Blog Tour: SUGANDHA AGRAWAL reviews DOUBLE JEOPARDY

Sugandha Agrawal

It was a lucky day when I got introduced to Corinne Rodrigues of Write Tribe fame. Corinne has got together a group of bloggers to review my book DOUBLE JEOPARDY.

Sugandha Agrawal is the first one from this group to review my book. She couldn't resist completing my book between 10 pm & 1.30 am despite having travelled 600 km that very day.

About Sugandha in her own words:

"I am a reader, an amateur writer, a dreamer, a competitor, a blogger.

I am extremely talkative and love to express my views or questions on things I know or I don't. This blog here a bit of dreams, stories, imaginations and wonders. This blog helps me to express myself more clearly than I can think in a rapid conversation.  Most of my posts are conversations, waiting for your response.

I began blogging in April, 2013 and have been loving it since then. Most of my post tell you a bit more about me. Till then, I leave you with my favorite lines.

I am wrong and I am right,

I Crawl and I fly.

I love and I hate,

I live my life learning.

I am what I am...

A human with making"

Thank you Sugandha Agrawal for a 3-star review. I am so glad you liked my book. 

Before I begin the review, I’d like to give a highlight of my day on which I downloaded this book from Indireads, i.e. yesterday.

My day yesterday began at 5 am and consisted of 600 km travel through the day. It was supposed to end at 10 owing to a headache. At about 9.45, just checking mail before I slept, I decided to download the book from Indireads and prepare myself to read it the next day.

One the download was completed, my phone automatically opened the file for me to preview.

What began as preview of the book at 10 pm, ended at 1.30 am in completion of the book.

CLICK HERE to read the complete review of Double Jeopardy by Sugandha Agrawal...

Blog Tour: DOLA BASU SINGH reviews THE MALHOTRA BRIDE

Dola Basu Singh

I met Dola Basu Singh through The Book Club. I was quite thrilled when Dola agreed to review my book The Malhotra Bride as I have read a number of her reviews and found them very interesting. Thank you Dola! I am so glad you liked my book too.

About Dola Basu Singh in her own words:

"My name is Dola and I live in a small and picturesque village in Punjab, India. I am a high school teacher by profession and a writer by passion. I am also pursuing my Masters degree in Computer Applications. Being a lover of books, that’s what I am surrounded by most of the day. Except when I find myself in between the toy-battlefield of my seven year old, or when I am gulping down details of Bey Blades and Transformers, that is."

CLICK HERE to check out Dola's blog....

Book Review – The Malhotra Bride By Sundari Venkatraman

The Malhotra Bride is Author Sundari Venkatraman’s second novel, the first being Double Jeopardy. With this novel the author has forayed into the self-publishing world and I wish her lots of luck and hope she’ll sell lots of copies.

Sunita is a beautiful and lively girl who wants to chase her dreams of becoming an interior designer so when her parents ‘fix’ her marriage with the most eligible bachelor in town – Akshay Malhotra of the Malhotra Garments, she hatches a plan to get rid of the prospective groom. Even though Akshay is quite smitten by Sunita and is ready to allow her the freedom she desires, she doesn’t relent and sends Akshay packing. But when she comes to know that her very strict parents are planning to hold a ‘swayamvar’ for her, she hesitatingly signs a ‘contract’ with Akshay to be his bride. Whether she becomes the Malhotra Bride or not is for you to read and find out my dear readers.

CLICK HERE to read the complete review....

Blog Tour: RUBINA RAMESH reviews THE MALHOTRA BRIDE

Rubina Ramesh

Rubina Ramesh has been a strong support in my self-publishing venture. I think the reason is that she just loves my books ;) I am super-thrilled that she has given THE MALHOTRA BRIDE no less than 5 stars.

On a serious note, Rubina is a voracious reader and serious reviewer of books spanning many genres. CLICK HERE to check out the various sections in her blog.

Rubina Ramesh's review of The Malhotra Bride

Sundari Venkatraman has taken a leap into the self publishing world with her second novel, The Malhotra Bride. When this book, landed on my Kindle, the first thing that struck me is the cover of the book. Illustrated by Mr. Prashant Kamble, this scene depicts an Indian marriage ritual being performed. A scene of Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge flashes in my inward eye. Got my bag of popcorn and clicked on the book in my Kindle and was soon  introduced to Sunita and Akshay.

She…

She is Sunita, a young girl from a rich business class family. Though very much loved by her family, she has one problem. She's bound by family traditions which are nothing short of male domination. [Itching to give a long lecture here, but don't want to divert from the topic :)] Sunita wants to work, but due to parental pressures, she is forced to agree to an arranged marriage. She does not take this kindly.

He…

He is Akshay Malhotra - the scion of the Malhotra family. The rich guy who is NOT a brat! He has a loving relationship with his parents, hard-working and OMG! without any vices. God! Make more like him, please. When he hears about his parent's arranging a marriage for him, he is a bit hesitant but when his dad insists he agrees to 'see'the girl. [This is another debatable topic.]

CLICK HERE to read the complete review on Rubina's blog....

Film Review: TOTAL SIYAPPA

The story idea is good; the treatment nothing short of terrible

Cast: Kirron Kher, Anupam Kher, Ali Zafar, Yami Gautam, Sara Khan
Director: E.Nivas

STORY

Aman (Ali Zafar) is a Pakistani Muslim and Aisha (Yami Gautam) is an Indian Hindu. Both are based in London and in love. He’s is a famous musician and his band is quite popular while Aisha has a job in the corporate world. He goes to meet her family at her invitation. All hell breaks loose, literally. You have to see the movie to find out more. (My advice is that you wait for it to come on TV if you care about your cash).

MY PERCEPTION

The film has a good storyline and spans about five hours of the characters’ lives. It could have been handled beautifully. Yeah, it could have been!

But no, it has to be a mess. It was, believe me. It was Kirron Kher who kept me in my seat despite wanting to run away. I have seen Ali Zafar in Tere Bin Laden, London New York Paris, Chashme Baddoor  and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. He has been a good actor consistently. But I can’t say the same for the roles that he chooses. While TBL & MBKD were excellent, the other two films were awful.

Total Siyappa also belongs to the second category. I don’t know whom to blame – the scriptwriter or director or maybe the producer who invested money to torture the audience. Extremely bad!

Yami Gautam looks lovely and acts well too. She was good in Vicky Donor but even better in this. But her role was zilch.

Kirron Kher was excellent as Yami’s mother. Sara Khan as Yami’s bratty married sister was not too bad. Anupam Kher has a minuscule role that’s not worth talking about.

Aisha’s brother’s hatred for Pakistanis, the way he and his neighbours gang together and trouble their neighbours; how the Indians and Pakistanis get together finally to bash the English policeman – the idea is good; the treatment nothing short of terrible.

The music was good – composed and sung by Ali Zafar. That and the short span of the film, 108 minutes, were probably the two saving graces of the film.

VERDICT: Watch at your own risk

RATING: **Shaky

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super

Blog Tour: JAIBALA RAO reviews THE MALHOTRA BRIDE

Jaibala Rao

I am so thrilled with the 4.5-star rating Jaibala Rao has given THE MALHOTRA BRIDE. Thank you for the super review Jaibala!

About Jaibala Rao in her own words:

"Although new to professional writing and reviewing, Jaibala has lived in a world of books ever since she could read. Outside that Utopia of books, she is academically a Microbiologist and professionally has been an Event Manger and Content Writer. Just like her colourful professional background her interest in books is also spread across various genres. “There is something good in every book”, is a belief she carries while reading."

The Road To Being The Malhotra’s Bride

The Malhotra Bride is the second book I have read by the Author Sundari Venkatraman and is her first foray into self publishing. This is again a total Bollywood romance full of a few twists. Well, I did read the book in one go, so yes I was addicted to the story, waiting for the plot to unfold. Sundari has a way of tying her romances with some thrill and drama and the book ends up being an interesting and start – to – finish read.

CLICK HERE to read the complete review on her blog My School of Thought....

Blog Tour: SPOTLIGHT, REVIEW & INTERVIEW of ANDY PAULA and her LOVE'S LABOR

Love's Labor by Andy Paula

The Blurb

Piali Roy has run away from home and the two stubborn men who love her. One is her beloved Baba; a rigid traditionalist, he refuses to accept anyone from outside her caste and community. And then there is Sathya, the unsuitable outsider. He loves her truly, madly, deeply and has even called off his marriage for her sake. Neither man will budge, and the small town of Jampot, where everyone knows everything, is not big enough for the two of them.

Away from their unreasonable demands, Piali strives to find peace in the mountains. But within six months, her lover tracks her down. Once again, she betrays the one by trusting the other.

Will her labor in the name of love be in vain, or will love transcend all differences?

Buy @

Amazon.com |Amazon.in | Indireads

My Review

Piali is a teacher who works with 12th standard students in Mussourie. She lives by herself at the accommodation close to her school. She is in charge of the centenary celebration that’s being organised at the school. In the middle of a busy day, she gets a call from Sathya, the love of her life. He has discovered her whereabouts.

From this point, the story takes you in flashback. If Sathya is the love of her life, then why are they not together? You have to read the story to find out.

I somehow feel that Piali’s character is very similar to author Andy Paula’s. It’s just an instinct. Both are teachers who love teaching English. Piali has a powerful leadership quality that also somehow tells me is a lot like the author. The President of the country visiting the school again appears to be based on Andy’s connection with Ex-President Abdul Kalam.

Apart from that, I liked the way Piali Roy has been etched. Her struggle with her parents, her father’s stubborn attitude and her mother’s silent support of her father – everything has been framed well.

I loved Sathya’s character. He is the perfect character for a romance and really came across as a hero. Lucky Piali!

One thing disappointed me, though. The end was abrupt and I was startled to see that that was it, the story was over. Quite unexpected!

All in all, a very well written, lovely story that is worth a read. Congratulations Andy Paula -  looking forward to reading more of your work!

I will go with a 4-star rating for Andy Paula's Love's Labor. 

The cover is perfect for the book and has been done by Naila Ahmed. Kudos Naila!

Meet the Creator of Love’s Labor

This is the first in my ‘Meet the Creator’ (read ‘author interview’) series. Do be kind and post your positive views.

Andy Paula is the author of Love’s Labor, a romance novella published by Indireads. It’s her debut novel and obviously a labor of love. I enjoyed reading Andy Paula’s Love’s Labor and I am happy that I got this opportunity to meet the creator of this beautiful romance. 

Sundari Venkatraman: Give a description of your novel ‘twitter’ style, in 140 characters. 

Andy Paula: #PialiRoy #SathyaNair Impossible mission-love! Domineering fathers, doting mothers. Can lovers beat odds? No Love without Labor http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00H6UARAK 

SV: Can you describe your journey from Anindita Sarkar to Andy Paula?

AP: Anindita was christened Andy by her schoolmates and assured that she would win the Pulitzer some day. Andy laughed at the idea knowing full well that good compositions in the grammar paper did not translate to a literary award. She grew up, mastered in English and picked up the red pen. As an educator, she lived out her childhood dream of teaching English. Working in various public schools of India brought her the experience, the adulation and the spondylitis.  It was when the last happened -with the heaps of notebook and exam paper corrections- that a corporate training opportunity arose. Relieved at dropping the red pen and picking the mouse, the corporate trainer went on to train the IT sector in Voice and Accent, Culture and Behavioural modules. Six years into that and UK beckoned. 

Quitting my corporate career - without batting an eyelid! – it was when I was savouring the English sounds, sight and smell that the blogging bug bit me. As my dormant muse raised its pretty head, and surprised me by keeping it raised, Indireads happened. Love’s Labor, a story untold, was waiting to be told and by now I remembered the Pulitzer ‘prediction’. So revisions, edits, give-up stages later, I finally went with the flow (read, editor) and the book saw the light of the day. Some labor, that!

SV: They say that debut novels generally verge on a lot of incidents from the author’s life. How much of Love’s Labor follows yours? 

AP: A lot. The plot, the characters, the settings, the conversations – all are real. What is not is the end. And the names. 

SV: I see that you are a corporate trainer. Do you see yourself becoming a full-time writer?  

AP: Had Love’s Labor sent me laughing to the bank, I could’ve answered this with more certainty, Sundari! Since I’m still reeling under the impact of the lack of zeroes on the paycheck, I am unable to say.  

SV: Love’s Labor was born out of the impact of a real incident in the life of someone you know. What about your next book?

AP: Love’s Labor is one real life incident; my next is many people, many lives. 

SV: Love’s Labor is a romance. Do you plan to continue writing in the same genre or…?

AP: Everyone loves a love story. So romance has a huge market that Indirom, the flagship of Indireads, decided to tap. 

For now, I don’t have a roadmap but my stories will always be about human relationships, I think. That is what fascinates me the most.  

That was a lovely conversation with Andy Paula, the creator of Love’s Labor. It was fun talking to you about your journey as a writer Andy. I hope you get a number of ‘zeroes’ in your upcoming paycheck. Looking forward to reading your next book. 

     The Book Club Presents Andy Paula's Love's Labour 

Andy Paula - slideshow

Meet the Author

Andy Paula is a corporate trainer by profession and a writer by vocation. After the innumerable essays, poems, articles, editorials, congratulations & condolence letters she wrote for herself and others refused to satiate her writer's Self, she finally put herself seriously to the task and wrote Love's Labor,a romance novella that is now on Goodreads. 

To know more about the versatile author click here.

You can stalk her @

               

Blog Tour: NIKITA SONI reviews THE MALHOTRA BRIDE

Nikita Soni

I have been extremely lucky to have a group of candid book reviewers from The Book Club to review my book The Malhotra Bride. Nikita Soni is an avid reader and has reviewed a number of books on her blog. I must mention here that I am thrilled to receive a 4-star review from her. Thank you so much Nikita, for taking the trouble to read my book and reviewing it. I am so glad you liked The Malhotra Bride.

About Nikita Soni in her own words:

"My name is Nikita and I am in my twenties (girls don’t give their specific age :D). I just love reading books and its my number one hobby. I don’t specifically remember when I started getting addicted to reading but it seems like forever. 

Books have been my best friends and in words of John Greene "Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back."

I have felt myriad of emotions, visited extremes of earth and lived through generations through reading.

Some of my fond memories comprise of me being curled up in a sofa or sometimes even on the floor with a book while it rained outside. I even used to bribe my friends to get books issued on their library cards as well so that I had some extra books to read aside from my own quota from the library and when I used to play exchange of books with my friends. 

Anyhow just the other day (I don’t remember the exact day), my husband gave me this idea to write a blog where I could give reviews on the books that I had read and also could share thoughts with other book readers. The idea appealed to me and here I am!!! 

I hope to hear from all of you and I hope we become great friends. I would love to hear your comments here on the blog which would mean that my voice is reaching you."

You can visit Nikita on her blog Njkinny's World of Books from the link given below.

Nikita Soni's review of my book The Malhotra Bride:

Sunita is just twenty and bubbling with excitement to start her dream life of a career woman where she is free and self independent. But her parents have different ideas. They want her married as soon as possible. Her father her even set his eyes on a most suitable match for her. The only son of the illustrious Malhotra family, who own the Malhotra garments, Akshay is his choice. Despite Sunita's objections, a date is set for the two families to meet and Sunita is told to be ready.

What will Sunita do?

She doesn't want to get married so soon. She wants to be someone. Stand on her own feet. But this is not the trend in her house. Gokul Rishi, her father, "was a very strict father and strongly believed that women should be occasionally seen and never heard". Ever since her childhood, Sunita had to fight for every single thing in her life and her ally in all these conquests was her grandfather. This time, however, even her grandfather is helpless and she is on her own.

CLICK HERE to read the complete review....