Inane Murtaza

I consider myself extremely lucky when I had received an Exclusive Proof copy of the book 'French Exit' by Patrick Dewitt. This was my first book by the author and from the various praises that I had heard about the book online, I was pretty much excited to read it. Bringing out something new in my review this time, hope you guys like it. What is the book about? The story is primarily focused on three main characters Frances, Malcolm and their little cat Little Frank. Frances believes that the cat hosts the spirit of her late husband whose death had led them to take down a voyage which led them to Paris. The various adventures that occur during their journey to Paris and their stay at Paris makes up the rest of the plot. My Take on the book: What pretty much attracted me to the book was the fresh and intuitive plot that seemingly the author was known for. The book is has its own humorous moments and takes up serious matters in a pretty light hearted manner. The autho...

After a lot of anticipation, the next installment in the Wizarding World Series 'Fantastic Beasts and Crimes of Grindelwald' finally released. I decided to watch it as soon as it was available in screens in my city. I was in Euphoria after the movie ended, but once it subsided, there were a lot of questions that went unanswered. Listed here are some of the top queries that remained unanswered. Caution: Spoiler Alert 1. Grindelwald's Escape The movie starts with an amazing chase scene where Grindelwald escapes from the guards in quite an amazing fashion. What was indigestible was how did the escape act went through. Grindelwald was highly secured in the prison and it was pretty much hazy on how he went on to switch himself with another wizard. 2. Professor McGonagall's Presence One of the most prominent figures in the Harry Potter series is Professor McGonagall. This question has been asked by many of the fans ever since she appeared in the t...

If you haven't heard about the movie 'The Man from Planet Earth', this concept of the book will be pretty new to you. To be honest, the same phenomenon that was applied in this book was what intrigued me towards it. How to Stop Time deals with a guy named Tom Hazard who has been alive for centuries and here is my take on how the author takes up this pretty complex idea and weaves a brilliant story. This was my first book by Matt Haig and in short it wasn't disappointing a bit. Blurb : 'I am old. That is the first thing to tell you. The thing you are least likely to believe. If you saw me you would probably think I was about forty, but you would be very wrong.' Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen a lot and now craves an ordinary life. Always changing his identi...

Ever been to a movie whose trailer was pretty meh but since you have been asked to still watch it, you do it just for the sake. At times this proves to be a pretty good decision but at times this could lead to disastrous results (I still remember cringing at Jai Ho). On the Open Road by Stuti Changle was a similar experience for me where the blurb just didn't excite me much but I still went ahead and picked up the book and here's my take on how the book fared on my charts. Blurb (From Amazon): Myra wishes to  break free  of her cubicle. Kabir wonders what life would be to  build  on his own. Sandy drops out of college to work on the  next big startup  idea. Ramy inspires millions of his generation on his  travel blog - on the open road.  on the open road - THREE LIVES, FIVE CITIES, ONE STARTUP, revolves around the lives of these restless and dreamy 20-somethings as they battle their inner demons and the societal taboos to live life on thei...

If I had to choose between Marvel and DC, I would undoubtedly choose Marvel for movies but when it comes to handpick one superhero from the entire universe, my vote would always go to Batman. One of the quotes that I repeat most often in my life is, "Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.", and hence there were no two thoughts when I heard this book was coming out. Also, this is my first venture into Marie Lu books and a new author is always a new experience in my opinion. Blurb : Returning home from his lavish eighteenth birthday party, Bruce Wayne stops a criminal's getaway - disobeying the police and crashing his car during the chase. Sentenced to community service in Gotham City's Arkham Asylum, he encounters some of the the city's most dangerous and mentally disturbed criminals. Among these, Bruce meets the intriguing Madeleine who has ties to the Nightwalker gang that is terrorizing Gotham City. She's a myst...

I generally prefer short stories when I'm pretty high on reading slump. My current reading slump has extended to quite a few months and when I came across this book, I did not hesitate to pick up this one. Though Rahul is a pretty close friend of mine, I assure you here that this review will be as unbiased as any ordinary one rupee coin (and not the Sholay one). Since, the book is pretty short, I'll keep the review short as well. Blurb : ‘Love Littering the Lanes’ is a collection of four quick short stories about love, lust, murder & mayhem. Based in four Indian cities of New Delhi, Ooty, Panaji and Bengaluru, these shorts are about weird love, the kind that makes you wonder why it ever existed. If it can make the world go round, it can very well make ordinary men and women like us do all the weird, unimaginable shit too. My Take on the stories: The Burnol Couple : Witty. This was a pretty promising start to the novel. It took me a while to digest how such an ...

I have so many reviews pending at this moment and have been procrastinating for quite a while on when to post the same. A lot of contemplation and I finally decided to take charge and go ahead on doing what is right which is helping people around chose good book. It has been a pretty long time since I picked up a Non-fiction book and this book turned out to be the perfect contender with everything that goes around the world. Read ahead to know my take on the book. Blurb: 'Islam began as a stranger,' said the Prophet Mohammed, 'and one day, it will again return to being a stranger.' The gulf between Islam and the West is widening. A faith rich with strong values and traditions, observed by nearly two billion people across the world, is seen by the West as something to be feared rather than understood. Sensational headlines and hard-line policies spark enmity, while ignoring the feelings, narratives and perceptions that preoccupy Muslims today. Wise and authorit...

Another day, another book review. As they say, never judge a book by its cover but when the cover turns out to be so cliched, one cannot help but judge the book. I was however promised a story that is different from the novels that are being churned out these days and I decided to take my risk on the same. Read further onto find out how the book fares. Blurb (From Amazon): Major Virat Singh Rajput was once a fearless Black Cat commando who had saved Mumbai from its venomous perpetrators. His life took a beautiful turn when he got engaged to Pratishtha Sachdev, the girl he had selflessly loved for the last fourteen years. Everything was blissful, until one day Pratishtha mysteriously went missing. Virat, who was hailed as India’s hero, has now become a villain and is facing a certain death penalty. Only one woman can save him. Criminal Defence Lawyer Vaishnavi Pandit has not won her first six cases. She is adamant to win her seventh. But, still, no one knows where Pratishtha...

It's been a pretty long time that I have started on a thriller that I had picked up without considering the author. A good amount of rave reviews online made me pick up this book which otherwise would have gone unnoticed by me if it hadn't been the posts on my various social media handles. Lotte and Soren Hammer's The Night Ferry though is the fifth book in the series of thrillers featuring Konrad Simonsen, is a pretty standalone novel and that's what made me decide to pick up this book as otherwise I haven't read the series. So how did the book fare in my eyes, read ahead to check it out. Blurb : Sixteen children and four adults are killed in a devastating boat crash in Copenhagen. Detective Chief Superintendent Konrad Simonsen is called in, only to discover that this was no accident and that one of the passengers has a very personal connection to the homicide team. Reeling from this revelation and not knowing who to trust, Simonsen follows a trail that even...

So this has been a pretty long pending book review. A few months back, Abhinav (the author of the book) asked me to review his piece of work and he promised me that it won't be disappointing. He had shared the manuscripts as well as sent me the final copy of the book. Though I had finished the book quite a long time back, I kept procrastinating the review but I had finally decided to do it. Did the author stick on his promise of a book that won't disappoint? Read it further to know. Blurb : Trying to protect his pregnant wife, scientist Ashwin Rathore gets killed – unexpectedly and unwantedly. A deadly force lurks in the murk that wants her too, but why? Is it because she works for and with the military and Intelligence teams in the country, or is it because she knows something that no one else does? My Take on the Book : Being disappointed with a lot of Indian author books these days, this book comes as a breathe of fresh air. The author takes on a pretty simple pl...

It's been a pretty long time that I have posted a review. I have completed a lot of books in these days but procrastinating the reviews for quite a while but I had to start somewhere. Enters 'The Bitter Pill Social Club', Rohan Dahiya's take on the high society life of India and how a dysfunctional family works which looks happy on the outside but broken on the inside. Blurb: The Bitter Pill Social Club takes a look at the lives of the Kochhar family, who find themselves drifting apart in the city of gins and fake friends, wrapped in cigarette smoke. As one of their own gears up to tie the knot, three siblings come home to the neurotic parents who raised them. Meanwhile the parents face the family patriarch's constant judgment. Divorce, disappointment, and disasters ensue as the entitled Kochhar brood dodges old lovers and marriage proposals. What's good about the book: 1. The author here does not dwell much into the introduction of the characters. T...

Are you excited or are you excited? Rohan Dahiya's latest book 'The Bitter Pill Social Club' is finally out on Amazon. If you are still wondering whether to buy the book, check out the excerpt below and I'm sure you will not wait long to get a copy in your hands. Thank you so much Bloomsbury for making me a part of this exciting journey. "In her first month living in Bombay, Gayatri had decided on a few things as absolutions; truths that helped her make sense of the world she now lived in. The first was that people who wore kolhapuri chappals rarely had anything interesting to say. That people who listened to Nucleya were smarter than others. And that she hated sunsets. She hated sunsets more than anything else now, because her house on Pali Hill had a stunning view of sunsets and she hated the end of another day. Hated that she was the same person at the end of it as when the day began. Then she would sit and wonder if it was worse to be stupid or rationali...

I have been suffering from a reading slump for quite a while and hence finishing a book has become a huge task for me these days. So, I wanted to make sure that I would start with a book that could make me get over this slump. Chakravyuh was one of those stories that has a lot of promises in store. Read on further to find out whether it stays high on its promises or falls flat. Blurb : Arjun Sud, A 42 year old, CA lives a stressful corporate life working for an MNC with his family in Mumbai. Their adventure holiday turns into a brutal battle when the innocent family gets surrounded by the tribals. In the middle of the jungle, Arjun is faced with the tremendous horror of fighting the mighty Paharias at the same time solving the complicated puzzle (CHAKRAVYUH) to free his beloved family. Racing against time the family has a daunting task of cracking a meticulously designed ancient maze against unknown scavengers in uncharted territory. The story unfolds as the family finds the secrets...

This was my last read for March and since then I have been in a kind of reading slump. I had received this book in exchange for an honest review. These days it takes quite a lot of effort to read a book by an Indian Author especially when the genre is romance. When Opposites Meet has been termed a bestseller and here is my take on the book. Blurb: What happens when opposites meet? When two completely different people find themselves drawn to each other? Can they really find happiness together? Can wheelchair-bound Ritwika find a chord that connects her to national-level athlete Chetan? Will Aditi's irrepressible cheerfulness restart Jayant's life, put on indefinite pause since his parents' death? Does Indu, happily divorced, rediscover her faith in love with the reclusive Lokesh? When Opposites Meet is the story of three unlikely couples and the differences between them. It's the story of love, and the possibility of finding it in the most unlikely of places. My...

I remember sitting in a cinema hall and looking at the screen in awe when Steven Spielberg brought the dinosaurs to life in his movie Jurassic Park. Years later, when I finally got my hands on the book I was quite impressed by the way Spielberg had kept the spirit of the book alive while making changes to the book at quite a lot of places. Imagine my excitement when I finally came to know when he was directing yet another movie based on a book and I geared myself up for it. So what was the book all about which garnered so much attention. 'Ready Player One' is a story set in dystopian future where the entire population is obsessed with a Virtual Reality game 'OASIS'. When the creator of the game dies announcing his heir to be the one who finds the easter egg hidden in the game, a mad rush engulfs the world. Wade Watts a.k.a Parzival is one such gunter (a person looking to find the easter egg) who incidentally becomes the first person to solve the first clue and thu...

Never Judge a book by its cover nor by the name it possesses. The same case happened with me when I read the title of the name 'From Quetta to Delhi'. To be honest, I didn't take any pains to read the blurb because a story on partition is something I always wanted to read an action packed story on Partition. Sadly, the book wasn't what I had expected. So, what was the book about? What did made me read the book? Read further to know about it. Blurb: The invisible cost of the Partition of the Punjab in 1947 - besides the violence, loss of life and property - was that it destroyed the psychic equilibrium of the displaced population. This is the story of one such woman, Shakunt, who rebuilt her life but could never get over the trauma of losing her homes in Quetta and Jhang - not just the loss of a physical space but of the language, culture and ethos that it had embodied. A syncretic culture of multilingualism - Urdu, Persian and Punjabi - and of multiple identities o...

So, here I go. My last February read , a quick read by an Indian author. To be honest, I'm not quite fond of Indian Authors especially if the genre is romance and I might sound a bit bias with this book. I was provided a copy of this book i exchange for an honest review and here goes my take on this book. Blurb : “She was gone, again; and I failed again and could not tell her how much I loved her.” Ronnie’s fate gives him a second chance with Adira. His one-sided love story moves at a faster pace this time but instead of becoming his lover; she chooses to become his friend instead. He needs a mentor and Rajbir steps in just in time. Something I never told you is a transforming tale of love, determination, belief and finding one’s strengths. My Take on the Book :  There is one thing that I would love to tell every young Indian author who are new to the world of writing, why don't you guys work on the editing part. Your intentions however good may be goes in vain w...

Photo Courtesy : Kajree G February had been quite a sluggish month for me as I was not able to catch up much on my reading due to my travel plans. Though I did manage to complete this one, as I had heard quite a lot about this one on my Instagram Profile. Though I had intended to start this a few months back, I was warned against reading this without reading the original Grishaverse Trilogy. Since, I could not get my hands on the original Grishaverse trilogy, I finally decided to start this one and here is my take on the first part of this Duology. Blurb : Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone… A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the ...

Picture Courtesy: Instagran (@siri_s_book_14) So, after a very disappointing start to February with Keepers of Kalachakra, I decided to pick this one up for a bit of light read. I was provided this book in exchange of an honest review and I would try my best to be as honest as possible. I chose this book for the sole reason that it did not promise any cheesy romance that Indian authors churn these days and the blurb provided quite an interesting read about a serial killer. Did the book live up to the expectation? Here is my take on it. Blurb (From Amazon): Over a span of ten years, he killed forty pregnant women and then vanished without a trace. After five years of silence, he is back again, seeking his next victim. Only one man can stop him - Professor Black. Maher was found unconscious in the middle of the highway and later, in the hospital, she revealed that she had escaped from a killer's house. All the details and patterns matched the serial killer 'Kansa,' ...

Okay, so I won't say that I'm a die-hard fan of Ashwin Sanghi but he was one of those unique writers that could spin a story on conspiracy theories giving competition to Dan Brown. I absolutely loved his Chanakya's Chant and that made me get all his other books and this is my take on my first February read. Blurb: A seemingly random selection of heads of state are struck down like flies by unnamed killers who work with the clinical efficiency of butchers. Except that they leave no trace of their methods. Welcome back to the shadowy and addictive world of Ashwin Sanghi. After The Rozabal Line, Chanakya’s Chant, The Krishna Key and The Sialkot Saga, Ashwin Sanghi returns at last with another quietly fearsome tale—this time of men who guard the ‘Kalachakra’ or The Wheel of Time. My Take on the Book: First and foremost, what made me take so much time to write this review were the ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. I'll come upfront about it but the ratings on the ...

The Preparation "If you don't challenge yourself, you will never realise what you can become". Keeping this in mind, me and Taaha (a childhood friend of mine) finally decided to do something out of our league. It was something I wanted to try for quite a while since I had fractured my leg, both of us decided to go on our very first High Altitude Trek. The excitement that built up once the trip was finalised was just out of bounds for both of us. From making a checklist on the items to carry to booking tickets and deciding whether to extend this trip (which we eventually did), the trip was quite a new experience for both of us. Although we had heard a lot of stories on how difficult the trek could be for us, dejected by our very own friends and family, we wholeheartedly started working out for the whole new adventure that awaited us. Alas, what we did not anticipate was that our work out which was based at sea level would be quite challenging once we start our climb. ...

So, this was my last read of January. I know I'm a bit late in posting the review but I promise, I'll do try posting one regularly. To be honest, this was my first book by Marquez and I had literally picked this up for the sole reason that the cover of the book attracted me to the book. A very short read that one could finish within a day, here is my take on the book. Blurb (From Goodreads): Fridays are different. Every other day of the week, the Colonel and his ailing wife fight a constant battle against poverty and monotony, scraping together the dregs of their savings for the food and medicine that keeps them alive. But on Fridays the postman comes - and that sets a fleeting wave of hope rushing through the Colonel's ageing heart. For fifteen years he's watched the mail launch come into harbour, hoping he'll be handed an envelope containing the army pension promised to him all those years ago. Whilst he waits for the cheque, his hopes are pinned on his prize...

Agatha Christie is one of those authors that needs no introduction. She is the queen of thrillers and over the years she had spanned out numerous thrillers with Hercule Poirot being one of her most famous characters. Recently, I had chanced upon one of her books 'The Crooked House' which is a non-Poirot mystery and once again Christie has delivered a page turner. Blurb (From Goodreads): In the sprawling, half-timbered mansion in the affluent suburb of Swinly Dean, Aristide Leonides lies dead from barbiturate poisoning. An accident? Not likely. In fact, suspicion has already fallen on his luscious widow, a cunning beauty fifty years his junior, set to inherit a sizeable fortune, and rumored to be carrying on with a strapping young tutor comfortably ensconced in the family estate. But criminologist Charles Hayward is casting his own doubts on the innocence of the entire Leonides brood. He knows them intimately. And he's certain that in a crooked house such as Three Gables...

By now, almost every one of us would have somewhere or other seen the cover of the book with a weird face or a boy with a spacesuit alien. For those who haven't, you guys should immediately Google the word 'Wonder' and I hope this jogs your memory. The book deals with a boy with Treacher Collins Syndrome and how his life is affected when he finally decides to join school after years of home schooling. Blurb (From Goodreads): Ten-year-old August Pullman wants to be ordinary. He does ordinary things. He eats ice-cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But Auggie is far from ordinary. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, he has been home-schooled by his parents his entire life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, Auggie's parents are sending him to a real school. Can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all? My Take on the book: What attracts you immediately to th...

Ahh!! The book that gave me jitters and creepers. So, this one was on my Amazon wish-list for real long time and I had finally received not one but two copies of this book as my Secret Santa gift. To be honest, I never knew there was a movie coming out based on this book but found out almost a few days later. The book talks about the sensitive issue of coming out for a closeted individual and brings out a question that we need to answer? Do Straights ever have to come out too? Blurb (From Goodreads): Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once ...

After hearing quite a lot about Leigh Bardugo on my bibliophile communities, I finally decided to pick up this one from my treasure. Being an ardent Potterhead, I was a bit reluctant to involve myself in another magical world since I felt that there is nothing whatsoever that would be able to create the magic of J K Rowling. Leigh Bardugo's World of the Grisha was first introduced in Shadow and Bone Trilogy and with Languange of Thrones, a set of short stories set in the sam world, Leigh Bardugo has just started expanding her kingdom. Blurb: Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price. What's good with the book: 1. First and foremost, before I even talk about the story, the book has beautiful illustrations for each of the stories. The ...