book review

The Book Corner Vol. 5 – “The Bestseller She Wrote” by Ravi Subramaniam Book Review

January 8, 2016 Swati 2 Comments

One week into the New Year and I have already finished two books so yay! In fact, we went binge shopping on books as well this week. Crossword was closing down its outlet at some place and to clear out the stock, they were offering 50% discount on all the books. We got like 20+ from the store including the Ice and Fire series (I have binged on GoT but not on the novels yet) and Agatha Christie collection. I so wanted all her books in my shelf. Expect a load of book reviews coming your way!

Life is all about choices you make, isn’t it? I made one. Why regret it?

Talking about book review, let me start with the first book this year. Ravi Subramaniam has made a mark for corporate thrillers. I had loved his last book God is a Gamer. But, this time he has forayed into the world of publishing and has explored the intricate topic of relationships. The story revolves around a author-turned banker.

The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramaniam Book Review (Read it here)

The Story

IN A RELATIONSHIP, PARTICULARLY those that are adulterous in nature, the first time is always the most difficult. That’s the point in time when one’s conscience makes its presence felt the most and people are consumed by regret. Once that bridge is crossed, regret is often forgotten.

The Book Corner Vol. 4 – The Saga of Agni : Rise of the Grey Prince by Arka Chakrabarti Book Review

October 16, 2015 Swati Leave a Comment

It has just been a week since I finished the first volume of the book – The Secrets of Dark. And, then I ordered the sequel from Amazon the same day. Unfortunately, Amazon took almost 3 days to deliver the book. Flipkart is way better, it delivers in just a day, at least the books! So, the wait was very eager.

But, once I got the book, I was a little surprised because it is just 200 pages. I had expected it to be at least 300-350. Anyways, the size is not important. First, let me take you through the story line.

The Saga of Agni : Rise of the Grey Prince by Arka Chakrabarti Book Review

The Story

I had underestimated the first part of the book. It has a lot of characters but while writing the review I was not very partial to anyone apart from the main characters of the story which is Agni and Vrish. So, let me expand it a bit more because the characters I left out in the first part have a major role in the second.

Agni and Vrish are the King Himadri’s wards and are brought up with his son Yani. After the climax of the first book, Agni and Vrish are joined by Maharishi Sidak who makes an appearance in the first book. The Maharishi guides Agni in his journey in the first part by answering one of his queries which brings him to where he is today. He is right now fleeing from Nisarga with a secret scroll – ‘The Twin Prophecies’ – to find out the answer which is the third prophecy which holds the truth.

The Book Corner Vol. 3 – The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

October 9, 2015 Swati Leave a Comment

As the title says, the book is based on the trials of a family to set up their son/brother/grandson with a female successfully in midst of which tragedy aka recession strikes. I always read the reviews of other readers before writing my own review of a book and when I checked out goodreads for this book’s review, I was astounded at how many raving reviews the book has! Let me see what I have to say about it now.

The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

My Review

Let me skip telling you the story! It is just what it says.

Now, let me get over my grouches. I always hate Indian slangs which is a big deterrent for me to read Indian authors. The repeated invocation to Lord Shiva could have been just replaced with Oh God which is more common in the regular vocabulary of Indians.

Another huge issue I had was the name confusion. Parshuraman, the protagonist. I was confused till almost the middle of the book whether he hails from a South Indian family settled in Chandigarh or was actually a North Indian. I think it comes from being a South Indian. And, it turns out that the protagonist is a Punjabi! I wish the matrimonial description would also include ‘Punjabi’ word.

Parshuraman Joshi, 27, handsome, Hindu-Brahmin, IT Professional, settled in Canada, earns a high-figure salary.

should probably have been

Parshuraman Joshi, 27, handsome, Punjabi Brahmin, IT Professional, settled in Canada, earns a high-figure salary.

No racism intended here. I would rather like to be clear about my protagonist so as to visualize him clearly. The language is simple and good. The story flow is smooth and non-repetitive or huge on details. The protagonist is relate-able but the rest of the story not so much.

The Book Corner Vol. 2 – The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

October 8, 2015 Swati Leave a Comment

It has been a really long time since I have read a good book by an Indian author. Last time, it was a few months back – The Bougainvillea House by Kalpana Swaminathan. But, when I read the premise of this book, I was definitely intrigued but a little sceptical as it sounds almost on the lines of The Shiva Trilogy by Amish which fell flat for me.

Now, before I proceed, let me clarify a bit of confusion I had. This book was released in 2013 and there is already a sequel out. Anyways, I am glad that Readers Cosmos sent it to me otherwise I would have missed reading an amazing story. I just ordered the second part as well which was released in January this year and hopefully would receive it by today or tomorrow.

The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

The Story

So, this is a fantasy novel if you are feeling confused reading the name of Gaya. I sure was! So, no we are not talking of the holy city of Body Gaya but this Gaya is a fantasy continent which is divided into two parts – Land of the Rising Sun and Land of the Setting Sun. If you have read Amish, you would remember Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi clans!

The story begins with a king fleeing his son into the safety because there are some dark forces after him to snatch away the newly-born baby. And, then, the story shifts to twenty years later when Agni and Vrish lose their entire world in a bomb blast or better mentioned as huge fire in their language. Agni finds out that it was a planned attack and thus begins the saga of revenge and both the friends travel to Nisarga in the hope of solving the puzzle.

My Review

I would really not go into defining the story or its plot as it is complicated and I am sure we are not aware of many elements in the book. The book is actually the first part of a trilogy and not much has been revealed. If you are clever enough, you can spot the good guys and the bad guys but making sense of the mystery is a little difficult.

The Book Corner Vol. 1 – What I read all this year?

July 24, 2015 Swati Leave a Comment

Last year, I did book reviews for almost all books I realized that I am not much adept at reviewing a book, its not my forte! So, this time, I decided to keep the reviews only to a paragraph and do a round-up of the books I have read so far. So, yes, this year has been rich on psychological thrillers with the ones with wrecked marriage and psychopathic couples on the top of the list.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Who has not heard about this book? I have read it too late and I have not yet seen the movie but when I caught up with its first look on the television, I think Rosamund Pike nailed the character of Amy and I know you must be lost if you have not read the book or watched the movie so I would just leave you with – there is a reason you have heard about the book so much and all around!

The Silent Wife by A.S.A.Harrison

I have this habit of finding out similar books in a particular genre which I happen to like and this book is one which comes after Gone Girl. I do not really remember being impressed with the book at all and you can really skip it. Btw, this is again about a disintegrated marriage and lady who is living in denial.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Well, it is all following the cult and I am not sure if I really like it but I think its ending is very satisfying unlike Gone Girl. So, yes, you can try it. It definitely engages you while you are reading it but it would nt stay with you after finishing it!