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

Kat Doggers: Superspy: Book 1 of the Kat Doggers Series by Austin Stack

Kat Doggers is more than an ordinary house cat. She’s also a secret agent of F.U.R., the feline spy team that protects the world from evil genius snails, master criminal fish, and the red dot of doom. Kat is ready for her first day on the job, but instead of an easy assignment, she chooses to go on a super-important special mission with two of F.U.R.’s best agents.

When the mission goes terribly wrong and her team gets captured, will Kat be able to save the day all on her own?

Title: Kat Doggers: Superspy: Book 1 of the Kat Doggers Series

Author: Austin Stack

Pages:54

My review

Kat Doggers is living a dual identity. She is an ordinary house cat by day and a high-tech superspy by night. She is the rookie agent in the elite Feline Undercover Regiment (F.U.R) and awaiting her first mission. An unforeseen incident lands her in an unexpected mission with two other top agents, one is her cousin and the other is her idol. But this high-risk operation goes wrong and it is up to Kat to solve the mystery and rescue her fellow agents. Will she able to rise to the occasion?

Kat Doggers: Superspy is a well-written mystery thriller. The author never attempts to drag the story to unnecessary details. The story sticks to the crime and investigation. Over the course of the investigation, this story teaches us many lessons. One of such important lesson is believing in our abilities. If we believe in ourselves, we can defy all odds. We have to earn the stripes. No one will respect you until and unless we show them what we can do. It also points down to the importance of knowledge and analytical skills. This quirky, hilarious blend of characters creates a full-fledged entertainment throughout the story.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Indian Mythology

Queen of Hearts by P.G. Van

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  • Title: Queen of Hearts
  • Author: P.G. Van
  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • Print Length: 223 pages
  • Buy now: Amazon

Blurb

Waking up in a strange place and not remembering anything, not even her name, she remembers him, not as her husband as she is told, but something about him seems familiar!

Why does her mind remember only him and nothing else?

In an unexpected change of circumstances, he has to bring her home as his wife. She becomes vital for him to close a deal, and he needs to make her believe she is his wife until the contract is finalized on his dream project.

What happens when the temporary set-up starts to seem real for him?

When she realizes what he had done, will he still be able to hold on to her?

My review

“Queen of Hearts: An Indian billionaire romance” by P.G Van is a typical romance story with the pinch of suspense throughout. From the title of the book, it is evident that, the story will be something filled with cheesy and steamy romance. But the blurb truly excites me to dive right into the book. It is because they’ve given a good blurb with a hint of suspense. I really liked it. The strength of this story is it is woven on the strong plot. The plot is somewhat seen in typical Bollywood films but I felt this plot is strong. The characters are framed well for a romance story. The usual anti-hero image at the beginning for the protagonist. His character changes to a good one because of the influence of female lead so and so. Every romance novel is filled with a turn and twist towards the end of the story and here also no escape from that. But overall, this novel gives a good reading experience. Altogether it is an easy to read and recommended for all romance lovers.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Indian Mythology, Science Fiction, Thriller

The Last Avatar (Age of Kalki #1) by Vishwas Mudagal

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  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins India
  • Language: English
  • Buy here: Amazon

Blurb

In the not-so-distant future, India has fallen, and the world is on the brink of an apocalyptic war. An attack by the terrorist group Invisible Hand has brutally eliminated the Indian Prime Minister and the union cabinet. As a national emergency is declared, chaos, destruction and terror reign supreme. From the ashes of this falling world, rises an unconventional hero – a vigilante known only as Kalki. Backed by a secret society called The Rudras, Kalki, along with Nushen, the Chinese superhuman spy, must do the impossible to save his country, and the world. But who is Kalki? A flesh and blood crusader with a mysterious past? Or the Messiah the world has been waiting for? The future of human survival depends on a single man. Will he become the living God prophesied as the last avatar of Lord Vishnu, or will he fade away as an outlaw?

My take

Kalki is a topic which is overused over time by many prominent writers in India. Still, it is a good subject to let your imagination build on. Mainly because of the mythological and modern background of the character. That’s why this topic never goes off the style.

First things first. Iwas really intrigued by the cover of the book at first sight. The depiction of Kalki with the touch of Lord Hanuman wielding a mysterious but seemingly powerful weapon. The curiosity built by the cover alone deserves an honorable mention.

Coming to the story, this one has everything for every kind of readers. I was absolutely fascinated by the plot and sub-plots in the story. The subplots are the main highlight. Because the author has woven many stories in a single string and connected them well to build an absolutely massive plot. This plot holds together every character in the story. This is also a well-built foundation for his upcoming books in this series.

The world is on the edge of an apocalyptic war. An attack by the terrorist group Invisible Hand in the Indian parliament has eliminated the Prime Minister, Union ministry and cabinet. The national emergency is declared and the subsequent chaos paved the way for destruction and terror. From this total terror, an unconventional hero has risen who is know as The Kalki. The protagonist Kalki, who has a double life as Neel who leads the Astra Group which manufactures most modern technological types of equipment. He is backed by a secret society known as Rudras.

What is the intention of this terrorist group led by Master Zar and what is his hidden motive to attack Indian parliament in one go? Who is Kalki and what is his intention behind saving the world? Who is the secret society known as Rudras and are they have some hidden agenda?

There are many more questions are arising from each page of the story. Every page creates suspense. There are too many different characters and the imaginary world which the author bought to the reader is absolutely magical. This suspense along with twists and addressing the geopolitical situation of India and China, the author never leaves any stones unturned.

The protagonist has no flaws. He has superhuman strength and abilities makes him the reincarnation of God. But I felt the character of the villain is slightly underdeveloped. The strength of the villain has a huge part in making a hero.

Altogether, it is a very good story and worth your time. Every mythological-historical fiction reader ought to try this book.

Rating:4/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, short story

The Untold Stories by Maheshwar Narayan Sinha

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  • Title: The Untold Stories
  • Author: Maheshwar Narayan Sinha
  • Paperback: 164 pages
  • Publisher: 24by7Publishing

The Untold Stories is a collection of 6 short stories and one long story. The stories included are:
1. The Genius
2. The Deal
3. Kaala Dupatta
4. God in Chain
5. A word of Silence
6. The Guest

and the Long story is “The Untold Stories”

The variety in the themes used in each story is the main highlight. The author has explored many themes such as love, sorrow, education system, child abuse, unemployment, etc. The similarity of the themes of the stories with real-life will help the reader to connect with them.

Among the stories, I liked God in Chain most. The subject which is taken by the author for narration is absolutely good.  There is no similarity between the stories which is a good trait of short story collections. This will help a reader to read smoothly without the fear of getting lost if you take a break in reading.

The language used to express the plots are largely good except some typos here and there. Though the author has tried to tell a new plot in each story, some may fall in already written subjects. The effort taken by the author to innovate his writing style through these plots is appreciable.

The design of the cover is something that has to be appreciated. The unique design in the shade of green is perfect for this book. Altogether, it is a good short story collection for a weekend reading.

Rating:3.5/5

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Motivational Quotes, Poems, Self-Help

Rhythm of Spiritual Beats by Srinivasan Panchanadam Nathan

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Book name:- Rhythm of Spiritual Beats
Author:-  Srinivasan Panchanadam Nathan
Publisher:- Educreation Publishing
Language:- English
Book length:- 140 pages

“…Stretch your wings and fly high
the cage is open, you need not sigh
build yourself as beautiful as you want,
pain your inner self deep till the dawn…”
– Rhythm of Spiritual beats ( Srinivasan Panchanadam Nathan)

This an elegant collection of short poems. I’m impressed with the empowering nature of the poems. Usually, the subject of poems is somewhat around the deepest emotions of humans such as love and grief. But in this collection, I have seen many poems with hope and faith. This is surely the rhythm of spirits which keeps saying not to quit. I felt that poems are well built because they are gazing into the soul and not wandering through outside life.

The language used was elegant, lucid enough to convey and powerful enough to trigger hope in readers.
Many poems in this collection are so memorable. I’m sure that, I will remember them for a long time.
The illustration given along with the poems are very nice. They are appropriate and breaks the monotonous nature of poems. I really liked some illustrations. This is actually a good trend these days. Two different sides of art in one bunch is appreciable.

Altogether it is a nice collection of short poems. Recommended to every poetry lovers out there…

Rating:3.5/5

Buy here: Amazon

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Memoirs

A Lot Like Love & Other Short Stories by Nidra Naik

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Title: A Lot Like Love & Other Short Stories

Author: Nidra Naik

Pages:218

Publisher: Become Shakespeare

Rating: 4/5

Blurb

From America, New Delhi, Balasore, Cuttack and even at the barren land of Nabarangpur; unearth sagas of demands, indecisiveness, struggle, intensity, love and longing! A Lot Like Love & Other Short Stories reveals the human side of survival called Hope; hope on which every living being thrives, hope, which at times is also lost.
Stories travelling the test of time, characters infusing a blood of fire, this book brings to the readers, how deep and passionate life’s purpose can be, how in an insipid land of imagination, can connect with the most fertile of hearts.
Love adorns life!

My review

This is a collection of six short stories written by Nidra Naik. The stories are:

(1) A Lot Like Love

(2) Second Chance

(3) The Bestseller

(4) The Visit

(5) The Black Idol

(6) What Was Not Said

I always liked short stories more than novels. Because it is a true test of authors storytelling capabilities. The short stories become perfect only if you crafted them well. From beginning to end the story should have every element of a novel but in limited words. Overall in this book, the author has done a very commendable job.

The first story itself is a roller coaster ride of emotions and at the end, you will be heart-broken. The impact of that heartbreak is enough to make me a feeling that I don’t want to read the rest of them. But somehow I ended up finishing it in two days. This effect is purely dedicated to the author’s capability of crafting and storytelling. In less than 45 pages, she gives a story that you will remember a lifetime.

Every story is different and the characters in all stories do not have any similarities. It’s like you have to jump from one plot to another even after a highly emotional journey offered in each story. I really liked how the author incorporated her Odia cultural heritage in the stories. They are like adding spices in a dish to make them more enjoyable.

Among stories, I personally liked ‘Bestseller’ most. Purnendu who is a small town girl but she dreams to be a best seller author one day. Her struggling in many difficult circumstances was heart-breaking. In the end, only a few tears are left.

I often amazed by the freshness of the plot each story have. The characters are portrayed as very livelily along with a good plot.

I often like the black and white cover in books. Because it is the expression of the black and white side of human lives. But for this, it will be better if they choose some other cover design.

I liked this structure of the book very much because you can read this book in small leisure intervals. This is a must-read for every short-story lovers.

 

Amina Thajudeen Author Interview, Fiction, Poems, Self-Help

Author Interview: Aditya Tiwari

Untitled design (2).jpegA conversation with Aditya Tiwari, author of April is Lush, published by Bluerose Publishers

  1. Tell us about yourself.

Hi, my name is Aditya-Tiwari, I am 21-year-old, brown, queer, writer, and a storyteller, based in India.

  1. If not being an author, what was your dream in life?

My dream in life if I wasn’t an author would’ve been to become an actor or a model.

  1. Who do you attribute your success to?

I dedicate this book and the success to my family and friends, it wouldn’t have been possible without them. They are the ones who love me for me and I am so beyond grateful for that.

  1. Any message you would like to give to your readers?

I want my readers to know that there is magic their veins. I want them to believe in themselves and know that nothing or no one can stop them and always remember that it’s time they realize that it’s all inside of them. They just have to believe in themselves. It’s always been there all along.

  1. Who or what inspired you to write the book?

In this first book, I have turned all my pain. into poetry. into art. Writing is my self-expression and it comes to me naturally to me like fresh air. I poured my everything into this book – the book is inspired by a lot of personal struggles and inner battles.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Poems

Knots by Deblina Bhattacharya

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Title: Knots

Author: Deblina Bhattacharya

Format: Kindle Edition

Language: English

Blurb

“These knots that do bind
Make thee one of a kind”

Knots is a collection of poetry and prose about love and heartbreak, tragedy and grief, survival and loss. It’s a journey through the numerous knots that we tie in life, and the ones we tangle and untangle with. It explores the realities of mental illness & suicide, social taboos & violence against women, pain & darkness, self love & healing in all its naked glory. The rhythm of Knots resonates directly with the poet’s heart, conveying to the readers that there is a way to untangle every knot in life, but sometimes, some of these knots are what we are made of.

My review

“Knots” is a collection of short poems written by Deblina Bhattacharya. The poems travel through a wide range of topics. The poems are arranged in 7 main sections such as heartbreak, love, fantasia, darkness, pain, lost and healing. I found a smooth flow of words throughout the book. The author starts her writing from heartbreak. The words are much intense at this point. This intensity gets diluted as the pages turns. In the second section, she remembers the various acts of love she experienced in her life. Every reader can relate to one or two poems here. The poems are much realistic in this section. In the Fantasia section, the true creativity of the author emerges. The expression of the magic of an imaginative world is very good. In the next two sections, that is darkness and pain, one can feel the darkness which is engulfing life. In the next section lost, I found a ray of hope. The hope emerges in the route of lost. The healing section is a perfect end for this emotionally high journey. I really loved the poems in the last section. It is really is the healing of a wounded soul.

The poems are written in a simple and lucid language. The arrangement of poems is commendable. Each section in the collection is starting with a  thoughtful quote relevant to the respective topic. This may leave you in thoughts for a few seconds. After you turn the last page, this book will surely give some serious insights into our life. Recommended for all poetry lovers.

Rating: 4/5