U n Me… it’s Complicated-Dr. Aditya R. Nighhot

Book: U n Me… it’s Complicated

Author: Dr. Aditya R. Nighhot

Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing

Do you think true love can be your greatest power, or does it turn out to be your greatest weakness?

U n Ne…it’s Complicated by Dr. Aditya R. Nighhot begins like all love stories do, except this one begins in an examination hall. Aditya meets Rutuja during their junior college exams when she asks him to help her pass. Things takeoff from there and slowly their relationship moves from being acquaintances to friends and while Aditya is scared to take the next step, Rutuja proposes to him out of the blue. Things were going smoothly until they New Year’s Eve of 2013. Aditya tries to ask her out, but she responds in the negative, that she has plans with friends and so Aditya goes out with his friend Saniya. Their conversations become dry and Aditya starts wondering about the relationship with her and one day, when Aditya was trying to get Rutuja to talk, she breaks up with him, following which our hero tries to commit suicide. After a few days, they get back together, but it was a signal for things to come, when she dumps him again days before his entrance exams, which is when he decides to take a leap from an under construction building near his house. What happens next is interesting and is the crux of the book. This is the story of Aditya, which is not just a story of true love and friendship, but also about hope, destiny and how a non-reader as he becomes a bestselling author.

The plot of the book is simple, and the focus is on the main characters as they go about their lives. The story telling is interesting with poetry inserted in between to add emotion to the situations. The college romance is quite realistic with the scenes, storyline and plot points in sync with the overall idea of the story. The climax is interesting, and I liked the way the author played with the title of the book. I would have loved if we could have had a couple of more scenes with Rutuja’s POV rather than it being an Aditya-led narrative.

Coming to the characterization, the character of Aditya is quite detailed. We can visualize a college nerd, walking around the campus and the way his character develops across the plot is very engaging and captivating. Rutuja’s character, while detailed in the beginning, loses its steam towards the end and I would have preferred her character to be a contributor in the story to create a more balanced storyline. I commend the way Aditya has handled the character of Nikhil and how he has elevated one of the minor characters to one of the climax altering ones.

Overall, a decent read and this scores a 3.75/5 for me.

Dhruv: Love Story of an Alchemist-Karan Verma

Book: Dhruv: Love Story of an Alchemist

Author: Karan Verma

Publisher: Rupa Publications

While I usually start with a question that pops up while I am reading the book, the one in the blurb of the book cannot be more apt. Can love to inspire you to rise above all challenges and realize your destiny?

Dhruv-Love Story of an Alchemist is a very different story that is much more than just a love story. Set in the Ghats of Banaras, it is a witness to the story of Dhruv who is destined for greatness but faces loss and misfortune multiple times through his life. Blessed with an indomitable spirit, he stands up stronger every time he falls and never let’s go of his dream, the one aim he made when he was a child. It is a journey of an ordinary boy from Banaras, who for his love Emma and his aim, transcends the things that are humanly possible. Whether he succeeds in his aims, achieving his goal and being with the love of his life is the journey of the book.

Dhruv-Love Story of an Alchemist has a very interesting plotline. Karan is a master storyteller like his character Dhruv and there is no way the reader can walk away after starting with the story. He creates powerful visuals and enchants the reader into living the story with Dhruv and Emma and that’s the experience once craves for in a good story. A story of pain, suffering and love, it is also the story of how determination and a strong will can change one’s life. The book is a study in how minor details can change the way a story unfolds, and I loved the way in which incidents, that one might dismiss as trivial come back in the end to symbolize the circle of life. The clever and interesting use of the term Alchemist blew my mind away the moment the significance emerges. Journeying this story without getting your eyes moist is something that is not possible and there are many places where you would stop, ponder, smile and move ahead. The climax of the book is beautiful and ironical at the same time and will definitely catch any reader’s attention.

Characters in a story are as important as the plot and this story has a great set of characters. Starting with our protagonist Dhruv, who is indomitable and faces all adversities with a strength that in unparalleled. His transformation from a naughty child to a master storyteller to an entrepreneur and finally to an Alchemist is a learning in itself. Emma as a character complements Dhruv perfectly. Her carefree attitude, unconditional love and empathy is something that adds to the story. The character of Sudama and the Priest were the ones I never expected would play such a critical role in shaping the plot and more so, the life of Dhruv. For that, I bow my hat.

It is a definite recommendation from me to all who love reading love stories. Do give this book a read and I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Dhruv is literally one of the brightest reads of the month, walking away with a 5-star review!

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2047: The Unifier-Rashmi Trivedi

Book: 2047: The Unifier

Author: Rashmi Trivedi

Publisher: Hesten Books (Bluerose Publishing)

Would you try to do the impossible to get what you wish the most?

2047: The Unifier by Rashmi Trivedi is a futuristic novel, set in the year 2047 when India and Pakistan celebrate 100 years of their independence. Karan is an Indian Boy in love with a Pakistani Girl. While they are living in bliss, Karan’s father puts up a seemingly impossible challenge before them, to get the permission to marry, India and Pakistan have to unite, and so begins the race between love and years of mistrust. Karan undertakes this challenge and sets on this path that say doesn’t exist. Will people accept his crazy notions? How does he sell this idea of love and peace? Most importantly, would politics trump love? Read the book to undertake this journey.

2047: The Unifier is a touching story that has been written completely in the future, yet not so distant one. The book begins in the year 2030, when a Pakistani girl gets lost in the lanes of Chandni Chowk, unaware of the fact that border skirmishes have begun and is faced by a group of guys, until she’s saved by the chivalry of one of them. While no numbers were exchanged or names discussed, years later, in a theatre, same pair of eyes meet and recognize each other, leading to an unexpected romance story in 2046 in London. Karan and Fiza decide to get married and this is when things take a turn. Karan’s father, an ex-serviceman is dead against him marrying Fiza and puts a condition that he’ll consent to the wedding if somehow India and Pakistan unite in the 100^th year of Independence. The plot then traces Karan’s quest to do the impossible and create history. While he gathers friends, he also gathers enemies which put roadblocks on his dream at each step of the way. The plot of the book is interesting with scenes generating curiosity and make you complete the book in a single sitting. The storytelling is fresh and the viewpoint of the author is very hopeful and has a positive effect on the reader. The climax of the book is unexpected and can send shiver down your spine if you are engrossed in the book.

Talking of the characters, while both Fiza and Karan are created as romantics, each of them exhibits a very different personality trait all through the plot. Fiza is shown to be a woman who is fearful and wanted to stay in the shadows. Her reasons might have been valid, but through the story we realise that she never put her love for Karan above anything else. Karan, on the other hand, made his love his mission. Irrespective of what happened, he never broke his promises to Fiza and never became politically aligned. Even in the face of adversity, his strong will never broke. Coming to a third character, Anu is someone who changed the entire plot. Her chance meeting with Karan changed the course of the book and I loved the character arc of this particular one above anything else.

For a book full of hope and a belief in the future, I give the book 4.75/5.

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Unfulfilled Desires-Rachi

Book: Unfulfilled Desires

Author: Rachi

Publisher: Half Baked Beans

What is Love for you?

Unfulfilled Desires by Rachi is the journey of Avantika, Sanvit and Nitwik, who are unlike each other but yet connected in a strange manner and influence each other in an unwelcoming way. It is a story of three people and their unusual ideas of love and companionship. Avantika is scared to believe in love but gets stalked by a known person for the same reason. Sanvit is scared to embrace humanity since the time he lost his parents and was raised in an unloving environment. Nitwik is the perfect man any woman would want. What happens when the three of them cross paths and life puts them against each other?

Unfulfilled Desires by Rachi has an interesting plot that weighs the concept of love across different people and how they perceive it and work to get it. The book opens with a scene in a rehabilitation clinic in Vadodara, the significance of which can be realized after the story is about to end. The plot of the book is interesting and quite fresh. It relies on perspectives and I liked the attention to detail that the Rachi put in while creating the plot. Both Avantika and Sanvit studied in the same Junior college, albeit in different locations, and room number 404 had a connection to both their traumatic pasts. She has also incorporated the themes of jealousy and how it can change people. The book also highlights the power of friendship and why friends are an important part of one’s life. The thing that didn’t work for me was the fragmented storytelling and the grammatical errors, which could have been ironed out with a bit of better editing. The climax was very different and fresh which added a very different flavor to the overall story.

Talking about the characters, Rachi has taken a great deal of effort to create the main characters. She has started the book at the point where their world view changes. Avantika’s view towards love changes when she experiences a traumatic event when she was In Junior College and that scars her idea of love for the future. As the story progresses, we realize her journey is to find answer to the question, “What is Love for You”. For Sanvit, it was a similar story, but his loss was very close to home and he loses his belief in love when his parents pass away while he was in Junior college and the parallel story shows how things unfold for him, leading for him to cross paths with Avantika. While other characters are introduced through the eyes of Avantika and thus, we see them through her eyes. I would like to specially mention the character of Naina, who initially seems to be a filler character for a plot point, but her development into a major one is phenomenal.

Overall, Unfulfilled Desires is a refreshing read in the genre and can be recommended. It fulfills my desire for a good read and walks away with a 3.84/5 from me.

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52 Seasons of Love-Neeraj Yadav

Book: 52 Seasons of Love

Author: Neeraj Yadav

Publisher: General Press

Can a love story span from Childhood to Adulthood, when it is faced with a lot of hurdles?

52 Seasons of Love by Neeraj Yadav is the love story of 2 souls-Shama and Kishan. Their story is about innocent childhood love blooming as they grow to adulthood. Their love transcends the boundaries of society and religion. The story explores what happens to them when they grow up and face the hurdles of society.

52 Seasons of Love by Neeraj Yadav explores the life journey of Kishan and Shama and how they explore their love for each other through various incidents. The book starts with the birth of Shama and Kishan and how they meet each other for the first time. we are then taken through a ride through their lives where they part ways, seemingly never to meet again but fate brings them at the same place again. The author explores the notion that when people are meant for each other, life finds a way for them to meet. The book continues in their college life wherein they muster up the courage to finally accept their feelings and thus their journey together begins. At the crossroads where college life ends and they have to make a decision, they are faced with the archaic customs and rules that cause them grief. The plot of the book is quite simple and is an easy read. While some parts of the book are commendable, a major part of the book looks stretched and the conversations are monotonous and boring. Identifying the places where the changeover from conversing with self to conversing with people is quite difficult. The language of the book is irritating at some level as it does not match with the plotline of the book. Many of the scenes are too stretched and the climax comes and goes off in a jiffy, which is not something I expected from the plotline.

Coming to the characters, they have been created literally from scratch in the book. We take a journey through almost 2 decades of their lives. The character of Kishan is shown to be highly ethical and someone with great moral fiber. Through various incidents, this character of his is reinforced. The one where he sees the senior who was a part of the group that came to rag the batch but refuses to divulge the name is one such incident. For Shama, the same is true as well. One under appreciated character in the story is that of Shama’s mother, Salma who we see as one of the strongest characters in the story. In the beginning we see that she realizes that her husband is a philanderer, yet decides to stay on for the sake of her children, but towards the end, for the sake of Shama’s happiness, confronts him and makes sure that no harm comes to Shama or Kishan by anyway possible, and for this the story goes up a notch higher.

Overall, an easy read and would be liked by people who are into romance as a genre. 52 Seasons of Love takes away a 3.25 on 5 from me.

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Badoga (Music Men Volume 1)-Pankaj Saini

Book: Badoga (Music Men Volume 1)

Author: Pankaj Saini

Publisher: Notion Press

What if one day you wake up and you realize that you’ve been given superpowers and now you have a mission in life to help others?

Badoga (Music Men Volume 1) by Pankaj Saini is the story of Sartaj, an amateur Boxer and a regular software engineer from Haryana, making his way in Bengaluru, his life riddled with sex, liquor, money and love. What comes to him as a surprise are the voices in his head which make him experience bizarre situations and lead him to question his own religious and empirical beliefs. While searching for something meaningful in his 30s, he comes across an opportunity to become a vigilante and brands himself as Badoga. But the questions pop up immediately. Does Sartaj have a purpose behind doing what he does? Who are the Music Men? Who is the person behind the voice in his head? This series tackles a plethora of supernatural phenomenon which creates the world of the Music Men.

Badoga (Music Men Volume 1) by Pankaj Saini is the story of a common guy, who does uncommon things, which is basically the background of any superhero. This book establishes the back story of Sartaj, aka Badoga and introduces us to the Music Men, who seem to be a critical set of characters for the upcoming books. Talking about the plot, it has been intricately woven, and the concept of a superhero has been built up subtly yet nicely. The way the story flits between the past and the present is balanced so that the reader is kept alert as to the happenings in the book. The love story (or rather the lack of it) is a surprise element which I was not expecting. The book has been kept hanging, which promises anticipation for the sequels.

Talking about the characters, this book focuses on Sartaj and Badoga and the development of Sartaj as a human being and his transformation into a superhero and then the development of superhero as the time passes. Through various incidents, Pankaj has set the tone for the character of Sartaj that highlight his many flaws and his praise-worthy characteristics. The relationships that are shown are another good way of emphasizing the fact that a superhero treads a path of loneliness. While we are introduced to Marbella, the female protagonist of the story, the book teases a sequel with her name, which I assume would develop her character there.

Overall, I loved the book and I would love to recommend it to anyone who is a Marvel or a DC fan. Pankaj has brought to us a brand-new superhero story which is here to stay.

This superhero walks away with 4.38/5 from my box.

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Love to Hurt You-Rahul Saini

Book: Love to Hurt You

Author: Rahul Saini

Publisher: Juggernaut Books

Quoting the Blurb of the book, “They say everyone wants love and happiness, but what if that is not true?”

I usually start by writing the blurb of the book, but in this case, I’ll skip that part because the essence of the book lies in its mystery element. Love to Hurt You by Rahul Saini is a novel that goes deep into the human psyche to bring out the deepest, darkest desires and explores the very basic needs that we have as humans. The plot of the book explores three parallel storylines, that of Sasha, Garun and Maya, each of whom is an unique individual with specific character traits. The book runs on parallel tracks till the moment each of them meet the other under not-so-normal circumstances. The storyline is very crisp and the author has built up the plot in an amazingly strong way. The moment where the characters cross the paths was unexpected and I specially loved the manner in which Sasha and Garun cross each other. The emotions at that point were raw and intimate and that lent a very different flavor to the story. The climax of the book was very poetically justified and while I would have wanted the story to go on for a bit longer before it ended, the climax works for me the way it was as well, but not that convincing enough.

Talking about the character arcs and development, Sasha, Garun and Maya are 3 characters that seemingly have nothing in common, yet are bound together by the common human need for intimacy and love. Garun is shown to be a happy-go-lucky guy, who craves fame and money and nothing else. His motto is to make money, no matter what the costs. Sasha is a sucker for pain and loves to dominate people and seeing them in pain excites her. We also see her develop a feeling of jealousy and angst towards the end and we realise her character has more to offer than what we initially see. Maya, as a character, seems to signify the human side of humans, one who loves unconditionally, believes in people and is vulnerable to emotions.

The title of the book, Love to Hurt You can be interpreted in different manner. For Sasha, it is a way of intimacy, for Garun, it is a way to make money and doesn’t care if his love hurts you and for Maya, Love is what is hurting her. This amazing work on the title deserves a separate mention and commendation.

For me, this book scores a 3.88/5.

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Love Unexpected-Ritu Kakar

Book: Love Unexpected

Author: Ritu Kakar

Publisher: Srishti Publications

Do you think love is something that comes knocking on our doors only once, or do you believe that love, like all other things, deserve a second chance?

Love Unexpected by Ritu Kakar is the story of Kaira, who is an independent girl busy chasing her ambitions, when she encounters Aveer, a strong minded and successful entrepreneur who is seeking expansion of his business. While their chemistry is strange and electric, its Kaira’s part with Drew which holds her back. With a supportive family and equally supportive friends, she was able to recover from the horrors of her past, but would she be able to check herself from committing the same mistake twice, or would her Love Unexpected pave the way for a happy ending?

Love Unexpected by Ritu Kakar has a decent storyline that explores various themes such as love at first sight, human emotions and the power of familial bonding. The plot of the book seems a bit rushed as a lot of things are shown to happen in a short period of time. The flashbacks of Kaira’s life occupy a major part of the plot and while they are necessary to build the character arc, the events of the present day take a back seat. The climax of the book was abrupt, and I was expecting something more to come out of the story.

Talking about the characters, Kaira is the central character and the only character whose arc is established in the book. Through past events and present-day events, we get to understand the ups and downs of her life and how she overcomes it. Her character has been fleshed out in detail. For our second major character, Aveer, unfortunately no information is given as to develop his story and for the reason he behaves the way he does. The same case occurs with Drew, who is another important part of the story. For Natasha, we understand some things, but even that is left unexplored.

Overall, a decent read and can be recommended to someone looking for a quick read.

The book scores a 3/5 for me.

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Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman-Mehool Parekh

Book: Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman

Author: Mehool Parekh

Publisher: Leadstart Inkstate

What is something that you like to see in a crime detective story?

Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman by Mehool Parekh is the story of a beautiful woman, who has been found murdered in her bed. The usual suspects are arrested by the police, until the case catches the fancy of an amateur sleuth who is intrigued by the way Rupali is murdered. This amateur sleuth is Major Bartaman Bhowmick, Southern Command of the Indian Army. Crime detection is his hobby and passion and that is why he is valued by his cousin, an ACP in Pune. Is Bartaman able to solve the crime or is this case destined to become one of the cases to go into clod storage?

Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman by Mehool Parekh is one of the finest crime novels I have read. The plot of the book is well defined with twists and turns at each step of the way. They way Mehool picks up the Bhootkaal of Rupali and explores it to bring it to the conclusion is something I really admired about the plot. His background in films and finance has led to the introduction of a lot of credibility in the situations that are created by him. The descriptions of the scenes, characters and scenarios is quite vivid which helps in visualizing the words. The book is aptly named, with a wordplay on the name of the character and the fact that the book explores the concept that anything that happens in the past will affect your present and your future. The climax of the book was unexpected and kudos to Mehool for an intricate storytelling.

Coming to the characters, Major Bartaman Bhowmick has been created as an eccentric character who is an amateur sleuth but has crazy ideas which lead to breakthroughs in the case. While his talents are aptly described, his backstory is not detailed but we see glimpses of it at times. Robin Chowdhury, who’s a crime reporter in Pune, is shown as his sidekick and we do not get much of her character arc in this book, though I would love to read the adventures of Batty and Robin as a separate book someday. Other characters in the book have a certain layer of authenticity to them. Be it the Sub-inspector or the constable, they have the same attitude that one would see in a neighborhood cop.

Overall, this crime novel resonated with me and I would recommend it to anyone who loves this genre.

For me, this one scores a 4.5/5 for me.

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