Review: The Treasure of Kafur

Goodreads Description:

‘The fate of an Empire trembles in the balance…’

Hindustan, 1580 AD. The Mughal Emperor Akbar is at the height of his power, seemingly invincible. But twenty years of war have earned him many enemies, and rebellion is brewing, led by Asaf Baig, the tyrannical ruler of Khandesh. Baig has stumbled upon the knowledge that the fabulous lost treasure of Malik Kafur, that will guarantee victory to Akbar’s enemies, is known to an old woman called Ambu.

Baig Kidnaps Ambu to wrest the knowledge of the treasure from her; but her twenty-year-old grandson, Dattatreya, escapes and flees across Hindustan to enlist the help of the one person who has the most reason to stop Baig – the Mughal Emperor himself.

Staying one step ahead of capture and death, Datta is swept up in a world of kings and warrior princesses, of uncommon friendships and an implacable evil; and a desperate race against time to save his grandmother – and the Empire.

My Review:

After what seems like years of reading historical and contemporary romance (six months actually), I was yearning to read a good thriller filled with loads of blood and gore, or an adventure a la Da Vinci Code. Just as the thought crossed my head, I was contacted by Aroon Raman, the author of this book, asking if I would like to read it and review it. I went through the blurb on Goodreads and seeing that the book promised to be a rolling adventure, I obviously jumped at the chance and am I glad I did!

The book is placed in the Mughal Period in India, the late 1500s, when Akbar was in reign. As the title states, it is about a lost treasure. The plot revolves around a rebellion by Asaf Baig, the ruler of Khandesh, who plans to overthrow Akbar, and plans to fund the battle with the Treasure of Kafur. The whereabouts of the treasure are known to Ambu, a Guardian of the forest, who can communicate with animals, and is kidnapped by Baig. The 'Guardian' bit adds a mystical angle to the plot, but luckily, the author has managed to reign it in to a large extent and not let it swallow the plot. The premise of the plot is clearly established in the first few chapters, and what follows is how Datta, Ambu's grandson with the hep if his animal friends, manages to reach Akbar and rescue Ambu with his help. 

I don't know how historically accurate the book is, but that does not bother me as it is not a text book but a work of fiction. The author has a good command on the plot and has not veered too far from it in most instances. The court descriptions were a little boring and I did not like to read about Datta's impressions on ALL the things, and these parts could be shortened a bit. Also, I felt that the romance angle was kind of unnecessary and the ending was a little lame (It would have been great to end on a super high note of battle victory or finding the treasure). But the politics and the strategy part was gripping. I also liked the descriptions of the war and battles. The aside about Maharana Pratap was sooo interesting, it makes me wish Aroon will do a follow-up with the Maharana and Akbar as protagonists. 

In this book, Aroon avoids two of my favorite complaints regarding Indian Authors, extremely loong descriptions of anything and everything and pathetic grammar and language. His language is quite good, unlike most other Indian writers who are on extremes most of the times, either writing exceedingly simplistic language, as if the reader does not understand English at all or writing as if they are Oxford professors or have overused the thesaurus function in Word. The author has managed to run a relatively tight ship, making the book a tolerable length instead of making the reader wish it were over. 

All in all, I enjoyed the book, it is well written and a different subject that what I have read before. I would recommend it for all readers looking for an adventure read.

If not for the ending, I would have rated it a 4/5, however, as I did not like the end, I will rate it 3.5/5 for delivering a quick fun read.

I have received a copy of this book from the author for review, however, it has no effect on my actual review. All the impressions, good and bad. are my own.

P.S : Indian readers like me beware, Like me, you may keep imagining Hritik Roshan as Akbar! Not a problem for me though as I quite like him!!! :) :) :)  

Review: Heaven's Price by Sandra Brown

Goodreads Description:

Heaven's Pric

Blair Simpson has embraced a life most people merely dreamed about. Devoting her nights as well as her days to dancing--in the chorus line of Broadway musicals and occasional TV commercials--she had never considered another career. Now an injury has sent her to a small town for six long months of recuperation. All around her are couples who are raising families and buildinBlair Simpson has embraced a life most people merely dreamed about. Devoting her nights as well as her days to dancing--in the chorus line of Broadway musicals and occasional TV commercials--she had never considered another career. Now an injury has sent her to a small town for six long months of recuperation. All around her are couples who are raising families and building dreams together. And there she meets a man who forces her to come to terms with a part of herself she has long denied.

From her first encounter with her new landlord, Sean Garett, the powerful sexual attraction between them catches her off guard. For the first time she's unable to lose herself in her dancing, as Sean's passion and tenderness urge her to open her life to him. More than anything, Sean wants to build a future with fiery, raven-haired Blair. But Blair's own passion for dance has ruled her for so long, she may not be able to break its hold--even if it costs her the love she had thought she'd never find.

My Review:
I did not like this book at all. In fact, the moment Sean opened his mouth, i was seriously put off. I put the book down after a few pages itself. In whatever few pages I read, Sean's character was dominating and dumb and Blair just takes it. He orders her around and does what he pleases, while she just goes along his plans. I can take this type of characters in a historical setting cause people were like that, but this is too much to take in a contemporary American setting.

All in all, I did not like the book and would have given it zero stars. 0/5
 

Review: Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey

Once a Princess
Author: Johanna Lindsey

I remember reading this book many years ago when I was on a Johanna Lindsey reading spree. This time around, I was in mood for reading a good bodice-ripper. And Johanna Lindsey always delivers on that count!

It was a quick read and I enjoyed it. The story is very predictable, anyone can guess it by reading the description written at the back. Mostly it consists of a lot of hot scenes with a loosely woven plot to hold them all together. Very predictable and funny, but I enjoyed it.

I rate it a 4/5 for delivering what it promised!

Review: Just for Kicks

Hello All,

Hope you all had a great start to the year and have started cracking up on fulfilling those resolutions. I for one started off with a good book, Just for Kicks by Susan Andersen. I just happened to pass by the old paper mart where the book was considerably marked down, just Rs20! The excerpt on the back cover caught my fancy and so I picked it up.

I really really liked the book. Read it on a Sunday afternoon. The plot is based in Las Vegas, with Carly being a 'real live vegas showgirl!' and Wolf the Important Security Man at the casino. The book also involves Niklaus, Wolf's nephew, and 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Wolf and Carly are great characters with a lot of chemistry going on between them. While I can't say that the plot or the characters were unique in any way, but they were fun. I liked all the other supporting cast as well and would not mind reading more about them.

All in all, a great start to the year!

I rate this 4/5 mainly just for being a super easy breezy read.

P.S. Let me know what is the most interesting resolution you have made for the year!

Review: Tea for Two and a Piece of Cake

 Tea for Two and a Piece of Cake by Preeti Shenoy


My very good friend, A, had come down recently, bearing gifts. She gave me a few books, this one amongst them. A few months after her visit, I finally got around to reading this one. Like most books by Indian authors, I found the story line very intriguing. The story is about a plump, not conventially good looking (its the PC word for ugly), girl, Nisha, who out of the blue, finds her dreams turning true. The story follws her life over 8 years, where her dreams shatter and she is forced to pick up the pieces and start all over again.
I have reduced my reading of books written by Indian authors, as I don't find the book actually living up to the expectations set by the introduction on the back. However, I was not really dissapointed with Preeti Shenoy's writing, she writes lucidly, with acceptable grammar and has etched out most of her characters well.

Nisha, has been a neglected only child, who has lost her mother early in life and has also lost her father's attention. This shapes her to be what she is, a woman who is slightly awkward and starved for love and attention. Her life revolves around her work at a small-time travel agency and her colleagues, who while not her friends, provide her with the much needed human contact and acceptance.

Enter: Samir Sharma, the high-flying travel agency director, who seems to have it all. He is good looking, sophisticated and doesn't seem like much of a bad guy. Then follows the case of an opposites attract romance between Samir and Nisha, culminating in marraige. Then the problems start. It seems that Nisha is living in her own bubble, wanting totally different things from her husband, who tolerates her for most part. One day, he finally breaks-up with her, (over the phone!) telling her he is leaving her and their two children for another woman.

 Then, for me, the story takes an intersting turn, with Nisha picking up her life and coming on to her own self. She is helped by Akash, a younger ex-colleague, who has been interested in her all these years. She also gets support from an elderly neighbour, Mrs. Billimora.

The story is good, and I also like the ending. The characters are for most part well etched, however, I failed to connect much with Nisha, not able to understand how she could have lived in her own world for 8 years! How she could have noticed but ignored the fact that her husband did not like or want children and was drifting apart. I do not understand or connect with such woman, but I suppose it must be possible given the plethora of books written about them.

All in all it is a good book, well written, with the author bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion.

I would rate it 3.5/5, reccommending to all who would like to read a good novel about relationships.

Review: The M.D. She Had to Marry

The M.D. She Had To Marry (Conveniently Yours) by Christine Rimmer


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I don't usually read doctor or hospital romances as I find them quote stuffy and boring. However, recently, I have been watching a lot of Grey's Anatomy and thought to find some book's own McDreamy! Alas! this one was not it :(....

The M.D, Logan Severance, is unfortunately the stuffed shirt I wanted to avoid. The woman who HAD to marry him, Lacey Bravo, is an artist with little bit of a "wild reputation" and his ex-fiancee's sister (oh ho). They have 5 wild days together which result in a baby.

The characters were a little flat, with no real chemistry showing thru. As husband and wife, Lacey and Logan seem to have no communication, but a lot of thoughts! He is scared she will leave him, she wants him to accept that he loves her (she obviously knows about it and has been assured by her sister, the ex, that he really does love her) and also accept her lifestyle. There is no heat shown between two very opposite characters, though the author has written a few good love scenes.

The book is written as a continuation of the Bravo Family series. I have not read any of the previous books and felt some background info was missing. The story is a typical Mills and Boon romance, nothing new on the table.

It was an OK read, nothing exciting. Recommended if you like doctor romances.

 

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James


My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Its absolute crap! I could barely get thru the first few pages! The writing is sub-standard, Ana, does not need to be coaxed into submissive behaviour.. she is dumb enough to anyways do as she is told. Grey is wierd and he "gasps".. (I've never heard a man gasp.. does it happen?)

Read the first 80 pages or so and abandoned it. I normally don't leave books halfway, but this one is so infuriating.

Anyways, I would not like to give this any stars if possible.

Not reccomended for anyone.




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Review: Second Nature

Second Nature (Celebrity Magazine #1) by Nora Roberts


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Yet another Nore Roberts book. Words and the story flow effortlessly and it is a quick read. This book is part one of the Celebrity Magazine series. The story is about a reporter who tracks down an elusive writer for her story and they fall in love.

A well-written book, but nothing path-breaking or great. I read it as part of the anthology, Summer Pleasures, and it was as the name suggested a light summer read.

Review: Never Love a Cowboy

Never Love a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath


Really liked the book even though most of it was highly predictable. The book was divided into two parts, the first one where Harrison and Jessey go on the great cattle drive, and the second where Harry, who is crippled during the drive finds a way to accept himself with the help of Jessey and his friends, each of whom have a past.

The second part of the story gives the book some depth. Most historicals would have ended with the female protagonist happily accepting the physical shortcomings and the characters living happily together, all in the space of a few pages. Heath gets into the depth of feelings felt by Harry, showing him as an unsufferable idiot who is angry at the world and himself. She traces the entire journey from him being unable to accept his disability to showing anger, depression and finally acceptance.

The characters are well etched out, both of them staying true to their pschye laid out intially itself. I liked the way all the other characters were shaped as well and am looking forward to read Kit's book as well. I have jumped the series, not reading the first part of the series, which I may also read.

All in all, once the book picked up some pace, I really liked it and you will too if you are a fan of Western Historicals.

I would rate it 3.5/5

Review: Strange Bedpersons

Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie


My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


This book is an early Jennifer Cruise novel and is different from her recent works. The plot is slightly formulaic and predictable. The dialogue however is witty and the humor elements make the story interesting. Tess is a feminist do-gooder and Nick is a career oriented lawyer. They are extreme opposites in everything and as it always does in world of romance, opposites attract. What follows is a lot of adjustment and growing up for both the characters. I found the chemistry between the two primary characters a little weak but that was obvious as she spent most of the book cataloguing his faults and he spent most of the book trying to turn her into what he likes. However, the other characters in the book were well sketched out and fun. The ending however was very predictable.

All in all a light read, a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Review: Bet Me

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I so so so loved this one! Its a light chick-lit, with loads of humor and BFFs and a sassy heroine. Perfect for a lazy summer afternoon. This book proves again why Jennifer Cruise is on my auto-read list.
The story is about Min, a big - boned, healthy (F-A-T) girl and Cal, a gorgeous god! They meet because of a bet and then fight attraction all the way. The story was very filmy (a la bollywood) with music and food and voices in the head shouting THIS ONE!. Its almost like a family flick with friends, mothers, fathers and nephews running around the story!

The dialogue is amazing and all the characters are a little wacky, but so real! Its a must-read for chick-lit lovers. I want to read Liza's story, I hope Jennifer Cruise writes it soon!

Review: Twelve Sharp

Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read Stephanie Plum after a looong time.. and Looved it! absolutely Loved it! Ranger and Stephanie sizzle through the book.. Ranger is toooooo HOT!. Even though the story is similar to the other Plum books, the fact that I was reading one after a long time made it great.




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Review: The Mistress of Spices

Book: The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Details: Magical, tantalizing, and sensual, The Mistress of Spices is the story of Tilo, a young woman born in another time, in a faraway place, who is trained in the ancient art of spices and ordained as a mistress charged with special powers. Once fully initiated in a rite of fire, the now immortal Tilo--in the gnarled and arthritic body of an old woman--travels through time to Oakland, California, where she opens a shop from which she administers spices as curatives to her customers. An unexpected romance with a handsome stranger eventually forces her to choose between the supernatural life of an immortal and the vicissitudes of modern life. Spellbinding and hypnotizing, The Mistress of Spices is a tale of joy and sorrow and one special woman's magical powers.




Review: Having seen parts of the movie, I was curious to read the book. The book, written in first person, starts off with the protagonist, Tilo, explaining about her life before she became a spice mistress. She goes on about how she was born special, amassed wealth, became a pirate queen, spoke to serpents and then swam to an island to learn to become a spice mistress. Whew!

The major part of the book concentrates on how Tilo, as a spice mistress is supposed to help Indians (yes, only Indians, as at one place it is clearly said that others have their own people to help) wherever she lands. Tilo lands in USA! Surprise! Surprise! The book goes on and on about the problems faced by the Indian community in the US, about the eternal tug of war between your roots and the culture where you currently reside and about Tilo's lust for an American.

A large part of the book focuses on Tilo's 'love' for an American, who she is first attracted to as he is wearing nice clothes! Also, there is a lot of focus on spice mistress rules; thou shall never leave your store, thou shall live like an old woman, thou shall
not get too involved, thou shall never touch another person.. and on and on.. There is no explanation though of why these rules exist.

What I didn't like about the book was - Tilo. She is portrayed as a very very flawed character who is proud, rebellious, a know-it-all and not really a nice person. She tries to rationalize all the times she breaks rules by the 'it's not for me, its for others' logic. The author was probably trying to show that all of us have a dark side, but i think she went a little overboard, making Tilo thoroughly unlikeable. What I also don't understand is the fairytale type thought process, where despite of all her flaws, everyone loves Tilo a lot and forgives her everything! This really does not happen.

All in all a not so great read with its long-winding prose, but others might enjoy the book as it talks about the "exotic Indian culture"

Rating: 1.5/5

Review: Matilda

Matilda by Roald Dahl


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the first Roald Dahl book I have read and I completely regret not reading his books when I was much much younger (Deprived childhood!). While there are some books which you enjoy whatever your age when you are reading them, Matilda, for me, was not one of them. I have seen the movie of course, but reading the book was very different. The movie seems more politically correct.

The story revolves around a super smart, gifted little girl, Matilda, who is stuck with highly unimaginative, almost dumb parents. They don't understand or encourage her in any form. While I understand from an adult's perspective, that children mostly see things as black and white, but Matilda punishing her parents for scolding her seems highly excessive and aggressive! Most of the book revolves around her "punishing/getting back" the unfair headmistress, Ms Trunchbull, or her parents and her love for Ms Honey, the best teacher who not only encourages her but in the end adops her as well.

While, Ms Trunchbull is the worst teacher unimaginable, almost the human version of the wicked witch, is Matilda, the gifted child any better? As adults, such books make it clear to us the evolving of our own thought processes and how we start accepting "greys" in our characters and lives.

Anyways, it is a perfectly delightful book for kids, though I am not happy about the punishing of parents as it goes completely against my Indian heritage, where children are supposed to respect/obey their parents no matter what (atleast till they are teenagers and get too rebellious ;))





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Review: The Untamed Bride

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The book is the first in the Black Cobra Series. It has characters from the Cynster and Bastion series coming in. While it was good to read about the stories of the side-characters from other series and follow-up on characters of the older series, the book itself was very O.K.

The story of the Untamed Bride is the same, a group of officers with the East India Company, posted in India are summoned by the Governor to stop the menance of the Black Cobra, a cult which has terrorized the country and the Englishment residing there. The guys figure out in the first few pages itself who is the lynchpin, which obviously is a well-known member of the British Aristrocacy (coz to eliminate an Indian dacoit during the Raj would not merit a series after all). The series revolves around how these four officers plan to bring this guy to justice and find true love on the way (of course! what did you think this was about?).

As I read more books by Stephanie Laurens, I find them increasingly formulaic, even the writing is stale and repetitive. The themes are the same and the books are seeming increasingly verbous. I can safely skip over a few pages every now and then and be assured that I dont miss anything important to the story line. Its almost like the afternoon soaps!
I doubt I will be reading the remaining series.


*Read if you have not got enough of the Bastion or Cynster books.

Review: Love, Come to Me

Love, Come to Me by Lisa Kleypas


My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


Well, it was uncomplicated. Typical romance written in the 80s and early 90s, when books mainly revolved around the dashing, smart, rich alpha male. There is nothing really special

I really liked it because it took me to a time when I used to gorge on these.. happy and carefree days, when i could read, dream for sometime and move on to the next one :)

Review: See Jane Score (Chinooks Hockey #2)

See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I started reading this book as soon as I finished Simply Irresistible, the first book in the Chinooks Hockey Team series. I was hoping to find some of the same characters making a reappearance in a more meaty role. However, this book takes you forward a few years, where the two hockey players mentioned in Simply Irresistible have retired. The book has a good hero, but his character is not given much depth. I know that he has good manners and is worried about his injury. But that is it! However, I loved the chemistry between Jane and Luc, and the dialogue was very witty and loads of fun.



One common theme I noticed between both the Hockey series books was that both heroines have low slef esteem. Jane has a self confessed "Napolean Complex" and sabotages her own relationships.



Anyways, all in all, a very easy read, good for a fun few hours.




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New Year, New Challenges

Well, its 2012! (I know its already been 3 months, but I am going to pretend I wrote this in Jan, so please, indulge me!) 2011 went pretty well in terms of books, I completed almost all the challenges which I took and also tried to keep up with the reviews. One challenge I did not even touch though was the Shakespeare Challenge. This is personally very sad for me as I started off the exciting blogging and reviewing adventure mainly due to this challenge. However, its another year!

I read more than a 100 books last year and most of it was thanks to my e-reader and the vast collection of books available on the net. This year, I very optimistically upped my total books read number to 125 a year, and obviously, my subconsious felt the pressure and immediately made me slow down my reads. Anyways, this year, my focus is the same, to diversify my reading and get in some classics into the mix as well.

Here's to another great year of reading and reviewing!

Review: Simply Irresistible (Chinooks Hockey #1)

Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I didnt like it to start of with. I kept feeling like hitting Gorgeanne on the head and shouting at her to get a life! But, things get better, she does get hold of things and turns out to be ok.




Its a classic love at first sight (almost) kind of story. I never get these type of stories but, it has been known to happen :).




My advice, you will be bored for the first few chapters, hate both the characters, but, stick with it, you will not regret it.




I liked the second half so much, i picked up the second book in the series immediately!




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After a loooongg time!!

Its been a roller coaster ride these last few months leaving me with no time and a huge writer's block. I'm sitting on my new sofa (yes, we have finally shifted into our new home.. again.. and also have a sofa!! You can know the happiness it gives me only if you have lived without a sofa for 2 years!) and wondering where did the last four months dissapear! I have been so busy these last few months, redecorating, setting up the house (atleast 2 times), reading and spending some time with my family that it feels as if I blinked and missed almost half the year!

Now, as December rushes past and I look back on 2011, I realize that has been a very eventful year in our lives. It has given us moments of immense happiness (purchasing our first home) and pain (losing my father-in-law). The year has made us grow up and face reality in more ways than one. 

In terms of my reading, this has been a year where I have read about the most diverse subjects, experimented with different authors and tried to step out of my comfort zone of Chicklit and Romance. Some of the new authors I read this year, like Christopher Moore, have earned a place in my favourites shelf and some books and authors which I had on auto-buy, like Johanna Lindsey have been moved to the 'maybe they're not that great' category.

This is the first year since I started reading where I have actually kept track of all the books I have read, thanks to Goodreads, and realised that I do read an avereage of around 100 books a year. (Awesome na!!) I have still not managed to read any Shakespeare, though that is where the impetus to start this blog and enter reading challenges came from (I tried, I swear!). Well, there are still 15 days left before 2011 ends... (maybe I will atleast listen to an audio book)

To wrap it up, the list of all the books i read during the year, and their ratings,



























They can all be found on my Goodreads shelf (What! You thought I was actually going to write down 110 names and give ratings!!! LOL)


If I can't get myself to write another post ( Out of sheer laziness of course!) then wish you all a Happy New Year and see you in 2012!