Rakhi Jayashankar's Blog, page 78

Review of The silent scream by Siddhartha Garg

Book Name         - The Silent ScreamAuthor                  -Siddhartha GargPublisher              - Rumour BooksNumber of Pages - 158Publishing Year   -2014Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     -179Buy books from Amazon
Rating : 5.0
BlurbChild abuse, one of the many problems that persist in India today, is arguably the filthiest. Of late, we have heard of instances of children being exploited but the most gruesome abuse is child sex abuse. The Silent Scream takes up this issue which people normally turn a blind eye towards. Through the subtlety quoted instances mentioned in this narrative non-fiction we are exposed to the disturbing lives of child predators and their innocent, young unassuming victims. The Silent Scream is a ready guide to create awareness about this rampantly growing evil with the aim of sensitising the general public on the ways in which sex abusers operate. A humble effort is also being made to counsel the victims and carry forward the war against this menace so that other innocent souls are saved.

My Review

It was difficult for me to complete the book not because it is bad but due to the fact that I am a mother of three children. The book on child abuse sent chill down my spine. Children are not treated as kids any more. Every parents should be on high alert. There are a lot of facts depicted in the book  that are difficult to believe. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. The book is a must read for every parents.
Victims are always isolated and denied the right to live a normal life. The book tries to educate us as to how we should handle the victims, God forbid, is someone is there
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Review of Green Mango more by Harsh Snehanshu

Book Name         -Green Mango MoreAuthor                  - Harsh SnehanshuPublisher              - Rumour BooksNumber of Pages - 224Publishing Year   -2015Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     - 156Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 3.0
BlurbThe drama is at its peak. As the sessions are changing, Acharya sir is scheming the separation of Ranjan from his best friend Harsh. At home, Harsh cannot fall asleep because a ghost has been following him like a pes. The friends aren't too kind either. They mock his giant Avon cycle when placed along their fancy Hercules and BSAs. The only hope is that he'd surpass the class-topper Anike Bakshi in the unit test and impress his crush, Aditi. Meanwhile there has been a shipwreck in the Pacific and its sailor is stranded on a lonely island. Two thousand miles away, paintings worth millions of rupees are stolen from a train. At 2.23 am, when the town of Pallakad is sleeping, Aliyah tiptoes out of her home forever. What will happen next in these two worlds - one real, the other fantasy? True to the legacy of Mango Chutney, Green Mango More presents a rare mix of sweetness and tang, of realism and fantasy, of humour and horror, with stories from childhood that shall provoke, tickle, and above all, linger in your mind.
My Review

I never thought that innocence can be the USP of a book.  It takes us to our childhood and evokes the nostalgia. I was smiling throughout the book. Some of te stories seemed to be extracted from my life itself. It is very difficult to keep a story simple and elegant. Author succeeded in pulling off this difficult mix. Author has maintained the level of interest that budded in the reader's mind through mango chutney. 
Author proved that cliffhangers and nail biting suspense is not required to hook the readers to the book 
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author


Harsh Snehanshu is Twenty-five but looks older. After graduating from IIT in 2011, he invested a year each on entrepreneurship, pan-India travel, and Young India Fellowship- a prestigious one-year fellowshipin the liberal arts. During 2012-13, he travelled solo across the country on a shoestring budget, sleeping wherever there was space and eating whatever was available, dicovering India and a bit of himself. His fascination for stories and abundence of gray hair are result of this wanderlust and reflection. The author of Because Shit Happened: What Not To Do In A Start-up! and the best selling Kanav-Tanya trilogy, Harsh is a profilic Freelance Writer, having been published in The Caravan, The Hindu, Tehelka along others. Currently an exchange student at Sciences Po, Paris at their School of Urban Affairs, Harsh is working on his forthcoming travel memoir. Mango Chutney is his fifth book.

Review of Deja Karma by Vish Dhamija

Book Name         - Deja KarmaAuthor                  - Vish DhamijaPublisher              - Rumour BooksNumber of Pages - 256Publishing Year   -2015Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     - 175Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 4.0
BlurbJay Singh is the best defence lawyer in New Delhi that money can buy. But Jay Singh is a closet alcoholic; he has a dark and ominous past. His mother has been accused and convicted of killing his father..something he doesn't accept even after twenty years. Flamboyant, wicket, lethal, Jay Singh never loses a case, though his methods might not always be within the law. If the law is after you - guilty or not - there is only one man who can save you. If Jay Singh takes your case, witnesses for the prosecution disappear or turn hostile, evidence evaporates, technology and science fail to provide any cogent support. What's more - Jay Singh can even provide you with an ironclad alibi. And then he gets a case that can completely destroy him.If he loses the high-profile he can kiss his career goodbye ; if he wins the case he better keep his obituary ready.My Review

Deja Karma is yet another foray of Vish Dhamija into the world of thrillers. Author has created a plot around the Karma and De java. What goes around comes around. The story is fast paced and tight knit. The protagonist's character is depicted I  such a way that readers can visualize the person. The story is not limited to a diary note. 
Legitimate game is well plotted and neatly executed. The climax could be guessed. Hence much can be said about the suspense. Yet, the author succeeded in hooking the readers to the book.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author


Vish Dhamija is a crime fiction author of three bestselling novels : Bhendi Bazaar, Nothing Lasts Forever and Deja Karma. He is best known for his multi-layered plots, believable characterisation and captivating storylines. In a recent survey by eBooks India website, Vish was listed along the top 51 Indian authors you must follow. Doosra is his fourth novel and the second in the Rita Ferreira series.

Review of Doosra by Vish Dhamija

Book Name         - DoosraAuthor                  - Vish DhamijaPublisher              - Rumour BooksNumber of Pages - 360Publishing Year   - 2016Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     - 175Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart

Rating : 3.0

BlurbRon Jogani, a jeweller from Mumbai, is in Belgium to buy a consignment of loose diamonds worth over €10 million. Hours later he's dead in his hotel room in Brussels: murdered. The perpetrators are extremely tech-savvy and have defeated all the CCTV cameras in the hotel... but one concealed camera in the elevator has snapped one of the guys. When one of the stolen diamonds is sold in Mumbai, the Belgian Police reach out to their Indian counterparts to catch the person in the candid-shot.The case is assigned to DCP Rita Ferreira. But when Rita and her team track down the man in the photograph provided by the Belgians, they realise there must have been some slip-up: the target does not even have a passport - he couldn't have travelled to Brussels. And then they discover that a private detective is already following their target...
My Review
Vish Dhamija is back again with his Rita Ferreira thriller. The plot cannot be counted as unique but with crisp narration and fast paced suspense, author succeeded in pinning the audience to the book. The pace of the story drops in between and again comes back on track towards the end. 
The cover image provide an eerie feeling the murder. There are some loose links in the plot. Author has covered up the cons with his style of narration. The title of the book justifies the plot.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author



Vish Dhamija is a crime fiction author of three bestselling novels : Bhendi Bazaar, Nothing Lasts Forever and Deja Karma. He is best known for his multi-layered plots, believable characterisation and captivating storylines. In a recent survey by eBooks India website, Vish was listed along the top 51 Indian authors you must follow. Doosra is his fourth novel and the second in the Rita Ferreira series.

When Life turns turtle by Raj Supe

Book Name         - When life turns turtleAuthor                  - Raj SupePublisher              - Leadstart PublishingNumber of Pages - 469Publishing Year   -2016Edition                  -PaperbackPrice                     -399Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 3.5
BlurbIndraneel is a young and successful film-maker, an alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In an intoxicating relationship with a young and beautiful aspiring actress, his next film is being hailed as a blockbuster. Things couldn’t be going any better. Suddenly, without warning, Indraneel’s life overturns. Hurt floods his heart and soul, seemingly beyond redemption… 
He arrives in Rishikesh, a mountain town by the river. The artist within him, as well as the bruised individual, senses the timeless love and solace emanating from the Ganga and the Himalayas, but innumerable whys continue to invade his thoughts. Introduced to Shaman, a bookseller with a difference and a ‘closet guru’, the deeply sceptical Indraneel is introduced to a bewilderingly new, yet strangely magnetic world of spiritual seeking. 
As the seasons pass, as pass they will... Indraneel gradually opens his mind to what he finds around him, delving step by step into the truth about spirituality and human existence. A measure of peace finally descends on his tormented mind. 
But the world beckons yet again and Indraneel stands at a crossroads once more. He is asked to make a difficult choice. Will he submit to the strong current of spirituality now flowing within him? Does a spiritual life mean giving up everything else? Can he ever go back to the world? Will he find the happiness he so desperately seeks? 
The world that Raj Supe creates is vividly described with a true artiste’s eye for detail. Set in the ‘belief land of Rishikesh’ on the banks of Ganga ‘perennial river of India’s mystical past’ – his story leads the reader through light and shadow to the goal Indraneel, the protagonist, has set himself – a life of spiritual bliss… Raj serves up a rich repast from which no reader can depart unfulfilled. ~ Benjamin Gilani


My Review

When life turns turtle is a spiritual venture with a fictional background. The life of Indraneel is complicated and he tries to simplify it with spirituality. The book breaks several pre set norms of spirituality.When every spirituality books mention about attaining nirvana after fulfilling your decides, the books speaks of spirituality in a pragmatic scenario.
Indraneel's life in the new world is endearing. The narration is engaging. The book is definitely not an easy read. Take it only if you seriously need to read something with substances.

Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author

Raj Supe (aka Kinkar Vishwashreyananda), is a poet, storyteller and novelist. An MBA, he has had a career in advertising, research and creative consulting, before turning to literary and spiritual pursuits. Some of his literary works include the spiritual memoir, Pilgrim of the Sky; The anthology 'Hundreds of Shells' and translations such as 'Cloud Burst of A Thousand Suns' and the 'Sahitya Akademi' awarded 'Rainbow at Noon'. He has also worked on film scripts and plays.
His writings convey the passionate intensity of a seeker and the sincerity of one who hopes for an ideal mix of traditional mythic imagery and the urgencies of modern life. In the words of a leading poet, ‘he has the anonymity of the saint-poet on the one hand and the self-expression of the modern writer on the other’. Raj is Editor of the spirituality e-magazine, The Mother, as well as the co-founder of 'Foundation for Contemplation of Nature'.
Raj was initiated into the order founded by Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath and met his Guru in the person of Kinkar Vitthal Ramanuja. He now leads a simple life on the banks of the Ganges.

Tears of the Nymphs by K.K.Kharlukhi

Book Name         - Tears of the nymphsAuthor                  - K.K.KharlukhiPublisher              - Lifi PublicationsNumber of Pages - 280Publishing Year   - 2016Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     - 250Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart


Rating : 4.0
BlurbWhen Donkin decided to go live near the Kulong forest, he thought he'd be able to get away from the madding crowd of Shillong. He had no inkling that there are creatures here that were not so human and that he was the only man who would be able to save them from utter destruction.When the nymphs send an emissary (Deiti) to him, Donkin was smitten by her beauty. It would have been perfect were she an ordinary human being but she was not even human. The plot thickens when Baden, a villainous character came on the scene, hell-bent in destroying the Kulong and claiming Deiti as his prize.What was the solution to this unenviable situation and would Donkin be able to help save the nymphs?
My Review

The book which shows the readers, the Khasi Culture is a classic collection. The language is fantastic. Authenticity of narration is the highlight of the book. The characters are realistic and close to the earth. 
 Due to the peculiar names and salutations, it was difficult to get the hang of it but once we gets involved in the book, we won't be able to put it down. There is a vast difference in the lives of people that we feel like it is a story of another era.Being an Indian one should definitely know the cultural heritage, Khasi Culture being the most variable.
How the nymph influence the lives of the people is interesting to see. Their innocence is heart melting.
The cover image is brilliant and justifies the mood of the book.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I waas not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author

K.K. Kharlukhi was born and brought up in Shillong. He is one of the well-known Khasi novelists. His works include Novels, Playlets, Short Stories (both in Khasi and English) besides articles and directing documentary films. He is currently the General Secretary of the Khasi Authors' Society, a prominent literary organization in Meghalaya and had won the State Literary Award in 2008 for his novel 'Ka Sympa'. 'Tears of the Nymphs' is his debut in English fiction.

Speaking : the Modi Way by Virender Kapoor

Book Name         - Speaking: The Modi WayAuthor                  - Virender KapoorPublisher              - Rupa PublicationsNumber of Pages - 176 PagesPublishing Year   - 2016Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     - 195Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 4.0
BlurbHe has brought a whiff of fresh air to the art of oratory. He has altered the lexicon of rhetoric and eloquence by his sheer brilliance and fluency. Addressing everyone from schoolchildren to the houses of the US Congress, Narendra Modi has touched billions of hearts. 
In this book, Virender Kapoor shows you how to speak, persuade and motivate like Narendra Modi. Starting with an analysis of his inspiring rise from humble origins to the post of prime minister, the author goes on to show how Modi always appears to speak from the heart; how he uses facts and figures to substantiate his arguments; how he makes optimum use of similes, metaphors and word puns; how he tailors his speeches according to his audience; and his unique ways of packaging and presenting ideas. 
Relatable and inspiring, this book will show you how to become not just a good speaker, but a great one, like Prime Minister Modi.
My Review
The oratory capabilities of our Prime Minister is known to every Indian citizen. Unfortunately, I could get to see his rhetoric only after he came to power. Nevertheless the book Speaking: The Modi way helped me in filling what I missed.
The book closely views his speech pointing out every unique points. The powerful tongue has played primary position in the humbling growth of Modi. For someone who is looking forward to facing the audience but don't know how to, the book is a treasure. It is motivating and engrossing.
The book should not be degraded by politicizing it. It should be taken as a text book on eloquent qualities.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author

Virender Kapoor is a thinker, an educationist and an inspirational guru. An alumnus of IIT Bombay and the former director of a prestigious management institute under the Symbiosis umbrella, he is the co-founder of Orange Ivy playschools, Pune. His books on emotional intelligence, leadership and self-help have been translated into several regional and foreign languages. To know more about him, log on to www.virenderkapoor.com or mail him at virenderkapoor21@yahoo.com

Creme Brulee: A novel by Ramona Sen

Book Name         - Creme Brulee: A NovelAuthor                  - Ramona SenPublisher              - Rupa PublicationsNumber of Pages - 246Publishing Year   - 2016Edition                  -PaperbackPrice                     - 295Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 3.0
BlurbA quintessential Bengali anglophile, Aabir Mookerjee, is back from Oxford and can often be spotted basking in the comfort of colonial clubs or pottering around his restaurant, E&B, whose chocolate mousse has been garnering all the attention. 
Troubles begin when The Mad Hatter opens across town and its attractive young proprietress shows a knack for concocting sweetmeats. Meanwhile, Aabir’s mother and the family priest unite to find him a ‘suitable’ bride. His monosyllabic sister won’t help and his incorrigible friend is too much the flagrant Lothario to be depended upon. Soon, the easily disoriented Aabir finds himself swamped by more ladies than he can handle. 
Perhaps the only person who can bring things to a head is his dead grandmother, who watches over the family with an eagle eye from her unearthly abode on the coconut tree. 
Hugely engaging, with bountiful laughter, read along to know how Aabir fares, even as he inches closer to the best dessert he can get his hands on and a romance he hadn’t bargained for. 
Psst: The reader runs the risk of unappeasable hunger pangs, which is not to be held against this lip-smackingly tasty book.


My Review
After completing the book a soft breeze waved in my mind. There is no other way I could explain the feel of the book. Unique, fresh, interesting and innovative. The book hooks the readers from beginning till. The Bengali background adds spice and sweetness to the book.
The exuberance of the characters add icing to the cake. The narration is exemplarily hilarious. The blurb says it right. I had hunger pangs. Keep the book away from pregnant women because you won't be able to handle their cravings.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author

Ramona Sen is working for t2, The Telegraph, in Kolkata, where she regularly writes about food, books and fitness, for she is largely preoccupied with food, books and fitness, in that order. She grew up within the venerable walls of Loreto House, where she learnt reading and writing, but couldn’t quite wrap her head around ‘[a]rithmetic’. Nothing, in her opinion, can trump a Wodehouse or a well-baked chocolate pie. This is her first novel and she’ll reply to mails on ramonasen15@gmail.com, when she’s not eating on the job.

Review of A preface to man by Subhash Chandran

Book Name         - A preface to manAuthor                  -Subhash Chandran(author) Fathima E.V (translator)Publisher              - Harper CollinsNumber of Pages -464Publishing Year   -2016Edition                  -PaperbackPrice                     -499Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 3.0
BlurbAnn Marie reads fragments of her dead husband’s unfinished book, and the many love letters he sent her, and in them the social and political events of the time. As she ponders the writing and the years that the brilliant Jithendran squandered working for a toy company that makes drum-playing monkeys, the narrative gives way to the sweeping saga of a village by the river Periyar. Grappling with issues of equality, love, caste, religion and politics, Thachanakkara is a microcosm of twentieth-century Kerala. Told through the history of three generations of a feudal Nair family, this sprawling story is reminiscent of the craft of Gabriel García Márquez’s. A Hundred Years of Solitude and has the scale of Sunil Gangopadhyay’s those Days. A Preface to Man is an artistic meditation on human existence and is a contemporary classic.
My ReviewA beautiful book. The narration is realistic. Author left me speechless once the book ended. While taking the readers through the lives of three generations, authors kept the backstory straight. The social cultural and political background of Kerala is depicted with utmost care. 
Being a Malayalee myself I was able to relate with the characters and events. Translator has done a great job. Words fail us while reviewing such exemplary books.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author
Subhash Chandran was born in 1972 in Kadungalloor, Kerala. He was the only Malayalam writer to feature in The Times of India list of outstanding young Indian writers and India Today hailed him as one of the twenty young talents of Malayalam. He has won numerous prestigious awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Odakkuzhal Award and Vayalar literary prize.He is best known for his novel Manushyanu Oru Amukham (A Preface to Man). It received great critical acclaim and remains one of the best-selling books in Malayalam. Four of his stories have been adapted into films. Based on the story ‘Vadhakramam’, The Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, produced a short film, which won a special jury mention at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival. The Malayalam feature film Laptop is an adaptation of the short story ‘Parudeesa Nashtam’. His story ‘Sanmargam’ was filmed as A Knife in the Bar in Malayalam, while the story ‘Guptham’ was filmed as Akasmikam. His other major works include Kathakal: Subhash Chandran (complete story collection), Ghatikarangal Nilakkunna Samayam, Parudeesa Nashtam, Thalpam, Bloody Mary, Vihitham (short-story collection), Madhyeyingane, Kaanunnanerathu, and Das Capital (memoirs). He has also published eight books for children.
Fathima E.V. is a translator-writer based in Kannur. Apart from A Preface to Man, her translations include a forthcoming collection of short stories and memoirs of Malayalam writer Gracy. She has also translated contemporary Malayalam poetry, and translated and edited the English text for Kerala Folklore Academy’s tome on theyyams. She is currently engaged in a collaborative translation of Malayalam critical discourses and is also the editor of Indian Ink, the ‘little’ little magazine.

Review of Did I mention I need you by Estelle Maskame

Book Name         - Did I mention I need you?Author                  - Estelle MaskamePublisher              - Harper CollinsNumber of Pages - 400Publishing Year   - 2016Edition                  - PaperbackPrice                     - 399Buy books from Amazon,  Flipkart
Rating : 3.0
BlurbIt's been a year since eighteen-year-old Eden Munro last saw Tyler Bruce: her stepbrother ... and her secret love. Although they called time on their forbidden relationship for the sake of their family, Eden can't help but feel excited when Tyler invites her to join him in New York City for the summer. Anyway, Eden is happy with her boyfriend Dean, and surely Tyler has moved on too. But as they spend a long, hot summer in the excitement of the city that never sleeps, it soon becomes obvious that they aren't over each other. But can they resist temptation? Tyler and Eden must face up to their feelings and decide what to do next. Is their love strong enough to face the challenges that lie ahead?My Review
I have never been a fan of YA romance due to the predictability. But the book Did I mention I need you was unpredictable to such an extend that I needed the story to be little more predictable. The undercurrent of love between protagonists was evident throughout the book. Yet I don't understand the love for hurting your loved one.
Breaking the societal norms can be interesting but sometimes, fiction become so strange that it would be difficult to see truth but yes  truth can be stranger than fiction. I know a couple with similar story. 
I would not say infidelity was supported in the book but somewhere down the line it is justified. The narration has a lot of freshness. I would love  to read the prequel.
Reviewed for the publisherDisclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
About the author
Estelle Maskame started writing at the age of thirteen and completed her DIMILY trilogy when she was sixteen. She has already built an extensive and loyal fan base for her writing around the world by sharing her work in instalments on the digital platform Wattpad. Did I Mention I Love You? was published in 2015.