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jainandsdiary's Reviews (310)
Book: Love & (Mellow) Drama
Author: Manali Desai
Genre: Contemporary Romance Fiction
Format: E-book
Pages: 269
Love & (Mellow) Drama by Manali Desai is the 2nd book in the Love Trials series, after the first book Love Try Angle. This is the story of Gayatri Kulkarni and Varun Agarwal, about whom you might be aware if you have read the first part, but even if you don't, no worries, the author got it covered. Gayatri is a dancer by passion and wants it to be her profession, but her parents don't. And thus she joins Mithibai College, and eventually Varun through her friend, Abhi. What will happen when they both meet? Will their differences lead them to more love or more drama? Read the book to know the answers.
It would not be wrong to call this book a "Dharma Book" for giving all the vibes like a Karan Johar movie. With the extensive use of Bollywood references, this book is full of dance, dilemma, and drama (as the title says). The characters were fun and relatable and had their journeys of ups and downs, they have moments of shared joy, insecurities, friendship and companionship, family dynamics, and thus relatable.
There were many instances where the emotions were at their peak. The changing dynamics of the characters with each other were written very well and that mind-boggling ending was not anticipated at all.
I just wished there would be more character development in some parts of the book. Also, I felt the need for more space for the story in certain chapters where years have been covered in a few pages. Maybe because I have read and loved Love Try Angle I was drawing constant comparisons between the two which made my reading experience a little less enjoyable. Again, the ending was incomprehensible, and talking much about it would be a spoiler!
I know this book is something that will either be a hit or a miss for you, so go ahead with it to know which side you end at.
Author: Manali Desai
Genre: Contemporary Romance Fiction
Format: E-book
Pages: 269
Love & (Mellow) Drama by Manali Desai is the 2nd book in the Love Trials series, after the first book Love Try Angle. This is the story of Gayatri Kulkarni and Varun Agarwal, about whom you might be aware if you have read the first part, but even if you don't, no worries, the author got it covered. Gayatri is a dancer by passion and wants it to be her profession, but her parents don't. And thus she joins Mithibai College, and eventually Varun through her friend, Abhi. What will happen when they both meet? Will their differences lead them to more love or more drama? Read the book to know the answers.
It would not be wrong to call this book a "Dharma Book" for giving all the vibes like a Karan Johar movie. With the extensive use of Bollywood references, this book is full of dance, dilemma, and drama (as the title says). The characters were fun and relatable and had their journeys of ups and downs, they have moments of shared joy, insecurities, friendship and companionship, family dynamics, and thus relatable.
There were many instances where the emotions were at their peak. The changing dynamics of the characters with each other were written very well and that mind-boggling ending was not anticipated at all.
I just wished there would be more character development in some parts of the book. Also, I felt the need for more space for the story in certain chapters where years have been covered in a few pages. Maybe because I have read and loved Love Try Angle I was drawing constant comparisons between the two which made my reading experience a little less enjoyable. Again, the ending was incomprehensible, and talking much about it would be a spoiler!
I know this book is something that will either be a hit or a miss for you, so go ahead with it to know which side you end at.
Book: Nina Soni, Perfect Hostess
Author: Kashmira Sheth
Genre: Children's Middle Grade
Format: E-book
Pages: 192
Nina is living happily with her family- Father, Mother, and Kavita, her younger sister in America when she got to know that her Dadi (grandmother) and Montu, her cousin are coming from India to visit them. And she is excited to finally be with her Dadi in person rather than the video calls and interference of any time difference and be a perfect hostess. But it looks like it is not going to be as easy as it sounds because of Montu and his annoying behaviour. Would Nina be able to be the perfect hostess? Can she manage everything? Would she be able to handle Montu? To know the answers to these questions, read the book.
It was an enjoyable read. Getting to see the world again from a child's perspective is always interesting. Nina's character at a point reminded me of that silent small kid from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai movie whom we always see as one counting the stars on his fingers, much like how Nina used to make to-do lists for almost everything either in her head or in Sakhi, her notebook.
The feelings and emotions that children go through are represented quite well in the book. The curiosity and excitement, the friendship, insecurities, need for perfection, dilemma, and confusion of shared love, all these emotions are shown in the story.
The book is written in easy language and is for the targeted audience of 7-10 years, introducing some new words in between and giving their meaning as well, making the learning process more fun and inclusive. Although I felt it was a little stretched in between, overall it was an engaging and enjoyable book.
If you are looking forward to finding a perfect book for children of the age mentioned above or for yourself to read a light, fun, and easy book, go for it. I’ll give it 4/5 stars.
Author: Kashmira Sheth
Genre: Children's Middle Grade
Format: E-book
Pages: 192
Nina is living happily with her family- Father, Mother, and Kavita, her younger sister in America when she got to know that her Dadi (grandmother) and Montu, her cousin are coming from India to visit them. And she is excited to finally be with her Dadi in person rather than the video calls and interference of any time difference and be a perfect hostess. But it looks like it is not going to be as easy as it sounds because of Montu and his annoying behaviour. Would Nina be able to be the perfect hostess? Can she manage everything? Would she be able to handle Montu? To know the answers to these questions, read the book.
It was an enjoyable read. Getting to see the world again from a child's perspective is always interesting. Nina's character at a point reminded me of that silent small kid from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai movie whom we always see as one counting the stars on his fingers, much like how Nina used to make to-do lists for almost everything either in her head or in Sakhi, her notebook.
The feelings and emotions that children go through are represented quite well in the book. The curiosity and excitement, the friendship, insecurities, need for perfection, dilemma, and confusion of shared love, all these emotions are shown in the story.
The book is written in easy language and is for the targeted audience of 7-10 years, introducing some new words in between and giving their meaning as well, making the learning process more fun and inclusive. Although I felt it was a little stretched in between, overall it was an engaging and enjoyable book.
If you are looking forward to finding a perfect book for children of the age mentioned above or for yourself to read a light, fun, and easy book, go for it. I’ll give it 4/5 stars.
This book has the perfect blurb, perfect cover, perfect title, perfect start, and perfect illustrations, but it not only falters but falters badly in the portion of the age group it covers. Having the age group of 4-8 years (As mentioned on Amazon), I will not recommend it to any child ever. This book is for readers who understand the satire and meaning behind the words, and children definitely do not come under this. Thinking from the children’s perspective, it shows a completely wrong notion of love, and with the mention of “A love story” in the title, I didn’t understand what the author wanted to convey to the child about love. Having the notions of love like how some of the old Bollywood movies show, where the hero stalks the heroine, do things even when it was conveyed as a proper “no” and we all know the ending, so I don’t know what that stalking love would convey to the children. If not for children, and for readers who understand things beyond words on paper, this book would be an enjoyable read, but I just couldn’t handle the content it had as a children’s book! It was 1/5 stars for me, for the gorgeous illustrations and the perfect start which opened so many possibilities for a children’s book.
https://jainandgurjar.home.blog/2023/04/19/gender-queer-by-maia-kobabe/
Loved this short story! And after reading this, I definitely want to read more by the author..
Bad Girl Gone Good by Alisha Kay is a second chance romance story, being the first book in ‘The Bad Girl’ series. This is the story of Aisha Rajput, a planner, especially of parties, when given a task to plan a hospital fundraiser by Rajmata of Bannor, tackles various obstructions, the largest one being Kabir, who replaced his father and is one of the board members and doctor at Usha Kiran, a small multi-speciality hospital, the same hospital! What will happen when their past will collide with their present? To know more about it, read the book.
The story was very well developed and I loved the fact that the characters were given a fulfilling space, where we can see endless probabilities of things that might appear or happen, making us curious to know till the end, at the same time being grounded to who they are and what they’re doing and being closer to the reality.
Although the pace of the story is a little slow in some instances, there is calmness and groundedness in the writing of Alisha Kay, thus making the experience of reading a romance very tranquil, very smooth, and very real, even when you see the characters being from a class different from you, having connections you don’t, doing things which you haven’t, but at the same time, feel connected with them.
You can see the division of class in the character arc of Kabir and Aisha, thus giving a very real representation of their background and how their actions are being affected by it. The visible contrast between them is depicted quite well, through their emotions, thoughts, and behaviour.
The author has picked up the cord of the readers through the emotions, because everything can change among us as a person, as an individual, but what we all of us have in common is a human emotion and very few authors nowadays can pick up that cord in their writing, especially in a romance book, where in between the steamy scenes and the emotions becomes a background and things feel very surficial. And the author deserves applause for it, for presenting a super fun entertaining story, with flawed characters, tangled past, disoriented families, supportive friends, and lots of “highlight” worthy moments!
The story of other “Bad Girls” that is Tara Wadhwa, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, and Inaya Khan, CEO of a very successful skincare company has stood out well in whatever space is given to them, making me curious enough to know more about them, thus making me excited for the upcoming books in the series! The character of D Ma, the Rajmata of Bannor is very jovial and gives some of the best instances from the book, a character you can easily imagine when you will just think about any cool senior citizen from a movie or series!
I enjoyed reading the book, and I would want to read more books by the author as well as other books in this series. If you are looking for a romance book in an Indian setting, having lots of fun, drama, and entertainment, go for it!
The story was very well developed and I loved the fact that the characters were given a fulfilling space, where we can see endless probabilities of things that might appear or happen, making us curious to know till the end, at the same time being grounded to who they are and what they’re doing and being closer to the reality.
Although the pace of the story is a little slow in some instances, there is calmness and groundedness in the writing of Alisha Kay, thus making the experience of reading a romance very tranquil, very smooth, and very real, even when you see the characters being from a class different from you, having connections you don’t, doing things which you haven’t, but at the same time, feel connected with them.
You can see the division of class in the character arc of Kabir and Aisha, thus giving a very real representation of their background and how their actions are being affected by it. The visible contrast between them is depicted quite well, through their emotions, thoughts, and behaviour.
The author has picked up the cord of the readers through the emotions, because everything can change among us as a person, as an individual, but what we all of us have in common is a human emotion and very few authors nowadays can pick up that cord in their writing, especially in a romance book, where in between the steamy scenes and the emotions becomes a background and things feel very surficial. And the author deserves applause for it, for presenting a super fun entertaining story, with flawed characters, tangled past, disoriented families, supportive friends, and lots of “highlight” worthy moments!
The story of other “Bad Girls” that is Tara Wadhwa, captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, and Inaya Khan, CEO of a very successful skincare company has stood out well in whatever space is given to them, making me curious enough to know more about them, thus making me excited for the upcoming books in the series! The character of D Ma, the Rajmata of Bannor is very jovial and gives some of the best instances from the book, a character you can easily imagine when you will just think about any cool senior citizen from a movie or series!
I enjoyed reading the book, and I would want to read more books by the author as well as other books in this series. If you are looking for a romance book in an Indian setting, having lots of fun, drama, and entertainment, go for it!
The stories are inspired by Puranas, and so, the ones who are interested in reading more about it can start their journey with this one. The stories are very simple and written in such a way that if you are an absolute beginner, you will enjoy it and it would make you intrigued enough to dive deeper into it and the ones who are already into it for a long time, would enjoy it for the unique and impactful way it was presented.
Detailed Review
Detailed Review
I liked the concept and the way it was presented, especially how it got conceptualized and explained throughout the story. The chemistry between the characters was very majestic and heartwarming, giving some beautiful moments in between.
Detailed review
Detailed review