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review, Thriller |
I like jumping into the books without reading much about them. I try not to read the blurb before I pick a book up if I can help it. I did read the plot summary on its blurb before I received this book for a review, a while ago but had completely forgotten what I had read. So I dove directly into the book without an idea what to expect. How did that end up for me? Read more to know.Book Name: Here and Gone
Author: Haylen Beck
Characters: Audrey, Danny, Sean, Louise, Sheriff Whiteside, Deputy Sheriff Collins
Setting: The USA
Disclaimer: Thanks to the Author, Netgalley and Blogging for Books for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Audrey is running away from her terrible past with her children. She is not hiding from the law technically but was she? When she is stopped by the cops on her way to San Deigo, does not realize her life was going to turn for worse. She knows the cops took her children while she was arrested on a fake charge of possession of Marijuana, but who is going to believe her? It is her words against the County Sheriff’s, and her ex-husband’s attempts to discredit her does not help her case. A former addict, single mother with no one turn to, one who is running away from Child Protection Services. It doesn’t take long for the media to turn her into the villain – child murderer. Does she get her kids back? Who could help her out?
I have a solid woman crush on Mrs. Gerber. I could picture her smoking from the top of her stairs looking down at her husband’s body like a badass, just moments after pushing him down to his death. I wish I could have felt this close to Danny or Audrey, but I am not complaining. Dark web and their conversations were flimsy and disappointing. Thankfully their parts were kept brief, lest it might have been bizarre and too clichéd.
Rarely thrillers sustain the pace they begin with. Here and gone does a great job at maintaining it till the very end, even after we got to know what had happened to the kids. Even if at times when we get the gnawing feeling that it is one of those stories that has been retold countless times, we stick glued to the book, and that is the power of crisp and straight forward narration. There are no unnecessary twists and turns that could have made false promises to the reader.Here and Gone does justice to the plot and genre. I can recommend this book if you are looking for a fast paced thriller that might keep you occupied for an hour or two.
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Authors, Bookish talks, discussion, write |
How often do you drop a book down because you could not take it anymore? Not in the positive, overwhelming, OMG I-need-a-moment kind. But more of a what-in-the-crap-did-I-read way that you reserve when hate books. The kind that made us wish we had the book in its physical form, so that we would have had the pleasure of throwing it against the wall.
We pay for the sin of having not taken the hint when their friends warn us about the book in not so subtle ways. We want to taste the poison for ourselves. We are masochistic. We persevere. We suffer through books with half baked plots, overcompensating sex scenes, subplots that adds nothing but pages and what not.
10 reasons why I hate your books
Yet it does not stop us from reaching to the next book you have not heard reviews or rather not good reviews about. Now that is what they call ‘the adventurous life of a book lover’. We already discussed a few things that would make you stop reading a book, if you can help it. Here we are on the second part. Go on.
6) Show not tell me:
Why would you spend 25 lines saying what a badass your villain is when you can tell me what he did and I could form an opinion myself? We readers like visualizing the horrors your villain could unleash, not just accept your word for it. Now, Twilight lovers do not harm me but I have to add this excerpt hides away under the table
“You know Bella, Jacob?” Lauren asked—in what Iimagined was an insolent tone-from across the fire.
“We’ve sort of known each other since I was born,” he laughed, smiling at me again.
“How nice.”She didn’t sound like she thought it was nice at all, and her pale, fishy eyes narrowed.
“Bella,” she called again, watching my face carefully, “I was just saying to Tyler that it was too bad none of the Cullens could come out today. Didn’t anyone think to invite them?” Her expression of concern wasunconvincing.
“You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen’s family?” the tall, older boy asked before I could respond, much to Lauren’s irritation. He was really closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep.
“Yes, do you know them?” she askedcondescendingly, turning halfway toward him.
– Twilight, Stephenie Meyer.
I am going to ignore every other problem with the above prose and focus on the topic. What does Meyers tell us? Lauren is unlikeable. Yet she does not show us anything to help the fact. I am annoyed; Period!
5)I can not care less for your characters:
We all have heroes that we have fallen for, some that we have rooted for and even characters that we hate, sometimes for a reason or not. Maybe there are protagonists that we can not relate to, yet we understand them. I love roles that fall into the gray area, the broken ones and the one that breaks others.
But what I truly abhor are characters that I cannot feel anything for. Why would I want to read about people who do not do anything or just not interesting enough, for 150 pages or more?
4)Too crowded and suffocating:
We have all read books that have too many things going on. Too many sub plots and too many characters do overwhelm us, the readers. Imagine if only we had had a story for each of the seven dwarfs in the Snow White, would we have enjoyed it as much?
While JK Rowling did a commendable job indelving into so many sub plots, not all authors do that with such success, And to be honest, I have fallen too many a times nowharderfor the characters from the sub plot than the actual protagonists.
Yet the number of times I had to skim through the story of the side kick because it does not help the story move forward nor to understand the characters better is too many. They simply might have been filling the pages andbe distracting. If so, why would I have to read them to reach the end of the book?
3)What did I read now!:
One of the major issues I have with the YA and fantasy world is that I can’t make myself believe in them, this from someone who adores horror fiction and might possibly be scared that one could walk in and out of a picture frame.
Credibility of the story or plot doesn’t mean that these things should be able to happen in the real world, but they should be plausible in the world that the author has spun for me. For instance, I don’t care if vampires are real or not, but I do mind if you tell me vampires do not drink blood.
I hate books that has characters who are not credible – they do something quite not like themselves at all without proper reasons. Likewise, when books lack cultural and historical authenticity readers tend to stop getting into the characters. Book with no credibility means lazy writing, which is an excellent way to make me hate your book.
2) Plain bad writing and editing:
I linger in the doorway of Command, the high-tech meeting/war council room complete with computerized talking walls, electronic maps showing the troop movements in various districts, and a giant rectangular table with control panels I’m not supposed to touch.-Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
The above excerpt is a narration by Katniss, how are we supposed to ‘hear’ the ‘meeting/war’ part? Does she say slash? Does anybody around here say slash when you are talking to IRL? Minor quirks like these usually end up to form a huge ball of hatred even before I could even complete the book.
“So today is the day,” she says.
“Yes,” I reply.
“Are you nervous?” I stare into my own eyes for a moment.
…..
“No,” I say. “The tests don’t have to change our choices.”
“Right.” She smiles.
“Let’s go eat breakfast.”
“Thank you. For cutting my hair.”-Divergent by Veronica Roth
Brevity might be the soul of wit. But having to read conversations like the one above or the much infamous
“Sorry,” Brom apologized– Eragon,Christopher Paolini
Grammatically they might have no errors but they do nothing but make the readers interest drop as fast as it can.
1) Bad grammar:
Though we all dread the Grammar Nazis in the Internet forums and FB posts, bad grammar in books and manuscripts are still acceptable.
One can be able to tolerate a typo here and there but not those with terrible tenses, senseless smilies and cringe-worthy cliches.
To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed. –The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
While even the classic writers have once in a while chosen to break the rules of English grammar, the number of new age writers who argue that grammar 101 as a restriction to their free thoughts and writing style is simply appalling and their arguments are ridiculous.
Let’s Chat
How often do you quit a book that you do not enjoy? And what makes you decide to stop putting yourself through hell? When do you say “I hate your book”? Let me know in the comments.
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review, Romance, YA |
Do you know what is the overused word that I have been dreading to hear or read about a book? Nerds. Thanks to John Green, Chetan Bhagat and the likes, I am pushed to cringe physically when someone describes themselves as nerds. So when every book blogger I adore went crazy reviewing about the new YA on the block with two Indian leads who are nerds, I was not sure I would like the end of that melodrama. Still, I had to try it, right? Read more to find out what I feel about When Dimple Met Rishi
Book Name: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Genre: Fiction – YA Romance
Characters: Dimple Shah, Rishi and Ashish Patel, Celia
Setting: San Francisco, California, The USA, India
Dimple Shah has ambitious plans for her life and has been accepted to Stanford. She wants to attend a coding camp that might give her a chance to work with her role model. But her parents have other plans for her. Rishi Patel, her parents’ choice of the groom for Dimple, arrives at the Insomnia Camp to spend time with her. Dimple ambushed by her parents hates Rishi even before she gets a chance to know him. Does her opinion about Rishi changes after she knows him better?
Rishi is the perfect first born son for his Indian parents, who follows his dad’s footsteps into computer engineering. He falls for the girl his parents chose for him and agrees to woo her at the summer program she has enlisted to. Does this arranged marriage situation end up well for his hopelessly romantic self? Does he realize what makes him happy, than just being the model son? You have to read the When Dimple Met Rishi to find out more.
Dimple and Rishi are so opposite in their beliefs and value systems, though their origin and culture are the same. While she is a rebel and wants to shine out in the world for herself before she could think of marriage, Rishi stays true to his roots and wants to fulfill his parents’ desires. They are both perfect for each other and fight hard to keep on their courses despite the fact that they were falling for each other. Oh, by the way, I totally adored the other duo (Ashish and Celia) in the story, and I am more than excited to know that there might be a follow up on their stories too.
When Dimple Met Rishi is a cute YA contemporary that would make you grin in all the right places. This short read is what one needs one a bored afternoon to lift you from your slump. Yes, there are some stereotyping towards Indians. And even as an Indian from a similar background, I could not believe these kids were just eighteen. I mean I was never that serious even then. I actually pegged Rishi to be in his late 20s or early 30s, before I had read further. You know I had already another Rishi with whom I had the same problem.
There are a few Hindi slangs but not too many to be turn-offish and the writing is so fluid and breezy that I read the book in less than three hours. Is When Dimple Met Rishi
worth all the commotion it has created by the Twittersphere and the great reviews found online? I would say a YES! If you are in the mood for a YA/romcom this season your choice is right here.
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Book Lists, Bookish, write |
Not all of us loves to spend all their time reading Harlequin’s Mills and Boons and dreaming about Mr. Right saving our damsels in distress (though that is my guilty pleasure). There is nothing pleases me more than the kickass female protagonists who would not wait for an alpha male to do everything for them.
When one is done with their fair share of books about princesses, schoolgirls swooning over boys, women gossiping about others, and oh, the vampires and werewolves, take a look at my top eight kickass female protagonists from the literary world. They may be sensible or petty, avenging or forgiving, but they are all strong and independent. They knew what they wanted, and they went after that – be it a guy or their land. So here they are.
8) Elizabeth Bennett, Pride and Prejudice
As much as I fell in love with Mr. Darcy, the short-tempered haughty male protagonist, the first time I read Pride and Prejudice, I could not help but look up at Lizzy as one of my role models. She is well read, sensible and speaks her mind even to the mighty Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She cares about her family than her looks and doesn’t live by the norms of the society. She says no to a wedding proposal that could have made her life a lot easier and chooses someone who is worth her. In short, Austen taught me the importance of self-worth and free thought, mind that the book was published in the 18th century.
7) Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany
Apart from making smoking look cool, made being a free spirit and living an independent life sound chic. Though her life goal was to latch on to someone rich, like most of the females of the era, Holly makes a statement that she doesn’t need a man to have a purpose in life. She is a dreamer, a wannabe perfectionist, someone who believes in others’ dreams and helps them come true. She leaves her ex-husband as it did not help her to move forward. Someone that ambitious, that elegant and that larger than life, is a badass.
6) Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre
Set in 1847, Jane Eyre could be one of those early feminists. She chooses to be independent and self-sufficient. She falls for Mr. Rochester, but once she learns it might go against her principles, she walks away from it all. She finds jobs to keep herself afloat and never backs once down from her ideals, despite her turmoils. She does find her happy ending but on her own accord. Jane’s own words cannot be any truer for any feminist of today.
I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.
5) Liesel Meminger, The Book Thief
Very young at age, compared to other protagonists here, Liesel could easily be my most favorite. Born in the Nazi Germany, 9-year-old Liesel helps her foster family hide a Jew in their basement, reads to him and nurses him back to life. She has a strong moral code and just does not follow the rules and status quo of the Hitler led country. She even beats up a classmate when he taunts her and always sticks up for her best friend, Rudy. She steals books and food to keep her going and had cheated death twice, all before she turned ten. Her perseverance in learning to read and love towards books made me feel closer to her. Liesel stands true to the fact that age is no bar to be strong and morally just human.
4) Amy Dunne, Gone Girl
Trust Gillian Flynn to create dark and evil characters and make us fall in love with them. Amy Dunne is the coolest of cool girls. She falls for the ideal man and marries him by becoming the ideal woman for him. She is a perfect daughter, wife and is more than what the eye meets. When she realizes her husband has fallen off their game and had an affair with a student, she becomes the femme fatale. She fakes her own death, rape and covers a murder and does it all with flair. She gets, read as manipulates, her man back into her life. I would not call Amy’s character perfect, but that is what I loved about this cold blooded woman.
3) Hermoine Granger, Harry Potter
Ask any Potterhead, they would accept that Harry and Ron would be nowhere if it were not for Hermoine. She is fierce, strong and well-read. Oh, she is opinionated and is not afraid to question the authority. She is loyal and steadfast, even when Ron quits Harry’s quest for a while. Even though she is a muggle-born, she turns to be better than even the pure-bloods like Malfoy. Nobody likes a know-it-all, but she has proved her worth more than once that she is not just a sidekick to the beloved Harry Potter, making her a much beloved female protagonist of all times.
2) Lisbeth Salander, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium series)
She has her own moral code and sticks to them. She is the best at what she does and more. She has an eidetic memory, a skillful hacker and a master at concealing identities making her one of the best PIs around. She is at times self-destructive and has had a traumatic childhood making her what she is today. She has a strong opinion about everything, especially about men who abuse women. Lisbeth is absolutely the strongest of the contemporary female protagonists.
1) Scarlett O’Hara, Gone with the wind
Call it a bias, but I love Scarlett. She might be selfish, vain and manipulative, but by far the badass the female lead that we have ever read about. Though essentially a love story (pardon me Scarlett), her life throws light on what a woman can do, if she wills. She loves, or thinks she does, a man and marries three other men, only to realize that the perfect guy out there has lost his hopes on her. She pulls through her family and her beloved land from the remnants of the civil war and promises that she is never going to let her family starve ever again. She understands the real meaning of winning by hook or crook and that winning is all that matters. She believed in rising from the ashes and proves time and again that she can.
Did I write about your favorite female protagonist? No? Tell me whom I missed and why they deserve to be on the list. I added someone who doesn’t deserve to be on it? Let me know, let us talk it out, please do not send any hitman to my residence yet.
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Drama, review |
Are you looking for a feel good and easy read? For the first time ever, I am not gonna spoil you with choices, confuse the heck out of you or load your arms with books that would last for a year. Pick A man called Ove right now and get reading.
About the book
Book Name: A man called Ove
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Fiction – Drama
Setting: Sweden
Characters: Ove, Jimmy, Adrian, Parvaneh, Sonja, Rune, Nasanin, Mirsad
Plot Summary
Ove is a mean, grumpy and opinionated old man, who looks forward to the day he would join his late wife, Sonja. He even attempts to take his life to end his misery. He does not take well to the modern life and hates people. His life turns around when his new neighbor backs his trailer straight into his garden. Despite his apparent displeasure and cantankerous behavior, he seems to be forever helping his pesky neighbors and a cat that would not get out of his way.
The story alternates between his current life which doesn’t seem to be in short of amusing incidents and a life that had lived before he lost everything he loved. What happens to this grumpy old man when he unwillingly meets his messy neighbors, forms the rest of the story.
Book review
A man called Ove is one of the heartwarming books that would bring a smile to your cold heart. I could not help grinning at the instances when his neighbors took it upon themselves to become his friends when he took elaborate measures to avoid them.
Ove reminded me of those ‘get off my lawn’ characters, who hate everything around them, yet have a sense of civic duty and moral obligation to be right.
One can understand his becoming a misanthrope when life kept kicking him down relentlessly but again, he has been ‘an old man’ for ages. I loved that Ove and Sonja seemed made for each other, – she outgoing and cheerful and him wary and bitter.
Things that worked for me
- I loved the main characters and the characters in the sub plot, who were all well developed.
- I loved the warmth and sunshine all through the story.
- It is an easy read, perfect if you are a new reader.
Things that didn’t work for me
I can’t think of anything. It was perfect!
Bottom-line
I know the book has been receiving raving reviews for a while now, and I am probably too late to join the party, but here I am. Don’t we all love a bittersweet tale that makes you feel mushy every time you read it? If yes, read A man called Ove, right away.
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Let us chat
Have you read this one? What other feel good books do you love? Any Swedish books on your TBR? Let us talk.
I like jumping into the books without reading much about them. I try not to read the blurb before I pick a book up if I can help it. I did read the plot summary on its blurb before I received this book for a review, a while ago but had completely forgotten what I had read. So I dove directly into the book without an idea what to expect. How did that end up for me? Read more to know.
