Hola, amigos! How did February fly by so quickly?
I remember picking up books for February TBR just a few days ago, and here I am, posting a monthly wrap-up again!!
Anyhow, I had decided to read 8 books this month, but I could complete 7 books only. I had to ditch 2 books from my TBR because I realized reading 3 classics in one month would prove to be a huge task in itself! So, instead of 'A Suitable Boy' and 'Jane Eyre', I picked up 'Jasmine Days'.
Here are my views about the books I read this month:-
✨ I started reading Pride & Prejudice a week ago, the book definitely seems like a slow read to me.
✨ The story revolves around the lives of the Benett sisters, dominantly around the elder two - Jane and Elizabeth. Charles Bingley grows an instant admiration for Jane when he first meets her a ball, whereas Mr. Bingley's companion Mr. Darcy makes a bad impression in the eyes of Elizabeth and everyone present in the ball. Mr. Benett's property has been entailed by Mr. Collins, that is, after the death of Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collin will acquire his property.
✨ I did find it slightly difficult to get through the first 100ish pages because I didn't know what I was supposed to mainly focus on. But now I realize, this book is not just about one character or one couple. It encompasses every relationship that exists. The writing style of Jane Austen was incredibly beautiful. Although I didn't like the book earlier, I have definitely grown a liking for it now.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I remember picking up books for February TBR just a few days ago, and here I am, posting a monthly wrap-up again!!
Anyhow, I had decided to read 8 books this month, but I could complete 7 books only. I had to ditch 2 books from my TBR because I realized reading 3 classics in one month would prove to be a huge task in itself! So, instead of 'A Suitable Boy' and 'Jane Eyre', I picked up 'Jasmine Days'.
Here are my views about the books I read this month:-
1. The First Word
✨ I was gifted this book by a friend of mine (check out his blog!) The book cover is absolutely gorgeous and the title is extremely catchy.
✨ The book consists of a collection of poems that revolves around various aspects of human life and our surroundings. Instead of focusing on some dystopian happy world, the poet has written upon topics that reflect the real world and its injustices.
✨ Best friends, family, the love of our life to heartbreak, breach of trust and worldly destruction -- the poet articulates about all these themes. The poems make you happy. The poems make you sad. The poems make you question yourself and the way you choose to live your life. The poems grieve upon the widespread worldly problems like selfishness, poverty, and terrorism.
✨ I wish the poet had worked upon classifying the poems better, rather than just mixing every theme in a random manner. It would have then made it easier to connect with the emotion that is conveyed. I also wish the poet had chosen a better font and taken a better look at all the missing punctuations and grammatical errors.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
✨ The book consists of a collection of poems that revolves around various aspects of human life and our surroundings. Instead of focusing on some dystopian happy world, the poet has written upon topics that reflect the real world and its injustices.
✨ Best friends, family, the love of our life to heartbreak, breach of trust and worldly destruction -- the poet articulates about all these themes. The poems make you happy. The poems make you sad. The poems make you question yourself and the way you choose to live your life. The poems grieve upon the widespread worldly problems like selfishness, poverty, and terrorism.
✨ I wish the poet had worked upon classifying the poems better, rather than just mixing every theme in a random manner. It would have then made it easier to connect with the emotion that is conveyed. I also wish the poet had chosen a better font and taken a better look at all the missing punctuations and grammatical errors.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
2. Pride and Prejudice
✨ So, after reading a lot of good reviews about this book and it is available at a price of ₹75 only, I purchased this masterpiece exactly a year ago.✨ I started reading Pride & Prejudice a week ago, the book definitely seems like a slow read to me.
✨ The story revolves around the lives of the Benett sisters, dominantly around the elder two - Jane and Elizabeth. Charles Bingley grows an instant admiration for Jane when he first meets her a ball, whereas Mr. Bingley's companion Mr. Darcy makes a bad impression in the eyes of Elizabeth and everyone present in the ball. Mr. Benett's property has been entailed by Mr. Collins, that is, after the death of Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collin will acquire his property.
✨ I did find it slightly difficult to get through the first 100ish pages because I didn't know what I was supposed to mainly focus on. But now I realize, this book is not just about one character or one couple. It encompasses every relationship that exists. The writing style of Jane Austen was incredibly beautiful. Although I didn't like the book earlier, I have definitely grown a liking for it now.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Meant To Be Together
✨ The story revolves around the life of Preeti Thaker, who has had a rough life ever since her childhood. When Preeti's father meets with an accident and is paralyzed waist down, she is forced to move in with her grandmother along with her elder brother.
✨ After being separated from her parents, constantly bullied at school, inappropriately touched by a teacher, and failing multiple times in exams, Preeti becomes severely depressed. The only person in her life whom she could trust was her brother Hitesh. But life takes an uglier turn when Hitesh passes away, and Preeti is left all by herself in the cruel world.
✨ After being separated from her parents, constantly bullied at school, inappropriately touched by a teacher, and failing multiple times in exams, Preeti becomes severely depressed. The only person in her life whom she could trust was her brother Hitesh. But life takes an uglier turn when Hitesh passes away, and Preeti is left all by herself in the cruel world.
✨ Having shifted to Mumbai for her job, Preeti makes acquaintance with her neighbor, Sameer. He swiftly works his way into her life and pulls Preeti out from the dark hole of sadness she had buried herself under.
✨ Preeti gets along with Sameer and his friends like they were all just meant to be together... But Preeti soon realizes that she has deeply fallen in love with her best friend, Sameer.
✨ Does Sameer feel the same way about Preeti? Or is there someone in his life? Will Preeti find her 'happily ever after' with Sameer or will her heart be shattered again? That is for you to read and me to dot dot dot(...)
✨ The writing style of the author was splendid. The way Preeti's emotions during her young age were expressed was heart-warming. I am absolutely in awe with Preeti's relationship with her brother, Hitesh. Also, the emotional connection between Preeti and Sameer was raw and beautiful, not rushed at all.
✨ However, I wasn't satisfied with the way the story ended. I wish the author had given us, the readers, a closure, as to what finally happened. At least one final conversation. The prologue wasn't very fulfilling either.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐.5
✨ However, I wasn't satisfied with the way the story ended. I wish the author had given us, the readers, a closure, as to what finally happened. At least one final conversation. The prologue wasn't very fulfilling either.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐.5
4. Right From The Start... She Stole My Heart
✨ The story revolves around 6 college students who find their lives intertwined with one another. Radhika is a new student who meets Sid and Nishi in the school transportation service. Sid is a hopeless lover and Nishi develops a crush on every good looking guy she meets. The group then meets Sameer, Manas, and Surbhi in class. Sameer is a pervert/playboy who has a new girlfriend every day. Manas is introvert and depressed. Surbhi is a shy yet arrogant girl who thinks she will never find love.
✨ The six of them belong to the same batch and often hang out together in and after college. They participate in various college activities and attempt at living their best lives by getting into a relationship.
✨ Siddharth challenges Nishi that he will find a girlfriend before she starts dating. While Sameer attempts to change his attitude completely for he had fallen in love with Radhika; Radhika, according to me, turns out to be a high-opinionated girl who couldn't bother enough to notice the changes in Sameer and give him a chance at true love.
✨ Honestly, I couldn't connect with the story and the writing style. The storyline fell flat and the writing style didn't have any depth.
✨ Rating - ⭐
5. Everyone Has A Story
✨ The story revolves around the life of Meera, an aspiring writer, who is in search of a story that will connect with the lives of millions of readers. One day, at a cafe Coffee & Us, she happens to hear the story of Vivaan and is intrigued to find out more about him. Vivaan is an assistant branch manager at Citibank but dreams of escaping and traveling the world.
✨ Kabir, the manager of the cafe, is a very good friend of Meera. But Meera never happened to notice his story until Vivaan brings it to their attention. Years ago, Kabir had fallen in love with one of his customers, Meera. But the two of them couldn't plan their life ahead because of Kabir's limited income. Kabir dreams of opening his own cafe someday.
✨ While the four of them happen to start hanging out together, learning one another's stories... Vivaan disappears all of a sudden. What could be the reason behind Vivaan's disappearance? Will Kabir's dream cafe flourish or his love fail him forever? Will Meera finally find a story?
✨ One star for the book cover. One star for the title. One star for the non-existent story.
✨ The main character, Meera, kept crying all throughout the book.
"My eyes were already filled with tears"
"Tears of happiness formed in my eyes"
"I wanted to cry once again"
"Tears of happiness welled up in my eyes"
✨ The story was mainstream. The story of a rich girl and a poor guy. The story of a girl deeply in love and a commitment-phobic guy. The writing style wasn't impressive either. The author made use of various synonyms of the same word unnecessarily (probably to increase the word count/pages).
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
✨ Kabir, the manager of the cafe, is a very good friend of Meera. But Meera never happened to notice his story until Vivaan brings it to their attention. Years ago, Kabir had fallen in love with one of his customers, Meera. But the two of them couldn't plan their life ahead because of Kabir's limited income. Kabir dreams of opening his own cafe someday.
✨ While the four of them happen to start hanging out together, learning one another's stories... Vivaan disappears all of a sudden. What could be the reason behind Vivaan's disappearance? Will Kabir's dream cafe flourish or his love fail him forever? Will Meera finally find a story?
✨ One star for the book cover. One star for the title. One star for the non-existent story.
✨ The main character, Meera, kept crying all throughout the book.
"My eyes were already filled with tears"
"Tears of happiness formed in my eyes"
"I wanted to cry once again"
"Tears of happiness welled up in my eyes"
✨ The story was mainstream. The story of a rich girl and a poor guy. The story of a girl deeply in love and a commitment-phobic guy. The writing style wasn't impressive either. The author made use of various synonyms of the same word unnecessarily (probably to increase the word count/pages).
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐
6. This Is Not Your Story
✨ The story revolves around the life of Shaurya, a CA student who actually aspires to become a professional film director. Shaurya is forced to pursue CA and drop his passion due to parental and societal pressure. He often finds himself at the railway, trying to catch a train to Mumbai, to leave his family and depressing life of a CA student behind, and chase his passion. But never did he succeed.
✨ Kasturi is Shaurya's neighbor, the girl Shaurya is in love with. Kasturi is a bright and bubbly girl who is living the life of her dreams. She is pursuing an MBA and wants to see herself in a reputed MNC in the near future. Kasturi's love for her life and enthusiasm is what catches Shaurya's attention every time.
✨ Miraya is an interior designer and Kasturi's cousin who has come to live with Kasturi for a few months in order to renovate their home. Although Miraya is deeply in love with what she does, she has had a painful past which makes it difficult for her to trust anyone easily.
✨ Anubhav is an MBA student and an aspiring entrepreneur with extremely supportive parents. He travels to Bangalore in order to prosper in his life and career goals. But he gets so engaged with his work, that he forgets to find time for his parents.
✨ The book is mostly about working to fulfill your dreams, by going against the will of society and taking a leap towards living your dreams and helping your friends achieve theirs. The author got distracted by creating a "broken story" for every character. Everyone just kept motivating one another, not making any progress in their own lives.
✨ It was a below-average read for me. The writing style wasn't very impressive. Like the author's previous book, this book too seemed to focus more on increasing the word count/pages. The story got extremely repetitive due to Miraya's diary. Also, the characters kept quoting one another's 'motivational speeches'.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐
✨ Kasturi is Shaurya's neighbor, the girl Shaurya is in love with. Kasturi is a bright and bubbly girl who is living the life of her dreams. She is pursuing an MBA and wants to see herself in a reputed MNC in the near future. Kasturi's love for her life and enthusiasm is what catches Shaurya's attention every time.
✨ Miraya is an interior designer and Kasturi's cousin who has come to live with Kasturi for a few months in order to renovate their home. Although Miraya is deeply in love with what she does, she has had a painful past which makes it difficult for her to trust anyone easily.
✨ Anubhav is an MBA student and an aspiring entrepreneur with extremely supportive parents. He travels to Bangalore in order to prosper in his life and career goals. But he gets so engaged with his work, that he forgets to find time for his parents.
✨ The book is mostly about working to fulfill your dreams, by going against the will of society and taking a leap towards living your dreams and helping your friends achieve theirs. The author got distracted by creating a "broken story" for every character. Everyone just kept motivating one another, not making any progress in their own lives.
✨ It was a below-average read for me. The writing style wasn't very impressive. Like the author's previous book, this book too seemed to focus more on increasing the word count/pages. The story got extremely repetitive due to Miraya's diary. Also, the characters kept quoting one another's 'motivational speeches'.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐
7. Jasmine Days
✨ The story revolves around the life of Sameera Parvin, a Pakistani expatriate who moves into Taya Ghar in an *unspecified*Arab country to live with her father. With the support of her Taya, she gets the job of a radio jockey in Orange Radio Studio, which airs programs in Urdu and Malayalam, and prospers rapidly. She often calls herself a harami because of how outspoken and adamant she is.
✨ Sameera befriends Ali, who works as a techie at the radio station. Though they first start as Facebook friends who often played games together, Ali soon introduces Sameera to the StringWalkers, a small musical group that meets twice a week to celebrate music. Although this re-opens the doors to her love for music, she is forced to find ways to hide this from her family.
✨ Sameera was unfamiliar about the disputes between the Shia and Sunni communities. It was Ali who explains to her the history and present situation of the conflicts. The Shia community was treated as the "second citizen" of the country and were prohibited from the use of various rights that even the expats enjoyed. Seeing Ali's involvement in the riots, Sameera finds herself a crossroad where she cannot decide whom to support. While Sameera's police family was loyal to His Majesty, the demands of her Shia friends didn't seem wrong to her either.
✨ In a war between Sunni/Immigrants and Shia/Arabs, who will Sameera support? Will she have to disappoint her baba and her family to follow what her heart desires? Or, will she surrender under the peer pressure and let go of her friends? Will, the Shia community take over the reign of His Majesty? Or, will they face its consequences? Read to find out.
✨ There is soo much that I love about this book. The book cover is magnificent. The book had been in my TBR for way too long and I am glad I could finally get my hands onto it! Having lived as an expat in an Arab country myself, there are so many factors that I personally relate to. The fact that life there basically starts after 11 pm is pin-point accurate!! The differences between the rights of the immigrants and the Arabs is something that still exists.
✨ Upon finishing the book half-way through, I was hit by a sudden urge to Google Jasmine Revolution and find out more details about the same -- which indicates how engaging and gripping the storyline is. I, obviously, controlled the urged and read ahead, because I knew, I would then have to face some extreme spoilers! But anyway, the story is basically based around the Jasmine Revolution that occurred in Tunisia, 2011. The writing is addressed to her editor, Javed. Normally, I would be upset if the story ends midway, 'without a proper closure', but somehow, the ending of this book didn't upset me at all. In fact, I absolutely loved this book! Do give it a read.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✨ Sameera befriends Ali, who works as a techie at the radio station. Though they first start as Facebook friends who often played games together, Ali soon introduces Sameera to the StringWalkers, a small musical group that meets twice a week to celebrate music. Although this re-opens the doors to her love for music, she is forced to find ways to hide this from her family.
✨ Sameera was unfamiliar about the disputes between the Shia and Sunni communities. It was Ali who explains to her the history and present situation of the conflicts. The Shia community was treated as the "second citizen" of the country and were prohibited from the use of various rights that even the expats enjoyed. Seeing Ali's involvement in the riots, Sameera finds herself a crossroad where she cannot decide whom to support. While Sameera's police family was loyal to His Majesty, the demands of her Shia friends didn't seem wrong to her either.
✨ In a war between Sunni/Immigrants and Shia/Arabs, who will Sameera support? Will she have to disappoint her baba and her family to follow what her heart desires? Or, will she surrender under the peer pressure and let go of her friends? Will, the Shia community take over the reign of His Majesty? Or, will they face its consequences? Read to find out.
✨ There is soo much that I love about this book. The book cover is magnificent. The book had been in my TBR for way too long and I am glad I could finally get my hands onto it! Having lived as an expat in an Arab country myself, there are so many factors that I personally relate to. The fact that life there basically starts after 11 pm is pin-point accurate!! The differences between the rights of the immigrants and the Arabs is something that still exists.
✨ Upon finishing the book half-way through, I was hit by a sudden urge to Google Jasmine Revolution and find out more details about the same -- which indicates how engaging and gripping the storyline is. I, obviously, controlled the urged and read ahead, because I knew, I would then have to face some extreme spoilers! But anyway, the story is basically based around the Jasmine Revolution that occurred in Tunisia, 2011. The writing is addressed to her editor, Javed. Normally, I would be upset if the story ends midway, 'without a proper closure', but somehow, the ending of this book didn't upset me at all. In fact, I absolutely loved this book! Do give it a read.
✨ Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comments
Post a Comment