It Happens for a Reason by Preeti Shenoy

Title: It Happens for a Reason

Source- Goodreads

Author: Preeti Shenoy

About the story: When Vipasha, Vee to friends, eighteen and single, makes the decision to have her baby, she does more than give up her promising modeling career. She ends up cutting ties with her family and with Ankush, the man she thought she was in love with. Fast-forward sixteen years and she now has two unusual careers - she runs a dog-boarding facility and is a gym instructor. Aryan thinks she is the coolest mom in the world and hopes she will one day find her Prince Charming - exactly what her best friend Suchi has in mind for her. But Vee secretly has a thing for Saurabh, the quirky vet.

Then, out of the blue, Ankush comes back into their life.

But can a decision that was taken at eighteen - more in the throes of lust than love-be the basis of a lifelong relationship? Is there a future for Ankush and Vee? Vee, Aryan and Ankush are in for the ride of their lives. No seat belts, full speed and a very bumpy road ahead.

Review: This is my 5th Preeti Shenoy book and she is undeniably one of the best writers in India in the Love and Relationship genre. Her latest book is yet another feather in her bestsellers cap, and reasonably so because her words manage to weave a fascinating and warm story. Honestly, I hadn't liked her previous book, The One You Cannot Have, as I thought it did not match up to the expectations of her top notch writing. But with her latest book, I felt Preeti is back with a bang.

I love her female protagonists, be it Vee in her new book or Ankita in Life is What You Make It or Nisha in Tea for two and a piece of cake. They are strong women who live life on their own terms. Being a regular follower of the author on Facebook, I believe that this book reflects some of the things that the author is fond of in her personal life. Like her immense love for dogs or gardening or fitness.

Preeti writes in great detail and she takes care to tie up all loose ends and manages to etch out all characters meticulously. The ending caught me a little off-guard as I did not expect that Vipasha’s character would chose her life course which, I thought, contradicts her independent mentality. But I liked the fact that the climax wasn't rushed or written in haste.

The relationship between the single mother, Vee and her teenage son, Aryan was beautifully depicted and Vee’s anger and resentment when Ankush comes back into their lives was also nicely narrated.

I wouldn't say this is Preethi’s best work (which for me, is Tea for two and a piece of cake, till date), but it is an engaging and pleasant read.

Rating: 4/5

P. S- I completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge this year and I managed to read 31 books this year. Yay!

You can add me here on Goodreads :)

Book Review 2014 #21 : Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat

Title: Half Girlfriend

Source- Goodreads

Author: Chetan Bhagat

About the story: Once upon a time, there was a Bihari boy called Madhav. He fell in love with a rich girl from Delhi called Riya. Madhav did not speak English well. Riya did. Madhav wanted a relationship. Riya didn't. Riya just wanted friendship. Madhav didn't. Riya suggested a compromise. She agreed to be his half-girlfriend.

Review: I know the first question that you would have on your mind is ‘why did you pick this book’ for reading. And my reply would be I surely don’t know except that I was curious. The only Chetan Bhagat books that I really liked were Five Point Someone and 2 States. After 2 States I was of the opinion that maybe this Bhagat fellow did not deserve the brickbats that people blatantly threw at his face.

Then came Revolution 2020 and I ordered a copy of the book and enthusiastically started reading it. But as I turned the pages of the book, the realization dawned on me that 2 States from Chetan Bhagat might have been a fluke, a stroke of luck. I don’t know what it was, but I struggled to finish the book.

Then when I heard that CB’s new book was coming out, curiosity got the better of me. Also I was baffled about what exactly a Half Girlfriend is!

The story starts with Madhav, hailing from a rural village in Bihar, trying to get an admission into a prestigious college, St. Stephens in Delhi. There he meets a girl, Riya, from an affluent and rich family. Though the two become friends, bonding over their love for basketball, Riya and Madhav are as different as chalk and cheese in their lifestyle and their upbringing. While Madhav is more rustic and crude in his nature and attitude, Riya is refined and more practical in her approach to life.

But the unwavering truth between them is the love that Madhav feels for Riya, though the way he confesses his love towards her could have been defined as crass and indecent.

Frankly the book is not Bhagat’s worse, but it lacks a strong plot. Madhav’s love seems to be lost in his lust and his constant endeavors to get Riya into bed begins to annoy the reader after sometime. And the mention of the author in his own book does hint a little bit of self-absorption.

I wouldn’t deny the fact that Chetan Bhagat has created many young readers in our country, who love such romantic theatrical fiction, but he has to really stop writing books just so that they could be produced into movies.

You could give this book a miss unless you are a die-hard CB fan J

Rating: 2/5

Book Review 2014 #20 : God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramanian

Title: God is a Gamer 

Source- Goodreads

Author: Ravi Subramanian

About the story:

Blurb- Aditya runs a gaming company that is struggling to break even. A banker slips off a high-rise building, plunging to her death. The finance minister has made some promises that he is finding hard to keep. The LTTE has unleashed terror in America that sends the FBI on a wild goose chase, bringing them to Mumbai.

Enter Varun, part-time drug dealer and fulltime genius. He turns around the gaming company before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, the investigators plunge headlong into the shady world of bitcoins and the Dark Net, websites that only exist for illegal transactions—drugs, sex and money. God Is a Gamer culminates in a stunning climax where money means nothing, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing is as it seems.

Review:

The plot begins with an assassination of a US Senator, Gillian Tan. Adrian Scott, FBI special agent, in charge of the investigation cannot find any leads on who would have wanted the senator dead. The fact that Gillian Tan was a close friend of the President mounts pressure on Adrian to find the killer.

In India, a multi-national bank, NYIB, finds itself a victim of a phishing scandal and Swami, the head of retail banking in the firm, fears that he may lose his job. He takes advice from his mentor and friend, Aditya Rao. Aditya is the founder of a very successful BPO and an emerging gaming company, Indiscape. Aditya has a very murky past but when his long estranged son, Varun, reunites with his dad and joins his company, he is more than happy.

Varun has grandiose plans to expand his dad’s gaming company but unfortunately these plans don’t agree with Aditya’s friend, Sandeep, who is also a co-founder of Indiscape. Meanwhile Varun falls in love with Tanya, daughter of Malvika- the scheming and manipulative CEO of NYIB.

Things go haywire when NYIB comes under news again for an ATM heist of 5 million dollars worth, where NYIB’s customer’s cards were skimmed for data and used to make fake cards for the heist. During a party hosted by Tanya for her mom’s birthday,  Malvika falls to her death from a high-rise building.

At the center of all this chaos is a secret website, Cotton Trail, selling everything shady and illegal- from drugs to pornography. The website thrives in an age of digital, virtual money called bitcoins. Billions of transactions in bitcoins are conducted under the cloak of an anonymous network called TOR or The Onion Router.

As the plot proceeds, each character is exposed to reveal a hidden ulterior motive for his/her actions and corrupt intentions.

This is my first Ravi Subramanian book and all though I had seen great reviews for his earlier books on the net, I never got around to picking his books. So it was with much excitement that I began reading ‘God is a Gamer’.

The beginning of the book was a little disorienting when lots of random characters were introduced and seemingly unrelated incidents occur in different nations. It was difficult to follow the plot with diverse sub-plots being narrated in short chapters. But as the story proceeded along it got more intriguing and the introduction of a covert online website that traded in narcotics and sex was the piece de resistance.

The story is fast paced and the numerous twists and turns keep the intrigue and fascination intact right till the last page of the book. The climax was a little overblown and there were too many co-incidences that made the ending a tad unrealistic.

A thriller of different kind that bodes well in the age of digital living. A definite must-read if you like fast-paced books and edge of the seat action.

Rating: 4/5

This review is a part of the biggest http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Review Program

for http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Book Review 2014 #19 : Trouble Has A New Name by Adite Banerjie

Title: Trouble Has A New Name. 

Author: Adite Banerjie

About the story:  Recently single model Rayna Dutt does not feel like flying to her friend’s big fat Indian wedding. But she does - and when a mix up with room allocations forces her to share a luxury villa on Emerald Isle with the gorgeous owner of the hotel - Neel Arora - and best man at the wedding, things begin to look up.

Until Rayna’s ex turns up with a new girl on his arm!

Hitting the panic button, Rayna searches for a solution. Surely Neel wouldn’t mind being her fake fiancé? In an instant the attraction they share is fever pitch, but when scandal comes calling, Rayna soon finds herself in more trouble than she can handle!

Review: I’m not a big fan of Harlequin books but recently when there were plenty of good reviews floating on the internet for Adite Banerjie’s ‘Trouble Has A New Name’, I decided to read it and take my chance. Also I had won the book as part of the Tornado Giveaway hosted by The Book Club.

The book started off on a good note with the female protagonist, Rayna, being dumped by her boyfriend and even though she is heartbroken and wasted by the previous night’s drinking binge, she still has a plane to catch, to reach her best friend’s wedding venue. She meets the enigmatic and immensely handsome, Neel Arora, who is also the co-owner of the resort where the wedding is being held. In Andaman Islands. Perfect setting for a romantic escapade, no?

Rayna is stepping on broken glasses all through her friend’s wedding when her ex-boyfriend appears with another girl on his arm, and Rayna’s relatives and friends from her hometown badger her with questions about her nonexistent love-life. Rayna has a brilliant idea and she asks Neel to be her fake fiancé but she cannot hide the fact that she is undoubtedly attracted to Neel.

The book is a light read and it keeps the reader’s interest riveted with all the mishaps occurring in Rayna’s life and how Neel, her knight in shining armour, saves her every time she needs a strong arm to steady her. The romance between them is crackling and Neel’s bitter past adds the much needed twist in the story.

It’s a perfect beach read- light, romantic and thoroughly enjoyable.

Rating: 4/5 

Book Review 2014 #18 : The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Title: The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

About the story:  Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns. . Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste. Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic

Review: I loved reading Hosseini’s ‘And The Mountains Echoed’ several months back and I was excited to get hold of ‘The Kite Runner’, since this poignant story of two friends has already created an impressive impact all over the world.

But as I sat down and started reading it, I couldn’t stop and put down the book. I was fascinated with the characters, especially Amir who sacrifices his friendship to gain his father’s approval and love. But then maybe, Amir was really a coward who did not have courage to stand up for his loyal friend. Hosseini has built the plot so meticulously, adding little details that made the book all the more heart-rending. For example, when Amir recollects that as a toddler the first word he uttered was “Baba” and Hassan’s, his devoted Hazara friend, was “Amir”, the tone for the story was set.

There are several outstanding quotes in the book and the one that I loved was-

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...”

Amir’s life changes dramatically in the winter of 1975, when his decision not only alters his life but the lives of those around him, including his father’s, his friend Hassan’s and Hassan’s crippled father, Ali’s. Several years later Amir is given an opportunity to atone his sins when he has a chance to go to his homeland, Afghanistan.

This tragic and heartbreaking tale of a man torn between his sinful past and a final chance to redeem his guilt-ridden future is compelling. A glimpse into lives of those men and women in Afghanistan during the pinnacle of Taliban rule, is enough to leave one teary and heartbroken.

This book is a definite must read and it left me wondering why I never read the book earlier!

Rating: 5/5

Book Review 2014 #17 : Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed

Title: Butterfly Season

Author: Natasha Ahmed

About the story: On her first holiday in six years, Rumi is expecting to relax and unwind. But when she is set up by her long-time friend, she doesn’t shy away from the possibilities. Ahad, a charming, independent, self-made man, captures her imagination, drawing her away from her disapproving sister, Juveria.

Faced with sizzling chemistry and a meeting of the minds, Ahad and Rumi find themselves deep in a relationship that moves forward with growing intensity. But as her desire for the self-assured Ahad grows, Rumi struggles with a decision that will impact the rest of her life.

Confronted by her scandalized sister, a forbidding uncle and a society that frowns on pre-marital intimacy, Rumi has to decide whether to shed her middle-class sensibilities, turning her back on her family, or return to her secluded existence as an unmarried woman in Pakistan.

We follow Rumi from rainy London to a sweltering Karachi, as she tries to take control of her own destiny.

Review: The first thing that came to my mind after reading this novella by debuting author Natasha Ahmed was that good things do come in small packages. This short read has a wonderful story that many women, from countries where pre-marital relationships are frowned upon, can relate to.

The conflict in the mind of Rumi, a 30-something single women from Pakistan, when she falls in love with Ahad is emphatically depicted. The archaic values that have been cultivated in her mind for more than 3 decades by her sister and family create a clash when she loses her heart to the charming and nonchalant Ahad.

Ahad wants Rumi to explore her own desires and decide her future rather than let her family monopolize her life.

Rumi’s decision can not only alter her relations with her younger sister, who firmly believes that pre-marital sex for a Pakistani woman is immoral, but it can also cause her extended family in London and Pakistan to sever ties with her.

The narration is excellent and we do get a fleeting glimpse of life for a single woman in Karachi, although I wished that the author had given more insight into Rumi’s life before she met Ahad.

Butterfly Season is an impressive, contemporary story about breaking free from the hackles of hypocritical society.

Rating: 4/5

Book Review 2014 #16 : Private India by Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson

Title: Private India

Author: Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson

About the story: When Santosh Wagh isn't struggling out of a bottle of whisky he's head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world's finest PI agency.

In a city of over thirteen million he has his work cut out at the best of times. But now someone is killing women - seemingly unconnected women murdered in a chilling ritual, with strange objects placed carefully at their death scenes. Trying to come to terms with his painful past and his entrenched guilt, Santosh races against time to discover the true identity of the yellow-garrote killer before the body count rises and more innocent women are murdered in cold-blood.

As Santosh and his team delve deep into the investigation, an even greater danger faces Private India - a danger that could threaten the lives of thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

Private India along with Jack Morgan can only hope dearly that their efforts to arrest the killer and save the Maximum City, Mumbai, are successful.

Review: I have read only “The Krishna Key” by Ashwin Sanghi but I have read and re-read many of James Patterson books in the Alex Cross series. And I love his style of writing; the way he builds up the suspense and the detailing that goes into each of his characters. I was excited to get my hands over this book because I wanted to know how the amalgamation of the two sharpest minds in the crime/suspense genre would turn out. And the book does not disappoint!

As I kept turning the pages of the book through the wee hours of the night, I could see glimpses of Patterson style of narration- the short chapters, the investigator psychoanalyzing the mind of the killer, the dragon-slayer (I always pictured Alex Cross as the dragon-slayer but I guess Santhosh Wagh is the new Indian equivalent) trying to find a balance between his personal life and his hectic career that is almost an obsession.

And of course there is the archetypal Ashwin Sanghi mythological twist to the story as well, that makes the book more intriguing.

What works for the book is the fast-paced and action packed plot that makes you want to turn the pages of the book quickly so as to reach the end and find out the identity of the killer. I also liked how the authors made the needle of suspicion swing in the way of different characters making the guessing game even more gripping.

What I did not like though is that there are too many elements in the sub-plot which sometimes feels quite odd as it keeps cropping up at irregular intervals. The Indian Mujahedeen and the mafia-don angle did seem a little far-fetched.

The book does a good job of seamlessly incorporating Mumbai’s throbbing hubs as part of the plot. Private India is definitely going to rock the bestseller’s list for some time in Indian markets. And it’s absolutely worth reading.

Rating: 4/5

This review is a part of the biggest http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank"> Book Review Program

for http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Book Review 2014 #15 : How Will I Know by Sheila O'Flanagan

Title: How Will I Know

Author: Sheila O'Flanagan

About the story:  It was love at first sight for Claire and Bill Hudson. They met at Claire's fifth birthday party and they were destined to be together for the rest of their lives. When baby Georgia came along, it was the icing on the cake.

So when a tragic accident snatched Bill away, Claire felt like she'd lost everything--except Georgia. In the three years since, Claire has devoted her life to Georgia; she knows no man could ever replace Bill, and the child needs all her attention. Now Georgia's a teenager, though, and there's one thing Claire can't advise her on: dating. And so, purely to help her lovely young daughter in her journey through the teenage years, Claire sets out on some serial dating. And destiny is watching, again.

Review: This was one of the many books that I bought from this books-by-weight store and the first one that I read from the lot. Sheila O’Flanagan has authored many wonderful books and I have read her book “Suddenly Single” few years back and quite liked it.

‘How Will I Know’ is the story of Claire, living in Dublin, and trying to come to terms with the sudden and tragic death of her husband, Bill, who was her childhood sweetheart too. Claire tries her best to the perfect mother for her daughter Georgia but she realizes that when it comes to giving relationship advice to her teenage daughter, she fails miserably.

So she decides to enter the dating scene again, just to gain more knowledge and to be able to help out her daughter in matters of heart and love.

This book definitely takes time to pick up the pace and in first few pages it looked to be a little dreary. But as the story progresses forward, it gains a sweet little life of its own. What shines brightly through is the wonderful, yet pragmatic bond between the mother and daughter.

I found myself wishing that I could have such an open and honest relationship with my daughter. Few scenes where Claire goes out on dates with men and ends being disastrous events are amusing. It’s a perfect summer/cozy read that is sure to warm your heart. That is if you can survive through the first hundred pages or so!

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Review 2014 #14 : Lost Lake by Phillip Margolin

Title: Lost Lake

Author: Phillip Margolin

About the story: On a summer night in Portland, Oregon, violence erupts at a Little League game, and attorney Ami Vergano watches in horror as the quiet, gentle artist she recently befriended does the unexpected and unthinkable.

In a cheap motel room in Washington, D.C., Vanessa Kohler, ex-mental patient, supermarket tabloid reporter, and estranged daughter of a powerful general running for president, views a news broadcast of the bizarre incident and believes she's found the only witness to a deadly conspiracy.

Caught between a possible madwoman and a confessed mass murderer, between reality and delusion, Ami races to unearth the terrible truth about dark events that may or may never have happened twenty years earlier in a secluded cabin on Lost Lake.

Review: I cannot help picking up novels wherever I go and few weeks back when I was closeted in my house in Mangalore due to incessant rains, I was grateful for this book which my brother had borrowed from the local library.

This was my first Phillip Margolin book and what struck me when reading it, was the absolutely brilliant narration which goes back and forth between the past and the present events. I am a complete sucker for books that involves government conspiracies, gruesome murders and FBI investigations. This book had loads of those and yet it fell short in some aspects.

The first few pages build tremendous amounts of suspense and intrigue; however, what I did not like is the lack of twists in the plot after few chapters. The story unfolds somewhere in the middle of the book and then there is nothing much to arouse the reader’s interest for the rest of story.

Even then the book is fast paced, lots of action and an entertaining read for all lovers of crime/thriller genres. Well, I have picked up Margolin’s another book- Sleeping Beauty and hope that I find it better than this one.

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Review- Love among the Bookshelves by Ruskin Bond

‘A beautiful journey’ 

Many readers have grown up with Ruskin Bond’s stories. This time, in an utterly delightful new anthology, he introduces you to the stories he grew up with. Part memoir, part anthology, Love Among The Bookshelves is a glimpse into the author’s life through the books he has loved and an introduction to some forgotten classics.

When India’s most loved and cherished author speaks about his childhood and how he developed his love for books, you have to sit up and listen. Ruskin Bond takes you on a beautiful journey talking about his favourite authors. While reading the book, the memories of my childhood came flooding back—those glorious evenings when I tucked myself in bed with a book and kept reading it late into the night.

The book also offers a peek into the author’s early life, including his stay in London and how the works of his favourite authors helped sustain him, far away from home. There are snippets from his favourite authors including PG Wodehouse and HE Bates.  Except for Wodehouse, I was never inclined towards reading classics, but this book made me want to read more of them. And that’s the magic of Ruskin Bond’s words.

As a bibliophile myself, I can understand how a person can completely devote his life to books. This book reaffirmed my faith in the kind of contentment and solace that only books can offer.

This book review is written for Femina Book Club.

Femina.in

Femina 

Book Review 2014 #11 : Mumbaistan by Piyush Jha

Title: Mumbaistan

Author: Piyush Jha

About the story: Mumbai, a city of dreams for many. But for others, a nightmare. Behind the façade of luster and glamour churns a seething underbelly of squalor, corruption and crime. 

Mumbaistan’s three explosive crime novellas unravel the subterranean secrets of maximum city-from the teeming maw of Dharavi and the wanton streets of Kamathipura to the swank high-rises of Bandra.

A prostitute, her lover and a policeman play for high stakes in Bomb Day. Injectionwala exposes chilling medical malpractices and lovelorn vigilante’s twisted game plan. In Coma Man, a man awakens from coma after twenty years, and sets out in search of his wife-and himself.

Macabre love stories, conniving cops and hard-boiled slumlords form tge backdrop of a schizophrenic city that is brooding…dying.

Welcome to Mumbaistan; a gritty, compelling take on the megalopolis that lives on the edge.

Review: I was suitably impressed after reading Piyush Jha’s crime/thriller novel-Compass Box Killer and was determined to read his first novel- Mumbaistan which promised to be more racy and entertaining than his first book. So it was with much expectation that I picked up this book.

The first story in the book- Bomb Day is fast paced, in fact there are so many twists and turns in the plot, that after some pages I decided to quit who was trying to double cross whom and just go with the story. The climax was undoubtedly the best and I really did not see it coming.

The second story Injectionwala with Inspector Virkar as its protagonist is my favorite. I think I may have a small, teeny-weeny crush on the swarthy inspector.  The plot was good but there was not much of a surprise factor in the way the story ended.

The third novella-Coma Man has an intriguing plot, that of a man who has been written off as dead, rises from his twenty long years of sleep and tries to find out about his wife and his past. But again the plot gives away too much and it’s not difficult to guess the real culprits.

The narration and the three varied plots, weaved in the ever-pulsating city of Mumbai definitely enthralls and entertains. It’s easy to see that the author has managed to create a web of crime, deceit, mystery and intrigue with these three stories and his love for the Maximum City, Mumbai, shines throughout the book.

Verdict: Fast paced, engrossing and unputdownable.

Rating: 3.5/5