Wednesday, June 29, 2016

6 Degrees – Game Of Blogs : Book Review


To #CelebrateBlogging, in the September of 2014 the Blogadda team came up with this idea where bloggers would collaborate and work single-mindedly creating a story based on the characters given by them. Thus, Game of Blogs was born.
After many rounds, three teams were selected as winners by a team of renowned authors and 6 Degrees - Game of Blogs, the first collaborative blogging novel was published. The stories which made to the final entry into the book were: The Awakening – a science fiction, Entangled Life – a murder mystery, and Missing – A Journey Within – a thriller.
The Intriguing Characters -
Sekhar Dutta: a house husband and freelance writer with not much work these days;
Tara Dutta: Sekhar’s wife and a highly successful professional in a media house
Roohi Dutta: 9 year old girl of Sekhar and Tara
Jennifer : a fun loving girl with her Nikon camera
Cyrus: a law student
Aryan Ahuja : Neighbor of Sekhar and Tara

Story #1: The Awakening
The first story is a science fiction. It begins with lives of Shekhar, Roohi and Tara, a small family living in the city of Mumbai. When they get visitors Cyrus, a family friend and Jennifer, Shekhar's friend, things start to change. New events start happening threatening their happiness.

Are they able to keep their relationships and happiness? Read on to uncover all the mystery behind the visitors.

Story #2: Entangled Lives
Being a lover of mysteries, I liked this one the best. You will be hooked from the beginning with the lives of Shekhar and Tara. One fine day  their daughter Roohi meets Cyrus and he gets introduced to the Duttas. On the other hand Tara meets Jennifer who wanted to pursue her career in photography. When Jennifer and Cyrus visit, a murder happens.
The story is all about uncovering the truth by the Inspector Jawalkar.
You will have to read it to know who was behind the murder and the reason. I am sure you will not be able to guess.

Story #3: Missing – A Journey Within

One day Roohi Dutta disappears  from her school. How her parents Shekhar and Tara  are able to find her, is the story. Jennifer who comes to Mumbai and clicked lot of pics . One of the pic is of Roohi. She immediately informs Shekhar and Tara. You must be wondering, where does Cyrus come in the story? Get the book and find out, along with if Roohi was found.

Authors
Team ByLines
Team Potliwale Baba
Team Tete-a-ten

Rating – A big 5/5

6 Degrees is India's first book published through collaborative blogging, written completely by bloggers for the Game of Blogs activity at BlogAdda. Know more about Game of Blogs here. You can buy 6 Degrees: Game of Blogs if you liked the review. :) 
This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Monday, December 28, 2015

The Bestseller She Wrote - Book Review

A banker turned author, Aditya Kapoor is living every man's fantasy of a balanced yet glitzy personal and professional life. He has everything, he has wished for a loving family and a successful career.
He is invited to speak  at his alma mater IIM-Bengaluru, where he has an argument with Shreya Kaushik who is a beautiful, young and ambitious student there. With similar aspirations in life, Shreya follows Aditya, leading to an extra marital affair and a life of chaos.

What happens next is for you to find out. Can one person love two people at a given point in time? Can one wisely make a choice between blind passion and ambition? Is it possible to trust someone again after betrayal?

Author Ravi Subramanian, has delved into a starry world of a writer with this book and has tried to uncover the outcomes of a risky dalliance between a married successful paperback author and his alluring protege.


The author -
Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bengaluru, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India. In 2008, his debut book' If God was a banker' won golden Quil Readers Choice award.

Review -
The first book I had read of Ravi Subramanian, was If God was a Banker. And I had realised that the writing style of the author is simple and easy to read. He tries to connect with the mind of his readers.
With this book, Ravi has tried to do something different by selecting to write about romance and the life of a successful author. Although the crux of the book is typical bollywood masala with a war between good and bad and ultimately good wins. Still he has been able to convey the complexities of the human emotions in a beautiful way. Each of the characters of Aditya, Maya and Sanjay are from our lives and well defined. At some point in our lives we might have met them or known about them from others.

Only the character of Shreya was different and little difficult to relate with. Shreya being the central character was too shallow. It was difficult to imagine her as so ambitious that she was ready to do anything to get what she wants, being a student and that too of a prestigious business school.

I found the storyline weak. The climax could have been better by not being so predictable. Would like Ravi to write something away from the glamor world of IIM and banks. And with strong women characters, which this book lacks. (Both Shreya and Maya were poles apart yet lacked strength)

The book is well paced and well written. On and all, it's an average book. I would like to recommend it to those who are going on a journey, if you find this book, you should grab it. Your time will be well spent.


ISBN: 9789381206096
Genre: Fiction
Publishers: Westland Books
Price: INR. 180
Buy: http://www.amazon.in/dp/9385152386 

I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!