The Last Attractor of Chaos by Abhinav Singh
Published by Notionpress on 04/2018
Genres: Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 332
Format: eBook
Goodreads

If you get a chance to read a Spy novel written by an Indian writer you to read it. It is a like once in a blue moon material that gets out in the market.

The plot starts with a married couple. Ashwin Rathore is killed in a well-planned murder that gets wrong. The murderer was after his wife Shruti Rathore who is a retired R&AW agent. This is just a start of this thrilling storyline as the wife gets arrested by the Intelligence Bureau on the charge of stealing a strategic weapon and killing her associate. Unaware of her wife’s past, and after his death Ashwin meets a strange consciousness appearing in the form of a guide in his afterlife. Both of them try to save Shruti’s life as Ashwin himself tries to fight a dilemma of protecting his wife or choosing what is right to do.

The plot covers an interesting theme and there is a lot from a philosophical point of view on the death and afterlife. I was surprised by this as I expected it to be a traditional spy novel. However, the inclusion of this law of nature as the primary theme of the novel did make things interesting. With glimpses of mysterious nature of characters, this novel has a good pace, and the setting of the novel which includes an Intelligence Agency of India is something altogether new out there for the reader to pick this up.

The characterization is bold but more significant within the plot. They are like a molecule in the shell of the storyline and without it, they won’t exist. The use of sob plot was not much of an intriguing point from me but I think it copes well in the end. The writing style is crisp and lucid. It does help to turn the page at a faster rate. There are many twists and turns that made not to put down this book. A glimpse of realism is there which is what Indian readers are after these days.

Overall, this book is recommended for the sole reason that there aren’t many Spy novels written in India or by Indian writers. Another point that I can add is that this book is highly entertaining due to the way it reaches the climax of the story.

5 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: The Last Attractor of Chaos by Abhinav Singh appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Anon by Bhavani Iyer
Published by Fingerprint! Publishing on 31/05/2018
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Literary
Pages: 312
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Bhavani Iyer is a screenwriter for many Hindi films and television shows, so when I received this book, I knew I would not be disappointed. Anon is her debut work published earlier this year. The storyline is based in Calcutta of 1960s-70s where Jazz clubs are still lively.

The storyline revolves around two personalities, who are different by a vast amount of surroundings between them yet, they found each other become friends. One is a son of a wealthy landowner and another is born into a fisherman’s family. One is a genius vagabond, another is an ambitious dreamer. However, both of them share a common passion. They both are aspiring writers and have their own share of struggles.

Their friendship is however not only based on the common passion they share. It is actually the different personalities, like two opposing forces attracting each other. It is their story, where one gets the chance to live and other to die.

The narrative style third person and is used very well. The charm of this book is in its characterization. Apart from the two main protagonists of our novel, the characters are lively and cope well with their own roles or the amount of time they are given to appear. The development of the two protagonists can be observed throughout the novel. The writing style is excellent and engrossing. It is because of the manner it is written that as a reader I could observe the emotions that change with time inside a human mind. Crushing memories from past, nostalgic ones from the childhood, this book is full of them.

4 out of 5!

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Infin-Eight: Eight Principles for Infinite Professional Success by Prajeet Budhale
Published by Fingerprint! Publishing on 01/05/2018
Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Entrepreneurship, Self Help
Pages: 224
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

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Keeping Up with Kaneda by Gaurav Kumar
Published by Sristhi on 01/11/2017
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 136
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Keeping up with Kaneda is Gaurav Sharma’s debut in the world of fiction. It is a short novella, the published work being only 130 pages long.

The plot is about the author’s experience in Canada where he went as a student. Living in a different country that is not your native land can be an amazing experience but it does come with some hardships. These hardships are not speaking the native language, finding work, expenses and money, food, etc. To overcome these hardships, the narrator of the story picks on a few  part-time jobs in the process of residing there. Thus, the story tries to explore a deeper meaning in all these, a theme that few writers try to do in Indian literature.

The theme of the book comes with occasional humor. It is written in first person narrative style and uses a simple, curt language. I did not like the occasional “Hinglish”, not why it is there, but the context it has been put in. The reason I mentioned curtly is the in between the author shifts from narrating the story to a dialogue formation between two or three characters. This is rare to be seen in present-day fiction.

Speaking of characters, I think they are all well-formed. There is not much into that I can tell you without spoiling the rest of the novel. After reading it, I did realize that there are different layers to this novella, and if only it could have been written from a bit different perspective.

Recommended only for those who are looking for short fiction, novellas, or humor.

3 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Keeping Up with Kaneda by Gaurav Kumar appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Sitanshu by Anita Shirodkar
Published by The Write Place on 01/06/2018
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology
Pages: 314
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Sitanshu is the second book in the series of Guardians of Blue Lotus in continuation to the first book Aryavir. Set in ancient India, it tries to provide a perfect blend of Indian mythology and fantasy fiction. Does it succeed in that? To find the answer to the question, please continue to read the review.

The plot revolves around Sitanshu, an Ashtradhari and a friend to the protagonist of the first book, Aryavir. In their kingdom, it is considered an omen, a sign of danger when a Blue Lotus Indivara springs. Sitanshu and his friends are harbored on the border of Kalipura for a war against Chandraketu King Divyendu. With hidden secrets of its own, the Old World is in danger. It is now in the hands of Sitanshu’s army to face the consequences and save their own lives as well as their kingdom.

The storyline starts with a prologue and it continues to develop the characters from the first page in order to help the reader to get him to familiarise. In some cases, this might not work, as some fantasy authors try to introduce the main cast in parts to provide an element of surprise. That element of surprise is rare to find in this book but nonetheless, the method author of this book has adapted works well enough. The story shifts between different characters to provide a complete outlook of the happenings of the Old World. The theme of war zone used by the author also leads to a few bold female characters. This is a bigger improvement itself for the Indian literature. Overall, the storyline is well thought and constructed.

The characterization is a strong point of this book as they drive the plot further. Switching between the context of many characters is actually an advantage I find this book to move ahead and it does make things interesting in the end. Since it is fantasy, there are hardly any dragging elements and the book constitutes of a little above 300 pages. The narrative voice is in the third person and the writing style is at its peak.

If you are a fantasy lover or interested in mythology, you must grab a copy of this series.

4 out of 5!

If you want to learn more about the author Anita Shirodkar, you must check the Interview with her.

The post BOOK REVIEW: Sitanshu by Anita Shirodkar appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Keshava by Bhawana Somaaya
Published by Fingerprint! Publishing on 20/04/2018
Genres: Fiction, Mythology
Pages: 240
Goodreads

Bhawana Somaaya is a journalist and an author of 14 books. Her latest book, Keshava – A Magnificent Obsession. Lord Krishna is one of the many gods in Hindu religion. He can be identified in various forms and his identity is spread in a variety of cultures all across the nation. That said, he has been a significant part of Indian Mythology.

This book does not have a significant plot that concentrates on character building with twists and turns. This book is something altogether different. It is divided into nine different chapters in which the lord is himself represented as different entities. These entities vary from being an obsession, lord of knowledge, cows and trees, love, guardian to royalty, and other materialistic things. The fascinating fact I learned from reading this book is the popularity of Lord Krishna among different cultures and he is recognized in them through more than hundreds of names.

There is no wonder why his popularity resides outside the boundaries of Indian culture over the past few decades. In each chapter, he is representing himself and telling tales or observations from the different point of views. The writing style is smooth, clear and I appreciate the author’s effort in creating them out of nowhere.

Though the absolute religious mythology is not for me I will still recommend this book to various mythology lovers out there.

3.5 out of 5

The post BOOK REVIEW: Keshava by Bhawana Somaaya appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Such is Her Life by Reecha Agarwal Goyal
Published by Fingerprint! Publishing on 20/04/2018
Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir
Pages: 184
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Such is Her Life is the debut work of writer Reecha Goyal published earlier this year. It is a heartwarming collection of thoughts. These thoughts are based mostly on reality and presented to us as a reader in the form of musings. It is as clear and raw as if I, the reader is picking on her brain.

Expressed over 184 pages long, the whole concept works well as it contains around 150 musings. The common theme of these musings is the role a woman plays in lives of everyone as a mother, daughter, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, but societal norms do not appreciate all the effort to the life giver herself. I know that the western world has accepted or adapted or changed for the better over the period of time with some force but societies in countries like India are still retrograded. Some of these musings are short and some are long enough to make you think what a woman has to go through in every phase of her life.

Life kept changing and she kept accepting it. Until the day she started questioning. And that changed the game. Changed her life. - @AgarwalReecha
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Some of the author’s thoughts are bold for the society to absorb and I think this is what we need. Some of the highlights of this book are honor killing, dowry, neglection, societal expectations, gender discrimination and the tenderness of a mother or a woman in love. It talks about these realities in lesser words that will make one think hard. Written in simple language, some of these proses are going to stay with me for a long time. Hats off to the publishing team by coming with a genuinely themed book that does match with the theme of the book.

4 out of 5!

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Check out my new ebook A Blogger’s Manifesto. 

A Blogger’s Manifesto is a short ebook (around 100 pages) about blogging written by a blogger. It covers the story of my book blog Confessions of a Readaholic and other essentials for an individual who is getting started with blogging or is a new blogger.

The book in detail covers:

• Starting a blog with zero followers
• Writing a compelling blog post
  
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Are you looking to #kickstart a #BookBlog?
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Since I am a book blogger, I have covered topics that are essential to know before if you are getting started or recently started in Book Blogging.

• Writing a Book review
  
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• Getting an ARC
  
• Interviewing Authors

If this interests you, grab your copy now from Amazon IN | Amazon US only for $0.99.

Note: If the title is unavailable on the Amazon in your country, let me know, I will be happy to send you the copy. 
Everyone will get future updates for free, especially the second version which is coming out soon.

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Vrushali Telang’s latest book, Prime Time Crime is a novella. It conspires a story of a news reporter and a mafia Gangster in the city of Mumbai. The plot is intriguing and at the same time well structured. It is something new to read and expect from an Indian writer.

The plot starts with the introduction to our first protagonist of the story, a shooter who works for top-notch don and kills at least 3 to four high profile people in a year. He intuition of using a rifle is what got him the job in the first place. Dwell further, we are then introduced to our second protagonist who is an intern as a news reporter.

Within a month after joining she manages to grab an interview with the gangster, A.T. This leads to a mutual attraction between. A. T. is then promoted by his voice as the leader of a particular gang and is assigned to kill rival gang leader without using a gun. Meanwhile, Ritika, the news reporter’s career goes up too with some help from A. T. Both are passionate about each other until Ritika is caught red-handed by a police officer who then tries to manipulate about getting whereabouts of the gangster.

The plot is well organized throughout the book and not once did I feel that it gets distracted. The theme of the plot is interesting to me and I am sure it will lure many readers towards itself. The author has used the element of gangster and underworld in a minimal manner but smartly. This is not a typical romance fiction or romance fiction at all. It is a tragic tale.

The characterization in this novel is good. Characters are completely developed and mature from the start. The only thing that progresses is the relationship between the two. The writing style is excellent and fully verbose. There has been some use of a dragging element in between though.

Something interesting, very intriguing and the writer’s effort in creating it is completely reflected throughout. Will keep an eye on Vrushali’s next books.

4 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Prime Time Crime by Vrushali Telang appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Age of Azmoq - The Valantian Imperium by Rajamayyoor Sharma
on 17/01/2018
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 479
Format: eBook
Goodreads

Reading a highly imaginative tale can go either way, the good or the bad. Out of the imagination comes the plot and the characters which form the complete story. The effort of the writer does not diminish itself, but these are the two main factors I look in every fantasy novel.

Age of Azmoq – The Valantian Imperium by Rajamayyoor Sharma is a fantasy novel. Azmoq is a rare metal found on the planet. It’s the ultimate source and symbol of real power, and the Valantian Imperium controls it all in Valantia. It is a tale that consists of magic and sorcery. and adventures that fill all 470 plus pages.

The storyline of the book is divided into forty-eight chapters. The quest begins when a youth living in the village of Villasboro, Devrath, the protagonist of our story is asked by his master to inquire about a stranger who is staying there for almost a year and a half. This quest then leads to further adventures such as the unveiling of the truths and secrets for the first time. I would not say the plot makes this novel exactly a page turner but yes, it is fast-paced.

There are subplots that consist twists and turns which both adds an advantage and a disadvantage to this novel. The advantage is that these subplots are intriguing and important. That is how a fantasy tale is told. The disadvantage is that sometimes it did get out of the track and was baffling.

The characterization is vast and it is hard to keep track of it. Though I guess it can be a challenge for the reader. The writing style is appreciable as the author has put a lot of effort in terms of that. I would not declare this book an absolute epic fantasy since it needs to improve few things I have mentioned. But yes, it is close to one and is a delight for the fans of fantasy.

3 out of 5

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