fathima_ashab's Reviews (159)

I went straight into this book without knowing anything. I just knew that it was a thriller and the protagonist's name was Riddhi. Maybe because of that, I enjoyed the book even more. So I don't want to give you guys any spoilery hints on this. Just know that this story involves A girl named Riddhi who is suffering from cancer and having only last two years left in her life, she starts receiving anonymous letters and there begins the story. You see? Letters can be hell romantic but sometimes be bloody thrilling. The latter one plays an important role here. The only thing that could have been better is the development of characters and detailed description of what's happening around in a little slow pace. Those things would have made it a complete 5 star read. The climax was unpredictable and awesome. It's been long since I finished reading books in one sitting until this. It was such an un-put-downable thriller. And I definitely recommend it to you guys.

I really really really loved this book so much. Of course, I would tell that with all his books but trust me this one was brilliant and beautiful compared to all of his other books. Like, his books are usually weird, unrealistic and dreamy but this one also had some amazing concepts, strong and deep characters, unimaginable plots and more emphasize on painting that was amazing. Also, unlike his other books, this book didn't leave me with endless questions. It was a finished book. He wrapped up almost everything and it was a happy ending very much how I would have expected it to be. The narrator didn't have a name but that wasn't a big issue. All the characters were given an important role and they played their part perfectly except maybe the thirteen year old girl who talks about her small breasts with the thirty six year old narrator all the time. Thank God, our narrator was a gentleman. Those parts made me really uncomfortable but Murakami has realised many things in this book which he had done in his other books that made him look like a misogynist. Also, the setting of the book was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. It was kind of an ode to The Great Gatsby. Although, the character named Menshiki was not a carbon copy of Gatsby, there were similarities of course. And overall, I sensed something was slightly missing. Maybe it's the more realistic tone of the plot and less dreamy element. But it was weird nonetheless. I really enjoyed reading it. It was one hell of a ride and it took me 10 days to finish it.

Rating: 4.7/5⭐

"The law has nothing to do with the truth". Now read that line again. Isn't that line obvious but we never thought of it? at least, I never did until I read this book. This is the story of two flower girls. One goes to prison after a crime and other stays behind. The story is dark and twisted. There will be more blood and less tears. Less drama and more action. Damn! The writing and character development was so good. I don't know how Alice managed to pull off dark plot with beautiful writing. Having finished it couple of days back, I am still wondering how. And God, what has she done with the characters? Every character has been developed properly and it never faltered the flow of the plot. The only thing I expected more was the twists. I mean there were enough twists and turns but somehow it was not enough for me. Like, I expected something to take my breath away. I know I am weird that way. I like to get scared or at least feel gloomy but it was slightly missing. But overall, the book was awesome. She is such a great writer I would say and She is awesome too. And I would 100% recommend it.

The beauty of the modern poetry is in the way we can connect with those words and not just admiring it from afar. The beauty of this book is the way how Sonia has portrayed the importance of self love and the process of healing through beautiful words. And I am telling you this now and I will always tell you that she is the queen of self love poetry. If you think you need to heal your soul and want to love yourself from the bottom or just love reading poems but don't know where to start, then this book is definitely for you. If you have seen, her poems are really short but it has more to it. You have to read within and between the lines. And that's what I loved the most about her book. Her poems have helped me in many situations and now it feels good to have it all together in a single book. God! I liked it so much.

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. THE BEST BOOK IN THE WHOLE FANTASY WORLD. THE BEST BOOK THAT EVER WILL BE. (Fight me if you can) This is not just any other fantasy book you will come across. This is different. This is everything you could ever ask for in a book. It has dragons. Magic. LGBTQ representation. POC with complex characters. Epic plot. Literally everything. I didn't skip even a single word. It was engaging from the beginning till the end. I loved how Samantha Shanon has weaved each character uniquely and how she has given them each purpose to get into action. Omg! It was mind blowing. And I loved how every female character stood in front strongly and had their own role and not as someone's Queen, princess, or anything. Their personality represented their own role. For a fantasy novel, the plot was a bit fast. But for a book with 800 pages, it was steady and slow. I don't know how she managed to build a whole new world, introduce the characters, create the chaos, perfect pinch of romance, subtle humour and war in just a single book. I never gave a book 5⭐ this fast like I gave this. I would definitely recommend this 100% without any doubt. I have so many things to share but let me limit myself here or it will be a spoiler for you all. And I don't want that. I want you all to read first. Just go and read.
.
PS. This book is definitely for those who grew out of YA books but still want to sink yourself in a fantasy world. I tell you this because I am one among you XD

This book is a collection of 75 stories of inspiring Indian women. Each story has the introduction of each women and what they have struggled and achieved over their lifetime. Following a path is easy but not creating one. It always comes with resistance. But these powerful and beautiful 75 women rebelled against them all and paved their own way. They had to go through so much all their lives so that we can now have it easier. And I really felt bad while reading them because about 90% of them are never talked about a lot or at least I have never heard about them. But they were all inspiring equally and proved that there is nothing women can't do. I loved it so much personally. And to add beauty to the already beautiful stories, @doodlekaari has done a great job with illustrations. They were so cute and good. It made the book even more attractive.

This is a story of a girl named Leila who is not satisfied with her relationship and struggling to have a deep talk with her shitty boyfriend but being an asshole he is, not really understands what she is going through. And that's when she meets another shitty but also a fraud online and she thinks he is perfect and smart and intelligent and funny and blablablabullshit but he is no less than an asshole. And not knowing that, she jumps from first useless boyfriend to this fraud one. But wait. It doesn't end there she will fall in love with everyone even an uber driver if he actually listens to her for 5 mins and tells her that he can understand her completely without she explaining it, even if they have never talked before and offer to control her life because she can't do it on her own. But also she is a smart witty business woman so you can't really blame her for being dumb you know. And yeah there is a big twist and message in the end which you would have never thought would be the end and there is so much bullshit to the story which you have to read to know it for yourself. (Damn! this should have been the blurb not the one that is on the back of the book. ufff!) Oh, and yeah I really enjoyed it a lot.

Have you ever thought of leaving everything behind and find yourself while exploring the world?
.
I think about it at least once everyday. I don't believe in confiding myself in four walls they call 'home'. My idea of home is finding comfort in my own body, feeling at peace wherever I go.
.
This book is one such type. The author decides to stop what he was doing even though he was doing well in his career, and take up an unknown path just by following his inner voice. some people may find it mad or an unnecessary thing to do but he didn't care about anything. He just did what he wanted to do. You should read this book to find out how happy he gets whenever he takes a choice by just pure instincts but also it takes him wherever he deserves to be. This was my first travelogue experience with a book. God! I didn't expect it to be this good. I literally felt like traveling with him and experiencing his emotions and heightened excitements. It really felt like one hell of a beautiful journey to Peru, Amazon and back. I am sure you would want to pack your things and find your own journey right away if you read this book.

This is one of the best books and I will tell you why. This is a story of Kaalkoot which is a poison that can strike and bring down the whole world in a single swing. And this story has both good guys and bad guys like every other story has. So these bad guys got hold of Kaalkoot using their manpower but can't find an antidote to protect them while they destroy others because they haven't got the scientist's brain. On the other hand, our good guys know where the antidote is and by finding it, they can save the whole world from destruction. But finding it is not easy because a long forgotten and not so famous smart guy had hidden it inside a cave and let only riddles and clues behind. So now these good guys have to find it or the destruction will be enormous. It's not just that, it's a story of a guy who is ready go to the centre of the earth to find his girlfriend. And by doing so, he also caught up between these two gangs. He has to choose a path or he will lose his girlfriend.
.
The story was full of action packed, mystery, and science. But you will see more thugs than science. It was a fast paced thriller which can be read even in a single sitting irrespective of the number of pages. The plot happened in two different timelines but the writing and editing was very clear so that we could never get confused anywhere. And now for a bonus point, we also have a strong independent woman as a secret agent who will risk anything to achieve what she wants. It also reminded me of Dan Brown's plots but it still had some different elements in it. The writing style was really smooth and it didn't falter anywhere. That was awesome. I really enjoyed reading it a lot. And I would definitely recommend it to everyone here who is a fan of good mystery thrillers.
.
Rating: 4.5/5 🌟
.
(0.5 is missing because I wanted more of that female secret agent. I wanted more action from her)

How is your weekend going? What are you reading today?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I know I was too late to read this with all the hype it has. But for some reason, I wasn't really eager to pick this up until last week. And once I started it, I wanted to finish it no matter whatever book I was reading along with it. And eventually I did finish it. The book especially didn't amuse me (I didn't have any expectations tbh) but also, I was not disappointed entirely. As we all have heard, it's the life lessons of a dying man named Morrie who is also a former professor of the author Mitch. So Mitch visits him every Tuesday during Morrie's last period of his life and thereby he learns some lessons needed to live a life. Those lessons weren't quite extraordinary but we often forget to think about it in our busy schedules. So that didn't exactly make it more powerful. and I ended up liking it a little less than I thought I would.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I gave 4 stars when I finished it but now I am not really sure about it. So maybe I will give it 3.6 stars.