Book Review: When Cupid Struck Its Arrow

Book: When Cupid Struck Its Arrow

Compilers: Bernard D'sa || Shonali Dey

Publisher: Raindrops Publishing

Genre: Poetry

Price: 114 INR

Blurb:  "When Cupid Struck its Arrow "is an international anthology of love poems compiled up by Bernard D'sa and Shonali Dey. The book has 21 eloquent poets across the globe venting out their heart-rending verses. As the title itself depicts the intensity of love, passion and magical spell, the book contains. Smooth-flowing verses in the book directly hits your heart. Bollywood actor "Aamir Khan" reviews "When Cupid Struck its Arrow "as a peppy collection of passionate love poems- A perfect book to gift your beloved one! So what are you waiting for? Grab a copy & Let the Cupid hit you soon.... 

My Rating: 3/5

My Review: 

"When Cupid Struck Its Arrow" is definitely a pleasant read. The 21 poems that comprise this anthology will surely strike a chord with the readers who are in love or who adores the feeling called love. 

Love is innocence. Love is peaceful. Love is pleasure. Love is pain. Love is a beauty. Love is a melody. The blend of several flavors of love together create this poetry book which can be relished by every romantic heart.Some of the poems talk about the innocence of love, some others talk about longing and passion whereas some others talk about the pain of love.

The book begins with the poem called "The scent of silence" which is definitely one of the best poems of the book. Profound and heart wrenching, this poem perfectly sets the mood to delve deeper into the poetry book. Here are some of the verses of the poem:

Songs help me somehow

Because they know how I am feeling now.

Ray of happiness whispers in the form of death

An old friend it is who seeks my permission.

But I close the door

And emotions flood my core.

Some of the poems in this book are sweet and simple whereas some poems have a lot of depth that will provoke the readers to give it another read such as "Reflections" and "I will find you". Some poems such as "Mystic hang-on" and "Love that keeps me alive" will fill the heart of readers with joy and romance. Here are some of the delightful verses of the poem "Mystic hang-on"

And then...

Before the twilight

Our whimsical dreams came 

real in a glance

The muses of our naive love-story

Danced in eternal trance

Although the theme of the book is love, it has various flavours which will surely amaze the readers.The two compliers have done a fabulous job in selecting the poems which are versatile.  On the flip side, the book has a few editing and proofreading mistakes and some of the poems are a little too simple for my taste. Nevertheless, it's a good, enjoyable and delightful book that celebrates love.

You can buy the book here

Book Review: The Gang of Wonder Kids

 

Book : The Gang Of Wonder Kids

Author: Shetall Ramsinghani

Publisher: Patridge Publishing

Pages: 140

Price: 299 INR

Blurb:  The book is written keeping thoughts of transition period of kids from a phase of a child entering into the phase of an adolescent which is quiet tender age in which a child can easily loose direction.

The author has tried her best to help them to follow the right path with her stories. She has tried embedding values, love for grandparents and family life with being brave and helpful to everyone in day to day life.

My Rating: 3/5

My Review:

Writing a children's book in a manner that it doesn't get preachy and yet delivers the moral lessons that are important for a child's growth deftly is not an easy task and the author, Shetall Ramsinghani has done a commendable job in this regard. The book is targetted for children of more than eight years age but even an adult would enjoy reading the stories because of their simplicity, innocence and because of the adorable characters in the book.

The children who has inspired the characters of the book are so endearing that you can relate to all of them. The book has a beautiful innocence and feel-good vibe to it. Each and every story included in the book has a moral in its deep core and at the same time, the author has garnished them perfectly with adventure and sweetness. 

The stories that I found most interesting and adventurous are "The ring of the golden bell", "Magical Jungle" and "Naina and her trip to Manipur".

In the simple yet beautiful stories of the book, the author has written about the importance of meditation, the importance and value of a pet, loving parents and grand parents unconditionally and about the power of positive thinking and positive deeds. Therefore, the children who would be exposed to the book can learn a lot of things from the book which would be instrumental for his or her growth.

On the flipside, the book has plenty of editing and proofreading mistakes which hinders the flow of smooth reading. This is the reason I am deducting 1 full marks from my rating. I wish the next edition of the book is made free from the editing and proofreading mistakes.

Shetall has done a wonderful work and her book can be a beautiful gift that parents can give to their children.

You can buy the book here

Book Review: The Activist and the Capitalist

 

Book: The Activist and The Capitalist: An Unlikely Love Story

Author: Vibha Batra

Publisher: Indireads

Pages: 208

Price: 150 INR

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Blurb: “I’m not drunk – just a litt-le high.”

On a magical moonlit night, Jai and Anusha meet and fall in love. When they meet again however, they discover that Jai is the crass capitalist developing Rasa Vihar, the heritage building that Anusha and her NGO are fighting to protect. Inevitably they clash, with neither willing to concede to the other. The problem is that although publicly they are enemies, in private, they are wildly attracted to each other. – but when secrets and betrayals enter the equation – things really begin to get out of control.

Will the Activist and the Capitalist ever be able to find common ground?

An exciting love story, set in Chennai from the best-selling author of Sweet Sixteen.

My Rating: 3.5/5

My Review: 

The Activist and the Capitalist is a beautiful romantic tale between Jai, a capitalist and Anusha, an activist. It is based on the old age concept of "opposites attract". Jai and Anusha are as different from each other as chalk and cheese. They fight, argue and clash, but there is a mysterious force at play which brings them back to each other time and again. 

They met each other for the first time at a beach in unusal circumstances, one night.They separated and meet each other again after a long time when both of them are pitted against each other. The reason is Rasa Vihar, the heritage building which Anusha is trying to protect from Jai, the capitalist.

Both the characters of Jai and Anusha are beautifully sketched. Although Jai is a business tycoon, the way he cares and takes out time for the lady he loves will surely charm the readers. I found the scenes of the cup cake stall extremely delightful. Anusha is sweet, real and charming. She is an introvert who doesn't feel comfortable in opening up to people due to some ugly incidents in her past. However, all her guards seem to fall off when she is with Jai.

The chemistry between Jai and Anusha is sizzling, charming and endearing. Their sweet conversations as well as their heated arguments are a treat to read. The narration of the book is so beautiful that you can read it in one go. Very fast paced, humorous and romantic, this romance novella is a charmer.

However, I felt there were some loose ends in the book, especially before the climax, which hindered the flow of the story. Nevertheless, the climax is saccharine enough to make you forget about all the loose ends.

Recommended to all romance lovers. If you like to read romance, then read this unlikely love story between Jai, the hotshot capitalist and Anusha, the firebrand activist.

Buy the book here