Review: Scion of Ikshvaku

Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I started reading this book with little apprehension about how the author is going to capture life style of people five thousand years back. But in the end I found it quite ok and acceptable.

I have read the Ramanyana many times and, specially Ramcharitmanas, and any slight change in the story doesn't go down well. But in this book the writer has avoided over-indulgence and have kept the narrative simple and traditional. though the author has taken some liberty to explain certain concepts.

The book makes deliberate attempts to address some of the issues that India face today and there are some interesting discussions.

The discussion that take place between Maharishi vashishtha and Ram about deva and Asura rules is interesting. Similarly the duscussion between Ram, Bharat, and Sita about religion vs rules is quite interesting.

The story looses its track at multiple places. The incident related to Roshni got dragged a bit. It doesn't fit into the theme of the book.

Overall I liked this book and I would rate this book 3/5.


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Review: 200 Motivational and inspirational Quotes That Will Inspire Your Success

200 Motivational and inspirational Quotes That Will Inspire Your Success by Kathy Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book has some nice quotes but not very interesting. I liked the most one from Lin Yutang -

The wise man reads both books and life itself. - Lin Yutang

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Review: After All This Time

After All This Time by Nikita Singh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a nice, racy, romantic read without all the fuss of, that generally ails, the Indian romantic books. There is no drama in the book and the author has revealed the story bit-by-bit and kept it interesting till the end.

I have nothing to complain about the book. I loved it.

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Review: The Curse of Damini

The Curse of Damini by Debajani Mohanty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

This is a woman fiction. The story revolves around Renuka and covers her whole lifetime. There are some more characters in this story which probably are more powerful than Renuka. I liked Mandira as well. her character is more bold, fearless and "Bindas" than Renuka but the story doesn't talk much about her. she remains in the back ground. Renuka doesn't face any hardship in the life as much as Mandira or Papia or Kaki-Ma had faced.

Lets come to the story of the book, it's fresh and starts very nicely and has a pace in the begining. but, later on in the middle it drags a bit and the end was a bit disappointing. the whole plot about the curse is almost lost and the story becomes more about business, upliftment of the woman, creating more jobs etc.

The book doesn''t answer why Ichamayi says that she is Damini when Renuka and Papia meet her. Similarly, while Renuka is in Germany she also dreams the same voice but the book never provided answers.

the chapter 33 - further rise to fame , sets the downfall of the whole story. I kept on waiting for something about Damini's curse but I just kept on waiting...

In the end, the book fails to deliver what it promises in the beginning.

I rate this book 3/5.



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Review: Birds of a Feather: A Book of Idioms and Silly Pictures

Birds of a Feather: A Book of Idioms and Silly Pictures by Vanita Oelschlager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[note: I got this for free on read-to-review basis. thanks to Net Galley and VanitaBooks LLC]

This is a nice book for children to get started with idioms. Each idiom is explained with an example at the bottom of the page.

I liked the graphics in the picture and I think kids are going to love this. the pictures depict the actual meaning of the words in the idioms and that makes it funny as well easy to remember.

I rate this book 5/5.

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Review: King of Hearts

King of Hearts by Prassant Kevin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

The story of the book is about a small town boy who becomes a famous writer and finally suffers from incurable disease.

The book has a little love story as well but I didn't find it interesting. Various incident in the book give me a feeling that the main character of the book Ayan should have been a movie star than a writer .

The end of the book was kind of acceptable and predictable

I rate this 2.5/5.

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Review: The Mystery of Bila Land

The Mystery of Bila Land by Nitish Krishna
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Note: I got this book for free on read-to-review basis. Thanks to the author Nitish Krishna.]

I loved this book, or better, I am enamoured by this book. The best part is the story of the book. It's fresh, glossy , a bit of it is mythical but yet with modern outlook. Above all , the author has come out as a great story teller.

After reading the first few pages of the book I started liking the style of the author. During this whole read I never found a dull moment in the book and that is the magic of the story vis-a-vis author's writing style.

I am highly impressed by this book and the author. I rate it 5/5.



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Review: वैष्णव की फिसलन

वैष्णव की फिसलन by Harishankar Parsai
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. it was published in 1976 but the satires are still valid and relevant.

I liked "do naakwaale log" the most.

I rate it 5/5.

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Review: The Unbreakable Law

The Unbreakable Law by Pragat Kasana
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

It's a fantasy fiction which revolves around winning and controlling the "The Unbreakable Law".

Two leaders opposite to each other's ideology fight to destroy each other.

I liked the story and the freshness that it comes with. Some of the ideas like "the chamber of sorrow" are worth to be mentioned.

I also liked the concept of Kepper.

Overall I liked this book. I rate this book 4.5/5.

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Review: The Unbreakable Law

The Unbreakable Law by Pragat Kasana
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

It's a fantasy fiction which revolves around winning and controlling the "The Unbreakable Law".

Two leaders opposite to each other's ideology fight to destroy each other.

I liked the story and the freshness that it comes with. Some of the ideas like "the chamber of sorrow" are worth to be mentioned.

I also liked the concept of Kepper.

Overall I liked this book. I rate this book 4.5/5.

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Review: Something in the Air

Something in the Air by Marie Landry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Note:I got this book for free on read-to-review basis. Thanks to NetGalley and the author Marie Landry ]

This book is a nice cute story about a girl who faces problems at home after her parents divorced.

There are no big twists or turns in the story. It looks so real and ordinary which I think is the USP of this book.

The Couple of love scenes in the book are beautifully captured.

Overall I liked this book.

I rate this book 3.5/5.



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Review: I'll See You in Paris

I'll See You in Paris by Michelle Gable
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Note: I got the digital copy of this book for free on read-to-review basis. Thanks to St. Martin's press and NetGalley]

I enjoyed reading this book.

The story of The book is nice and well weaved.the good thing is that it ends on happy note.

The author has nicely portrayed the character of Gladdys Spencer and it touched my heart.

There are some quotes from the book which I liked -

"Never let a man dictate your life"

‘People go on marrying because they can’t resist natural forces, although many of them may know perfectly well that they are possibly buying a month’s pleasure with a life’s discomfort.’

“So the pain goes away,Or else it just gets covered up by some new kind of injury.”


The story keeps one glued till the end.

I rate this book 10/10.

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Review: Dawn of the Dreamer

Dawn of the Dreamer by L.J. Higgins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Note: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author L.J. Higgins.)

This is a good story. I liked it.

The story is about how a group of MNCs try to increase their sells by controling their customer's dreams and pushing them to buy their products. A group of friends fight them.

There are few things which are not explained well in the book, like - how a customer would buy a product which is pushed through a dream. May be the other books in the series will cover that.

It would have been interesting to know how the companies Like MultiMind Corp function from inside.

It's still a mystery who put the fire in the farm and why? I found that part of the story half baked.

The story ends in a positive note. I rate this book 3/5.

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Review: The Midnight Visitors

The Midnight Visitors by Juliet David
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Note: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Lion Hudson Publicatios and NetGalley.

This is a cute and lovely story. I liked Miriam and her command to Fox that no hunting in her barn.The pictures in the book are beautiful.

I give this book 5/5.

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Review: Texaners: Eight Short Stories

Texaners: Eight Short Stories by T.F. Rhoden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Source : I won this book on GoodReads giveaway. Thanks to the author T.F. Rhodes]

All the stories in the book are good. I particularly liked - the gulf, oils, and airfare.

The first story "Chinese spoons" is class apart.

I rate this book 4/5.

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Review: The Art of Saying "No" with Grace and Respect

The Art of Saying "No" with Grace and Respect by Charlene Richard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this small book. It put forwards a mechanism called EDC - Empathise, Describe, and clarify. And I Think can work if you use it properly.

I rate this book 4/5.

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Review: Skinny Me

Skinny Me by Charlene Carr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book. It is about a overweight girl's struggle to loose weight and overcome her fears and insecurities. The author has nicely portrayed the character of Jeniffer, the obese girl of the story.

I rate this book 4/5.

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Review: It's Great Being a Dad: The Best Advice You'll Ever Get

It's Great Being a Dad: The Best Advice You'll Ever Get by Jay Payleitner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarvestHouse and NetGalley.]

The books is about importance of being a father. It talks about various characteristics a father should have to run his house smoothly and help raise kids who are of strong character and humane.

The most important takeaway for me from the book are -
1.) Build relationship, especially with your kids, so that you don't have to enforce rules on them.
2.) have infinite patient and no anger under any circumstances.
3.) Respect your wife either she is working or home maker.

the book tries to convey its essence through various small incidents which happened in someone's life and I think the authors succeeded in conveying the right message. I like this way of messaging.

Overall this is a good book and the parents can learn a lot by reading it.
I would rate this book 4/5.



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Review: Cimarron Girl

Cimarron Girl by Mike Blanc
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Vanita Books and NetGalley.]
This is a great books from a young reader's perspective. throughout the read, I was mesmerised by the narration of this small and simple story about the great American dust bowl. This story has the potential to become classic.

The book starts with a couplets written by Mark M Redfearn and it fills you all with positive energy. and, then goes on to narrate the impact of that Dust Bowl on american life in simple words. The photographs and sketches used in the books are awesome and help to express the story.

The story teaches one to be positive, be prepared for the bad days, and, always love your family.

I loved this story very much and I rate this book 5/5.

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Review: Joshua's Island

Joshua's Island by Patrick Hodges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Note: I got a free digital copy of the book in return of an honest review.]

The book is about middle school students. It highlights the menace of bullying. Some of bullyings depicted in the book are extreme and are not commonly heard.

The most satisfying aspect of the story in the book is that all the kids, specially who are at the receiving end of the bullying, survive .

The story is about Joshua who is A middle school student. The story is tight and gripping in the beginning but loosens a bit at the middle of the book but picks up nicely towards the end and has happy ending.

I liked the story and the way author narrated it. I would rate it 4/5.



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Review: The 5 AM Club: How to Get More Done While the World Is Sleeping

The 5 AM Club: How to Get More Done While the World Is Sleeping by Michael Lombardi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book doesn't offer any path braking info. It's all a about waking up early in the morning and doing the things you like most as the first thing will motivate. Planning about the work that you will do early on the morning will also help to reduce distractions. Social sites and phones are big a NO.

A'nt all these rules known to us to increase productivity in daily life ? Still for a beginner its a good book to start with. My rating 3/5.

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Review: The River Girl's Song

The River Girl's Song by Angela C. Castillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked the story. It's slow in between but overall it's a nice read. It has a happy ending.

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Review: Ethan's Secret

Ethan's Secret by Patrick Hodges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: I got this book for free in for an honest review.

I liked the story as well as some of the characters in it.

The story of the book revolves around Ethan and Kelse who get attracted towards each other after their first meet.

The kind of maturity is shown by Kelsey is beyond her age and I liked her character the most.

I liked the happy ending of the story . I would rate this book 8/10.

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Review: It Will Be All Right

It Will Be All Right by Ajay Joseph
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How'd you handle an alcoholic father, loneliness ? Specially when you have lost someone very close to your heart ? This is the story of the book.

I liked it. I rate it 4/5.

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Review: If It's Not Love

If It's Not Love by Syed Arshad
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Source:I won this book in goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the author for sending me the autographed book.

The book is about a boy who leaves his house after a tiff with his father. He meets a girl in the metro and their love story begins.

I found the book a little slow. The end of the book is dramatic, sad and illogical.

Ada's character was difficult to understand.

I rate this book 3/5.

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Review: Panther

Panther by Chhimi Tenduf-La
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source: I got the book for free for an honest review.

The book is about a Tamil boy in the war torned Sri Lanka. His journey from being trained to be a suicide bomber to become a cricket player and finally settled to help others like him.

The author nicely captured the essentials of the theme but I wish that the book was a little bigger to capture more about the life of the Tamils in the Jaffana peninsula.

The book starts slow but captured imagination after around 20th Chapter and picks pace.

The author has nicely portrayed the hatred between Tamils and Singhlese but was careful enough to not make it one sided bashing.

The book nicely conveys the message to respect the differences when it comes to racial problems.

I loved the story and it's characters. I would rate it 8.5/10.


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Review: The Beginning of Never

The Beginning of Never by O.E. Boroni
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

[I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author O.E. Boroni.]

This book is a story about a girl, Lenora, whose mother has died and she doesn't share a good relationship with her father. though the book doesn't talk much about her mother or father but gives ample hints about their troubled marriage. after the death of her mother, the father sends the girl to a boarding school. the main theme of the story begins at the school. where the girl meets a boy , Nathan, accidently and the relationship between them builds gradually.

the main character of the book , Lenora, is confusing. when She thinks she seems very sensible girl but when she acts she looks like a stupid girl. I liked her when she says - "life could be so complicated that a simple
friendship between two people couldn’t even be sustained" at the same time she surprises my by hitting her friend. she would do many chores of her seniors but at some other time she can be strong enough to fight with them.

Overall I found this book interesting but slow. I would give it 3.5/5.

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Review: Seeker

Seeker by Amy Reece
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Note: I got the digital copy of the book for free in return of a fair review of the book. Thanks to the author Amy Reece.

The story of the book is about a girl,Ally, who has super natural power to see past and future of any random person. In one of her such visions she sees a girl being brutally tortured and decides to help her.

The story of the book is OK. But so many chapters are wasted on the love story of Ally and Jack which doesn't fit well in the main story.

Overall the book is OK I will rate it 3/5.

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Review: The Art of Readable Code

The Art of Readable Code by Dustin Boswell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good book for Beginners. You will learn all these things on your own over the time but it is good to learn these things/tricks in the beginning.

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Review: Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder

Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder by Barbara Park
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful story ..this is how a tooth gets recycled...

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Review: Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal

Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal by Barbara Park
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Probably author held back knowingly about what she wanted to convey in a straight forward manner. But she did convey the right message in the end. I wanted The story to be a bit more crispped.

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Review: Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket

Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket by Barbara Park
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This ia nice book in Junie B series. Easy to read and understand for the kids who read english as a second language. The story is about Junie and how a wise farmer handles the scared little girl. Nice story.

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Review: The Doll's House

The Doll's House by Katherine Mansfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story is about discrimination faced by the lower class in a community. These kind of discriminations do happen world over in almost all the societies. But the children don't understand this and rightly so. I wish whole world acted like children in such a situation.



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Review: Pretty Dancer

Pretty Dancer by Cora Graham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to author Cora Graham.)

The story is about an young girl who is a dancer, has a dream to join an elite dance academy,but, is running away from her past. she doesn't share her secrets even with her best friend in school. she has a twin brother. They live together, all alone, without their parents and take care of each other. finally some secrets come out in the open,and that shatters the girl. she comes out it with the help from his brother and others.

The relationship between the girl and her brother is nicely portrayed.

The story is good and is well narrated. the end is also ok.




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Review: The Lottery Ticket

The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekhov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The day dreaming in the hope of winning a lottery is hilarious. But the end was very much predictable.
L
Moral - You do not respect the money if it is not hard earned.

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Review: Wisely Stupid

Wisely Stupid by Zeeshan Najafi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story is about a boy who is kind of lost after his breakup with girlfriend. The book is a simple reading and nicely built around the character and has some life saving lessons for the people who fail in love :).

Nice book.

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Review: The Departing Point: Two people departed...in search of love...leaving love in between

The Departing Point: Two people departed...in search of love...leaving love in between by Santosh Avvannavar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got this book from the author Santosh Avvannavar for an honest review. I thank the author for sending the book to me.

The book is about couples, most of the time college going students, who fall in love , fight and part away. The writing style of the authors is lucid but at every now and then I found them preachy. The stories are mere narration of incidents and lack depth.

I found two stories refreshing - My last letter, Na paki na Gulab Nadir ko baksh do janab; Especially Na paki ... authors writing style lets down most of the other stories. They lack imagination.

Overall, tkhe book can be read by young readers at least oncce.


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Review: God's Table: The Last Supper

God's Table: The Last Supper by Santosh Avvannavar
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I got this book for free from the author for an honest review. Thanks to the author Santosh Avvannavar for sending the book to me.

The book is about various discussions that take place between a couple, Robert and Amrita.

The discussions include private education scams to liquer tragedies to Euthanasia to general elections to health to hounour killing to child abuse to death to social media to girl child to Stains murder to doctors rural postings.

The chosen topics are good and relevant but the discussions are banal and boring. A well read person already knows about the raised issues and expects some deep analysis and some more perspectives. There is nothing new offered in the book.

A discussion becomes illogical as soon as you start referring to the GOD. When Robert says that "HE(The God) may chasten his children because of various sins" and Amrita agreed with him l but I couldn't.

I liked the discussion on social media. Being an avid user of social media I could see the pitfalls.

The book is below average and has nothing new to offer. Probably I am a wrong person to read this kind of book.

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Review: Black, Grey and White

Black, Grey and White by Santosh Avvannavar
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I got this book from the author, Santosh Avvannavar, in return for a free and fair review. thanks to the author for sending the book to me.

The book has five stories, and, apart from one, all other are related to AIDS patients.

The first story "Shahid - The Martyr" started well, reached a crescendo in the middle and falls flat towards the end.

The second story "Chintu..." is the best story in this book despite being small. I could feel the pain Chitu was going through.

The third story "A Game..." is ok. the end is predictable.

The fourth story "Highway Sex" is a good story but its not something new. This is one of the common stories that we hear about truck drivers who contract AIDS.

the fifth one, Abram and his prodigal son, has nothing to do with AIDS. The story felt me more like preachy. The story doesn't have any substance.

Over all the book is average. Chintu's story has lifted it a bit otherwise it would have been a below average story book for me . I would rate it 2.5/5.

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Review: Once Upon A DharamYudh

Once Upon A DharamYudh by Vibhor Tikiya
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I got this book for free from the author as goodreads first read.

The books is about how a factory owner handles labour problems in his premises. how he handles the bureaucrats , local goons cum politicians. the book barely touches the problem. but given the size of the books it aptly conveys its core message - "quarrels should be kept within. When outsiders interfere, they take more than what they give to either side".

Though I am not convinced with this solution but given that the story in Indian context where corruption is very high, you can not expect a fair treatment at any level irrespective of whether a factory owner or a worker is right or wrong. whoever bribes more, wins.

I liked the end though I expected a fierce fight/battle between the factory owner and the labour, which never happened . 4/5.

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Review: Keeping The Promises

Keeping The Promises by Dhruv Gajjar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received the book through GoodReads first reads for free. thanks to GoodReads and the author Dhruv Gajjar for sending the book to me.

The book is full of one liners. The one liner from the book - "Girls ! They want compliments even on the deathbed..." sums up the book very well. the book is all about keeping the promises made to a dieing girl by her friends, parents and boy friend. She forces all of them to make/keep those promises. The books captures the romance between two college going couples nicely. The main characters are bubbly and one could easily relate to them.

The story is nicely narrated by various characters of the book and is knitted very well. I could feel the characters, specially M and Dhruv, around me while reading the book.

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