Book Review: Pretty Vile Girl by Rickie Khosla

Book: Pretty Vile Girl

Author: Rickie Khosla

Pages: 448

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Blurb:

Everything she touched turned to gold, everything she said turned to scandal, everyone she wanted out of the way...died.

Beautiful, talented and wildly sexy, Jazmeen is Bollywood's most in-demand starlet, and in a relationship with to one of the country's most powerful politicians. Even though she's known for her outrageous candour in interviews, no one could guess at the dark secret she's carried for years. And no one will escape her vengeance, not even the prime minster.

Following her journey from her loving family to an orphanage run by a sadistic matron, from the fringes of the Mumbai underworld to the casting couches of Bollywood and beyond, Rickie Khosla crafts a racy, pacey and explosive debut about a woman who'll do anything to settle scores and get what she wants

Review:

Pretty Vile Girl is a normal story of stardom, love and betrayal. But normalcy is not that normal. The book shocks you with every turn of page, with every new character and surrounding that how grand this tour is going to be.

The narration of the book juggles between past and present which is a very common narrative style but works well with every genre and story. I loved how things progressed, one at a time, slowly yet at a good pace which can make a reader fly through the book.

At some places I felt the book drooled over, there was no need for such length. The whole idea and aspect was very much evident from few incidents, within the sphere of few people but bigger character sketch is like a big party, you get more options to choose your favorite from.

From all the characters I liked Jazmeen a lot. It has been after a very long time that I have liked the main character so much. She was a true picture of softness, fragility and a badass attitude. Her glory was magnified with every phase she crossed in her life and the author was very open minded while penning this character of his.

Apart from her I liked Jazmeen’s brother and all the men who came in the life of Jazmeen. They all were great, vivid and colourful.

What could have gone wrong with so much running in the book was the portrayal of everything at the right time; the author has truly laid out his true potential to the maximum height.

With such a good plot some flaws were there too, I found it a bit dragged at times, the language was easy, way too easy. There was no literary high point in the book which I could bookmark or wait for a second to grasp in.

Summing up- The book was a great read, a very smooth and fast one. I can recommend it to anyone who love mystery and good intertwined plots. Also if you like high profile stories this book can be your next pick.

About the author:

Rickie Khosla is a marketing executive and film buff who has recently moved to New Delhi from New York. This is his first novel.

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Book Review: 8 Hours by Upendra Namburi

Book: 8 Hours

Author: Upendra Namburi

Publisher: Westland Books

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 282

Blurb:

Aratrika Reddy, the charismatic CEO of ARYA Holdings Ltd., has just 8 Hours to save her company from certain bankruptcy.

The multi-billion dollar hotels to steel conglomerate, founded by her mercurial father, liquor baron Madhusudhan Reddy, has many suitors, all of them plotting a hostile takeover. Aratrika’s estranged husband, Siddhartha is one of them. His inside knowledge is the real ace up his sleeve. The Rathores, the Reddys’ arch-rivals are looking to buy ARYA too and thereby settle old scores.

Aratrika has to weave her way through a litany of lawyers, politicians, bankers, bureaucrats, investors, power brokers and her dreaded family. Behind the scenes, Jagannath Rao, her wily uncle, is playing a dangerous double game of manipulation. Her father Madhusudan is furiously pulling the strings from behind the scenes. To add to the confusion, overseeing the whole sale process is her old flame, Peter.

Over the course of a single night, 8 Hours to be precise, Aratrika must fight the demons at the gates of her company and those within. It’s a fight to the bitter end.

A fight that Aratrika does not want to lose…

Review:

Often times you come across a book which you carry everywhere. Because you need to know what happens next; 8 hours is one such beauty.

The story is of posh people, staying at a posh place and taking big; also doing big. It takes some time to get in the skin of the tale, it takes time to understand where all this is heading to but when you are into it there is no turning back.

If I talk in brief without giving any spoilers, the story is about a firm which needs some repairs in the next 8 hours and by repairs I mean some serious ones. How the tale twists and turns, who plot against whom and who come clean is worth seeing, it’s a glamorous show of power.

Characters were in abundance ranging from mere pawns to the real big showman’s. There were villains and villains, some bad for someone and some very bad for someone. I didn’t love any of them because not much was told about them, it was there story not there real selves which was projected. I liked Siddhartha, Aratrika, Aratrika’s father, Prince Said and some more people who come and go in jiffy.

Now I don’t like these characters for who they were but how much potential they had. They were always growing, showing something more, giving something extra to the book. It was a good parade of people

The plot was amazing. It was the one thing that held the book together, there were so many minute details so many pickup points that a great execution was must and the author was able to show the same. The placing of events around the 8 hours through which the story moves is commendable. I never missed a beat or felt off radar.

The environment of the book could have been better, the background setting too. I felt the story just started and ended, there could have been some bridging gaps. The little flashbacks were good but weren’t enough.

Externally too the book is appealing, the blurb, title, cover, font, quality, editing; everything was taken care off with precision.

There was no flaw in the writing but there was also no extra punch. There was a lack of something quirky, something edgy which could have helped the book to become unforgettable.

Summing up- The book was a great surprise, an extremely quick read and a page turner in true sense. It can be a great weekend escapade. There was but something off beat. The story started and finished. There was no spark. But all in all a good read. I can recommend it to those who are into suspense and thriller novels.

About the author:

A digital & marketing professional by day, an engineer & MBA by accident. Upendra is married and has a son. Upendra was first bitten by the writing bug when he was invited to write for one of India’s leading finance dailies. It soon turned into a love affair that turned him into an avid blogger and finally made him take the plunge into the unchartered waters of the Novel. Upendra now takes complex subjects like banking, consumer goods, mergers and acquisitions and turns them into nail-biting thrillers, making those dull and dreary numbers come alive. But he really hasn’t shifted his focus as such, for he still thinks of his books as numbers: 31, 60 and 8. 8 Hours is the third book in the Numbers series.

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Book Review: Prem Purana by Usha Narayanan

Book: Prem Purana- Mythological Love Stories

Author: Usha Narayanan

Genre: Fiction (Mythology)

Publisher: Penguin Books

Pages: 286

Blurb:

Stories of love and extraordinary devotion

No one is untouched by love, not even devas (gods) and asuras (demons), kings and nymphs. And when they face life’s unexpected tribulations, their love also undergoes trials. Read how Ganesha took myriad forms to please Riddhi, Siddhi and Buddhi, how Ravana shared an unbreakable bond with his true love, Mandodari and how Nal and Damayanti’s relationship was tested till nothing remained.

Tormented by passion, wracked by betrayal, torn by the agony of separation, love in its many splendored forms is the origin of these incredibly endearing stories of Prem Purana.

Review:

Prem-purana is one of a kind book which can transport you to a world which is so unusual and divine that you don’t want to step out. The book has three stories, three magnificent stories which can make you see different forms and feelings of love and reading it in the month of love made it extra special and revived the spirit of love in a new way.

From all the three stories there is something to learn, something to grasp and adapt in your life. Though the book can put you in a tight spot at times due to varied tales entangled in between the main story that is going on. This happened with me mainly with the first story which was not very engrossing and was wavering at times.

The first story is of Ganesh and his love life. The story was new for me as I have never read anything about Ganesh in any mythological book till now. So everything was way too much for me. So many names, so many details, so many things to take in. I liked the atmosphere but I didn’t connect to it as much as I connected to the rest of the two stories.

If I have to pick any character I would pick Siddhi, she was amazing, so confident yet so tender. She was perfect.

The second story was so amazing that I read all the way in just few hours without wanting to stop. It was so engrossing and the characters so well explained and interesting that it transported me straight to the world it was set in. I loved the aura of power and knowledge the story carried. It was enticing and I couldn’t like it any less.

I loved the character of Mandodari and Ravana. They were so powerful and their love was so pure and radiant that it made me fell in love with love. They had a different kind of bond and that is why I was attracted to it.

The final story of Nala and Damayanti expressed immense sacrifice and an everlasting love. The story was good but short. I wanted to know more about their hardships and blossoming of love. I think it was wrapped up a bit too fast then needed. But it was engrossing.

Summing up- The book is very different and unique. It surely has the power to attract a reader who likes the kind of genre it falls in. It does justice to its title but taking the reader on a journey of such varied love stories which are not very famous but are still present and are powerful enough to take ones breath away.

About the author:

Usha Narayanan had a successful career in advertising, radio and corporate communications before becoming a full-time author. She has written several books, including the suspense thriller The Madras Mangler and the fun office romance Love, Lies and Layoffs. Her books Pradyumna: Son of Krishna and The Secret of God’s Son have been praised as ‘Indian mythology at its fiercest and finest’. 
When she is not travelling, writing or editing, Usha reads everything from thrillers to the puranas.

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Book Review: When Love Happens by Manish Kumar

Book: When Love Happens

Author: Manish Kumar

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 138

Publisher: Srishti Publishers 

Blurb:

True love never dies. It is redefined every time you feel it.

When Nish falls in love, little does he know the impact it is going to

have on his life. Hailing from conservative backgrounds, love is

nothing less than war with the world for the lover and his beloved.

Albeit limited communication, they still dare to dream of a life

together. But with the pressure of attaining stability in life, he finds it

impossible to chase his dreams endlessly.

An unassuming man from a modest background, he fights helplessness

and challenges thrown at him by life, only to learn precious life lessons.

His faith in God gives him the strength to move on and find his calling

in writing and poetry.

When Love Happens... is a tale of shattered dreams and redemption, of

fear and fortitude, and above all, of the indomitable human will.

Review:

When Love happens is a short love story with elements of spirituality used here and there to uplift the story from the black hole it often fell in due to dark and a never ending struggle.

The story is about a boy Nish hailing from a small place. Like any other boy his story touches the realm of life when he realizes that he has fallen in love and it is not what it seems like. His story is different. It is sour, it is ecstatic and it is dull, all in one, shown at different angles at different times.

The characters in this book were weak and very limited in their scope of attaining richness. I found the main character okayish. He was what was expected from him. He was good, obedient, charming but not rebellious which I would have loved to see in him. I couldn’t follow the female lead with any appreciative eyes. She came and passed in my happy zone like a small beam of light, leaving very minor impact or to be precise negligible impact.

The supporting characters were so shallow, I felt I am reading just one name throughout the book. There was no newness anywhere in terms of a support crew.

If I talk about the plot then I would say it was simple, to the point and soft. It lacked a little edginess and crispness but sometimes you need a break from intricate tales and enjoy a book like this with a very plain approach, just to inhale the old freshness which is sometimes lost in the midst of new patterns and varied aspects.

Being from a small town myself I could understand a lot of things much better than they were even expressed. I could understand the conservatism, the hidden love blooming and a never ending need to be at peace in between the running chaos. It was a good brush up.

Coming to the story, I felt the phases of Nish’s life were fine, there was nothing extra-ordinary in it. There was no juice in his life because as I said earlier it was very natural. It happens to every next door kid you encounter these days, a never ending struggle to join the biggest run.

I felt the story could have been a little more informative and better, there were problems in the execution of the story because there were a lot of missing links. The story jumped from here and there but there was a missing essence which could have brought up with a little more time and thinking. There were no background images, no atmosphere, it was just a story and that didn’t allow the book to become a proper comforting tale which you can remember for decades.

Summing up- The book was a good real life picture of today’s race in which kids participate out of peer pressure or family pressure and sometimes due to their own want too. The tale was simple and quick but wasn’t quirky and edgy. It had some flaws, like extremely quick wrap ups of situations which didn’t allow me to indulge in the bigger picture.  The book was good but certainly could have been much better.

About the author:

An IT-guy living in Bangalore, Manish Kumar has been working with IBM for the past five years. Keen about writing true stories inspired from one’s own life, he always aspired to write about his observations on nature and its creations. He likes travelling to natural destinations and is fond of riding bikes. This is his first published book.

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Book Review: The woman who saw the future by Amit Sharma

Book: The woman who saw the future

Author: Amit Sharma

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Readomania

Pages: 272

Blurb:

Sapna Vaid has lived with a unique power for a decade; a power that turned her from a timid, wide-eyed, college-going girl into the most influential and powerful Goddess on Earth. Sapna can see the future and saves thousands of people around the world every year through her record-breaking, popular show ‘Lucky People’. The show had given Sapna’s life a meaning and gives her the courage to sleep every night, where death and blood await her in her dreams. Even though the world is at her feet, the power costs Sapna her personal life. Broken relationships and separation from her son bring her unbearable pain. Her parents and the thousands of prayers that come her way every year are her only solace, her only reason to live. When a blinding hatred leads to a desperate act of revenge, a single misuse of her great power triggers a reversal of her fortunes. Sapna begins to lose her ability to see the future.

Review:

The woman who saw the future is full of high profile lifestyle, luxuries, over the top incidents and some very cruel and dark phases. It is a mixture of love, revenge, maliciousness, lust and hunger for power. This book takes you on a very different kind of journey something which can churn your brain and crush your heart.

Abundant characters rule the book, from major to minor, negative to weak, everything can be seen as the tale progresses. I loved Kabir, Om and Anupama. They were the best three for me in the whole book. Their point of view and presence made the mood of the story more powerful and sought after. I also liked Sapna but not loved her. I can’t digest too many changes in a person but here the changes were psychological and it made my whole idea of not liking a character based on its evolution change. I felt that Sapna’s part could have been elaborated a bit more to make readers understand the reality behind her doings. There people can go wary and misunderstand her.

From the minor characters I loved Angad. He was everything a side character needs to be. His presence was sharp, edgy and important.

Talking about the plot I think it was new and fresh but a bit naïve too. I have read author’s other book too (which I thoroughly enjoyed) that one had a magical aura around it but this one lacked finesse and bit of background setting in front of that book. Comparisons are not good but it came naturally. I also loved the narrative style. It gave the book a unique touch and it made the story more open and wise in its nature.

Now coming to the story, I think the story line and the execution was praiseworthy. It was the brilliance of author due to which such easy plot could get a nice shape. The story was very moderate in the starting and it was easy to sail through it. There were no complications for a very long time. I liked the middle portion of the book as the major changes were shown well and it made the tale crispy and kept me hooked. I adored the ending because it was much unexpected. It filled all the gaps which I felt the starting had created towards the greatness of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the showdown and how things were woven in an intricate pattern to reach the final outcome. I believe there was no need of the last few pages as it was clear what would have happened. It would have created more serene ending.

Summing up- The book was a great treat all in all. It was fast paced at some points and was extremely gripping. I can recommend it to all those who needs a story with suspense and mystery in it. It do have a fantasy element in it or you can say supernatural element in it. There are love stories as well so there is something for every kind of reader in it.

About the author:

Amit Sharma is an IT slave (read professional) since the last twelve years. He lives with his family in NCR but his work does take him to foreign lands. His wife was a teacher till she gave it up because of sheer exhaustion of answering questions of their four-year-old daughter all day. 

His first fiction book, False Ceilings, a family saga spanning one hundred and thirty years, was published by Lifi Publications in 2016. The book garnered many good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and critical acclaim. Amit’s hobbies include reading, watching world cinema, travelling, digging into various cuisines, cooking, listening to music, painting, blogging, making his daughter laugh and helping his wife with her unnecessary and prolonged shopping.

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