Book Review: You never know when will you get lucky (Author:Priya Narendra)

Another near chick-lit page pack on the bookshelf. The most interesting being the title, You will never know what it actually means until you read the book. As soon you find it out, it will definitely leave your lips curvy.

The plot is good, priya narendra remained lucky at the end. The protagonist kajal is an interesting figure with a good story line to add spice to her unlucky (may be lucky) life.. starting from rocky,dhir,debu to shonali and junaki, every body is important.

It is not a league out work, but it is in-league good. At some of the chapters i was literally counting the pages but regularly i was effortlessly giving them turns. At handful of instances , you will relate yourself or at least feel the same way as the character. That is the time you really move forward with the book. kajal wont let you down with her grinder. She has done all the adult fun to add humour, interest, and the spicy tinge!!

It is a plain web story, perfect for light reading. Cover page itself is saucy and you will be attracted.

Niharika Agrawal

A girl who is simple as you think and complicated as you make.
Public speaking, writing, reading, creativity, adds to her domain though small but a cherry on the top.

Contact : niharika_25aug@yahoo.com

Book Review :'I wrote your name in the sky...and yours...and yours too' (Author : Nikhil Chandwani)

While walking through a bookstore my eyes got locked to a very illustrious cover having a troll guy on it(the one we see every day in our facebook feeds) titled 'I wrote your name in the sky...and yours...and yours too'. Title and the cover reminded me of someone whom I used to know. I smiled and immediately bought it and I definitely do not regret it.

The novel is a easy read of 100 pages which one can complete in just one sitting. It is the story(much like a diary) of a 18 year old who travels a journey of sincere lover being heart-broken to a teenage flirt who broke others heart. It is the book full of love, lust, romance, confusion, drama, humour and what not. The book is a perfect amalgamation of all the emotions which a teenager goes through.

'When the bookstore is already flooded with chick-lit love flicking books, then why the other one?' You may ask. But even though it is not the first book on teenage love life, it keeps the reader affix  to the story. It is the kind of book with which we can easily relate to. What I liked the most is the impeccable usage of poetic lines at the beginning of every story.

 Have a read and you'll not feel disappointed. :)



About the author

NIKHIL CHANDWANI is a resident of Nagpur, India is a writer, lyricist, and a poet currently pursuing his engineering degree from VIT, Vellore. He writes fictional stories for various magazines, newspapers and websites. 'I wrote your name in the sky...and yours...and yours too' is his debut novel which is already a hit.
You may reach Nikhil at nikhil.chandwani2011@vit.ac.in


We, THE ADROITS, wish him all the very best for this future endeavours.

Book Review : Hexagon (Author : Ishaan Lalit)

DELHITE AUTHOR, Ishaan Lalit is all set to bring out his second effort titled Hexagon. What is it like, you ask? Well, to summarize, it’s a tasty cocktail of Dan Brown’s history-and-myth induced thrillers, topped with the best of Michael Mann with a garnish of Frank W. Abagnale’s 'Catch Me If You Can'.

His first release “The Bracelet” painted a captivating picture about otherworldly creatures, lost family member and politics. The 2nd book of Ishaan Lalit is named “Hexagon” which is a Science fiction thriller. Yes, all of us have seen the Hollywood movies with the same genre but a book?? And that too by an Indian author?? And that too by the one who is in his late 20s?? I am sure you are as surprised as me. More surprising is that this book is a Non-fictional attempt. According to the author, Hexagon is racy, fast moving and a thrilling tale about the protagonist, Rahul Oberoi is an art thief. And a great one as he has never been caught. But his golden run doesn’t stand the test of time. Eventually he gets caught along with his girlfriend and partner in crime, Ria. But lucky for them, and us, they don’t go to prison. 

Are you inherently hooked up on geeky science fiction and just can’t get enough of them? Do you spend your time tucked into your duvet reading the latest sci-fi thriller and get so absorbed in it that you can’t get over your book hangover for a while? If the answer is yes, then here is your next fix. Writing is brilliant not too caustic but with a little sarcasm and almost innocent charm that causes you to lose all sense of time. From the fascinating other worldly creatures in The Bracelet to the violent wars of different universes in hexagon , Ishaan Lalit is clearly trying to give his readers a ride, keeping them on their toes while letting his imagination run amok. The book is now out in the stores and is available for the readers.

Siddharth Dixit

Siddharth Dixit, pursuing his B.Tech in Metallurgical Engineering from NIT Raipur. I am a very straightforward person who likes to take things in his stride in a very level headed manner.Life is quite exciting to me as it has galores of opportunities and experiences to offer and i feel one should always make the right use of it. Doesn't write much but highly associated with theater. Like to write/direct/act in street plays,dramas etc.

Book Review : ToGetHer (Author : Ishita Bhown)

“Friends have the ability to make you cry when you are happy and make you smile when you are sad.

… Life-Friends= _______....

BLANK”

Yes, It’s Together from Ishita Bhown. Though, it’s her debut novel but in every turn of the page, I could really feel that she has put her heart in it. Many may consider it to be another chick-lit of sort but for me, it isn’t. This piece is something that every reader would surely relate to at some or the other point. Agreeing the storyline of friendship and college life is common these days but the simple, refreshing element and innocence in writing style gives the tinge of difference to this piece.

Presentation of title in the form ‘Together’ on the cover page itself gives the touch of creativity and reflection of uniqueness of thoughts of the writer. Starting from the “Stop, first year?” to the last line “Those were the days!” I was totally engrossed in it. The best part that held me all through is that it’s VERY CONNECTIVE AND REAL. Subplots and incidents are convincing to great extent. Summing up, it’s a commendable effort to put up a common topic of today but with an edge of difference.

Coming to the story, it’s the roller-coaster tale of a new entrant to the big bloomed world of engineering. Story of Ayesha and her new phase of life,from being ragged to her first friendship, crush, gossips, fun , laughter, cheers, and what not so! Talking in the words of an engineering college student, this book takes me in the memory lane of most beautiful and exciting phase of life.

Framing of characters has been done in a very interesting manner. Let it be the protagonist Ayesha or her friends Lakshit , Kabir, Jia and all the others are the cherry on icing J. On a personal level, I did feel end could have been better. But, this not at all affected my smile that those 177 pages gave me.

I would stop here and with all my heart would suggest every single reader out there to have a copy of Together and travel to nostalgic world and strike the chords of most beautiful melodies of college life with a quality + light reading. J

Book Review- Marathon Baba (Author- Girish Kohli)

I had been late giving review of the book “Marathon Baba”. It is for the ones who still don’t know about the book. The witty, wacky, weedy wordy book. The cover says that you will wish there were more pages. Yes, I felt that personally.

“It’s about a boy Karna who runs all through his life in search of peace and not pace.” Things go dramatic when he keeps running and unknowingly turns red near a river. He builds up an ashram and names it marathon ashram. Does this ashram give him all? Find out for yourself. “Running is injurious to health” he was warned but what kept me running with this book are following:

·        The bio-data of the characters which has been done in a creative and perfect way.

·        The irrelevant sub-points in the due course.

·        The map at the back cover.

·        The italics, Girish gave in between, being himself and not Karna.

·        The name of the chapters.

I think it is easier to pen down realities rather than fiction. Kudos to Girish Kohli for this kick-ass genre. As he told me earlier that it is his life’s perception that poured out on paper. This can be seen transparently in the poems midway. Also he said that he loves the uncertainty of his life, so does Karna.

Interestingly there was a spicy blend of drugs, love, sex, spiritual world. I will not call it a must read because it is meant for strong digestion. It is heavier than the teenup cook but lighter than Dan Brown and Sidney Sheldon. Since it is a fiction, your interest for the climax stays but not your forecasts.  For a change and maturity in reading you can add this to your bookshelf. It is definitely not about the pace, it’s about the peace.

Niharika Agrawal

A girl who is simple as you think and complicated as you make.
Public speaking, writing, reading, creativity, adds to her domain though small but a cherry on the top.

Contact : niharika_25aug@yahoo.com

Book Review : Asura- Tale Of The Vanquished (Author- Anand Neelakantan)

Frankly speaking, neither have I read any of our mythological epic nor have seen any of the movies related to the same. Whatever little I know about Ramayana and Mahabharata is what my Grandparents tell me in their stories. Ramayana, one of the most ancient epic of Hindu mythology, depicts ideology of relationships in all its form; it gives an approach to life. My Grand Maa once told me “ It’s not only a tale, but it’s a religious connotation, the story we live in every moment of our lives in one or the other forms – the victory of good over evil- triumph of Lord Rama over Ravana”. So, this is Lord Rama’s perception of Ramayana. I firmly believe that every story has three sides – Your side, My side and The Truth. And this notion got strengthened when I ended with the book Asura- Tale of the Vanquished by Anand Neelakantan.

Though, we can’t have the real and the actual truth of the story because it’s been another era, another world but we do have Ramayana, the wonderful source that tells us the story from the eyes of people of Ayodhaya and Lord Rama. Asura, as quoted by the author is Ravayana- unfolding the other side of this story. Author has tried to curtain up the situations, incidents and the emotions that has remained silent since eras. Though, author writes it being in the world of fantasy and imagining the other side but there’s something that held me back and interested in the whole plot. There have been many approaches to have this aspect of story i.e. from Ravana’s vision but for me this work stands out as it has all the elements of good writing, narration and story- telling.

This book tells the story from two persons- one from Ravana, other from a commoner of Lanka, Bhadra. For me, this set up of same story from two different identities (with varying emotions and thoughts) impressed the most. The story by Bhadra, a common man like us, is very much connective. Writing styles include straight, pin-pointed writing at times and also narrative styles at many places. These two writing styles provided an edge to the whole lot.

Another appealing part to me was portraying of Ravana as normal man who has his both the sides – good and the bad. He is neither a learned Brahmin nor a powerful, horrifying demon in the book. He is someone who tells the story in his words with all the gravity that had remained wordless till now. Further, some incidents of Ramayana are such that people of any caste or religion know well or have heard in one or the other way like Origin of Sita, Rama winning Swaymvar, Sita Haran etc. These incidents have been put up in an incredible and logical manner by the author. To me, this proved highly effective.

But, there are few incidents that are still a bit difficult for me to digest. Starting narration is a bit draggy and slow. Same goes towards the end. I found somewhere an overdose of narration and description. Other than these, a big congratulation to the author for penning down an appreciable and unique piece.

Doesn’t matter if you are a mythological buff or not, Asura – Tale of Vanquished is a must read book as it holds an edge and a new topic to give a wave of thoughts in your mind.

Not to forget, the cover page has interested me to much extent. Grab a copy and travel to an era, discover the not yet deciphered in a book of just 400+ pages.

Parul Thakur

A girl at her teens, full of hopes and dreams.Studying Biotechnology in NIT Raipur. I don’t follow trends.My Belief – Neither I am best nor I wish to be the one, but for sure, I am not like the rest.Writing, prose, poetry, reading are my interests. Music resides in my soul. Have done Visharad (6-Years) course in Classical Music.I aim to achieve something worth in the challenging field of Biotechnology and make a small place in this world of writing.
Contact : pupsway.thakur@gmail.com

Book Review - Orange Hangover ( Author- Rahul Saini )

A train journey and a novel...complete bliss and to top it up was Rahul Saini’s light and chirpy writing style which all of us have loved since his first novel, ‘Those Small Lil Things’ came in the market. Rahul Saini comes with a third novel, ‘The Orange Hangover’ which is totally his type, hilarious story telling.

The book revolves around Rishabh and his life. Friendship is the best bond that humans share and Rishabh is one such boy for whom friendship is amongst the most important ones and this is realized by his journalist friend Natasha. Rahul Saini is a man who loves spending time with his family and friends and thus every novel of his portrays strong relation with his Mom and friends. The book starts with a mail to Rishabh from his girlfriend, Superna where she states that it’s time to break up. But this book is not another break up - love lad’s story. It is something more than that. While this forms a backdrop to the tale, it is filled with a crime thrill where Rishabh gets suspected of a murder and he sets on a mission to bring himself clear of all this.  Rishabh has been affected by dengue and his mother decides to take him back to his home town, Jalandhar. As soon as he reaches there, the neighbourhood aunties keep asking the same questions about getting married and losing a job which he keeps on clarifying that h didn’t lose one, he quit. But nobody actually acknowledges it. Rishabh is lonely and chats with his friend Natasha daily whom he met at a party. He joins an architect and soon begins to work for a client, Mr. Sahota where he bumps into child labour and begins social work of teaching the underprivileged kids with the help of his friends, Janvi and Mansi. He starts falling for Mansi but things aren’t meant to be sweet always. Superna wants to come back and he even gets suspected for Mr. Sahota’s murder. 

• Will Rishabh be able to get Mansi? 
• Will he come out clear of the murder case? 
• Has Mr. Sahota been really murdered or there something else to it? This is for you to find out.

There are a few extremely good things about this book that makes it a joyful read, one of them being at page 60 where we get to know about how the title comes up, orange being a mixture of two colours, red and yellow. The book gives us a lot of messages.

It’s not wrong to struggle to find out what you really want to do for the rest of your life.

You can’t force someone to stay with you. And even if you succeeded, it would never last.

These are a few lines that teach us some truths about our life.

The book talks about child trafficking and child labour, a social issue that has struck India since long. We all should get together to teach these poverty stricken children just like Rishabh starts. He is an epitome of kindness. The book is dedicated to ‘Gabru Chotta Kutta Jawan’, a pup that Rishabh saves after being wounded.

And just like two faces of a coin, I’ve found out a few errors in the book as well which I certainly didn’t expect. They could be printing mistakes as well. With due apologies to the author, on page 14, we get to see ‘off’ written as ‘of’ and on page 63 ‘specially’ instead of ‘especially’.

Apart from this, a very fun filled book that is a combo of light fiction with a tinge of murder mystery. Hats Off to Rahul Saini for bringing up a book that revolves on so many topics giving such really amazing teachings in his own way.

By:

Harshita Srivastava

Book Review- The Edge Of Desire ( Author- Tuhin A. Sinha)

The Edge of Desire….

(Tuhin A. Sinha)

A girl, betrayed after being loyal to a 5-year relationship, married to an unknown guy, gets brutally raped in a politically sick world. Shattered in all her senses and depth of soul, she rises up to fight the injustice and raises her voice against all odds.

Yes, it’s ‘The Edge of Desire’ by Tuhin A. Sinha.

                       

 “A well written, concise, straight forward, powerful, deep, a bit controversial but a wonderful piece worth a read.”

                          

A woman-centric novel that would make you travel, through loads of emotions of love, life, betrayal, anguish, loyalty, strength, dedication and what not so…!!! After a bunch of novels on Love Stories and Campus/College Life, this book is sure the change needed. It reveals the the darker side of life and the pain of the protagonist can be felt in every turn of page.

•          Still women are treated with ‘drive in’ attitude…
•        The darker and dirty side of politics would let you end-up nowhere…
•          Chained dreams of a broken heart cries for justice and all are turned deaf ears…
•        There’s much more to life than living in a well built home and leading a protected one…

Curtaining-up of these painful and bitter truths of life is dealt in a very powerful and appealing manner.

Writing style gives an incredible strength to the protagonist Shruti’s (an ex-journalist) voice for her justice. In every step, she has an unexpected and more difficult challenge to face. Clear and pin-pointed framing of sentences leaves a non-erasable mark on the readers.

From the ages of Mahabharata and Ramayana, politics has been a sinful and gritty part of our lives. Author has dealt with this side of politics, which is an appreciable effort. The common thread between the central character of novel and ‘Draupadi’ from Mahabharata has proved effective to me. Use of quotes from the epic gives a deep and somewhat unique touch.

The most inspiring part to me remains the self-discovery of a woman, who, from being a rape victim becomes a known face of politics and shows the infinitive strength that a woman can hold within herself. It’s been said in Hindi ‘Doobte ko tinke ka sahara kaafi hota hai’. This support is shown by a political leader (Sharad Malviya).The undefined but special relation between Shruti and Sharad is one if its kind and a very different aspect of relationships in life.With this, another aspect of life unfolds that there always are people as gods in the world of devils. That’s life.

Though highly connective, but I did face a bit of distraction and loss in connection somewhere after reading 60% of the book. The appeal is regained soon from chapter 12 and from thereon I was fully engrossed in every pain and changing situations.

If you are a person to visualize a society free from social evils this book is a Must Read for you.

Have it and feel it…soon you’ll have a new strength and zeal towards life.

© THE ADROITS

By:

Parul Thakur

A girl at her teens, full of hopes and dreams.Studying Biotechnology in NIT Raipur. I don’t follow trends.My Belief – Neither I am best nor I wish to be the one, but for sure, I am not like the rest.Writing, prose, poetry, reading are my interests. Music resides in my soul. Have done Visharad (6-Years) course in Classical Music.I aim to achieve something worth in the challenging field of Biotechnology and make a small place in this world of writing.
Contact : pupsway.thakur@gmail.com

                         

Book review of Did She Love Me? (Author-Jyotirmoy Mazumdar)

The major problem Indian Publishing Industry is facing now days is the growing number of titles based on love, romance, and relations. In this situation, as a reader, it is very tough to select a good book when you stand in a book-store surrounded by hundreds of titles that are hardly different from each other. Unfortunately, the readers often end up avoiding some quality books thinking that they are just another common love stories.

‘Did She Love Me?’ from Jyotirmoy Mazumdar is one such book that should not be missed. If you miss this one, you have actually missed a great, unforgettable read.

The book is about an IITian (well, the young Indian authors are highly inspired by this word). However, this is not just another engineering student’s story; there is a lot more to offer from the author’s side. This book is more about family, struggle, and a question that has formed the basis of this book “Did she love me?”

The author gave a very interesting introduction of the book on a blog, something that forced me to read it: Feel the story and the pain he (Jayrish, the protagonist of the story) gets all through his stay in Delhi while you flip through the pages of the book, and wonder how could a guy forget everything for his love, how could he leave his family, career, friends just to be with the one he loves truly.

It was tough to keep this book down once I started reading it. The romantic poems, the love letter, the emotional dialogues, the SMS conversations . . . the book is full of such ingredients. The simple yet mesmerizing sentences like, “Babu won’t like it if his baby will be hungry all night,” will give you an unexplainable feeling of innocence.

I would give 3.5 out of 5 to this simple yet mesmerizing debut novel of Jyotirmoy Mazumdar.  An awesome story, with an awesome cover, and a gripping writing, ‘Did She Love Me?’ will be another worth book in your collection. Go for it! 


Review By:
Priyanka Buwe


© THE ADROITS