Book Review- It Ain't College, It's War! by Subhodeep Mukherjee

Book Details-
Book Name- It Ain't College, It's War!
Author- Subhodeep Mukherjee
Genre- YA-College/Fiction
Pages- 370
Price- ₹350

Blurb- What happens when an engineering college fresher: 

• confronts his violent seniors on the first day of ragging? 

• tries to woo a beautiful senior who has a nasty boyfriend? 

• is heart-broken when his past causes his break-up with the girl he loves? 

• goes boozing for the first time? 

• is involved in a bloody inter-hostel rivalry with dire consequences? 

In his debut novel, It Ain’t College, It’s War! (Book 1 of the It Ain’t trilogy), Subhodeep Mukherjee tells the story of Rahul Arora, an outspoken Delhi boy with a devil-may-care attitude that always gets him in trouble. 

Amidst the politically charged atmosphere of his college and his many adventures, Rahul seeks true love, friendship and a job. Will he manage to find balance in his life? Will he make peace with his teachers, classmates, seniors and father and find what he is looking for or will his attitude get the better of him? 

Loosely based on true events and also touching on various social issues, this book explores the meaning of love, friendship and career as seen through the eyes of the narrator and protagonist, Rahul Arora.

Review- It Ain't College, It's War is first book of 'It Ain't' trilogy where author serves us story of Rahul Arora and his days in Regal Engineering College and hostel. It was an average read.

I received free copy of this book from Writing Geeks and Anuj Kumar in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Book Cover and Title- Book Cover is catchy and goes well with the Content and Theme. Title of the book catches attention of readers and creates curiosity about the book.
Blurb is interesting and gives hint about the Content.

Altogether First Impression of book catches attention of readers.

Language and Narration- Language of the book is lucid and easy to comprehend. Narration is in first person narrative and is done well.
Although few editing errors, book is perfect for reading.

Theme- Theme of the book is clearly given in the blurb. It's about College, Ragging, Infatuation, Hostel Rivalry and almost everything that happens in a regular college.
What amused me is how skillfully author handled it all.

Storyline and Plot- Storyline is fast paced and interesting. It's hilarious and at times its boring. However, somewhere author failed to serve The War readers were expecting after reading the title.

Prologue is interesting and story goes well till the first half. It was fun to read about the Ragging section and even the nicknames in the hostel was fun part.

However, story became monotonous after mid part. Dialogs could have been written better. Also the writing style needs polishing.

Twists and Turns are enough for readers to complete the story.

Rating-
Book Cover and Title- 3.5/5
Language and Narration- 3/5
Storyline and Plot- 2.5/5

Final Rating- 3/5

All in all, It Ain't College, It's War is interesting and at times hilarious read and could be enjoyed by those who want to relive the college life or those who want to read about the college life.

Book Review- Broken Radio by Nishant Nishit

Book Details:-
Book Name- Broken Radio
Author- Nishant Nishit
Genre- Fiction
Publisher- Notion Press Publications
Pages- 184
Price- ₹190

Blurb- This book is not for those who believe in happily ever after tales. It's brilliantly creepy, violent and extremely offensive in nature. It preaches a cult philosophy against an emasculating consumerist culture.
The story is a brilliant mix of transgressed elements held together by dirty realism. It focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual or illicit ways. Because they are rebelling against the basic norms of society, protagonists may seem mentally ill, anti-social, or nihilistic. The book deals extensively with taboo subject matters such as drugs, sexual activity, violence, pedophilia and crime.

Review- Broken Radio is New Age novel which serves us some seriously gore, violet content which I am sure will be enjoyed by youngsters.
However this book is NOT for everyone, I loved this one for the honest and straightforward storyline.

I received this book from Kalamos Literary Services in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Book Cover and Title- Book Cover is attractive and goes well with the Title and suggests about the content. Title is eye catching and creates curiosity about the book.

Language and Narration- Language is fine as far as readers are expecting the violent and gore content. Though it felt repetitive. Narration is done in first person narrative.
There were editing errors in the book.

Characterization- Author has worked well on his characters. He has tried well to justify the new dank youngsters. I loved how he picked up small things about the new youth like Rock Music.

Storyline and Cover- Storyline is engaging given all the scenes happen one after other. Story is fast paced and well constructed with the plot. Though story seemed missing the plot after 100 pages, it came back to the track to serve us quite an interesting climax.

However author failed to execute what he wanted to deliver but still it was pretty enjoyable read.

Rating-
Book Cover and Title- 3.5/5
Language and Narration- 3/5
Characterization- 4/5
Storyline and Plot- 3/5

Final Rating- 3/5

All in all, Broken Radio is one interesting book which deliver us story not many writers want to write.

If you're into gore, you'll read this one.

Book Review- Rafflesia: The Banished Princess by Gautam

Book Details:-
Book Name- Rafflesia: The Banished Princess
Author- Gautam
Genre- Fiction
Publisher- Leadstart Publications
Pages- 400
Price- ₹395

Blurb- RAFFLESIA The Banished Princess The curtains draw up. Lights are dimmed. The musical is about to begin. As the beautiful princess descends on stage, the mythical creatures from her kingdom come alive. Flickers of brilliant colours blaze across as mesmerizing music pulsates from one corner of the theatre to the other. A fairy tale is about to unfold… As young children, we often come across things that stay in our hearts forever. For Appu, it is a fairy tale about a beautiful princess.He lives with her in a world filled with the magical creatures from her kingdom until the real world beckons. A reluctant Appu steps into it as a striking young man and struggles to find his place. What follows is an evocative tale of love and loss, friendship and betrayal, as the story travels through the snow-peaked mountains of Arunachal to the golden deserts of Jaisalmer, the tulip gardens of Holland to the lush greens of Kerala. Does Appu find what he had set out for? The answer lies in Rafflesia – The Banished Princess because in her story, lay his.

Review- Review- There are books you start with different expectations and that turns out to be the most different one. Rafflesia is one such book and it turned out pretty interesting book.

I received the free copy of this book from Kalamos Literary Services in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Book Cover and Title- From the cover, book seems to be historical Fiction or fantasy but this is purely modern age book. Book is beautiful and it creates curiosity about the book. Title is appropriate.

Language and Narration- Language of the book is lucid and easy to comprehend. Writing style of author is simple and easy to follow.  Book is given in third person narrative.
Though there are few grammatical errors but except that, book is well edited.

Characterization- As the story takes place in different places, there are many characters which support the main story. The one thing I liked about this book is  all the characters are justified properly with their own story and set of emotions.

Storyline and Plot- Story revolves around Appu, our main protagonist and his journey from childhood to Adulthood. Author has beautifully placed scenes in various places to bind characters with main story.

Likes- 1.Appu and Rahul's Bond
2. Appu's love for Books.
3. The way Sujata adores Appu

Dislikes- 1. Story is slow paced.
2. Few grammatical errors

Rating-
Book Cover and Title- 3.5/5
Language and Narration- 3.5/5
Characterization- 4/5
Storyline and Plot- 3.5/5

Final Rating- 3.5/5

All in all, Rafflesia: The Banished Princess delivers us contemporary, relatable, fresh  yet equally interesting storyline which will surely entertain you.

Book Review- Vividity by Neelam Mishra

Book Details-
Book Name- Vividity- not your usual short stories collection
Author- Neelam Mishra
Genre- Anthology/ Short Stories
Publisher- Rigi Publications
Pages- 100
Price- ₹160

Blurb- It is a collection of short stories which indicate different layers of human nature. Many a times a normal looking situation becomes an unusual experience for us which is the result of our own actions. We reap the yield of our own deeds. We the humans, are neither completely inclined toward positive nor negative and we cannot be described as completely black or completely white. Being a human is about being grey.......

Review- Vividity is Anthology fiction authored by Neelam Mishra and it contains 6 different short stories showing different colours and elements with suspense twists and different emotions. It was light, interesting read and I completed the book in one go.

Book Title and Cover- Book Title " Vividity- not your usual short stories collection" is intriguing and hints us about the content. Cover is beautiful and comprises of different colours which shows us different stories and emotions. All in all, First Impression of book catches attention of readers.

Language and Narration- Language of the book is simple and easy to comprehend. Narration is decent and hooks readers with the book.

There are many grammatical mistakes in the book. Often words are misplaced and simple writing mistakes like "Your Welcome" instead of "You're* Welcome" (page no. 75)

There are punctuation errors which makes it difficult to read.

Content- Book contains 6 different short stories. All the stories are written well and each of the story has suspense, different twists and elements which justify the book cover and title.

Neelam has power of binding her readers with the book with simple language yet interesting stories. I completed the whole book in one sitting.

At the end, I would like to suggest that author should go for proof reading and proper editing before printing second edition of the book.

Rating-
Book Cover and Title- 3.5/5
Language and Narration- 1.5/5
Content- 3/5

Final Rating- 2.5/5

Book Review- UNNS: The Captivation by Sapan Saxena

Book Details-
Book Name- UNNS: The Captivation
Author- Sapan Saxena
Genre- Romantic Thriller/Fiction
Publisher- Inspire India Publishers
Pages-  244 pages
Price- ₹189/-

Blurb-

"Of course you know about the seven stages of love, but have you ever lived them?"

Atharva Rathod and Meher Qasim.

Lovebirds since adolescence. Bonded by love, separated by circumstances. They part ways only to meet again. But this time, he is on a secret mission...

Are they in control of their own destiny, or its their destiny which is making them dance to its tunes? Only time would answer, as Atharva and Meher unwillingly and unknowingly transcend the seven stages of love.

A quintessential tale of love and romance marked beautifully by its own rustic old school charm.

Review- UNNS: The Captivation is a love story blended with suspense and thriller to bind the readers with the book. Author has done amazing job with narration and characterization. Though certain loopholes, the book is still an enjoyable read.

I received free review copy of this book from Arudha in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Book Cover and Title- Book Cover is eye pleasing and soothing and goes well with the content of the book. The blue rose gives us slight hint about the love story with dash of obstacles.

Title is very interesting and catches attention of readers. It creates curiosity about the book. Blurb too is exciting.

Language and Narration- Language used in the book is simple and easy to comprehend. As said earlier, Narration is done very well and binds readers with the book. Narration is done in third person narrative.

Characterization- Atharva Rathod and Meher Qasim are two protagonists of our story. Atharva is mature and loves Meher very much. Even though Meher breaks up with him, he's still in love with her.

Meher is immature and bold. She is complex character and that's why readers are attracted towards her.

Other characters are also justified well.

Storyline and Plot- Story starts as a typical high school romance where Atharva and Meher meet and their love blossoms only to be separated from each other one day.

First part of story is slow and boring and has nothing to give readers. It is predictable however adds essence to story.

In second part, We see Atharva as a RAW Officer and he's in Germany for his secret misson where he meets Meher.
To know further about their story, buy this book.

Second part of the story is fast paced and for me story started from second part only. It is interesting with certain twists and turns and a major suspense which holds back readers with the book. Author has done fine job placing story. However climax could have been better explained.

Rating-
Book Cover and Title- 3.5/5
Language and Narration- 4/5
Characterization- 3.5/5
Storyline and Plot- 3/5

Final Rating- 3.5/5

Overall, UNNS: The Captivation serves us one of the realistic, romantic thriller book which serves us unique plot idea and can be enjoyed by romance genre readers.

Book Review- My Mother: A tribute of a yearning son by Subhrajyoti Parida.

Book Details-
Book Name- My Mother: A tribute of a yearning son
Author- Subhrajyoti Parida
Genre- Non-fiction/Poetry
Pages- 112
Price- ₹99 (Kindle version)

Blurb- Mother-a tribute of a yearning son- is a book based on true events spanning nearly a month, from the day the first symptom showed up in the author's mother till her last breath. The book narrates the several tests conducted, including biopsy, on his mother to diagnose her health condition as precisely as possible, and how the Doctors went ahead with a major surgical procedure called as 'Whipple's Technique'. The book further portrays how the post-surgery recovery did n't happen as expected and how the author's mother was then shifted to ICU, only to lead to gradual deterioration of her health. The doctor finally confirms a rare type of cancer called as 'Ampullary Carcinoma' due to malignant tumors in her Common Bile Duct (CBD). Inspite of putting up a brave and stiff fight against the cancer, she ultimately breathed her last on 18th February, 2016. This book does n't showcase only the tough battle of an ailing mother against the 'crawling crab', but also the unshakable determination of the Doctor to save his patient and not the least, the perseverance and the resilience of each and every family member to hold on to the faintest of hope till the end. The author has also given a detailed account of the mourning ritual followed in the part of India to which his family belonged. The poetry section of the book has numerous poems dedicated to the author's late Mother and all the mothers, both in human society and in all her forms.

Review- Review- My Mother: A tribute of yearning son is inspiring yet heartbreaking book where author gives us detailed​ account about the last battling days of his Mother. This book is beautiful yet difficult to read as you can feel the pain of the author and his family and you controlling your tears seems difficult.

The book has two parts. In first part Author gives us detail account of his mother's battle with cancer. This book is really sad as we read about a mother dying and how her family supports her and at the same time how heavy this loss is for author and his family. It was really beautiful to read how author and his family support his mother in her last days.

Second part of the book is poetry section which author dedicates to his dear mother. All the poems are beautiful and reflects the pain and love author feels for his late mother. Some of the poems really steal your heart and I actually called my mother after completing this book.

Language used in the book is lucid. Narration in the first part of the book is really good without any errors.
Poems are beautiful and inspiring.

All in all, My Mother is beautiful book where we read the love and care of a son for his mother. Also this book made me cry for 1 good hour which I am sure tells everything about the book.

It's a must read.

Book Review- Flames of Anahata by Saranya Umakantan

Book Details-
Book Name- The Flames of Anahata
Author- Saranya Umakantan
Genre- Fiction/Love
Publisher- General Press
Pages- 240

Blurb- "They turned to see his tears of love wiping away her blood of agony..."
Diya throws Suraj's proposal back in his face, leaving him broken-hearted. Why would she do so when she loved him desperately?
Suraj finds his Guruji unconscious beside a cave clutching the warrior Indrajith's diary. His heart-rending love story then unfolds. Being trapped in a web of emotions, Indrajith endured the pain of his lost love, hurting himself and trampled Deepali's hope for his adopted brother... Who was he?
Sealed for centuries and holding the Mann-Parivarthana astra, the cave is besieged by evil now. But all attempts to unlock it go futile. Faced with baffling hints, Suraj's intelligence is sorely tested. What is the potent power required to break through that Paanch-Dost-Gupha?
THE FLAME OF ANAHATA!
Will the fire of love ever flicker in the hearts of Diya and Suraj?

Review- The Flames of Anahata is the second book of the Comeback Warrior Trilogy and even though I haven't read the first book of the trilogy, this book was still a good read.
This book is a mixture of Thrill, Romance and Mystery.

I received a free copy of this book from Kalamos Literary Services and Anuj Kumar in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Book Cover and Title- Book Cover is very interesting, but I failed to see any connection between the cover and story.
The tittle is appropriate and the word 'Anahata' has a deeper meaning in the story which was interesting to read.

Language and Narration- The language used is simple and easy to comprehend. Narration is done well and binds readers with the book. Editing is also done well and the book is without any grammatical errors.

Characterization- Saranya has done a great job portraying her characters. All the characters are having their little stories which makes the overall book an interesting read.
Even the side characters are justified properly.

Storyline and Plot- Storyline of the book is simple with some twists and turns  and follows a simple plot.

There are two stories running parallel and are separated by the time. I liked the way the author has balanced the present and past story and the reader does not get confused between them. I liked the story from past more interesting than the current story.

The pace of the book is neither too fast nor too slow and flows continuously till the end.

Rating-
Book Cover and Title- 2.5/5
Language and Narration- 3/5
Characterization- 3.5/5
Storyline and Plot- 3/5

Final Rating- 3/5

Overall, The Flames of Anahata is a good book which delivers us not so unique plot, but smooth storyline with well justified characters.