Be Your Own Sunshine-James Allen

Book: Be Your Own Sunshine: Towards a Better Tomorrow
Author: James Allen
Publisher: Srishti Publications

Do you think that positive thoughts are a magnet for positivity in your life?

Be Your Own Sunshine by James Allen is a collection of 4 of his works, As a Man Thinketh, From Passion to Peace, Man: King of Mind, Body and Circumstance & Foundation Stones to Happiness and Success. The book sums up the hows, whys and whats of energizing your brain and tapping into the power of positive energy and maintain a balance between our inner self and the outer self. Each of the 4 parts of the book deal with a specific aspect and at the end of the book, you can channelize the positivity in you.

The book is an amalgamation of various ideas to train one’s thoughts to affect their physical, mental, emotional and social health in a positive manner. In the first part of the book, the author talks about how to manage internal factors in order to be a successful person and harness the internal energy of one’s being to achieve a peaceful mind. In the second part, the author details the various intrinsic factors that are a speed breaker in one’s life, and how to manage them to achieve one’s goal. Moving to the third part of the book, once we have identified the issues internally, it talks about steps as to how to beat them and be free. In the fourth and last part of the book, one learns the implementation and of balance of thoughts and speech and how to better implement the points explained in your own life.

While the advice in the book is quite useful and interesting, they way it has been presented is not reader friendly. There is a lot of jargon and the language is quite complex, which causes one to lose interest in the happenings of the book. The presentation is quite bland, and the same concepts could have been explained better using graphics. Being a self-help book, it could have been better designed that could have interested more people.

Overall, a decent book, that is helpful, but can improve upon its design.

Get your copy of the book here.

The Call: Part One ‘Mumbai’-Vipul Barpute

Book: The Call: Part One ‘Mumbai’
Author: Vipul Barpute
Publisher: Notion Press

Would you tell the truth if your life depended on it?

The Call: Part One ‘Mumbai’ by Vipul Barpute is the story of one night when a radio channel gets a phone call that is quite different from what they usually receive. That night, on the show called Let Your Heart Out with Richa, she has one of the most popular romance writers Sid. He gets a befitting welcome and his fans were going bonkers, asking him questions, when a call comes which turns the show around. Everything seems normal at first, but as the darkness of night sets in, the studio encounters something unexpected, something uncalled for. To know what happened, just get the book and start reading.

The book is a thriller that will keep you on your nerves at each page. With a storyline that moves in waves, with some parts moving normally and suddenly you get a twist, the reader is entirely engaged throughout the book. The simple setting of the book is quite interesting, and the way the Vipul has actually crafted the entire scene is captivating. The book does have 2-3 mistakes here and there, nothing that another round of proofreading cannot correct. Towards the end, the book was quite fast and intriguing, with the climax leaving the reader wanting for more in the next part.

Being a story that stands on the strength of its characters, the author has done a great job creating individual character traits of his primary characters. Siddharth, with his story, is like an onion who we discover through the course of the story. It’s his story that acts as the fuel for events in the story. The best part of the story is that with the conclusion of this part, the reader is still not sure of the identity and the character of Siddharth. Another character who impressed me was that of the Game Master and the way he plans and executes the entire concept. It is but natural that while reading a reader will try to guess the name of the game master, but that is something that was a surprise till the end.

Overall, a thriller story that will engage the reader and enthrall them.

The book scores a 4.25/5 for me

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Song of a Solo Man-Amit Verma

Book: Song of a Solo Man: Poems for Every Man
Author: Amit Verma

Publisher: Amazon Kindle

What is the one thing that plagues you the most?

Song of a Solo Man by Amit Verma is a collection of poems, written in free prose that chronicle the happenings of a married life through the eyes of the Husband. Each poem is accompanied by an illustration that depicts the theme of the poem. Around 45 poems are present in the book, each one about a different aspect.

The theme of the book is an interesting one, which talks about a solo man, yet each story is about a man and his wife. With a funny anecdote here and there, Amit has created good poems that can touch your soul. Any person who is married, or in a relationship will definitely relate to it. The observations by the Husband are astute and we see the life of the character unfold in front of us as we move ahead. The things that didn’t work for me were the grammatical errors, and despite being a free prose poetry, these cannot be attributed to creative liberty. The titles of the poems can be quite interesting, but the current ones are not that catchy.

The character of the husband is an interesting one who gives us the perspective of his life as he sees it. We see his emotions coming to the fore, sometimes justified, sometimes not. Its his poetry, his wave of feelings that he pens.

The preface and the epilogue is an interesting and the question that is asked in the beginning, will keep a reader looking for the answer in each poem.

Overall, a good collection of stories that score 2.75/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book here.

Everything and Nothing-Nilotpal Dutta

Book: Everything and Nothing

Author: Nilotpal Dutta

Publisher: Tara-India Research Press

Do you believe in the adage that “History Repeats Itself”?

Everything and Nothing by Nilotpal Dutta is set in the years around the independence of India from the British. The story traces the journey of Damyanti who flees Naokhali as an aftermath of the riots post partition to Patna, where she reestablishes her life until post-independence events of the Emergency, Khalistan Movement and the Mandal Commission bring back the dark memories of her past. However hard she tries to move away from her past, some or the other event comes back to haunt her. While she always considered outsiders to be the problem, her viewpoint changes when the movement for the Ram Mandir intensifies and she realizes that the outsiders are not always defined by borders. A heartwarming story of love and redemption, the book is a tribute to a generation that found the strength over and over again to rebuild on the foundation of ruins. A generation that loved, lost and loved again, but never lost hope.

Everything and Nothing by Nilotpal Dutta is a story that shows the transition of a country as it grapples to emerge from the shadows of colonialism and how the ideals of a person change with the changing circumstances. The author has started the story pre-independence as he takes us through the minds of the people and how social identities were important in the earlier times. Using the eyes of Damyanti, he describes the changing times as she witnesses the unity of people as a child when Bengal was reunited. Her ideals are established through those times, and until the tragedy becomes unbearable in Naokhali, her belief in her homeland was unbreakable. As the story progresses and Damyanti begins her life afresh, we see multiple events testing her ideals time and again, which is a social commentary of how the society moved from a social identity to a religion and caste-based identity. The plot of the book is extremely engaging and there is no point where it dulls. Nilotpal has blended historical events with the plot with ease and it is a journey that is quite interesting. With a singular narrative and a single perspective, there are times where a reader might pause and contemplate and might just relate to current situations as well. It is a story well written, which will resonate with a lot of people. The book explores multiple themes of relationships, hope, trust and ethics, all of which get a proper closure in a climax befitting the story. The one thing that deserves a mention is the element of irony in the story at multiple points.

Coming to the characters, Nilotpal has given due focus to the characters. He created Damyanti as his storyteller as she narrates the happenings of the times as well as her commentary on the same. Her belief systems form a critical component of the story. The story details how every situation made her belief systems and how they impact the future events of the story. Her relationships with people are explored and detailed across generation. Her resilience, faith and resolve are tested yet they never break. The second character, although subtle, is the country of India. As he explores the transition of the country from being a colony to being independent, suffering through the scars of partition, religious clashes and social divide, we see the nation evolve and impact the story as well. As the story moves, we see the nation change and thus change the narrative.

It is a must-read book and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an interest in history-based fiction.

The book scores a 4.75/5 from me.

Grab a copy here.

Chiranjivi (The Beginning)-Vasant Kallola

Book: Chiranjivi-The Beginning

Author: Vasant Kallola

Publisher: Times Group Books

Everyone wants to live forever, but according to you, is that a boon or a bane?

Chiranjivi-The Beginning by Vasant Kallola is set in the aftermath of the Mahabharata, a 1000 years after the war. The story chronicles the story of an ordinary boy, Govind, as he traverses the length and breath of the country to gather enough power to face a powerful sage who has decided to annihilate the Earth. The sage is one of the Chiranjivis and is so powerful that normal human beings cannot touch him. Would an ordinary man be able to face an extraordinary sage? This is a story of how resolve stands against power and how a wish for survival can make an ordinary person, extraordinary.

Chiranjivi-The Beginning is an interesting take on the stories post the happenings of the Mahabharata. The story is based on Ashwatthama and through flashbacks, we see what happened in his life that led to the events of the current book. Written in a mix of novel and a play, the language is in the present tense and is engaging enough for a reader. The storytelling is good, with a mix of theatre, mystery and suspense. The language of the book is easy to understand. The one thing that didn’t work for me was the abruptness in the scenes. Govind was on a journey that was supposed to be dangerous, but in every scene, the build up to the suspense was good, but the things ended quite quickly, almost as if the author was in a hurry to move on, which was a big dampener for me. I would have recommended the author to add a bit more flesh to the story, and dividing the complete thing into a trilogy as compared to a duology. The ending of this book was satisfactory.

Coming to the characters, the character of Govind was given due focus and throughout the story, we see his character arc getting developed as required by the story through the various situations that he faces, and the people he meets. Coming to the character of Ashwatthama, we see his character developing was well, albeit to the negative side as he hatches his nefarious plans to fulfill his objective. Other than these 2, none of the characters got their due focus, whereas there was ample opportunity to detail a few more of them.

Overall, a good concept that could have been executed better. The book scores a 3.63/5 for me

Get a copy of the book here.

Love Bites-Ravinder Singh with Richa S Mukherjee

Book: Love Bites

Author: Ravinder Singh with Richa S Mukherjee

Publisher: HarperCollins India

Do you think the Lockdown has helped you take a closer look at your life and get closer to people?

Love Bites is the story of Meera, a who is bored during the pandemic induced lockdown and had nothing to do until she meets Kevin, a boy who lives in the apartment above hers. While they are unable to see each other, thet communicate through their balconies. With music wafting in and messages, food and condiments making their way across the balconies using a basket, an unusual story writes itself. Like life, this story also has its share of bumps, and maybe their story was meant to have a different ending.

Penned by Ravinder Singh with Richa S Mukherjee, Love Bites is a flavourful love story that seems oddly relevant to me. With bite sized moments of love, the authors have added different condiments of emotions in the story that are like a delicacy which infuse a completely different flavor with each bite a reader takes. The story gets its foundation from visual storytelling and since the protagonists are locked up in their respective homes, we experience their story through other senses like taste, smell and sound. Each moment has been painstakingly written keeping in mind this aspect which makes it a wonderful read. The climax of the story was surprising and just like a dessert, leaves you wanting for more.

In a short story, defining characters is quite a difficult task, but in just one scene, the authors managed to paint a picture of how Meera and Kevin visualize each other. The characters have their own quirks and the details of how they come up are quite lovely.

The story gets a 4.63/5 from me and I would implore everyone to go and get a taste of this amazing dish prepared by the authors.

Grab a copy here.

The Girl in the Dream-Pravin Agarwal

Book: The Girl in the Dream

Author: Pravin Agarwal

Publisher: Redgrab Books

It is said that our past life can influence the happenings of our present. Do you believe that this is the case?

The Girl in the Dream by Pravin Agarwal is a story that takes place in 2017 in Los Angeles and Madhya Pradesh but finds its roots in the year 1500 AD in the erstwhile Kingdom of Ujjain. Vivaan is a scientist working with NASA, who has recurring dreams of a mysterious girl. His engagement to his fiancée turns into a living nightmare when things from his dreams start turning up in his life. His life takes a turn when he flies to Madhya Pradesh to help a family friend, Rachit. Rachit’s story takes flight during his studies at MNIT, Jaipur where he meets Swara and he falls in love with her when as a part of his ragging is asked to propose to her. Unknown to them, Dhiren, son of the sarpanch of Shivni Village, is in search of an ancient Shiva statue which is hidden in the Shivgarh fort. But how are Vivaan, Riya, Swara and Rachit connected and what is there connection to a 500-year old love story?

The Girl in the Dream is an interesting mix of a love story, a mystery and a thriller. The storyline is gripping and holds the reader down to read it till one reaches the end of the book. The plot is simple yet engaging which adds to the charm of the book. What worked for me in the book was its linear storytelling and a gradual unravelling of the story as the time progressed. The scenes in the book were quite organic and none of them seemed to be out of context. Pravin took his time to build up the concept and that kept the pace of the book going. The one thing that I think can be improved is the grammar structure as the tense of the book was wrong in some parts of the book. The climax of the book was quite predictable but it was in line with the entire plot so that was ok. I would have preferred a bit more flesh in the climax.

Coming to the characterization, I would commend the author for taking time to detail each and every character. Starting with Vivaan, his background was given quite in detail. His stint as a NASA scientist and his background have been explained in good detail using a scene where he gets interviewed. The same goes with Riya, but her character has different shades that give mixed vibes about her. The habit of Rachit to come to quick conclusions was a good quirk and an interesting take, however, the correction on his actions could have been done a bit late so as to maintain a bit of tension in the story.

Overall, a recommendation for people who love romance stories as well as thrillers.

The book scores a 3.75/5 for me.

Grab a copy here.

Faith and the Beloved-Kochery C Shibu

Book: Faith and the Beloved

Author: Kochery C Shibu

Publisher: Amazon Kindle

What do you think can drive a person to do extreme things-Faith, Love or Money?

Faith and the Beloved by Kochery C Shibu is the story of the Cherokil Family and how Faith, Love and Money drive their destiny in Life. Naithy Cherokil is a career-oriented woman, who runs an Ad agency. She falls in love with her colleague, but after his untimely demise, marries a model Tony D’Souza, who, unknown to her, is a sleeper cell terrorist and when he gets activated, things turn topsy turvy for her. Prem Rollands is an expert practitioner of Kalari. A student of St. Stephens, his life takes a turn when his brother gets killed while running from the police. Alice Cherokil is the eighteen-year-old daughter of Naithy and is an expert in computers and mystery games. Alice plays the ultimate mystery game of her life as the web of secrets surrounding two precious diamonds and her stepfather threaten to destroy her family. Alice overcomes moral dilemma to kill her stepfather and she is on the run. Alice must outwit the underworld and stay ahead of all to save her mother’s life or the guilt of her failure will haunt her forever. As the lives of Naithy, Prem and Alice cross each other they must retain their faith and protect their beloved ones even at the cost of their own lives. A saga of love, lust, betrayal, intrigue and revenge.

Faith and the Beloved is a gripping story that imbibes in itself a myriad of themes. The book has thrill, love, lust, faith and an international smuggling racket, all incorporated into this story. The book traces the life’s journey of multiple characters, and thus the book has multiple storylines that tell the story from multiple angles. This is one of the best points of the book that works in its favor. With one half of the book in history, the author takes his time to develop the concept on which the plot rests. Kochery has taken various incidents such as the rising of the LTTE, the Mumbai Terror Attacks etc. and woven it into the story. This has added a completely new dimension to the story, and it helps the reader grip the storyline. The climax, however, was predictable and could have been better, but that in no away, takes away the fun that I had reading the book. One thing that could have been improved is the editing of the book as there are grammatical mistakes as well as wrong spellings that could have been corrected with one round of editing.

On the characters front, the author has done a splendid job. With each chapter being dedicated to a character, we often see the same scene from different points of view which is a great way of building up the plot. He has taken care to ensure that the back story of each of the character is unbreakable and believable. Describing the way in which each of the character is dressed, he has taken a step ahead and it helps the reader visualize the scene in great detail. I loved the way in which the character arc of Tony D’Souza was sketched and his journey from rags to riches. The character of Alice was impressive as well.

Overall, the book scores a 4.13/5 for me.

Grab a copy here.

Chhotu-Varud Gupta & Ayushi Rastogi

Book: Chhotu: A Tale of Partition and Love

Author: Varud Gupta & Ayushi Rastogi

Publisher: Ebury Press (Penguin Random House India)

The stories of partition of India are quite gory and all of us have heard the stories from our grandparents who witnessed it.

Chhotu: A Tale of Partition and Love by Varud Gupta & Ayushi Rastogi is the tale of the partition told through the eyes of Chhotu, who works at the Paratha Shop owned by Bapu in the Paranthe Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk. Chhotu is also a student, who is in love with Heer, his classmate but is quite reluctant to express himself. As he gathers courage to do so, he notices a change in his neighborhood. The Aloo in the town has gone missing and as he embarks on his quest to find the tubers, he stumbles upon a sinister plot. Set against the backdrop of Partition and the horrors that followed, Chhotu is a coming-of-age story of an unlikely hero and a parable of a past that doesn't feel too removed from the present.

Chhotu is a graphic novel that explores a variety of themes keeping the partition as the general theme. The storyline is very crisp, and the authors have taken care to keep the parallel themes running through the story. The narration is quite enriching, and the scenes are quite realistic. Another thing that works for the book is its simplicity and the way each of the plot point is treated. I loved the way in which small details were put up with the help of various props. The language is quite simple and its quite a breezy read. Varud has taken the topic of partition and transformed it into a tale that would interest people of all ages, and personally, that is the biggest impact that it can have as a story and as a book.

Coming to the characters, the protagonist of the tale is Chhotu who is a student and a cook at Bapu’s Paratha Shop in Chandni Chowk. His character has shades of heroism, courage and love, and the way his character develops over the story as he experiences love, pain and loss is remarkable. The character of Shere was another gem for me, the way it was written and created. One character that plays quite an important role is the humble Radio, that features in multiple panels and acts as the narrator of the story. creating a non-human world yet retaining the essence of it is the true art that shines through the pages of Chhotu.

Being a graphic novel, Chhotu’s artwork is as critical as its storyline and the way the panels are sketched brought back memories of the comics I read as a child. Though more nuanced and detailed, Chhotu’s detailed artwork, with a monochrome tone adds a completely different flavor to the tale. A special mention for Ayushi for sketching the panels so beautifully and giving life to the story of Chhotu.

Overall, Chhotu scores a 4.63/5 for me, and is definitely a prized possession for me.

Grab a copy here.

Still Loved… Still Missed!-Mridula

Book: Still Loved… Still Missed!

Author: Mridula

Publisher: Notion Press

Emotions have a unique way of travelling to you, whether be it a short story, a poem or a long novel, haven’t they?

Still Loved…Still Missed! by Mridula is a collection of 14 stories and 1 poem that have a mix of characters and emotions. Picturing the complexities of love, misery and mystery, the stories try to gnaw your heart like never before. With the power of simple language, this book transports the readers to a world scarcely thought of in our bustling lives. The allegories maintain an intense rhythm of life prompting the readers to perceive things from a unique angle.

Still Loved…Still Missed! is a unique collection of stories that have some very interesting ideas. Each of the story was different and had a very captivating flavor to it. With a broad spectrum of emotions being covered, each of the story aims to evoke a different emotion in the reader, which it manages to do. The stories are set across the world, and that being said, the nuances of the locations are described in detail. While each of the story was a gem in itself, the ones that I loved were Fly…Flew…Flown!, The Passing, Wedding Memories and Still Loved…Still Missed!. The language of the book is quite friendly and easy to comprehend. The author has used a variety of literary tools such as personification to add a good dimension to the tale and provide a different perspective to them. The solitary poem in the book was heart touching and wonderful as well

Coming to the characterization, as a collection of short stories, the characters were as varied as the stories. From a flower, to a coracle to humans, Mridula has used different characters to get her point across to the reader. She has personified the non-living things to such an extent that unless stated, you will not be able to tell whether it is a living thing or a non-living thing. She has also used animals as the central characters to the stories, and some of the quotes by these characters are memorable.

Overall, this collection is a definite recommendation for people who love to read and imagine a world of stories.

The book gets a 4.5/5 from me.

Get your copy of the book here.

Bloodline Gems- K Young

Book: Bloodline Gems

Author: K Young

Publisher: PublishVictor

Vampires are creatures that have been a part of lore for a long time, and we have come to see of them as evil, bloodsucking creatures, right?

Bloodline Gems by K Young is the story of Prince Shubishup, the heir to the lineage of vampires who was put in a coffin to be shipped to Transylvania along with his family for a ritual, but was accidentally sent to Pennsylvania – West Philadelphia. He quickly becomes addicted to crack cocaine prior to meeting two local drug dealers, Stizz and Keem. After a little disagreement, they promise to aid Prince Shubishup in returning home, but they see an opportunity to make some money, and use Prince Shubishup. Meanwhile, the King sends Terka, Prince’s sister to locate him. Will Terka be able to find her little brother in time? Will she find him at all? Can Prince Shubishup survive the vicious streets of Philadelphia? Or will he become another statistic, and remain stuck in the trenches?

 Bloodline Gems is an urban story that is set in Philadelphia. The author has used the street slang for effect, but the constant use of the same turns its charm off and actually provides a bit of an issue while reading. The suddenness of the story with the introduction of Shubishup to the various scenes, each of them are abstract in themselves and the connection to the previous scene is thin at best. The storytelling focuses more on the accents of the characters rather than the story which brings down the overall feel of the story. The language is in line with the urban concept of the book, though I have my reservations whether the characters would actually speak like that. The climax was a tad bit disappointing for me and I would have preferred a better ending.

Coming to the characters, the author could have taken his time to build up the characters, but we see very little story about the characters. However, I liked the story of the Vampires and their world.

Overall, a decent read which scores a 2.25/5 from me.

Get your copy here.

The Story Begins at the End-Sujay

Book: The Story Begins at the End

Author: Sujay

Publisher: Storymirror

Love is a strong emotion, that can change a person, right?

The Story Begins at the End by Sujay is a collection of 15 short stories on the theme of love. The book celebrates love in its various forms, and the collection holds most of the narratives in such a way that they could well be starting off by the end of the story, the beginning of love, figuratively and literary – the last line coming forth from the first. The stories range from present day to the past and mythological stories.

The Story Begins at the End by Sujay is an interesting anthology of stories bound by a common thread of love. The 15 stories are quite unique and interesting for the reader. Each of the story explores a different aspect of love from friendship, family, lust and romance. the author also explores unrequited love in a couple of his stories and that adds a good flavor to the story as well. The stories are geographically diverse, from the comfortable city of Bengaluru to the United States of America to the far reaches of the Himalayas. The storytelling is captivating, and it was able to catch my attention. I loved the attention to detail that the author has put while crafting the stories and I would like to commend him on that. A Friend and a Tiger, The Final Leap of Faith & First Date captured my attention and I liked them quite a lot. On the other hand, Panchamirtham, Rainbowed and Love in the Time of Corona did not meet up to my expectations.

The characterization in the book is good and the author has taken time to choose his characters and then drafting them into the stories. Being short stories, a detailed character arc is difficult to achieve, but the author manages to create a good image of his muses.

Overall, a good read and scores a 3.63/5 for me.

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This book review is in partnership with KharidobechoBooks.

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Asherah-The Warrior Princess-Rubina Ramesh

Book: Asherah-The Warrior Princess (Book 1 of the Goddesses Trilogy)

Author: Rubina Ramesh

Publisher: The Book Club

Can emotions transcend generations? Can a God’s fury last across lives and years?

Asherah-The Warrior Princess by Rubina Ramesh is a fantasy romance that takes place in a fantasy world of Gods and Humans. The book traces the Journey of Asherah, who’s mission is to destroy Sandor, a cruel godling who was wrecking havoc on the human and the divine world as well. Unknown to her, she was married at a young age to Lord El, a Supreme God and when she goes to his abode to seek his help in defeating Sandor, she meets Hanish, his stable boy. Things take a different turn when they fall in love with each other, one that is forbidden. Caught between the men in her lives, Asherah has to take a journey into the past to understand her present. Is she able to do that? Does her love for Hanish reach a climax?

Asherah-The Warrior Princess is a wonderfully written fantasy story. Taking cue from mythological stories and weaving her own world, Rubina has managed to create a world that seems real and gives an immersive experience to the reader. The storytelling is intriguing and binds the reader into the story till the last page. With the world of Humans, Gods and Godlings, she has successfully given life to a trilogy that will interest people of all ages. The amount of detailing put into the setting, location and the details of the story is praiseworthy. The tempo of the story doesn’t drop at any point in time and manages to create a feeling of awe. I loved the way the climax of this book was penned, and the micro details of the places and the fire was a cherry atop the cake that was this story.

Coming to the characters, while this book focused on Asherah and her story, Rubina also managed to properly create the base for the upcoming books in the trilogy. The mysterious character of Lord El was someone I was amazed by. Even though he was not a part of many scenes, his image was surprisingly very clear in my mind. The character of Hanish was a welcome surprise and from his introduction to the last scene, he was a force to be reckoned with throughout. I liked the character of Mohawk and I hope he gets quite some time in the upcoming books. Finally coming to Asherah, I am yet to see such a detailed character in a fantasy book. With a warrior’s personality and a romantic heart, different hues of her were visible at different parts of the book. The scene in the climax almost took my breath away and it is evident that the effect of the characterization was such that I could imagine the pain she was feeling.

Overall, this trilogy goes up on my reading list and I cannot wait for the second book to come out sooner!

The book takes away 4.90/5 from me.

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