theredheded_bibliomaniac's reviews
440 reviews

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tara by Mahesh Dattani

reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

Story of separated co-joined twins in 90s ....rare know 
Story of co-joined twins of opposite gender ....again rare 
But story of discrimination in India not rare 
And 
That's what the story is 
And many interesting things 
In the lives of twins 
How they survive 
How they cope up with mental abuse 
How they cope up with their bodies 
And 
World around 
Some harsh truths 
Some reality which is still prevailing today 
Discrimination from the loved ones 
.
.
A must read play

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's amazing
Can't say anything or it would be spoiler 
Go in without reading the blurb 
As I did
Also I understand why few people felt that it was slow in beginning 
But I felt it was strong buildup and I actually liked it 
It was too interesting to be slow 
For me pace was good 
Just loved it ...🙌
.
Got a bit Sheldony Vibe 🥺

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Galatea by Madeline Miller

reflective fast-paced

3.0

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Hi Anne, 

You have no idea how much you have helped young girls and boys alike.. how much you have inspired them to go on living through the troubled waters ..
 You thought no one would be interested in your diary but see more than 30 million copies are sold worldwide , your diary is required reading in many schools, and has been translated into more than 70 languages. Your secret annexe draws over a million visitors each year. 

We used to think lockdown was worst but those who read your book in lockdown realised that they still get proper food that too home delivered without the fear of police.
 Seeing how you lived has made us humble and thankful. Even after staying in the annexe for over 2 years you thought that people are still good. Maybe young ones with recent heartbreaks will learn something  before declaring that everyone is evil.
 What is evil and what is hatred is something which you know better than us.. but we humans are habituated to think that they suffer the most...
 After seeing how you lived in annexe how you survived with meager food and difficult conditions while worrying that you will be caught by gestapo, we hope people will be satisfied with sufficient supply of basic necessities and this freedom to roam out as and when we want. 

It feels sad to know all the thoughts you had and the things you had to hear every day when you were just 14  ...all we had to think at 14 was to decide who is our best friend..
 You had to listen to all the bombings and firings where we were fighting for the control of remote to watch our favourite cartoon .. 

You just had one wish if God let you live that you would spend your life for mankind (even though your suffering was from mankind) and will make your voice heard ..many people after so much of suffering lose all the hope and give up on thei dreams but your words are inspiring then daily. Your dream didn't happen as you wanted but it did happen this way. You are helping mankind with your words daily. Your voice is been heard.
 Today and forever everyone will read this remember your sacrifice and will go on utilising this freedom we have to the fullest. 

The things you thought and did are something which even adults don't understand.
 The way you thought then is something which today's 14 year olds won't (and neither most of the adults)
 We really wish you could have been alive and written so many books .. we would have loved to see you become a journalist 
 But we have learnt to be happy with what we have and 
 So we are greatful that this wonderful writing of your has reached us ..
 We are greatful that your not at all childish thoughts have reached us and made us realise that we should think on our own and have our own thoughts.
 We might be wrong but that's how we improve.
 You not just inspire us to live but to write more and to read more and more .. 

People suffer in many different ways and keep looking for something to keep their spirits up and you Anne have helped us there 
 Your life after annexe is something we don't know much about but we have an idea and that was most gruesome part of our history. Which many innocent people like you faced 
 We just hope that this history never repeats itself.. 

Hope this letter reaches you wherever you are 
 I am really Thankful that you wrote this diary 🙌 

From 
 A fellow reader 

Persuasion by Jane Austen

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Persuasion is yet another romance novel by esteemed author.
A classic slow burn romance.
.
That tension, unexpressed love 
Austen doesn't believe in public declaration of love or rather public display of affection..
Her characters (rather main characters) are always in control of their emotions.
They might be feeling lot of things 
But they don't show.
.
You will find similarities in the characters with the characters of other books yet the writing style of this one of quiet different.
If you have read Pride and Prejudice and Liked it and you think you gonna like this one too
then think again.
Coz it's a lot different.
.
Also the story 
In P&P you see young girls seeking love but here 
It's young women (age group of late 20s) looking for appropriate marriage. The Indian unmarried women from late 20s feel the same thing which these women from early 1800s felt .
Yeah things have not changed for us much and which will make this book quite relatable.
.
Basically story is about A couple who had to break their engagement due to family pressure (or rather Family's persuasion)
Now after 8 years they mees again
What will happen is to be seen.
.
As usual there are side characters who get married, some of which are not even compatible with each other .. Austen who loves Irony shows us  many interesting things for which you have to read this one
.
This novel deals with many themes most specifically 
1. Social Status/ class distinction
2. Women problems / feminism in subtle way
.
Could have included Persuasion above but I think it is also found in her other books too  but yea it's prominent here 
And ofcourse "Marriage" is the important theme in this book too..
.

This novel is for :

1. Dedicated Austen Fan 
2. Lovers of classic Romance (which are mostly slow burn)
3. Those who love to explore different writing styles
.
.
Beginners to Jane Austen kindly don't start with this one.
Probably you will be disappointed..
.
All others do read this 
I really liked it 

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

A Thriller Recommendation..
.
Rock Paper Scissors 
By 
Alice Feeney 
.
Genre : Domestic Thriller 
.
After Verity I read a thriller now 
Almost after 3 months 
And that too 
A bookstagram favourite 
.
Did I have hight expectations ...?
Yes definitely 
And 
Did the book fulfill my expectations ?
Oh yes 😁
.

This one is really really good 
Like really good 
.
The perfect twist is the main part of any thriller 
If any book has good twist it gets 4 stars from me on the spot ..
And this one had that perfect twist 
The one which we cannot guess 
I am sure on one can guess 
.
In the beginning I was like why so much domestic details 
Like For awhile I was getting bored 
Coz of that thought 
But no guys
It wasn't boring 
It was interesting 
And 
You must read in detail all those part too if you want to guess the twist 
.
And I liked the writing of this book 
Mixed with sarcasm and metaphors
This book is just so wholesome
The writing is really really good 
Check out few quotes I have shared 
due to which 
It gets Absolute 5 Stars from my side 🙌