Sunday 26 September 2021

Book Review: Tales from my Heart by Ruskin Bond.

 


Book: Tales from My Heart 

Author: Ruskin Bond 

Illustrator: Sumouli Dutta

Pages: 120 

Publisher: Red Panda (Westland Books) 

How Long it Took Me To Read: A couple of hours 

Plot Summary: Miss Kellner has a tin of biscuits that fascinates little Ruskin. And granny’s cat is just so full of attitude. Oh, and have you heard about the famous playback singer from Mumbai who sang for the ghost of the maestro Tansen?

Ruskin Bond’s charming life has been anything but ordinary. In this wonderful collection, he scours through his memories to come away with tales that celebrate life, its myriad splendours and many lessons; spectacular wonders of nature; stories of ghosts; and the surprising friendships between animals and people. Tales From My Heart, written in Bond’s inimitable style, is peppered with his trademark warmth and wit. Vividly illustrated by Sumouli Dutta, this is a gift for all readers, big and small—a family treasure to return to with joy and affection over the years.


Things I Liked:

1. This is such a heartwarming book filled with sweet anecdotes from Ruskin Bond's life coupled with beautiful illustrations and nuggets of wisdom. Highly recommended for readers of all ages. 

2. If you have read a lot of Ruskin Bond, which I have, you'll know some of the characters he refers to or revisits in this book. For instance, his Grandma, her maali, Miss Kellner, Aunt Emily etc. It is like visiting with old friends and stories about these beloved characters made me smile. 

3. Have I already mentioned how lovely the illustrations in this book are? I have? Okay, let me mention it once again and offer some visual proof. 




Isn't it lovely? Each little story has an illustration or two and I loved all of them! 


4. Ruskin Bond is a very wise man, who has lived an interesting life where he walked his own path and did what brought him joy. So, when he offers some advice, we must take it! This book contains some wonderful words of advice, which comes from having lived the kind of life he has. 


Rating: 5/5 

Highly recommended for kids of all ages- 9 to 90! :) 
 

Friday 24 September 2021

Friday Favourites: 10 OTT Series and Movies We've Been Loving Lately

Hey, hey!

Since it is a Friday night, thought I'd share some of my recently watched and loved web series and movies  that my sister and I have really enjoyed recently. 

Let's get into it, shall we?


1. Home Before Dark Season 2 (on Apple TV+)




We watched and loved Home Before Dark (Season 1) on Apple TV+ earlier this year and really loved the storytelling, mystery and the little intrepid student detective/ journalist protagonist. The show's second season came out a few months ago and it did not disappoint. A very relevant mystery, which also helped tie up all the loose ends from Season 1. Highly recommend. 


2. Only Murders in the Building (on Hulu and Disney+ Hotstar) 




A crime comedy-is series where an unlike trio investigate a murder that takes place in their Upper West Side building and start a podcast to document their journey. A great mystery, fantastic writing and brilliant performances by Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez and an amazing ensemble cast, which also stars Nathan Lane! Run, run, run to watch this amazing show! 


3. Truth Be Told Season 2 (on Apple TV+) 




Season 1 of Truth Be Told was based on the book by Kathleen Barber called Are You Sleeping? which documents a podcast solving a twenty-year old murder and exonerating the innocent teenager accused of the crime. The series has returned for Season 2 with a new murder mystery and a podcast that's trying to solve it. Starring the magnificent Octavia Spencer as the podcast host and Kate Hudson, this show is quite riveting! 


4. REKKA- Rabindranath Ekhane Kokhonou Khete Ashenni (on Hoichoi) 




REKKA is a murder mystery that has a very interesting premise! Do not want to give away anything else and fully spoil it, but if you enjoy slightly macabre murder mysteries, then this is the show for you! Spooky and not-very-obvious, this is a fun series! 

5. Bhoot Police (on Disney+ Hotstar)




Comedy-Horror as a genre has been doing really well in the South for years now! So, it is no surprise that after the massive success of Stree, someone else would also make a movie of the same genre. Bhoot Police is a light ghost caper, which does have a heart. Watch it for funsies! 


6. Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol (on Voot) 




Based on the best selling novel by Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol is a historical thriller set in Washington D.C., which features the return of Historian and Symbologist- Robert Langdon- who is racing against time to rescue his mentor from the clutches of a delusional killer. We are one episode in (only 1 has steamed so far) and we quite like it! 


7. What We Do In The Shadows (on Disney+ Hotstar)




A show that defies description, but let me try! A coven of ancient (most of them have been around since the 13th century) vampires living on Long Island, who are totally inept at 'life'! Add to the mix, a young man, who desperately wants to be a vampire and is working as one of the vampire's familiars. All kinds of chaos ensues as they navigate the modern world (at night), spar with werewolves and old flames and foes! Written by Taika Waititi, this show is insane hilarious! 


8. Anjaam Pathira (on MXPlayer and Sun NXT) 




A serial killer is targeting cops in Kerala and criminologist- Anwar Hussain- has to race against time to stop this brilliant killer before more cops are murdered. A brilliant thriller film that is a bit of a slow burn, do watch it if you enjoy this genre. Available with subtitles on Sun NXT and without on MXPlayer. Highly, highly recommend!  


9.  Ratsasan (on Sun NXT) 




Another brilliant Malayalam serial killer caper! Teenaged girls are getting abducted and brutally murdered. The only cop to understand the killer's pattern is someone, who wants to become a film director but ends up becoming a cop. No one takes him seriously till the body count keeps growing. Will he be able to stop this canny killer? Ratsasan is creepy, clever and really, really nicely made! It is streaming with subtitles on Sun NXT and if you enjoy serial killer movies, then is a must-watch! 

10. Cold Case (on Amazon Prime Video)



A young single mother and her little girl move into a new home on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. Soon, bizarre things start happening to them. There is a presence that wants to send the mother a message. Whose ghost is it? At the same time, a decayed corpse is found in a different suburb and the cops have no clue whose body it is! Are the two cases connected? How will this cold case be solved? 
A really interesting and different crime thriller film with a touch of horror. 


Wednesday 22 September 2021

Book Review: The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

 


Book: The Night She Disappeared 

Author: Lisa Jewell 

Pages: 464

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~5 hours 

Plot Summary: Mum, there's some people here from college, they asked me back to theirs. Just for an hour or so. Is that OK?'


Midsummer 2017: Teenage mum Tallulah heads out on a date, leaving her baby son at home with her mother, Kim.

At 11 p.m. she sends her mum a text message. At 4.30 a.m. Kim awakens to discover that Tallulah has not come home.

Friends tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a pool party at a house in the woods nearby called Dark Place.

Tallulah never returns.

2018: Walking in the woods behind the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started as a head teacher, Sophie sees a sign nailed to a fence.

A sign that says: DIG HERE . . .
___________________________
A cold case. An abandoned mansion. 
A family hiding a terrible secret.


Things I Liked:

1. We've read several books by Lisa Jewell and have had a mixed experience with them. Here are some previous reviews- The Family Upstairs and The Girls. So, it was with some scepticism and trepidation that we bought this book, hoping that it would be as interesting as its premise. A girl gone missing for over a year and then, a woman new to town keeps being sent clues as to what could've happened to her. Makes me very happy to report that the book does stay true to the promised level of interest and engagement!

2. Missing persons cases are so heartbreaking because the family is left in this awful no-man's-land between hope and dread. On the one hand, you hope your loved one is still alive. On the other, you are petrified of thinking what condition they must be in if they are still alive! So, it is a horrible Catch-22 situation that one wouldn't wish upon their worst enemy. In this book, single mother- Kim- is left raising her grandson after her daughter- Lula- went missing one year ago after a casual night out with her friends. Kim has chased every lead, gone personally to look for her daughter as much as possible and has not given up hope that Lula will be found alive. 

3. We get to see events from two timelines- from one year ago before Lula went missing and present day when Sophie starts finding clues around her new home hinting at what could've happened to Lula and her boyfriend that fateful night. I found Lula's life- her relationship with her "baby daddy" and the new, posh friends she'd made- especially interesting. You can see in those relationships the seed of future disaster. However, since her controlling partner also went missing, you wonder what could've caused both to vanish together since they were hardly getting along! In the present day timeline, the multiple clues left on the grounds of the school, where Sophie's boyfriend is the new Head Master, and which was attended by the new posh friends Lula made, are also very interesting. 

4. The book is pretty fast-paced. There are various interesting sub-plots and characters and there is never  dull moment. There is no space and time wasted on tangential plots and characters, which is a huge pet peeve of mine in crime/thriller books. 

5. The denouement is interesting and only sort of guess-able. The events of the night Lula and her partner went missing, the identity of the leaver of clues and, finally, what became of Lula and her partner are all very interesting. You won't be disappointed. 

Rating: 4/5 

Sunday 19 September 2021

Book Review: The City of Palaces by Sujata Massey (The Sleeping Dictionary)

 


Book: The City of Palaces (also published outside of India as The Sleeping Dictionary

Author: Sujata Massey 

Pages: 488

Read: On Kindle 

Read in: ~5.5 hours 

Plot Summary: 

An orphaned girl. 

A cruel twist of fate. 

A spectacular adventure.

Bengal, 1930. Young Pom’s life changes forever when her family is wiped out in a devastating flood. She becomes a maidservant in a British boarding school where she discovers her gift for languages. 

Amidst the drudgery of her duties, she finds unexpected friendship and experiences the stirrings of first love. However, tragedy strikes and she is forced into hiding. 

Alone and desperate, she is recruited into a brothel for English officers. She hopes this secretive, decadent world will shield her from the demons of her past. 

But fate intervenes, and our heroine is on the run again—to Calcutta, the city of palaces, where she finds herself caught up in the rising tide of Indian nationalism. Changing her name to Kamala, she creates a new life for herself, one that holds the promise of happiness and true love . . . until her past returns haunt her. 

Filled with romance, danger, intrigue and betrayal, The City of Palaces is a lush, sprawling saga about a feisty young heroine and her struggle for survival.


Things I Liked: 


1. This book is a great look at the social structures, practices, beliefs and values of the Indian society between 1930-1947. It focuses on the lives of women, not just Indian, but also Anglo-Indian, in that era. The lack of freedoms, the absolute lack of self-determination and their precarious place in an even more patriarchal society. We also get to see how women's place and position in society changes based on their socio-economic standing. Girls from educated, higher caste, wealthy families enjoyed more freedom and more of a right to self-determination than their not-as-fortunate counterparts. So, if you are interested in looking at how women's lives were in pre-Independence India, then this is a good book to pick up!  


2. The protagonist of our story- the unnamed girl we get to know as Pom, Sarah, Pamela and Kamala- is a strong, determined woman, who works so hard to overcome the challenges life and people throw her way, but she never loses her spirit and humanity in the process. It would've been very easy for her to become hard and bitter, but she still has a child-like wonderment and enthusiasm about her and she always kind- looking out for those less fortunate than her. Pom's journey from a little farmer's daughter in a costal Bengal village to becoming Kamala Mukherjee- a well-read, polished 20-something woman in Kolkata is interesting and never does it feel super unrealistic. 


3. The book offers us an interesting look into a different side of colonialism- the Anglo-Indian community, the British administrative machinery in Kolkata and of small-town India life. The Anglo-Indian's were a community of people who didn't belong anywhere. They were outside of the Indian (rather Hindu) Varna System and hence, didn't belong to any caste and ergo, could not be placed anywhere in the societal pecking order. So, they were not accepted by the Indian society. Also, as they were only half-British, with usually, the British parent missing-in-action, they were considered beneath the "pure-blooded" Britishers as they were "half-darkies". So, you have a section of people, apparently about 100,000 of them, who belonged nowhere. I have always been fascinated to read more about this community that were so badly treated by the rest of our populace and this book offers a look into some of the not-so-savoury choices made by some Anglo-Indian women. 


4. This book has a range of interesting characters- kind, unkind, selfish, selfless, lovely and just plain evil. I really liked Simon Lewes, ICS and an Englishman, who was trying to see both sides of the Raj in India- some good and most of it bad. I also liked the friends Kamala makes in Calcutta- the young students, who joined Netaji Subhash Chandra Boses' Forward Bloc and, later, his Indian National Army. The feisty, strong and brave young women, who break the shackles of patriarchy and strict familial norms to join India's Freedom Struggle. Apart from these, there are many other people- kind domestic workers, drivers, nurses etc.- that Kamala/Pom meets along the way, who help her the best they can. 


Final Thoughts: This is a very immersive and atmospheric book that takes you deep into that era. Read it at a leisurely pace on a weekend and I am sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did! There are parts of the book that are so hard to read. The Kharagpur bits as well as how poor Kamala was treated at the boarding school where she worked. However, those were some of the, very limited, options that orphaned girls in the 1930s had to survive in a world that was out to get them. If you enjoy historical fiction, then this book is for you! 


Rating: 4.5/5 


Thursday 16 September 2021

Book Review: Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

 




Book: Local Woman Missing 

Author: Mary Kubica 

Pages: 352 

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: 

You’ll never find her. Don’t even try.


When a local mother and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, suddenly vanish, their close-knit suburban community is rocked by fear and suspicion. How could such a terrible thing have happened in their small town?


Then, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly reappears. Everyone wants to know what really happened to her. But there are secrets hidden deep in the past – and when the truth about those missing years begins to surface, no one is prepared for what they’re about to find out.


Things I Liked:


1. The premise of the book and the first 30% of it were very interesting and gripping. Two missing women, one missing child from the same neighbourhood. Cases, which don't seem linked, but the events happened too close to one another for them to be ruled out as unconnected! Who has taken these women? Where is little Delilah? What had happened that cursed fortnight eleven years ago? 


2. The narrative moves between present day and to the days before the women and Delilah went missing 11 years ago. The story is told from the perspective of 4 women- Meredith (Delilah's mother, who goes missing), her neighbours- Bea and Kay and Delilah, who is being held by a malicious couple in a dark dungeon. Through these women we learn of the events that took place 11 years ago and of the events that take place one Delilah manages to escape her captors and is returned home. Oh, and we also have some chapters from Leo's perspective- he is Delilah's brother- where we can see Delilah's struggles to adjust to her home and family after her return. 


3. The book is fairly fast-paced and there is enough to keep one engrossed and engaged. 


4. The character development is decent. We get to know Meredith well enough to like her and feel awful for what happens to her. The other characters are also decently developed. We get to know them a little more than just superficially, which is always a good thing. 


Things I Didn't Like: 


1. The big reveal about what happened to Shelby (the woman who went missing first) is quite guess-able. You are made to believe it is a lot more sinister, but it is quite obvious as to what happened to her. What happened to Meredith and, more so, to Delilah is a bit implausible! It just wouldn't fly in real life irrespective of how inept local law enforcement is! I found it very difficult to buy what the author was trying to sell as far as Delilah's fate was concerned. 


2. There were insufficient twists in the tale. There were way too many breadcrumbs and it was really easy to guess the big reveals. Not very fun in a crime thriller book!


Rating: 3/5 


Tuesday 14 September 2021

Book Review: As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

 


Book: As Good as Dead (Book #3 in the 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder' Series)  

Author: Holly Jackson 

Pages: 464

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: 4 hours 

Plot Summary: Pip is about to head to college, but she is still haunted by the way her last investigation ended. She’s used to online death threats in the wake of her viral true-crime podcast, but she can’t help noticing an anonymous person who keeps asking her: Who will look for you when you’re the one who disappears? 


Soon the threats escalate and Pip realizes that someone is following her in real life. When she starts to find connections between her stalker and a local serial killer caught six years ago, she wonders if maybe the wrong man is behind bars.


Police refuse to act, so Pip has only one choice: find the suspect herself—or be the next victim. As the deadly game plays out, Pip discovers that everything in her small town is coming full circle . . .and if she doesn’t find the answers, this time she will be the one who disappears. 


General Thoughts: Last year I read and enjoyed the first two books in the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series by Holly Jackson. I have reviewed the first book here. I didn't review the second book for some reason, but I did enjoy it as well. The second book ends on an unsatisfying note (refer to the first line in the 'plot summary' above) and so, I, guess, like Pip, I felt a bit sad and demotivated. However, when the third (and final) book in the series came out, I picked it up in the hope that all loose ends will be tied up and I was not disappointed! 

If you are looking for a good series of murder mystery books or even good young adult (YA) crime fiction with some old-fashioned soul, then you can't go wrong with these books! Highly recommend the entire series! 

Also, you will need to read the first two books in the series to truly enjoy (or even make sense) of this last instalment


Things I Liked: 

1. I love the depiction of young adults in this series of books. They are not too precocious or too desperate-to-be-wildly-grown-up. They are so real. This also extends to the kinds of investigation and investigative techniques used by Pip and Ravi, which are all within the limits of what young lay people can manage. I also liked how mental health is given so much space in this book. Pip struggles with severe PTSD after the events of book #2 and though her way to deal with it is not the best, the author still shines a light on mental health issues of those who decide to devote their lives to true crime or crime solving. 

2. I really liked how a huge focus of this book was on closing several open plot points and tying up loose ends of both book #1 and #2. We have a case in this book that *slight spoiler alert* is sort of connected to the events the previous books in the series. In that sense, the author has done a fantastic job of coming full circle and weaving the whole series together!

3. This book's narrative can be broken into two distinct parts (even the book is structured in such a manner)- first, closing the loop on the crimes/ events of the first two books and then, justice. That is all, unfortunately, that I can tell you about the second part of As Good As Dead because anything else I say will be a huge spoiler! 

4. Pip and Ravi are just so adorable! I really like how their relationship has evolved and they were somehow even cuter in this book! 

5. The ending! I know that a lot of reviewers have had mixed feelings about the second half of the book and the ending, but I really liked how it ended. Sure, there were some legalities that were glossed over by the author, but I am willing to disregard those as poetic license of sorts, but the overall ending of the book was so, so satisfying. That's all I am going to say on that! 

Rating: 4/5 
This is a great YA crime thriller series, do read it! Perfect for a long weekend of binge-reading! 

Saturday 11 September 2021

Book Review: Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

 



Book: Rock Paper Scissors 

Author: Alice Feeney 

Pages: 320

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~3 hours 

Plot Summary: 

Ten years of marriage.

Ten years of secrets.


An anniversary they’ll never forget.

Adam and Amelia are spending the weekend in the Scottish Highlands. The remote location is perfect for what they have planned.

But when their romantic trip takes a dark turn, they both start to wonder – can they trust the one they’re with?

Because every couple tells little white lies. Only for Adam and Amelia, the truth is far more dangerous.


Things I Liked: 


1. Marriage is a fascinating subject. There is so much that goes on in a marriage that is endlessly interesting. Couples keep secrets- they don't have to be big, life altering secrets- which can lead to lies, more lies and, sometimes, to deadly consequences. So, in this book, we have a couple that has a lot of secrets and who have lied a lot to each other. When the wife- Amelia- wins a raffle during her office Christmas party, her prize is a weekend getaway to a far-flung church-turned-B&B in the Scottish Highlands. Since her marriage has been a bit rocky, Amelia jumps at this opportunity to get away from London with her husband, Adam. During the journey and at the B&B, we see, from both Amelia and Adam's perspectives, about how their marriage is not what it used to. We also see how they both have been keeping secrets and lying to each other. 


2. Apart from the secrets and lies, there is also something not-very-kosher in Amelia's past. The author drops some very interesting breadcrumbs about Amelia as well as about Adam. Both are not what they seem, but, unlike a lot of books about unreliable narrators, where it is so obvious who they are, in this book it is not-that-easy, which is always a good thing. 


3. The book is very atmospheric. The isolation of the B&B, the storm, incessant snowfall, the creepy history of the church where the B&B is housed- all of it adds to the story. There is something sinister about the B&B, which Adam and Amelia sense as soon as they arrive there, but given it is snowing and they have nowhere to go, they decide to stay there. Apart from the creepy vibe and isolation of the Blackwater Inn, there is also a mysterious, reclusive woman, who lives close to the B&B and has been spying on Adam and Amelia. Robin- the reclusive woman- has something sinister planned for this couple and she is determined to ensure only one of them survives the weekend.


4. The book moves back and forth in time- between present day in the B&B in Scotland and to various points over the past 10-odd years of Amelia-Adam's marriage via annual anniversary letters written by Amelia to Adam. Via the letters, we can see the growing distance and discontent between Adam and Amelia. We also get to see Robin's home, her simple, off-the-grid life and her plans for Adam-Amelia. There are some nice not-so-obvious breadcrumbs laid out by the author about Robin and her involvement with Adam-Amelia. 


5. The reveal is very, very interesting and nicely done! I don't want to give anything away but you will enjoy the little twists in the ending. Even once the book ends, there is yet another interesting reveal. Again, not very obvious, but the author has dropped some subtle breadcrumbs, so that this does not come out of the blue! 


6. The book is set against the backdrop of the publishing and media (Hollywood) industry and the drama and dynamics of this business is also well captured in this book. It adds another layer of interest in an already interesting book. 


Rating: 4/5 

This is a good, atmospheric thriller about relationships, lies and secrets. 

Wednesday 8 September 2021

Book Review: What We Know About Her by Krupa Ge. (JCB Prize Long-List)

 Hello Loves, the JCB Prize long-list was announced day before yesterday and has some pretty surprising books on the long-list. Some that I've had my eye on and some that I had never heard of before. Some I want to pick up and read and others which I have honestly zero interest in picking up. But I think that there is a little something for everyone to pick up and that is a good thing be. 

This book that I am reviewing today has made it to the long-list. I was reading it when the list was announced and having had read it I can see why it would make the cut. I am glad I already had it and I am glad I read it. 

I might read a few more books from the long-list and review them in due time. 

Let's talk about this book first. 




Book:
What We Know About Her 

Author: Krupa Ge 

Publisher: Context Books (Westland) 

Pages: 204 

How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 days ( I took my time with it) 


Plot Summary: Yamuna is adrift. A long-term relationship has come to an end. Her mother and she are at loggerheads about their ancestral home in Chingleput, which she loves and lives in. Even her PhD on early twentieth-century music in Tamil Nadu seems to be going nowhere—until it leads her to an unexpected puzzle from the past.

During her research, she comes to be fascinated by her enigmatic grandaunt, Lalitha, who rose to prominence as a Carnatic musician at a time when thirteen-year-old brides were the norm. And then she chances upon a letter written by her own grandmother to her grandfather that opens up another window into Lalitha’s life. She wants to know more. Only, the more questions she asks, the closer her family draws its secrets. No one will talk to her about this long-dead ancestor’s life or death.

What lies beneath the stories they are willing to tell? Beyond the letters that Yamuna manages to purloin from her beloved grandfather’s papers when she visits him in Banaras? What did this family do to Lalitha? Krupa Ge’s debut novel is an absorbing tale of an angsty young woman who must unravel the secrets of her family before she can untangle her own life.


Things I Liked: 

1. Some of my favourite things in the world in learning about family lores. Whether it's my own family, which to my utmost delight is rich in stories and characters and secrets and complications or even the stories about someone else's family (real or imagined). So this book from the outset had me interested. I related to Yamuna so much. I could imagine myself talking to people, trying to unearth more details about the life of her shrouded-in-mystery grandaunt- Lalitha. Everything Yamuna does to get to the bottom of this enigma had my heart. 

2. I loved the writing. It's perfectly pleasant and accessible and from the very beginning the writer manages to pull you in and take you along for the ride. From the crowded gullies in Benaras to Madras in the 40s. You find yourself walking along with Yamuna and enjoying every second of this journey. 

3. There is something about books about old family homes. Homes that become characters in themselves. Homes with so much history- not all of it pleasant or bearable, but a history that lingers. That adds dimensions to the story and deeply affects those to inhabit it. There is such a home in this book too. A home that has housed generations of this family. A home that is currently a bone of contention between mother and daughter. A home that Yamuna has called her own since she was seventeen and one she is willing to fight for. I grew up hearing about and, occasionally, visiting such a home and for me this story took me right back. It was one of my favourite things about the book. 

4. Yamuna is a girl from today's world. Firmly set in present day. She is independent, well-read, lost, confused, knows what she wants (in certain areas) and willing to fight for what she needs. I liked her. I felt like I knew her. She was like a friend I grew to care about. One I rooted for. One I wished well. She isn't perfect and that makes her great. She doesn't have it all figured out, but she is open to learning, open to changing her mind and unlearn. 

5. Lalitha- our other main character, who we meet via conversations about her, through memories, through music and through her beautiful letters. Your heart will break for her. Your soul soar for her greatness and talent. She was product of her time. Some might say she was a victim of her time too. Married young, to an abusive man, she would have withered away and suffered silently, yet she managed to carve out a space for herself, a niche and leave behind a legacy. She did all of this quietly, in ways that might infuriate you (or me sitting in 2021) but her life and her actions make sense in the world she lived in. 

6. I loved Yamuna's family. Her Thaata (grandfather) and her mother might be be favourite secondary characters. They aren't perfect either and some of their actions might leave you feeling a little confused but wishing the confines of their thinking and world, these make sense too. It was realistic. These dynamics and conversations and decisions were things we see all around us. The book captures today's family perfectly. 

7. The book does a good job shifting from place to time and from family gathering to rooftops parties and the conversations and discussions that take place in these settings. I especially found the December 2019 conversations and debates particularly relatable. All of it, the hurt, the confusion, the anger and rage and how we (most of us) wanted to do something to voice our displeasure with what was happening across the country. I loved how this very important time in our very recent history has been depicted with a realistic lens here. 

8. This book doesn't offer you all the answer, what I mean is that you might, by the end of it, want more answers, you might want clearer or neat and sanitised endings. What happened to Yamuna's love life? Was Lalitha ever truly happy? A lot of these questions are answered but you might want more. Normally this would irk me. But then when does real life answer all of our questions? So why expect a book to do the same? Life is often messy and unclear and maybe a book that does that is perfectly reflective of our real lives. 

Rating: 4/5 

This is a great place to start if you are planing on reading from the Longlist. It's a slim book, one that you could read in one sitting and one that I think you'll enjoy very much. 

Tuesday 7 September 2021

Haul & Review: New Pencil Pouches from Taaga by Reema.

Hello Loves! 

For a stationery loving and hoarding Behen, such as myself, a pencil pouch/bag is of utmost importance. A place to carry all my pens and pencils and highlighter and other miscellaneous things and keep them all in one place and safe is very critical. 

So I tend to get a lot of pouches for this specific purpose. I also really like pouches in general. Back when life was ordinary and one went out and about, I used a lot of pouches to keep my bag organised and neat. I also use pouches to store my stationery, make-up and bookmarks and even jewellery. So in my world I can never have enough pouches. 

:) 

I was recently getting a backpack and tote from Taaga by Reema, and Reema shared some of her new quirky fabrics with me, I guess she knows me well and lo and behold I fell in love with these two prints and needed something in them. I didn't want another tote or backpack, so I went a classic, a pouch! 

Two pencils bag, one for my sister and one for me. 

They arrived yesterday and are everything and more that I hoped for. 



Look how cute! 

The doggo one is for my sister and the one with the daisies and bees is for me!  


REVIEW: 

1. The pouches are spacious. Really well-sized and hold a lot of things. I have already moved into mine and it easily fits more than 25 pens. So no matter how many pens and pencils you need to cart around this is a good option to buy. 

2. The prints are beautiful and clear and vivid. 

3. The pouches are so well made. With matching zips and smooth zips. 

4. The pricing is good too. 

5. These pouches will work really well as make-up pouches too. 

I am very happy with them. 

Rating: 5/5 



Cute. 

Cute.

Cute. 




I have got two more things from Taaga that I'll be sharing soon. 

:) 

Have a good day Behens. 


Sunday 5 September 2021

Mini Reviews: Leslie Wolfe's Detective Kay Sharp Books

 





Book: The Girl from Silent Lake 

Plot Summary: When single mother Alison Nolan sets off with her six-year-old daughter, Hazel, she can’t wait to spend precious time with her girl. A vacation in Silent Lake, where snow-topped mountains are surrounded by the colors of fall, is just what they need. But hours later, Alison and Hazel vanish into thin air.


Detective Kay Sharp rushes to the scene. The only evidence that they were ever there is an abandoned rental car with a suitcase in the back, gummy bears in the open glove compartment and a teddy bear on the floor.

Kay’s mind spins. A week before, the body of another woman from out of town was found wrapped in a blanket, her hair braided and tied with feathers. Instinct tells her that the cases are connected––and it won’t be long until more innocent lives are lost.

As Kay leads a frenzied search, time is against her, but she vows that Alison and little Hazel will be found alive. She works around the clock, even though the small town is up in arms, saying she’s asking too many questions. Then she uncovers a vital clue – a photograph of the blanket that the first victim was buried in.

Just when Kay thinks she’s found the missing piece, she realises she’s being watched. Is she getting too close, or is her own past catching up with her?

With a little girl’s life on the line, Kay will stop at nothing. But will it be enough to get inside the mind of the most twisted killer she has ever encountered, or will another blameless child be taken?

Review: 
1. This is a great book if you like serial killers and fast-paced thrillers with good character building. A killer is taking women with kids and torturing them for extended periods of time before killing and burying them. The tiny local police are struggling until ex-FBI profiler, Dr. Kay Sharp, steps in to help solve these killings. 

2. The killer's obsession, the events in his background, his psychosis are all nicely done. The book is fast-paced and there is a lot going on, which keeps the reader engaged. 

3. The resolution is satisfactory even if we figure out who the killer is somewhere mid-way through the book. 

Rating: 4/5 





Book: Beneath Black Water River 

Plot Summary: When Detective Kay Sharp first left Mount Chester—population 3,823—in her rear-view mirror, she promised never to look back. The town only contained bad memories and dark secrets. But when a brutal crime surfaces, she finds herself home once more, and this time she’s not going anywhere.

Kay is called to Blackwater River, where the body of a seventeen-year-old girl has been found. Surrounded by snowy peaks and a forest alive with the colors of fall, the victim floats in the water, a hand-carved locket around her neck.

The locket seems strangely familiar. Digging into cold cases, Kay discovers that three-year-old Rose Harrelson was wearing it when she vanished fourteen years ago. In the middle of the night, the little girl’s bedroom—with Mickey Mouse on the wall and a hanging baby mobile—was suddenly empty. The unsolved case still haunts the town.

But the teenager they have found has been dead for only a few hours. If the girl in the river is Rose, where has she been, and who has been hiding her all this time? If she is someone else, why is she wearing the locket, and what happened to the missing child from all those years ago?

Kay knows she must solve the kidnapping in order to untangle the mystery of the dead body. As she unearths a web of lies and deceit spun for decades, the close-knit community will never be the same. And Kay will find herself facing a truly terrifying killer.

Review: 

1. A good mystery about a 14-year-old kidnapping case, which was badly investigated leading to tragic consequences. Rose Harrelson, aged three, went missing fourteen years ago. Recently, a young woman's body is discovered and her DNA matches with that of Rose, but this young woman is the daughter of an affluent family. So, how is this possible?

2. At the same time, a fifteen year old girl- Kirsten, has run away from her foster home. She has been kidnapped by a man, who is trying to relive the experiences of his first love with her. Kirsten knows her days are numbered and does what she can to try and escape from captivity. 

3. The two seemingly disparate cases are interesting and engaging, though a bit predictable. However, this is still an engaging and fast-paced book. 

Rating: 3.5/5


Book: The Angel Creek Girls 

Plot Summary: 9 HOURS AGO: In a sleepy mountain town, widow Cheryl Coleman stares anxiously out of her kitchen window while a storm rages outside. When the knock comes, she glances back at her daughters before opening the door with trembling hands…

NOW: Detective Kay Sharp vows to get to the bottom of a heartbreaking murder that has rocked Mount Chester. A single mother has been brutally killed in front of her three daughters. The youngest, three-year-old Erin, is lying inches from the body, her pigtails loose, her face tear-stained. Eight-year-old Heather is discovered hiding under her bed. Sixteen-year-old Julie is nowhere to be found.

The first twenty-four hours are critical in child abductions, and the girls are the key to saving their missing sister. But Heather is in shock, unable to communicate, and all tiny Erin can say is “A monster came”. When Kay finds three suitcases lined up in the hallway, it’s clear that the family were about to run away. But why? And who were they trying to escape?

Thanks to her own past, Kay knows all about traumatic childhoods shrouded in tragedy, and she works around the clock to get justice for the orphaned girls. Turning the town upside down, she uncovers the shocking truth about their peaceful community: it’s home to a serial killer who preys on helpless girls. Faced with the most twisted case of her career, can she catch the monster before another innocent life is lost?

Review: 

1. A great mystery, which is fast-paced and not-at-all obvious. The killer's motive, the cult-is vibe of the book, all make it very interesting. 

2. Everyone in this book is keeping a secret and the unraveling of these is what makes the book very interesting. 

Rating: 4/5 

P.S: This book is available for FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. 


Saturday 4 September 2021

Journal Set-Up: Daily Pages Journal.

 







Hello Loves! 

I have been writing morning pages (pretty much regularly) since July now. It feels so good to have a place to jot down some musings and thoughts and just vent if I need to. I used the same journal for July and August and used up all the pages come September. 

So new month, new journal. 

I picked this floral beauty for my Journal in September. 

And did a little decor to get it started. 



How beautiful is this journal? 

This style of florals is my favourite. 

I got this journal and another pink one, free with my planner this year. From The Inkbucket. So I figured I might as well put it to good use. 

:) 



This journal already comes with a front page and I decorated it using some simple supplies. 
A whole bunch of stickers, some Washi Tape, a vellum paper and a scrap of brown paper. 
I like how it's turned out. 



A closer look. 



Supplies from: 

VnV Shop.

Kimey's Corner 

Ali Express. 

Amazon. 








Have a great weekend, everyone! :) 

Friday 3 September 2021

Book Review: The Family Plot by Megan Collins

 


Book: The Family Plot

Author: Megan Collins 

Pages: 382

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~3 hours 

Plot Summary: At twenty-six, Dahlia Lighthouse is haunted by her upbringing. Raised in a secluded island mansion deep in the woods and kept isolated by her true crime-obsessed parents, she is unable to move beyond the disappearance of her twin brother, Andy, when they were sixteen.


After several years away and following her father’s death, Dahlia returns to the house, where the family makes a gruesome discovery: buried in their father’s plot is another body—Andy’s, his skull split open with an ax.

Dahlia is quick to blame Andy’s murder on the serial killer who terrorized the island for decades, while the rest of her family reacts to the revelation in unsettling ways. Her brother, Charlie, pours his energy into creating a family memorial museum, highlighting their research into the lives of famous murder victims; her sister, Tate, forges ahead with her popular dioramas portraying crime scenes; and their mother affects a cheerfully domestic facade, becoming unrecognizable as the woman who performed murder reenactments for her children. As Dahlia grapples with her own grief and horror, she realizes that her eccentric family, and the mansion itself, may hold the answers to what happened to her twin.


Things I Liked: 

1. This is a very atmospheric book. The big mansion on an island. The history of a gory home invasion casting a pall of eerie gloom over the place. A family whose mother is obsessed with serial killers, especially, their victims. Not only obsessed but also teaches her kids about these killers and their victims, even re-enacting their deaths, holding little memorial services for the victims of serial killers on their death anniversaries. So, it is a creepy backdrop against which the story is set. 

2. The book is a huge hat tip to classic true crime and fans of true crime. If you are a true crime aficionado  then you are going to love all the references in this book. Names of both victims and serial killers are mentioned quite casually in the book and if you are into true crime then you'll get all the references. 

3. Dysfunctional families are always interesting to read about and the Lighthouse family is as dysfunctional as it gets. The mother is a little too obsessed with true crime, the kids are singularly weird in different ways and the father is disinterested in everything apart from hunting and teaching his two sons how to hunt. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. This book was (and still is) very, very hyped on BookTube and Bookstagram because of the aforementioned references to true crime and its atmospheric setting. However, the author takes this creepy family and its mater's obsession with true crime to an unrealistic, over-the-top and implausible levels. The mother's obsession with serial killers and their victims makes her teach her kids all about the killers, their modus operandi and about each of their victims. She re-enacts, with enthusiasm, props and all, the deaths of victims in her home school classroom. The kids are home schooled only about serial killers and very little else! While I enjoy reading about dysfunctional families, this one feels really, really unrealistic and desperately made up.  After a few chapters, the schtick of true crime obsession and the weird mother gets really, really old! 

2. The resolution of the mystery of Andy's death is a humongous let down! The motive behind his murder, the reason why he was killed, is so insanely bizarre and unbelievable that it made me want to scream! There was no reason for poor Andy to end up dead the way he did! No good, sensible, understandable reason! That is my biggest issue with this book. The author has tried too hard to be edgy, but it is done so badly and so pointlessly that is doesn't have the intended effect at all! After reading the whole book, when you find out how Andy got killed, you want to throw something at someone! It is so pointless! 

3. The book has a secondary mystery- that of a serial killer, who has been killing young women on the island for several years now. This "mystery" is so predictable that you can guess who the killer is, pretty much, from the beginning of the book! It is so obvious when some favourite activities of one of the characters of the book is described in the first 5% of the book! It is utterly dull! I don't know what the author was going for but this "mystery" falls flat instead of being gritty and intriguing. 

Rating: 2/5
Do not waste your money!