Friday, December 26, 2014

Review- Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Summary-

When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge - but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for...

Review-

I had thoroughly enjoyed reading Grave Mercy, the first book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers. It was one of the most unique books I'd ever read. So I was really excited to read Dark Triumph which was Sybella's book. It is no surprise that I was blown away once again by Robin LaFevers' writing style and the world she has created. 

Sybella came off as some what of a whimsical character when we first met her in Grave Mercy. In Dark Triumph though we really get to see the secrets she is hiding underneath the facade. And hiding she is. I really liked Sybella. Her childhood and circumstances had made her have a tough exterior but she still was so vulnerable from within. By the end, I was surprised how strong Sybella really was after going through so much.

Then we have the hero. I don't want to say his name but it is safe to say that he was a beast of a man. He was the perfect counterpart to Sybella. Not overbearing but steady by Sybella's side. He was strong in his own way and brought the much needed light in Sybella's existence. The romance was less compared to the previous book but somehow it felt enough because it was more Sybella's journey.

I love how Robin LaFevers entwines political threads though Sybella's personal journey. Seeing what was happening in the d'Albert household gave much needed insight. Things are definitely not looking good for the duchess and  there are several factors which stand against them. I also really liked seeing what was happening with the abbess. Things look more suspicious now.

I adored that we get to see Ismae and Duval in Dark Triumph. Ismae was a true friend to Sybella and just what she needed at times. I just have to repeat that Robin LaFevers' writing is amazing and authentic. You need to read these books for the writing if nothing else. But the stories are just as beautiful as well. I loved Dark Triumph.



Thursday, December 25, 2014

Blog Tour- God Is A Gamer by Ravi Subramanium

Hi, everyone! We are part of the blog tour for author Ravi Subramanium's latest, God Is A Gamer, hosted by TBCM. I mus say that I am very excited to be part of this great tour. So let's get on to seeing what TBCM has in store for you. 


God is a Gamer 
by 
Ravi Subramanium 


The Blurb
Aditya runs a gaming company that is struggling to break even. A banker slips off a highrise building, plunging to her death. The finance minister has made some promises that he is finding hard to keep. The LTTE has unleashed terror in America that sends the FBI on a wild goose chase, bringing them to Mumbai.

Enter Varun, parttime drug dealer and fulltime genius. He turns around the gaming company before disaster strikes. Meanwhile, the investigators plunge headlong into

the shady world of bitcoins and the Dark Net, websites that only exist for illegal transactions—drugs, sex and money. God Is a Gamer culminates in a stunning climax where money means nothing, assassination is taught by the ancient Greeks, and nothing is as it seems.

Buy @


Watch It 



Meet the Author



Described as the ‘John Grisham of banking’, by the Wall Street Journal, Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, is the author of five bestselling commercial novels—If God was a Banker (2007), Devil in Pinstripes (2009), The Incredible Banker (2011), The Bankster (2012) and Bankerupt (2013)—based on financial crime. His latest book God is a Gamer, releases on September 12th.
Having been a banker himself, he has a unique insight into the industry he writes about and a flair for spinning intricate plots that keep readers on the edge of their seats
His debut novel, If God was a Banker, won the 2008 Golden Quill Readers’ Choice Award and, more recently, The Incredible Banker won the 2011 Economist-Crossword Book Award in the ‘Popular’ category. He won the Crossword book award for The BANKSTER in 2012.
Ravi lives in Mumbai with his Biotechnologist turned banker wife, Dharini and his fourteen year old daughter Anusha.

You can stalk Ravi Subramanium @             


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Check out The Book Club Tour Schedule

This Tour is Hosted by 




Thank you for stopping by! 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday #109

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

Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire
Publication Date: January 27, 2015


Summary-

If A Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever. But what if he didn't love you, first? 

No-nonsense Liis Lindy is an agent of the FBI. Deciding she is married only to her job, she breaks off her engagement and transfers from Chicago to the field office in San Diego. She loves her desk. She is committed to her laptop. She dreams of promotions and shaking hands with the director after cracking an impossible case. 

Special Agent in Charge Thomas Maddox is arrogant, unforgiving, and ruthless. He is tasked with putting away some of the world’s toughest criminals, and he is one of the best the Bureau has to offer. Though, as many lives as he’s saved, there is one that is beyond his reach. Younger brother Travis is faced with prison time for his involvement in a basement fire that killed dozens of college students, and the media want a conviction. Travis’s only savior is his unusual tie to the mob. In a deal that will spare his brother, Thomas has agreed to recruit Travis into the FBI. 

Liis is stubborn, defiant, and yet somehow softens Thomas’s rough edges, making her the perfect agent to accompany him to the ceremony. Posing as a couple, they must travel to Travis & Abby’s beach vow renewal and give him the news, but when the pretending ends, she finds herself wondering if they were pretending at all. 

In the second installment of the Maddox Brothers books, experience firsthand the mysterious world of the elusive Thomas Maddox, and how good love can be when you’re not the first, but the last. 

I didn't really enjoy Beautiful Oblivion as much as I thought I would. Yet, I am curious to know Thomas' story.
What are you waiting on? :)

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday #41

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


This week's topic is: 


Dear Santa,

Hardbacks/ paperbacks of the following books, please! *winks* 

 

 

  

 

What do you want Santa to get for you? Let me know in the comments below and link me to your posts, so I can stop by them. Happy Tuesday, and happy reading! 

Monday, December 22, 2014

Review- Jet by Jay Crownover

Goodreads Summary:

With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?


REVIEW:

While there were some good things about this book, there were many things that I didn't like. 
When I read Rule, the first book of the Marked Men series, I was a wee bit disappointed but I was pretty excited to get to Jet, book #2, and unfortunately, Jet left me feeling more disappointed. 

Jet, the male MC, sings metal music in a band and has a great bunch of friends who love and support him. His family life is really screwed. The female MC, Ayden, has left her screwed up old life behind in Kentucky and she has built a new life for herself in Denver. She too has a majorly screwed up family situation. When Ayden and Jet meet, sparks fly but even after trying their best to resist each other, they realise that their bond goes way beyond electrifying sexual attraction. 

There were many things in Jet that I didn't quite get. Jet could get any girl he wanted and I didn't really understand why he couldn't have used the same charm on Ayden. I really felt like I waited an eternity until the two MCs finally got together. And when they did get together, there wasn't much that held my interest. 

It's not like I hated the book or anything. Jet was just average and got on my nerves at times. It was a good read, but maybe it's been a lot of New Adult lately and I really need to take a break from the genre. I found Shaw's (the MC in book #1) and Ayden's voices very similar and so were Rule's and Jet's. 

I did like the sound of the next story in the series and a subtle hint or two that we got of more books to come. I'll definitely be continuing with the series and all I can hope is that the future books are better. 

RATING:


Friday, December 19, 2014

Author Interview + Giveaway(IN Only)- A Pluperfect Gift by Shalabh Bansal

Hey guys! 
Are y'all tired of the giveaway yet? :D Today we have with us Shalabh Bansal. He is the author of A Pluperfect Gift. Keep on reading ahead to read his interview and a chance to win 1 of 5 copies of the book. :)
Summary-

 All was going well for Samar. He had a promising career in the merchant navy ahead of him, and he was looking forward to his next sailing assignment. Then came along Arisha, and he discovered the love of this life. What could possibly go wrong? This is the story of Samar and Arisha and their battle with the ultimate master?Time itself. And how sometimes, the most extraordinary things happen to ordinary people. In the ultimate clash between Love, Life and Time, who could possibly win?

Buy the book-

Amazon (Paperback)
Amazon (Ebook)
Flipkart
iTunes


 AUTHOR INTERVIEW-

      Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Born in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, Shalabh Bansal is a trained Marine Engineer. After graduating in Marine Engineering from BITS Pilani (Tolani Maritime Institute Pune campus), he kicked off his sea career in 2007 when he first joined a vessel as a Cadet. At present, he is sailing as First Engineering Officer with Seaarland Management Services, Mumbai. Having sailed across almost all seas and continents, he continues to feel the urge to explore more and more every day and ride the high waves unbounded.
Shalabh believes that water gives him strength. He likes to watch the sun rise over the ocean, which gives him a feeling of a fireball emerging from the waters. Though, despite years of sailing experience behind him, he is still scared of water.
Extremely caring, Shalabh loves making friends and exploring new horizons with them. Despite being one of the nominees of the 2020 Mars-1 Program, he withdrew his application and decided to continue sailing, which he loves more than anything else.

     Tell us about your book, A Pluperfect Gift.

Samar and Arisha didn’t meet by providence or by fate. They were destined to be together by the Ultimate identity itself- the Time. They were hankering for each other, till the time the same identity rose against them.
 A Pluperfect gift is a tale of love which describes their tussle with the ultimate identity and the eventual win of their love over time.   As it’s said, only the worthy are blessed with supernatural abilities. But at times few of the people who are sanctified with them, become worthy automatically.
 A tale of sacrifice, love and supernaturalism, it also brings forth the human emotions depicting care, hope and rage simultaneously. A clear communiqué that Life and Love prevail over Time - is evident from A Pluperfect Gift.

      What inspired you to write your book?

The high seas, the wild sunsets and the spirit awakening sunrises; these clubbed with my girlfriends wish to see my handbook in a printed format are all that inspired me and I took a step forward towards A Pluperfect Gift.

    Are any of the characters in your book inspired by someone you know or are they complete results of your imagination?

To be true, Samar is a semi portrayal of myself, whereas Arisha`s character was somewhat inspired by my X-gf. Various other characters like Radhika, and Tushar etc have been adopted with their real names. They’re my real life friends. Though the story is a pure fiction, few incidents have been taken from my real life.

       What kind of research went into writing your book?

Not much actually. I am a sailing officer, so most of the details about the sea and the ship were readily available with myself. Ya I did went through few UPANISHADS and the  BHAGWAD GEETA to understand the mystery of our Chakra cycles and its refurbishment. Had to consult few learned Pandits also for the same.

    Tell us about the whole publishing process and how it went.

I had heard about a new book on the stands, Gas wars. I was impressed by the books publisher somehow, and I approached him with my new manuscript. He was quick enough to go through the script and approved it. Though the book had been approved by few other publishers as well, but the time frame that the leading ones were offering was huge; some even asked to for a time shelf on 3 years before they could publish it. So I decided to go ahead with AuthorsUpfront, i.e. my current publisher. And to my goodness, I had the book in my hand in just 4 months, that too free with any editorial error (courtesy Kamya Sharma who happens to be a close buddy) and a brilliant typeset. The cover too was designed by my very old friend, Miss Radhika Jain, who is a Nift Mumbai pass-out and a brilliant designer. 

     Who are some of your favourite authors and what are some of your favourite books?

Very frankly I haven’t read any book till today, except Shakespeare during my school days. But I do enjoy reading guest posts by Stephen Hawking on his theories of space and time ( ex Does Go plays dice).

    If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what book would you pick and why?

I am actually longing for A Brief history of Time. It explains the theory of our evolution and solves many more mysteries related to our universe. Normal novels, bore me up very easily. Unfortunately, I am not a very vivid reader.

  Tell us why readers should pick up your book.

I would like to quote few words from few reviews

1. Capt. Samarth Singh (Brand Developer, Hybrid Content)
2. Mrs. Sakshi Nanda (works as a reviewer ad book critic for Penguin India and Rupa publications.)
http://www.sakshinanda.com/2014/12/book-review-pluperfect-gift-by-shalabh.html

GIVEAWAY-

Shalabh has generously offered to give away FIVE copies of A Pluperfect Gift to five lucky INDIAN readers. 
Enter by filling the rafflecopter or go here.
May the odds be ever in your favor!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks everyone!
Happy reading :)

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Review- All Broke Down by Cora Carmack

Summary-

Dylan fights for lost causes. Probably because she used to be one.

Environmental issues, civil rights, corrupt corporations, and politicians you name it, she's probably been involved in a protest. When her latest cause lands her in jail overnight, she meets Silas Moore. He's in for a different kind of fighting. And though he's arrogant and infuriating, she can't help being fascinated with him. Yet another lost cause.

Football and trouble are the only things that have ever come naturally to Silas. And it's trouble that lands him in a cell next to do-gooder Dylan. He's met girls like her before fixers, he calls them, desperate to heal the damage and make him into their ideal boyfriend. But he doesn't think he's broken, and he definitely doesn't need a girlfriend trying to change him. Until, that is, his anger issues and rash decisions threaten the only thing he really cares about: his spot on the Rusk University football team. Dylan might just be the perfect girl to help.

Because Silas Moore needs some fixing after all.

Review-

I had read and loved Cora Carmack's All Lined Up, the first book in the Rusk University series, so I was pretty excited for All Broke Down. All Broke Down is the story of Dylan and Silas. We'd met Silas in the previous book and he was quite the jerk there but we do get to see that there is so much more to him and Dylan. All Broke Down was a pretty good read.

Dylan is your typical do gooder or so it seems when we first meet her. She loves fighting for lost causes and one of those times makes her land up in jail where she meets Silas. I really liked Dylan. She was a sweet girl who was genuinely trying to prove that she deserved to be where she was. I loved how she wanted to help Silas and her intentions were always good.

Then we have Silas. Like I said previously, Silas was a jerk when we'd met him in the previous book and he is still is to an extent but he had his reasons. Silas has a very unstable childhood which makes him doubt his position on the team. He screws up but he does make it right too. I really liked Silas after understanding him. 

Dylan and Silas have chemistry since the first moment they meet. Like all Cora Carmack books, the connection the hero heroine share is lovely and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. They may look like complete opposites on the surface but Dylan and Silas understood each other really well. Their love story was sweet and genuine.

While I cannot say that Dylan and Silas are my favorite couple and that All Broke Down is one of Cora Carmack's best works, I did enjoy All Broke Down. We get to meet many other characters as well, some of whose stories have already kinda started and I'm curious to see how they go forward. All Broke Down shouldn't be missed by new adult fans.