Book Review of Sensual Attractions

Sensual Attractions by A.J. Karan comes with a disclaimer that it can be read by children above 18 years of age. This book is a collection of short stories that are intense and maintains a certain level.

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The cover of the book is eye catching but still it fails to relate with the themes and the thought process of the author’s point of view which makes it average.

The title is intriguing and gives us a tinge hint that it might have some sensuousness in it.

The blurb of the story actually is okayish and doesnt attract the readers which turns out to be on a negative side.

Since it is a collection of short stories, some of the stories like Friendship Pact, Love Jeopardy, Corporate Espionage, Emotional Conflict, Prodigal Son have been my favourite. I really loved the way the author has used the thought process, mind schemes and also the character delineation. They have been beautifully expressed. The plots have been amazing throughout.

Whereas, Hotel1 and Hote2, Perilious Liasion couldnt catch my attention. I felt the same old love stories and love making which one can notice in those love lorn novels or you can say Mills and Boons. They came out to be overrated for me.

The stories, narration could have been improved and the errors could have been avoided. For me, it was a one time average read.

Grab your copies from : Amazon

Book Review of State V/S Amrit Kumar

State vs Amrit Kumar by Dr. Govind Sharma is a story of a police officer Amrit Kumar who is held responsible for a crime. He has been honest throughout the years of his service. He has been framed by the corrupt people. Will lawyer Sukumar be successful in helping Amrit Kumar win this battle that life has thrown against him?
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The cover and the title seems perfect and complimentary to each other. The title perfectly justifies the story whereas the ouer appearance of a police officer and a lawyer adds soul to it.
Blurb: 
Amrit is an honest and aggressive police officer who is driven by a desire to rid society of criminals. His virtuous campaign is impeded when he is charged with the murder of a man he tried to arrest. Harvard-educated lawyer Sukumar pleads Amrit’s bail, and learns interesting details about Amrit’s family and friends. He also contests Amrit’s friend Ajay’s case, and here an abundance of wealth works like a poison in the absence of values. 
Set in the fictional town of Rajapur, the novel tells the story of two generations from 1990 to 2016. There are situations where villains disguise themselves as innocent individuals to take advantage of the unsuspecting nature of credulous people. Advocate Sukumar frequently quotes from Hitopadesh to emphasize the importance of being careful to avoid being deceived by the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Will he be able to swing a verdict in Amrit’s favor? 
The novel also raises an important issue on the accountability of the police. Are honest police officers justified in overstepping the boundaries of the law for good reasons? 
The plot is neatly woven. The story revolves around a police officer Amrit Kumar who is held reponsible for a crime. He has been loyal throughout the year. Will Lawyer Sukumar save him?
The author has taken the risk of multiple point of views and multiple characters. If any of these fails to touch the hearts of the readers, it is a flop show for the author but luckily, both these risks have been proven right. The characters help in the plot construction. Further, The multiple views can be seen in different set of stories. It is amazing to see that all these separate stories look incompletely complete. This is because when they all get merged and meet together it sounds as if a territory is meeting the main river. It is quite relatable.
The themes of love, relationships, friendships, corruption can be noticed. It aches my heart to see how can corruption and greed  of a person can change him so much.
The style of writing of the author is languid. it has alacarity in it. The way the quotes from Hitopadesh have been quoted makes it stand out. The fictional town makes it a regional novel. Further, the multiple point of views, apt mystery and suspense makes it loveable. It you are looking for a crime related novel then grab this book surely.

Book Review of It’s All About Mahi

Blurb

He is a die hard fan of the most successful captain of the Indian Cricket team. She doesn’t like cricket itself. What shall the destiny unfold? Read this heart-warming tale of a fan.

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My Review

This book is a true tribute of a fan to his super star named MS Dhoni. It reminds me of a one act play where the fans wait for the stars and after getting the autograph they boost about.. Well, coming back to the story, the author has highlighted two segments.. One is his own love for the cricketer and other is his love for a girl named Barkha. The story is beautifully narrated but the mere descriptions of cricket matches and the other struggles makes it sound genuine but it fails to grab my attention at times. I may not be a cricket fan but I very well understand the emotions related to someone. The way Ankit has expressed his love for both the characters is impeccable.

The title and the cover perfectly matches the story. There is sense of alacrity in it. Further, The characterisation includes very limited characters which helps in the plot construction. It is a to the point story and has many factual information about MS-Dhoni.

The writing style is simple. Since its a pocket book, one can finish this book in 5-10 minutes. The third person narrative is just fine and yes, I can finally relate some good parts from a movie named FAN and MS Dhoni- The Untold Story..Not only this, the autobiographical theory makes it more realistic and eloquent. Kuddos to the author.

Grab your copies from : http://www.amazon.in/Its-About-Mahi-Ankit-Pathak/dp/9385137719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487006003&sr=8-1&keywords=Its+all+about+mahi

Book Review of The Mind Game

The Mind Game by Devika Das is a self help book. This book refreshens your mind and give you positive vibes. In short it is a guide book for all type of people who wants to be happy, rich and successful. Although, I have read many self help books but this book not only motivates you but gives you so much strength that you surely start implementing those things in your life. This book serves as a mentor in your life and change your though process somewhere.

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The cover of the book is simple and to the point. We can notice some brain nerves interconnected. The cover doesn’t have much significance as I feel the author focussed on her views to be read and implemented, not the cover. So, those who judge the book by cover might not like it.

The title is crystal clear as the author wants to tell us some of the mantras that can shape our life. Henceforth, she came up with The Mind Game.

Honestly speaking, I have never heard of Pepper Script publishers but when I read this book, I just fell in love with the quality of the book, the fine pages and the amazing typesetting along with mind blowing editing.

Crests and troughs, ups and downs, joys and sorrows are a part of everyone’s lives. While many choose to simply succumb to bad times, the winner is the one who remains strong, successfully wades off negativity and rises, unbound. All of us, at some point in time, have experienced situations involving emotional outbursts where we have, albeit unknowingly, hurt others or even our own self and have only ended up regretting our actions. Wouldn’t it be great if we could somehow become mindful of our current emotional state and maintain equilibrium in our personal and professional lives? Moreover, mindfulness helps us realise what we really want from life. It helps us to first think, then act and not vice-versa. The Mind Game is a self-improvement guide that talks about how to manage emotions wisely and lead a powerful, but stress-free life.

Devika clearly knows the knack of structurising her thoughts. She has beautifully divided the book into Six sections which gives us a clearer glimpse of her thoughts. The sections include:

Section A- Mastering your emotions.

B- Simple Living… High Thinking

C- Analyzing People

D- Secret of True Happiness

E- Manage Your Anger Creatively

F- A Happy Workplace- The Secret of a Long, Successful Career.

As you can guess from the chapter names, the book is an amalgam of various elements that altogether reports to the effective working of the brain.

The chapters are short and one doesn’t get bored while reading them. Some of the facts are known to us but often we don’t use those facts in our life. So, through Devika we get to relive those thought processes.

Devika’s thoughts are based on high research on philosophy, business studies, science etc. The way she delineates her philosophic thoughts is impeccable. Her guides, thoughts reminds me of Robin Sharma, Napolean Hill.

The language used by the author is simple, easy and lucid. She even follows pithy style of writing. She fabulously connects with the readers as a friend and gives her valuable thoughts. The mesmerising thoughts at the start of every chapter makes it relatable. This book is a must read and I am sure you will end up following some of the sections religiously. I am following Section A and Section E staunchly. Thankyou Devika for motivating us.

Grab your copies from : http://www.amazon.in/Mind-Game-Devika-Das/dp/938441137X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486019541&sr=8-1&keywords=devika+das

Book Review of Soulless

Soulless by MV Kasi is a stream of consciousness novel. The book deals with serious issues like child abuse, drugs, alcohol and depression. Since its a serious issue type book but the author has balanced the seriousness with wit and humour.

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The cover of the book is dark. The chess game gives us a glimpse that it has mystery and suspense in it. At times, it seems unmatchable with the title and the theme of the book.

The title is Soulless which stands for a person who doesn’t care about anyone and their emotions. The title is apt as the protagonist has heartless traits. Still, there are many reasons behind this title which are uncovered as the reading proceeds further.

The format of the book is an ebook. I wish the author could have converted into a paperback, it would have a different essence.

This novel can be categorised in many ways. It is a social novel as the social issues like child abuse, drug addiction, sex addiction, alcohol addiction are concerned. Further, we can call it a psychological novel as it is difficult to deal with Sia’s psychology who seems addicted to many things and the way she behaves. We need to know psychology a bit if we are analysing her character. This can come under young adult or dark romance category as we say many intense love making scenes. Not only this, it can be further categorised a stream if consciousness novel as we come to know about the thought process of various characters.

They say when you take revenge you lose a part of your soul.

But Sia hadn’t felt her soul in a very long time. She only knew the soul-crushing fear and helplessness. Especially during the nights, when she fought an invisible enemy that terrorized her during the nightmares.
Her days weren’t any better either. She spent most of them trying to desperately gain control of her life while battling her various fears and addictions.
She was only twenty three, but she had resigned herself to live the rest of her life that way. Fearing the unknown.

Until it all changed one day…

Now she knew. She knew that the monster from her nightmares was real. And also that her soul had been ripped apart from her.
The memories had brought in fear, rage and pain, along with a strong craving for a swift payback.
But revenge was a dish best served cold. And it required a complete absence of emotion.
So now?
Now she plotted. And she schemed. She prepared herself in every possible way to hunt and destroy her enemy.
But every mission, however well planned can go awry. Sometimes it’s because even though one can be soulless, there is always the heart. A very weak and desperate heart that was being stolen by a man.
A man who was like a bright spark of vivid colors in her otherwise dark and dreary life.
A man…who was only supposed to be collateral damage.

The plot is neatly woven and is really crisp. The story revolves around Sia, who is a mysterious girl with so many secrets in her bag. She has a big motive of revenge which we come to know at the end of the book. The story is written in her voice and at times we hate her and at times we feel sympathetic towards her.

The characters are beautifully delineated. Sia’s character seeks a lot of attention as she is mysterious, bit cranky, rude and soft at the same time. She wants to avenge someone, for which she plans and plots. During this course she comes across a man who changes her life. She is a tormented soul and when things began to heal slowly, her past knocks at the door. The story ends in such a way that it makes a way for the next part. I feel Sia’s portrayal have been the toughest task for the author as she had to create a heartless character who was soft at some point.

The style of writing is simple, lucid and creative. The thirs person narrative along with vivid descriptions makes it poignant. The way the point of views is used, its mind blowing. The author surely confuse our minds at various points. It further has an episolar as well stream of consciousness technique in it. This book can be converted into a movie and I am sure, it will be a hit. There were minor errors in the editing as I could find some missing words, yet the subject matter cannot be ignored. The author has done a tremendous job in highlighting the serious issues which are often ignored.

Grab your copies from : https://www.amazon.in/Soulless-MV-Kasi-ebook/dp/B01MFDEERI?ie=UTF8&keywords=Soulless&qid=1485778233&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

 

Book Review of The Unpredictable Heart

The Unpredictable Heart…You May be a Victim by Moksh is a romantic tragedy. This book has the aura of love, friendship and relationships. The concept of Flashbacks is beautifully delineated.

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The red and white contrast of the cover along with a girl blowing the flowers which are in a heart shape. We notice a broken heart. This small indication gives us an idea of incomplete love. Maybe it is a tragedy. The back cover has a small story at a glance while it also has author’s intro. This part is written so small that you will need a magnifying glass to read it. It could have been written using some normal or large fonts.

The title is intriguing as the main title and the sub title totally contrast with each other. The Unpredictable Heart gives us a positive vibes and a notion that our heart can choose anybody to fall in love. On contrary, You May Be a Victim gives us a negative vibe and leave us with a question ‘Who will be the victim?’ ‘Will the protagonist find his love?’

The story of the book revolves around Mrinav, a young employee of an IT sector who is caught between the clutches of crush and love. Neeti being his crush and Ankita, his love, both, shatters him into pieces. Life takes a new turn when friendship of Jiya enters his heart and this completely heals his soul. Will Mrinav feel the same for Jiya? Are they meant to be together. The plot construction is way too simple and somehow we can predict the story hence, making a common story.

The theme revolves around love and only love. It becomes difficult to distinguish between crush, love and a friendly love. At times these three overpower you and you tend to make some mistakes which breaks your heart only. We also find traces of friendship but not for a longer time.

The characters play a significant role in the story. Mrinav is the protagonist who is young and bit underconfident about himself. His life becomes miserable, therefore he becomes numb and tries his best to hide his feelings. Neeti and Ankita almost smash his heart into pieces. When Jiya enters his life, it takes her sometime to heal him. But there is word called ‘Destiny’ which has some other plans in it.

The best part of the story is its ending. The author doesn’t finish the story, infact, he makes a way for the next part and we are left in thoughts in the mid air. This particular line might take away your sleep for sometime until the author comes up with the second part:

What I saw was unbelievable and the unexpected; the lady standing at the door was Ankita.

The style of writing used by the author is simple, condensed and limited. The use of simple sentences makes it way too simple. The predictability of the plot makes it monotonous at the time but the author surprise us with his ending. We can notice hindi jargons in between which adds flavour to the story. Furthermore, the flashback style of writing made the story beautiful. I could trace some grammatical errors, missing words and wrong spellings. This could have been avoided. It is an average and one time read, but I would surely love to know about the suspense which the author has left for us to guess.

Grab your copies from : http://www.amazon.in/Unpredictable-Heart-You-May-Victim/dp/1482857561

 

Book Review of Riots of Love

Riots of Love or Mohabbat Ke Dange by Shikha Kaul is a revolutionary thriller. This is her third book and those who have read her other two books can make out the difference. The author sees to experiment alot with the genres and concepts. This book is exceptional and with such type of stories, you are at loss of words.

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The cover of the book surely grabs your attention and it makes you think that it is related to border as we see a line and this reminds us of Hindustan Pakistan Border line. But the story has something else in store for us but this cover arise the hunger to read the book soon.

The title is just marvalous and it is related to a campaign. The author seems to have been inspired by that. The story revolves around the title and it justifies the theme of the story. The interesting fact about the title is its hindi title. Mohabbat Ke Dange has its own essence and it turned out to be a blessing for the book.

Avi Shandilya claims to have killed the young children of four very influential men of India belonging to four different religions and bearing the extremist ideologies. Aatif Khan, one of the top Film stars in Bollywood Saahitya Nath, a strong politician and the leader of a Hindu group Andrew James, a renowned anchor on a leading news channel Jaswant Singh, a top politician in Punjab standing for next elections The world is shocked to see such ghastly and cowardly act by the man who founded ‘Mohabbat Ke Dange (Riots of Love)’, a campaign that stands for unity, peace, communal harmony and humanity. Will the fathers of the dead children take revenge or are there more mysteries left to be unfolded? Will Avi’s supporters stand by him after his inhumane crime? A gripping tale of patriotism and thrill that will give you chills and force you to think and discover the concealed version of everything that goes around. 

The plot is neatly woven and this book shows a thorough research. It might look controversial but it is not. It is just a simple thought which is delineated beautifully through various characters.

The characters are lively and fantastic. Avi Shandilya is a motivational character who not only motivates the other characters but also the readers. Aatif Khan, Andrew James, Jaswant Singh, Saahitya Nath plays a significant role and their children brings a ray of hope and revolution.

This is not only a patriotic thriller but has traces of social novel in it which further has elements of suspense, mystery in it. The concept of flashbacks, stream of consciousness, point of views makes it enteratining. We can also notice wit, humour in it. This book also focus on real life events which have brought a tremendous change in the society.

I am much familiar to the style of writing of Shikha Kaul. She uses simple yet powerful language and can lure you with her thoughts. For a moment you can even picturise the whol novel in your mind. At the same time, it keeps you in deep thoughts and when your guesses are proved wrong, thats the time where the author wins our hearts. As mentioned, this book is in process of movie making and no doubt, it surely deserves it. The twist and turns are the key features along with the sarcasm and witty dialogues used in it. This book is a must read book and I am glad that I picked up this book.

Grab your copies from : http://www.amazon.in/Riots-Love-Mohabbat-Dange-Patriotic/dp/938208875X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484838109&sr=1-1&keywords=Riots+of+LOve

About the Author

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There are a few authors in India who do not fear to take the upstream path and experiment with genres rarely touched by the regular writers. Shikha Khanduja Kaul has carved a niche for herself in a span of less than two years since she entered the world of literature. Dedicated to her passion for writing and exploring fresh ideas in fiction with every new work, she has already penned down four books that cover a romantic fiction – ‘Hidden Husband’, a murder mystery – ‘DNA-Dad’s Not Adopted’, a patriotic thriller – ‘Riots of Love (Mohabbat Ke Dange)’, and a yet to be published psychological romantic thriller.

P.S Also read book review of DNA- /2016/11/02/book-review-of-dna-dads-not-adopted/

 

 

Book Review of Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey by Archana Sarat is a psychological crime thriller. This book is a page turner and has surprises in store for you almost at every page. The way the author has highlighted the serious issues and certain taboos just hover over your minds for a few days.

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Blurb: You wake up, parched and famished, at the bottom of a deep well—dark and dingy with the foul smell of excreta and rotting scars and no seeming way to escape—what do you do?
This is the predicament that ex-ACP Anton Pinto faces when he reluctantly joins the investigation into the mysterious disappearances of men from affluent families of Mumbai. There is an inexplicable pattern behind the abductions and all suspicions point towards an old, physically-challenged, mysterious lady. Soon, Anton discovers that the seemingly unrelated men have one common link—the most popular and expensive international school in Mumbai.
Following clues that span from schools and old-age homes to illegal dingy hospitals, Anton is led through a labyrinth of incest, abuse, torture and suffering, spanning decades.
What secret does the school hide behind its gates? What was the undisclosed crime that is thirsty for justice? Will Anton be able to save the men? Will justice be served?

The title and the cover are beyond perfect. The cover of the book has some claws of a bird that are searching for their prey. The effect has its own ambiance. The title surely satisfies the purpose of the theme.

This book is a crime thriller but has some of the social issues it highlights. The child abuse is one such topic which people don’t dare to take up. This happens everywhere but nobody talks about it and the victims are so much tormatised that they don’t utter single and if by mistake they do, they are beaten up brutally. This book shows us a society where there are monsters who are ready to pounce at you and silently kill you either physically or mentally.

Whenever I read crime thrillers, I think of one question only. Why someone became a criminal? The reason is their surroundings and maybe they are more exposed this leacherous and betraying world. The minds of the people are corrupt and all these factors and injustice gives birth to a criminal who commits a crime. Basically, he takes up the law in his hands as the law abiding people also betray him. These situations makes him heartleas and merciless. This story has a valid reason like why the murders happen. The psychology plays a vital role as the authorplays withthe minds of not only her characters but also the readers. We all are astonished to read such a story.

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The characters are well developed and with which the author delineates it makes it more reasonable. The way with which an ex police officer works for his department is appreciable. We kind of feel like saluting him.

The style of writing is simple, lucid and clear. The story runs in flashbacks as well as in point of views. The descriptions are attractive and one can surely visualise the incidents that happen in the story. The author has carefully chosen the events and used them at a correct place. The editing part seemed ditched the flow of the story and could have been better. Further, the lack of proper crime related language makes it look bit fake. Otherwise, the gripping plot keeps us hooked till the end. I shed numerous tears while reading and finished it in just one hour. Kuddos to the author for bringing up such critical issues and giving us the reality check.

Grab your copies from : http://www.amazon.in/dp/9385854208/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480579637&sr=1-2&keywords=birds+of+prey