True Colors of Love - Book Review

Name: True Colors of Love

My rating: 6/10

Genre: Fiction, Romance

About the book: This book is written in a ‘second person narrative’ which is rarely found in fiction.  Also the subject matter and thematic content is controversial. TCL is about a young man romancing and fantasizing a thirteen year old girl and recounting of his obsessions and insecurities. At another level it is also a clash between romanticism and rationalism. The hero refuses to be practical and clings to his romantic ideals and eventually at the end of the story realizes that he is an enlightened romantic.

First line: Very Often, I hear a voice inside me.

Last line: I had lost that argument.

Favorite line: If the shining sun blinds the eye, it makes sense. But to be blinded by gold and silver!

My thoughts about the book: I.R. Shankar brings to the world True Colors of Love - an interesting story of a young man in love eluded by truth. The author, for his second novel, says, “It is Shankar self-revealed! … For in my excitement to tell a story I ended up revealing myself.”

The novel starts with the writer giving freedom to the Voice, his inner voice, to speak. The voice has been kept subdued since long, but it hasn’t been dormant; it has been noticing each incident in his life. His childhood, his loneliness, his narcissism, his passions, his rebellion and his first love.

The Voice speaks to the writer, which gives the novella its second person POV(something that isn’t common these days and hence, for me, scores the brownie points.) and, of course, satire. Who in the world does not like Satire?!

The writer is an orphan. His maternal grandfather brings him to his palatial house as a young boy, much to the boy’s chagrin. He is ordered to not go for the artistic pleasures of writing and painting but the more practical ones like Math and local reasoning. He refuses. This digs the ‘gulf’ between his relatives and him much deeper. He is not ready to shun his passions for his grandfather’s whims. And he rebels.

He is made fun of by his cousin, Chris, since the first day of his stay at the house. He gets reserved and satisfies himself by observing the shallowness of the people around him.

The focus of the story changes when Rose, his distant cousin, comes to their house to stay. She is adolescent, beautiful, and loved. He is young, aesthetic, and discouraged. She is the one who makes him feel wanted. She is the one he thinks about all day.

The love story veers when the truth of their relationship unfolds. He is to abandon the family only to come back again five years later with an Engineering degree.

He has to win back his family and his love. But the ‘gulf’ not only is an invisible barrier between his family and him but the very reason for his life’s truth.

Shankar’s writing is fresh and crisp. Though there are dialogues that seem out of place, sometimes. The Grammar/Editing is one front which will not go unnoticed. The mistakes are a major distraction.

The USP of this novella is the writing style and the fact that it does not have a predictable storyline.

Would I recommend this book?

If you are a fan of fiction: you’ll certainly want to give it a read.

If you are a Grammar Nazi: the commas and the apostrophes are going to ruffle your feathers.

If you like something out-of-the-ordinary, then yes. Go for it!

Falling For Rain - Book Review

Name: Falling for Rain

My Rating: 9/10

Genre: Romance

My thoughts about the book: I loved each page of this book and felt happy to have picked this one to read. Though I was really busy one weekend, I still gave my eight hours to this beautiful book. That should count something in its favor, shouldn’t it? The only negative I could find in this book was a few grammatical errors and typos.[read: very, very few]

Falling for Rain is the story of two childhood friends Raymond Storm and Emily Alexander; they choose to address each other as Rain and Em. Isn’t Rain Storm a name absolutely adorable? I loved it from the very start but as the novel progressed, I didn’t even realize that I had already fallen in love with this man – for his name, yes, but more so, for his character. 

Rain Storm is your gorgeous, tall man aged almost 33 at the start of the novel, with a fantastic build, blonde hair, silky voice and deep blue eyes. His love for Emily will make any girl think again about her Prince Charming. His emotions – love, humor, regret, desire, anger – seem to be very romantic and masculine at the same time.

Emily is the tall, beautiful, successful architect aged 28 at the beginning of the novel; she has dark hair and dark eyes, all which suit her personality, whether she’s the joyous Em or the business-like, sarcastic Emily Alexander. She loves Rain, no doubt, but wants to prove to him that she’s always been superior to him and was right to leave the farm after her mother’s death in an accident. The accident plays an important part in the novel.

She comes from her busy world of Toronto to the farm, which once was her life until that fateful accident took place. Her brief visit is to inform Rain that she’ll sell the farm and will bury her past, in short, get rid of him and that place forever. Little did she know that the three days would change her life. Rain’s charm pulls her towards him but she pushes his attraction away, harder. 

I won’t give any more of the amazing novel away. There are many twists and turns that will keep you guessing. You’ll find yourself pleading Emily to let bygones be bygones and start a new chapter of her life. You’ll find yourself pleading Rain to try harder and no matter what, never let Em go. You’ll find yourself: scowling at Jonathon, cheering Lee, respecting Martin Wright and liking Jessica. You’ll find yourself smiling, blushing and smiling again; a few pages that might moisten your eyes… a few that will broaden your smile. Above all, you’ll want to fall in love again. 

This book has been written beautifully in 3^rd person POV. You’ll love every character in this novel; that’s one of the aspects of Falling for Rain that I truly liked. Besides Rain and Emily, you’ll even love the characters that show up just for a chapter or even so short a part as two pages - Jennifer, Lee, Martin Wright and even the ancestor Emily.

There is just one character you’ll love to hate – it’s Jonathon! I don’t exactly remember which cartoon character it was, that always wore suit, had wicked features and slicked his hair behind in a ponytail, but I pictured Jonathon as that.

The use of the words ‘rain’ and ‘storm’ as not just Rain Storm’s name, but in different contexts was intelligent.

It’s a book that’s hard to keep down once you’ve started it. Congrats to co-authors  Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk. I look forward to reading their other books.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I’m not a romance lover, never wrote a book in that genre; but, when a novel keeps me awake till five in the morning just because I can’t stop wondering what would happen next and WANT to know till the very end, I consider it to be a book worth recommending.

The Mind Readers - Book Review

Title:  The Mind Readers

Author:  Lori Brighton

My Rating: 7/10

Series: Mind Readers # 1

Genre:  Fantasy/ Romance/ Young Adult

Courtesy: www.goodreads.com

Summary: Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers.

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life.

My thoughts about this book: The title piqued my interest so I gave this book a shot. Twilight-esque, eh? A nice, simple high-school girl meets a handsome hunk(who every girl ogles at) and they embark on a journey that will be challenging for their own love and life. 

Cameron Winters is a teenage girl with mind reading ability, but she feels more like a freak than special. Her grandmother doesn’t let her help people because she thinks they are both in danger and revealing their secret would only get them in a worse situation than they already are. Just a few months remain for Cam’s graduation and lethal activities happen around her, tightening the grip of fear and resentment for her present life. 

Lewis Douglas is a gorgeous, charming guy who joins her school then and they, as expected, fall for each other. Lewis is a mind reader too and better than Cam, since he has been trained by Aaron on improving his skills. This is when Cam decides that she’ll leave her grandmother and do something useful with her ability.

Lewis takes her to Aaron, who is rich and handsome and treats Cam like a daughter. She feels connected to him. Aaron teaches her many useful tactics using meditation as the tool. Aaron has been fighting against S.P.I and needs a strong force with himself to keep the mind readers safe. S.P.I is the organization that tortures the mind readers to get their works done. Maddox works for S.P.I and spies on Aaron’s territory and gets captured. Cam proves to be an asset when Aaron uses her power to break into Maddox’s memory and chunk out the part where he spied on the mind readers. She isn’t convinced.

She believes it’s wrong to break into Maddox’s memory and hurt him even when he would not leave a chance to hurt her had he got the power. This was the ‘Oh, come on!’ moment.  

You would look forward to suspense, which is there in quantum; but the story gets stuck when the revelations are about to happen. 

Cam’s decisions ring true only at the beginning of the book, but they are pretty questionable when she comes to know that she has more powers than the others at the residence. She might be right but you’ll be frustrated at her for being judgmental and overly sensitive. Things are hidden from her… there is suspense… there is an eerie feeling throughout the book, but you somehow can’t decide which side is the one you’d choose.[at least, not in the beginning, when it’s unclear about the happenings in the house, and she chooses to strike then.] There are instances which seem fictitious. Her doubts are proven correct in the end, but what was the real motif that carried her to draw those conclusions all this while is beyond me.

The beginning and ending are what I’d say, perfect; there are enough ingredients to keep one on the edge of the seat. I cared for Cam and Lewis and even Aaron for the first half of the book; then came a time I was no longer interested as to what happened with Cam, and wanted to finish the book only because I had started it. The ending made it worth a read. It was totally unexpected; at least I didn’t see that coming; it was something that would convince me to read the next book in the series.

Would I recommend it? If you loved Twilight, then you will like this book. This is a well-written book, but didn’t do the magic for me. Again, the ending was intelligent for a sequel. I’d recommend it to those who like reading books in this genre.

Six Weeks - Book Review

Title: Six Weeks

Author: Jessica L. Degarmo

Genre: Teenage/ Drama

Description: SIX WEEKS FOR LIFE OR DEATH ...
In 'Six Weeks', Jessica L. Degarmo departs from the style of her very successful Romance novels to examine every teenage girl's nightmare: that she is pregnant and not certain she's ready for a child.

Image courtesy: goodreads.com

It is a life and death decision – not her life, but her decision - and despite the opinions of those around her, she is on her own.

In a world of gray, one thing is black and white. Six weeks is her deadline to decide.

Maybe you have been there, in which case you will understand.


My Rating: 7.5/10

My thoughts about the book: The author’s writing is one thing that will draw you in. It’s written in first person POV. It’s like you are reading someone’s personal diary, although it’s not so. I was inquisitive from the very beginning as to how things would unfold for Imogene[Immy], whom you happen to care for since the start of the novel. 

The dialogues are so real; there is nothing fake in here. I’m certain this is exactly how people word their thoughts and yet, there is a surprise when one or the other character speaks. Talent, I call it!

The novel starts with Immy in the hospital taking the test for pregnancy. It’s positive. She’ll be a mother soon. That’s not a happy thing for her. She’s just nineteen. She has to measure her steps, and she has only six weeks to decide whether she should keep the baby or not.

Immy has an emotional backdrop. She studies hard in the college; works part time, takes care of the domestic expenses and still gets the abuses hurled at from her mother. She isn’t allowed to stay with her loving father because he couldn’t get her custody when she was young; she lives with a drunkard mother who abuses every waking second and consumes her daughter’s income in her own alcoholism. Immy tolerates her mother even after turning an adult because of her half sister, Sadie, who is her life. Immy works hard to make ends meet for the house.

Immy has a boyfriend named Matthias, whom she likes because they both share a rather disturbed childhood and he accepts her the way she is, or maybe he is just a distraction for her from the ugly life she leads. One party, where they ‘make love’, turns out to be the biggest mistake of Immy’s life, or so it seems in the beginning. Her decision about keeping the baby or not would impact many lives, not just hers.

I liked the part of the nuns in this book. It was soothing. Reading this book, I felt that Immy’s life was supposed to be with people who couldn’t do anything to make things better for her, but the nun was a welcome change. Her suggestion to try one alternative for size was weird, though. I couldn’t bring myself to imagine if one could completely follow that, but Immy did follow and that settled some of her confusions.

She has three options – Abortion, adoption, or keeping the baby. Abortion seems to be the easiest way out – no worries; adoption the most criminal – she chucks it right away; it's ‘keeping the baby’ that gives her jitters and makes her think hard. How can she bring a child in a world which she herself hates? She hasn’t got enough money, the family life is pathetic and the baby would halt her career. She has every reason to say no, but she still clings on to ‘how can I have an abortion?’ 

The emotional investment in this book is evident; your eyes might moisten for the pain that the girls go through, Immy and Sadie, both. I loved the characters. I liked Immy for being so strong and so unlike her mother. Somehow, I feel proud of this protagonist. She is every way an elder sister should be. She has her faults, I guess, but her words ring true to me, marking that she is honest, confident and hard working. She would never fail in her life, for that I’m glad.

Sadie is the one who seems to be too matured for her age; just eight years old and she talks like she has seen the world inside out. But then, she’d had her share of pain by having a father she knows zilch about and a mother who’d never want her.

You might/ might not like the ending. I have mixed feelings on that one.


Would I recommend it: I would recommend giving it a try. I’m certain that Six Weeks will attract its audience, not all.