BOOK REVIEW- Unlocking the Lockdown Stories

Author- Juhi Jaisinghani

Publisher- Notion Press

Genre- Short stories

Rate- 4/5

After reading the name of this book you may have a pretty good idea of what we are expecting out of this book. This book is compiled with 10 beautiful short stories. In my opinion short story novels are the best to read, because they are quick to complete, you get different different stories combined in one book and it’s fun reading a new story after every chapter. It feels like we get so much good content in one small bundle of a book.

It’s the debut book of the author which was released during the lockdown and the stories are about how all the characters faced this difficult period but somehow they found something or someone to survive this difficult situation. 

The stories are very easily depicted. The author made sure to keep every story short, with no such unwanted information about the characters to give an unneeded stretch to the story. 

Every story makes you understand one positive thing out of it. This book shows how sometimes you need to be focused on the positive side on what you learn out of any negative scenario and in this case Lockdown played its role in all of these short stories. 

My personal favorite story is story #8 ‘Revamping Together.’ So this story talks about how depression is real and how it can occur in anybody’s life at any moment. There is romance, shock, and how later they both realise each other’s mistakes and try to revamp their life again.  

My second favorite story is story #4 ‘Lost and Found. It’s the story of Alisha who meets Karan in a wedding. They both fell in love with each other, got married and then found themselves hat they both are busy in their career but somehow Karan wants to start a family but Alisha doesn’t! Somewhere they were losing the love but due to COVID-19 they even found their love back again, but this time the love was very strong between them. 

Although all the stories are very different from each other and every story has its own constructive conclusions as well. 

This book tells about focusing on the positive side in any negative situation. It is a one time reading novel. I’ll suggest this to them who are seeking to get some good vibe out of this Lockdown period. It enlighten the hope within you. A beautiful story and light to read.

BOOK REVIEW- Sarah’s Secret

PUBLISHER- Mills & Boon

AUTHOR- Catherine George

GENRE- Fictional Romantic

RATING- 2.5 out of 5 stars

This book launched in the year 2002. The author present you a romantic fiction in this book. It’s a story of Sarah who falls in love with Jake Hogan whose family own’s a very famous company of bathroom tiles. Sarah and Jake meet for the first time in a very typical filmy way and somehow they both get attracted to each other on their first meet itself. At first jake wasn’t aware about Sarah’s deal. 

So the charachter Sarah never like doing relationship because somehow the other significant can’t imagine of dating a mother! Yes, Sarah’s deal is to really get settle with someone who can accept that she has a daughter in such young age and if they are getting serious about her then Davina (her daughter) will also be invovled. 

For Sarah, Davina’s choice and approval was very important since day 1 with whomsoever she is currently seeing. If Davina is not okay with it then Sarah needs to keep that man out of her life.

On the other hand Davina found Jake Hogan the perfect suitable guy for her mother and vice versa where even Jake wanted Davina to accept him not like a stepfather but as her real father itself. Everything seems so perfect like a classic filmy story but there has to be a twist attached to it. 

So here is the catch. Sarah has a secret in her past that she hasn’t shared it with any men in her life because she never trusted anyone.

The plot of this novel says, ‘Getting physically involved with Jake would force her to share her secret- that she’d never been made love to the man- and hurt the daughter she so adored…’ this clearly gives an image that Davina is adopted! (Spoilers)

Clearly they kept no rouse in the story.

Speaking of my review to this novel is, it was a very predictable story from chapter 2 itself. The author tried her best to create some sexual / romantic tension between both the charachter but failed. The secret which the female charachter holds from the beginning isn’t that surprising at all. Whereas the author tried to make the male characters, Jake Hogan as a charming, rich and handsome man but eventually at the end of the novel you’ll realise he is one of those guys whose charm remains in the initials stages and then it just disappears in the end!

I will suggest this novel who’s seeking for some light read and unsurprising fictional romantic story. It’s a one time read thing.

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BOOK REVIEW- Red Lipstick: The Men In My Life.

Publisher– Penguin Books
Author– Pooja Pande
Genre– Non- Fiction
Rating– 4.5 out of 5 stars

As we all know that soon it’s going to be the end of pride month this year and so I had to tell you about this beautiful book called ‘Red Lipstick: The Men In My Life’. This book is an autobiography of Laxmi Narayan Tripathi the transgender rights activist, Hindi film actor, and Bharatanatyam dancer. She is a celebrity, founder of the NGO Astitva, and an LGBTQ+ icon. She is the first transgender who went to the United Nations representing the Asia Pacific sex workers. Also, she plays an important role for recognition of hijras as the third gender in India. 

This book is very fascinating to read of all the men who played even the tiniest role in Laxmi’s life. The book is divided into chapters where each focus falls on certain people and aspects in Laxmi’s life. The author has made sure to cover all the details of her life. There is also a mention of how Laxmi was born with a male sexual organ but she was never felt like a man, Raju (her childhood name given by her parents). This chapter called ‘Raju’s Monologue’ is my favorite. In that, it has described her previous life and how she understood her needs and wants and deep down in her heart how Raju is still alive inside her. Also, it is shown how her family started to accept her and realize who she was until they saw it on the TV where she was talking on behalf of the hijra community and as a hijra herself while protesting against section 377. The book also tells us how she was born in an orthodox family and growing up realizing and accepting herself was never an easy part of her life.

Laxmi has played a very big role in section 377 as we all know and as shown in the book it wasn’t an easy fight for her at all. First realizing and coming out to her family and friends, relatives then representing such big community and fighting for their right is a big load that one could ever handle. There are still many of us who are trying to find themselves and understanding what they feel exactly and Laxmi has always supported them as much as she can. 

Reading this book made me understand the life of Laxmi Narayan Tripathi in a very amazing way. Red Lipstick is book that is described in a very simple language and easy to understand the life of Laxmi. The struggle, the ups, and downs, her family issues, how much she loves her father, and how she made sure to be there for her loved ones as well. The book has described her persona in every aspect. The journey from a lost child to representing the Asia pacific of sex workers in the UN, it is alluring. My huge respect for the lady.

I will definitely recommend this book to all those who are trying to understand the LGBTQ+ community and figuring out about themselves. Also to those who are trying to understand the scene of this community in India and how they can be helpful from their side. 

Midnight Drama!

When the sun goes down and the moon shines bright, all the dark memories strike in my mind.

All my fear rises so high, I feel like someone is constantly standing by my side.

It’s scary to even peek out of my bedsheets sometimes, thinking what if I would saw those demonic eyes seeing right through mine.

I know its dark and nothing would touch me until it senses my fear when it passes through me.

So I take a deep breath and try to fill my mind with good memories when suddenly I hear a few footsteps behind me.

I’m scared again and all my fear rise so high, constantly thinking that it is just a phase and it’ll soon pass by.

I hear giggles and laughs and someone running constantly around me.

I can sense those goosebumps and chills growing all over me.

I keep saying to myself “happy memorize”, sweet memorize” but all I can think of all the pain he had cost to me.

The heartbreaks and all those lies, seeing myself so miserable that I can’t even stand for my pride.

I say to myself that I lost this fight. Lost because of my stupidity of trusting him so blind.

Screaming and yelling inside not to pull me down with it, but I feel so low and naive.

And thats how I lost myself to the demon which was growing inside me all this time.

Too Many Thoughts!

Some pain causes such deep scars to your soul that it rejects to heal. Some pain causes such deep scars to your mind that it rejects to forget. And some pain causes such deep scars to your past that it rejects to go back in time and fix it. 

Life is easy. We are the one who makes it hard to survive. And then we decide to go back in time and change that one particular mistake which brought you at this critical present scenario to survive. 

Time is very difficult to understand as it doesn’t wait for anyone. I want to be like time. Even I don’t want to wait for any beautiful moment to arrive in my life. Even I don’t want to wait and wonder if my soulmate would ever arrive in that white horse, charming as beautiful for me. And even I don’t want to wait for a perfect moment to start over anything. Because all this time I’m tired. Tired of waiting for my destiny to strike. I just want to go with the flow. Not wondering what the future has hold for me. Is it good or bad or even worst? Because things are going to happen. Even if I don’t want to. Everyone will leave me at some point. And someday I’ll be leaving everyone. 

Sometimes I wonder when did things started changing around me. Because these changes are so quick to even understand when did it all happen with you and until you completely understand, it’s all over. You lose the people who loved you once. You lose the time when these people were around you celebrating your happiness. And now you stand alone in the dark waiting for a helping hand to pull you out to the light.

A False Connection.

I keep thinking and thinking,

There is this chaos in my mind,

There is no peace,

No silence but only screams.

My mind screaming and asking him just one question,

WHY? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO HURT ME?

When all I did was loving you.

Is it because I wasn’t enough for you,

Or is it that your lust and greed turned you so blind,

That you couldn’t see me or my love.

I choose you over everyone,

I choose you every time,

Even when there was a storm.

All I wanted from you was the truth,

A simple yes accepting you did it, 

And you are sad about it because you did it unknowingly,

And everything could have been solved,

Everything could have gone back to normal 

Just like how we used to be together.

Everything would have been in its place,

My heart, my mind, my soul.

And now when you won’t accept your mistake even though the truth is right in front of me,

They are all in a mess,

My heart, my mind, and my soul.

BOOK REVIEW- Stories We Never Tell by Savi Sharma

Publisher– Westland
Author– Savi Sharma
Genre– Romantic, Fictional, Inspirational
Rating– 3.5 out of 5 stars

This is Savi Sharma’s 4th novel. I have read all her books till now and I find one thing in common in all her books is her way of writing and describing each character’s life in brief with their emotions in it. Her writing is very easy to read and understand. As she says, the soul like you is deserved to be loved the same way her books are mostly about finding yourself and loving your soul. I have been a follower in Savi Sharma’s writing and she is one of the reasons because of which i started writing for a while. Her 1st book ‘Everyone has A story’ has been on my favorite list since then. 

Talking about her latest book ‘Stories We Never Tell’ is a very cute romantic fictional novel. The character Jhanvi has shown as a social media influencer who somehow gets lost in the world of ranking, numbers, and the followers who find her life perfect, but deep inside she knew how messed up she has been to seek this life. Whereas Ashray is an orphan who has been adopted by a good lady and she did everything for him so that one day he becomes a foremost gentleman to work in a big company. The two main characters Jhanvi and Ashray are known to run after their dreams. Dreams for Jhanvi is to prove everyone that the decision she took as a career is perfect for her and for Ashray is to give the best life to his mother as she always dreamt of and also because she deserves. As the author beautifully describes the story of both characters and even the struggle they went through in finding the perfect love and ending up with the wrong decision. But it is very aesthetic on how they find each other as their soul mates. 

I love the ending and to be honest the twist in Ashray’s life was predictable, but the consequence of that screw up is very painful for the character. It is shown how both the characters went from the up’s and down’s and came out of it together. The story concluded with a message saying about hope, healing, and how there is always the light at the end of the tunnel. 

I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wants to believe in love, hope, and destiny. 

BOOK REVIEW- Cheaters by Novoneel Chakraborty

Publisher – Penguin
Author – Novoneel Chakraborty
Genre – Short stories
Ratings – 4 out of 5 stars

This book is based on nine amazing short stories. These short stories tell you different types of people and their dark and shady side of it. All these nine stories are not connected to each other at all. Every story will make you think differently. It gives a very twisted perspective about the people. It’s based on today’s era about the social norms and their thinking which clearly define the sexual desire of all the characters and give more reason for such a situation on them. This book clearly defines the unexpected urge within themselves. Each story has narrated in such an unexpected ending that it will literally blow your mind. The whole storyline revolves around the extramarital affairs and the lies between the partners they tell to each other. The stories are dark and shady but it is well narrated in a very simple language. It describes how men and women even though staying with each other if their sexual desire is not fulfilling or it is incomplete then how they start looking for others. In the stories it clearly shows how the characters listen to the heart but they are bound by their responsibilities so they seek happiness in others.

In all these 9 stories there were 2 stories that define female proponent every strongly that is ‘The whore and the wife’ and ‘ The flight is on-time’. These 2 stories completely stands out from the rest of it. The two characters that are Meera and Siya have shown such a powerful role that defines you to start making your own decisions and how you don’t need a man to tell you what you are capable of. It even describes the domestic life which is forced to a female character called Radhika in the story ‘Vacation’ which constructs her to change her identity and become a completely different woman just so she could be satisfied with her sexual desire. It may be made you think why so much effort, but if you are treated as a trophy and think that your only job is to take care of your in-laws and rest of the families, then this might make sense. My personal favorite story is ‘weekend’ it is the 6th story in the book. This particular story has such a great twist that you won’t even expect about it. My 2nd favorite story is  ‘Clicks’. In this particular story it clearly describes how some basic misunderstanding or having a partner who has an overthinking mind can lead to a very very bad conclusion. Even the rest of the stories are good and very interesting to read. It has so many layers with all the hidden emotions and the desire which even you might not have been known about it. 

Definitely all the short stories will make you sit at one place and read till the bookends. I will definitely recommend this thrilling and enchanted stories to adults.

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A Weeping Scribbler!

I’m a messed up girl, mentally and physically. My mind is a very screwed up place to be honest. You can’t  find any peace there. It’s definitely not a dark place at all, filled with cold and loneliness, No! My mind is filled with too many questions, unanswered. It has a lot of garbage inside which is not ready to be cleaned up any sooner. My mind seek answers to all the questions that is left unsaid, just like a small kid trying to figure out how the world functions. From time to time all my questions, doubts and queries about everything that kept happening around me was suppressed everytime I tried to open my mouth. It’s been over a year or two that I have kept thinking about all these questions and this time there is no turning back, no helping hand and there is no one trying to reach out for me.

My stories are a little dark and lonely for the outside world but truely a massive chaos inside that if anyone tries to even peek into it they leave immediately. I won’t deny that there are some people who have reached out for me, but now I push them away, far away to each one of them. Not because I lost the trust in them or not believing them that they can help but I don’t want them to suffer with me in this pool of madness. It’s nothing like I want to enjoy this party from the hell alone, certainly it’s no fun. 

I lie to each one of them who try to know if i’m okay, I lie to them on their face and I regret doing that. I regret that I can’t be as good as they are. I regret that I can’t be a stable person, more focused, more sharp on what exactly I want in my life, what I want to achieve or to become. I say to the world that I’m a pampered soul, and I agree to that too but sometimes these pampering feels too much. Sometimes all I need is to hug someone so tight and cry, cry for everything I did, every mistake I made, every choice that I regret today and every fault decision which made others’ life on stake too. 

There are some days where my soul cries for not being loved too much. I keep saying to the world that all of our soul needs to be loved which is true, no doubt. But I myself search for solace in others arms. Sometimes It’s difficult. Too much to take in, my breath becomes heavy and the next minute I know I’m not in a proper state of mind. I hurt people. I hurt them every time they try to come near me. I search for reasons to push them away even if it allows me to become someone else, I become someone else! There are even days where I regret these decisions too. Knowing how much I have harmed myself I still continue to do so. I still get up next day with the hurricane inside my mind, thinking how to swallow all these emptiness inside me and makes the chaos stop once and for all. And every night i breakdown with the tears in my eyes, the fire in my soul and the rage in my mind.

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