The Book Critiques

BOOK – Orchids For Jennie Frost
AUTHOR – Noel P T
PUBLISHERS – Damick Publications
GENRE – Fiction (Romance)
PAGES – 182
REVIEW – Orchids For Jennie Frost is the story of 23 years old Joy Clive, a young and joyous soul just like his name. When Joy was relishing his life he saw a girl and fall in love at first sight but the issue was that he didn’t know anything about the girl so he took resort to his childhood friend Benny Baker who told him that the girl is Jennie Frost and she is  Aunt Sophie’s granddaughter who has come to live with her grandmother.

Joy started planning and plotting to woo Jennie for which he targeted aunt Sophie. The plan Joy made was risky but Joy was ready to take all the risk and to his surprise, his plan worked out.
Joy and Jennie entered into the beautiful phase of friendship, however, on the other hand, a different story was also going on in Joy’s life, an anonymous girl used to send her a letter with a rose once every two months. Joy was clueless about who is his secret admirer, he did his level best to find out.
While hunting for the anonymous girl Joy decided to propose Jennie.

But before Joy could propose Jennie, the story took a drastic change which broke not only Joy’s heart but it will shatter you too.

Read this tale of pure love set in the time of ’80s.

I was sceptical about this book as after reading the blurb the first impression of this book on me was not good, I was anticipating another tale of erotic and sensual love but to my amaze the story is nothing like that. I get to read a heart touching story with a mystery to solve.

Honestly, I was more interested in finding out about Joy’s secret admirer than Joy and Jennie’s love story.

With poetic writing style and interesting narration, the author takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions, throughout the book you will laugh, smile and cry with the protagonist. The author wonderfully expresses Joy’s emotions and one could easily connect with him.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend this book to those who want to read a heart-touching tale of pure love.

RATING – 4 ⭐

BOOK – Thinking Out Loud
AUTHOR – Tapan Ghosh
PUBLISHER – Become Shakespeare
GENRE – Anthologies
PAGES – 89
REVIEW – Thinking out loud is a collection of 29 short stories where the themes range from rape, religion, love, faith, etc. Through his book, the author talks about some pressing issues which are related to our day to day life but mostly ignored. The author has given voice through his words to our thoughts. In this book, you will read some topics which you have thought about but dared not to voice for the fear of being involved in a controversy.
While reading this book I at some points agree with the author but there were some topics too which are highly debatable. The author’s opinion about such a debatable topic made me think more about them and I realised that I don’t agree with all of his thoughts.
To the point, the narration will help you continue this book and its short length will make you finish it in one sitting. However, it’s the author’s words that you will carry with you forever.

BOOK – Balan and Dheera: A Tale of Kalyuga
AUTHOR – Mayank Mahajan (Max)
PUBLISHER – Authors Press
GENRE – Fiction (Mythological Thriller)
PAGES – 259
REVIEW – We humans have become this greedy that whatsoever happen around us we care about only about ourselves, so many times things have gone wrong around the globe yet we learn nothing from our mistakes and this behaviour of ours is taking us all slowly towards the doomsday.
Balan and Dheera is a story that reflects human’s true nature in calamity and their selfishness which led towards the end of the world To save the fictional world of Balan and Dheera the author created a Messiah who along with some pure soul did everything in his control to save the world.

Read this phenomenal fictional tale to find out why a Messiah came to the world full of cunning humans to save from its end.

This book blew off my mind. The climax of the story was unpredictable, it left me flabbergasted, at the end I was like what did I just read. Though the length of the book is long and it took me 7-8 days to finish the book yet there was not a single moment that I didn’t enjoy. Pages after pages the story took unexpected turns which kept me engaged till the end.
And the third person narrative helps the readers to have a deeper understanding of the story and also build a connection with the characters which are well sketched.

Overall, I found the story unique and definitely recommend it to mythological fiction lovers.

RATING – 5⭐

Q. Please introduce yourself.
I am dr. megha . I am a dentist by profession but I have been writing for a long time now. I was born and brought up in Bangalore and presently live in raipur chattisgarh.

Q what is your book about?
My book is about the life of a young girl growing up in Bangalore before the IT changed it all. It focusses on the joys of family, childhood and traditions of the city too. A set of ten short incidents from Mala , the girl’s life and her perception about the outer world.

Q. How did you develop an interest in writing? Is this something you always wanted to do?
I have been writing since I was in class 5. It all began with my grandfather making me write essays about our holidays or any new place we visited. He would edit it and make corrections with grammar and the structure.
I began enjoying this.
He also encouraged me to have pen friends and at the age of 11, I had pen friends from so many countries of all age groups. I think this helped my writing immensely.
I had never thought of being an author. I knew I’ll be writing for ever. But a book was never on mind.

Q. Other authors that inspire me.
I love to read Arundhati Roy. The way her characters are fleshed out is amazing. You really get to ‘see’ them and ‘ live’ with them through the book.
I also enjoy reading Khaled Hosseini. I believe he is a master story teller.
Both these authors convey a lot through their simple words and flow of the language.

Q. Are you working on any other book right now?
Yes, I have one book on self love that I am writing for a friend and a biography of a very wonderful man too who is a life coach.

Q. How much time did you take to complete this book?
The first few chapters of this book were written quite some time back. But I got the whole thing complete in about a months time.

Q. What makes your book different? Why must people read it?
My book is different because it is written in the spoken language. Very basic and has a lot of words of the local language. People must read ot because it gives an insight into the culture and essence of Bangalore. Something that is lost now due to the so called development. The book emphasizes the beauty of family bonds and the innocent joys of childhood.

Q. Role and reaction of family when you started writing?
My family always knew I was very fond of writing. It did not come as a surprise. They have been extremely supportive and are my pillars of strength always.

Q. A fun fact about you that nobody knows.
I am a big chocolate addict and need to have one every day.

Q. Say something from your side for your readers.
Keep pursuing what you want to. Consistency is everything.

BOOK – Beyond The Boundaries

AUTHOR – Maitreyi Srivastava

PUBLISHERS – Bluerose Publishers

GENRE – Fiction

PAGES – 106

REVIEW – “Beyond the Boundaries” is the story of a lion’s pride who was in search of a place which they can call their Home. But the task was not easy as it looks. In the forest of Savannah, Beera and his pride decided to find a new place as the water resources in the area were drying up which would create result in depletion of their food supplies and so they set on an unknown journey which was filled with surprises. In this journey, the pride lost their valuable members, learnt a lot of lessons and ended up in India.

Beyond the Boundaries though shares a story of African Lion’s but ends with a powerful message for humans. We humans for our selfish needs are messing up with mother nature and making this place a living hell for animals who just want to exist in harmony which is not impossible.

Through this pride, you will learn the strength of unity and how important a place called home is. The story is written in easy language and the illustrations in between the pages are worth praising, they have the power to hold anyone’s attention.

This sweet yet thought-provoking book will surely become a perfect gift for kids above 5.

RATING – 5⭐

#qotd – A lesson you learnt in 2021?

BOOK – Til Death We Do Part, Too
AUTHOR – Bruno Beaches
PUBLISHER – Austin Macauley Publishers
GENRE – Fiction
PAGES – 339
REVIEW – Pablo after losing everything restarted his life with new zeal and in his journey, he met Hellion who was out of Pablo’s league but his simplicity made Hellion fall in love with him and the two after dating for a few months married each other. Pablo was relishing his life in the company of Hellion. Things were going smoothly except for Pablo’s constant interaction with his ex-wife Delilah as it was difficult for him to move on that easily and as if this was not enough his current wife Hellion left him alone one day without any justification.

This is the second part of Til Death We Do Part Series and the story resumes from the first part, however, if someone has not read the first part can even read this one without any difficulty as the author has mentioned all the important incidents of the first part.

This time also you will feel sorry for Pablo and will cry seeing him in pain and agony. The realistic touch to the characters helps you to establish a connection with them.

This book just like the last one explores human emotions, relationships and ask you to think about the relationship you are in.

I like how the author has exhibited that life is not always about love and happiness, sometimes or even most of the time you have to face hardships.

Though the story sounds realistic and written engagingly however I found the narration a little bit dragged and repetitive which made me lose interest in the story.

RATING – 3.5 ⭐

BOOK – By Two Coffee and other stories brewed in Bangalore
AUTHOR – Megha
GENRE – Fiction (Short Stories)
PAGES – 82
REVIEW – Childhood, the best part of our life and it became more awesome if a child gets to spend his/her days with grandparents. I believe grandparents play an important part in a child’s life as they are the ones who can instil sacraments in a child.

Mala, our protagonist is one such lucky girl who got to spend her childhood with her Ajji and Ajja.
And this book “By Two Coffee” is a collection of certain episodes from Mala’s life. The book shares beautiful tales of a girl starting from her childhood till the day she found her soulmate which was spent in Bengaluru before it became the IT hub.

In this book, the author has shared how Mala was a girl with a brilliant mind but it will be her innocence that will make you her fan.

The book, no doubt, will give you nostalgia and if you are someone who has spent his early days in Bengaluru then you definitely will relate to most of the stories.

The book is written in a simple language with flawless narration and the cover and title of the book do justice.

There is not a single point where I can say that the book lacks, this book is a complete package and a perfect solution to break your slump and a good pick for those who want to start their reading journey.

RATING – 5⭐

BOOK – Halfway Fates
AUTHOR – Deepali Bajaj
PUBLISHER – Bluerose Publisher
GENRE – Fiction (Romance)
PAGES – 129
REVIEW – Whatever we do, wherever we go, how hard we try, our past will never leave us. Past is as important as our future. Our past, present and future are intertwined.
Suraj, our hero from ‘Halfway Fates’ was already disturbed by the regular visits of his past in his dreams. Overall his life was sorted, he had a caring best friend, a loving girlfriend and an understanding family. But his dreams were not letting him live with peace. He desperately wanted to know the meaning of his dreams, why he always saw a girl Mithi in his dreams, his dreams were all about Mithi and her love life.
What was his connection with the girl? Why did he feel happy when Mithi was happy in his dreams and sad when Mithi was sad.

I always think thrice before picking up a romance novel as I don’t like reading the same old story. When I came across Halfway Fates I was convinced of not finding anything new, however, the author proved me wrong. The story is written in such an engaging way that you will be forced to finish it in one go.

The author has used easy language which gives this book a touch of reality and the suspense built up throughout the story is praiseworthy.

Although I found the story different yet there were some loopholes which one can’t ignore and if the book was edited properly then it would have enhanced my reading experience.

If you are someone who ignores grammatical errors to enjoy a good story then this one is for you.

RATING – 3.5⭐

#bookreview #bookrecommendation #romancegenre #pastlife #thebookcritiques

BOOK – Arihant: Revenge Par Excellence
AUTHOR – Shubhan Balvally
GENRE – Fiction ( Thriller)
PAGES – 112
REVIEW – Dr Ramanna was a well-known scientist in the world. He was bestowed for his latest innovation, a software known as “Antitox” which detected accurate levels of contamination in individual foods. But the moment that made him feel proud about himself was when he received Indian Technical Stalwart Award. And at the same event, he announced his new invention. However, instead of disclosing the invention, he preferred to hold a separate function for the same and ask the country to wait for one more day.
But little did he knows that he will never be able to demonstrate his new invention which he solely made for the betterment of his country. Certain people wanted to have their hands on the invention before anyone for their private benefits. To accomplish their goal they harmed and wounded Dr Ramanna who in turn to save his invention from going into the hands of evil, activated it.

Fast-paced thrillers always excite me, especially when they are well written and Arihant is one such thriller fiction that kept me glued till the end.

In 112 pages only, the author succeeded to write a plot that includes all the necessary details. He not only concentrated on the main characters but also gave due attention to the surroundings which make this book a pleasant read.

The first part in the trilogy has a perfect combination of tension, thrill, suspense, anxiety and will also gives you vibes of Chitti, the Robot from Rajnikant starrer film Robot.

So if you are a fan of thriller and wants to read a story that involves technology and suspense then this book is surely for you.

Book- The adventures of Lucky Singh, a curious urban dog
Genre- Fiction
Pages-254

This book is written by Stefano Pelle, a consultant from Italy, in memory of his dog Lucky Kumar Singh. Lucky was a brave dog who was separated from his Canine Family while chasing the delicious food smell coming from a large building. Lucky had a very powerful sense of smell. That is why he was big foodie. After getting lost, he was found by a human owner who lived in the building from where the smell was coming the other day. Lucky found a perfect owner and a home. He relished the food served by cook Lalu every day. However, he wanted to explore the world outside. So, he dig a secret passage in backyard of the house to disappear for few hours to nearby forest or the busy streets of the city. He made few friends on his excursions. One fox, two wolves, and few neighbor dogs. He had a lot of adventures while on these excursions. He saved one of the wolf’s live from wild forest fire and saved old men from being nearly robbed. After helping the elderly, he was recognized by Police as a brave, courageous and talented dog. They trained him and took him on several missions. He caught drug smuggler, walking bomb, and even saved nearby petrol pump from catching fire. He had a busy, fun and adventurous life. Pretty much a life everyone would want to have ! You go Doggo !
Read full story to know if he reunites with his canine family or not.

This book is must read for children and even adults who are dog owners. Very well written and gives insights into a dog’s head. I learnt, what dogs think & how they behave to communicate with humans. If I ever get a dog, now it will be easier for me to understand him. I give this book a 4 start rating.