but applauds to the author, the surprise element was kept up till the end. The nail biting sequences of pre climax and climax was outstanding.

Overall, Hungry Gods was a bold representation of the present sadistic world we live in and can very well be made into a movie.

But I would like to leave a disclaimer that the book is not for light hearted ones.

MY RATINGS:

Cover: 4.5/5

Title: 4/5

plot: 5/5

Writing and Presentation: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Book Name: Hungry Gods
  • Author: Richa Lakhera
  • Genre: Fiction/ thriller
  • Paperback: 204 pages
  • Publisher: Rupa Publications India (20 July 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9353040795
  • ISBN-13: 978-9353040796

The book is available on amazon https://amzn.to/2x1jHy5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hungry Gods is Richa Lakhera’s third novel, she has previously written Item Girl, a crime novel and Garbage Beat, a satire on the Indian entertainment industry. A libertarian addicted to absurdism, she works as Deputy Editor at NDTV. She has a Master’s in Organic Chemistry and Bio-technology and is the recipient of the Indian Council for UN Relations (ICUNR) Award for Excellence in Journalism. Richa divides her time between New Delhi and Mumbai and is currently working on her next crime fiction novel.

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Review of Zidd by Hetansh Desai

BLURB:

Vihaan looked at the skies, took a deep breath and shouted, ‘I want to be on the hoarding outside Raina’s flat!’ Parth did not react right away. After a few minutes, he asked, ‘Sorry? What is that?’ ‘She said she doesn’t want to see my face. So, now I want to ensure she sees my face every day the first thing in the morning.’ Parth took a step towards Vihaan. He shrugged his shoulders, confusedly. ‘I don’t understand.’ ‘There’s a hoarding outside her flat.’ ‘And you want to be on it?’ ‘Yes!’ Turns out, the hoarding outside Raina’s flat was the most expensive in the city! Witness the roller coaster journey of Vihaan, a college dropout and Parth, an illiterate tea vendor, who have an accumulative savings of 3500, set out to earn 20 Lakh in 18 months to buy the coveted hoarding space.

MY REVIEW:

The story does not fall into any specific genre, but has elements of all romance, fiction.

The plot is about two boys from contrast background who have different perspectives.

Vihaan is a rich kid who is kind of arrogant, impatient and is determined not to continue business studies and take over his father’s kite business. HE wants to pursue at SLS .

On the other hand, we have Parth, whose father is a tea seller. Parth wants to set up his own business but does not know how.

The story starts with childhood scenes from Vihaan’s life. A train journey where Vihaan’s father is worried about his business. One idea from Vihaan and he is all successful.

Here at Parth’s end, his father wants him to be a good salesman so that he can sell more cups of tea.

After his father’s death he starts working at an IT company and is very successful selling software.

Their paths cross and they both end up in the same hostel.

Vihaan falls in love with Raina, things speed up here and finally the girl rejects him and conveys she does not wish to see face. This ignites Vihaan’s ego.

So Vihaan and Parth decide to become successful. Vihaan wants to put up his hoarding near Raina’s apartment so she wakes up to it every morning, ironically see his face every day. Parth helps him. Do the love birds reunite, does Vihaan get a hoarding, Is Parth successful in setting up his own Business is what we will have to wait and watch.

The book has a perfect blend of all feelings- love, ambition, most importantly bromance. We also see a couple of business concepts being clearly explained. The book is a pleasant read with lucid writing. The characterization could have been improved especially that of Raina, who seems to be missing for a really long duration and just comes up finally at the end.

The book is a light enjoyable read and I would recommend it as a one-time read. The book uses some unsuitable talks which may not be suitable for a bit younger audience.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Publisher:HALF BAKED BEANS (15 August 2018)
  • ASIN:B07GJLW5LH
  • No of page: 165

MY RATINGS:

Book Title: 3.5/5

Book Cover: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Narration: 3.5/5

Language & Grammar: 3.5/5

Final Rating: 4/5

The book is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/2MSOlo8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hetansh Desai is the Founder and CEO of Vital20Communication, a marketing consultancy based out of Mumbai. He has pursued his graduation in Liberal Studies and post-graduation in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Babson college, USA. You can find him in Ahmadabad- as his family lives there- or in Mumbai, or on a cheap, midnight SpiceJet flight.

In his free time, he loves playing and watching cricket, reading the Bhagavad Gita over and over again and listening to music. His hobbies include writing and public speaking.

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Review of heart quake by Ishita Deshmukh

BLURB:

Bhuj. Circa, 2001. A city wrecked by a massive earthquake. They met after ten long years. Their hearts wrecked by the promise of togetherness that could never be. As love tries to bloom again in the unlikeliest of places, intrigue sets in. Fleeting shadows… Hidden eyes… Mysterious deaths. What will happen when the tremors of love collide? Will he make it to the epicentre of love? Will her heart quake? Only Heart Quake will tell…

MY REVIEW:

The plot is set in the disastrous background of Gujarat earthquake in 2001. Sonal Patel whose a nurse comes to Bhuj to assist her team of doctors to treat people who keep coming in the wake of the quake. It is predominantly a romantic story also highlighting the ghastly reality of a natural disaster that shook the nation in 2001.

Sonal comes to Bhuj to look for her friend, Smita; who lived in the same city . But she comes across Tejas her ex-boyfriend; who was there to pick themost challenging medical cases for his soon to be launched multi-specialty hospital.We also have Dilip, who was Sonal’s friend all these years and was to be her fiancée.There are a couple more relationships going on this plot. Say nurse Pooja from Sonal’s team who falls for Tejas.

Amongst all this, unidentified to any of them, there are uncivilized agents at work in this disastrous times hell-bent on filling their pockets at the cost of scarcely surviving human lives.

Can Sonal find Smita among the rubbles? Will she resolve her troubles with Tejas? Or will she move ahead to the next phase of life with her fiancée.

The portrayal of characters is very well done with notable importance to each and every character. The character of Sonal’s mom, was also portrayed well where she calmly advises her daughter. But in the end its only Sonal who gets the Spotlight.

The narration was lucid and flows fluently. I didn’t have to look up words to understand what they meant, such simple was the use of words by Author. The emotional quotient was managed commendably.

BOOK DETAILS:

  • Author: Ishita Deshmukh
  • Paperback: 255 pages
  • Publisher: LiFi Publications Pvt. Ltd. (2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9386191490
  • ISBN-13: 978-9386191496

MY REVIEW:

Book Title: 4/5

Book Cover: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Narration: 3.5/5

Language & Grammar: 3.5/5

Final Rating: 4/5

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ishita Deshmukh is, in many ways, a mascot for national integration! Born to Bengali and Gujarati parents, she grew up on a steady diet of Tamil culture and French literature in Puducherry. If that wasn’t enough, she is married to a Telugu bidda. She has this uncanny (and unnerving) ability to switch between six different languages in the course of a conversation. She is a multi-tasking marketing professional who currently runs a small home business in Singapore and helps with her family business back home at Puducherry. She is passionate about the arts, loves painting, playing the piano and embroidery, but has always dreamt of becoming a writer. She is a regular fixture at the neighbourhood library and has a special place in her heart for romantic fiction. So, get ready to devour Heart Quake, the first of many delicious fares from her literary cauldron.

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Review of Lovestruck by Prasupta Roy

BLURB:

Kaatyaani works as an English teacher in a school. She enjoys her job as she finds it both challenging and rewarding. She dreams of excelling in this field and getting some recognition in her life. But, life takes a different turn when she marries Hemant. She now has only one wish-to become a mother. For, she thinks a baby will fill the void in her life. But fate has different plans! Amidst the turmoil when life seems meaningless she meets Siddharth, a tall and handsome man in his mid-thirties. In him, she finds her ideal man, her soul mate. They come closer, fall in love and wish to spend life with each other. But Kaatyaani won’t leave Hemant. For, she thinks he will be shattered if she forsakes him. Fate plays a game again when Hemant gets transferred to Bangalore. Her heart craves for Siddharth while her mind demands fidelity. In this tussle, between her heart and mind who will win-the heart or the mind?

MY REVIEW:

Lovestruck is about Kaatyani’s life. She works as a school teacher. Life takes a major turn when she marries Hemant. It’s the usual story of “expecting a child’ after marriage. They decide to visit the expert. We see a long episode at the hospital involving a big wait now that is something at least that is depicted about the real world. Hemant is always grumpy and Kaatyani is a cry baby. We see a lot this happening in fact throughout the book. Then we see an affair blooming between Kaatyani and her new found social media friend( Siddarth alias Sid as she fondly calls) whom she decides to meet after a couple of message exchanges. She decides to meet him regularly during Hemant’s absence.

And it’s so unbelievable that she decides to bring him home when Hemant is away on a tour. Fortunately for her or unfortunate for Chennaiites the flood happens so she makes him stay with her for ten days and nobody in the apartment knew about it. And her husband only calls on the day before he is expected to come to check on her and inform about his arrival.

Hemant gets another offer and the story shifts to Bangaloru. We have yet another affair in the book and that is Hemant with another woman. I’m not revealing the details of who it is, since there might be people who would want to buy the book and read it. And they get a quick divorce like how we purchase a tatkal ticket.

Kaatyani moves back to Chennai and starts searching for Sid. Sadly she gets a letter written by him from one of her old neighbours. Who has carefully preserved it to be handed over. In the era of fast communication, I’m not sure why will someone wait for the person to arrive in person to handover the letter. And our lady here, just tries dialling his number and finally resorts to writing a letter to him since she couldn’t reach him over phone. Kaatyani wake up, he found you through social media.Why not you try the same. So, she waits for another 10-12 years for him to arrive back and then reunites. THE END.

First of all, the plot is very usual. I noticed a couple of grammatical errors which should have been avoided, given the fact the author is a teacher. Secondly, the book is not gripping to read continuously, but could have been improved given a usual plot. Some parts were of very little details say the divorce the between Hemant and Kaatyani. The choice of words could have been better. Overall I would give it a one time read.

BOOK DETAILS:

Author: Prasupta Roy

Genre: Romance Fiction

Published by: Half Baked Beans

Number of pages: 130 pages

My Rating: 3/5

MY RATINGS:

Cover – 3.5 stars

Title – 2.5 stars

Blurb – 3 stars

Plot – 3 stars

Writing – 3 stars

Presentation – 3 stars

Overall – 3 out of 5 stars

The book is available on Amazon

https://amzn.to/2PxBDZw .