It's All About Books!!!

Sunday, 4 February 2018

The Malhotra Bride by Sundari Venkatraman (Book Review- 3.5*/5) !!!

I remember the two authors from Fingerprint! Publication often, Anita Shirodkar and Madhuri Iyer. They write stories about super-rich families of India and their tales are so apt that you can’t leave the book without completing the story. I picked another book from the same publishers written by Sundari Venkatraman named “The Malhotra Bride”. The book carries the same essence as the two authors’ books I mentioned above hence I enjoyed reading this book a lot. The best part about this book is that it has been edited well keeping it up to the mark without useless segments between the story. The book is of 222 pages which you can easily finish within few hours in a single sitting.

The narration of the story is perfect which keeps you excited in knowing what happens in the next page. The writing style of the author is very simple which makes it easy for the reader to complete the book in a sitting. The characterizations in the story is nicely done where each character is different from the other and each of them is treated equally well without ignoring for some other character. Thee book speaks about the concept of Arrange Marriages in India where the sons and daughters aren’t asked if they wish to marry a person or not and forcibly matched with the person of the parent’s choice. Author has very well put lights on this topic and made the reader understand how idiotic it is and how tough it becomes for the children to agree for such marriages.

Though the book is silly when the contractual marriage is talked of but the way this particular thing is mentioned at right points makes this book more interesting. The way both these characters couldn’t get through with each other initially and how they start falling just before marriage is very nicely written. The way the contractual marriage topic comes in the story just after the marriage gives the book a nice twist which engages the reader more with the book. The pre-climax and climax is again apt for this book. It is a nice read overall and author has done a commendable work for sure. I give this book 3.5* out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

"I'm an Average Looking Boy… Will You Be My Girlfriend?" by Roopesh Kumar (Book Review- 3*/5) !!!

There was a time some 7-8 years ago when people liked the books written by Durjoy Datta because it took you in a world where you could feel yourself sitting in between of a college or school and watching all the boys and girls around you hooking up with each other. It took you to a world of fantasy where romance and sex used to overpower your emotions and feelings. I recently completed reading a book the title of which is somewhat how Durjoy’s books used to have “I’m an Average Looking boy … will you be my girlfriend?” written by Roopesh Kumar. The title of the book is quite cheesy which author should have avoided because it’s hard for readers to share the name of the book with anyone and also feels shy in letting anyone know the name of the book he/she is reading.

The narration of the story is very nicely managed by Roopesh in his very first book itself which tells that he is ready to write many more books getting better with each of them. The story of the book is also engrossing which keeps you interested as you want to know what happens with each of the characters. The author has included lot of characters in the book which makes it even harder to give equal justice to each of them but he manages to take all the characters ahead in the story. This book is very good for the audience who are either in junior college or just joined their Graduation course as they will find it relatable.

Author has tried discussing many social elements too. There are parts in the book where author discusses some segments which is hard to believe as generally, such things are not possible in reality. E.g. a girl’s father accepting the baby she produced before marriage, a wife giving divorce to her husband within 6 months itself because she comes to know about his husband’s love story etc. These narratives make the book look silly in intervals otherwise it’s an interesting stuff to read. I give this book 3* out of 5. I am looking ahead to Roopesh Kumar’s next book.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

Scent of an Undiscovered Writer by Callre (Book Review- 2*/5) !!!

The biggest risk as a reader is to pick up a debutante’s book of an Indian writer. This time I picked up a book having a very unique title as “Scent Of An Undiscovered Writer”. It is written by Abhishek Mohta under the pen-name of “Callre”. The book is published by Notion Press and is of around 240 pages. The name of the protagonist is the name of the author himself and while reading the book, I felt that I am reading author’s own autobiography itself. Many a times, a person believes that his story is very interesting and worth sharing and those interested in writing, scribble it down and self-publish the same. But the kind of thrilling books getting published these days, it is very hard to attract readers with such autobiographical stuff.

This book does not carry a story as such but timeline of life of the protagonist divided into different chapters. Thee book is written in a very simple English language. This book is strictly for readers from small towns or who aren’t very much exposed to English language because it carries a lot of grammatical and spelling mistakes. It will not go very well with the avid readers. Also, the book consists of lots of conversation and it is written so plainly where many of them directly gets over with a person saying “Okay”. Few conversations are interesting to read but mainly, it is not quite appealing.

This book is sort of personal diary of the author and hence, it could not interest me as the book does not have focus of any particular thing. The characters are not very deeply discussed in the book and introduction of new characters keeps on happening which doesn’t let the reader get connected with any of them. Few chapters are totally out of the line and I could not understand why are they even part of this book. Overall, I would say that the book needed lot of work and I hope that author will bounce back with his 2nd book after going through the kind of books getting published in Indian market these days. I rate this book 2 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

I Tagged Her in my Heart by Anuj Tiwari (Book Review- 3*/5) !!!

Though the Indian readers are currently trying different genres but how much the reading tastes might change, the books on love and romance will always have its audience and there is a certain target audience in which the books will surely do well. Getting into the readers’ favorite list in India is very tough where 1000s of books are getting published each day, surprisingly. Anuj Tiwari has been one such writer who has managed to thrill his audience since his debut work. I am just done reading his 4th book- “I tagged her in my Heart”. Reading the title of the book it suggests that the story must be having some connection with the Social media but it is nowhere related to that.

Anuj Tiwari’s writing style is similar to how he had narrated his story in this 3rd book named “It’s not right but it’s okay”. The positive for Tiwari’s fans is that his command over the English language has improved in multiple folds. Even the narration of this book is a bit better than his previous book. The way author has been able to integrate so many characters in the book is applaudable as maintaining each of them with the continuity of the story is not that easy. Though, personally, I felt that author did not handle each character that effectively and ignored most of them while concentrating only on few of his favorite ones. Also, I believe that few characters are given too much focus in the 1st half while another sect of characters are given importance in the 2nd half which makes it difficult for the readers to connect with any of them except Adrika.

Author promotes his book with the character of Dimpy aunty but I think the character is not very well-managed. It could have been better. This book is said to be one of the inspiring stories but I believe that leaving the pre-climax and climax, the book cannot be sectored into the “inspirational books” genre. Talking about the plot of the story, the book starts slowly in the beginning but takes a very good pace in the middle which asks readers to continue turning pages and know what happens next. The book is basically portraying the power of relationships that one maintains in life and does very good in making the thought reach the reader’s mind. I believe that the book could have been 15-20 pages less as author has elaborated the break-up of one couple a lot in middle pages. Overall, this book is not as good as “It’s not right but it’s okay” but still matches Anuj Tiwari’s style. I rate it 3 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

Sunday, 7 January 2018

Different Beads Of The Same String by Sujay Malik (Book Review-3*/5) !!!

I am not a great fan of anthologies hence I always feel doubtful about picking any book which has 10-12 short stories. But for a change, I thought of trying something from the new set of releases from an Indian author and thus landed upon Sujay Malik’s “Different Beads Of The Same String” which consists of 10 short stories. The book is published by Notion Press publication and is of only 120 pages which can be completed in a single sitting of 2 to 2.5 hours.

The best part about the book is that the author has tried to keep the stories versatile where no two stories sound similarly. Sujay Malik has also taken care of the narration very well in the stories where he keeps changing his style as per the demand of the story. His command over the language is also skilful as he manages to create emotions, excitements, wonder etc. on his demand. The choice of stories is nicely edited and selected as it manages to strike the chord with the Indian readers. This book will basically be liked by the young or new readers as author has kept things straight and simple.

The story also reflects the contemporary societal problems where a girl from North-eastern stretch is a victim of racism and physical violence. Another story talks about how two guys are being taught a small lesson so that they stop smoking. One story discusses about the personal awakening of a person. One story talks about the condition of the law and justice in our nation. All the stories have different parameters and thus, keeps the reader interested in the book.

Talking about the drawbacks, the first thing I would point out is the number of the stories in the book and the length of each story. I don’t believe a young reader would purchases a novel worth Rs. 200/- for 10 short stories when there are bigger Whatsapp forwarded stories available for free. Secondly, author has kept the language and narration of the stories too simple which might not impress matured and avid readers as they would be expecting a level-up stuff. Otherwise, this book is a light read which is best to read while traveling alone. I give this book 3 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

Wednesday, 3 January 2018

Murderous Greed by Arun K Nair (Book Review-2.5*/5)!!!

Reading crime novels by debut Indian authors is a great feeling considering all of them are inspired by the successful Western authors but yet try to carve their own path with a unique story. Arun K Nair has also entered the world of literature with a book based on crime thriller where a set of policemen are trying to figure out the murderers of the two cases that takes places within few minutes. The book is of about 200-pages which I feel is quite applaudable considering how few stories are written in such a stretched manner that the readers start skipping sentences between paragraphs. Author has kept the story to the point without wasting too much time in description. The cover page and the title are also catchy which interested me in picking this book for reading.

Arun’s writing style is average and you won’t find anything to learn from it. This book will be more effective for the new readers trying to associate themselves with Indian novels and wish to start with crime genre. It is an easy crime thriller where you won’t have to remember multiple dates, locations, characters etc. Author has kept things simple for the reader to complete the book in one sitting. I completed this book within 2.5 hours and it’s a wonderful book to carry with you while traveling.

The first half of the book is very interesting when the two unfortunate events take place. The entry of policemen in the story and the way they start attacking each suspect with their questions and interrogations is a nice read. The first half promises a better second half which is where the book couldn’t fully satisfy me. The revelation of the climax is too simple and does not come with a bang shocking the shit out of the reader. The book keeps discussing only one murder scene throughout and totally forgets the other one which makes the story sound half-baked. Author should have tried writing the interrogation for both the cases happening simultaneously.

Overall, Murderous Greed stays true to its title and the story is written exactly aligned with it. The Author’s note in the end of the book states that there’s a sequel planned which is releasing this year itself. This came as a surprise and I am looking forward to it. Arun K Nair will have to write a better book than this one to impress his already created fan-base. I rate Murderous Greed with 2.5* out of 5 as it will intrigue the new readers but for the lovers of crime thrillers, this book is too simple to stand out amongst all.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Forever is True by Novoneel Chakraborty (Book Review- 4.25*/5) !!!

The book “Forever is True” is the 2nd book in the two book series where the 1st book was named “Forever is Lie”. “Forever is True” starts right from where the 1st book ended and kept us waiting to know what eventually happens in the end with the characters which are so miserably trapped in a web which they do not have any idea about. As always, Novoneel Chakraborty has used his typical style of writing where some strange activities keep happening with the protagonist and his closed ones and the reader is unable to comprehend what the real matter is. The good part about this series is that Novoneel has kept the character of culprit hidden throughout and once we get to know who he/she really is, we find it believable and still support him/her.

To be precise, the climax is worth a wait for the reader who has to finish two books to get to know the real person behind all the killings on the birthday of Saveer Rathod right since he was in school. The narrative is very interesting which does not let you keep the book d own until you know the suspense. The built-up of the story and curiosity is very well done. Being the 2nd book, the challenge for the author was double to keep the book in sync with the first one and still deliver double of it. The author almost achieves this and which is what makes this series one of the recommended books by him. Novoneel knows how to write psychological thriller better than anyone else in India and this is what makes him still the favourite among so many peers and Indian authors.

With this book, Novoneel has evolved better than all his previous books and comparing this work with the Stranger Trilogy, this one is far ahead than that. Talking about the drawbacks of this book, I would say that there should have been some parallel story showing the lifestyle and timelines of the culprit too to make the audience feel more excited about the villain of the story. This is a normal flow in Novoneel’s story that the main culprit is revealed only in the end so it becomes quite risky for him as a storyteller to assure that reader feels the same churn he expects them to have after knowing the killer. Rest, this book is a perfect page-turner and a wonderful thriller with a fine climax. I give this book 4.25* out of 5.

Thanks.

Abhilash Ruhela