readerfromjupiter's Reviews (52)

This book, nominated and edited by author Ravinder Singh is a anthology of 25 stories made up of heart touching tales that will make you feel that love is the most spiritual emotion.
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Synopsis –
The book describes all emotions connected with love – anger, frustration, anxiety, eagerness, delicateness and nervous energy. While routing through these emotions, plenty of writers in this treasury takes you through first infatuation, first breakup, love- marriage, love in the second innings, love across decades, love across genders and sexual orientations and love across generations. This anthology is made up of heart touching stories that will make you feel that love is the most spiritual emotion.

So if you are romantic enough and love to read tales of romances that yield from the real life, then the book is ideal bet for you.
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My Review –
This anthology is the best one I have ever read. Being a die-hard reader of romantic novels, I was, at first, not sure of how the stories will turn out. But, when I began reading the book, my apprehensions were cleared as the stories turned out to be heart touching. Some of the stories turned out to be emotional, some were straightforward in nature.

I immensely loved this book. The writers of the stories showcased every aspect of love – fear, pain, excitement – with aplomb. ❤

Some stories deeply moved me. ❤

These stories are –

The Girl Behind the Counter – Omkar Khandekar (Special ❤ to this story !)
A Train to My Marriage – Vandana Sharma
Flirting – Vinayak Nandkarni
May God Bless You, Dear – Yamini Vijendran (Special ❤ to this story too !)
Cheers To Love – Renu Bhutoria Sethi
A Village Love Story – Haseeb Peer
Never Forget Me – Renuka Vishwanathan
A Tale of Two Strangers – Swagata Pradhan
Bittersweet Symphony – Jennifer Ashraf Kashmi (Special ❤ to this story too !)
Heartstrings – Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan (Special ❤ to this story too !)
A Pair of Shoes – Manaswita Ghosh
The Smiling Stranger – Lalit Kundalia
The Last Note – Amrit Sinha
The Uncertainties of Life – Arpita Ghosh
Here’s How It Goes – Arka Datta

The remaining 10 were also liked by me, but these 15 had something special in them, so they got the special mention. ❤
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Overall, the anthology is an excellent read for the reader. You will enjoy this love book! ❤
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P.S. – I am a die-hard reader of romantic novels, that’s 100% true !

My Review -

Two stories mixed together, the book traverses a journey of two Army men & their love interests.

The first hero, Captain Uday Sharma, has laid down his life for his nation during the China War of 1962, and we readers also believe this while reading. But, his beloved Jaya thinks otherwise – she thinks he’s alive & will come to her some day.

The second one, Major Dev Sharma, is posted in Kashmir during Operation Parakram and Mrinalini fears that he won’t return back like her mama, Uday. She loves him dearly & doesn’t want him to go to far away places.

The book is written with such perfection, I couldn’t find any mistakes in it. Although I’ve some negatives to write about, this stands clear from other melodramatic novels of the same genre (War Romance/Memorial).

Mridula ma’am has written this book as an ode to Captain KL Shukla & other soldiers of the Indian Army who sacrificed their lives while defending the Se-La Pass in November 1962. The book also revolves majorly around the Indo – China War of 1962.

While Jaya yearns for Uday everyday, Mrinalini can’t lose Dev. Later on, Jaya remarries as she decides to move on, but she still wishes that someday, Uday will come to her. On the other hand, Mrinalini can’t lose Dev as he’s the one who has provided her calmness & stability after her failed first marriage.

This book kept me hooked till the end about whether Uday is alive, but, as I got to know that Jaya has remarried, I also changed my perception of Uday, like Jaya in the book did. I also believed that he’s dead.

Mrinalini & Dev’s love was like a magnet, which hooked me too towards them. Their love for each other was just very emotional to me. ❤

Positives –
Importance of Army clearly mentioned – This book has clearly mentioned the importance of Army for our nation & its borders.

Indo – China War (1962) very well depicted – Although I’ve already read about it in school, this book also gave a very well fictional depiction of the Indo – China War.

Uday’s influence on Mrinalini – Uday mama’s influence on Mrinalini makes her devoted towards Dev and her family. Although she hasn’t seen him in person, she can feel his energetic nature, devotion towards nation.

Shubha’s calm nature, which soothens Mrinalini – Mrinalini’s sister Shubha is a calm influence on her, as she thinks, she has sacrificed her family life by not marrying, to take care of her son Manu, when she was going through a hard time afyer being divorced.

A virtual tour of India – Allahabad, Meerut, Kashmir – the reader gets to visit these places virtually through the book.

Love between protagonists – Love between protagonists, Uday & Jaya and Dev & Mrinalini, is shown to the central force behing this book.

Negatives –

Mrinalini being too much over-protective of Dev – Yes, in the book, she’s too much overprotective of Dev. I know that every wife wants her soldier husband to come home safely, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll be fighting up on phone with him. Mrinalini, in the book, is seen to be fighting with Dev over the phone regarding his presence near her, plus she’s making tantrums when Dev goes to Kashmir. This thing really killed my happiness for the book.

Too much love being written off – I know I shouldn’t write this as a beginner book reviewer, but I know how to read & review a book since my school days ! The book, written as a war memoriam + love story kind, has too much love & less action in it. Apart from that description of Indo – China War, I couldn’t see any thing written about wars & fights. Too much love & less action, had made me bored towards 100th page of the book.

No action/fight is described when Dev is mentioned – Apart from Uday’s sacrifice in the Indo – China War, no other war is described, especially whenever Dev is mentioned in the book. In the blurb, it’s written that Dev is posted in Kashmir during Operation Parakram, but, I didn’t see any mention of how that operation took place, how Dev fought in the operation. This less war writing made it a less interesting book for me.

The book perfectly covers the lives of Zaid, Fiona, Rachna & Tia, the main characters of the book, and traverses the journey of the protagonists from their homes to a new country.

The book shows that setting from outside your home is difficult as there are no parents to help you, friends for entertainment. But, the book also shows that if one settles comfortably, then you become adjusted to a new environment.

Zaid – He is a great guy, loving his mom very much. Living in South African capital Durban, he is a fun-loving boy. He also loves his girlfriend Devina, but when he gets to know that she is cheating him, he breaks up with her. To heal himself, he goes to Canada through his University’s student exchange program.

Fiona – She’s a happy-go-lucky girl, who enjoys her life very much. She has a great family and a best friend. She wishes to go, from New Delhi, to Canada to explore the outer world.

Rachna – She’s living in Australia. She loves her family, and her two best friends very much. She chooses Canada to do something exciting in her life, as her life in Australia became monotonous, according to her.

Tia – Tia lives in Mumbai, is a carefree girl, and loves her life. She is well supported by her friends. She chooses Canada as her next study destination to escape from her over-protective parents.

When these four people meet, they become friends, and love blossoms between Zaid & Rachna. Zaid becomes Fiona’s most trusted person after something unimaginable happens with her. Rachna & Tia become best of friends. A fight ensues between the lovers – this book is full of such surprises. And, what I loved about the book is that the author keeps the fun element alive in the 19th year of these people.

I also loved the way the book is written – less melodrama, more of adolescent life, issue of teen pregnancy highlighted very seriously. Anjali Ma’am has kept the essence of youngsters alive in this book. Plus, the main characters are very well depicted by the author.

I enjoyed this book very well and it’s the first YA book in which I didn’t find any negatives. ❤


Verdict –


I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and being 20, I reminisced about how my 19th year spent. I loved all the people in this book, but Zaid, Rachna & Fiona were much more loved by me. ❤

You too will love this book once you start reading it. ❤

This book is very good, written from a flight attendant's perspective. Pari, the book's main lead, dreams of becoming a flight attendant, and when she fulfils this dream, is excited to roam the entire world. The book is an exciting journey of Pari as an flight attendant.

The book has 78 short chapters, which show how the aviation industry works, how flight companies select people, how you have to look after passengers during emergencies, and what happens when recession hits aviation industry.

Pari is a feisty, adventure junkie, travel smitten girl. She loves travelling very much and dreams of roaming the entire world through becoming an flight attendant. When this dream of her comes true, Pari is absolutely overwhelmed. 

The book explores the world from Pari's eyes. 9/11, meeting Mother Teresa in Kolkata, to eye-opening conversations with professional performers in an Amsterdam strip club, to saving a passenger from death - these incidents written in the book make it an enjoyable read for everyone. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and was mesmerized by the journey of Pari. Indeed, after Alaska Young from Looking For Alaska, I have started liking Pari for her carefree spirit, adventure love, helpfulness. ❤


I loved the book and will recommend it to everyone. ❤️📚

Yoddha is a great Historical Fiction book, written so perfectly that I can’t find any mistakes in it, barring some spelling mistakes. Samudragupta’s journey as a great ruler, with his own dark secrets is damn good.
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Chandragupta, as the main protagonist, is a brave warrior. He loves his village, Varunapura, very much. His life takes a turn when he gets to know that he’s the son of Samudragupta. He loves his mother very much and could do anything protect her. He makes a positive image of himself in minds of the people of Magadha.

Dhruvadevi, as Chandra’s love interest, is good. She is beautiful, the way the author descibes her. Charulata, as Chandra’s going-to-be-soon wife, is also beautiful, but cunning, as she joins his elder brother, Ramagupta, to destroy Chandra.
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Chandra’s journey from a village boy to the King’s younger son is too exciting. Madhavasena’s contribution to the life of Chandra is also good, I love her.

Other characters too play their role perfectly, like Tilabhatt, Harishena, Jaidev, Virashena.

Ramagupta, Chandra’s elder brother, is a weak guy, fearful of Chandra’s growing stature. He becomes the ruler of Magadha once Samudra is unable to rule as he became disabled. And, he plans to destroy Chandra, ultimately to be accidentally killed by him.

Vyom, as the chief antagonist, is damn good. His motive of killing Samudragupta is well-written and greatly shown. His methods of doing his job silently are also great.

Being my first experience with Historical Fiction, I was hoping this book would be a one – time read. But, when I began reading this book, I became closely attached to this book. This book really made me enjoy it very slowly, experiencing every major event very closely. ❤

The book is an erotic romance book, having a good chunk of sizzling chemistry between the protagonists, Ace and Annabel. They both are depressed in their lives, and find solace in each other's company. Their children are shown to mature enough to understand the vagaries of life.

Emelia Blair writes it very well, with a simple style of describing the events.

Definitely recommended if you want to take a break from your regular reading spree!!

[a:Shandana Minhas|1268657|Shandana Minhas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1469712306p2/1268657.jpg]

Rafina is an amazing book, describing the journey of Rafina who dreams of becoming a model/billboard girl. She is too poor for college and dismissive of marriage, the clear-eyed young woman cajoles her mother's friend and Radiance beauty parlour masseuse, Rosie Khala, into taking her on as an apprentice.
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She encounters people in Radiance - Nausheen, PJ, Nawal, Uzi, who are shown to be of various shades. Rafina has a good, but not great, relationship with all of them. She's shown to be optimistic always about her future. She loves Rosie Khala like her mother, and is devastated when she dies.
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Overall, I enjoyed this journey of Rafina from beauty parlour to billboards and TV commercials.
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I have seen other reviewers not liking it, but to be honest, I loved it. I really liked Rafina’s simplicity, her yearning for becoming a model. She struggles to be in good looks of Nausheen, PJ, Nawal and sometimes gets a scolding from these three. Rafina’s mother is shown to be too busy in her son & her ignoring Rafina. So, Rafina finds solace in Rosie Khala.

Overall, this book was a good journey of Rafina from a beauty parlour to the modelling industry of Pakistan. I loved the book. Looking forward to read other books by the author. ❤