Grown-Up Pose ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
Author:  Sonya Lalli
Published in:  March 2020
Buy at:  Amazon

Review

Since I loved Sonya Lalli's first book The Matchmaker's List, I was looking forward to reading her next Grown-up Pose. Thank you Berkley Pub and Netgalley for providing me with the copy of Grown-up Pose in exchange for an honest review.

Anu, in her thirties, is trying to start over. She is separated from her husband. The marriage which was pressurized by her tight-knit family to her then serious boyfriend, Neil, falls apart after she feels that she has no time for herself. She has a daughter with Neil and after separation, Anu wants to do everything that she couldn't do before her marriage to Neil like opening a yoga studio. Is it that easy for a woman to redefine herself who is also a mother?

Being an Indian woman, I can completely relate to Anu's character as a wife and a daughter-in-law. Self-care is always talked about when you're taking care of others and it is not selfish at all. Anu's constant struggle to find a balance between her family life and other life choices is relatable. It has been a while since I read a book on the Indian diaspora and it feels great to read the vocabulary from my first language.

Lalli did a great job in highlighting other issues of drug abuse, finance, separation, divorce, child custody, one-night stands, break-ups, parental, controlling and judgmental. Lalli introduced all those issues in her plot without overwhelming the story and losing the focus. The book is less than 300 pages long and the writing is not complex at all. I loved reading about yoga and different asanas I've grown up doing since my childhood.

If you are looking for a quick women's fiction to read which is diverse, thought-provoking and demonstrates the constant struggle of a woman to be herself while being nagged by family responsibilities, grab this one!

The Bright Side Of Going Dark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fiction
Author:  Kelly Harms
Published in:  May 2020
Buy at:  Amazon

Review

'The Bright Side Of Going Dark' is about turning off the dark side of life to see the bright side. Mia is an internet celebrity and her real life is far from picture-perfect. When her fiancé jilts her before the wedding, she is devastated by the thought of sponsors who would have been paying for her wedding. She finally calls it quits on social media by throwing her phone off the cliff. Paige, a coder, hacks into Mia's account and starts posting using her account. She is doing it because her half-sister, Jessica, follows Mia as her idol and has attempted suicide. Paige is trying to help her sister believe from Mia's social media posts that there is a life full of imperfections even for "picture-perfect' looking celebrities and people don't even try to enjoy the imperfections.

A thoughtful and intriguing story of our addiction to phones and the harsh realities of social media. How does your screen time look like? Have you ever tried to stay abstinent from your phone and enjoy real life? The author presented this theme in a very amusing and remarkable way by creating the fiasco of events which lead to social media influencer giving it up all to live the "real" life.

The book not only deals with the addiction but also with other issues like clinical depression, estranged relationships, loneliness, and heart-breaks. The author has penned them down with such subtlety that they never seem to overwhelm the reader while the story progresses.

The characters are relatable and so well developed. Being a programmer myself, I felt Paige's character so relatable in terms of carrying laptops all times and coding certain apps to negate the possibility of ideation. The alternate narration from Mia's and Paige's perspective is commendable. Going through the mind of the influencer and the hacker, the reader feels entrusted with the story at all times.

The book seems appealing to a younger audience in the beginning but it escalates from the halfway and deals with serious issues poignantly. My first book by Kelly Harms and certainly not the last.

I would recommend it to everyone who likes to read a light story with a message, strong characterization and canine companionship.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fiction
Author: Gail Honeyman
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Buy at:  Amazon

“Sometimes you simply needed someone kind to sit with you while you dealt with things.” ― Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Review

A much-hyped book within the bookish community and I always end up on the wrong side of liking a much-hyped book. The quarantined state made me pick this from my bookshelf and I am glad I read it because not only I enjoyed Eleanor’s character but it also enriched my vocabulary.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. She goes to work, works for 5 days a week, enjoys her weekend in her apartment. Maybe she isn’t fine because she had a traumatic childhood and had been in and out of foster care all her childhood. She never had any friends thus, she is socially awkward.

This book reminds me of The Rosie Project. A traumatic issue leading to social ineptness. Certain characters stay with you for a long time and Eleanor is one of them. Her boldness in speaking her mind out, ignoring her colleagues’ scorn and trusting Raymond with friendship made me love her so much. This book is packed with laughter, smiles and cries but not overly-sentimental. So be prepared, it is a roller coaster ride of emotions.



Gail Honeyman’s writing is immensely focused on Eleanor and her feelings. I am so glad that it doesn’t end up a romantic book. The author has done a brilliant job in picturing Eleanor’s routine with different incidents and limited social interactions. Her character is consistent throughout and never comes out as a sympathetic one. A reader gets to know about the sentiments and traumas going inside her mind while she tries to fit in the “norm” of the society. What a superb debut for Honeyman!

If you love reading about quirky and witty characters, challenging “norm” of the society and self-discovery, grab this book!

How often you stumbled upon a book at a book sale that you wanted to read so badly? The Art Of Racing In The Rain is one such book for me and I was so glad to have found it.

The Art Of Racing In The Rain ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Fiction
Author: Garth Stein
Publisher: Harper Collins

This book is narrated by a dog, Enzo. Enzo is a philosopher with a nearly human soul. He loves his master, Denny who is an up-and-coming race car driver. Enzo has educated himself by watching television and listening carefully to Denny. Enzo reflects his learning about human condition and life which is like racing and is much more than just going fast.

First and foremost, the narration by a dog is completely spellbinding. It is so interesting to know what goes in our dog’s mind when we, humans, go through different emotions. The parallel concept of competitive racing and life makes the creative storyline very interesting and thought provoking.

I am always on the verge of reading books on animals(dogs) because something bad will happen to the animal in the book and I’ll be an emotional mess after reading it. I, somehow, chose this book and it is such a beautiful story full of laughter, love, devotion, and tear-jerking moments written in a joyful language. I bet you won’t be able to look at your dog the same way after reading this book, you’ll love your dog much more.

I watched a lot of Grand Prix and Formula One car racing while growing up and reading about those races and drivers was nostalgic. If you have no interest in racing cars, this book still keeps you turning pages.

If you love dogs and racing cars or if you don’t love dogs and racing cars, you should still read this book!!!

Thank you Karin Springer for sending me this beautifully illustrated novel in exchange for an honest review.

It has been a while since I read my last graphic novel and “Esemtu” is like a breath of fresh air. It is a story of three university students Dave, Isabelle and Ethan. Their friend, Ahmed, is murdered in suspicious circumstances and they try to investigate the murder even when the police rules it out as a natural death by heart attack. The story gets really interesting when the supernatural powers are found to be involved in the Ahmed’s murder.

My presumption about graphic novels was the plots being lost in the busy illustrations but Esemtu proved me wrong. The illustrations are beautiful and they so much in sync with the story. The script is also spell binding and Sumerian mythology is an interesting and enjoyable factor in the story. Never read about it before so I really enjoyed reading about Sumerian Gods. An interesting page-turner which is not complex at all and anyone can enjoy reading it.

The end of the book leaves us in the cliffhanger so I’m definitely looking forward to read Volume 2 of this book when it comes out.

If you like reading fast-paced graphic novels with beautiful illustrations and characters with mythological contexts, grab this book!!!

My fourth book from Taylor Jenkins Reid and I have been reading them in reverse order of their publishing time. TJR has a charm in her smooth writing which propels the read to flip through the pages.

This book is about Hannah Martin, 29, who hasn’t figured out her life. She has been through many cities and jobs but does not have a place to call “home” yet and is running away from a disastrous relationship. She comes back to LA to her best friend, Gabby and finds herself meeting Ethan, her high school boyfriend. Will Hannah have a chance to rekindle their relationship?

How many times do we say , “What if?”. TJR chose this concept and wrote a book about the repercussions of alternating choices. Written in parallel universe with two alternating choices Hannah can make, this book focuses on how much a decision can influence her life. It could be confusing for some readers. but reading TJR books lately, it wasn’t a bad choice to play with the parallel universe. In fact, I liked the concept.

As always, the characters in this TJR book are so relatable and so are their conversations. I always end up learning about my strengths from her books. There is no wrong decision, you just have to live up to it. It is not a perfect book but it is so good to see how much TJR’s writing has evolved.

If you are looking for a quick piece to read on a Sunday afternoon, grab this one! Highly recommended.

The most anticipated read of 2019 and Goodreads Choice 2019 winner, Margaret Atwood’s The Testament picks up the story of The Handmaid’s Tale more than 15 years after Offred stepped into the unknown and left readers with a lots of questions unanswered. Does ‘The Testaments’ answer them all?

The Testaments is narrated from three female narrators:

1.  Aunt Lydia
2.  Daisy - raised outside Gilead
3.  Agnes - born and raised in Gilead

All three narrators describe their experiences in a stark contrasting manner and how Gilead and it’s tyranny affected their lives in the most brutal way possible. For me, The Testaments, not only answered what happened to Offred but also reflected on the story of how Aunts and the Handmaids are brought into Gilead. That was a real eye opener.

The Testaments is yet another feather to Margaret’s cap where she spoke about injustice and standing against the unacceptable. Written 34 years after its predecessor, this book has a touch to the modern #metoo movement where body objectification is strictly damned and women have equal rights to do what they want.

I devoured this book in two sittings and it was simply unputdownable for me. Aunt Lydia’s narration was my absolute favourite. This page-turner contains Margaret Atwood’s brilliant prose besides sharp and witty insights.

Highly recommended for those who love to read dystopia but reading The Handmaid’s Tale prior to this should be preferred.

I am a huge fan of Shilpi’s writing. When I picked this up, I was expecting something similar to her previous two books which I loved to the core but this book surprised me. It has a completely different plot but in a beautiful way.

'The Shape Of A Family' is about the Olanders, a family who is closely knit together but when tragedy strikes, they fall apart. It is about how each member of the family expresses the grief in his or her own way and make us think how we as humans handle different situations in our lives differently even though we live under the same roof as a family.

Shilpi, as always, has done a brilliant job in developing different characters. They seem so relatable. The story is narrated from four different point of views and each character describes the love and grief they feel for other family members. I re-read some lines because they are so beautiful and make so much sense in our family lives.

Short chapters make this book easy to read and a page-turner. It is not a sad story but a beautiful story about grief stricken family which has some amazing lines to treasure for life. I felt emotionally connected to the Olanders family and this story is going to stay with me for a long time.

Highly recommended if you like reading about families , growing up with them and a sense of belonging.

I have read “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng earlier and it made me pick this one by her. I am not surprised at all to find her brilliance in portraying families exceptionally once again.

‘Everything I never told you’ is about an oriental family in the US, The Lees. Their daughter, aged 16, is found dead in the lake in the beginning and the whole story revolves around them as they try to find the reasons within themselves for their girl’s death.

Celeste’s prose is yet outstanding and her characters speak for themselves because they are so well portrayed. The dynamics between them is exceptional penned down, be it spouse relationship, father-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter, mother-son and siblings.

As the title of the book suggests, it is always about the things we never tell our families or they never get to hear which eat us up at some point. It is beyond my comprehension how Celeste Ng manages to write a book around that emotionally intricate subject with such a fascinating language.

The book also touches the subjects about sexism, racism and miscegenation without losing focus on the main subject of love and miscommunication between different members of the family.

I am always emotionally attached to the characters of Celeste’s books and I cannot wait for her next book to release. If you love reading family bonds and their resentments to each other, grab this one. Highly recommended!!!

I just happen to stumble upon this book at my library and I immediately picked it up after reading the blurb at the back cover only to find out that this book was one of the Book Of The Month (BOTM) selections and after reading it, I am not surprised why.

‘Sweet Little Lies’ is a debut novel by Caz Frear and it is about twenty-six year old Cat Kinsella who is a homicide detective in London and is working on a case of Maryanne Doyle who is murdered and is also linked to her past in a strange way.

This book is written in two timelines - First, when Maryanne is linked to Cat during her childhood and second being the present when Maryanne is found murdered and her murder is being investigated.

I am a sucker for thrillers and police procedurals crime novels and this book delivers the same. Caz Frear has a brilliant way of constructing a complex character like Cat who is neither weak nor strong all the time. All the scenes inside the police station are so aptly described and the characters look so realistic.

Caz’s sense of humour and wittiness also make this book an interesting read along with the grimness of the crime. The climax was so unexpected and I could not have guessed it correctly even after reading so many crime novels. Kudos to Coz!

If you are looking for a quick page-turner crime novel, this must be a great choice!

Thank you Netgalley, Immortal Works and JD Spero to give me an opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, my first book from Netgalley which I took for granted and kept pushing it down in my TBR pile. Finally sat down and read it in two sittings….why and how? Read further…

“Boy On Hold” involves around a single mother, Marcella, her two sons, her neighbours an aged lady Miss Sally, and her son in his forties, Bernie. Miss Sally is murdered one night and the only witness is Marcella’s younger son. Things take ugly turn when Marcella’s older son, a teenager, Tyler, is arrested for the murder. Is Tyler the one who committed the crime?

I was glued to the book right from the beginning. A brilliant mystery which is handled so well that I wasn’t able to guess the murderer until the end of the book. The clues are all over the book but they are so well hidden and not given away easily.

JD Spero lays out the set up of each scene so well without overwhelming the details which makes the reader’s mind fill the rest. In my opinion, that made the book a quick page-turner. The subject of drug abuse has been introduced and is linked efficiently to the characters demonstrating the affects. Probably, the first book in a while I read which also talked about Schizophrenia and its genetic risks.

I loved the character development. Each character is well developed and seems relatable and realistic. Written from multiple point of views, this book only shows the skill of the author to be able to distinguish between each character so brilliantly without losing the plot.

A very neat, interesting and a page-turner mystery. I’d look forward to read more of Spero’s work!

My first from Christina Lauren duo and I am so glad I ended up picking it as a break from thriller and horror books I had been reading. A rom-com which is fun and delightful - that’s what THE UNHONEYMOONERS is all about.

The Unhoneymooners is about Ethan and Olive who end up going on honeymoon to Hawaii as a fake couple because the original couple (Ethan’s brother and Olive’s twin sister) can’t go. Ethan and Olive hate each other but they agree to take the non-refundable trip for Olive’s sister.

It sounds really cliché for a rom-com to feature enemies turned into lovers but that’s what Christina Lauren’s writing style is all about. Their writing has that fun and wit which does not sound cheesy and surreal. I loved their character development because both the main characters have messy lives yet adorable relationship. Their perspective and dialogues are really funny and witty.

It was a great journey of 2 sittings where I giggled, laughed and enjoyed the steamy romance of The Unhoneymooners. I could have spent more time reading their chemistry and their bickering.

If you are looking for a light, fun, witty, and a swoonworthy romantic book, grab this now!

I saw "Perfect Days" recommended by a lot of people on bookstagram. The plot of the book looked interesting and the cherry on the top was that it was available in the library. What else do I need?

I am literally speechless at what I read. I finished this book in one sitting. A complete page-turner, Perfect Days, is a wild ride. A book which I might finished in one setting but will take days to recover from.

A medical student Teo falls in love with a young aspiring screenplay writer Clarice who doesn’t reciprocate the same feelings for him. Teo is a loner and he takes matters in his hands to make Clarice love him in return.

This psychological thriller is very disturbing yet addictive. It is narrated from the perspective of the psycho Teo, hence you would know what’s going inside his dangerous mind. Sucn an emotional ride of highs and lows and a “perfect” end. Once you read the book, you’ll have a different perspective of the book cover.

Raphael Montes’s first book which has been translated into English, Perfect Days, is a creepy thriller. If you are looking for a quick thriller, you should give this book a try.