Tag Archives: future

Book Review: 337 by M. Jonathan Lee

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I was provided with a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Please note that the double-ended upside-down opening for this book is available in books ordered in hard copy from UK booksellers only.

About the Book:

337 follows the life of Samuel Darte whose mother vanished when he was in his teens. It was his brother, Tom who found her wedding ring on the kitchen table along with the note. While their father pays the price of his mother’s disappearance, Sam learns that his long-estranged Gramma is living out her last days in a nursing home nearby. Keen to learn about what really happened that day and realising the importance of how little time there is, he visits her to finally get the truth. Soon it’ll be too late and the family secrets will be lost forever. Reduced to ashes. But in a story like this, nothing is as it seems.

My Thoughts:

A wonderfully written novel, the story follows Sam as he goes through the motions of living every day. However, not everything is at it seems, and this is a constant theme running in the background of the plot.

Sam’s mother vanished during his teens leaving behind a letter and her rings. We do not know whether she simply decided to leave one day or something more serious happened. In the current day, Sam reconnects with his Grandmother whom he has not seen or spoken to in years in an attempt at reconciliation and a final attempt to solve the mystery behind his mother’s disappearance. We are introduced to a variety of characters including his younger brother, his father, about whom we gradually learn things, his wife, from whom he is now separated and finally his grandmother, old and dying. There are so many layers to this story and the characters that the reader is always forced to stop and contemplate the goings-on.

The descriptions are rich and vivid bringing the place and characters to life. There is love and loss interspersed with the trauma Sam and his brother faced when they were younger. Having dealt with so much in life, Sam constantly talks about the advice his therapist has provided which are very much applicable in some way to all of us. The chapters are short and easy to read and the scenes with Sam and his grandmother are beautifully written with a lot of unspoken emotions in them.

This latest book by the author is a pleasure to read and though it raises many questions that ensure the reader is kept engaged long after finishing the book. This book is a must read!

Cover Reveal: Love, Scandal, and Second Chances by Shilpa Suraj

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~ Cover Reveal ~

Love, Scandal, and Second Chances
by Shilpa Suraj

 

About the Book:

Arav has only ever loved one woman, Disha. But, she broke his heart to further her ambitions.
Years later, she’s achieved everything she set out to but at a steep price. She wants to come home but home doesn’t want her and her work won’t let her.
Arav knows Disha needs his help and the boy he once was can’t walk away.
But while his heart is large enough to forgive, it hasn’t forgotten.
Can they overcome the bitter hurt of their shared past, face the scandalous present and find their way back to each other? Is this their second chance at love or a first chance at redemption?

About the Author:

 

Shilpa Suraj wears many hats – corporate drone, homemaker, mother to a fabulous toddler and author.

An avid reader with an overactive imagination, Shilpa has weaved stories in her head since she was a child. Her previous stints at Google, in an ad agency and as an entrepreneur provide colour to her present day stories, both fiction and non-fiction.

Contact the Author:

Book Review: The Circle Taken by Sage Sask

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Note: I would like to thank NetGalley for the review copy.

About the Book:

Abandoned at eleven with no memory of her family, Alexia yearns to learn her true identity. Under the new government’s regime, sixteen-year-olds are evaluated for their desire to harm others. Throughout the test, Alexia struggles to conceal her secret. Failing in her mission, Alexia is taken and must fight to prove herself to her captors.

Desperate to escape, Alexia embarks on a dangerous quest for the truth of her past. In the resulting battle between life and death, Alexia learns that sacrifice and the gift she fought to keep hidden may be her only chance for survival.

A secret unearthed, a shocking betrayal, and a moment when lives hang in the balance leaves Alexia with only one choice. Will the decision determine her destiny or end her life?

My Thoughts:

The Circle is an interesting YA Dystopian read. A major part of the plot reminded me of The Hunger Games, but the story here is well-written and the characters were easy to understand. The story is quite fast paced and if the reader does not pay attention, it is easy to miss something important.

Alexia, the protagonist, has no memory of who she is or about her family for more than 5 years. She lives at an orphanage and learns to just keep her head down and move forward. When her secret is discovered, she is sent to a secret place. Here she has to fight to prove herself, to train, all the while trying to figure out who she really is. As she navigates this world and discovers it’s secrets, we are introduced to a group of people with a very specific way of thinking.

The characters are well crafted and interesting, most in their teenage years. All of them seek to befriend Alexia for different reasons, but in the end they stand together as one group. This journey is wonderful to read about. As fast-paced as the story is, a lot happens in this book and it ends at a twist leaving the reader yearning for more. I enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to the next book, mainly to discover what happens to Alexia. The questions of how she deals with the truth behind her identity and the consequences of her decisions will hopefully be answered in the next book! This book is worth a read for fans of dystopian YA fiction.

Book Blitz : I Owed You One by Madhu Vajpayee

Posted in Book Blitz, BookWorld by

About the Book:

Publisher:
LiFi Publications Pvt. Ltd.
ISBN:
978-9386191281
Format:
Paperback
Pages:
258 pages

Price: 275/-



 

Dev Khanna has a perfect life with his loving wife Radhika and son Neel in Melbourne, Australia. But there is something from his past that keeps gnawing him, an open wound that is a reminder of a debt. His present is very flourishing and future promising but what happens when the past comes knocking? As the skeletons begin to tumble one after other from the cupboard it is now threating his present.

Join Dev on a journey that spans across the tall skylines of Melbourne, the royal Dilwalo ki Dilli to the dingy streets of Moradabad as he battles love, religion, politics and fear questioning his own beliefs at every step. Will he be able to make peace with his past and save his future? Will humanity lose this battle against everything else?


Book Links:
Goodreads * Amazon


Feedback for the Book:

5 Stars “With an intriguing and powerful theme, the author has chosen a realistic and suspenseful plot with
all its subplots tied very well. The characters are realistic and believable. Descriptive writing style along with the confident tone of narration with the extremely good use of vocabulary made it easier for understanding. The suspense that starts building up in the midway is being handled with utmost care and is taken care that it does not loses its grip and holds the capacity to keep the readers engrossed till the last page.” ~ Nikita onAmazon

5 Stars – “Entwined in the backdrop of a courageous young man who let go his turmoiled past and commits
himself to love and fulfill his duty without self-interest to be an ultimate winner, the author constantly reminds and beautifully conveys that secularism means humanism and peaceful coexistence. The book has all the makings of a Bollywood blockbuster. A must read for everyone…” ~ Namita Dimrion Amazon
4 Stars “The story line is no less than a thriller. It has all the elements for a perfect entertaining read. Romance, action, drama, mystery, socio-political angle and lots of thriller. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this unpredictable tale of Dev and travelling across continents with him to witness what is the extent one can go
for a loved one. There are some scenes that left me goose bumps, because of how real it all felt.” ~ PrivyTrifles
 
About the Author:
Dr. Madhu Vajpayee- the writer is born somewhere in those hospital corridors where she has spent the last two decades of her life. Witnessing life at such close quarters pushed her to capture the enigma of life in her words and slowly it became her passion. After writing several medical papers and chapters in books, she started her journey in the literary world. Seeking Redemption was her first fiction book which is now followed by I Owed You One.
 
Having done her graduation, MBBS from King Georges Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow she went ahead to pursue her post-graduation, MD from AIIMS, New Delhi. She was a faculty at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi having been associated with management of patients living with HIV/AIDS. She is now settled in Melbourne, Australia with her family, where she is devoting most of her time to writing, the passion that she couldn’t pursue earlier because of the demands of medical profession and commitment it requires.
 
When not creating stories, Madhu enjoys reading and traveling.
 
Contact the Author:
 
 

Book Review: Seeds of Intention by Andrea Thome

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About the Book:

Seeds of Intention

Garrett Oliver has just settled into his job as heir apparent to one of the most renowned master gardeners in the country. After a difficult few years, he’s found a home and a renewed purpose at a famed resort in the secluded Smoky Mountains.The stars seem to be aligning for Garrett as he plans a future with his college sweetheart and envisions a simple life with her in the mountains of East Tennessee.

Willow Armstrong, fresh off a painful breakup, is coming home to Knoxville to care for her ailing father. She finds herself in the right place at the right time, landing a dream job alongside Garrett—as his boss. As they are thrown together by their work, an undeniable magnetism grows between them, despite the fact that Garrett is ready to start a future with someone else. Circumstances persist in drawing them closer, and an unexpected opportunity in Colorado prompts Willow and Garrett to wonder if a life together out west might be beyond anything either of them had dared to imagine.

My Thoughts:

Seeds of Intention is a quick and light read. It is the kind of book that you can pick up and finish as fast or as slow as you like.

The story is simple, focusing on Garrett and Willow, and the relationship that develops between them. Both the main characters are dealing with their own set of problems and we, the reader, follow them as they find their way out of it. The characters are warm and likeable, developing quite well as the story progresses. Though at times everything just seems to fall into place perfectly, most of the story flows well and can be related to.

The author emphasizes on the need to adapt and the ability to handle even the most difficult situation with the support of loved ones. This is a feel good story which brings out the fact that not everything happens the way one pictures it.

Travel 200 years into the past with Cross Stitch (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon

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About the Book:

Cross Stitch (Outlander, #1)

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My Thoughts:

I picked up this book after watching Season 1 of the TV show Outlander on Netflix. The series caught my attention and kept me hooked and yearning for more. Once my interest was piqued, I had to give the book a try more out of curiosity to see how close to the story the series was.

The story itself interested me to some extent. The concept of traveling back into the past and getting caught up in a time much different and more primitive compared to the one you live in is indeed an adventure. For Clarie however, it started off as a nightmare. The moment she stepped through the stones at Craigh na Dun, she found herself 200 years in the past, and in the sight of her husband’s ancestor, Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall. Thus starts a story of discovery, love and friendship set in the time of the Jacobite rising. Armed with knowledge from the future, Claire is forced to bide her time until she can return to the stones and find her way home. In an ideal world, things should have worked out that way, but her encounter with Jack Randall also brings her in contact with Scottish Highlanders and Jamie Fraser.

What do you do when you have to marry a handsome highlander to save your life from the English soldiers? How do you reconcile with the fact that you are already married, 200 years in the future? Is it alright to make a life in the time where you are now? What do you do with the knowledge you have of the past when you end up in the past?

With the above questions arising, Claire is faced with a much bigger challenge, starting with acceptance from the Highlander Clans as well as  the fact that she might not go back to see Frank. She is forced to accept her fate and in time falls in love with Jamie, thus further tearing her apart, torn between her vows to Frank and her current marriage to Jamie. Not one to be very superstitious or believe in magic, Claire finds herself in an unimaginable situation, where her skills as a nurse come into action to help.

A well-written story, this first book in the series will keep the reader hooked until the very end and leave them yearning for more. The characters are well crafted and wonderfully portrayed with the plot moving at a steady pace. It is possible to believe in love and magic and this is made more evident through the love that blossoms between Jamie and Claire as they understand and accept each other. The decisions Claire makes, and the path she takes, the people she meets, all seek to set the course of this story!

The book is well worth a read and the series is equally worth watching!

Book Review: Sky Riders: Bright Star by Erin Swan

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I found this book on Inkitt and got around to reading it. I was hooked immediately from the first chapter and didn’t stop until the end! Read on to know my thoughts.

Find the book on Inkitt here.

About the Book:

The Golden Era of the Guardians has passed, and the land of Paerolia has begun to slip into darkness once again. A slave in the judges’ palace, Andra has known only torment and terror her entire life. But when Kael, the leader of the rebel Freemen, breaks into the palace, Andra finds herself thrown headlong into a life she never imagined, into the midst of a rebellion that could change her future and the future of Paerolia. But the past is hard to escape, and Fate can be unkind. Alongside Kael, Andra must discover the strength that has always been within her and fight to win back what Fate kept beyond her reach—a dragon that should have been her own, and a man whose heart she can never hope to win.

My Thoughts:

It’s been a while after reading the Inheritance cycle (Eragon and other books in the series) that a book in the same fantasy fiction genre has captivated me so much. At first I was skeptical of the plot and was unsure whether this story would be any different, but I am happy to be proved wrong.

The story is wonderful, well thought out and crisp. The plot flows easily from one scene to the next and the characters are well developed and highly complex. Andra, a slave in the Judges’ household, when brought away from there, struggles to understand the life of freedom. The author as described this and captured the feelings and mental torture the girl went through. We are shown how Andra deals with the trauma and abuse she has endured and how this shapes her into a strong individual. Kael, with his charming personality, also has secrets which come out as the story unfolds.

It is difficult not to fall in love with Eithne and Tiri, the dragons who are a constant presence. Though some parts of the plot may seem familiar, it is far from predictable. The way the Freemen bring out a change and the pivotal role the protagonists play, along with their friends is what sets this story apart. Moreover, the author’s writing is clear and easy to understand. The conversations and internal discussions that the characters have, are highlighted for easy differentiation. Also, bring in some well placed romance and the plot is complete.

An overall gripping read, this book will ensure that the reader will not stop until the very end. The overall plot is rounded up beautifully leaving no room for questions.

Review: All the Breaking Waves by Kerry Lonsdale

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I was provided with a free copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

About the Book:

All the Breaking Waves

From the bestselling author of Everything We Keep comes a gripping tale of long-buried secrets, the strength of forgiveness, and the healing power of returning home for good.

After a harrowing accident tore her family apart, Molly Brennan fled from the man she loved and the tragic mistake she made.

Twelve years later, Molly has created a new life for herself and her eight-year-old daughter, Cassie. The art history professor crafts jewelry as unique and weathered as the surf-tumbled sea glass she collects, while raising her daughter in a safe and loving environment—something Molly never had. But when Cassie is plagued by horrific visions and debilitating nightmares, Molly is forced to return to the one place she swore she’d never move back to—home to Pacific Grove.

A riveting exploration of love, secrets, and motherhood, All the Breaking Waves is the poignant story of a woman who discovers she must confront her past, let go of her guilt, and summon everything in her power to save her daughter.

My Thoughts:

A heartfelt novel, All the Breaking Waves brings together a mixture of psychic abilities and family drama. The main focus is on the bonds of family and the importance to forgive and move on. The protagonist, Molly, has hidden within her a secret for twelve years. This has caused her to run away from her home and from her grandmother. When her daughter turns out to have terrible visions and nightmares, she is forced to return to the very house she had run from to seek her grandmother’s help. Forced to face the demons of her past, she doesn’t expect to come face to face with the man she had loved so many years ago and still did. She also had to deal with some revelations about her grandmother and eventually her past.

The author has written the story really well, beautifully blending these various aspects of the plot. She gives her characters a rather magical look and adds the same touch to her style of writing. The concept of sea glass and jewellery making with it is intriguing. Also, the author alternates between the present time and narration of events in the past and this flow happens flawlessly, making it easier for the reader to understand the events that have crafted our characters and made them who they were. Our protagonist is also forced to deal with her abilities, apart from those of her daughter’s and to accept that she can do more good than harm if she just tried.

A wonderful story, this teaches us the importance of family and the necessity to stick together and talk things out always. Throw in some romance a charming little girl and we have a great mix! A good read, strongly recommended for those who enjoy a good romance with a character who has an interesting psychic ability.