Author: Rajiv Shah

The book revolves around a love triangle or rather, a man three-timing women. Squash players Karan and Simran fall deeply in love and both feel they have found their respective soulmates and it was destiny that brought them together mind, body, and soul. However, the svelte and good-looking Pooja from Karan’s office too has the hots for him.

What Simran isn’t aware is that Karan is already married with a kid and that devastates her. However, the two soon reconcile and decide to elope as he plans to divorce his wife whom he apparently never loved. But on the same morning, he develops cold feet and Simran is shattered. She decides to move on in life and meets Kunal another Squash player in Abu Dhabi. They are married within a month and Simran plunges into marital life despite her heart still beating for Karan whom she still loves.

One day Karan who has been missing since the night before Simran’s destination wedding in Goa is found dead.

From here the author takes us on a journey that’s a roller coaster ride, where he peels off layer after layer of the plot to zero in on the killer. Rahul and Susan from the Crime Branch are the chief detectives handling the case.

The pace of the murder mystery is maintained throughout and the author has narrated the story in the picturesque backdrop of UAE, Goa and Squash. The terms are well-researched and the ending isn’t rushed. The author is also a talented poet and has penned some mesmerizing verses beautifully blending into the dialogues and tugging at your heartstrings.

Author: Vani Kaushal

This is one tale that drives a chill down your spine.
This is the story of Nikita Dash a 19-year-old girl from Bhubaneshwar who runs away to Mumbai with stars in her eyes to make a career as a VJ. She is successful and tastes accolades in a very short time. However quick success comes with its own perils and Nikita realizes it when faced with a stalker. She is almost molested and that leaves her traumatized. She also breaks up with her boyfriend and mentor, Cyrus in the process of escaping her personal demons. However, she is relentlessly pursued by a disillusioned admirer who flies down from the UK to marry her.
In her immaturity, Nikita faces the dark side of the glamorous world that she has never envisaged. Eventually, it leads to her close shave with death.
The author has drawn in many pertaining issues regarding women and the narrative is fast-paced too. It makes you sit back and think.
A very interesting read.

Author: Amulya Priyadarshi

This book is a treat for those who grew up in the 90s, particularly early college days. The author has taken us on a journey through the Protagonist Amit Mathur and his experiences at Delhi University. The author has intelligently used the backdrop of the Mandal Commission and Ram mandir in particular to explain the turmoil faced by the youth as a part of the backlash. At the same time, one can reminisce about the days without the cell phone influx, paying guest tidbits and of course platonic love trends through a string of Amit’s girlfriends.

Not just Amit but his friends too have an entertaining life and the author has constructed their characters well. Having personally known the author as witty, I wasn’t surprised to see some of his persona in the main character. There are quotes sprinkled throughout that are very endearing.
The author has played out the innocence embedded in that era through his characters, dialogues, and scenes. A beautiful sojourn!

Author: Nidhi Dorairaj Bruce

The book is a hilarious take on a billionaire family scion who desperately tries to battle the bulge. In the process, it takes us through the deepest secrets of the elite household and its members. Every encounter reminds us of a similar richest family in Mumbai with an iconic customized tower for a home. Anyone who follows Bollywood and elite page 3 gossip can relate to every nuance whether it is the plastic infused into their face or a world-class gym in the house itself with the best trainers money can buy or a star-studded bachelorette party abroad.

The scion Sooraj Sanghani faces many demons despite being a relentless and brilliant entrepreneur at merely 25. Besides the fact that he is unable to lose weight, it’s his first love which is elusive and he is often seen in the ‘friends only’ zone.
The book is a light and breezy read and promises to rid you of stress. I personally loved the fact that the author has beautifully shown, the rich despite their idiosyncracies are humans at the end of it all!

Author: Colleen Hoover

What I like about this author is the simplicity of her plots and write-ups. This is the first full-length novel of hers that I have read and I am not disappointed. I was hooked from the go.

The book is part of a two-part book about Dean and Sky. I haven’t read the earlier book but this can be read standalone as well.

Deane finds his twin Les dead when she ODs. Life is no longer the same for the 18-year-old and he spirals out of control. He feels responsible for losing two important young girls in her life, first when they were 6, his neighbor Hope was taken away never to return, and now Les.

One day he sees Sky in a grocery shop and is stunned by her striking resemblance to the Hope he knew once years ago. However, the girl’s identity is different and he is almost convinced that she is Sky and not Hope. He gets to know her better and despite starting similarities, he begins to believe she is Sky and falls in love with her.

Gradually the story unfolds and as the layers are peeled, a lot of skeletons stumble out of the closet shaking the very foundation of Dean’s beliefs.

The author has gradually built the plot and unraveled the secrets. The pace is maintained throughout and despite its simplicity, it appeals to reader sentiments.

I look forward to more of her books.

Author: Rahul Kale

I just finished reading the book a few minutes ago and I am in a daze. I am enthralled by the mesmerizing journey I have had in the span of the two days that I took to savor the book.

The book is a beautiful blend of science and technology engulfed in a gamut of spiritual and astral projections. In our realm, it’s tough to believe these co-exist but the author has shown its plausibility.

The Author through his protagonist RAW agent Akshay Mallick has opened the doors to AI which is not Artificial Intelligence but Advanced Intelligence. Mallick is entangled in a complex web of quantum-based happenings that span across a different time frame and a realm in itself. He traverses through the ethereal pathways trying to meander the complexities thrown his way even as it opens his blinders to what he is capable of. He is embroiled in strange mystical abilities, farfetched to an outside observer, that help him resolve the conflicts he faces.

Parallelly investigative journalist Shyama Hazarika is in possession of highly classified leaked data that speaks of high-profile powerful bigwigs involved in clandestine scams. The whistle-blower is at the vortex of the happenings and though he is anonymous, his identity unravels a lot more than that meets the eye.

Simultaneously the ISRO too is involved as they try to decipher strange signals received from India’s maiden missile to Jupiter. The international scientific community is only too keen to decipher the cryptic signals. Do they have an internal vendetta?

Do those signals mean anything that can destroy the foundations of the very belief of humanity since time eternal? The book navigates the complex conundrums and decodes it all.

The author has let his imagination run amock and based it all on sound research. A piece of brilliance. Commendable and a must-read particularly for sci-fi lovers.

Author: Arjun Hemmady

The book is a paragon for cricket lovers. The writer has based the story futuristically in 2025CE.

The story is about the Indian cricket player Suraj Bhatkal. It’s his journey from a rookie nobody in the 8th grade to eventually captaining the Indian cricket team and leading it to its formidable glory. the book has all the ingredients that we see in a typical high-tension cricket test match or an ODI. It involves on-field banter between players of the same team vs the opposition that helps the reader draw parallels with the current trends.

However, the author touches on a very crucial element in the life of a sportsperson, i.e. Mental health. Here too Suraj has major breakdowns early in his career. However timely help from the concerned professionals helps him overcome and tide over the tough phases of his life.

The author has incorporated a lot of behind-the-scenes stories in the narrative.

Makes for an endearing and interesting read.

Author: Nidhi Upadhyay

I ventured into reading the horror genre a year ago and have read quite a number of books with different perspectives in the same genre.

This is one such variation.

The story is about four friends in a hostel in Kurukshetra who indulged in a game of Ouija twenty years ago. However, that night results in the death of Sania their despicable hostel mate. The friends decide to take the secret to their grave from then on and for the next two decades, they live their own lives away from each other.

However now someone begins to mess with their lives sending ripples along their quiet life waters. Their lives, relationships, friendships, everything is now at stake. It looks like the occult is out there to get them all in a quest to avenge Sania’s death. The friends gear up and come together to work out a solution and that opens a can of worms. Secrets that each of them had hidden finally spring out…

Would it destroy everything? that’s what the story is all about. I liked the lucid language and vocabulary. However, too much back and forth in timelines was causing breaks in the reading rhythm. Similarly, there were a couple of discrepancies in the events as well. there were a couple of redundant statements. The ending was interesting but rushed… actually some of the events don’t seem plausible but I guess given the genre, its fine.

Author: L. Aruna Dhir

The book is non-fiction chronicling the author’s riveting rendezvous with the panoramic celebrity ilk. She had the opportunity (some of which she created) courtesy of her prolific career in the hospitality industry.

I was particularly fascinated by how the author managed to get out the true personalities of the revered and idolised individuals. We realize that celebrities are like ordinary humans in flesh and blood!

Some of her encounters tickle your funny bone, like that of Jackie Shroff (Apna bhidu!) while some are poignantly candid like the one with Zohra Sehgal.

Aruna has successfully brought out the nuances in each and every aspect of those experiences and every paragraph fills you with intrigue.

Though lucid, the language levels in the book are high and the book is recommended even for those who want to learn the art of storytelling.