The Cryptic Clutch (Pari and Nakul Book 1)-A.M. Rain

Book: The Cryptic Clutch (Pari and Nakul Book 1)
Author: A.M. Rain
Publisher: Amazon Kindle

Do you think that something you see in a dream might just come true?

The Cryptic Clutch (Pari & Nakul Book 1) by A. M. Rain (pen name of Varsha Dixit) is the story of Pari, a young girl who lives with her grandmother Kalpi in the town of Coonoor. While being a regular teenager, she has to wear gloves all the time, for she has a secret which, if came to light, could be disastrous. Things were not easy for her, with her gloves becoming an object of ridicule in a school. Things take a turn when a fire occurs in her school, and she is exhorted by Nakul, the nephew of her neighbor to take off her gloves to escape and save the others. Flummoxed that a person who she has known for barely a week knows about her powers, she returns home just to find things have changed drastically.

The book is a short read that has a good storytelling that has an element of mystery from the word go. A fantasy book, the story keeps you guessing as to what the plot of the book is, and you cannot guess the actual point till towards the end of the book. That is something I would really commend the author on. She has truly maintained a fine balance between a fantasy which piques a reader’s interest. The thing that didn’t work me was the one-sided narration and the unbalanced story. Had the author included some more information and more incidents, probably that could have improved the story a lot. The language in the book is simple, easy to understand, and most importantly, apt for the story and the age of the characters. The climax is nail-biting and will keep you looking out for the second part of the book.

Coming to the characters, the author has crafted her characters beautifully with some innovative character quirks. Pari with her gloves and carefree attitude, Kalpi with her absentmindedness, Aunty Xin with her quirky walk and the Goth Nakul add an interesting flavor to the story that add to the beautiful storytelling. I am looking forward as to what she has planned for the characters in the coming books. The surprise change in the characters towards the end of the book was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, a good story that gets a 3.56/5 from me.

Grab a copy from here.