Review: The Barefoot Road

Author: Vivienne Vermes. 

Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍬

Vivienne Vermes' debut novel is a gripping read which will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction, thrillers and evocative themes. The book begins with a young woman found, emaciated and unconscious, in the mountains surrounding a village in Transylvania. When it is discovered that she is of an ethnic group which was violently driven out of the regions many years before, old wounds are reopened as the villagers are reminded of their role in the bloodshed.

An uneasy peace is maintained until a young married man falls in love with the girl, and tension begin to rise within the community. The mysterious disappearance of a child causes this tension to mount into hysteria, driving the story to its chilling outcome.

The cover is colorful and eye-catching, but on closer look, I thought that it didn't look very polished, since the image was a crayon-like painting. 

The Barefoot Road was an engaging story about a woman who was hurt and left to die, who's later rescued by the healer's son. 

I loved the storyline. It was beautiful and thought-provoking all at the same time. 

Though the historical-ish naration put me off a bit, and I've realized that historical is not a genre I'm really fond of. 

Sometimes, the descriptions were too much. I'm more of an action loving girl—in the sense that things should keep happening—and so this book was quite dull for me at moments. 

And yet, I enjoyed reading The Barefoot Road, and I'm glad I got a chance to read it. 

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Review: Sniper's Eye

Author: Mainak Dhar.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

I was out on a date. Everything was perfect… Till that shot… a high-calibre one, no apparent sound. And, the man in front of me fell. A rifle with a suppressor? A sniper in the middle of a Mumbai mall? As the body count mounted, I was soon sucked deeper into the chaos unleashed by that shot. To survive and save those whom I care about, I have to become the man I left behind. I have no choice but to tap into a bloody past that has put me on the terror kill list. I may also have no option but to join hands with the sniper terrorising Mumbai. The problem is that the man has sworn to kill me. In a world where the young and poor kill and die in conflicts started by the old and rich, I and my unlikely companion finally discover the thin line that separates a mere killer from a hero. This is our story…

The cover is simple and suits the title as well as the storyline. I liked it! 

Sniper's Eye was probably the best thriller in Indian Fiction that I've come across in all my time as a reader. 

There was just enough adventure and suspense to make it the perfect afternoon read. 

The characters were believable and we'll crafted, and though I felt there could've been a bit more of depth to them, they were all pretty well done. 

The storyline was flawless and intriguing, with just enough suspense to keep you reading. It was exciting right from the beginning, and I had a lot of fun reading it. 

I look forward to reading more from Mr. Dhar!

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Review: Unlocked Silences

Author: Mukhpreet Khurana.

Genre: Poetry, Abstract thoughts.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍬

Unlocked Silences is a collection of abstracts, poems and excerpts written on tissue papers over a couple of years. It is a dive deep into the circles of emotion, empathy, acceptance, healing and insights into a different perspective towards life. In the voice of a budding adolescent, the book cascades into day-to day-shortcomings, carved into poetry and at the same time, embraces you in silence and stillness of thought. The book is an attempt to connect with the reader, to reflect upon them, unbiased and together and embrace a new beginning. With simplified use of grammar and vocabulary, this book seeks nothing but the companionship of all. With this debut book, the author aims to connect to one and to all in the message and purpose of existence, the aid of spirituality and an ode to a beautiful journey called life.

The cover is flat black, and that's it. But I still somehow find it likable. Is it just me?

Unlocked Silences is a collection of poems and random abstracts. While I found some really beautiful poems in this book, there were also poems that didn't connect with me at all. 

The poems were set in an unclear theme, with write-ups popping in randomly. It was hard to follow the poems because the theme kept switching. 

I was also slightly irked by the number of spiritual-ish poems it includes. I wish it'd been mentioned in the blurb that such poem were a part of the book. 

My favourite poems were Budding Aspirations, Often, Shadow, You Still Have Time and Nocturnal Companions. These poems were really uplifting and I found myself connecting with them. 

Other than that, Unlocked Silences was a good enough read. 

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Review: Cold Fire

Author: James Hartley. 

Genre: Young Adult.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫

Set in the magical boarding school of St Francis', Cold Fire centres around a group of teenagers who become involved in the tale of Romeo and Juliet in this contemporary re-telling of the classic story. Meanwhile, four hundred years earlier, a young teacher from Stratford Upon Avon arrives at the school. His name is Will... From the author of The Invisible Hand comes the second book in the spellbinding Shakespeares Moon series.

Umm...do I need to say anything about this cover? I mean, darn it, it's gorgeous! I absolutely love it!

I've never read Shakespeare. I've heard all about Romeo and Juliet but I never really read their story. Those who've been reading my reviews for a while know that I can't stand classics. But what if a classic story is transformed into a much cooler, modern and young adult story? That would definitely interest me. And that is what Cold Fire is. 

After The Invisible Moon, the book one in the Shakespeare's Moon Series, that recreated the story of Macbeth, author James Hartley has recreated the one and only Romeo and Juliet in his second book, Cold Fire. 

I think Cold Fire was so much better than the first book in the term of context. The happenings were clearer here, and there was far less confusion than I'd faced while reading book one. 

Gillian and Romeo's story was beautiful, and I loved the fact that there were multiple storylines at work at the same time. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Cold Fire and I'm excited to see which Shakespeare novel will be the next one to be modernized by James Hartley. 

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Review: Keeper of The Bees

Author: Meg Kassel. 

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫

KEEPER OF THE BEES is a tale of two teens who are both beautiful and beastly, and whose pasts are entangled in surprising and heartbreaking ways.

Dresden is cursed. His chest houses a hive of bees that he can’t stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries—since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people.

He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn’t see a monster when she looks at Dresden.

Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden’s solitary life and Essie’s tormented one. Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse.

I absolutely love the cover. The shades of green are so beautiful, and that bee actually makes me forget my fear of bees for a moment!

Keeper of The Bees was a beautiful, sweet story, and I totally fell in love with it. 

Dresden and Essie were such complicated yet beautiful characters. It was fun to watch the story unfold from both of their perspectives. 

I especially loved how the author wrote Essie's point of view. The bubbles, the snake-like tongue. It was all so believable. It was hard to say whether Essie was imagining something or whether it was real. 

I loved the fact that the story did not stretch into a sequel. It was short, sweet and beautiful as it is. 

Keeper Of The Bees is as beautiful as its cover, and I recommend you to check it out!

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Review: The Affair

Author: Sheryl Browne 

Genre: Psychological Thriller.

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫♥️

You trusted her. You shouldn’t have.

Alicia’s been telling lies. And now they’ve come back to haunt her.

When an old colleague turns up at a party, Alicia comes face to face with the man who has the potential to ruin her perfect family life. He wouldn’t, would he?

In order to keep her secrets, Alicia has to tell yet more lies and when a devastating car accident makes the situation even more dangerous, it’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart. Can secrets really stay hidden forever?

The cover is the perfect thriller cover, with just enough suspense to make you want to pick it up and want to know what it's about. I especially love the blue colour!

Spoiler Alert: This book might make you cry. 

I know, I know. It's a psychological thriller. Psychological thrillers aren't supposed to make you cry. They're supposed to chill you, scare you, but not to make you cry. 

The story begins with the death of a 6 month old baby. And the way Sheryl Browne wrote the chapters following his death, as his family coped with it? They'll definitely make you cry. 

Once you're done crying and all, the thriller aspects start cropping up, and the story just gets better and better. 

With Alicia trying to keep a secret and Julian trying to protect his daughter, and blaming himself for his son's death, The Affair was a rollercoaster of emotions. 

My favourite character has got to be Julian, because damn it if I can find a real person who's that good, inside and out. He was so unbelievably amazing that it left me in awe of him. He's the kind of dad every girl deserves. You know how they say that every girl's super hero is her dad? Well, Julian is that super hero. 

Okay, I'll stop now. But you should go on and click that link below and buy this book this instant, because you need to read it!

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Review: When The Lights Go Out

Author: Mary Kubica. 

Genre: Psychological Thriller. 

Rating: 🍫🍫🍫

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

The cover is colorful and intriguing. I really like it.

This is the first Mary Kubica Book I read, and I don't know if I'll be reading any of her other works. 

The storyline was pretty intriguing, and I read it till the end, but only because I wanted to know what exactly happened. Whether Jessica Sloane was Eden's daughter or not. And that one question is what kept me reading. 

I hate stories that drag too much. I love books with ample action, where things just keep happening. Well, this book was way too slow for me. Way too slow. 

I was actually starting to like the book, and then the book took a sudden twist and I was left fumbling in exasperation. 

So yeah, it was psychological enough, but it lacked a lot in the "thriller" aspects. 

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