Book Trailer- Arranged Love by Parul A. Mittal

Hello, all! 

Author Parul A. Mittal herself has made a very nice book trailer video for her second novel, Arranged Love. 

Read my review of Arranged Love by Parul A. Mittal 

It's now time to share the video! 

Although, not all the characters exactly match my imagination, I still feel the video is quite nice and really well made. 

It seems so real, like the characters might just be somewhere near you, which makes it believable and really cool. 

I hope you enjoy watching it just as much as I did! 

Sarika

Review- Where Souls Grow Warm by Laura Lee

About Where Souls Grow Warm by Laura Lee (in the author's own words):

After finishing  a long, difficult novel, I always enter a phase of poetry.”-Joyce Carol Oates

Back in 1996, I published my first collection of poetry, Invited to Sound.   It was a mix of poems generally on the themes of meditation and unrequited love.

Since then, between books and when inspiration struck, I have written poems and tucked them away.

Now that e-publishing is a reality, I’ve decided to compile a collection of poems from my files.  I’m calling it “Where Souls Grow Warm.”  It is a reference to the honest poetry that people write without thinking about it when they speak from the heart.

The poems in the collection span a 17-year period of my life, including some from the print only Invited to Sound.  Because of this, it is much broader in scope and theme.  My Eastern influence and poems of unrequited love are there, there is also some nostalgia, observations of things that exist outside my skull, some further musings on God, mature love, absurdity and some love songs to dead poets.

REVIEW:

I loved reading Laura Lee's Angel (my review of which can be read here). It was an enlightening and splendid read and Laura Lee's writing was captivating, charming and had a poetic flow to it. 
I felt extremely surprised and esteemed when author Laura Lee informed me about Where Souls Grow Warm, her self-published collection of poetry. I like reading poetry simply because it is easy to read but difficult to understand. There is a certain kind of profoundness and bottomlessness that comes with poetry and although hard to figure things out, everything just flows and sits in place. 
The poems in Where Souls Grow Warm are beautiful. Each and every poem had depth to it but was easy to comprehend because it is nothing but honest observations made by the author that are easily relatable and understandable. Two poems that I really loved were Literary Appreciation and Identity. 
It is really challenging for me to review Where Souls Grow Warm because I am finding it hard to express the sheer beauty of all of Laura Lee's poems. 
I will share two of the most precious and beautiful lines from the poems titled  Pondering My Poetic and Married respectively. 

my prison of loneliness 
built of my own guilt stones 
I have raided myself in captivity 
pondering my prison 

Give me you hand 
tell me I'm wrong 
beg me to stay 
take me along 
who would have thought 
this day would come 
the dream would remain 
you would be gone? 

The poems in Where Souls Grow Warm made me realise that all of us have similar experiences in life, but only the few talented ones can actually describe it in the form of poetry and make it look uncomplicated when in reality, it isn't so. I am so elated that author Laura Lee went ahead and published her personal poetry collection. Her writing is really heavenly and lovely. 
The introduction at the beginning of the collection is simply stunning. It is always such a pleasure to get to know authors that you truly admire and look up to, on a more personal level. 
In conclusion, Where Souls Grow Warm is a truly moving, wonderful and awe-inspiring set of poetry. 

RATING:

Sarika

Feature & Follow Friday #26

Feature and Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. 

Today's question is:

Write a letter to your favorite character. Rant, rave or gush…just pretend like they are real and you just want to let them know a “few things”. – Activity courtesy of author, Kelly Walker

My answer:

Dear Severus Snape,

Even though I wasn't very fond of you in the beginning, after reading The Prince's Tale, my heart just cried and melted for you.

You are not only the bravest man Slytherin House has ever seen, but you are the bravest man the world has ever seen and will ever see.

You truly are an incredible man and my heart is filled with admiration and respect for you.

When I'm old and I have an elongated list of books I've read and characters I've encountered and I'm asked who my most favourite character is, I know that without hesitation I will say Severus Snape. 

And people will say to me, "After all this time?" And I will say, "Always."

Love,

Sarika

I am so excited to read your letters! 

Follow us and we'll follow back. 

Happy Friday! :D 

Sarika

Review- A Song For Julia by Charles Sheehan-Miles

Summary-

Everyone should have something to rebel against.

Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.

Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy. 

When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.

Review-

A Song For Julia is the second book I've read by Charles Sheehan-Miles. It is like a companion novel to Just Remember To Breathe which was a fantastic read. It is set ten years prior to the happenings in Just Remember To Breathe. We'd got a glimpse of Julia and Crank in Just Remember to Breathe but A Song For Julia contains their story.

Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002. Crank has left his home when he was sixteen to start a punk band. He's a struggling artist who's trying to get through and find his place in the world. Now at 22, he's still at odds with his father but he loves his younger brother Sean. Crank's relationship with Sean was an absolute pleasure to watch. The way he protected and cared for him which later also included Julia was amazing to watch.

Julia Thompson is now in her senior year at Harvard. She hides a horrible secret and a terribly sad past which no one knows behind her polite smiles and good girl image. She comes of as an ice queen. But when she meets Crank its like he can see through all of her walls. Julia was a sweet girl. When you get to know the real her you can see why she's been hiding from everyone all along. She was tired of being alone and just wanted someone who she could trust.

Neither of them is looking for love. But the connection between Crank and Julia is undeniable. Crank falls fast and hard for Julia but you can see how Julia is hesitant to trust him. When they finally admitted that they loved each other it was really very sweet and touching. There was also a lot of humor combined with Crank and Julia's witty banter which made the book enjoyable.

The book is set in 2002, so there were a lot of words used which were popular then. I was a kid then so I didn't know many of them. So I found it supremely amusing whenever I read the word "dungarees". It means jeans just FYI. A Song For Julia was a realistic book with the right amount of angst and drama. It was a book I thoroughly enjoyed. We also get well acquainted with the Thompson clan and I hope we get to read about the rest of the sisters as well. I am looking forward to reading more books by Charles Sheehan-Miles.

Janhvi

Waiting On Wednesday #26

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

The Symptoms Of My Insanity by Mindy Raf

Publication Date: April 18th, 2013

Goodreads Summary:

A laugh-out-loud, bittersweet debut full of wit, wisdom, heart, and a hilarious, unforgettable heroine.

When you’re a hypochondriac, there are a million different things that could be wrong with you, but for Izzy, focusing on what could be wrong might be keeping her from dealing with what’s really wrong.

I almost raised my hand, but what would I say? “Mr. Bayer, may I please be excused? I’m not totally positive, but I think I might have cancer.” No way. Then everyone at school would know, and they would treat me differently, and I would be known as “Izzy, that poor girl who diagnosed herself with breast cancer during biology.”

But Izzy’s sense of humor can only get her so far when suddenly her best friend appears to have undergone a personality transplant, her mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, and her beautiful maybe-boyfriend is going all hot and cold. Izzy thinks she’s preparing for the worst-case scenario, but when the worst-case scenario actually hits, it’s a different story altogether—and there’s no tidy list of symptoms to help her through the insanity.

This book sounds quite cool and different. I love the title! 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Sarika

Teaser Tuesday #26

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

                                                               Here's my teaser-

"Are you trying to find some sort of reason that I've become such an asshole? The reason is..I'm an asshole. There are some things in life that can't be explained. Period. Assholes are assholes. Rainbows are pretty. Kittens are cute. Chick flicks are sad. It's the way of things, no explanations."

-If You Stay by Courtney Cole

Summary-

24-year old Pax Tate is an asshole. 
Seriously. 

He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match. 

But he’s got his reasons. 

His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn’t understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count. 

As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn’t work. His dad couldn’t overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn’t keep up the impossible perfect façade. 
So he slipped far, far from it. 

Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn’t want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn’t there, then it isn’t, right? 
Wrong. 

And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila. 
Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.

When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness. 

But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it. 

He knows that. And he’s working on it. 

But is that enough to make her stay?

                                                                              What's your teaser tuesday?

                                                                                  Janhvi

Review- Streamline by Jennifer Lane

Goodreads Summary:

Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He's captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother's crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father's abuse, battered and alone. 

Leo's girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida's top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there's an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number-one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder. 

Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything's on the line . . . streamline.

REVIEW:

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of Streamline from author Jennifer Lane in exchange for an honest review. We thank Jennifer for the book! 

When author Jennifer Lane contacted us about reviewing her YA novel, Streamline, I was immediately hooked and I was looking forward to reading the book. The author then gently warned us that most of the reviewers said Streamline is very intense. I now know that Jennifer Lane wasn't kidding. 
Streamline is a very very intense book. It has so much of depth to it, that I think it falls more under Mature YA. The book has romance, mystery, thrill, crime, sports, drugs, abuse... It has everything. And it is unabated, profound and truly overwhelming. 

I really really liked this book so much. It made me feel so many things at once and I couldn't help but experience numerous emotions for all of the characters. 

The plot of Streamline predominantly revolves around three families, all of whom have a military background. The Scotts (Mary and James and their sons Jason and Leo), the Roses (JoAnne and Denny and their daughter Audrey) and the Walshes (Patti and William and their daughter Cameron) are the three families whose lives are intricately, delicately, wrongly and tempestuously entwined in a circle of lies, suspects, murder, blood and love. 
The main protagonists, Leo Scott and Audrey Rose were really great. Their bond was strong and their romance added a light-hearted and clean touch to an otherwise heavy and tensed atmosphere. Audrey's calm and sweetness was a perfect match to Leo's anger and tension. She added a warm and soothing touch to Leo's life. 

Getting into the story will be a lengthy task, because it is complicated and utterly heavy and I am afraid if I get into the plot, I won't be able to go without giving away some major spoilers.

I felt so much for Leo. He was a brilliant swimmer, intelligent student, caring friend, loving boyfriend and a very very admirable son. I could easily sympathize with him. Leo is faced with so much pressure from his father to perform well, that he is a challenge lover. His father abuses him terribly and those scenes were the most blood-and-guts moments in the book. I am in complete awe of Leo, the decisions he makes and the way he handles everything that is thrown his way. He is such a sweet, sometimes silly and sacrificing boy that it is hard to not like him.  

There were times when, while reading, I actually took a pause to gather my thoughts before going back to reading. It was that deep. Leo's family is messed up big time. His mother was good enough, but it was his older brother, Jason who really stood out. Jason was a great guy and I loved reading about his relationships with his family and all the other important people in his life, especially Cameron. It was amazing to know about his life alongside Leo's story. 

All of the other characters and their roles in Streamline are just as important, well developed and well portrayed as our main boy, Leo. Even describing each of the characters will be a daunting task because there are so many of them and each one is unique in their own way, but what mattered was,  in the end, they all got what they deserved.  

Author Jennifer Lane has written an intense and deep book that makes you want to think about the complexities and complications of life. The author's writing is neat and precise. The multiple POVs were never confusing and everything was clearly explained in detail. Streamline is an excellent novel and it truly deserves a lot more praise than what I have given it. 

I'm not sure if I can use words like beautiful, wonderful and amazing to describe this rather fierce book, but I can definitely say that it is a strong, severe and terrific novel. It was the first of it's kind novel that I have read and I loved it. 

I am so happy I read Streamline even though I was scared of it's length (around 450 pages), but honestly, once you get into the story, you are pulled right in and 200, 300, 400 or 500 pages... It doesn't matter as long as the strength and depth of the story manage to keep you wanting for more. 

I absolutely liked Streamline and I highly recommend it. 

RATING:

Sarika