Book review of Second Serve by Aparna Aggarwal
After reading this book I realised how much I missed reading the books in the romance genre! Book review of Second Serve by Aparna Aggarwal
Book review | Maroon In A Sky Of Blue | Girish Dutt Shukla
Maroon In A Sky Of Blue; the title itself was so intriguing and the cover so magnetic, I was drawn towards it. Book review of Maroon In A Sky Of Blue by Girish Dutt Shukla
Book review of My Ramyeon Girl by Nethra A
Set in South Korea, Nethra’s book My Ramyeon Girl is about a famous South Korean celebrity Lee Jung-Su and Indian girl Meena in a Ramyeon shop.
4 Netflix series that you will love to binge watch during Lockdown
Ah! The vicious cycle, we are stuck in. But never fear… I am here to recommend you 4 Netflix series that you will love to binge watch during Lockdown
She Stood By Me | Book Review
She Stood by Me by Tarun Vikash Love is not a relationship Most of us have experienced first love, first heartbreak, that we occasionally remember, and this novel She Stood by Me by Tarun Vikash, is a reminder of those memories. Like the subtitle implies love is much more than a friendship. This romantic fiction is about a love story that begins in teenage years and grows with the age of protagonist. Aparna and Abhi who starts their relationship as friends with a one-sided crush, and then their friendship is transformed in time into a lovely story of love. Their friends Manish and Nidhi also have their own love story, and they are an integral part of the life of Aparna and Abhi. Abhi who comes from a lower — middle — class family, he has responsibilities waiting for him in the future, he is career-oriented, but he believes in romance and first love concept. On the other side, Aparna comes from an upper — middle — class family with an urge to prove the world about her existence. She is career-oriented but somehow she doesn’t believe in love, in a better way to say that she doesn’t have time for love. This Love story ought to be difficult as one person is madly in love and another person is aloof with love as a feeling and living in denial. Their love story has many obstacles like studying in different cities, job pressure, and then family drama. In small cities Love and then Love marriage is still considered as a taboo. Most of us have experienced first love, first heartbreak, that we occasionally remember, and this novel She Stood by Me by Tarun Vikash, is a reminder of those memories. Like the subtitle implies love is much more than a friendship. This romantic fiction is about a love story that begins in teenage years and grows with the age of the protagonist.Author Tarun has very aptly defined the feelings of love, responsibility towards the family that are so contrasting to each other. Though this book She Stood by Me is his debut novel, he did quite a remarkable job with the characters and the story.Every character in this book has been nicely thought of and then put on paper. The character I most connected to was Manish, as he reminded me of Bollywood movies that had one best friend who made fun of the Hero, pulled his leg, but then he also stood with him in every thick and thin of the situation.Unfortunately, my problem was that most of the novel was like reading Abhi’s private unrealistically goody – goody diary with individual dialects and dialogues, which became quite uncomfortable instead of smooth flowing reading, which I am used to. Somehow the story seemed little stretched with too much detailing of unwarranted information which could have been omitted.I would like to rate this YA romantic fiction novel 3.7 out 5. It is one time read that is quite entertaining in its own way. This book will remind you about your first crush, first love and your life before 25 hit you.
I am in love with Shudh Desi Firangi
Love stories are always my weakness, especially the soft and slow romances. My teens years were filled with such books. I read Harlequin, Mills & Boon and Betty Neels ( now, now don’t go judging me). So yeah, when Dipnanda approached me to review her book ‘I am in Love with Shudh Desi Firangi, I so obvious, shrieked in excitement and dived in right on, in the book. As they so famously once said that the first impression you get of the book is the beginning of the story. Well, I do agree with that! Beginning of this book ‘I am in love with Shudh Desi Firangi’ is what goaded me to plunge in further. The first bite I took of this book had a perfect balance of all spices. It tasted of heartbreak, love and dreams. The story of I am in love with Shudh Desi Firangi by Dipnanda Bhaduri Roy was soaked and spiced in Rich Bengali Culture. Yummm… what’s more, did I need than the tantalising beginning. Of course, I needed a perfect end to the story, or rather I’d say a perfect beginning to the end of the story. And boy, was it amazing! The end was emotional, satisfying yet of course obvious. Doesn’t matter, though, does it?It is incredible to see how the author Dipnanda, made sure not to hustle things up while interweaving modern romance of Katyayni and Rudra and age-old love story of Shiva and Parvati, in a beautiful intricate pattern of pain, selfless and unconditional love. And the cherry to the cake was the narrative of the book, I am in love with Shudh Desi Firangi by Dipnanda Bhaduri Roy. It was done in a calm and collected manner. While reading it, I felt that I was part of the very story. Living each moment with the characters. Impressive! What’s more, the way the author portrayed her characters was incredible. It felt like she knew them well and had plucked them out of her life for her book. I am in love with Shudh Desi Firangi by Dipnanda Bhaduri Roy, is a perfect beach read. This atmospheric read is going to win you over. I rate this book 4 on 5
The Last Dawn by Shyam Kumar
The Last Dawn The Last Dawn by Shyam Kumar This is a tale of love, hope, family and the never ending wait. The Last Dawn is a story of Raj, and his love for one woman. A woman he craved most in his life. Anjali. The story spans across thirty seven years of Raj’s life, where he meets many women but falls in love with only one. But fate rudely intervenes and forces him to sacrifice his one true love and marry someone else. And so the year trickle by and so does his hope of finding his love that is Anjali. What do I think of the of the story? Shyam’s The Last Dawn was a beautiful and an emotional read. A different experience altogether. It was a melancholic journey of waning hope. The author narrated the story in his own pace.It was neither slow nor fast. It was smooth as flowing river, I was being swept in its every way. Author took his own time weaving such intricate emotions we humans go through into a beautiful quilt of a story. Furthermore, language used in book is easy to understand and crisp although I felt it needed more editing otherwise it was all good. What do I think of characters The characters were taken from our everyday life. I could relate to their life in so many ways. So humane and had a very middle classy vibes to them. One can see author’s hardwork in crafting the characters. The most incredible thing about the book was that it had only 3-4 characters to focus on, rest were shadows that flitted in and out of story for just a few secs. Do l recommend this book Yes, l highly recommend this book. Though this book is for mature readers and don’t mind reading a book laced with heavy emotions. I give it a 3.5 stars out of 5.
Book Reviews
Feni Daze By Mathew Vincent Menacherry
Publication: Vanguard Press Page Count: 346 Review Set in Goa, ‘Feni Daze‘ by Mathew Vincent Menacherry is a story of an ex-soldier Victor Gabriel, an aspiring writer meets up with his former girlfriend, the gorgeous and rich Ana at the latter’s behest in a final bid to reconnect. What follows is about their brief stay in Goa complete with a constant Feni guzzling Victor who seems to have a knack of rubbing off people the wrong way or maybe he just can’t get over the whole macho soldier persona. There’s a constant back and forth between the past and present as Mathew pieces together the complex character and justifies the behavior of his main protagonist. Plenty of intricate situations and characters add layers and layers to the whole back story. Do I recommend it? ‘Feni Daze‘ is a decent book that reads like a Hindi masala film with our Hero-the drunk with a golden heart, beating up the baddies as he goes about rescuing damsels in distress. Add to that his totally smitten, poor little rich girl, Heroine who ensures Daddy dearest takes care of any real messes that our Hero might get into. All in all, not bad and the title clearly says it all. Rating I have rated it 3/5 stars. . . . . . If you loved this review of Mathew Vincent Menacherry’s ‘Feni Daze’, then get your copy of it on Amazon by clicking here and if you want us to review or recommend a specific book, then do let us know in the comments below or DM us on Instagram at @booxoul.
The Carpet Weaver by Nemat Sadat
When you read a book and that book leaves a lasting impression on you and that in a way changes your perception towards life is what I call a ‘Book to keep on your shelf forever and Nemat Sadat’s book ‘The Carpet Weaver’ is one such book. This book brought forth my emotions in torrent. I was struck by the brilliance of the narrative. Despite the book being Nemat’s debut, I was left awestruck with an appreciation for his writing style, its pace, and its creative profundity. Book Blurb: Afghanistan, 1977. Kanishka Nurzada, the son of a leading carpet seller, falls in love with his friend Maihan, with whom he shares his first kiss at the age of sixteen. Their romance must be kept secret in a nation where the death penalty is meted out to those deemed to be Kuni, a derogatory term for gay men. And when war comes to Afghanistan, it brings even greater challenges-and danger-for the two lovers. From the cultural melting pot of Kabul to the horrors of an internment camp in Pakistan, Kanishka’s arduous journey finally takes him to the USA in the desperate search for a place to call home and the fervent hope of reuniting with his beloved Maihan. But destiny seems to have different plans in store for him. Intimate and powerful, The Carpet Weaver is a sweeping tale of a young gay man’s struggle to come of age and find love in the face of brutal persecution. Review Set in 1970s Afghanistan, ‘The Carpet Weaver’ is a coming-out story of Kanishka, amidst this pours political disarray. This is also a story of love that is a transgression, even in the high society of Afghanistan, where girls and boys mix freely yet homosexuality is frowned upon. This coming of age story is divided into three parts. Three important life-changing twists in Kanishka’s life, which as the story gradually progresses, so progresses the years, and we along with the protagonist escape the once peaceful land of Afghanistan to the refugee camps in the far off ranges of the Baluchistan in Pakistan and then to the US ‘Promised Land of America’, where he slowly starts to rebuild his life. This gut-wrenching book will take you to the places, you’d never want to visit. The pain and emotions throughout the book are as vivid as reality. But also this book is a lesson unto itself. However heartbreaking it may be, one has to stand for himself. I was equally elated – for Kanshka stood for what he was and, heartbroken – because he had to leave his family. This book reminded me so much of Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner‘. Both in their own way stirred us and showed us the stark reality of humanity. This heartwrenching story has earned a 5 out of 5 stars for the author’s sheer empathetic penmanship and the characters that were as alive as any of us. I say, read this fast-paced book, which will compel you to search for the answers, for this book raised many questions. . . . . . I so so recommend this book to everyone reading this review and for those who have already read this book, I would love to know your opinion of it in the comments below. Happy Reading 🙂
