I finally started reading the graphic novel from 2019 and it honestly has been a great journey so far. In my 5th semester, I decided to pursue a Visual Studies elective. I was lucky enough to have a great teacher under whom I explored this genre and saw what fun it is!
Graphic novel: Pumpkinheads
I recently picked up Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks and it was my first graphic novel of the year. To be very honest, I was suffering from a terrible reading slump and so I wanted to read something fun and not very intense. That is the reason why I decided to pick up Pumpkinheads, about which my bestie Gayatri had been raving about from the time she read it. and I really enjoyed it. It certainly helped me get over my slump.
However, on that very note, it span over the time period of just a few hours. It is not a book with a lot of depth, so if that is what you are expecting it to be, you might be disappointed. I found it be a fun and flirty read. Moreover, it has great LGBT representation and it definitely broke free of the generic stereotypes of boys and girls. Lastly, I was blown away by the amazing art. The predominant colours were that of orange, burnt ochre, and all the autumn colours, which made the book an art piece to feast on. I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. It was a 3.75 star read for me.
Vyasa and Pumpkinheads: a glimpse
Graphic novel: Vyasa
After that I was so in love with pictures that can take over your imagination, that I decided to go after another graphic novel and this time, I picked up Vyasa. This book is on the Indian epic Mahabharata, a personal favourite. The story is by Sibaji Bandyopadhyay and the art is by Sankha Banerjee. The way this book was written was amazing. I loved the recurrent jumps in time and the overall framing structure that combined the stories within the story. However, it was only the first part and I was left dangling.
Now I am eagerly waiting for the sequel to Vyasa: The Beginning. The art in this book is stunning as well and I was spellbound throughout. The fact that I finally have pictures that can accompany the stories I, and we all, grew up with, was a wonder in itself. I absolutely loved this book and I rated it 4.5 star read for me.
You Beneath Your Skin is an enjoyable thriller set in India and as a thriller, it sheds light on the rape culture, acid attacks, etc.
You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas
Why pick up this thriller:
With a thrilling premise, You Beneath Your Skin proved to be an important read. So if you wish to start with crime fiction, this might just be the one for you.
A slow beginning:
The book started slow but did pick up the pace pretty soon. So I think that if you can just power through the first few pages, it will prove to be a pretty interesting read.
Plot and themes:
The plot was well developed and the book delves into important aspects of the female population, more specifically, the various things women have to face. Rape and acid attacks are horrible issues that are plaguing society today and the author has included this in the book. For me, it was bittersweet as reading about the suffering is never wholesome, but it is also necessary at the same time that we understand that this is a reality and acknowledge its presence and the injustice. Brushing it aside it a gross insult to survivors and through the book, the author has tried to address this situation.
Writing style and title:
With a crisp writing style, the plot is full of unexpected twists and turns and you just cannot put it down. Once a person delves into the read, the reader will understand how significant and meaningful the title is. Politics and the power that the higher-ups wield, and how they use it, also forms the backdrop of the political situation in the book.
Verdict:
It was an overall good read. I rate it 3.75/5 stars.
Nonfiction November is here and I have got some amazing nonfiction recommendations for you all! I hope you all have a blast reading these books!
NonFiction November recommendations
Reading nonfiction is hard!
I feel like 2019 has gone by so fast. November is here; half of it is already gone and it is only now that I am making the #nonfictionnovember recommendations post! I know from personal experience that reading this genre can be quite intimidating for some of us. But for those of you who read non-fiction very often, I applaud you!
How to ease into this genre
Since easing into this genre may take some getting used to for many of us, I decided to compile a list of some non-fiction reads, which do not really read as such. So without further ado, here are some books I have read and some that are on my radar!
Craft!
Embroidered Life: The Art of Sarah K. Benning – a splendidly created coffee table book, Embroidered Life follows the work process of Benning. Benning is a self-taught embroidery artist nad this book is a wonderful book to leaf through. If you are looking for something creative to pick up to while the harsh winter months away, this might just be the book for you. I for one, am currently working on an embroidery project of my own, which I hope to complete and show you all soon! (Goodreads)
Sci-fi!
Lost Transmissions: Science Fiction and Fantasy’s Untold, Underground and Forgotten History – a book which I am absolutely thrilled to pick this month is this insightful behemoth. It is rightly regarded as the bible of science fiction and fantasy’s most interesting and least-known chapters. I have very high hopes for this mixture of essays, interviews, and stunning visuals! (Goodreads)
Memoirs!
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body – Roxane Gay’s searingly honest memoir of food, weight, and self-image has been described as being intimate, vulnerable, and bracingly candour. Having read excerpts of Bad Feminist, I am pretty excited to see how this much-acclaimed memoir will be for me. (Goodreads)
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft – Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft. I decided that no matter what I write could trump this brilliant description of the King’s book. I have yet to read any of his books so I think I will change that situation by picking up this one. (Goodreads)
I’m Not Here to Give a Speech – Garcia Marquez is already a much well-acclaimed author. And I think it is an ironically named book! This is his collection of speeches span from his high school days to his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. If you have not yet read any of Marquez’s words, perhaps this could be great for you to start with. (Goodreads)
Important works!
City of my Heart – a 4 star read for me, this book is a translation of four texts that talk about Dilli (or Delhi, as it is now known), following the downfall and the fate of royalty following the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, with the capture of Bahadur Shah Zafar. (Goodreads)
I am Malala and We Are Displaced – Malala is the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the fact that I have yet to read her books, meant I just had to get to them this month. Both of these two books are a conglomerate of the global issues of terrorism, the utter destruction it causes to the innocents of lives all around, immigration crisis, etc. It also speaks of the displacement issue that crops up with it, war, the refugee situation, border conflict, etc.
Feminist works!
Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More and Live Bolder – a 5 star read that I’d recommend to all! It was a fundamental and impactful read that I loved. It talks about the unexplainable need for perfectionism (which is prevalent in all of us), albeit a bit more obsessively in girls. Please pick up this book! It would be a shame if we fail to read it and realize the way most of us limit ourselves. (Goodreads)
Feminist Rani – Can I brag that I have already met the author and got this signed? Shamefully, I haven’t read it yet! Perhaps there is no better time than this November! It shares the stories of 15 women – women who have strived to fight for their own rights to stand as equals to men. They talk of issues such as identity, the need for the realization of selfhood, etc. (Goodreads)
City of Screams was my first horror anthology in a long time. It was full with some amazing horror-filled stories that left me spooked!
A horror-filled experience
Reading it was a pleasure especially because it contains stories from various authors and as such with different writing styles included, the book was an amalgamating of some of the best horror stories in the Indian scene out there.
There are a total of 15 different short stories in the book, all adding a fresh new take on the topic we all love. The synopsis was compelling enough to draw my attention to it when I was first approached to review this book. And it goes…
Horror genre:
Lonely mall corridors, stuffy hotel rooms, that always-locked apartment in your building— Horror lurks in your city at every bend, and it is waiting to leap at you in your solitary unguarded moment. And when it does, all the commotion of the city wouldn’t be enough to stifle your screams. These 15 stories come from the grisly and ghastly underbellies of our cities. From a young man fighting his mortal fate to a foreigner encountering a ghost in a hotel room, from an urban legend that comes alive by repetition to an online game that seeks real blood, from a demon causing an infectious sleeping illness to a salon that pampers the living daylights out of its clients — these are stories that will make your skin crawl. Dive into this horrific world then… But know that your city isn’t the city of dreams that it is touted to be… In truth, it is the City of Screams.
Themes and plots
With the supernatural theme underlying all these stories, the book proved to be an absorbing read. I was thrilled throughout. Being an Assamese I could also relate to the tale by Nilutpal Gohain ‘Namu Ne?’ on a personal level. It assured me that I wasn’t the only one with the fear of the false ceilings so often found in the Assam-type houses found in the region. The stories are also set in urban areas and as such, urbanity is a theme in itself as well. Perhaps, being a dweller of the urban region of Guwahati, and reading this book at night, made me a tad bit jumpy and easily spooked. Is it laughable if I tell you that I got scared a couple of times during the day when I was home alone?
My verdict
Nonetheless, this has been a great initiative by Half Baked Beans. I myself have not come across very many horror anthologies In India. It is less frequent although not completely rare. I hope they also come out with a second volume soon so that I can get spooked again. I rate this book 4/5 stars and look forward to a sequel. Fingers crossed!
The Octopus Curse is a poetry collection by Dr. Salma Forook and I have yet to come across a more aesthetic anthology of poetry. Needless to say I loved it!
The Octopus Curse by Salma Farook is a collection of powerful poems, focusing on love, heartbreak, resilience, travel, self-love, feminity and women’s issues, etc. I have read What Your Soul Already Knows by the author last year and I had found it to be the best motivational book there ever was, without sounding too preachy and such. As such, when the author approached me for her second book, of course, I had to say yes!
Like her previous book, the words in this book too continue to be just as meaningful and full of depth. I love how the execution has been made. The words are rhythmic and lyrical and thus very heart warming as well as soothing to the ears. Through these different pieces, the author has inspired the reader to confront their feelings and accept them and most importantly, to be at peace with themselves.
How stunted,
Limited,
This language is!
I have searched and searched
But, never found a word
For pain coming so surely,
That you feel it already,
Long before it
Even arrives.
-‘Visceral’
Aesthetic:
The book is a work of art and a more aesthetic poetry collection, I have yet to come across. I am so glad I got to read this book when I did because this was just the right time for me. Perhaps, if I had read it at some other moment of my life, it wouldn’t have touched me as much as it has. Many thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy.
I pray that death be kind,
Not as much to the buried,
As to those left behind.
-‘Funerals are for the living’
Here’s one poem that I absolutely loved. Check this one out!
You lift your chin up
Like the cocking of a gun
Your eyes flash the coldest fire,
Your words erupt,
The hottest ice.
I see you wear your anger
Like a bulletproof vest
Over your pain; I must say,
Even as you walk away,
It looks bloody glorious
On you
-‘Woman’
You can also check out the book here: Amazon (the ebook is free upto 5th of November), Goodreads
Indistractable is a self-help book on how to reframe and improve your focus, attention, and relationships. It basically teaches you to be indistractable.
A self-help book on how to reframe and improve your focus, attention, and relationships.
Synopsis:
International best-selling author, former Stanford lecturer, and behavioral design expert, Nir Eyal, wrote Silicon Valley’s handbook for making technology habit-forming. Five years after publishing Hooked, Eyal reveals distraction’s Achilles’ heel in his groundbreaking new book. In Indistractable, Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more. Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step, research-backed model. Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us.
Why Indistractable was a disappointment
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
So I tried reading the book. The first few pages went well. However, it is definitive to say that Inditractabke was just not the book for me. I had put it down multiple times. I tried picking it up multiple times as well. But in the end, I think I only read about three-fourths of the total book, that too, with me skipping and skimming a few pages.
For the most part, I felt that towards the second half of the book, the author was simply putting in material to increase the volume of the book and as such the content started to drag, and it could not retain my attention.
For the most part, it felt like a series of anecdotes. I do not personally like that in self-help books and as such, this was again a disappointment.
As such, I have to rate it book a mere 1/5 stars. This book was just not it, for me. I could not relate to it much except for the first few pages.
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
The Dutch House is a hauntingly beautiful family saga following the lives of the inhabitants of the eponymous and magnificent Dutch House.
The Dutch House is a hauntingly beautiful family saga following the lives of the inhabitants of the eponymous and magnificent Dutch House.
Synopsis : At the end of the
Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to
begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to
enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a
lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for
his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older
sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the
house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are
thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all
they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them
that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot
overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are
only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they
return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But
when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the
relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is
finally tested.
The Dutch House
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is a beautiful and haunting saga revolving around the characters, all stemming from the eponymous Dutch House. Throughout the novel, we see the house as a character in itself. It forms an intrinsic factor is affecting the lives of all the people involved. Because of the opulence, this house brings with it with its majestic architecture, it also brings with it a huge responsibility and the issue of image.
The Dutch House’s meaning
On the one hand, we have Cyril Conroy who had bought this magnificent house as a gift for his wife; it is his pride and he loves it. His children Maeve, and her younger brother Danny love all its nooks and crannies. But on the other hand, to his wife, it is nothing more than a burden, one that intimidates her.
The characters of Sandy and Jocelyn
The house help Sandy and Jocelyn are also portrayed as characters who love the children, the lady of the house and are always permanent fixtures, who, although on the side, are unavoidable and welcome rather. They add the warm bits throughout, showering the children with love and care where there is a lack.
The bold and brave: Maeve
I simply loved Maeve’s character. She is shown as this hard-working and kind soul who just goes on and on even in the face of hardships. I love her role, especially as an elder sister. She is always there for her brother and never hesitates to give up so that he can achieve more.
The indulged brother: Danny
Danny, on the other hand, felt like a bit of a spoilt person to me. He is forever incapable of making mature decisions, I felt and was confused as to what decision to make. He seemed like a passive person most of the time and that makes him a bit unlikeable to me.
The evil stepmother: Andrea
Coming to Andrea, the ‘evil’ stepmother, I feel that she is sort of an enigma. The author has not really provided a solid back story to her and her two daughters which is why I think I have mixed feelings for her. On the one hand, I hate her for being the typical cruel stepmother and on the other hand, my mind is still holding on, unable to let go without knowing more about her.
The Dutch House is a beautiful book
Overall, I loved the way the author has written this beautiful book. It is a truly beautiful and nostalgia-inciting book, one that pulls you into the world. The way the house got back into the particular owner’s hands (I am not going to give you a spoiler), felt as if the story had come to a full circle. In a way, it was satisfying to behold. This has been one of the best books I have read this month, without a shadow of a doubt.
The much-awaited giveaway is here. I promised to do a giveaway when I reached 2K followers and now that all the books have arrived, here it is!
Firstly, I really want to thank you all for the love you have given me. It means a lot. And my YouTube channel has received so much support as well! Wow! I was flabbergasted. I will be shooting the next video this Sunday and I am very excited for it! I really think you will love it!
The books for the giveaway are:
Kashmir’s Untold Story: Declassified
Wonderland
The Intelligence Trap
Inferno
Origin
Yoddha: Dynasty of Samudragupta
The Monsters Still Lurk
Something I Never Told You
Rules:
Follow me.
A shoutout would be lovely and easy for me to add as entry.
Most importantly, comment below which book you’d love to win!
You can comment on my latest posts as I have included those as entries. This is optional.
Tagging your friends is optional.
Just a few points to keep in mind:
There will be 8 winners and each will get the book of their choice. (By order of winning)
I will ship the books in my Flipkart boxes so as to reuse them.
This giveaway is for the residents of India only.
This giveaway is open to followers only.
The giveaway closes on 9pm Saturday, 26th October and I will declare the winners on Sunday in a live session.
This is not affiliated with Instagram or any book publishers.
And that’s it! I like to keep it pretty simple. Hope you all have a lovely time and may the luckiest people win!
I read this poetry collection over the course of two weeks because I usually read poetry quite slowly so that I actually feel the words and can mull them over. Walk With Wings was an enjoyable read that I delved into. The poems were all divided into 5 sections: Monsoon Love, Winter Sorrow, Autumn Grace, Spring Resilient, and Summer Freedom. In short, poignant verses, Tene’s poems are a compilation of reflections on her experiences, thoughts, and feelings through love, loss, pain, healing, and resilience. The collection takes you through the life story of the author while offering advice, notes, and affirmations, which were written to empower the author during difficult times. Walk With Wings tells the story of Tene falling in love, making bad decisions, learning from her mistakes, and discovering how to love her life and herself.
The
pieces here deal with hard work, discipline and the sacrifices we have to make
in order to pursue our dreams. They have been so relatable to me and I was in
love. It is always empowering in a way – to know that what we are feeling is
not just us. So many people are suffering and knowing that gives a sort of
strength – if so many others are dealing with these issues, and progressing,
perhaps we can too?
A few
of the pieces felt like quotes so irked me a bit, but then again, the content
is something you can easily relate to and that makes it the best, I think. Self-love
and empowerment are the two common threads that link all the different pieces
in the book. I think that my personal favourite is Summer Freedom perhaps,
because it is a process I am going through myself – I am healing myself by
learning to accept my own self. I am de-stigmatizing the faults I had
previously found in my skin which had once made me so very uncomfortable in
this skin I wear. Very enjoyable read and i rate it 4/5 stars.
#qotd : Do you have certain books you go back to whenever you need some healing?
A suggestion I have is What Your Soul Already Knows by Salma Farook. It is another book that I loved and I keep going back to it. It is a self-help/motivational book. I am generally not much for this genre but this one book was amazing.
I received a review copy from the publishers in return
for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
With that
catchy title, the book sure did capture my attention from the very beginning. I
was excited to pick up the book and although it was a good enough read for me,
I think maybe my expectations were too high going in.
The book
roughly covers the time period from the arrival of Alexander until the very
recent headlines-making event of the 370 article ruling. For those who did not
know, the argument of the secret of the Rozabal Line too will be one of a great
shock perhaps.
For the
most part, the book read like a cross, somewhere between a historical fiction
tale, and a political and/or historical textbook. While it does give a solid
base to the history of Kashmir’s ‘origin’, the book, I feel, pretty soon turns
towards conspiracies and such theories. It is entertaining, yes, to humour
them, but I felt that it moved away from the original course it was supposed to
have taken. I also believe that this book has the power to capture the reader’s
mind and turn it into the direction the authors want them to take – as a
certain blurb says, this book is a pretty “forceful statement of the Indian
case in Kashmir” and as such, it was not really very neutral. However, in the
larger context, bringing in the relation of China is a pretty powerful move and
sheds light on some important situations in the past, and hence, the present as
well.
The naming
of the various chapters was also done in terms of water, such as Unfathomable
Depths, Lashing Waves, Emerging Abyss, Rising Tsunami, etc., and in a way, I
really liked that. I feel that these titles really justified the social and
political scenario of the times that the chapters were focusing on.
Verdict:
I rate it
book a 3.75/5 stars!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the NorthEast
Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Title: The
Conspiracy Unknown Book I: The Vengeance of the Fallen
Author: Abishek
Babu
Publisher: NotionPress
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Synopsis:
The story starts with the birth of a prince and the series of events that follow. Fifteen eons ago, the ‘Great War’ was fought between the Anndas and a group of revolutionaries, in which the revolutionaries came out victorious. The Anandas were chased out of the empire and were made to live in the forest like nomads. The revolutionaries named Ragupta Moriya as their king, and thus the Great Moriyan Empire was formed. Great songs and stories were written about Ragupta Moriya and his ten war generals who fought out the evil Ananda Empire. After fifteen years, a plot is made to overthrow the Moriyan Empire. And it all falls on the shoulders of Ragupta to win the battle.
After nearly 2300 eons, the life of Dr Sebastian Stein is under peril. A mysterious man in a black suit is in pursuit of capturing Dr Stein, but Sebastian is saved by his father’s old friend. When Sebastian starts to learn about the death of his father, he realizes there’s no other way to escape but to run for his life.
What exactly happened in Before Clearance Existence (BCE) for it to affect the life of Sebastian Stein in After Clearance Existence (ACE)?
My review:
I received
a review copy from the author in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
The
Conspiracy Unknown: The Vengeance of the Fallen was quite a heavy read. With two different narratives, from two
starkly different eras, weaving in and out, it was a story with a great plot,
and great storytelling.
So basically, there are two different storylines – in an eon way
back in the past, there is the majestic Moriyan Empire. The monarch is King
Rasabind, who’s son Hisoka possesses the famed third eye! After he is attacked
during his naming ceremony and the attackers surprisingly do not remember any
of their action, the king goes on his own hunt to know the truth.
Eons later,
in a future quite distant, we have Sebastian Stein who is trying to figure out
the mystery surrounding his father’s death. And out of nowhere, he finds
himself chased around with threats on his life.
these are two seemingly unrelated things and yet, w strive to understand
the root relationship between these people from eons between them.
With this interesting premise, I jumped headlong into the book and it didn’t really disappoint me, but to be honest, I felt like there was a certain something missing. While it is well packed with wars, the thirst for vengeance (as the title suggests), conspiracies etc., I felt that the narrative lagged a bit in parts and may have simple been filler material. Apart from that, the presence of the multitude of characters confused me for a bit in the beginning but then they do not really have much presence later on, so that threw me off a bit. The overall effect could have been a bit more polished.
Verdict:
It was a good read overall and I rate it 3.5/5 stars!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika Saikia, is one of
the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam, and is also an admin
for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She publishes her own
reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction etc. on her
bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the NorthEast Creator
Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
It’s common knowledge that Kamasutra originated
from India – the “how-to” guide of how to pleasure each other. Many centuries ago
they thought deeply into the subject of erotic love. Though in modern India sex
is always a hushed subject, something happens behind the closed doors,
something never almost never publicly spoken. What can you expect from a
society where now also most marriages are arranged by family, where most people
have their first sex after marriage, where so many people never even see the
naked bodies of their partners?
There are a plethora of stories to be told from
every nook and corner of this big country. Stories around love, lust,
frustration, despair, loathing – stories around real man and woman and the
complications of life.
Nasha is the first compilation of Maya Balsi`s stories.
The stories include are :
Red Earth , Blue Sky, Green Sea
The light I see Through Darkness
Never Deny Me Your Laughter
Have A Nice Journey!
We walked in the woods
My review:
I received
a review copy from the author in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
The
last time I read erotica was when I
tried reading Fifty Shades of Gray. Keyword : Tried. And I couldn’t do
it. The details were sort of too explicit for me – it’s not that I am
uncomfortable reading about sex, but rather the sex in the book made m so. So
for quite some time, I stayed away from them. But then, I also came across
books by Alexa Riley and Penny Wylder, and I was quite happy.
A
few days ago, the author approached me and asked if I would be willing to
review her book. Since I have not read any erotica by an Indian before, and
since the synopses of the stories seemed quite good, I decided to say yes. I
thought I would pick this book up for some leisurely weekend reading but when I
read the acknowledgement, I knew I had to dive right in. Sex is surely a
paradox in India because like the author says, and is corroborated by
statistical data, there is a huge market revolving around it. And with a
rapidly growing population, we know it is not cranes that drop off brand new
babies into the arms of eager parents.
In
the first story, Red earth, Blue Sky,
Green Sea, there was a good buildup of the story and it was quite
atmospheric. It is about the sexual awakening of two girls, a silent rebellion
against society’s rules, norms and the taboos.
Although short, the characters in this story are well fleshed out.
The
second story The Light I See Through
Darkness, is one told through the point of view of a prostitute. Her
helplessness in well shown here and in a few words, the author has described
her mental agony. At 42, the protagonist says that she feels and looks like a
grandmother, which in itself shows how difficult her life has been. As she
scouts for potential customers, we understand that her main aim is to collect
enough money for her daughter’s education. There was one remarkable line said
here, and I quote, “Little do they know, we are keeping them safe from the
clutches of rogues who would do anything to satisfy their lusts”. This is more of a magical story with a very
unexpected, yet nice, ending.
The
third story, Never Deny Me Your laughter,
aptly showed the restlessness of our modern lives. Apart from the obvious,
there are a lot of human emotions and feelings contained in all of these
stories. Very dynamic in its entirety.
The
fourth story is Have A Nice Journey.
It featured infidelity so I am not sure how comfortable I am with that because
cheating is a big NO for me. This was an okay story, and not one that I enjoyed
much, unlike the others.
The
last story was We Walked in the Woods. This
story did focus a bit on mental health, I felt. It was apt in depicting the
moral dilemmas we often face because of our own feelings. Pritha is one such
person. There is such an underlying connection between sex and the multitude of
emotions that come with it. the ending was open-ended and I was thought of
various ways it could have ended.
Nasha
was a good read overall. I do think that a bit more editing can be done
regarding the typing errors, and some grammatical refining. I also did find
certain discrepancies. Nonetheless, this is a book I can easily recommend to
you all. If you want to explore the erotica genre more, then this is also a
book you can pick up.
Verdict:
I
rate this book a 4/5 stars.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Hope you all are doing well. I have been having a really hectic time this week and last weekend and I am trying to cope. Also, the temperatures have really cooled down so it’s been great.
I wanted to give you all a reading update of this amazing collection that I have been reading recently. So, Walk With Wings is a poetry collection by Tene Edwards. It has a total of 5 sections and recently I have been reading the one named SPRING RESILIENT. The pieces there deal with hard work, discipline and the sacrifices we have to make in order to pursue our dreams. They have been so relatable to me and I was in love. I have been reading this section slowly because I really wanted to savour the feeling.
I have also been watching Mindhunter on Netflix and I love this show. Holden is my golden boy, you know?
#qotd : Do share your current reads, or series that you are watching at the moment. Any games you like? I used to be a PUBG fanatic, that is until the classes for this semester started!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or more specifically, The Millennium Trilogy has been an international bestseller and very well renowned. I’ve had the first three books as hard copies for quite a few years now, although I have still not read them yet. However, the synopses of these books have been very intriguing to me. Moreover, David Lagercrantz has done a continuation of the series, and after hearing all the amazing things about them as well, I decided to pick them up. Of course, the fact that Hachette was coming out with the sixth book The Girl Who Lived Twice, was another major force that pushed me towards this decision. I really am thankful to Hachette for sending me a copy of the latest book! So without beating around the bush, let me announce that I will be doing a major month-long readathon (23rd September to 23rd October) of this series. You all are welcome to join me.
I have started reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and I am really liking the story so far. I am intrigued to see how the author plans to intertwine all the various narratives. I am including the synopsis of all 6 books in this post so, do swipe down to check them out. As far as I know, they are all standalones as well so you can join in even if you have just one or two books from the series.
#qotd : any specific thriller books you want to pick up next?
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption. An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.
The Girl Who Played With Fire: Part blistering P thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposé on social injustice, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel. Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest: The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson’s internationally best-selling trilogy. Lisbeth Salander – the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels – lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge – against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.
The Girl In The Spider’s Web: She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution. Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . . The duo who captivated millions of readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest join forces again in this adrenaline-charged, uniquely of-the-moment thriller.
The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye: From the author of the #1 international bestseller The Girl in the Spider’s Web: the new book in the Millennium series, which began with Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth Salander – the girl with the dragon tattoo, the brilliant hacker, the obstinate outsider, the volatile seeker of justice for herself and others – has never been able to uncover the most telling facts of her traumatic childhood, the secrets that might finally, fully explain her to herself. Now, when she sees a chance to uncover them once and for all, she enlists the help of Mikael Blomkvist, the editor of the muckraking, investigative journal Millennium. And nothing will stop her – not the anti-Muslim gang she enrages by rescuing a young woman from their brutality; not the deadly reach from inside the Russian mafia of her long-lost twin sister, Camilla; and not the people who will do anything to keep buried knowledge of a sinister pseudo-scientific experiment known only as The Registry. Once again, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, together, are the fierce heart of a thrilling full-tilt novel that takes on some of the most insidious problems facing the world at this very moment.
The Girl Who Lived Twice: The sixth in the Millennium series featuring THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.
"What will you do now?" "I shall be the hunter and not the hunted"
The girl with the dragon tattoo is finally ready to confront her nemesis, the only woman who is evidently and in many ways her match. Salander will not wait to be hunted. When she strikes it will be a double blow: vengeance for recent atrocities, and the settling of lifelong scores. For months now Salander has been closing in on her target. She has moved from Stockholm, her hair is newly styled, her piercings are gone. She could pass for any other businesswoman. But not all businesswomen have a Beretta Cheetah beneath their jacket. They do not wield the lethal power of a hacker’s genius. They do not carry scars and tattoos to remind them that they have survived the unsurvivable. The new episode in David Lagercrantz’s acclaimed, internationally bestselling continuation of Stieg Larsson’s Dragon Tattoo series is a thrilling ride that scales the heights of Everest and plunges the depths of Russian troll factories. It begins with the discovery of Mikael Blomkvist’s number at Millennium magazine in the pocket of an unidentified homeless man who died with the name of a government minister on his lips. Blomkvist, at extreme risk to himself, tracks down his old friend and will protect her as far as he can. But he is powerless to crush her enemies on his own. And for Lisbeth Salander, the personal is always political – and deadly.
The world is
mostly water when Pearl is born. The floods have left America a cluster of
small islands with roving trade ships and raiders.
Pearl knows
little of her father Jacob and elder sister Row, who left her mother Myra when
she was pregnant with her. Between them they make do, with Myra fishing and
trading to make ends meet, travelling from island to island on Bird, the boat
Myra’s grandfather made before he died.
Whilst their
life is a tranquil one, Myra still aches for the daughter she once lost. When a
chance encounter reveals that Row might still be alive, Myra packs up
six-year-old Pearl and together they begin a dangerous voyage to The Valley,
where rumours of violence and breeding ships run rampant.
Along the way
they encounter death and strangers, finally finding solace on board Sedna –
full to the brim with supplies and an able crew – where Myra feels like she
might be closer to finding Row than she has ever been. But to get to Row she
will have to deceive everyone around her, betraying the trust of those she’s
come to love, and ask herself if she’s willing to sacrifice everything and
everyone for what might be nothing at all.
My review:
I received
a review copy in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review
are completely my own.
After
the Flood was a very interesting read as well as scary to be honest. Scary in
the sense that it deals with an issue which might eve turn real in a few years
in our future. The dystopian genre is often an unsettling one because at the
rate that we are going, the instances portrayed in the books seem very
plausible.
After
the Flood was one of my most anticipated new releases from the second half of
2019. I was pumped and the book did not disappoint. From the eco-critical point
of view this book was a significant one that may well serve as a warning to the
present generations. In a futuristic yet primeval world where everything has
been submerged under water, Myra and Pearl are a mother-daughter duo who are
doing their best to survive in the Westworld like world. Throughout the book we
see them struggling with the scenario – they have to depend on fishing for
their food and trade with these at ports which have not yet been submerged.
The
theme of memory is quite significant here – Myra, for instance, deals with
recurring ones of a time when things had been very different. Pearl is a gem
and her bond with her mother is quite beautiful. For the most part, we see Myra
dealing with her loss of her older daughter and then she keeps on wondering if in
pursuing her, she will lose Pearl too?
The
other characters were also well made – the unraveling of Abran is a significant
one, especially as we see a person undoing their years of hard work because of
the stress and pressure they are feeling at the moment.
The
story was well-paced, the characters real and tortured in their own ways, and
the world a scarily real portrait of what might be our own future one day. The
language is easy to read and captivating as the reader grapples with the
horrifying scenario that it has become. The adventure is nail-bitingly
intriguing, and keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times!
Verdict:
I really loved this book and it just might be
the best book I have read so far in the second half of 2019! 5/5 stars!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment
of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive and she
is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the
routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither
could have imagined. In this deft exploration of love, loyalty, race, justice,
and both Black masculinity and Black womanhood in 21st century America, Jones
achieves that most-illusive of all literary goals: the Great American Novel. Named an Oprah’s Book Club Selection.
Won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
This
book left me speechless. I am honestly shook after reading it. An American Marriage
is riveting in its honest tone, the tangibility and the rawness was grating on
my soul. It was sad, or rather, bittersweet, in a way that reality often is.
The
author has made it a story which can be the story of someone we might know –
Jones has a magical quality to her writing. The issue of race is an important
one here – the one that makes fate take the turn it does. Celestial and Roy are
husband and wife until he is wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit,
and sentenced to twelve years. It is at once, the most horrifying thing that
can happen to a couple, one that either breaks them or only makes them
stronger. These two individuals are bound together by their deep sense of love
and yet, separated by the twisted hand fate had dealt.
Societal
and familial expectations are often ones that can push a person to be better,
or they can become unwelcome burdens on a person’s shoulders. Celestial is a
person who has to deal with a lot of pressure – her life is not easy, and
neither is Roy’s. As a reader, I could not help but be overwhelmed by the
difficult choices these two had to made to just make it day by day.
Stories
also play a key role here – many of them reveal details that define the
characters and their beings. Often told through letters and flashbacks, An
American Marriage was an astounding book, one that I shall be keeping close to
my heart always. And thus, it is no surprise that my mother has also decided to
pick up this book soon.
Verdict:
This was devastating and yet utterly moving story, that touched my heart and shook me to the core. 5/5 stars!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Toni Morrison’s debut novel immerses us in the
tragic, torn lives of a poor black family – Pauline, Cholly, Sam and Pecola –
in post-Depression 1940s Ohio. Unlovely and unloved, Pecola prays each night
for blue eyes like those of her privileged white schoolfellows. At once
intimate and expansive, unsparing in its truth-telling, The Bluest Eye shows
how the past savagely defines the present.
My review:
I read The Bluest Eye for the #tonimorrisonreadathon organized by Vidya @letsdiscussourbooks. Thanks a lot for arranging this readathon!
The Bluest Eye was her first novel, published in 1970,
and it is a controversial novel still, for showing themes of incest, child
molestation, racism etc. By the time I had finished reading the last page, I
was blown away by the lyrical quality of Morrison’s writing. The repetitions
sometimes sound like a mantra that beats at your mind as you read of the
terrible beauty that is this book.
The shifting narratives offer glimpses into the lives
of the various characters – letting us understand how certain past events
shaped them into what they were in the present. What is important, is the
psychological implications the book also portrays throughout these shifting
perspectives. It is a wonder, that Morrison wrote things that still affect the
human race today – in that she is a writer on the human tragedies that are
eternal and everlasting.
The mental space is a big motif in this book. Later
on, when we see a life of Soaphead Church, we can infer from the writing that
his disgust against the dog directly reflects his internal feelings toward
himself. Much like Cholly, he uses Pecola for his own pleasure, although not in
a similar manner.
The Bluest
Eye was a beautifully terrible book – for its simplicity, and yet, the stark
truth reflected within the pages. No matter what the era, one will always seem
to relate on a micro level with the characters, their struggles and hopes and
wishes. Replete with the truest essence of humanness, Toni Morrison’s The
Bluest Eye is one of the best books ever. I rate it 5/5 stars.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika Saikia, is one of
the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam, and is also an admin
for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She publishes her own
reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction etc. on her bookstagram
account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the NorthEast Creator Awards 2018,
as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Hey guys! How’s it going? I have had quite a hectic week
this week. We had the freshmen social on Thursday and after that it has just been
very tiring. I hope to rest and recuperate on the weekend! Also, I have got a ton of work to do…
Here’s a book that came in the mail a couple days ago. Tene
Edwards was kind enough to send me her book and I am very excited to read it. I
have already read a couple of pieces and I really connected with them. I hope
to read some more on the weekend. Thanks a lot for the book!
Walk With Wings by Tene Edwards is a poetry collection split into five chapters: Monsoon Love, Winter Sorrow, Autumn Grace, Spring Resilient, and Summer Freedom. In short, poignant verses, Tene’s poems are a compilation of reflections on her experiences, thoughts, and feelings through love, loss, pain, healing and resilience. The collection takes you through the life story of the author while offering advice, notes, and affirmations, which were written to empower the author during difficult times. Walk With Wings tells the story of Tene falling in love, making bad decisions, learning from her mistakes, and discovering how to love her life and herself.
Processed with VSCO with preset
What are your plans for this weekend? Any trips planned or
is it dedicated to catching up with work?
Seventeen-year-old Edgar Poe counts down the days until he can escape his foster family—the wealthy Allans of Richmond, Virginia. He hungers for his upcoming life as a student at the prestigious new university, almost as much as he longs to marry his beloved Elmira Royster. However, on the brink of his departure, all his plans go awry when a macabre Muse named Lenore appears to him. Muses are frightful creatures that lead Artists down a path of ruin and disgrace, and no respectable person could possibly understand or accept them. But Lenore steps out of the shadows with one request: “Let them see me!”
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
The
Raven’s Tale is a fantastical retelling inspired by the famous poem by Edgar
Allen Poe. It was a truly atmospheric story, one that I read at one go and
finished in a night. The physical manifestation of a muse is a truly unique
idea that the author has used in the book. It is melancholic and whimsical and
a possibly true account in an alternate universe! I like to think that it is.
The
character of Edgar is a tragic, sad and yet beautiful rendering of an artist’s
life that seemed real – the angst was portrayed well thorough the writing and
the reader could relate to Edgar. His character arc was well planned and it
seemed gradual and realistic.
In
a way, this book also shows what it is like to have parents who have certain expectations
for you – expectations that are rigid and more suited to their mentalist and
wishes than that of the child. In doing this, the author has smoothly
integrated an ever-relatable issue, no matter the times, and an amazing story.
I
also liked Lenore although I thought of her to be a bit vengeful at times. On the
other hand, Garland is a satirical and ironic part of him. These two
personalities show the often contrasting natures we humans find on ourselves
which so often confuses us.
The
writing is captivating and sucks the reader right in. Cat Winters has done a
really great job on this book and if you are a fan of the hauntingly beautiful
works of Poe, this is a must-read for you!
Verdict:
I
absolutely loved this book and I rate it 4/5 stars.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Social media manager and popular blogger Aisha
is flirty and flamboyant … even as she battles personal demons that tell her
she must stop eating if she wants to stay pretty.
Ruhi couldn’t be more different from her friend
Aisha. Working at Litracy Publishing, she feels grossly underappreciated by the
editor-in-chief, who happens to be her mother. What keeps her going are her own
ambitions – and her handsome author Tejas.
Bestselling novelist Tejas has a bad case of
writer’s block. He leans on Ruhi for emotional support before getting enamoured
by Aisha as he struggles to live up to everyone’s expectations, including his
own.
Bold and unapologetic, this is a story of love
and self-discovery, heartache and book launches.
My review:
I received
a review copy from SMA REVIEWS in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Adulting
was a pretty quick read and I read it at one go under just a few hours. I have
pretty mixed reviews about it though. The plot was okay an had a very realist
touch to it which made it a book that is easy to get in touch with and which is
believable. The use of other media like to-do lists etc makes it an interesting
form.
About
the characters – I found them faulty and immature but that is to say, they are
also relatable. They are complaining half of the time or playing the blame game
but in all that, they are real manifestations of some of our non-finer parts.
Aisha is a fashion blogger and the interactions with her audience affect her a
lot – whether positive or negative. Psychological problems, as well as eating
disorders, are seen through her actions. In her, we see the dangers of
addiction to social media – perhaps of what happens when we look to social
media for validation.
Ruhi,
on the other hand, is a complete contrast. In many ways, we see that she is
lacking in the confidence that seems to be bountiful in Aisha. She is still
dependent on her mother and this need for validation is what hampers her growth
towards her individuality.
Then
we also have Tejas who is looking for validation through his works and then
through his relationships with Ruhi and Aisha.
What
is common to all three of these is that they are all looking for validation in
one way or another. There is a sense of discontentment and dissatisfaction
among all three which may be a reflection of the lives of all the people today.
In that, this novel may well be a physical representation of our modern lives.
Verdict:
I
rate this 3.5/5 stars.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Selkies, wyverns, witches, and giants. Perilous
quests, true love, and animals that talk.
The traditional stories of Ireland, Scotland,
Brittany, and Wales transport us to the fantastical world of Celtic folklore.
These timeless tales brim with wit and magic, and each on is brought to life
with elegant silhouette art in this special illustrated edition.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
This
was an absolute delight! I am so glad I could read this amazing set of tales,
so full of magic and fantasy! I have never read any folktales from these places
in the world, to be honest, and I loved every second I was immersed in them!
Separated
into the categories of Tricksters, the Sea, Quests, and Romance, the stories
all come with some amazing illustrations by Kate Forrester, and as is common to
all folktales, morals. I found some similar tales in Nordic Tales as well and
so it is really interesting to see that there are such overlaps in all our
different cultures too! I absolutely enjoyed it and am giving it to my brother
to read!
Verdict:
A gem! 5/5 stars!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
And I have an amazing new book for you today! Chantal Gadoury is one of my favourite authors to go to for some amazing fantasy retelling and this time, when she wrote a retelling of Hansel and Gretel (can you imagine?!) along with A. M. Wright, I could not stop still! So I am so happy to be doing a cover reveal for this amazing book! I am also so grateful to the authors for sending me an eARC! I loved every part of it!
Title: The Shrike and the Shadows
Author: Chantal
Gadoury and A. M. Wright
Publisher: The
Parliament House Press
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Kindle
ebook
Language: Englsih
Synopsis:
Men have gone missing before. The village of Krume is plagued by a haunted wood and a hungry witch. It’s been that way for as long as Hans and Greta can remember, though they have never seen the witch themselves; no one has. When men start to disappear once again in the cover of night – their bloody hearts turning up on doorsteps – the village falls into frenzied madness. Hans and Greta, two outcast orphans, find themselves facing accusations of witchcraft and are met with an ultimatum: burn at the stake, or leave the village forever. With nowhere else to go, they abandon their only home. As they venture into the strange forest, their path is fraught with horrific creatures, wild and vivid hallucinations, and a mysterious man tied to the witch’s past. The Shrike is watching, just beyond the deep darkness of the woods.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the author in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Having
read Gadoury’s work before and being an avid lover of them, I was totally
excited to pick up this Hansel and Gretel retelling! The Shrike and the Shadows
is truly one of a kind, and I have never come across such a retelling before.
The
book was really full of emotions and action throughout – there was never any
boring part and each word weaved together with the other to fulfill the
reader’s appetite and also kept him wanting for more. There is an amazing
brother-sister bond and the world-building – the setting, to be precise – is
eerie and whimsical and almost fantastical. We see various facets of human
natures – the Reverend is a bad man who uses his power for all the wrong things
and he is a vengeful person too. The same vengeance also shows itself
through Alda and her lies. There is
darkness, yes, but there is also the infallible human goodness too – Barin is
an excellent example of that.
Throughout
the story, we see the characters growing – the character arc of Hans is
especially significant to read.
The
thrills throughout continue to send chills down your spine and the brilliant
imagery rend The Shrike in the Shadows an awesome read.
Verdict:
I really enjoyed this book and I rate it a 4.5/5 stars.
I am also featuring this beautiful art piece done by my dear friend Subhalaxmi – this is just how I imagine the Shrike to be! (a more beautiful version, at least!)
Also, all credits go to Gayatri for this amazing edit! Thanks a lot darling! You are always there to help!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
And the last in my series is here! Things have been going
well this week.. I am in a better place mentally and I am waking up feeling hopeful.
I think this is a very subjective thing – dealing with the occasional bouts of
depression we all suffer from. An important thing I wish people would realize
is that it is natural for us people (in this cut throat world) to feel
depressed sometimes, but it does not mean that we are suffering from depression.
We need to stop romanticizing mental illnesses. Anyway, enough of my rant.
Moving on, I got a total of 38 new books in August, including
review copies, gifts from friends and book I ordered on my own. Some of the
books I featured in my semester readings post are also new ones I got in
August, but since I had already shown them, I thought I should show the rest. So
here are the rest of the new books I got in August:
Mary Barton
Vanity Fair by Thackeray (this was a gift from a
friend)
The Bluest Eye
The Wings of the Dove
Madame Bovary
An American Marriage
Dark Blade
The Shadow Lines
Great Expectations (this was a gift from a
friend)
Sea Prayer
Catwoman (this was a gift from a friend)
Origin
Black Leopard Red Wolf
The Far Field
The Forest of Enchantments
The Interpreter of Maladies
Upon a Burning Throne part 2
Nahoror Niribili Saa (Assamese novel)
Sanglat Fenla (Assamese novel)
Did you get any new book in August? Or were you really good
at following the book ban (unlike yours truly)? Do share your views and drop a
comment. I always reply to your comments and also drop one in your accounts or
spam with likes. Have a great day ahead, guys!
Hi guys! Thank
you for the love you shared in my last post. I have decided on a few changes I am
going to make in my life. I have recently been taking in a lot of pressure – I
am dealing with a lot of work right now and I let it overcome me. In addition, I
have realized that it is so very unhealthy. So I hope to take it a bit slow and
steady. The number of review projects, some other literary projects that I had
been doing, my college work – all of it, coupled with my innate need for excellence
just got a bit too much. This weekend I took a mental break from it all and I
am feeling so very fresh to have left aside all the unnecessary pressure.
Moving on,
here is my august wrap up for 2019. I read a total of 30 books and I am very
happy with my progress. I’m sharing a few of these here, since i read most in
the ebook format.
Black Panther
The Bluest Eye
Emperor Chandragupta
Emperor Vikramaditya
Very Nice
The Raven’s Tale
The Case that Shook the Empire
Delayed Rays of a Star
Celtic Tales
Nordic Tales
I also
listened to the audiobook of BECOMING by Michelle Obama and I honestly love this
book and I think that it should be made a compulsory read for school students
and upwards.
Have you
read any of these books? Did you enjoy them?
How many
books did you read in august, and are you happy with your progress?
He’s known as the Black Panther. His home is Wakanda. Welcome to T’Challa’s world. During the last ten centuries, as European colonial powers spread their guns and armies throughout the continent, the African nation of Wakanda stood alone as an unconquerable land inhabited by undefeatable warriors and filled with incredible technological advancements. T’Challa – the latest in a lineage of warrior-kings – is Wakanda’s Black Panther, a hero endowed with enhanced speed, strength and agility – along with a suit made of the metal that secured his country’s future: the indestructible Vibranium. Now, outsiders have returned to plunder Wakanda’s riches, including its store of the rare metal. Leading this brutal assault is Klaw, an assassin with the blood of T’Challa’s father on his hands. Klaw brings with him a powerful army of super-powered mercenaries, all hell-bent on raining death and destruction on this pristine land. Even with Wakanda’s might and his own superhuman skills, can the Black Panther prevail against such a massive invading force?
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
I
had very high expectations from this book honestly. And perhaps that is the
reason why I was so very excited to pick it up. The book is very different from
the movie and as such if you have watched the movie beforehand, it will
probably also be a nice read.
We
see T’Challa as having developed into this assertive man who is a just king.
His relations with his mother and sister is amazing. Throughout the book, the
author has placed in past events through reminiscences made by the characters
and it is refreshing to get this perspective into the inner lives. Shuri’s
story is especially an interesting one as we get her vies into various
traditions of Wakanda and her feelings regarding them. It also portrays her
brother as a real man and not just as a divine king. However, I did not particularly
like the mother – I think sh way too obsessed with her son.
Klaw
on the other hand was an interesting character – both as a villain and as a man
with a vengeance. The glimpse offered into the ‘villains’s’ lives in this book
was very interesting and their back stories and interrelationships were very
interesting as well!
However
I was not very interested in this book. I felt that it dragged for a bit to be
honest and I am not sure if I will ever pick it up again, at this point. In the
last bit especially, I had to drag myself to turn the pages one after the
other. I just had no wish to continue reading this book. However, I do think
that I will pick up this book and see if I will like it someday.
A dazzling novel following the lives of three groundbreaking women–Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Leni Riefenstahl–cinema legends who lit up the twentieth century
At a chance encounter at a Berlin soirée in 1928, the photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captures three very different women together in one frame: up-and-coming German actress Marlene Dietrich, who would wend her way into Hollywood as one of its lasting icons; Anna May Wong, the world’s first Chinese American star, playing for bit parts while dreaming of breaking away from her father’s modest laundry; and Leni Riefenstahl, whose work as a director would first make her famous–then, infamous.
From this curious point of intersection, Delayed Rays of a Star lets loose the trajectories of these women’s lives. From Weimar Berlin to LA’s Chinatown, from a seaside resort in East Germany to a luxury apartment on the Champs-Élysées, the different settings they inhabit are as richly textured as the roles they play: siren, muse, predator, or lover, each one a carefully calibrated performance. And in the orbit of each star live secondary players–a Chinese immigrant housemaid, a German soldier on leave from North Africa, a pompous Hollywood director–whose voices and viewpoints reveal the legacy each woman left in her own time, as well as in ours. Amanda Lee Koe’s playful, wry prose guides the reader dexterously around murky questions of ego, persona, complicity, desire, and difference. Intimate and raw, Delayed Rays of a Star is a visceral depiction of womanhood–its particular hungers, its calculations, and its eventual betrayals–and announces a bold new literary voice.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Delayed
Rays of a Star is an exhilarating read delving into history and the lives of
three women with an epic intensity. Spanning from the 1920s to the early 2000s,
this novel tells a fictional story of real life actresses – Marlene Dietrich,
Anna May Wong, and Leni Riefenstahl. Delayed Rays of a Star has been inspired
from a photograph of these 3 women, that was clicked at a soiree in 1928
Berlin. Although these three women are the protagonists, you could say, there
are a few more secondary characters in the book – Marlene’s caretaker, the lighting staff on
Leni’s team, the gay German soldier etc.
For
the most part, this seemingly simple and ambiguous novel reads quite fluidly.
There are so many issues that are discussed here. For instance, there is sexism
– the most prevalent one, I think. As women, the three protagonists had to go
through a lot to be where they are. It is in Leni’s story where it is the most
prominent I think. As one of the three protagonists who gets a whole section
for her own voice, Leni is a character who has often been judged and
misunderstood often.
There
is also racism – and no one perhaps experiences this more than Anna May. In all
her movies, she is never cast as the lead, always being passed over to make way
for white actresses – because she is ‘too’ Chinese.
Another
theme is that of sexuality. Marlene was a woman who was famous in her heydays.
It is unfathomable to understand how she slept with both men and women and got
away with it. the instance in the book where Anna and Marlene are in the
washroom, and the aftermath, is a clear indication that Marlene was very
comfortable in her own skin. Nonetheless, it is impossible to imagine how she
got away with it during those times.
Delayed
Rays of a Star is also a very intense read if you truly understand the subtle
themes spoken of, here. Divided into three main sections, followed by three
sub-divisions each, where each section follows one of the three main
characters. The character arcs of these women are commendable. However, I was
disappointed that Leni was not very involved with the other two after the
party. I had hoped to see more of an interrelationship among the 3 women, apart
from their common instances in life.
The
question of politics really comes into play with Leni. I did some research and
she truly was a director of Nazi propaganda films. As such, a lot of her being
is kind of complicated – how can you separate the art from politics and if it
should or should not be done; if it was necessary to separate the artist’s
political ideologies from his art.
Amanda
Le Koe has truly written a definitive work on women’s lives and including these
real life characters along with a few of their real life actions and beliefs,
was a great culmination in Delayed Rays of a Star. Considering that this is her
debut novel, I can only imagine the pressure that lies on her shoulders now for
any future works.
Verdict:
I
rate this book a 4/5 stars!
About the author:
Born in Singapore and currently based in New
York, Amanda
Lee Koe is the youngest winner of the Singapore Literature
Prize for her first short story collection Ministry of Moral
Panic (Epigram Books, 2013), which was also
shortlisted for the Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s Internationaler
Literaturpreis, and the Frankfurt Book Fair’s LiBeraturpreis.
The working manuscript for her first novel, Delayed Rays of a
Star , won the Henfield prize, awarded to the
best work of fiction by a graduating MFA candidate at Columbia University’s
Writing Program; the book is forthcoming from Nan A. Talese/Doubleday (U.S.)
and Bloomsbury (U.K.) in summer 2019.
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
A brilliantly funny novel of money, sex, race,
and bad behavior in the post-Obama era, featuring a wealthy Connecticut
divorcée, her college-age daughter, and the famous American novelist who is
seduced by them both.
Rachel Klein never meant to kiss her creative
writing professor, but with his long eyelashes, his silky hair, and the sad,
beautiful life he laid bare on Twitter, she does, and the kiss is very nice.
Zahid Azzam never planned to become a houseguest in his student’s sprawling
Connecticut home, but with the sparkling swimming pool, the endless supply of
Whole Foods strawberries, and Rachel’s beautiful mother, he does, and the home
is very nice. Becca Klein never thought she’d have a love affair so soon after
her divorce, but when her daughter’s professor walks into her home, bringing
with him an apricot standard poodle named Princess, she does, and the affair
is…a very bad idea. In a darkly hilarious novel that zigzags between the
rarified circles of Manhattan investment banking, the achingly self-serious MFA
programs of the Midwest, and the private bedrooms of Connecticut, Marcy
Dermansky has written an audacious, addictive, and wickedly smart take on the
way we live now.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Very
Nice was a fairly fast-paced novel – that read like a soap opera. It certainly
was fun to read this book and I believe it was the perfect summer read, to be
read by the pool. The story is told through various characters’ povs so we see
varying perspectives in the alternating thread of storytelling. It is linear
with a fluid writing that reads really well.
We
have Rachel, a college student who has a crush on her creative writing professor
– Zahid Azzam, who is also a well-renowned author. She seduces him, they have
sex and Rachel starts thinking that he likes her for it. However, everything is
not as it seems. For instance, the characters portray something else – a sense
of individuality and accomplishment, you could say, but underneath it all,
there are such conflicting emotions. By a chance of fate, Zahid ends up living
in Rachel’s house and has an affair with her mother, Becca. However, Dermansky
has played well with the creation of the interrelationships among the various
characters in this book. It seems everyone is related to everyone in one way or
the other. The way their threads are intertwined proves to be a very
interesting read.
The book also has various themes peeking out through the various narratives. With Khloe, we see the misogynistic nature of the world that she has to face in her finance job. Becca deals with dissatisfaction and a sense of acute restlessness and incompleteness. Jonathan deals with the fleeting sense of joy as he leaves his wife Becca for the much younger Mandy, only to slowly realize that it is not how he wants to live. The inner monologues of the characters, especially that of Rachel, is very interesting. The idea of self-image and self-identity is very important here too. we see Zahid struggling with it, and we also see Rachel struggling with the idea or the image she has of Zahid. There is also inclusion of political themes such as gun laws (in relation to the incident faced by Becca once, as she was confronted by Amelia’s brother), varying political ideologies etc. the manner of writing is quite electric to be honest, and at first I was not sure of what I felt regarding the short sentences. I found it weird, but not bad though. After a while, I got used to it and quite enjoyed it, in fact.
Despite
all the differences in the characters’ personalities, and, they are human – and
flawed in a way we all can also certainly relate to. It was very easy to relate
to the characters. I felt so accomplished myself when Zahid’s writing was going
well, for instance.
The
writing continues to be witty, and although the author deals with some abject
issues, it is still fun and a buoyant read overall.
Verdict:
An
enjoyable read, I rated it 4/5 stars.
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
So recently, one of the famous novelists ever left the world. Toni Morrison is a famous name and although I have never read any of her works earlier, I was quite familiar with them – the names and the synopsis of the various books at least!
So when Vidya texted me saying that she wanted to sort of organize a readathon for Toni Morrison’s book, I was only too happy for it! She’s done brilliantly and we have the #tonimorrisonreadathon now! I am very happy to be a part of it and I encourage you all to join in and finally pick up her books if like me, you haven’t read any of her works yet, or if you want to go back and reread her books!
I have decided to pick up two books for this readathon – The Bluest Eye and Beloved. Here’s a bit about them both!
The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison’s first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author’s girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves’ garden do not bloom and Pecola’s life does change- in painful, devastating ways. What its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child’s yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment. The Bluest Eye remains one of Tony Morrisons’s most powerful, unforgettable novels- and a significant work of American fiction.
In Beloved, we meet Sethe, who was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Her new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison.
Do join in and share the fun! You can all check out my bookstagram account Pretty_Little_Bibliophile where I keep giving regular updates!
Hey guys! I wish you all a very Happy Independence Day! Let us all thank our ancestors for their belief, their struggle and strife that has led us to where we are today. It is truly historic and the TV news covering the celebrations across the country give me goosebumps. I have teared up so many times hearing the national anthem today!
How are you planning on celebrating today? I am going to spend the day with my family – we had a great lunch and caught up with our lives. Later on, we plan on watching Uri, and a few other movies like Lagaan, and perhaps Raazi too.
I’m also going to join the #BloomsburyReadalong today and start with THE CASE THAT SHOOK THE EMPIRE! Do join in!
The thrilling story of how one Indian fought for the rights of millionsliving under the British rule and gave crucial impetus to the Independence movement in India.
30 April 1924. At the Court of the King’s
Bench in London, the highest court in the Empire, an
English judge and jury heard the case that would change the course
of India’s history: Sir Michael O’Dwyer, the former Lieutenant
Governor of the Punjab – and architect of the infamous
Jallianwala Bagh massacre – had filed adefamation case against
Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair for having published a book in which he
referred to the atrocities committed by the Raj in Punjab.
The widely-reported trial – one of the longest in
history – stunned a world that finally recognized some of the horrors
being committed by the British in India.
Through reports of court proceedings along with a nuanced
portrait of a complicated nationalist who believed in his principles
above all else, The Case ThatShook the Empire reveals,
for the very first time, the real details of the fateful case that
marked the defining moment in India’s struggle for Independence.
Join me in the #BloomsburyReadalong from August 15 to August 22. I sincerely hope you do and enjoy reading this book as much as I hope to!
Recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year 2015 award, Abir
Sinha is the best-selling poet of the book Noora- a collection of poems which
was launched by the Commerce Minister Shri. Suresh Prabhu. Silence between the
Spaces is the second collection of his poetry and prose which talks about
taking that long arduous journey into yourself. Get comfortable with peeling
the layers off to know who you really are.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the author in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
I
read this book for the Reading Rush 2019 Challenge, for the prompt Read a book
in the same spot the entire time.
The
poet has divided all his poems into 4 sections and named them well as –
‘Ibtida’
The Beginning
‘Justuju’
The Quest
‘Muntazir’
Awaiting
‘Maktub’
It is Written
The
pieces in Silence Between the Spaces are all very relatable for us. They deal
with everyday things that as individuals w can all relate with in one way or
the other. I love how these pieces do not conform to the contemporary poems
that revolve so much around romantic love. This collection is a nice change
from that.
The
themes of the human struggle, our everyday grind, as well as self-love are very
common here. I hope how the poet has included these important issues –
literature has an immense power to influence the reader and as such, I do
believe that the author/poet has great responsibility on him. In this
collection, I applaud the poet for including these important topics within the
poems.
The
author also speaks of our constant dissatisfaction – our never ending wants; we,
human beings have become so greedy that we are never satisfied or happy despite
all our materialistic richness. The struggle in the cutthroat world that we all
face – the immense tension and stress that we are all subjected to, is also
explored here.
Glimpses
of nostalgia, chaos, the concept of ‘home’, the inability to move on, mental
health etc are also seen here. Some of my favourites from this collection are
The Hardest Lesson, Workaholic, Magnitude of Pain, Put Yourself First, Bottled
Up, What Balance?, The Real Competition, Stir, Exhale etc.
Verdict:
It was an enjoyable and deep read. I rate it a 4/5 stars.
Also I’ve been continuously using this #readersjournal ‘Well-Read Women’ by Samantha Hahn from Abrams Chronicle Books! I have been using it to record all the books I’ve been reading recently and it has been a great help for me to record my immediate raw and unfiltered reactions!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A
famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a
grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most
desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a
fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never
speaks another word.
Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation,
turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures
the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art
skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and
spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.
Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a
long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her
to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a
twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to
consume him….
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
The
Silent Patient had been in my TBR for a really long time. I had loved the
premise and being a fan of domestic thrillers, this one topped my wishlist. As such,
I was so grateful when Hachette wanted to send a copy my way! I ended up picking
this book for the Reading Rush Challenge 2019, where I read it for the prompt –
Read an author’s first book. It was a great decision by the way and I
thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I finished it in under 24 hours (I forgot to
clock my time) and then, recently, my mother also picked it up. I waited this
long for the review, because I also wanted to include my mother’s perspective on
the book.
In
this book the author is talking about this enigmatic woman (atleast Theo Faber
considers her enigmatic) who has allegedly killed her husband and gone silent. ‘Allegedly’
is a term I use loosely. There are some people who are convinced of her doings
and there are still some left who believed that she is indeed innocent. I love
the manner in which this book is written – it is very matter-of-fact I believe,
and so you are bound to feel as if it is happening to real people you know. The
addition of the personal drama in the lives of both the people, especially of
the narrator Theo Faber, is a great touch as it gives a certain depth to the
story.
This
book is truly a page turner. As a reader, you are bound to just keep on reading
and keep turning the pages on and on. Moreover, this is a really different type
of a domestic thriller, I think. Because in most other books of this genre, we
have an unreliable narrator, however, that is entirely not the case in this
book. The narrator is Theo Faber, a forensic psychotherapist as opposed to some
deranged wife, who is unreliable because of her mental health, or alcohol
problems etc.
The
themes of emotional trauma – both in their childhood as well as adult life is
rife throughout. The human psyche is depicted wonderfully through a myriad of
various characters.
The only problem I and my mother had, was that the time frame was not very
clear to us. We thought that the way the two storylines (I am so not revealing
anything! You need to pick up this book ASAP!) We carried out, was not enough
to clear the doubts regarding the time frame surrounding the actions. We could
not decipher the events from the time frame provided – whether they are happening
simultaneously (which we felt was happening) or in the past or future.
However, we did enjoy the book and that twist was not really expected! I did hint at something like that but nonetheless, that twist had me close the book and sit for a while, shocked and wondering how the hell I did not see that coming.
Verdict:
We
really enjoyed this book and rate this one a 4.5/5 stars!
About the
author:
Born in Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot father and
English mother, I studied English literature at Cambridge University and got my
MA in screenwriting at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. I wrote the
film The Devil You Know (2013) starring Rosamund Pike and co-wrote The Con is
On (2018), starring Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Parker Posey and Sofia Vergara. THE
SILENT PATIENT is my first novel.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
My university opened today and we had a creative writing workshop with Mr. Dhruba Hazarika. It was a wonderful event and I was inspired to write a fantasy piece! I was struck by inspiration and I really loved how I sudden the idea was. I’m hoping to work more on it.
Anyway, July was my summer vacation and so I had a splendid time reading some great books! I read a total of 33.5 books and it was great!
Review Books
What Mina Did by Geeta Menon
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Secret of Palamu Fort by Razi
Narasimha by Kevin Missal
Let’s Hope for the Best by Carolina Setterwall
Love in the Time of Affluenza by Shunali Khullar Shroff
The Monsters Still Lurk by Aruna Nambiar
The Dark Side of the Moon Vol 2, by Shubham Arora
Heart of Mist by Helen Scheuerer
Silence Between the Spaces by Abir Sinha
The Kosher Delhi by Ivan Wainwright
Reading Rush 2019
By the Brahmaputra and other poems by Srutimala Duara
Africa’s Tarnished Name by Chinua Achebe
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Lips Touch by Laini Taylor
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (also a review book)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K.Rowling and illustrated by Jim Kay
Personal Choices
Escaping from Houdini, and
Becoming the Dark Prince by by Kerri Maniscalco
Friends with Benefits by Kelly Jamieson
Just Friends by Jenika Snow
From Friends to Lovers by Mia Ford
Bride by Contract by Kendra Riley
Virgin Wife by Alexa Riley
Wife for Now by Penny Wylder
Back to Her by Dani Wyatt
Best Friends, Secret Lovers by Jessica Lemmon
Restored by Alexa Riley
Pretty Virgin by Alexa Riley
Stay Close by Alexa Riley
Perfect Boss by Penny Wylder
Dangerous Love by Penny Wylder
Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven
How did your reading go in July? How many books did you read? While compiling this list, I have noticed that I love reading romances during the summer! Do you have any such preferences as well? Is your reading preferences affected by the weather?
The Dark Side Of The Moon is a collection of
short stories that is dark, grim and flirts ambitiously with notions of the
unexplained.
Volume 2 marks the return of the series with
another set of three thrilling, crisply narrated tales –
DECEMBER
Cold. Rainy. Windy. A typical December night in
Mussourie. The police receives a distress call. Typical for stormy nights, as
they say. But this night will be different. This night will be longer. This
night will remain unexplained.
THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON – THE STORY
Humans haven’t been on the moon since 1972. They
have decided to return – though this time to the dark side of the moon, where
no human has ever set foot before. What does the unknown hold?
SEVENTY METERS
The swift morning breeze soothes her hair. The
tinkling wind-chimes call her to the window. She looks at him smiling in his
sleep. She smiles too. But that’s been a rarity for them.
Does love, like time, wither away as it’s consumed?
My review:
I received
a review copy from the author in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
I
have not been much of a horror fan but… Shubham Arora had me hooked with his
first volume. And when he reached out to me for the second one, I was already jumping
with joy. That is another story in itself so we’ll keep that aside for now.
In
comparison to the first volume, I think the author’s writing has improved
immensely. Most importantly, he knows how to deliver a punch at the end, just
as succinctly.
In
the first story, December, the writing is very atmospheric and is enough to
give you the chills. When the story actually starts, and we venture into the
mansion, I almost felt as if something is going to jump out of the shadows, at
me. As a reader, I couldn’t help but feel as if I was a part of the story
itself and the instances were happening to me too.
The
stories have become creepier, with the eponymous The Dark Side of the Moon
being the creepiest of them all. I loved how he has taken on this urban myth
and given it his own twist. The idea itself, when you sit back and think about
it – being stranded on a strange place (the dark side of the moon, for God’s
sake!) The way this story is told – especially in day counts, is one that
really makes you tensed up as if awaiting the climax, the twist you know is
coming.
The
last story is Seventy Meters, and from the name, I could guess what the ending would
have been. Although the least favourite from all three, this was, a good story
too, although I did not think it was scary. In a strange sort of way, it was
actually sad.
Verdict:
It
was an enjoyable read and I hope to read more of the author’s writing. I rate
it 4.5/5 stars.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Fantasy has
always been a love of mine. In my own culture, we have the famous ‘Burhi Aair
Sadhu’ by the great Lakshminath Bezbaruah. It is a collection of fantastical
stories, full of adventure and romance, which are told to us all. I myself have
various editions of the book. From my childhood itself, fantasy has been fed to
me and today, I am an addicted soul. It is no wonder that even after the decades;
fantasy has remained a favourite of mine and I am never late at grasping onto
new series. With this, I want to introduce you all to The Oremere Chronicles, a
trilogy which is bound to hook you into it.
There are
amazing cliffhangers for the books and since all three books in the trilogy are
out, I am so very excited to pick it up! There are heroes who are human and
flawed and yet so very lovable. There are so many secrets to unravel as you keep
on reading the books and I bet you will be at the edge of your seats, biting
your nails off, throughout! And full points if you can make out the hints of
the book covers of the next book in any one book.
I’ll be
starting with this readathon from the 28th of July and you are
welcome to join me!
Heart of Mist
In a realm where toxic mist sweeps the lands
and magic is forbidden, all Bleak wants is a cure for her power.
Still grieving the death of her guardian and
dangerously self-medicating with alcohol, Bleak is snatched from her home by
the Commander of the King’s Army, and summoned to the capital.
But the king isn’t the only one interested in
Bleak’s powers.
The leader of an infamous society of warriors,
the Valia Kindred, lays claim to her as well, and Bleak finds herself in the
middle of a much bigger battle than she anticipated.
Heart of Mist is the gripping first book in The
Oremere Chronicles, a fantasy series of epic proportions.
Reign of Mist
The realm’s darkest secret is out.
The cruelty of the capital and the power-hungry
King Arden have scattered Bleak and her companions across the continents.
On the run in a foreign land, Bleak finds
herself tied to some unexpected strangers. When the answers she yearns for are
finally within reach, she must face the hard truths of her past, and take her
fate into her own hands before it’s too late.
Meanwhile, secrets and magic unravel as a dark
power corrupts the realm. Bleak’s friends are forced to decide where their
loyalties lie, and who, if anyone, they can trust.
But one thing is certain: war is coming, and
they must all be ready when it does.
Intriguing and action-packed, Reign of Mist is
the second instalment in Helen Scheuerer’s epic YA fantasy series, The Oremere
Chronicles.
And the last book in this trilogy is finally
out!
War of Mist
War is here.
Toxic mist drives all life to the brink of
destruction and the conqueror queen, Ines, has her talons in the kings of the
realm.
Bleak, having discovered her true heritage, must
now scour the lands for the one thing that might save them all.
But the search is a treacherous one – and it
will push her to the very limits of endurance.
Amidst secrets, lies and the intricacies of
battle, Bleak and her companions learn just how far they’ll go for the ones
they love. But will it be enough?
As deadly forces grapple for power across the
continents, families, friends and allies unite to take one final stand.
Explosive revelations, heart-wrenching betrayals
and breathtaking magic soar in the epic conclusion to Helen Scheuerer’s
bestselling trilogy, The Oremere Chronicles.
About the
author
Helen Scheuerer
is the YA fantasy author of the bestselling novels, Heart of
Mist (2017) and Reign of Mist (September 2018). Both books
are part of the action-packed trilogy, The Oremere Chronicles.
Helen is the Founding Editor of Writer’s
Edit, an online literary magazine and learning platform for emerging
writers. It’s now one of the largest writers’ platforms in the world.
Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a Bachelor of
Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong.
Helen also completed a Masters of Publishing at the University of Sydney.
Her work has appeared in Voiceworks, ACTWrite Magazine, The
UEA Creative Writing Anthology, Tertangala (UOW), Capital
Letters and of course, on Writer’s Edit.
Hey guys!
How’s it going? I have been having a great time reading books for the #readingrush
challenge and I have already finished 3 books and am halfway into the third.
Currently reading King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo for the challenge to read a
book with a non-human main character. And I am loving it! How is Leigh Bardugo
this good with her words?!!! On the same note, have you seen the Crooked
Kingdom collector’s edition? It is so beautiful.
Moving on,
in June I acquired 17 new books and they are:
City of Girls
Perfume
The Right Time
The Good Fight
The Duchess
Funny Boy
Dangerous Games
Just Rewards
Unexpected Blessings
Narasimha
Lost and Found
The Intelligence Trap
The Secret of the Palamu Fort
Aurora Rising
What Mina Did
Let’s Hope for the Best
After the Flood
Thanks to all the publishers for sending the review copies to me! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them!
A novel that probes the norms of marriage,
love, and adultery among the urban super-wealthy, Love in the time of Affluenza
is a hilarious social satire set in Mumbai. The story explores the lives of
three women as understood from the eyes of its protagonist Natasha, a happily
married mother of three. She begins to ask some difficult questions about her
own life after she stumbles upon her closest friend Trisha’s affair.
‘Finally an immensely enjoyable story about Mumbai’s rich
that, like all good stories, rings so true, with its adorable and suspiciously
familiar characters.’ – Manu Joseph
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
A
book that provides a glimpse into the lives of the ultra-rich in urban Mumbai,
Love in the Time of Affluenza was a fun, and witty read. While most may simply
categorize it into the light and frivolous, this book comes with its practical
depth – one so many women across the country will find similar!
Natasha
Singh is a woman who is very relatable. As a mother, she shows us (who are not
mothers yet) the point of view from a mother’s side and it is definitely not so
easy. Kids can be really annoying sometimes (I am definitely experienced as I
have a younger brother) but most of all, placating the kids after a fight is
the worst. I loved how the author has made the book so very relatable! When Ria
puts on more waterworks as the father (Natasha’s husband, Prince Varun)
arrives, it is a scene out of my everyday life. I am a daddy’s girl too and
well, to b honest, for a daughter, fathers are way easier to manipulate, aren’t
they?
We
see Natasha grappling with the sudden scenario of cheating and infidelity when
her friend Trisha’s affair is discovered by her. So many times in life, we find
ourselves struggling between two rights – whether to respect the confidences of
a friend or to tell the truth outright to the people they are hurting. Even
without the exact same scenario, this is a dreadful situation we have found
ourselves in time too many, to be honest!
And then comes the mother-in-law! That is one
serious Hiroshima-Nagasaki situation in itself. Natasha’s interactions with the
Rani are funny, and sometimes really frustrating. It really makes us think
about the age-old adage – a woman is another woman’s worst enemy. Is there any
truth to it?
In
the very beginning of the book itself, Natasha, as she is being ordered about
by the cook, wonders if she is working for him or vice versa. Now that
situation is one we all are suffering from! And well, men are such chauvinists
sometimes! Even when they love you, that streak of caveman attitude seems to
erupt and take over their otherwise oaky-ish thinking.
Being
an avid fan of Sex and the City, I did find similarities between Carrie
Bradshaw and our Natasha. The beginning of every chapter is a writeup by her,
as she works as a columnist. These writeups are quite impactful and make us
think these words over. The writing was full of humor and irony, and I for one
(among many others) am a fan of Shroff’s writing. The literary (and other
references) to Anais Nin, Sylvia Plath, Anna Karenina, Picasso, Lalu Prasad
Yadav (you so need to read this book!), Uri Geller, etc. were on point! Shroff
has masterfully blended the wit and philosophy, displayed them through various
(almost) stereotyped characters and provided a work, which is light, and funny
and relatable, but at the same time, full of deep and impactful thoughts.
Verdict:
It
was a great read, and now my mum is reading it too! I rate it 4/5 stars!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
We were an ordinary family, with conventional
lives. We were mostly happy, but always cautious of too much happiness. We were
hardly religious, just pious enough to keep us on the straight and narrow. We
bickered a little but would never have thought to be estranged. We feared
illness and anticipated eventual death, but we expected life to follow a
certain path, a particular schedule. Until…
It is 1991. As Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated and a new
government comes to power, setting in motion a process of economic reforms that
will transform India, an ordinary family is about to experience detours from
the traditional middle-class script of their lives. Over the next quarter
century, as the world around them changes in ways unexpected, their lives too
wind along uncharted trails, sometimes sunlit, sometimes shadowy and
forbidding.
Funny, perceptive and moving, The Monsters Still Lurk is a
bittersweet saga of love, loss, ageing and shifting family dynamics, and a
keenly observed portrait of post-liberalization India that captures the
zeitgeist of a rapidly evolving society.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
The
Monsters Still Lurk, although fiction, gives a great idea of how life had been post-independence,
when India was just learning to function as a sovereign country of her own. Through
the eyes of Vivek, we are taken on a journey across a quarter of a century as
India changes and people have to change along with the times. It is not easy, rather
very turbulent and filled with highs and lows.
The
major themes covered in this book were family, the fear and acceptance of responsibility
as we all grow up in the face of various events that happen around us, war,
crisis, friendship, the sibling bond etc. The American Dream is also another
theme – it is basically the dream that so many people belonging to the
third-world countries have – that America is the land of dreams and opportunities.
As such, so many people wanted to migrate there and it was a driving force
behind the actions of many people, across various economic levels.
The
political scenario of this period was not a very calm one. As such, the book also
portrays the major events in our history as perceived through the eyes of a
normal middle class family. The Kargil War, the Babri masjid demolition, the
Indian Depression, 9/11 etc are some of the periods the writer mentions in the
book.
It
was a great read overall. Although a bit bland at times due to the political
aspects, the author has weaved together good writing, interesting characters and
significant portions of inida’s history to make this a deep and insightful
read.
Verdict:
I
really enjoyed this book and I rate it 4/5 stars!
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
The Sunday Times and No.1 New York Times bestselling, record-breaking 2019 thriller that everyone is talking about, The Silent Patient has been the most awaited debut thriller of 2019! And now Hachette has brought it to India!
Released on 15th July, The Silent Patient has been in my ‘Want to read’ shelf in Goodreads for so long and I am super happy that Hachette sent me a copy! The readalong for this amazing book started on the 17th and although I am a bit late, I’ve been loving the read. @thebookelf_ and I have been buddyreading this book and we are really enjoying it! Read on to know more about this book, that you simply need to pick up!
(Also, make
sure to read this one before the movie hits the screens!)
ALICIA
Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet – and to prove to her
beloved husband that everything is fine. She can’t bear the thought of worrying
Gabriel, or causing him pain.
Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and
then never speaks another word.
THEO
Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat
Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime,
his discoveries suggest Alicia’s silence goes far deeper than he first
thought.
And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?
THE SILENT PATIENT is the gripping must-read debut thriller of 2019 – perfect for fans of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn and THE GIRL BEFORE by JP Delaney.
‘[A] brilliantly imagined novel
about love and desperation, set in an astonishing new world … utterly gripping’
Karin Slaughter, International bestselling author of The Last
Widow
This book just sounds smashing! It’s also coming out on September 19th and so I’ll be surely picking it up a week from then and will be sharing my views! One of my most anticipated book from the latter half of 2019 and I am pumped for it! The proof cover itself looks so very beautiful, so you should definitely check out the astonishing finished copy as well! I have it added to my ‘Want to Read’ shelf on Goodreads! It is amazing and I love that one too! I honestly cannot choose any one from between them both! Read on, to know more about this book!
The world is mostly water when
Pearl is born. The floods have left America a cluster of small islands with
roving trade ships and raiders.
Pearl
knows little of her father Jacob and elder sister Row, who left her mother Myra
when she was pregnant with her. Between them they make do, with Myra fishing
and trading to make ends meet, travelling from island to island on Bird, the
boat Myra’s grandfather made before he died.
Whilst
their life is a tranquil one, Myra still aches for the daughter she once lost.
When a chance encounter reveals that Row might still be alive, Myra packs up
six-year-old Pearl and together they begin a dangerous voyage to The Valley,
where rumours of violence and breeding ships run rampant.
Along
the way they encounter death and strangers, finally finding solace on board
Sedna – full to the brim with supplies and an able crew – where Myra feels like
she might be closer to finding Row than she has ever been. But to get to Row
she will have to deceive everyone around her, betraying the trust of those
she’s come to love, and ask herself if she’s willing to sacrifice everything
and everyone for what might be nothing at all.
Publisher: Rock the
Boat, an imprint of Oneworld Publications
Publication date: 6 June
2019
Genre: Science
fiction/fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
No. of pages: 470
Synopsis:
From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder An alien warrior with anger management issues A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Superfluously
saying, if the cover does not make you pick up the book itself, then I’m sure
the synopsis will. Aurora Rising is an adventure story, set in space, one that
is bound to keep you turning the pages on and on, eager to know what happens
next. I was literally at the edge of my seat when I was sitting and reading,
and had to actually sit up in attention, when I had been lazing on my bed while
reading. Such is the writing of this powerful duo. I finished this book in like
5 hours and I went crazy throughout!
I’ve
never been a fan of sci-fi, to be honest. So many of us are not. But Aurora
Rising has completely made us switch sides! Although this book is so often described
as a SIX OF CROWS set in space, the only similarity I found was the presence of
this crew, where each one is so very different from the other. Through all the different
characters in this bunch, we see similarities in what each of them faces. The leader
of this team in known as the Alpha and he is Tyler, the golden-boy. He misses
the Draft because he is rescuing a girl frozen in time. So basically instead of
having his pick from the best, by the time he returns, the ceremony is over and
the other Alphas have picked the cream. Throughout the story, we see the inner
conflict in Tyler – he regrets that he was missing at the Draft but then again,
he was rescuing this historically significant person in their universe. Later on,
he is conflicted as to whether be the good pupil he has always been and follow
the orders of his superiors, or to do what he believes is right.
There
is also Scarlett, Tyler’s twin sister who is bold and flawed and yet is so very
caring. The brother-sister bond that these two share is so much beautiful to
see. Their love is always shining bright between them. And may I just say how
wonderfully charming she is? Scarlett is the Face of the group, the diplomat
basically and is an amazing people-person.
Then
we have the Ace – Cat. She is a very passionate person I feel. She hates with
all her might and she loves with all her might. Her love is real and made me
choke so many times. Her character arc is very relatable – her feelings towards
Aurora change from hate to respect and I love that the authors have made her so
bold. Women are too often subdued anyway.
Aurora
is literally the girl out of time. She had been cryogenically sleeping, you
could say, for 200 years, without ageing. And now, her dilemma and confusion as
she comes to terms with her new surroundings and learns more about what happened
to her that has led her here, is heartwarming. Her behaviour is funny and so
very awkward at times with the rest of the team and I couldn’t help but laugh
at so many parts. Her character arc is also significant in this story and
although I think there could be more to it, I look forward to the rest of the
books in this series. She is a person of our times and the references she makes
were like Easter eggs to me. Especially Middle Earth!
Finnin,
the alien (that rhymed!) is also another team member. He has always felt different
all his life and his struggles with it – underneath all that sarcasm, is slowly
revealed throughout the story. Zila is a character whose back story has still
not been properly explained in the book and I am very curious about her, I admit.
I look forward to reading more about her.
Lastly,
Kal is oh0my-god hot! If you have a thing for the tall, dark and brooding,
handsome kind. Especially, elfin-handsome kind! Aurora describing him as
Middle-Earth is so relatable and that is how I imagine him too. And may I say
that I am an absolute fan of the mate trope!
The
writing felt very interactive in nature and the reading just flowed for me. I am
absolutely in love with this duo’s writing and so I think that I am slowly going
to pick up and read all of their books. The world-building was also very
fascinating and made me stop and wonder myself, how it would feel like to stay
there – after remembering that I was not actually in the story. There’s humour
and the characters are so fierce in their natures, it was a fast-paced ride of
a read! The plot was very strong and the inclusion of multiple POVs worked
wonderfully with it. When there are so many characters, having multiple POVs
often make the story lose its beauty but in this case, it only gave more depth
to it.
Verdict:
I loved this book and I rate it a solid 5/5 stars! I know this review sounded more like an ode to these amazing complex but lovable characters, but god! You all need to pick it up ASAP!
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Someone has risen from the dead and is haunting
the sinister ruins of the Palamu Fort, situated in the mystical land of
Jharkhand.
A few hundred kilometers from the fort, in the capital city Ranchi, a History
Professor of St. Xavier’s college is murdered at his home. The witnesses claim
he was killed by a ghost!
The police is clueless. Inspector Patrick Minj ropes in Detective Robin Horo,
who unearths a clue which indicates that the murder has a bloody trail running
as far as 350 years in the history of Jharkhand. A poisonous conspiracy was
plotted centuries ago in the Kingdom of Palamu that designed the downfall of an
empire and forced the king to hide his legacy in the unforgiving and
indifferent womb of time.
The ghost is leaving behind a trail of dead bodies and to solve the case Robin
has nothing but an Artifact that is said to have an ancient curse over it and a
centuries old riddle that if solved, could lead to an Elixir.
Witness the conspiracy unfolding that spans 350 years in the making and takes
Robin and his companions on a labyrinthine adventure involving deadly secrets,
dangerous threats and a lethal encounter with a beast in the jungles of Palamu.
My review:
I received
a free review copy in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this
review are completely my own.
A
perfect blend of mystery and thriller, Secret of the Palamu Fort is centered
around the actual site. The author has weaved a murder mystery (with secret cursed
treasure and a whodunit scope as well) around these majestic forts from Jharkhand,
India.
The
story begins with the murder of a History professor by a supposed ghost and
this is where it unravels. The police can obviously make no sense of it and so
the ‘Honorary Consultant’, Dtective Robin Horo is brought in. Comment if it too
reminds you of Lestrange and Holmes! Now it is up to Robin to solve the murders
revolving around this curse! Other characters are Neil, the nephew, who gives
us a neutral point of view to the whole process, considering he is just a
teenager. There is also Babulaji who, you can say, provides comic relief. However,
I myself found him quite irritating especially because of the jokes he cracks –
most of which are lame. However, I found Babulaji inspired from Watson, as he
is really keen on keeping a record and writing about all these events and the
process, as he follows Robin around.
Overall,
the plot was really well done. With simple and lucid language, the reader is kept
hooked on until the end. I have found that there are many plot holes in these
books which are a cross between mythology and thriller, but it was not so with
this book and that was great. The only negative I found was that the tone gets
a bit preachy sometimes (but that may be my personal estimate clouding over)
and it becomes a classic scenario of TMI.
Nonetheless,
this book has been kept really understandable for readers across the spectrum. The
language is quite, what one can call, ‘Indianized’ and it would thus be very easy
for all sorts of readers to enjoy this book. The narration is on point and
really nice if you look at it from an all-encompassing point of view. The multiple
timeline aspect has also been worked out well and does not clash with the
readers’ perceptions. One interesting fact I noticed was the use of small
chapters in between which simply made me read on, more. The twists and turns
were unexpected and left me quite surprised. I had not really predicted the end.
I
also love the cover, as I found it very aesthetic! Moreover, it is relevant to
the story as you will find out. (Pick up the book soon!)
Verdict:
It
was a really gripping and interesting read. I rate it 4/5 stars.
About the reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
1998. Twenty-two-year-old Mina is moving to the US from
Bangalore to begin a new life with her
husband. Then there’s a horrific murder and her life is
turned upside down. Mina’s best friend Neelu helps her out of the abyss.
Mina gradually leaves her past behind and settles into a new life in the US.
Years later, she is forced to return to
India and is confronted by the demons from her past. In her fragile mental
state, she is unable to support Neelu in her time of need. Their
friendship hits rock bottom.
Mina goes back to the US and faces further hurdles, this time
on the work front. She tries to make
amends with Neelu, but their friendship ends with Neelu
accusing Mina of something unimaginable related to the murder. Something,
that deep down, Mina knows is true…
Will Mina redeem herself? Will the people she loves forgive
her for what she did?
Alternating between flashbacks and the present day, What Mina
Did explores how one betrayal
can have catastrophic consequences, while delving into the
complex bonds that link mothers and
daughters, and best friends.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
From
the title of the book, I was very sure that it was pure thriller/crime but WHAT
MINA DID is much more than that. On the surface, it deals with various aspects
of one’s life – like familial, personal, friendships we maintain etc.
One
of the main issues we see Mina working through is the aftermath of losing one
of the most important figures of her life. Knowing that your closed one has
been murdered is never easy to move on from and I am saying this from personal
experience. The trauma revolving around that one incident often puts a full
stop in the lives of the relatives and others affected from it. moving on seems
impossible and for a long time afterwards, these people’ lives revolve around
that one trauma only. This trauma forms a significant reason why Mina dos
things she does and the way she does. Sometimes, it is easy to blame her for the
fall out with Neelu, but on a deeper level, how can she possibly help someone
else when she needs great help herself? The characterization was good and the
development of Mina’s character was slow yet steadily built.
This
book throws light on various issues such as anxiety, dealing with one’s own
demons, mental health, with shades of patriarchy, racism etc. The social issues
as well as the expectations on women regarding marriage are on point. The
narrative is compelling and makes the book an emotional read that I thoroughly
enjoyed. Although the beginning is a bit slow paced, the story makes up for it.
I liked that the author makes it so easy to empathize with the character. The separation
of the story with regards to temporal context was a great addition. However, at
times I did feel that the author has generalized a lot of the issues we Indians
have to deal with, as well as the cultural and traditional variations. The cover
is also intriguing and suits the theme of the book I feel.
Verdict:
It
was an enjoyable read and I rated it a 3.75/5 stars.
About the reviewer:
Nayanika Saikia, is one of
the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam, and is also an admin
for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She publishes her own
reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction etc. on her bookstagram
account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the NorthEast Creator Awards 2018,
as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
It is July
and I know you have heard it everywhere, read it everywhere and felt it
yourself too – but my god, the year has passed by in a flash! I mean it was
just a few days back, it feel like, when I was preparing for the university
fest in February and now, it’s the end of my 4th semester! From
August onwards, I will be starting with my 5th semester and that
would mean that I will have only a year left for the completion of my Bachelors
degree! Whoa! I am feeling as if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed – I was
in senior year just a few days ago and it does not feel like 2 years have gone
by at all!
So since it
is July, I thought why not jump the bandwagon and do the Mid year book
freak-out tag myself! Everyone is doing well, and I think it is a great way
also to come across new books that might interest you as well! As of June 30th,
I have read 119 books in total.
Bestbook you have read so far in 2019 – Okay so I am going to cheat on this one and state the best books I read from various genres. I fell in love with LORD OF THE BUTTERFLIES by Andrea Gibson (Poetry), THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE by Samantha Shannon (Fantasy), CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert (Historical Fiction), DARK TALES by Shirley Jackson (Horror), BRAVE, NOT PERFECT by Reshma Saujani (Non-Fiction), FINDING ESME by Suzanne Crowley (Middle-Grade), THE LUPANARIUM by Adele Leigh (Dystopian), and THE STILLWATER GIRLS by Minka Kent (Thriller/Mystery).
Best sequel you have read so far in 2019 – for this I shall go with THE KINGDOM OF COPPER by S. A. Chakraborty. It is the sequel to THE CITY OF BRASS, from THE DAEVABAD TRILOGY, and I rated it 5/5 stars. I am very excited for the last book in this series to come out!
New release you haven’t read but want to – Ah I am hoping to pick up AURORA RISING by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff this week! I have heard nothing but great reviews about this book and I am excited!
Most anticipated release for the second half of 2019 – oh my god! I have a really long list for this one but I’ll include a few ones which I think not very many people are talking about:
Biggest disappointment – well, I cannot really say that there was any such big disappointment. Sure, there were some not great enough reads, but thankfully, I did not come across any book i hated.
Biggest surprise – I will go with POETS, ARTISTS AND LOVERS by Mira Tudor for this. I rated it 5/5 stars and had not at all expected to be bombarded by its excellence. It was an amazing and welcome surprise.
Favourite new author – I am really loving Kerri Maniscalco and Maureen Johnson and I’m slowly going through all their books.
Newest fictional crush – might I say Thomas Cresswell? If you do not know who he is, well, please please please do pick up the STALKING JACK THE RIPPER quartet by Kerri Maniscalco. Its a mix of historical fiction , murder mystery and romance. Amazing series.
Newest favourite character – I think this has to be Vivian Morris from CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert, Angelique from THE DUCHESS by Danielle Steel and Alexandra from THE RIGHT TIME, also by Danielle Steel. I have been loving these amazing women!
Book that made you cry – this has to be YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE by Damian Barr. It is a wonderfully tragic book and I rated it 5/5 stars. It was an emotional rollercoaster and I was full-on sobbing at some points in the story. If not for the story (which is impossible), you need to read it for the social and historical perspectives. It is so very important.
Book that made you happy – for this, I am going to mention CIRCUS FOLK AND VILLAGE FREAKS by Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal, a collection of absurd and weird poetry. So much so, that it is really funny and made me laugh a lot, and very happy at the end.
Favourite book to movie adaptation you saw this year – I’m adding my own twist here. I don’t really watch that many movies and prefer series. So, I watched A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, based on the ALL SOULS TRILOGY by Deborah Harkness. Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer are amazing. Somehow, Diana Bishop’s character gives me Bella (from Twilight) vibes. But it was a great season 1 and I’m excited for the next season to come out in late 2019 or early 2020.
Favourite review you have written this year – well, I have three reviews to share. I loved the books and I loved writing about them. And they are CITY OF GIRLS by Elizabeth Gilbert, CIRCUS FOLK AND VILLAGE FREAKS by Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal and AN ATLAS OF IMPOSSIBLE LONGING by Anuradha Roy. (PS. I loved AN ATLAS OF IMPOSSIBLE LONGING so much that I even gave a class presntation on with. With reference to Indian Writings in English)
Most beautiful book you bought so far this year – for this, I will go with the FingerPrint Classics edition of ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL. It is a beautiful hardcover edition with silver embossed cov
er on blue, and silver edges! I simply love it.
T he
incomparable Danielle Steel breaks new ground as she takes us to
nineteenth-century England, where a high-born young woman is forced out into
the world–and begins a journey of survival, sensuality, and long-sought
justice.
Angelique Latham has grown up at magnificent Belgrave Castle under the loving
tutelage of her father, the Duke of Westerfield, after the death of her
aristocratic French mother. At eighteen she is her father’s closest, most
trusted child, schooled in managing their grand estate. But when he dies, her
half-brothers brutally turn her out, denying her very existence. Angelique has
a keen mind, remarkable beauty, and an envelope of money her father pressed
upon her. To survive, she will need all her resources–and one bold stroke of
fortune.
Unable to secure employment without references or connections, Angelique
desperately makes her way to Paris, where she rescues a young woman fleeing an
abusive madam–and suddenly sees a possibility: Open an elegant house of
pleasure that will protect its women and serve only the best clients. With her
upper-class breeding, her impeccable style, and her father’s bequest, Angelique
creates Le Boudoir, soon a sensational establishment where powerful men, secret
desires, and beautiful, sophisticated women come together. But living on the
edge of scandal, can she ever make a life of her own–or regain her rightful
place in the world?
From England to Paris to New York, Danielle Steel captures an age of upheaval
and the struggles of women in a male-ruled society–and paints a captivating
portrait of a woman of unquenchable spirit, who in houses great or humble is
every ounce a duchess. (less)
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own. I read this book for the
#lostandfoundreadathon hosted by @PanMacmillanIndia .
The
Duchess is one of the best Danielle Steel books I have ever read. Historical
fiction is one of my favourite genres, apart from women-centric fiction. The
Duchess is an amazing combination of both and it kept me hooked in until the
very end.
The
Duchess is almost a chronicle of the life and times of Angelique, a wonderful
woman who is displaced because of dire situations, namely the death of a
father, with cruel brothers left behind. Her journey, as such, is made more
profound because of this injustice done to her by the people meant to love and
support her – her family (brother to be specific). It also sheds light on how
vicious jealousy can be – her circumstances become such simply because her
elder stepbrother is jealous of the love Angelique and her mother got from
their father.
The
character arc of Angelique is tremendous. From a meek and nice girl, she
transforms into a force of nature, a force to be reckoned with. The makeover
part, as she literally starts her new venture is France especially, is one that
I loved. This book also shows that there is no pure white and black to things –
life is often filled with shades of the colour in-between them.
Her
journey is also beautiful. Although it is filled with ups and downs, it is a
beautiful portrayal of a life full of adventure and daring. I was ensnared by
Angelique and her grit and determination. I absolutely loved reading this book
and will probably pick this one up again very soon!
Verdict:
I
rate this read 4.5/5 stars!
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Television
correspondent Alix Phillips dodges bullets and breaks rules to bring the most
important news to the world. With her daughter in college, and working
alongside cameraman Ben Chapman, an ex-Navy Seal, Alix exhilarates in the risks
and whirlwind pace of her work. But her latest assignment puts her at the
center of an explosive story that will reshape many lives, including her own:
investigating damning allegations involving the vice president of the United
States, Tony Clark.
Alix starts with a nationally revered woman who may be the key to exposing
frightening secrets. Olympia Foster is the fragile, reclusive widow of
America’s most admired senator, who had been destined for the presidency before
an assassin’s bullet felled him. Since then, Olympia has found emotional
support in Clark, who once wanted her as his wife and now stands as her
protector and confidant. When Alix begins to dig deeper, federal agents pick up
the trail. Then the threats begin.
As the stakes rise in this dangerous game, Alix needs Ben’s help as never
before. Soon they realize they are grappling with an adversary far more
sinister than they had imagined.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own. I read this book for the
#lostandfoundreadathon hosted by @PanMacmillanIndia .
Dangerous
Games is unlike any other Danielle Steel book that I have ever read because
this book has an almost thriller-like vibe to it which is quite fast-paced and
interesting. As such, I think that thriller lovers would find this book to be a
good start if they want to read reading Danielle Steel.
In
Dangerous Games, we come across Alix Phillips who is a really genuine and brave
news reporter on top of her game. She is really unlike any reporter we might
envisage when it comes to the idea of one. She covers dangerous and daring
events from around the world, along with her trusted cameraman Ben Chapman. Now
Ben is another admirable figure. I love how he is dedicated to his job and respects
and appreciates what Alix dos. He just gives off an amazing reliable vibe that I
could get even from reading about it.
Olivia
Foster is a woman in whom we see the after effects of a great tragedy. She is a
kind and brave woman within her own and you cannot help but admire her
optimistic and idealistic personality. I found her character very much based on
Jackie Kennedy who was a formidable woman in her own rights as well. Danielle
Steel has yet again portrayed the various problems people go through, with the help
of these people and it is very interesting to see them conquer their
inhibitions and come on top.
These
characters really felt tangible to my reader senses and this realistic element needs
to definitely be applauded. In the end, Danielle Steel has come through as
usual with an admirable and strong protagonist, who is just as inspirational a
heroine as any other. This is what keeps me coming back to Steel books, again
and again (as well as the plot, of course!)
Dangerous
Games is a rollercoaster of a ride, and although the beginning is just a teensy
bit slow compared to the middle and the end, I quite liked sailing through it. The
language was coherent and flowed easily. However, I just did not enjoy it as
much as I hoped I would. There is just not enough conflict in this book, I feel.
Something was missing for me.
Verdict:
I
rate this book 3.5/5 stars!
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
Against the electrifying backdrop of the 1960s,
Danielle Steel unveils the gripping chronicle of a young woman discovering a
passion for justice and of the unsung heroes she encounters on her quest to
fight the good fight.
The daughter and granddaughter of prominent Manhattan
lawyers, Meredith McKenzie is destined for the best of everything: top schools,
elite social circles, the perfect marriage. Spending her childhood in Germany
as her father prosecutes Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials, Meredith
soaks up the conflict between good and evil as it plays out in real time. When
her family returns to the United States, she begins blazing her own trail,
swimming against the tides, spurred on by her freethinking liberal grandfather,
determined to become a lawyer despite her traditional, conservative father’s
objections. She rebels against her parents’ expectations for her debutante ball
and other conventions. She forges a lifelong friendship with a young German
Jewish woman whose family died in the concentration camps. And while her
grandfather rises to the Supreme Court, Meredith enlists in the most pressing
causes of her time, fighting for civil rights and an end to the Vietnam War.
From the bright morning of JFK’s inauguration, through the
tumultuous years that follow as America hurtles toward the twin assassinations
of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, Meredith joins the vanguard of a new
generation of women, breaking boundaries socially, politically, and professionally.
But when the violence of the era strikes too close to home, her once tightly
knit family must survive a devastating loss and rethink their own values and
traditions in light of the times.
Encompassing the remarkable people Meredith meets, the historic
events she witnesses, and the sacrifices she must make, this is the story of a
woman changing her world as she herself is changed by it. Beautifully told,
brimming with unforgettable moments and characters, The Good Fight is an
inspiring, uplifting novel with resonance for our own time.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own. I read this book for the
#lostandfoundreadathon hosted by @PanMacmillanIndia .
Let’s
talk about what an awesome woman Meredith is! She is determined, passionate,
and not afraid to go after what she wants. Danielle Steel has again succeeded
in providing us with an admirable young woman as a role model.
What
is very important are the issues that we see mentioned in this book. Steel has
picked up some very harrowing events in the history of humankind and it is not
easy to read about them. The supporting female character of Claudia is a
wonderful woman herself – she has been through so much and yet, remains resilient.
It really shows how human nature can survive the worst of times and still stand
strong and move on. It is poignant and her story is so raw and real.
It
also shows how difficult it is for us when a close family member is not willing
to let us do what we think is right. Meredith’s father, is one such person, who
would rather she graduate and get married. His views are very limited and
surprisingly so, considering his work during the Nuremberg trials, and it is too
late for change for him. The family tragedy is sad for the reader even and I
was affected.
I
loved Meredith’s grandfather for being so supportive and encouraging, and being
so modern and open-minded in his outlook. He played a very important role in
helping Meredith turn out to be the woman she did. I truly admire him.
However,
I did find the book repetitive at times and unfortunately, did not enjoy this
book as much as I did The Right Time. This book did have many emotions involved
and that was a redeeming point. It is also not a very common plotline that Steel
generally takes up, I think. Nonetheless, this was a good read overall, but
could have been better.
Verdict:
I
rated this book 3.5/5 stars. If you love reading bildungsroman with a political
bend, this might be the one for you.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
So I have told you all multiple times about how i inherited quite a few books from my mother’s side of the family. Among them were various editions of Danielle Steel. Now, I was very young back then and so my Mom would not let me read Steel. But now, after I appeared for my 10 Finals, I was basically given free reign to read whatever I wanted.
So here are the few Danielle Steel books I own today (1 to 6 are old old editions):
Season of Passion, 1979
A Perfect Stranger, 1982
The Gift, 1994
Special Delivery, 1997 (This book was tagged at just 60INR!)
The Klone and I, 1998 ( This book was tagged at just 50INR!)
Bittersweet, 1999
Dangerous Games, 2017
The Duchess, 2017
The Right Time, 2017
The Good Fight, 2018
Lost and Found, 2019
So I have been reading the last 5 above mentioned books for the #lostandfoundreadathon and I have been loving it. Steel has a way of writing that just touches your heart and makes you relate so easily!
Have you read any of these? Do you enjoy reading Danielle Steel books as well?
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – Filled with heartbreak and betrayal,
triumph and fulfillment, The Right Time is an intimate, richly
rewarding novel about pursuing one’s passion and succeeding beyond one’s
wildest dreams.
Abandoned by her mother at age seven, Alexandra
Winslow takes solace in the mysteries she reads with her devoted father–and
soon she is writing them herself, slowly graduating to dark, complex crime
stories that reflect skill, imagination, and talent far beyond her years. After
her father’s untimely death, at fourteen Alex is taken in by the nuns of a
local convent, where she finds twenty-six mothers to take the place of the one
she lost, and the time and encouragement to pursue her gift.
Alex writes in every spare moment, gripped by
the plots and themes and characters that fill her mind. Midway through college,
she has finished a novel–and manages to find a seasoned agent, then a
publisher. But as she climbs the ladder of publishing success, she resolutely
adheres to her father’s admonition: Men read crime thrillers by men only–and
so Alexandra Winslow publishes under the pseudonym Alexander Green, her true
identity known only to those closest to her, creating a double life that
isolates her.
Her secret life as the mysterious and
brilliantly successful Alexander Green–and her own life as a talented young
woman–expose her to the envious, the arrogant, and Hollywood players who have
no idea who she really is. Always, the right time to open up seems just out of
reach, and would cost her dearly. Once her double life and fame are
established, the price of the truth is always too high.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the publishers in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own. I read this book for the
#lostandfoundreadathon hosted by @PanMacmillanIndia .
The Right Time
starts on a somewhat sad note. With a female protagonist, Steel has been able
to capture my senses once again and I was diving headlong into the story from
the first few pages onwards. Being an avid fan of literature, I really liked
Alexandra and her passion for reading and writing. On some levels, I could
really relate to her – like her passion for learning, keeping her work as her
main priority etc. are some things that I share with her. Alexandra is like an
almost real person and feel like I’ve known her for ages, seeing her grow up.
Going through what
Alexandra did in her childhood, is never a happy thing for any child to have
gone through. It is heart-wrenching and often leaves a child doubtful about
himself, suspecting that it is a fault of his that led to the mother or the
father leaving. Mother, in Alexandra’s case. And this effect stays in the
psyche of the child for a long time.
One the one hand,
we might hate Carmen for what she does to the family. On the other hand, we
cannot help but feel sad. She chose
wrongly – she thought that she could be happy married and with a kid but it
turns out she wasn’t. It was like life playing a sad joke on her – despite what
we feel regarding her behaviour towards the family, we can understand that she
is one of those women who are not made for marriage and motherhood
perhaps.
Also lets talk
about one other thing that really pissed me off – the problem with the
education system. When you do something exceptionally well for your age
(something not as common as sports, say), the authorities, by default, think there
is a problem with you. There was seriously a problem with the English teacher
in the story who thought that a young girl writing a brilliant story, albeit a
gruesome thriller, has some problem in her mindset.
Excellence makes
me happy. Seeing someone do well makes me happy and gives me a sense of pride
as if I’m the mother or something. But god, was I proud of Alexandra as a kid!
She is driven and is an inspiration for any girl out there. I wish many more
girls will read this book and be inspired by Alexandra. She is one amazing
person.
Moving to a new place and adjusting often
seems difficult and painful. However, one as to really commend Alexandra’s bold
nature and spirit. The nuns are really fun and totally different from the ones
I knew, having studied in 2 convents for the 13 years of my education. The
atmosphere is like a family in the story and I loved this big one full of so
many sisters and the mother.
Verdict:
I
absolutely enjoyed this book and I rate it 4/5 stars and I surely will pick up
this one again soon.
About the
reviewer:
Nayanika
Saikia, is one of the foremost book reviewers from the North-east and Assam,
and is also an admin for the official India bookstagram page on Instagram. She
publishes her own reviews and recommendations for poetry, fiction, non-fiction
etc. on her bookstagram account @pretty_little_bibliophile which won the
NorthEast Creator Awards 2018, as well as in daily newspapers, online magazines
etc. She can be contacted at nayanikasaikia98@gmail.com .
✨🎇🎆🎉🎊 Annnndddd! Are you ready to hear about an amazing readathon?? . @panmacmillanindia is hosting the #lostandfoundreadathon along with a few bookstagrammers, including yours truly! . Did you know that @writer.daniellesteel ‘s new book LOST AND FOUND is coming out soon? I bet so many of you all love her writing, and moreover, so many of our mothers love her too! My own mother’s and aunt’s collection of #daniellesteel books have been passed down to me and I have some great vintage copies! I’ll surely share them soon! (Click here to see my Danielle Steel book collection!) . So, for this readathon, I’ll be picking up a total of 4 books, and they are- 1. The Right Time (see review) 2. The Good Fight (see review) 3. The Duchess (see review) 4. And ofcourse, Lost and Found! (see review)
I actually ended up reading one more book by Steel – Dangerous Games! (see review)
The readathon ends on 30th of June and I’m so excited to be picking up these books. The top 3 have a female protagonist is the stories are about their coming of age, you could say, whether physically, emotionally, or psychology! I love these kinds of stories! PS. I’m actually planning on going into #lostandfound blind so no surprises please!! . You just need to pick up any of the author’s book and tag me, @panmacmillanindia and @writer.daniellesteel in your posts! Don’t forget to use #lostandfoundreadathon ! . #qotd : are you planning on participating in any other readathons this year?
There were no fireflies to belittle themselves
in front of the morning sun all gone. After all, that’s what the sun promises,
to hide the weakest under his light.” – (Womb of Fireflies) What is Sundarbans,
and those scattered islands to you? Amidst all the known and unknown voices,
the single sound came out to be that of a green, mysterious forest, grooming
with Sundari trees, the roar of the Royal Bengal Tiger, noises of Pankouri, and
the beautiful color of sun diving deep inside the waters. But this wasn’t my
Sundarbans. My Sundarbans was all about those humans, the people living,
surviving, bearing their pains, yet loving each other from their hearts. These
22 years of living, so far, yet so close to the heart of the Sundarbans,
compelled me to write all about them. This is all they had, could have or could
never have as I still take the shadow of my people, my roots and my Sundarbans
to Delhi. Read the journey of Alok, his beloved Snehalata, the pains of his
mother and tales of child-biases born out of marriage done at an age where what
marriage meant didn’t make sense to her.
My review:
I received
a review copy from the author in return for an honest review. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Womb of Fireflies was a quick albeit deep read. With brilliant imagery and a touch of magical realism, this book was a powerful debut definitely. For a first timer, this book was a great work and I enjoyed reading it although I hated what some of the characters had to go through – it was just so heartbreaking. On that note, the book lends an objective tone. What I have loved is that the author shows, rather than tells and it ensures that the emotions that the reader feels are raw and poignant.
The
major themes that run throughout the book are the social evils of child marriage
and inter-community mixing, the taboos related to it, etc. Through the
characters of Alok, his beloved Snhehalata, as well as Hari and his wife
Pranati, the author ropes in various sides to the story and gives and
altogether fantastic arc to them all. The characterization is also on point.
This
was an emotional and very good read. The author has been able to juxtapose the
harsh realities of life quite well against the beautiful setting of the
mysterious and beautiful Sunderbans.
Verdict:
I
quite enjoyed reading this book and I rate it 4/5 stars!
