Hello!
Today's post is mini-reviews of some popular Indian fiction I've been dabbling in recently.
I'll be the first to say this isn't my usual go-to reading choices. I don't read 'popular' books a whole lot. I mainly read these books because of my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I essentially read all of these books for free. I figured this was a good way to try new authors and try new genres of fiction. A total win-win!
So let's see what I thought of these books!
I don't have a whole lot of say about these books individually so I thought of clubbing these reviews in one single post.
These really will be mini-reviews.
Book: Scandalous Housewives Mumbai.
Author: Madhuri Banerjee
Pages: 255
Summary: 'Scandalous housewives: Mumbai' revolves around 4 housewives - Gita, Sarita, Natasha and Aarti, each of whom is fighting their own demons. These 4 friends, who call themselves 'Lovey Ladies' meet often in the park of Sapphire Towers where they reside and gossip about their life. Though they share the basic stuffs and pretend to be closest of friends, each one of them has a secret that they have hidden and are reluctant to share.
What happens when are stuck in a marriage where there is no love? What happens if your husband stops paying attention to you and then suddenly, someone else does that? What happens when there is something vital missing in your wedded life? Apparently, you do adultery. That is what these lovely ladies do when they reach a point where life seems beyond bearable! And these events turn their life 360 degrees when someone finds out their truths and threatens to tell everyone about it! Their faith, friendship and love, everything is put to test at this juncture of life, where each one has their own bag of guilt to deal with!
Review: A book about four friends who live in the same apartment complex and share a close-isn bond. They are all pretty different from each other and have different lives and life situations and are each in their own way going through something challenging. We see each of these stories and see each of these lives up close and personal and get to know these women and their circumstances.
I enjoyed this book.
It was a fun and engaging read.
Not Earth-shaterringly good but not horrid too.
I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and these characters.
It was a light and easy and quick read.
The plot and plot points were predictable enough and more than scandalous these housewives were largely sad and confused and stuck in a rut.
Read if you like women's fiction and seeing the life of seemingly ordinary women.
Totally readable but not entirely memorable.
Rating: 3/5
Book: Happily Murdered
Author: Rasleen Syal
Pages: 246
Summary: Who killed Gulab Sarin?
The radiant new daughter-in-law of the influential Mehta family dies mysteriously on the very next night of her wedding. The murder is an inside job, the police are certain. It could be anyone, the adulterous husband, conniving in-laws, jealous friend and the love struck ex-fiance. With an aim to save themselves and incriminate others, it is not long before these suspects turn into amateur detectives, hunting for clues and delving into hidden secrets only they can unearth. They coerce, pry and blackmail in an attempt to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Will one of these nine unlikely sleuths finally unravel the mystery behind Gulab's death and avenge it? Or will the truth die as viciously as Gulab?
Review: I am always up for a murder mystery. And one set in a family is always an enjoyable thing.
I was drawn to the very premise of this book and I liked it for most part.
We got to know most of the characters in this book and see their perspectives. I particularly enjoyed hearing and reading from the perspective of Gulab--our murder victim. I liked seeing her life and her thoughts on her death and circumstances. A pretty unique thing, seeing things from the dead victim's perspective! I really enjoyed that. :)
The book got a little slow and draggy towards the middle and I just wanted the mystery to be revealed already. It really, really slowed down and got so repetitive.
The book also has mostly unlikable characters and no one I could grow to like or root for! :( I hate when books are full of hateful people.
Also the ending was a little disappointing. I didn't really buy the reasoning and the logic behind the perpetrator's actions. A little bit of a disappointing.
Rating: 2/5
Book: Eighteen Plus
Author: Apurv Nagpal
Pages: 206
Summary: The stories in Eighteen Plus are desi, wickedly naughty and laugh-out-loud funny. They are perfect for those hours at work when the boss is not watching, or for those empty moments at night after the kids have gone to bed and you both just cant sleep.
Review: This was a collection of erotic/naughty stories set in modern India.
A quick and easy read.
The writing was decent.
The stories were of varying lengths, super short to some slightly longer/lengthy ones. I preferred the shorter stories to the long one. I thought they packed a better punch that the longer/more detailed ones.
The humour in this book was good too.
If you like erotica, this is a decent collection to try.
I moderately enjoyed it.
Rating: 2.5/5
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