#BookReview Love Stories That Touched My Heart edited by Ravinder Singh

About The Book

We’ve all experienced the first flush of love and remember the lingering fragrance of it.

For all ages Love has remained one of the most cherished experiences that everyone wishes to live through at least once.

Humanity, time and again, has coined many definitions to describe this beautiful emotion, but this small word is a feeling that can't simply be defined. It has to be narrated . . . in the form of stories—love stories.

Love Stories That Touched My Heart is a collection of such stories from readers who have a tale to tell, shortlisted from over 2000 entries that were submitted in a competition conducted by Penguin India.

My Thoughts

I got this book as a wedding gift from my brother. The book is really special for me.

I do like to read anthology series a lot, on top of it, it is a romantic book, and hence, I was in for a treat.

The stories that I touched my heart are:

The Girl Behind the Counter – Omkar Khandekar (Love this)

May God Bless You, Dear – Yamini Vijendran (❤)

Bittersweet Symphony – Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi (❤)

Heartstrings – Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan (❤)

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Ravinder Singh is a bestselling author. I Too Had a Love Story, his debut novel, is his own story that has touched millions of hearts. Can Love Happen Twice? is Ravinders second novel. After spending most of his life in Burla, a very small town in western Orissa, Ravinder has finally settled down in Chandigarh. He is an MBA from the renowned India School of Business and is presently working with a prominent multinational company. Ravinder loves playing snooker in his free time. He is crazy about Punjabi music and loves dancing to its beat.

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#BookLove Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie

About The Book

Evidence that clears the name of a boy sentenced for killing his adopted mother arrives too late to save his life – so who did kill her?

According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker. The sentence was life imprisonment.

But when Dr Arthur Calgary turns up a year later with the proof that confirms Jacko’s innocence, he is too late – Jacko died behind bars from a bout of pneumonia.

Worse still, the doctor’s revelations re-open old wounds in the family, increasing the likelihood that the real murderer will strike again…

My Thoughts

I am really ashamed to say, I haven’t read any books written by Agatha Christie. In my defense, I primarily read Bengali books.

The best part of the book is the pace of the story. It’s really fast and I just wanted to know what happened, who is the killer. I was not able to spot myself from finishing it in one go. How the murder is planned and executed is very good.

However, the main issue I felt is that the culprit's identity seems too obvious towards the climax. Hence the revelation seems to lose the thrill.

Overall it is a good book, and I will definitely read more books written by AC.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie began writing during the First World War and wrote over 100 novels, plays and short story collections. She was still writing to great acclaim until her death, and her books have now sold over a billion copies in English and another billion in over 100 foreign languages. Yet Agatha Christie was always a very private person, and though Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple became household names, the Queen of Crime was a complete enigma to all.

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#BookLove The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

About The Book

Born just fifteen months apart, Subhash and Udayan Mitra are inseparable brothers, often mistaken for the one in the other, in the Calcutta neighborhood where they grow up.

But they are also opposites, with gravely different futures ahead. It is the 1960s, and Udayan—charismatic and impulsive—finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement: he will give everything, risk all, for what he believes. Subhash, the dutiful son, does not share his brother’s political passion; he leaves home to pursue a life of scientific research in a quiet, coastal corner of America.

But when Subhash learns what happened to his brother in the lowland outside their family’s home, he comes back to India, hoping to pick up the pieces of a shattered family, and to heal the wounds Udayan left behind—including those seared in the heart of his brother’s wife.

My Thoughts

The book depicts the lives of 4 people in their thick and thin times spanning almost 70 years.

The book starts with a controversial and one of the most bloodshed times of Indian history, Naxalite movement. The depiction of the Naxalite movement is good. There are many other books that depict this time period with much more depth, however as this book is not totally based on this time frame, hence I am not complaining.

The best part of the book is its characters. Not just in this book, I have read other books written by Jhumpa Lahiri, and she really put her heart into every character. Without giving any spoilers, just want to mention that there is one character who is going to surprise the readers in the end.

Now, this book is not for everyone, one needs a mature mind to understand the characters and their circumstances.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London and raised in Rhode Island. Her debut, internationally-bestselling collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the PEN/Hemingway Award, The New Yorker Debut of the Year award, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Addison Metcalf Award, and a nomination for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It was translated into twenty-nine languages. 

Her first novel, The Namesake, was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, and was selected as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications.

Author on the Web

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#BookReview You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas

About The Book

Indian American single mother Anjali Morgan juggles her job as a psychiatrist with caring for her autistic teenage son. She is in a long-standing affair with ambitious Police Commissioner Jatin Bhatt - an irresistible attraction that could destroy both their lives.

Jatin's home life is falling apart: his handsome and charming son is not all he appears to be, and his wife has too much on her plate to pay attention to either husband or son.

Across the city, there is a crime spree: slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid.

In a sordid world of poverty, misogyny, and political corruption, Jatin must make some hard choices. But what he unearths is only the tip of the iceberg.

My Thoughts

I am a sucker for anything thriller, mystery suspense and psychological thrillers. However, to my disappointment, most of the books are below average.

For this book, I heard rave reviews and decided to buy it (I bought a paperback, but I rarely buy paperbacks nowadays, primarily because they are pricey). I am Very GLAD that I brought the book.

As the book is a psychological thriller, I will not discuss the storyline in detail. However mark my word, the story is brilliant. After a long time, I read a book where all the characters are well written.

We all love the hero, here I love the villain. The only reason for it is how his character is developed. Every motive of his to commit the crimes is clear. There was a chapter where the antagonist is talking with his father, his emotions, the raw rage, the anger, feeling of being abandoned is brilliantly portrayed. I loved that part.

This is a must-read book for thriller lovers.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Damyanti Biswas lives in Singapore and works with Delhi's underprivileged children as part of Project Why, a charity that promotes education and social enhancement in underprivileged communities. Her short stories have been published in magazines in the US, UK, and Asia, and she helps edit the Forge Literary Magazine. Her debut crime novel You Beneath Your Skin has been optioned for the screen by Endemol Shine, and her next, The Blue Bar, will be published in October 2022 by Thomas & Mercer.

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#BookLove Looking for Alaska by John Green

 

About The Book

BEFORE: Miles Halter’s whole life has been one big non-event until he starts at anything-but-boring Culver Creek Boarding School and meets Alaska Young.

Gorgeous, clever, funny and utterly fascinating she pulls Miles into her world, launches him into a new life, and steals his heart. But when tragedy strikes, and Miles comes face-to-face with death he discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.

AFTER: Nothing will ever be the same.

My Thoughts

Well, it started with “The Fault in our Stars” and it is going well. While reading The Fault in our Stars, all I did is cry, and this book is no different.

Before I talk about the book and what I felt about it, I want to mention one that is common in all of Green’s books, the writing is so raw and real.

The book started with Miles Halter. He is a teenage boy who is obsessed with last words. He moved to Alabama to attend a new school and there he met Martin, Takumi Hikohito, and Alaska Young. They become friends and started an epic journey of their teenage life. The story is written beautifully and young readers will love it.

The main issue with many readers in respect of this book is the ending. Many readers were not sure about what to make of the ending. For me, I love the ending, It is like every reader has to find the answer for themselves and there are no right or wrong answers.

Overall, this is an awesome book and one must give it a go.

"If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane."

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

John Michael Green is an American author, YouTube content creator, and podcaster. He won the 2006 Printz Award for his debut novel, Looking for Alaska, and has had several of his subsequent books debut at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list, including his most popular novel, The Fault in Our Stars.

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#BookReview Breaking Free by Neha Nayak

About The Book

The book, ‘Breaking Free’ is a contemporary novel that revolves around a young girl who faces the bitter truths of life and accepts it as her fate, whilst still mustering the courage to fall in love once again.

Standing at the crossroads again, she takes another bold decision to marry Ranbir. Will this finally bring happiness in her life? Noya doesn’t know much about his past of Ranbir as they've just recently met. Will this come back to haunt her later on? Is this another trap? A gripping tale of love, respect, and hope, the novel answers all these questions.

My Thoughts

Though the premise of the book looks pretty intense, it is rather a fairly simple book. What is really mean by this is to make you understand the true nature of life in a subtle way.

This is the first book by Neha Nayak and it is definitely is a genuine effort from the author. She tried to capture a wide range of emotions and did it in a sincere manner.

The language is simple and the writing style is lucid. This is a really good book for readers who like to read romantic stories. The book is definitely, a one-time read.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Neha Nayak, is a dreamer, storyteller, writer, speaker, and also an engineer. Currently, she works as a senior quality assurance manager in a prominent organization. She loves to engage her time in reading, travelling, watching movies, working for social causes and dreaming. She believes when you dream and do what you love, the best follows.

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#BookLove The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

About The Book

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under—maybe for the last time.

Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies.

Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

My Thoughts

This book is a slow burn. The book is about Esther and her struggle with mental disorders.

Unfortunately, mental disorder is still taboo in our society, think about how difficult it is in 1963, to come out and say “I need help”.

Esther is all of us, our insecure, our darkest, and most definitely all those gloomy days when all we want are to hide. She is obsessive and very difficult to deal with at times.

At times it is difficult to read, as it is so real, that it will shake you to the core.

This is a book everyone must read. This book will not disappoint a single soul.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Massachusetts. Her books include the poetry collections The Colossus, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees, Ariel, and The Collected Poems, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Plath is credited with being a pioneer of the 20th-century style of writing called confessional poetry. Her poem "Daddy" is one of the best-known examples of this genre.

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#BookReview Colourful Notions: The Roadtrippers by Mohit Goyal

About The Book

Would you give up your high-paying job and comfortable personal life to drive ten thousand kilometres across India? Just for fun! Three twenty-something dares to do just that! While the two boys take turns to drive, the girl gives voice-over as they record their entire journey on a handy cam.

I doubted if I'd ever have the gumption to create such experiences. So I did the next best thing - I penned a book about them and their road trip.

Colourful Notions is a journey of three young hearts on the Indian terrain and into the inner recesses of their souls, giving a new perspective to relationships, love and life.

My Thoughts

This is a simple, light-hearted book written with love. The story is simple. It will resonate with most young people.

The writing style of the author is simple. The language is perfect for anyone to understand. This book is not sole about travelling rather it also portrayed friendship and trust.

The narration and pace of the story are good.

I highly recommend this book to every person, especially to those who love to travel.

This is a perfect book to read in this trying time, especially when we can't go out.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Mohit Goyal holds his Master's degree from Cranfield University, England. A successful entrepreneur for the past 11-years; he is currently heading an international logistics conglomerate with a presence in several Asian countries. He resides in New Delhi. Been acknowledged and awarded for many of his short stories in past; he conceived the idea of 'The Road Trippers Series' to combine his love for travel, food and philosophy.

#BookLove One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan

About The Book

Kali and Ponna's efforts to conceive a child have been in vain. Hounded by the taunts and insinuations of others, all their hopes come to converge on the chariot festival in the temple of Ardhanareeswara, the half-female god. Everything hinges on the one night when rules are relaxed and consensual union between any man and woman is sanctioned. This night could end the couple's suffering and humiliation. But it will also put their marriage to the ultimate test.

My Thoughts

This book is brilliant, to say the least. The author's work is remarkable. The book holds a mirror to society. It also depicts how human value is calculated especially for women, like, are you married, do you have a child.

These two are the basic parameter for a women's worth.

Ponna and Kali are two people who are trapped in a world where there is either black or white and no gray. Ponna manages to express her freedom, self-esteem, and individuality. But fighting with society comes with its consequences.

The main pillar of the book is its strong writing and depiction of its main #characters. Both Poona and Kali are crafted really well. They have their flaws and their virtues, which make them believable in the eyes of the readers.

Ponna is portrayed as an independent woman who loves her freedom, and sensuality which is not limited to her body, it reaches her soul. Kali is a loyal husband who exists within her shadow. Kali doesn’t have the courage to fight the regressive customs of society and blindly obeys all the social and religious customs to remove his curses from the gods.

This is a must-read book, for everyone, even non-readers should put little effort and read the book. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

Book Links

Amazon India | Amazon USA

About the Author

Perumal Murugan is the star of contemporary Tamil literature. He has written six novels and four collections each of short stories and poetry. His best-known novel One Part Woman won the prestigious ILF Samanvay Bhasha Samman for writing in Indian languages and, for this translation, the Translation Prize from India's National Academy of Letters.

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Vive La Résistance (Donovan Trait #3) by @SeelieKay #Paranormal #Romance #Thriller

Things are gonna get messy…

An illegal union, a banned birth, a Great Lie, and now, genocide. Vampire lawyer Donovan Trait and his wife, chemically-turned Judge Shirley Magnusen, are battling for their lives and the lives of their children. The Vampire Coalition wants them dead, but now the despots have also decided to expand their net, targeting any vampire whose blood is mixed with human or Were. Half-bloods are already treated like dirt by the Vampire Nation. They have been subjected to centuries of discrimination and cruelty at their hands. As the Coalition embarks on a campaign of terror, destruction, and slaughter, millions of half-bloods emerge from the shadows, ready and willing to reclaim their place in the Vampire Nation. The problem is, war cannot be unleashed out in the open in the human world, battles must be fought in other ways. Even with an island of highly-skilled vampire nuns and a few Weres and humans at that their side, it appears the Traits may be fighting an unwinnable war. Their only option may be to sacrifice their own lives in the hopes of setting all other half-bloods free.


Book Links:
Extasy Books * Goodreads

Read an Excerpt from Vive La Résistance

Donovan shifted on the lounger and muttered incomprehensively, then he emitted a rumbling snore.

“Hey, y’all. So yeah, vampires are real and they’re not above doing the dirty to those who share their blood. Take a look at this.” The Tik-Tokker grinned. “You are not gonna believe it. It’s so shady.”

Video of the Coalition camps rolled across the screen. Occasionally, the camera zeroed in a dirty or bruised Millennial, or a guard pushing a group of people into a building, their ankles locked together with some sort of rope. They were seen eating off of metal plates and lined up to fill a metal cup with something from a barrel. It wasn’t water. The liquid was rust-colored and thick, like blood.

“And the dudes running the place have a Marie Antoinette fetish. You know—” The woman mimicked a knife across her throat. “Off with their heads?” She giggled.

A guillotine appeared on camera. About ten people were in line, each with a black hood over their heads and their arms bound behind them. One at a time, they were pushed onto a stage and forced to their knees, their necks positioned directly under the blade. With manic efficiency, a guard released the blade. Most heads flew into a barrel in front of the platform. The ones that rolled off onto the stage were kicked to their final destination. The headless bodies were tossed onto a pile on the ground.

“Oh, grosss,” the woman complained. She leaned toward the camera. “Kind of like a bad zombie movie, isn’t it?” She sat back in her chair and made a face. “Whatever. I mean, like, are we supposed to believe that’s really happening? Isn’t that against the law or something?” She cackled. “As if.” She leisurely stretched her body, her crop top exposing a belly button ring. “I’m so shook.”

The woman tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. “Now, I’m not sharing this for the views. It is kind of sus. But if this shit is real, someone needs to get off the pot and do something about it. Aren’t there any woke cops out there who can play the James Bond card? Before anymore—” She swiped her finger across her throat and giggled. Then the screen went black.

Donovan shot up in his chair and blinked. Once. Twice. He shook his head and attempted to gather himself. What the hell? Sure, he had needed the sleep, even if it was only a thirty-minute nap, but the dreams he could do without. It had been less than forty-eight hours since the worldwide kidnappings. Donovan knew preparations for rescue were underway. But he also knew Bengotten and Hannigan were capable of even greater cruelty. He could only imagine the terror and the torture the victims were being subjected to. 

It was difficult to understand how the vampire world was capable of this. He had long prided himself on their natural superiority, their ability to rise up above the petty politics and unjustified violence in the human and Were worlds. Yet overnight, vampires had become the monsters, the tyrants capable of such evil. That astonished him. For the first time in his long existence, Donovan was ashamed of being a vampire. If it was possible, he might very well submit to being turned into a human or a Were. He buried his face in his hands. Yes, he could live as a human. Perhaps he could ask Dr. Alvarez to find a way to turn off his vampirism, maybe using the gene-editing Marilyn could not stop talking about.

 About Seelie Kay:

Award-winning author Seelie Kay writes about lawyers in love, sometimes with a dash of kink.

Writing under a nom de plume, the former lawyer and journalist draws her stories from more than 30 years in the legal world. Seelie’s wicked pen has resulted in nineteen works of fiction, including the new paranormal romance series Donovan Trait, as well the erotic romance Kinky Briefs series and The Feisty Lawyers romantic suspense series. She also authored The Last Christmas, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, The President’s Wife, The President’s Daughter, Seizing Hope, The White House Wedding, and participated in the romance anthology Pieces of Us.

When not spinning romantic tales, Seelie ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. Currently, she resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, WI, where she enjoys opera, the Green Bay Packers, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine. 

Seelie is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Seelie on the Web:
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