Review-The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian

Synopsis

Paperback king Aditya Kapoor’s life was straight out of modern man’s fantasy. His literary stardom id perfectly balanced by a loving wife and a spectacular career. With everything he touches turns to gold, Aditya is on a winning streak.

Shreya Kaushik is a student with heart full of ambition. Young, beautiful and reckless, Shreya speaks her mind and obsessively chases after what she wants. And what she wants is to be a bestselling author.

What happens when their worlds collide? Is it possible to love two people at same time? Can real ambition come in the way of blind passion? Can trust once broken, be regained?

Master storyteller Ravi Subramanian delves into the glitzy world of bestsellers and uncovers a risky dalliance between a superstar novelist and his alluring protégé.

The Bestseller She Wrote is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption.

About the Author

Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bengaluru, has spent two decades working his way up the ladder of power in the amazingly exciting and adrenaline-pumping world of global banks in India. Four of Ravi’s seven bestselling titles have been award winners. If God Was a Banker, won the Golden Quill Reader’s Choice Award. He won the Economist Crossword Book Award in 2012 for The Incredible Banker, The Crossword Book Award in 2013 for The Bankster and more recently in 2014 for his thriller Bankerupt. For Ravi, The Bestseller She Wrote, marks the beginning of a new chapter in his writing. A significant departure from his usual fare, this is Ravi’s first book on romantic intrigue.  

He lives in Mumbai with his wife Dharini, and daughter, Anusha.

You can also know more about the book and the author through these links: 

1.     Ravi Subramanian’s Website: www.Authorravis.com

2.   Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorravisubramanian

3.   Twitter: @subramanianravi

4.   Instagram: Ravi Subramanian on Instagram

5.    Blog: www.Authorravi.com

6.   Buy book: http://www.amazon.in/dp/9385152386

7.    Video 1: https://youtu.be/w2MiP8D6Bbw

8.   Video 2: https://youtu.be/WS-jPOiqYhU

Review

          This is first Ravi Subramanian book I have read and I loved the way he has written the book. Use of simple language, twists and turns in the story, apt introduction of real life individuals like Anurag Kashyap, Chetan Bhagat, etc and happenings like Ebola scare in story are some of the highlights of the book which keeps the reader engrossed and feel real.

          This book keeps the reader guessing till end “What will happen next?” This is one book which I couldn’t stop reading till its end. While reading I could actually visualize each scene in front of my eyes, especially the revelation part at end. The way the story has been written taking care of each and every minute detail, each character, their behaviors, their insecurities etc. has been finely written.  

          This book is typical Bollywood masala movie material. But it’s a must read for all aspiring authors as this book provides insight of how publishing and marketing of a book works.

          In short if you love romance and suspense you will love it.

What I didn’t like …

          It would have been better if something more was written about Sanjay and Shreya’s lives; like Shreya’s childhood, her relationship with Sanjay etc.

Other than that, the book is good, enjoyable read.

Book name: The Bestseller She Wrote

Author: Ravi Subramanian

Total number of pages: 391

Cost: Rs 295

Binding: Paperback

Genre: Fiction

Language: English

ISBN No: 978-93-85152-38-2

Published By: Westland Ltd.

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Review-The Madras Affair by Sundari Venkatraman

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The Madras Affair 

by 

Sundari Venkatraman 

Blurb 

Sangita Sinclair was not always this successful & passionate lady, heading the NGO “Penn Urimai” for downtrodden, abused and homeless women….

When Sangita catches the eye of Gautam Sinclair she is a simple, homely girl; utterly unaware of her charms & capabilities. She has the devil’s own time in overcoming her inhibitions, hesitation, and her family’s orthodox and outdated rules before recognising her love for Gautam.

Will Gautam be able to solve Sangita’s Dilemma or will she be forever trapped in her past?

Meet Gautam 

Gautam has an Indian mother and American father. Built like a giant, he has brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. 

Gautam lives with his maternal grandparents in Besant Nagar, Madras. He used to run a business with his father in Washington DC. Giving up his high-flying career, he chooses to teach at Loyola College in Madras. Yeah, Gautam had fallen in love with the city in Tamil Nadu during his visits to his grandparents. 

Despite his American upbringing, he’s comfortable living in the same house as his grandparents. And does he love teaching! 

He’s attracted to Sangita at first sight and pursues her relentlessly. 

Read The Madras Affair to find out if he’s able to get together with the love of his life. 

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What Reviewers Say 

Meet Sundari Venkatraman

Growing up on a heavy dose of fairy tales and comic books, Sundari fell in love with the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end. 

     

Soon, into her teens, Sundari graduated to Mills & Boon romances. And that got her thinking – how about such breezy romances in Indian settings? Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years. 

     

Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! Sundari had just quit her job as a school admin and was taking a break. She was saturated with reading books. That’s when she returned home one evening after her walk, took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in her head – all those years of visualising a perfect Indian romance had to be put into words. The dormant romantic storyteller in her finally found its calling and The Malhotra Bride was born. While she felt disheartened when publishing didn’t happen, it was her husband who encouraged her to keep writing. 

   

 In the meanwhile, she landed a job as copy editor with Mumbai Mirror. After working there for two years, she moved to the Network 18 Group and worked with two of their websites over the next six years, as content editor. 

    

 Despite her work schedule, she continued writing novels and short stories and had them published in her blogs. She also started blogging voraciously, writing on many different topics – travel, book reviews, film reviews, restaurant reviews, spirituality, alternative health and more. 

    

Her first eBook Double Jeopardy – a romance novella – was published by Indireads and has been very well received by readers of romance.  

    

In 2014, Sundari published The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition); Meghna; The Runaway Bridegroom; Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters From India (Box Set) and Matches Made In Heaven (a collection of romantic short stories) in form of ebooks.

My Honest Review :

This is 2nd book of Sundari which I have read, (1st being The Malhotra bride). I loved the way she writes. In this book she has highlighted the plight of a south Indian girl who is ignored by her parents and who fights the demons of a torturous marriage and equally torturous widowhood, and finds love and self-esteem which she actually deserved.

What I loved about The Madras Affair is the way it’s written. The book highlights the suffering of Sangita who is ignored by her parents as she is a girl and the mental agony she undergoes as a widow. The way Sundari has woven the story of Sangita, and shown two sides of society is highlight of the story. Gautam’s character too is loveable and it’s like every girl’s dream come true. While reading the book you fall in love with Gautam, feel sorry for Sangita and her plight, feel angry on Sangita’s parents for their orthodox and partial behaviour & feel grateful to Gautam’s grandparents for being so broad minded. Sundari has woven character’s which you generally find in typical South-Indian village.

While reading you feel you know the characters as they are portrayed with a realistic touch. In short anyone will love to read Madras affair. Simple yet heartwarming love story of Sangita and Gautam.

                                                                                                                    

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Review-Sweet Revenge by Olivier Lafont

   

Sweet Revenge 
by 
Olivier Lafont 

FROM THE AUTHOR OF WARRIOR,  ANOTHER BOOK, ANOTHER GENRE - A ROMANCE. 

Blurb 

If revenge was a dish best served cold, then French Adonis Guy Leguerec knew exactly what to serve treacherous and desirable Eve Watson… 

Seven years after Louisiana, where Eve devastated his heart and ruthlessly wiped out his future, Guy finds her in Boston opening her first art showing. Now a wealthy and powerful shipping magnate, Guy lures Eve into his trap of seduction and opulence, intent on one thing only: getting revenge for her crimes. 

When American artist Eve Watson sees the only man she ever loved enter the art gallery, and re-enter her life, she feels helpless terror and frenzied desire. Seven years ago Guy Leguerec had seduced her heart, exploited her body, and then discarded her. Against her better judgment she accepts his invitation, and once again they spiral into a maelstrom of irresistible passion, divinely rampant sex, and the brutal politics of unknown intentions… 

Violently sundered by their volatile misconceptions, Eve flees Boston in emotional tatters, and Guy grudgingly lets her vanish, his revenge thwarted. 

But destiny has planned otherwise: Eve has taken an art job in Paris, ignorant of the fact that the company is one of many subsidiary businesses belonging to Guy. Flung together again in an even more precarious position, Eve and Guy must war with each other and themselves, and confront seven years of misapprehension and malign manipulation. Greed, family vendetta, and deception have eaten away at the intimacy they once shared — 

But is the truth enough to save their desperate, shipwrecked love? 

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About The Author 

Olivier Lafont is a French author, screenplay writer, and actor. His novel 'Warrior' was published by Penguin Random House, and was shortlisted for the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize. He has just released his new contemporary romance novel 'Sweet Revenge' exclusively on Kindle. 'Purgatory: The Gun of God' is a fantasy novelette published in South Africa. 

Lafont has written a number of feature film scripts before. The first film he wrote opened at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to win seven awards at film festivals worldwide. 

As an actor Lafont has acted in Hollywood and Indian films, in TV serials, and in over 80 television commercials. He acted in '3 Idiots', one of India's all-time blockbuster hits, the critically-acclaimed 'Guzaarish', and the Lifetime film 'Baby Sellers', amongst other films. 

Lafont graduated with two degrees in acting and writing from Colgate University, USA, with academic distinction.

Review :         

  Sweet Revenge – the name itself was tempting for me to read.

          The story is about Eve and Guy, who were once madly in love with each other but their relationship ends abruptly due to a small misunderstanding created by someone who didn’t wanted Guy to succeed. What I loved about Sweet revenge is the way it is written, plots intertwined and the way all the misunderstandings gets cleared in end to have a happy ending. What struck me was a fact which we usually see in our day to day life; a lie told by third person creates a whole lot of misunderstanding between 2 lovers and they drift apart only to come face-to-face after 7 years in strange circumstances.

          Simple love story, with a background of art, spiced with a dash of misunderstanding and lie, Sweet Revenge is one love story which I loved to read and couldn’t stop reading till I finished. This is 1^st time is read Olivier Lafont, having always seen him on screen; I loved the way he has written Sweet Revenge and would love to read more of his writings. 

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Life's Challenges

“Our ability to handle life's challenges is a measure of our strength of character.”

Les Brown

          Few days back, while casually chatting about my daughter’s growing age and its related issues, her physiotherapist told me about a patient she recently visited. They were old patient of hers, and they had called her to have a look at their child’s dislocated hip and to advice on further course of treatment.

“Life is a series of punches. It presents a lot of challenges. It presents a lot of hardship, but the people that are able to take those punches and able to move forward are the ones that really do have a lot of success and have a lot of joy in their life and have a lot of stories to tell, too.”

Josh Turner

          That casual chat really set me thinking about the various challenges we parents face while bringing up a differently abled child. Primarily we start with treatments for the condition which is diagnosed like ADHD, Autism, Cerebral Palsy etc. But as the child grows, his/her body changes giving rise to secondary issues which sometimes goes unnoticed till damage is done & surgery (in some cases) is the only remedy to correct it or to prevent further damage.

          For example sitting in wrong posture can lead to Scoliosis, hip dislocation might be due to wrong posture or muscle tone tightness, calcium or Vitamin D3 deficiency leads to osteoporosis and lower back pain.

          As most of the kids are non-verbal, we tend to miss the signals of issues they might be facing like vision or dental issues.

          For example it is necessary to get regular eyes checked of our children. So we were recommended to a well-known and famous paediatric ophthalmologist in a well-known hospital. But it used to take up 1 whole day as it was located in town and travelling used to be tiring for all 3 of us, as daughter was growing up and it used to get tedious.

          So finally and luckily we found a paediatric ophthalmologist near our place of residence and we thought of giving it a try. 1^st day when we visited him he was little bit shocked after checking her eyesight. So he called us next day after putting the eye drops so that the pupil of eye is clearly dilated. Next day when we went after the readings were taken we were again told to come next day. We were bit worried (as we dreaded something might be wrong).

          What he told next was a total shocker for me and my husband. We couldn’t believe what he told. He told my daughter doesn’t have any eyesight problem… She doesn’t need specs…

          We had been to the other doctor just 6 months back and she had told her number is increased and every time we went she used to say the same thing and change Prerna’s glasses and advice constant use. This was going on since past 6-7 years. Prerna never liked to wear glasses so she used to constantly remove it and we used to scold her to keep the glasses on.

          To be sure we went to another paediatric ophthalmologist, who was also of same opinion that my daughter doesn’t need specs. We were surprised, shocked how come a girl having a specs number 2.75 be reduced to 0.5 in 6 months. 2 doctors can't be wrong…. Unless it's an miracle...

          Since Prerna can't speak we trusted the renowned doctor on her readings and advices. I had felt so bad, as I used to constantly make her wear specs, and scold her if she removed it. And initially when we came to know that she has to wear specs all blamed me because of me she got it too.

          Everyone who came to know about this incident was left in shock. But we learnt a lesson. It’s always better to take a second opinion when it comes to any medical issue, no matter how experienced or well-known that 1^st doctor is.

“Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.”

Maya Angelou

          Bringing up a differently abled child is a challenge itself. But it hurts when people try to make use of such situations & misled parents and guardians. In schools and centers wherein we trust them with our  child, pay hefty amounts so as they take proper care of our children, are also the places wherein mainly they are not taken proper care or neglected. More about those experiences in coming blogs.

Girgaon Katta

“Rocky and Mayur have ventured out to explore food from all parts of India and curate videos on Askme.com  I'm contributing my part by relishing my favorite dishes at Girgaon Katta and sharing my views with you all!”

         

          Today when you visit any restaurant; you can find variety of cuisines, ranging from North Indian, South Indian, Chinese, continental etc. But you seldom get that ghar-ka-khana (homemade food) taste and feeling. But now-a-days that scenario is changing.

          I had heard about this place in Borivali (west) since long, but never got to taste their delicacies. Situated at 5 min walk from Borivali station on a bustling Chandvarkar road you must visit this place if you long to taste some authentic, Maharashtrian specialty.  

          Be it their thali or kothimbir and methi vadi, or thalipeeth or missal pav you can please your palate to no end. Their cool drinks, piyush and aam panna is also a must taste to polish of the food one eats.

          Their thalis offer you complete meal consisting of soft chapatis, 2 types of veggies, dal, rice, curd, buttermilk with fried pappad and pickle. The taste is simple, not too spicy and reminds you of food cooked by your mom. Their special thali includes all of above with an additional subji, 1 sweet dish and veg-pulav instead of plain rice.

Special Thali

          Their kothimbir vadis, missal pav, thalipeeth all bring out the typical taste which makes you feel that you are eating at your home and not at some eatery.

          Also the sweets and savory item too are worth a try. Be it bhajni chakkli or pedas or puranpolis; their taste linger on your palate which makes you go back to this place again and again.

         Also during Sankasthi (a day when many Maharashtrian people observe fast) they have special menus for people on fast. Also they make Ukadi che modak (steamed dumplings with sweet coconut filling) on orders.

          So if you are tired of eating the same hotel taste of masalas and gravies and oil, give Girgaon Katta a try. You will not regret.

Parenting - #AajKalKeBacche Part2

          Now-a-days we say kids are getting out of control; they are becoming very stubborn and arrogant. But who is to blame?

           Previously when we were kids and our parents used to go to work, even then they didn’t pamper us to eat our food by making us sit in front of TV. We had a rule, no TV during eating time, first finish off eating, then watch TV. But today’s parents give their smart phones in their kid’s hands so that they eat. And then we blame them for their phone addiction.

          When we say to our child “your friend has got 98%, why haven’t you scored that much?” then why can't they say “My friend’s parents have got him so-and-so brand phone why can't I have one”? Who taught them to compare?

          In many situations I have seen parents turning a blind eye to their child’s mistake. They boldly say “My child can't do such thing” without even listening or hearing out the person. This gives the child unwanted support and they become bolder enough to commit grave mistakes because they know even if they are caught their parents won’t punish them. When we were kids our parents never took our side until we were proved innocent.

          Children learn from what they see, what they hear. We are their first teachers. When we used to walk on road with our parents we always used to be on their left side i.e. on safer side of the road, but on many occasions I have seen, now kids on their right side of parents. Once I saw a mother managing 2 toddlers on her right hand side on a busy road.

          During many functions parents are so busy catching up with their relatives and friends, that they are least bothered about what their kids are upto. And then if anything happens either they scold and beat their child or put the blame on others.

          Technology is useful but making our kids addicted to it in a wrong manner will do us no good.

• Fix a time for their time to watch TV or play games on laptop or smart phone. 
• Encourage them more for outdoor activities and games.
• Teach them value of money and saving just as our parents taught us.
• Teach them value of life, time and people.
• Teach them healthy eating.
• Don’t just preach but practice too.
• Teach them what's right and what's wrong.
• Be their first best friend. Only then they will learn to trust you.

         Being a parent is never easy. But we can try and make it simple just as our parents. Today’s generation is a digital and fast-forward generation. But life is a circle; what we give, comes backs to us. So think and act.

“This blogger contest is supported by Kid Social Shell, a unique digital parenting platform with 11 gaming-learning apps. Use it play 3D nursery rhymes, counting number games, shapes games, fun math worksheets, coloring games and more!”