From Twinkle, with love – A book review

From Twinkle, with love – A book review

Remember the time when everyone including your friends loved a thing and you didn’t know how to react because you didn’t love it as much. Or to be honest didn’t love it at all? Well, I am gonna probably lose some friends over this review of From Twinkle, with love by Sandhya Menon. Let get it done with ok?

Finally an #ownvoicebook with an Indian MC, in a setting that I can personally relate to. But is it enough to make me like #FromTwinkleWithLove? Go read this post Click To Tweet

About the book

From Twinkle, with love Cover

Book Name: From Twinkle, with love

Author:  Sandhya Menon

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Twinkle Mehra, Dadi, Sahil and Neil Roy, Maddie Tanaka, Victoria

Setting: Colorado Springs, ColoradoThe United States of America

Summary

Twinkle Mehra is an aspiring filmmaker, who has had a crush on the school’s golden boy Neil Roy for a long time. She has made it her personal goal to break out of the groundling status (AKA commoners), in the high school cliched ranks, and get promoted to that of silk feathered hats, that is the popular ones.

To make matters worse, her childhood best friends Maddie had found new friends earlier this year and she is now among the popular clique, and she has to win her back.

When Sahil, a fellow film geek and the awkward twin of Neil Roy, asks her to work on a film for the summer festival, she takes it up as a chance to solve all her problems – get closer to Neil, win back Maddie, join the popular clique and shoot a film.

But what she did not expect was her falling for the sweet, understanding and adorable Sahil. What happens to their film and their romance forms the rest of the story in From Twinkle, with love.

Book review

Since I told you all pretty much how I feel about the book already, let us talk about the why part.

I was all excited for this book, because I had had met the author then and she turned out to be actually sweet and friendly. And most of my friends and many from the book blogger world loved it. But that didn’t sway my high expectations from my experience with When Dimple met Rishi. So I started reading with the correct level of expectations but hopeful that I will love it.

After a few initial chapters, I started disliking Twinkle as I found her annoying, self absorbed and hypocritical. As much as she spoke of breaking the barrier between cliches, she was obsessed with being in the popular group. She had a crush on Neil and constantly worried about ‘her connection with him’ even when she was getting closer to his brother, when she had barely spoken with him ever.

And she absolutely didn’t care about what Maddie’s interest in ‘being best friends’ with her. Or how Sahil would feel when he realizes that she is working with him to get to his brother, whose shadows he had lived under all his life. And she doesn’t tell him about meeting N, her secret admirer until he found out. I really wanted to like this book, you guys!

Also her character arc: Her character arc takes a positive change and then a negative so suddenly (and quite unnecessarily) that it had me double check if I were reading it correctly. Yes, she redeems herself at the end but the changes in her didn’t make sense to me.

Why am I talking only about Twinkle?

Because that is all there! From Twinkle, with love is written in the epistolary style with diary/letter entries of Twinkle and chat history of Sahil. The book offers no other character’s perspectives. But how did she write her diary when she was with others? Did she excuse herself for 30 minutes (that is how much long it took to write this review) when she is with others?

I liked the author’s writing style and easy flow. And it would definitely be a good book to start your reading habit even. I liked even the smaller characters like Dadi, Victoria and I wish we had deeper insights into their characters.

Things that worked for me

  • Finally a diverse book with an Indian MC, in a setting that I can personally relate to.
  • I loved Sahil and how understanding and helpful was.
  • Great book to start the reading habit with.
  • I liked the easy narrative flow, despite the epistolary style.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • I completely hated how annoying and cardboard-ish Twinkle was.
  • And her character arc didn’t make sense to me.
  • I wish the other (non lead) characters had more depth and character development.

Bottom-line

Read From Twinkle, with love if you are looking for a fluffy, contemporary high school romance, with desi characters. Many other bloggers have loved it, so you might too.

Similar books that you might like?

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Have you read this one? Did you like From Twinkle, with love? Do you read epistolary style books and if so what other similar books would you suggest? Let us talk.

From Twinkle, with love – A book review

Joy luck club, The – A book review

I reading about China in The Joy luck club last year without knowing that I would be spending a month in Macau (a country that is still a part of Chinese government) soon after I finished it! Has this ever happened to you? So how did it fare on my chart? Let us find out.

The Joy Luck Club is culturally and historically rich, even though it plays a bit to the stereotypes or even went to setting those stereotypes in the first place. Have you read this one? #Diversereads #JoyLuckClub Click To Tweet

About the Joy luck club

elgeewrites Joy luck club, The - A book review Joy luck club

Book Name: The Joy luck club

Author: Amy Tan

Genre: Fiction –  HistoricalDrama

Characters: Jing-mei (June) Woo, Suyuan Woo, An-mei Hsu, Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong, Waverly Jong, Ying-ying St. Clair, and Lena St. Clair

Setting: San Francisco, The United States of America and China

Plot Summary of the Joy luck club

Following her mother’s death (Suyuan Woo), Jing-mei (June) Woo replaces her in the monthly Mah jong game. Suyuan and her friends started this tradition years ago when they moved into San Francisco as way to keep in touch with their Chinese culture and history. Through the years, the four mothers share their festivals, their daughters’ birthdays and achievements during the game.

While the mothers tried to preserve the culture, their daughters chase the American dream and lifestyle. They do not have the patience or interest in knowing their mother’s history and they scoff at the Chinese superstitions. Despite living under the same roof for years, the mothers and daughters live a life separated by their culture and life experiences. 

The harder their mothers are on them, the harder the daughters rebel in their own way, without realizing unwittingly they are following their mothers’ path. They also are quick to leave behind their Chinese culture just like their mothers had. 

During their game, Jing-mei finds out that just before her death Suyuan had traced her two other daughters that she had to leave behind during the World war II. And her mother’s friends urge her to take her mother’s journey to meet her long lost relatives who are still in China. Did she take that journey and find her sisters forms the rest of the story in The Joy luck club.

Book review of the Joy luck club

The Joy luck club is one of those classic cult hit when it was released in 1989. While it does feel a little bit dated, her major themes on mother- daughter relationship and generational gaps, especially between the first and second generational Chinese-Americans still holds good. 

The Joy luck club contains sixteen short stories narrated by four Chinese born mothers and their respective daughters who make it a point not to learn Chinese over half a century! While it was fun to try to read this structure, the truth was it was a little difficult to remember all the secondary characters. 

I loved how the daughters who scoffed at their mothers and their traditions in their childhood and well into their marriages, turn around as they mature and even get closer to them. And how their mothers in turn, learn to adapt into their new roles over the years. To be honest, The Joy luck club made me stop a moment and examine my own relationship with my mother. 

Things that worked for me

  • I loved the friendship/co-dependency between the mothers.
  • The stories about the mothers before coming to the USA were haunting and so historically rich. I loved them.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • Did the author somehow help the strict, cold Asian mothers and absentee Asian fathers stereotypes?  (UPDATE: upon reading other reviews -YES SHE DID, AND FACED A SEVERE BACKLASH)
  • I wish the book’s structure was a bit easier to follow through.

Similar reviews you might like

Bottom-line

The Joy Luck Club is culturally and historically rich, even though it plays a bit to the stereotypes or even went to setting those stereotypes in the first place. If you are looking for a literary / historical fiction The Joy luck club by Amy Tan is a good choice. 

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Have you read The Joy Luck Club by AMy Tan? Have you visited any place that you read about? Can you suggest any book that speaks of mother-daughter relationships? Let us talk.

From Twinkle, with love – A book review

Red, White & Royal Blue – A book review

I know the times are hard and troubling and we bookworms are trying to escape the pressure of the real world. And so I am here help you do that with a great recommendation. Let us review Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, shall we?

Have you read this hyped up book? How did you like Red, White & Royal Blue? What are you reading to keep you distracted from the reality? Let us talk. Click To Tweet

About the book

Red, White & Royal Blue

Book Name: Red, White & Royal Blue

Author:  Casey McQuiston

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz and his sister June, Nora Holleran (Alex’s best friend), Prince Henry George Edward James Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, his sister Bea and Pez (Henry’s  best friend)

Setting: Washington DCThe United States of America

The plot

The sons of the first families of The USA and the UK hate each other dislike each other and the world knows it. The first families and their PRs decide to intervene and stage a fake Instagram relationship. 

What starts as a fake friendship between Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry blossoms into something more. But is coming out as gay worth all the drama in the royal family? And more importantly is their love worth causing a political derailment around the world? You will have to read Red, White & Royal Blue to know more. 

My initial thoughts

Red, White & Royal Blue was highly addictive and hilarious that you cannot put it down once you start. The banter between the leads is witty and adorable. The writing is top notch and Casey McQuiston knows to keep the readers hooked until the end.

Above all, what struck close to me was the lead characters and how much life like they both were. And the sub plots and side characters especially June, Bea and Nora, were as deep as they can be. Oh I loved them all. 

Things that worked for me

  • The writing is fast paced and quite an easy flow.
  • I loved the characters and seriously appreciate how deep their arcs were.
  • The witty banter and the chemistry between the leads is adorable.
  • An extra brownie point for the very diverse cast. 

Things that didn’t work for me

Red, White & Royal Blue is not going to be your gateway to learn every bit of the politics of USA. You get what you see!

Bottom-line

Red, White & Royal Blue is such a cute, sweet and funny LGBTQA romance that will definitely keep your lock down sorrows go away. You need this in your life!

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Have you read this hyped up book? How did you like it? What are you reading to keep you distracted from the reality? Let us talk.

From Twinkle, with love – A book review

Kiss Quotient, The – A book review

I hope y’all still believe in “better than late never“, because I am talking about a book that many of you have read and spoken to death about. Yes, I am talking about The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. And if you are one of those rare souls that haven’t read this yet, let my review convince you!

If you are looking to beat the boring afternoons during the lock down, you should pick The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang without a doubt. This racy, funny romance will steal your heart away for sure! Click To Tweet

About the book

elgeewrites Kiss Quotient, The - A book review Kiss Quotient

Book Name: The Kiss Quotient

Author: Helen Hoang

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Stella Lane, Michael Phan

Setting: Silicon Valley, CaliforniaThe United States of America

The plot

When her mother forces her to get married, the autistic Stella Lane hires a male escort to teach her the ways to please a man. Stella is a highly intelligent econometrician who is socially inept and hence generally poor in understanding people and thus relationships.

Micheal Phan works as an escort on Fridays to pay his ailing mother’s huge hospital bills. He is good at what he does and he is strict about not rebooking his clients, even if they pay well. Well everything changes when he is hired by Stella. 

There is an instant connection between them but they resist because professional boundaries and miscommunication. Do they or not end up together forms the rest of The Kiss Quotient.

My initial thoughts

I took the book right from the first page. It is a story that we have all heard before but what makes The Kiss Quotient a good book are the protagonists.

The characters are so well thought and developed with depth. None of the cardboard stereotypes that are a dozen a dime in the Kissing Quotient. Both Stella and Micheal made me laugh and cry when they did. 

I liked the fact that the author didn’t cheapen autism or oversell it. Even I, who have very little personal experience with autism, could understand a lot about the spectrum and Stella as a person. I would consider that a win for Helen Hoang. 

Yay for the representation (autism, Asian (Vietnamese) characters and a male sex worker)! And extra credit for not shaming the sex work in anyway.

Things that worked for me

  • The writing is so easy to read and I couldn’t put the book down at all.
  • I loved the well developed characters. 
  • The Kiss Quotient is kinda smutty but it works so well. Kudos to the author!

Things that didn’t work for me

Definitely not a young adult novel, as some believe it to be. Lots of steamy scenes. So beware. 

Bottom-line

If you are looking to beat the boring afternoons during the lock down, pick The Kiss Quotient without a doubt. This racy, funny romance will steal your heart away for sure!

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From Twinkle, with love – A book review

Bookish life of Nina Hill, The- A book review

What is your dream life like? If you are a bookworm, I kinda think you will be jealous of the life of Nina Hill. I am not even an introvert and yet I was. I totally loved the book, the writing, as should every bookworm. Go ahead read to find what’s so good about The bookish life of Nina Hill, okay?

About the book

Bookish life of Nina Hill

Book Name: The bookish life of Nina Hill

Author: Abbi Waxman

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Nina Hill, Tom Byrnes, Peter Reynolds, Archie Reynolds, Liz Quinn, Lydia & Katherine Reynolds, Polly Culligan, Eliza & Millie Reynolds, Alice Reynolds, Lili, Annabelle & Clare, Sarkassian

Setting: Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe United States of America

What is your dream life like? If you are a bookworm, I kinda think you will be jealous of the life of Nina Hill. Go ahead read to find what's so good about The bookish life of Nina Hill, okay? Click To Tweet

The plot

Nina Lee Hill, an anxious introverted bookworm leads a perfect life with her job in a bookstore, a great trivia and Phil, her cat. She takes books seriously and actually considers talking to non readers worthless. Yep, seriously. And oh she is a list maker and planner! (See, whats not to like?)

When she comes to know that her estranged father is dead, she doesn’t realize her perfect world may not be as is. She has a family and a huge one at that. And also she might be named in his will. Also her arch nemesis from the trivia club, Tom may not be so bad after all. 

How would Nina be able to cope with all these sudden changes forms the rest of The bookish life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman and you definitely should be reading it.

My initial thoughts

I was hooked with just the blurb and the title. I mean I loved the premises and the plot and the mere fact that there is going to be a lot of bookish-ness in the book. And I was not disappointed at all.

On a more serious note, I am sure most bookworms would feel relatable to Nina and her love for all bookish things. Other characters are too perfect to believe, I loved them anyway. 

I loved that Nina wasn’t portrayed as a typical nerdy, closed introvert but as someone who has a social life with select people. Her time is well divided between trivia, movies with friends (or alone) and book club meetings. See, bookworms are not all alone, in reality!

I love a book with a family reunion, or new family in this case. The bookish life of Nina Hill is more of drama than a romance and I really liked that the romance takes a backseat after a while. I wish the author had spent a little more time to this aspect of the book and cut short on her inner ramblings. 

Things that worked for me

  • Very relatable characters that are well developed. 
  • I loved the witty conversations sprinkled here and there.
  • Books. Books. Lists. BOOKS EVERYWHERE.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • I literally rolled my eyes when I read about stereotypical “fabulous gay nephew”.
  • The first few chapters with so many references and facts wore me a bit down. 

Bottom-line

If you are bookworm whose life revolves around books and bookish things, The bookish life of Nina Hill is definitely for you. Easily one of the good books I read in 2019. 

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Have you read this one? Did you like reading The bookish life of Nina Hill? Are there other books that have bookworms in it that you love? Let us talk.