Books and Musings

📙BOOK: Unchain My Chain 📘AUTHOR: Sharika Esther Sharma 📗GENRE: Contemporary Fiction  📝RATING: ⚡️Storyline: 3.9/5 ⚡️Literature: 4.2/5 📖PLOT: 4 strong and independent women who are braving the oddities of the world on regular basis are subjected to their insecurities bred in their own mind. 🦋Alya, a successful Bollywood starlet, frets over the idea of losing the top spot. 🦋Malini, a privileged individual, is navigating her way after marrying lower down the station in terms of money. 🦋Reena, an enterprising and assertive woman, is plagued by her looks and marriage prospects.  🦋Eisha is superficially happy after marrying into a rich family only to realize that life is not bed of roses. ✒️VERDICT: 🌟I am a sucker for stories having self-assured femme fatale line up. I loved the way the author accorded proper justice to each character bringing out their flaws as well as their self-realization. I liked the way the author gave space to each character to develop without making...

  BOOK: I Write Since You Exist AUTHOR: Suraj Prakash Behera GENRE: Poetry & Short Stories RATING: 4/5 MY TAKE: I Write Since You Exist is an ode to the tenacity of human soul which can brave the rough waters of emotional fluctuations and survive on the thread of hope. The poems penned down by the author felt like a tribute and an acknowledgement to each sentiment which captures the human mind. Some of the poems like ‘Love’s Enchantment Under the Moon’ and ‘A Dance of Radiance’ can melt the hearts of the romantic readers to feel a sense of longing and intimacy. The author also delved into various aspects pertaining to motherhood, corporate lifestyle, and the power of human spirit which is very hard to break. I was pleasantly surprised by the poetic tribute paid by the author to the theme of Game of Thrones which has a dedicated section. It was such a delight to immerse myself in the poem singing paeans of Arya Stark. “Life is an application, an application that you nourish and ...

  RATING: ⚡️Storyline: 3.9/5 ⚡️Literature: 4/5 📖 PLOT: To Make the World Beautiful for You written by Kalyani Singh is a romantic, action-laden fictional story revolving around the rivalry of a socialist class, Promapplers, who does not believe in material pleasures versus aristocrats who derive their power from money and subjugation of their people Martia is an orphan who was adopted by Promanthae, the ruthless leader of Promapple where she was trained as an assassin to one day takeover the leadership from Promanthae. The Promapplers have a single-minded goal of dethroning the King and abolish the aristocratic culture. 🔪What happens when you fall in love with your enemy? 🔪What happens when you make an enemy out of your adopted father who does not know the meaning of mercy? ✒️ VERDICT: 🏅Pros : The author has crafted an action-packed narrative filled with suspense, twists, and betrayals. No intense passion and love story is complete without having to brave the world and making s...

📝RATING: ⚡️Storyline: 3.8/5 ⚡️Literature: 3.9/5 ✒️PLOT:  Nathan has been posted as a Sub-Inspector in Guntakal District, which is a sleepy town with not much action. That was about to change! A young girl was found dead in the track near Guntakal railway station which seemed like a suicide. However, Nathan wasn't convinced.  Was it a murder? Who would have enmity towards a young girl? ✒️VERDICT  🏅Pros: 1) The author has been able to pace the story well to keep the suspense going without the readers losing interest in any segment of the book. The author has smartly introduced multiple characters connected to the victim which kept the readers in a maze of guessing game right till the end. 2) I loved the companionship between Nathan and his wife which was a welcome solace amidst the action-packed chaos of murder investigation.  It was a beautiful reprieve to read about the love and respect between the couple without the author having to divert attention from the main ...

  📗BOOK: Mahagatha: 100 Tales from the Puranas 📗AUTHOR: Satyarth Nayak 📗GENRE: Mythological Facts and events 📝RATING: ⚡Content- 4.5/5 ⚡Literature- 4/5 ✒MY TAKE: 🌗The information ensconced in the Vedas and Puranas are as deep as the oceanic beds consisting of millions of tales which have shaped the ideology and legacy of Hinduism. The concept of universe being infinity that has no beginning, and no end sharply resonates with the idea of 'Mahadev' who is one of the powerful members of the Trinity who created the universe. 🌗The author has done an excellent job in condensing tons of mythological events into 100 lucid tales that gives the readers an in-depth understanding of Hindu mythology. The fluidity and precision with which the stories are written invoke a sense of inquisitiveness among the readers 🌗I enjoyed reading the stories of Vishnu coming to Brahma's rescue to defeat Madhu and Kaitabha, how Brahma got married to Goddess Lakshmi, the relation between Saraswati ...

  📗BOOK: War of Lanka 📗AUTHOR: Amish 📗GENRE: Mythological Thriller 🎯MY TAKE: I felt that I am in no position to review War of Lanka for my deep rooted bias towards Amish and his books. Personally, Amish's books have brought a psychological and emotional connection with Hindu Gods which so far was restricted only to spiritual connection. 🌕War of Lanka has been one of the most anticipated reads for me and it has not disappointed me in terms of plot construction and inducing a unique flavour to the storyline which made the flow different keeping the context of Ramayana same. This has always been the USP of the author to humanize and bring the mythological characters closer to my heart. 🌕I would like to make special mentions of the the scenarios that make this book so emotionally beautiful, evocative and unconventionally different from the original Ramayana. 🌟Bharat and Shatrughan joined Ram and Laxman during the war of Lanka which seemed like a natural response of loving and em...

  In conversation with Author Aleksandr Jarid, who has won the hearts of his readers with his uncanny thriller rich with human emotions and cathartic character arcs.  1)   You are now the proud author of 5 edge-of-the-seat thrillers. When did you realise that you wanted to be a writer? I have a varied background, strangely using both the hemispheres of the brain for various careers in the past. Writing really took centre stage when I was trying to find the right medium and outlet to express and process not only current thoughts but also aspects of growing up. I found that we often now do not stop to understand how we have become to be where we are. In todays society we are always on the go and looking to tomorrow or next week or next year. But the important and fundamental components to do that successfully is to understand how we have got to today. That is how I fell into writing when I saw that life is a collection of important events and stories and if we don’t under...