Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Erotic fiction, Young-Adult

Sex & Coffee: A Bitter Little Time Capsule of Love by Erika Lee

At the tender age of 21, Destiny Jones had everything going for her. A promising acting career. A loving boyfriend who adored her. A scholarship to NYU. But it wasn’t enough to quiet the self-doubt that plagued her. She would have to lose it all to find herself. This epistolary “slice of life” novel spans twenty five years between September of 1994 and June of 2019. It is woven together as a dual narrative and told from the perspective of star-crossed lovers Destiny and Matthew. The letters written by Matthew are all set in the fall of 1994 when his beloved was away at NYU and he stayed behind in their hometown of Palm Desert, California. The couple had been together less than a year and this was the first time they were apart. Destiny’s diary entries span the agonizing twenty year aftermath of their eventual breakup.

Title: Sex & Coffee: A Bitter Little Time Capsule of Love

Author: Erika Lee

Pages: 178

My review

Such an emotional roller-coaster!!

Sex & Coffee is an adult romance novel revolving around the life of star-crossed lovers, Destiny and Matthew spanning over twenty-five years. Their deep love hit rock bottom and heights in these years. This is an in-depth analysis of human emotions and our reactions towards them.

The author has adopted a unique storytelling technique in this novel, dual narrative. The story is told through the perspective of both main characters, Destiny and Matthew. We can feel their height of passion along with the pain of losing each other through words. Usually, the story is told through a single perspective which makes it a one-sided and largely partial. But when we get the idea of things that happened on both sides, then only the story completes a full circle. This style uncovers the vulnerability of the main characters. There is no room for justification in this story. We can really understand the situation and takes sides with our character of choice.

The whole story which is spanning over twenty-five years is told through diary entries of Destiny and letters from Mathew, but not necessarily in the chronological order. At first, I thought this will bring some confusion in the story. But surprisingly it does not. The story flows smoothly from beginning to end.

I’m greatly impressed by this novel. It is truly a “slice of life”. The story is very realistic and you can hardly find anything that doesn’t resonate with real life. I was so impressed by this realistic narration. All the raw human emotions are conveyed without losing its delicate nature.

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, Motivational Quotes, Self-Help

The Boundary Is You: A guide to creating boundaries in your relationships by loving yourself more by Chany G. Rosengarten|Book review

51l0rk4xf8LAs seen in the New York Times International Edition, USA Today, and featured on iHeartRadio, internationally acclaimed bestselling author Chany Rosengarten gives us the next Brené Brown-esque easy-to-read, self-help book, to give you boundaries in a fast and simple way.
“Chany shares her knowledge and wisdom with so much love and compassion.”
The Boundary Is You will teach you how to create boundaries by becoming the boundary yourself. If you’ve tried making boundaries with others, you already know the process is painful, difficult, or impossible.
Making boundaries leaves you in the vulnerable position of either needing to fight hard for your rights to establish boundaries or be trampled. If the people you need to make boundaries with were the most accommodating people, chances are you wouldn’t need to make boundaries with them at all.
But there’s a better way.
If you are ready to establish boundaries, and you want to do it in an easy, pain-free way, this book is for you.
If you are ready for relationships that respect and support you, this book will be your guide.
You’ll learn how to understand the power you have in every relationship.
You’ll discover how to love and accept yourself even if you’re not perfect or have made mistakes.
You will take back your authority to make important choices in your life.
You will gain a clear method for getting your needs met.
You’ll have direction in your life, knowing what you want and getting it.

Title: The Boundary Is You: A guide to creating boundaries in your relationships by loving yourself more

Author: Chany G. Rosengarten 

Pages: 80

Genre: Self-help

My review

Usually, we all spend some time taking care of our physical health. But often we ignore our mental health. We don’t have any screening for the information or simply the thoughts we consume. We are often challenged and influenced by the people around us. As they say, we are the average of five close relationships in our life. The effects of all these relationships affect our mental health. This book is a detox for the mind.

The author is surprisingly honest throughout the book. I found that very helpful. I was able to connect with many situations narrated in the book because of this. The large chunk of this book is dedicated to building self-love. It is the base of every good relationship. A part of me always hated myself. Every failure in professional and personal life grew this hatred step by step. This self-hatred impacted greatly in my self-esteem. To repair our deep-rooted inhibitions and beliefs, we must challenge ourselves to bring change. This book was a good guide for this herculean task. It is slow-paced and systematic, changing my beliefs one by one.

Every chapter draws inspiration from the author’s life itself. This book teaches how to break, build and push various boundaries in our life. We can fill the widened boundaries with happiness. After all, it is what we all crave for.

Overall this is an excellent guide for self-love and self-care.

 

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Erotic fiction, Fantacy, Thriller

Chloe After Dark by Elsa Joseph |Book Review

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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, Fiction, Science Fiction

The Republic of Texas (The Second Civil War) by Eduard Lehr |Book review

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America stands on the edge of a knife. Waves of terrorist attacks have eroded personal freedoms and heated political tensions to a boiling point. Citizen surveillance and gun control have become everyday requirements for safety and security. Captain Travis Kent, an Air National Guard fighter pilot and reluctant Texas oil tycoon, is thrust to the front lines of the fray after killing a terrorist and injuring a woman during an attack.

Roddy Jones, football player-turned legal marijuana salesman, is mistakenly arrested after the attacks and finds himself under constant surveillance in everyday life. He flees and finds himself a part of the militia fighting against the very things that had made his life a living hell. As political tensions begin to boil, violence erupts, shattering any hope for a peaceful reconciliation. Can Texas and the United States come to peace before they start a civil war that threatens to destroy the United States of America?

Title: The Republic of Texas (The Second Civil War) 

Author: Eduard Lehr 

Pages: 373

My review

Great book! In today’s world, this ‘fiction’ doesn’t seem all too far away. The book portrays how devastating a second civil war will be. The story is well constructed and well developed. The author has carefully constructed many parallel plots to merge them at the appropriate point. All the issues explained in one point or another contributes to the cause of civil war. The author has incorporated serious issues such as gun control and monitoring of personal liberties along with internet freedom in the story. These issues are relevant in the current scenario too. Moreover, the story reflects the emotions and mindset of people in the state. Their growing frustrations and how these thoughts will end up fueling the civil war is captured in the plot.

I don’t see any issues mentioned by some of the previous reviews. Perhaps it has been updated?

Highly recommended read to all!

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, short story, Young-Adult

A man in church, a woman in temple: Romance of a couple of different-religious counselors by Dino|Book review

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Here are two man and woman of different religions. Man is Christian and woman is Buddhist. But both of them majored in counseling because they were interested in mind study, and they met at a seminar…
There is a part that they can communicate with each other about their hearts, so the two meet often and become closer, but they can’t ask each other to go out easily. It was because they had different religions, but at some point their minds broke down the barriers of religion and became one. It’s a full-fledged religious romance about how these two man and woman understand each other’s feelings and understand each other’s religions.

Title: A man in church, a woman in temple: Romance of a couple of different-religious counselors

Author: Dino

Pages: 19

My review

A man in church, a woman in temple is a short romantic novel filled with emotions. Over the 20 pages, the author narrates a simple story of a man and woman, who are from very different backgrounds but are connected by their mutual love. Peter is a Christian religious counselor and Achara is a Buddhist counselor. They met each other at a religious seminar. Amidst the difference in religions, they are drawn into each other due to their charismatic performance and knowledge of respective religions. Their mutual admiration slowly transformed into affection and then love. As the story progresses, they are trying to understand each other better and exploring their feelings to one another.

This is a simple story on love, the purest human emotion. This story is about understanding each other’s feelings and finding a mutual connection between souls. Although they are from different religions, the author never really included any religious conversations in the story. I think it is because the author is trying to convey the true message of love. Love is beyond boundaries and beyond differences.

Overall this is a nice short novel for every romance lovers.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

The Simple Guide to Postnatal Care for First Time Moms by Jasmine Allen|Book review

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Discover This Shockingly Honest Guide to Postnatal Care for First Time Mommies, and Get Through Those First Postpartum Weeks with Ease!

You’ve just given birth, and despite all the pain and discomfort, you are the happiest person in the world. You can’t wait to get home with your baby and start enjoying your time together. 

But those first few weeks can be tricky. Your body will be going through some weird phases, your baby might not sleep so you’ll be constantly exhausted, and you might start to feel the first signs of postpartum depression. 

That’s why this guide is so precious, especially for first-time mothers. Written by someone who has gone through all those issues herself, this book is full of helpful tips and advice on how to power through this tough period. 

Title: The Simple Guide to Postnatal Care for First Time Moms 

 

Author: Jasmine Allen

Pages: 26

My review

Postnatal care is an extremely difficult and emotionally draining phase for every mom. Proper education and knowledge of healthcare can save new moms from complications and pain. This is an A-Z guide on this subject. The author himself gone through this phase and lack of proper care caused many difficulties in her pregnancy and afterward. From that experience, she has gained practical knowledge to manage various health conditions during postnatal care. This book summarizes everything you have to know about this matter.

The book is divided into 3 sections. The first section is on essential topics such as sleep and breastfeeding. The second section is about mental health. I personally felt that this is one of the critical aspects that every new mom should know of. The bonus is, this chapter includes the author’s personal input and experiences too. The last section deals with the physical therapy for recovery. This chapter includes various exercises with illustrations for a better understanding of this topic.

This short book is an essential read for every new mom to handle this critical phase in their life.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

How To Get A Technical Writing Job: With Little Or No Experience by Loren Robinson|Book review

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Have you ever felt like earning 70k or more was just completely out of reach?
This slim book is not a reference manual. However, it illustrates the skills and education you need to land a job in this well-paying field. According to U.S. News and World Report Annual Rankings. Technical Writing is one of the 50 best jobs in America.

Title: How To Get A Technical Writing Job: With Little Or No Experience

Author: Loren Robinson

Pages: 34

My review

Technical writing is one of the fastest-growing and in-demand jobs. It is less competitive than creative writing jobs. If you are someone who is looking for a career change or starting afresh and considering a technical writing career, then this is the perfect guide, to begin with. Technical writing is not a complex career. But it requires patience and relentless learning to meet its demands.

Over the seven chapters included in this book, the author explains all the details about this job. The book starts with an introduction to technical writing and its cons and pros. We will get a fair idea about this field after this. Then he explains the necessary skills and education for this job. In the last part, he explains how we can find the opportunities and excel in interviews. The book also has details about the online courses and materials we can use for this purpose.

The book is written with a do it yourself attitude. It addresses all the beginners who are interested in this field. Because of that, the book lacks depth in information. Other than that, this is a good information guide for everyone who is considering a career in technical writing.

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Interview Strong: An Insider’s View and Player’s Guide by Courtney D. Temple|Book review

516vHa2GMZLDo you want to face your next interview knowing that you have what it takes to WIN the job? And yes, I mean “WIN”! Because interviewing is a competition and you need to prepare as you would for any competition. Interview Strong gives you the game plan and plays to execute so that you shine against other candidates. This book positions you with clear and straightforward steps to “win” your interview and begin a successful new professional journey. If you have ever participated in or watched any type of competition, you know that those in first place did not make it to the winner’s circle by accident. That’s good news for you! Get your copy of Interview Strong and and solidify a successful game day (Interview Day) plan in quick and easy steps to “win” your interview.

Title: Interview Strong: An Insider’s View and Player’s Guide – Easy Steps to Winning the Interview and Getting the Job

Author: Courtney D. Temple

Pages: 50

My review

Interview strong is an A-Z guide to excel every interview in our life. A job is an essential requirement to survive. In these difficult times, with the unemployment rate is growing faster than ever, we have to push our limits to prepare ourselves to acclimatize better with unpredictable circumstances. Usually, the interview is the last stage of hiring a candidate. It is also the most important and most competitive stage. Because you are competing with similar skilled and serious candidates. The only way out to crack this stage is to prepare ourselves to handle every adversity.

Through this book, the author has addressed all questions regarding preparation and cracking interviews. As said in the title of the book, it is an insider’s view and player’s guide. The author has 20+ years of experience as a hiring manager. She has interviewed countless candidates and has vast experience in this field. This wisdom is poured through the pages of this book. The author has a very unique approach to this topic. She compares everything in interview stage with an actual game and treating the candidates as athletes. It is because this book is written to “win” the game, not less. This perspective is so focused on the end goal. The whole book is structured to achieve this end goal. The process begins with tryouts, warm-up, stretching, announcing the player, game time, overtime, and post-game closures, completing the full circle. All the key concepts on preparation and delivering a successful interview are explained with high clarity.

I highly recommend this book for every job-seekers. This is the complete guide to bring your “A” game.

Rating:5/5

 

 

 

Amina Thajudeen Book Review, non-fiction, Self-Help

Kick Off Bad Habits: 2020 by D.K. Hunter|Book Review

ebook (2)Your habits define you as a person and they are responsible for all the things that you have and do not have in your life right now. It is not going to be an easy journey as breaking habits you have had for a long time is going to be tough. Getting rid of your bad habits will totally liberate you. It is a great feeling to change something that has been holding you back for a long time. Forming new empowering habits will also be a great experience for you and will make you feel confident about the future. With this book, you will learn how habits work and how they are formed. You will also learn:

1. The 3 R’s neurological loop and the time that it takes to make changes to habits
2. To break those bad habits which are not supporting the life that you want and form new habits that will empower you to make a positive change
3. How you can change your life for the better with the power of habits how you can reinforce new habits and much more!

Pages:40

Genre: Self-help

My review

Kick off bad habits is an A-Z guide for breaking bad habits and forming sustainable new habits. Habits define who we are. We all are the summation of tiny habits that we are performing every day, consciously or subconsciously. Either we are addicted or not willing to change these bad habits. We lack the will power to break these habits. But there is always a solution for everything. The best strategy to achieve this difficult task is to understand everything about habits. How they are formed, what are its root causes, how we are addicted to them, why we hesitate to let them go. Through this book, I got all the answers. The in-depth analysis of habits was a good learning experience.

The author moves on to break these bad habits only after he explains the cycle behind habit-forming. The techniques adopted in this book for breaking bad habits are scientifically proven 3R’s neurological loop method. The book also devises a plan to understand and control our habit transition phase. The book concludes with some best practices and new habits that we all should develop for optimizing our potential. This short book covers everything on this topic. This is a good guide for anyone who is planning to bring some changes to their everyday life.

Rating:5/5

Purchase here: Amazon.IN https://amzn.to/2G3aTzU