Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Young-Adult

A Bard’s Lament by Poppy Kuroki | Book review

The town of Veilig is burdened with a terrible secret.

Ella is a bard, her sister a prostitute, working in a tavern to pay off their late mother’s debt. But Ella has a secret of her own. Her music carries codes for spies to decipher, working to undo Veilig’s horrific crimes.

Then her sister is taken captive.

Can Ella save them both, or will their tale end in darkness?

Title: A Bard’s Lament

Author: Poppy Kuroki

Pages: 69

My review

Ella is a bard and her sister Lucinda, a prostitute, working day and night in the town of Veilig to pay off their deceased mother’s debt. Veilig is a cursed rainless town, driving in injustice and anarchy. The crimes in the town is increasing without a proper law and order. In this seemingly hopeless situation, Ella is carrying a secret with her. Her songs are embedded in codes for spies to decipher. This is her last hope to escape from this town. Then one day her sister is taken as captive. All the things that she fears came true. Will she able to save her sister and escape to a better world?

This novelette is a blend of fantasy and realism. The greed will drive humanity to a catastrophic world ruled by injustice. But self-less and fearless ones emerge amidst oppression. There will come a day that you can’t oppress them anymore. There will be an end for all.

The structure and in-depth character development are two other elements that make this story more interesting. The emotions and frustrations are accurately portrayed. Ella’s character is vulnerable and courageous at the same time. The author has managed to convince this delicate nature of the character quite beautifully.

The author’s style of narration is unique. She carefully set a relevant theme and penned down an absolutely beautiful story around it. I really love the parts when the fantasy transcends to real life. It is a unique slice of creativity to taste.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Thriller

Office Pool: Orientation by D. L. Blackburne|Book review

41cMuzKUfJLOffice Pool is a coming of age story of an underachieving ink pen named Arthur “Arty” Bickerson. As his unique journey is chronicled as he navigates the ups and downs of “The Office” and it’s complexities. Arty experiences new success, love, peer jealousy, classism, along with high expectations and self doubt.
Office Pool is a fictional world with many layers. With humans set as the backdrop, these common everyday writing utensils deal with universally relatable issues and themes.

Title: Office Pool: Orientation

Author: D. L. Blackburne

Pages: 56

My review

Absolutely creative!

I have rarely come across stories that made me give a standing ovation to the creativity. This story is one of its kind. I never ever saw this kind of witty tale crafted around the everyday writing utensils. Set in the fictional world of Pens, the story has everything a reader hopes for. It has a shy and lighthearted protagonist, a mentor/ father figure, romance, and gripping flashbacks. The story even ends in a cliffhanger. How the author has managed to craft a story like this, I really don’t know.

The story has every element identical to everyday human life. Yet the story has no major role for any humans. But all the characters want only one thing in their life, a purpose. Through fulfilling their purpose they yearn to achieve fame and attention from their owners. They even fear their death, replacement, and uselessness. They all have their own fears to overcome and villains who are dedicated to making others life miserable. This world also welcomes leadership and heroics.

Although the author carefully placed humans in the backdrop, he constructed a world of human emotions and struggles with pens as characters. It is a small world, identical to humans inside our everyday life. Highly recommended to everyone who likes to delve into a different kind of story for a change.

 

 

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Erotic fiction, Fantacy, Thriller

Chloe After Dark by Elsa Joseph |Book Review

31s8jjSlqPL

Moving on from a painful break up with her boyfriend, beautiful Chloe Milano takes a job as a radio host at a steamy late night erotic radio station to pay off her debts and make ends meet. But she gets a lot more than she bargained for when she becomes entangled in the salacious fantasies of after-hours callers…

Title: Chloe After Dark

 

Author: Elsa Joseph 

Pages: 275

My review

Chloe After Dark is an erotic romance story revolving around the protagonist Chloe. The story is all about Chloe’s life. It starts with a painful breakup with her boyfriend Daniel. She has been in this relationship for a long time and a sudden split led her to a state almost like a depression. Her boyfriend left her with nothing but huge debt. She was in and out of freelancing gigs. She was in no condition to pay her off this large debt. Seeing that one of her close friends, Blaire offered a job at a radio station to host a midnight show talking about sexual fantasies. She was reluctant at first. But eventually, she decides to step out of her comfort zone and give it a try. Just as predicted by Blaire, she was an overnight success. But just as her publicity grew, she finds herself in turmoil of its aftereffects. The rest of the story is all about how she transforms herself to overcome her vulnerabilities and taking responsibility to change the course of her life.

The story ends as a full circle. Chloe achieves everything she wanted in her life. She was brave enough to capture her opportunity and she worked hard to excel in it. She overcome her inhibitions and gained confidence. We can witness her amazing transformation throughout the story. Although this is a steamy erotic drama, the story adds more layers to it. The author carefully developed a good story with depth around the romance. Besides Chloe, Blaire is a very likable character. The friendship and supportive nature of Blaire is another highlight of the story.

This is not like any other erotic romance you ever read. This story revolves around the character’s emotions and real-life problems. They are real characters going through some hard situations. The author deserves a huge applause for penning down a good story in this genre.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Poems, poetry, Self-Help, Young-Adult

No Damsel by Marian Hanna MPH|Book review

41G9puE4ouL

No Damsel is a eulogy to the beauties with curly hair and a song of praise to the naturally confident woman who wades through life, armed with her true sense of self as she paves the way for her successes.

Hanna carries carefully weaved words that captures the strength of women who confidently make their demands, and get served by life without fear or favor.

A woman’s strength is a virtue that is scarcely understood, and this strength is central to the ideas captured in No Damsel.
Sadly, the only response they have for their fear of strength is resorting to labels and hasty generalizations. They call strong and vibrant women – bitter feminists. These labels can never dampen down the strength of women, they only lend more credence to women’s voices and demands of equality and equity.

My review

All the writings from Hanna has one common quality, she advocates for unity in diversity. She writes for breaking barriers and preaches to stay true to oneself. Her writings, empower the readers none like others. The carefully chosen words convey the underlying idealogy beautifully. It was a great pleasure to witness this creativity of conveying ideas, only through very few words.
“No Damsel” basically encourages you to rise above your inferiority mindset. It is about empowering yourself to maximize your potential. The author sees all the women as one. She uses the power of sisterhood. Not to believe everything you hear, but to find out everything your own. That’s how we develop our personality and bring ourselves to a step closer to equality.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Poems, poetry, Self-Help

Curse of Curls by Marian Hanna MPH|Book review

413zDFHyM6L

Curse of Curls is a probing piece that mirrors the inherent biases in our diverse world and rightly deciphers them.

Using curly hair as a symbol, Hanna understands the prevalence of stereotypes, which constantly dislodge the truth and forms our judgment of what is right or wrong.

Curse of Curls asks vital questions such as – Why are we naturally averse to something we do not know? Why do we deny ourselves the chance to learn, grow, and embrace new perspectives? Why can’t we embrace other outlooks to life? Why must one be looked down with disdain for the other to be rated highly?

My view

Curse of Curls addresses one of the most important issues of modern society, stereotypes. Judgment and body shaming is one of the most prevalent virus in our society. Instead of accepting the diversity, we have made a class difference with them. This narrow mentality is the root cause of every problem in the world. The author is trying to preach about the essentiality of a broader mindset that accepts everyone by acknowledging their difference. The best example that the author has been chosen to express this issue is the biases towards curly hairs. The author presents both sides of the story addressing the little girls who are prone to these stereotypes from an early age.

This beautifully written writing piece talks about empowerment through embracing our differences. Through addressing children’s the author is trying to eradicate these stereotypes from its roots. Apart from the writing, I also liked the illustrations included in the book.

Rating 5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Erotic fiction, Fantacy, Fiction, supernatural

KROVS: Into Darkness by M. Lee Woe| Book review

54772378._SY475_

Title: Krovs: Into Darkness

Author: M. Lee Woe

Pages: 309

There are not so many books out there which felt to me as unputdownable while reading. Krovs: Into darkness is one of its kind. Everything about this story fascinates me when I read through. The story is set in a world that is divided into two, dark, and light sectors. The light sector has strict rules and laws made to oppress its inhabitants. Whereas the dark sector which is also known as the free sector has no rules to follow which eventually drips into a city of crime. Tristan is a beautiful charismatic businessman who is drifting into depression at the beginning of the story. He is used by a group of superhuman women known as Krovs for pleasures. In fact, he is secretly recruited and trained for solely this purpose. He didn’t have any friends from his own kind.

But one day he met Serene, a young naive girl from the light sector unexpectedly. He is quickly drawn into her mysteriously. But both are coming from two largely contradictory circumstances and the thing that attracts them to each other is their curiosity. This curiosity turns into deep mutual love in no time. But what will happen if Tristen’s ex-girlfriend Kamilla, who treats him as personal possession finds out his newly found interest in humans, that may threaten to expose their secrets?

The story is quite mind-blowing. The plot is constructed perfectly. Every small detail about this paranormal world is perfectly explained. This makes the readers get engaged in the storyline until the end. All the main characters are developed really good. Their emotions and mannerisms are accurately included. This helps the readers to judge their decisions on various circumstances. I really liked the character of Serene in the story. She has a multilayered personality. Her decisions and character changes throughout the story. It was a great experience to feel this character’s transformation from a shy innocent nature to a bold and strong personality.

I really liked the way the author has ended this first book of the trilogy. Because it was a real cliffhanger. The revelations in the epilogue are the best twist in the plot.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, short story

Lucky the Turtle by Tylin Pratt|Book review

51wFLjx4LYL._SY498_BO1,204,203,200_

Title: Lucky the Turtle

Author: Tylin Pratt

Pages: 30

Genre: Children’s fiction

Blurb

Lucky is a kind and happy turtle who lives in a small pond, on a big farm. He has many friends and many aspirations, but doubts he’ll be able to achieve them because he’s a small turtle, living in a big world. Lucky finds the courage to follow his dreams and on that journey, he discovers his inner greatness.

My review

We all have many dreams and goals. But often we are discouraged by the people around us. We lose focus due to this unwanted influence. People who can rise beyond these hurdles can only achieve their dreams. “Lucky the Turtle” illustrates this meaningful concept very well. This is a beautiful story of overcoming challenges and believing in oneself. These beliefs can work magic on your way. The beautiful illustrations certainly add brightness to the story.

Stories like this help our children to not only dream big but also to believe that every dream is achievable, no matter how big it is. But we can only achieve it through the right guidance, meticulous practice, and laser-sharp focus. No matter, how small you are, how slow you are, if you are perseverant enough, nothing can stop you from reaching your goals.

The story also conveys another message about good and bad friendships. How people around you can pull you down and how good friends can turn your mindest quickly. It is important to circle yourself with meaningful and supportive relationships to achieve every goal.

Through this small story, the author has imparted timeless wisdom to budding minds. A must-read for children and adults alike.

Rating:5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Science Fiction

The Quarter Percent by Lily Nicole|Book Review

 

54803781._SX318_Title:The Quarter Percent

Author: Lily Nicole

Pages: 285

Blurb

It is summer 2030. Truth is the weapon and profit is the territory. Over thirteen intense days, combatants wage war, wielding influence and prestige. Behind the screens, wealthy recluse Marvin Stone has unimaginable power and rewrites the rules of the game. As the rules change, a former fashionista struggles to adjust. On the continent, the popular and charismatic King Cordial of Vale works covertly to undermine his rivals. His youngest daughter, Costmary, is in the cross-hairs. Rue, his older daughter, takes on an exciting new challenge and Gala, Cordial’s first-born, when she is named Princess Regent, forges new ties and unveils her master plan.

My Review

The Quarter Percent by Lily Nicole is a unique dystopian science fiction blending politics and technology together. The plot has many parallel storylines which are woven together through mutual connections.

Set in the near future, the book begins giving a glimpse of the technical takeover on our day-to-day lives. Every information ever put out on the internet is now archived into a ten cubic meters of nanocellulose and silicon called Pai. Every user can point your device to this jelly block to access their data and modify them according to their taste. Access to this unique technology is only given to an extremely rich quarter percent of the population. This manipulative illegal technology which is controlled by a group of eight companies called The Conglomerate plan to market their product in the near future. This will cause a phase-out of the internet and the rise of Aeterna, the replacement. The source code of Aeterna is owned by Marvin Stones’ technology firm, Stone Technology Partners, LLC.

The plot thickens when Marvin Stone decides to rewrite the rules of the technology over the course of thirteen days. This will disrupt many lives depending on social media and the internet. The equations of marketing and advertising are going to take a toll due to this. This storyline is blended with the life of King Cordial of Vale, whose family problems have started spilling into the media. The King and his daughters are trying to squeeze the last drop of profit and power through covert plans.

This is not a simple story that can be expressed through a few lines. The story is getting complicated with the introduction of new characters. This complexity adds suspense and thriller elements in the story. The satirical account of family politics to gain more power and profit is portrayed very accurately. When people lose their ethics and only concentrate on profits, their grounds also change. This leads then to unquenchable greed to impair their opponents and rise above them. The human nature to wage war for their selfish goals is the soul-cause of the fall of humanity. This story explains them all. With accurate turns and twists, the plot never loses its charm.

The creative mind behind the story demands a huge applause. It is not easy to weave many storylines together and combine them to a single concept. The author has done this job very well. This book is absolutely a great treat for readers.

Rating: 5/5

Purchase here: Amazon.in  https://amzn.to/3iquCr7

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Young-Adult

I’m lucky because you were born: My twenty-five (25) reasons by Zara Achou|Book review

51IPENg23AL._SX260_

Title: I’m lucky because you were born: My twenty-five (25) reasons

Author: Zara Achou

Pages: 27

This is a beautiful illustrative storybook for our little ones and for ourselves. Parenthood comes with a lot of happiness and responsibilities. Our little ones become the center of our chaotic life in no time. They bring joy to every small thing. We reborn at the moment we became a parent. It is indeed a new turn in our lives. But this happiness came only with that much high responsibility. The upbringing of a child is a difficult process.

This creative, colorful, and meaningful illustration can make this job a lot easier. The author has put down very unique words along with the illustrations. Those words are the heart of pictures. They completely reflect the parent’s love for their child. Capturing these raw emotions is not easy. But the author has done it with ease. Show this book to your child and say I love you to them. Their eyes will widen and their heart will be filled with happiness. They never forget how you made them feel.

The beautiful moments of parenthood should be shared with our little ones without losing their essence. This is the best way for that.

Rating:5/5

Purchase here: Amazon.in  https://amzn.to/2Pg6Gdn

 

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fantacy, Fiction, Indian Authors

Binge and Nothingness by Juan Kaius| Book review

51h19J7t1eLTitle: Binge and Nothingness

Author: Juan Kaius

Pages:75

Blurb

If you are suffering from an existential crisis, do not read this book!

This is the story of Juan, a 25 year old boy, who after binging the joy out of everything, food, drugs, and entertainment, realizes that the only way left to fill the void is to fall into it. Thus, he embarks on one final journey – to jump off the top of a hill and end his life on a ‘high’ note. By doing this, he intends to set an example for his peers, all depressed and directionless individuals, who can follow him and attain the truest form of freedom. But does fate have one last absurd joke to play on him?

Set in McLeodganj, a mystical sanctuary of Tibetan Buddhism, this is a satirical take on our generation’s futile search for the meaning of life.

My review

Binge and Nothingness narrates a story of a 25-year-old young man who is suffering from an existential crisis. He is always in search of his life’s purpose. He has tried everything to extract pleasure. His search hits a dead end and he decides to give up his life. He is ready to embrace death for reaching a new “high”. He decides to jump off from a cliff at Triund, Dharamkot. But what if life has some other plans, waiting for him?

I really loved this story because of its uniqueness. I never ever came across a story like this before. The existential crisis of the new generation is embedded very carefully in the storyline. The explanation of this unique philosophy often drifted me from reading. The thoughts of Juan kept me thinking about those concepts much deeper. His views resonate with the present world very accurately. The observations of author in all the things mentioned in the story such as drugs, meditation, spirituality, life, greed, and lust is hundred percent correct. This alone glued me to the story until the end.

Honestly speaking, I have come across very few books that have the power to leave me astonished after reading. This is one of those rare books. The story is penned down very beautifully. The pinch of sarcasm till the very last page is something deserves a huge applause.

Rating:5/5

Purchase here: Amazon.in