Review- The Ghost Hunters Of Kurseong by Shweta Taneja

Summary-

Sometimes you go out looking for ghosts and sometimes the ghosts come looking for you...

When Kartik Godse's mother informs him that they are to move from Mumbai to the small hill station of Kurseong, he thinks his death is near. And the cause will be boredom. That is until he reaches there. On his very first day in this sleepy town, he is accosted by a frightened man and attacked by two strangers. This marks the beginning of his journey down an unexpected vortex of intruders, ghosts, hauntings and rumours. Armed with good instincts, a sharp scientific mind and two unlikely companions - gentle Tashi and the firebrand Opus, Kartik takes on the role of a ghost hunter and private eye to unravel a web of mystery, deceit and supernatural events!

At the centre of it all stands the old and dilapidated mansion called the Iyer Bungalow. What is the mystery of this bungalow? What do its ghosts want and what role does the mysterious DPRS have in all of this?

Join this brave trio as they make their way through the twisted bylanes of Kurseong, hot on the heels of villains both real and ghostly...

Review-

The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong turned out to be a much better read that what I initially expected it to be. The book starts off with Kartik our protagonist, having to move to the small hill station of Kurseong with his mother. He thinks the place is an absolute bore with small town people and doesn't know how he'll get through his stay.

That is until, the word ghosts comes up. I really liked Kartik. He was an intelligent boy. Like any thirteen year old he was curious about things he was not supposed to be curious about. When a series of incidents happen with Kartik he sets out to solve the mystery of the ghosts in Kurseong who have allegedly been terrorizing people.

With Kartik, are his two companions Tashi and Opus. I adored Tashi. He was a sweet and gentle soul who actually had the innocence of a thirteen year old. He was the only one frightened by even the possibility of discovering ghosts. The complete opposite of Opus. Opus is the daughter of Pinky Aunty, who makes delicious food.

I found Opus a little reckless but the girl had smarts. She somehow perfectly balanced out the trio in their ghost hunting adventures. There are a lot of secondary characters who soon become the suspects in the mystery. I found it fun the way Kartik and gang dug up clues which finally led them to find the real answers.

Overall, the Ghost Hunters of Kurseong is a really well written book. It is the perfect read for the younger crowd who like mysteries. It was an entertaining and well paced book, keeping the reader engaged as the plot thickens and the mystery slowly unravels. It was a good change from my regular reads. I enjoyed The Ghost Hunters of Kurseong.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review by Hachette India. We thank them.

Waiting On Wednesday #63

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Pointe by Brandy Colbert

Publication Date- April 14th 2014

Goodreads Summary:

Theo is better now.

She's eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction—and his abductor.

Donovan isn't talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn't do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she's been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

 Wow. This totally sounds like something I'd love to read and I hope it turns out to be as interesting as it seems to be. 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Link me up to your posts!

Top Ten Tuesday #5

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week was all about the creepy --whether or not you chose Top Ten Books To Read During Halloween or Top Ten Creepiest Covers!

I am not a huge horror reader so I haven't read many of the books from my picks. But they sure do look creepy so I guess they would make great Halloween reads :)

My picks are-

1. Anna Dressed in Blood

2. Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

3. Dearly Departed

4. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

5. The Space Between

6. The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

7. Dracula

8. Rot and Ruin

9. Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children

10. Ten

What are your picks?

Review- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Goodreads Summary:

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

REVIEW:

I had had my eyes on Under the Never Sky since I first saw the book when it was about to release. But then, other interesting books came out and I left this one lying on my TBR shelf. Sometime back, my friend Aman over at Enticed by Books and I were discussing our sad and disheartening three star book phase and we decided to buddy read something extraordinary. Janhvi joined us as well and so I finally began reading Under the Never Sky with my two great friends. 
I can't exactly say that Under the Never Sky was an extraordinary five star book as opposed to practically every second Goodreads review. The book started out real slow and if it weren't for my sheer determination, I was this close to DNF-ing it. It seemed way too dragged, although I've realised that all fantasy novels need that dragging to help the reader understand the new world better. With Under the Never Sky  once I reached the 55% mark, the book suddenly picked up pace turned out to be a super interesting edge of the seat packed with action story. 

Under the Never Sky is the story of an Outsider, Aria and a Savage, Peregrine. Both their worlds are absolutely different and yet deeply interconnected. When Aria and Peregrine meet, it seemed like they'd never get along. But Aria's curiosity and confusion mixed with Peregrine's intellect and mystery made the two an amazing couple. The interaction between Aria and Peregrine in this book is what made it a good read for me. 
Author Veronica Rossi has created a strong world in which the concept of the Aether was quite interesting really, although I wish there was more about it. Long descriptions always tend to drift me off which is why some concepts still seem unclear to me. The author's writing is really good though and both Aria and Peregrine's points of views were excellently explained and varied nicely. 
I can't exactly say that I loved Under the Never Sky because when it takes nearly 55% for a book to pique my interest, with an obvious maths calculation, only 45% of the book was amazing and that's less than half of it. Nonetheless, the parts that I did like were really, really good and for a Dystopian read, like all reads of the genre, it was a fascinating story and I'll definitely be continuing with the series. 

RATING:

Review- Faster We Burn by Chelsea M.Cameron

Summary-

Katie Hallman is done with douchebags. Done with guys who treat her like crap and leave her broken. But then Stryker Grant is there anyway. With his numerous piercings and bleached hair, he’s the polar opposite of all of her past relationships, which makes him the perfect candidate.

At first, Katie just sees him as a physical escape from her previous rocky relationship, and Stryker doesn’t seem to mind just being a distraction from Katie’s problems. But soon he’s getting under her skin, peeling back layers she’d rather keep covered. She tries to make it clear that she doesn’t want a relationship, but keeps breaking her own rules.

Then a tragedy sends Katie into the only arms who are there to catch her, and she’ll realize that she needs him more than she ever thought possible. But is she ready to let herself trust another guy with her already-battered heart? Or will she push him away to protect herself from getting hurt again?

Review-

Faster We Burn is the second book is Chelsea M.Cameron's Fall and Rise series. My review of Deeper We Fall can be found here. Faster We Burn is the story of Katie and Stryker whom we'd already met in Deeper We Fall and their story had already kind of started in the previous book itself.

I was not much of a fan of Katie in the first book. But after the incident at the end of Deeper We Fall she is forced to face the hard facts. Getting into Katie's head made me understand her better. She thinks that having a physical relationship with Stryker can fill in the need inside of her. She doesn't want a relationship because it always leaves her broken and she is done with all of it. Katie had a lot of growing up to do and by the end of the book I actually ended up liking her.

Then there's Stryker. He doesn't mind being only a physical distraction for Katie's problems. But soon they both seem to crave each other like the air they breathe and Katie completely gets under his skin. I really liked Stryker. He had a crappy childhood which makes him not trust in relationships. But still he was a loyal friend and a protective brother to Trish.

Stryker and Katie's relationship which starts off as a no strings attached turns into love before the both of them even realize it. In the beginning Katie and Stryker were so different from each other that it was impossible to imagine the two of them together. But they had chemistry and the romance was hot. I loved Stryker's passion for art. Katie sticking with her family in tough times made her admirable.

We once again get to meet the whole crew throughout the book and I am really fond of all of them. I'm really curious to see what'g going on between Will and Audrey and Trish and Max. I have no clue who the next book is going to be about but I hope it's Will's. Chelsea M.Cameron writes an entertaining book with real characters. I enjoyed Faster We Burn and hope to read more from her soon.

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway- Without You by Brooklyn Skye

I am excited to be part of the Without You by Brooklyn Skye Blog Tour hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. As part of our post, we have my review of the novella along with the tour wide giveaway. 

STRIPPED SERIES ON GOODREADS

LINKS FOR STRIPPED:

GOODREADS / AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / KOBO

MY REVIEW OF STRIPPED (STRIPPED #1)

LINKS FOR WITHOUT YOU: 

GOODREADS / BARNES & NOBLE / KOBO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brooklyn Skye grew up in a small town where she quickly realized writing was an escape from small town life. Really, she’s just your average awkward girl who’s obsessed with words. You can follow her on Twitter as @brooklyn__skye or visit her website for updates, teasers, giveaways, and more. 

AUTHOR LINKS: 

BLOG / GOODREADS / TWITTER

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

A Limited Edition of WITHOUT YOU will be available for release week only which includes a bonus interview between Torrin and the author!

SPECIAL DEAL:

Both STRIPPED and WITHOUT YOU will be on sale for $0.99. If you purchase both and forward the receipt to the author at brooklynskye1@gmail.com, she will send you a handwritten letter! 

BLURB:

She was broken when I met her, shattered from the death of her sister and running from love. Not to sound like an egotistical douche or anything, but I fixed her. Put her back together, filled in the cracks, and made her whole. A true fairytale in her eyes.

But now real life is getting in the way: school, jobs, and the unexpected opportunity to travel the world under a legendary photographer. This internship will open doors not even my father’s influence could. It’s something I’ve been waiting all my life for. But so is Quinn, and accepting this internship will mean leaving her.

And breaking her all over again.

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Without You by Brooklyn Skye in exchange for an honest review. We thank Brooklyn for the book!  

Author Brooklyn Skye's Stripped (my review) was an amazing story with many aspects in it that were a first for me in New Adult books. It was a really good book that I really liked reading. When we were accepted to be part of the blog tour for a novella in the series, Without You, I was glad as I'd get to read and ARC of it. 
With the way Stripped ended, I wasn't expecting any more in the series because it ended well, with the couple, Quinn and Torrin, together and happy. But it seems there are many readers who wanted a full on happy ever after for them and so author Brooklyn Skye decided to write a short novella to show what happened to the cute couple after Stripped. Even though I thought that it was unnecessary, Without You was a very short and sweet read that I liked. 
Things are going pretty smooth between Quinn and Torrin until there comes a time when Torrin has to pick between taking his passion, photography to a new level or staying with Quinn, who is slowly starting to believe in love with Torrin right by her side. The decision isn't easy but the two work wonderfully to make everything fall in place. 
Author Brooklyn Skye's writing is really good. It's always nice to see a young couple work hard to make what they have stay. It wasn't any different with Quinn and Torrin. For a super tiny read, Without You was really good and I enjoyed reading it. 
I hope there are more novellas in the series since I would love a prequel from Quinn's bipolar and dead sister's point of view and another from Torrin's photography internship head's point of view since I'd love to know more about them both. 

RATING:

GIVEAWAY:

Signed picture of cover, signed paperback copy of STRIPPED, and a $50 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner's choice). (US only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for stopping by! And I'd like to thank YA Bound and author Brooklyn Skye for this opportunity. 

Review- Without You by Brooklyn Skye

Goodreads Summary: 

Dear reader, the sexual content in this novella is more explicit than STRIPPED and is recommended for 17+.

She was broken when I met her, shattered from the death of her sister and running from love. Not to sound like an egotistical douche or anything, but I fixed her. Put her back together, filled in the cracks, and made her whole. A true fairytale in her eyes.

But now real life is getting in the way: school, jobs, and the unexpected opportunity to travel the world under a legendary photographer. This internship will open doors not even my father’s influence could. It’s something I’ve been waiting all my life for. But so is Quinn, and accepting this internship will mean leaving her. 

And breaking her all over again.

Stripped series by Brooklyn Skye:

My review of Stripped (Stripped #1)

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Without You by Brooklyn Skye in exchange for an honest review. We thank Brooklyn for the book!  

Author Brooklyn Skye's Stripped (my review) was an amazing story with many aspects in it that were a first for me in New Adult books. It was a really good book that I really liked reading. When we were accepted to be part of the blog tour for a novella in the series, Without You, I was glad as I'd get to read and ARC of it. 
With the way Stripped ended, I wasn't expecting any more in the series because it ended well, with the couple, Quinn and Torrin, together and happy. But it seems there are many readers who wanted a full on happy ever after for them and so author Brooklyn Skye decided to write a short novella to show what happened to the cute couple after Stripped. Even though I thought that it was unnecessary, Without You was a very short and sweet read that I liked. 
Things are going pretty smooth between Quinn and Torrin until there comes a time when Torrin has to pick between taking his passion, photography to a new level or staying with Quinn, who is slowly starting to believe in love with Torrin right by her side. The decision isn't easy but the two work wonderfully to make everything fall in place. 
Author Brooklyn Skye's writing is really good. It's always nice to see a young couple work hard to make what they have stay. It wasn't any different with Quinn and Torrin. For a super tiny read, Without You was really good and I enjoyed reading it. 
I hope there are more novellas in the series since I would love a prequel from Quinn's bipolar and dead sister's point of view and another from Torrin's photography internship head's point of view since I'd love to know more about them both. 

RATING:

Review- The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Summary-

In the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with an epic story of two couples whose parallel love stories intersect in profound and surprising ways.

Ninety-one year old Ira Levinson is in trouble. Struggling to stay conscious after a car crash, an image of his long-dead wife Ruth appears. Urging him to hang on, she lovingly recounts the joys and sorrows of their life together.

Recovering from a break-up, college student Sophia Danko meets the young, rugged Luke and is thrown into a world far removed from her privileged school life. Sophia sees a new and tantalising future for herself, but Luke has a secret which threatens to break it all apart.

Review-

I have read only 2 Nicholas Sparks book till date and that makes The Longest Ride my third Nicholas Sparks book. I'm not a huge fan of him but I don't dislike him either. The Longest Ride, for me, was a pretty good read. Nicholas Sparks is a brilliant story teller and that came off well.

The book starts off with ninety one year old Ira meeting a car crash. He is in and out of consciousness and he starts recounting his life's story from the World War days and how he met the love of his life, his wife, Ruth. The book is not completely dominated by Ira's story and I think I liked it that way. The short glimpses we get from him keep the story moving forward.

Then we have Sophia and Luke. Their story moves parallel to Ira's story and they are in no way actually connected to each other. Sophia is a college student and Luke is a bull rider. Both Luke and Sophia are opposites in every way but you can see the sweet chemistry between them. They somehow understand each other perfectly.

Luke and Sophia each have their own issues. Luke has a secret which threatens to tear them apart completely. The romance moves at a good pace and at the same time we see Ira when he was a young man falling in love with his wife, Ruth. I think both the love stories were very well paced with each other.

There aren't any huge twists and turns or villains in the book. Its just a simple story told from Ira, Sophia and Luke's point of view. I thought I would enjoy Luke and Sophia's story more than Ira's but that was not the case. It was a typical Nicholas Sparks book and that falls into a category of its own. I enjoyed The Longest Ride.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by Hachette India in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Review- Love is a Thief by Claire Garber

Summary-

Join the quest to take back what love stole! 

Kate Winters is an ordinary girl, with a not-so-ordinary mission: take back what love stole! 

Kate Winters might just be ‘that’ girl. You know the one. The girl who, for no particular reason, doesn’t get the guy, doesn’t have children, doesn’t get the romantic happy ever after. So she needs a plan. What does she like doing? What didn’t she get to do because she fell in love? What would she be happy spending the rest of her life doing if love never showed up again? 

This is one girl’s journey to take back what love stole and maybe find love again along the way Feel-good, witty and addictive; Love is a Thief is the book everyone’s talking about. 

As addictive as One Day, funnier than Bridget Jones, as beautiful and touching as When God Was a Rabbit, this is for fans of good books, bad TV and long chats over wine. 

Review-

I enjoy reading a good chick lit book every now and then and Love is aThief was just that. Kate Winters is an ordinary girl. After being dumped by a french guy whom she thought was the love of her life, whom she moved to another country for, Kate has had enough of love. She doesn't think its perfect or worth sacrificing anything for.

Kate works in a magazine called True Love. After finally being sick of all the lovey dovey articles she writes a column called Love Stolen Dreams where you can write what love stole from you. Suddenly, the column's popularity shoots up and Kate finds herself chasing others' love stolen dreams.

I liked Kate. She was sweet. She rambled when nervous, was fiercely protective of her family and just wanted to figure out what love was. She was a pretty typical chick lit heroine whom we all enjoy. I also found all of Kate's friends and co workers hilarious. The way they chased love stolen dreams, each with her own scenario made for a fun journey.

Then we also have Peter Parker, he is Kate's childhood best friend whom Kate used to stalk, uh, follow around. She has not seen him since he disappeared all those years ago. But then Kate finds out that Peter Parker has kept in touch with everyone but her. Kate's relationship with Peter Parker was all over the place. I really like how things went between the two of them.

Love is a Thief somehow reminds me of Meg Cabot's Heather Wells series. It is a well written chick lit book which is set in England. I haven't read much of British literature so this was different. Fans of any and all kinds of chick lit books should give Love is a Thief a try.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by PRPundit in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Waiting On Wednesday #62

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

On The Fence by Kasie West

Publication Date: July 1, 2014

Summary-

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can out-run, out-score, and outwit every boy she knows--including her long-time neighbor, and honorary fourth brother, Braden.

But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chi-chi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and bedazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pick-up game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

This book is looking too cute to pass up. I always enjoy a good friends to lovers story and though I haven't read anything by Kasie West yet, I'm so looking forward to On The Fence.

What are you waiting on?

Top Ten Tuesday #4

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

The question this week is-

This week was all about character names -- top ten character names I LOVE or top ten most unusual character names! Feel free to come up with your own twist on the character names if this doesn't work exactly for you!

My answer- 

I'm going to go for a list of top ten character names I LOVE and here's my list (in no particular order): 

1) Isaiah 

(Crash Into You (Pushing The Limits #3) by Katie McGarry)

2) Patch 

(Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick)

3) Haymitch 

(The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins)

4) Caspian 

(The Hollow Trilogy by Jessaica Verday)

5) Rush 

(Too Far Trilogy by Abbi Glines)

6) Francesca 

(Losing Francesca by J.A. Huss)

7) Rhane 

(I Breathe You by Lori L. Clark) 

8) Kindle 

(A Happy Accident by Evan Tyler)

9) Kazimir 

(Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor)

10) Reyes 

(The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3) by Gena Showalter) 

Link me up to your posts in the comments. I'd love to see your picks. 

Happy reading!