Review: The Rise of Sivagami

The Rise of Sivagami by Anand Neelakantan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Note: I won this book in Goodreads giveaway and this is my honest review of the book]

This book is a prequel to the blockbuster movie Bahubali. It has so many characters in it. A daughter Sivagami who is out to take revenge of his father's killing, her father Was killed by the state for treason. There is a conspiracy to dethrone the king of the Mahishmati and there are many characters involved in it. There are Vaithalikas who are yearning to be free for last 300 years. The slave brothers Kattapa and Sivappa on opposite side of the fight.

The story of the book is good and the characters are also portrayed well. The character of Skanddasa and Kattapa are portrayed nicely. Their sense of duty and dedication for their job was great.

The book also talks about statecraft, it's dark sides and bright sides both.

There were some interesting thoughts on greed and cunning, ambition and strategy .

"Greed and cunning for a man are like two horns of a bull. Without those, a bull may be powerful but would never survive in the wild " - Pattarya to his daughter

"Ambition and strategy were two wings of an eagle, a politician is a flightless bird without them." - Pattarya to his daughter.

I liked the character of Skanddasa the most. For me, his sense of duty was paramount of the story.

I liked the book overall and I rate it 5/5.

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Review: No Matter What I Do: I End Up Falling for You

No Matter What I Do: I End Up Falling for You by Devanshi Sharma
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

[Note: I won this book in Goodreads giveaway and this is my honest review of the book]

This is the first book I have read by the author Devanshi Sharma.

This book has couple of nascent love stories in it. Kabir and Suhani have one which is a typical love story and Amaira and Kushank's has a bit of events but I think their togetherness cannot be called love story but may be it can be called :).

The character of Amaira is strong and impulsive and kushank is timid. Suhana could have been more powerful had she not gone to Kabir's house after she broke from her parents. Kabir is carefree but sensitive.

I liked Amaira and I wanted her to be more powerful. She could have been a powerhouse and her story could have ended in a better way.

I found the story good and flowing but the narration could have been pacy. I also liked the author's writing style.

I rate it 3/5.


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