Review Of 'An Autograph for Anjali' by Sundari Venkatraman.

REVIEW:

Anjali, Jayant and Parth, you would think it is the same old love triangle but it isn’t. I would rather think of them as three separate bodies with their own little orbits.
Jayant is the very self-centered, business-man husband and Anjali is the wife who starts off as a dominated, dutiful wife and gradually comes into her own. Parth is the dashing, worldly author who retains his gentle core; even though life has thrown him some hard knocks. Then there is Arjun; Anjali and Jayant’s son, who brings a calmness and balance to the story and serves as a bridge connecting all these diverse characters.

The book starts with the discovery of the murdered body of Jayant and then the rest of it is about how matters got to that point.

The first thing that struck me about this story is that even though Jayant is painted as a completely selfish character, (I do not go with the traditional Indian male bit as I feel an Indian male can have traditional values but that does not necessarily mean they have to be as selfish as Jayant was) yet Sundari tries to bring in a sense of balance in his portrayal through the eyes of Arjun, who understand where he comes from. Anjali has lived vicariously throughout her life through the life of her husband and son and yearns for change. However, when she reaches tipping point, she prefers to make her journey to the light at her pace. Sundari has not allowed the story to slip into total clichéd territory of an abusive relationship or a love triangle. Despite everything, even Jayant has his boundaries and he knows it.

The second part is how Ms Venkatraman has dealt with the mental health issue. She has aptly brought out the causes and effects of these issues and how they tend to be viewed unfortunately by the general public and deftly woven it into the story. This is another reason why I like reading Ms Venkatraman's books; she always has some strong underlying issue in her books which she does not gloss over but rather deals with it in a very sensitive manner.

The strong part of this plot is the romantic parts. Romance is Sundari Venkatraman’s forte and she has proven that yet again. Those parts are soft, sensual, poignant and exciting. Anjali and Jayant are two very strong characters in the book and if anything Parth seems to suffer in comparison, which is rather odd as there, is a lot of word space devoted to him as well. However his character somehow doesn’t quite jump off the pages the way the other two do.

At the end I would like to borrow the words of Arjun, ‘it’s just two people who are very different from each other’.

THE BOOK:

AN AUTOGRAPH FOR ANJALI

by

Sundari Venkatraman

Published by Flaming Sun

Blurb

Jayant Mathur is found murdered in his bed, shot at point-blank range with his own revolver. Though she’s extremely disturbed by his death, Jayant’s wife Anjali is way more upset about something else. Who stands to gain by killing the multi-millionaire businessman?

Parth Bhardwaj is a friend and neighbour of the Mathurs. Parth is an author who goes by a pseudonym. He appears more than a friend to Anjali; while he’s also on good terms with her son Arjun who lives and studies in the UK. What role does he play in Anjali’s life? Jayant’s relatives are curious to know.

Jayant’s brother-in-law Rana is convinced that Parth and Anjali are the murderers. But Inspector Phadke has his own doubts about this theory. In comes Samrat, the private detective who appears as quiet as a mouse. Will he be able to find the murderer?

Will Anjali find happiness and peace?

Grab your copy @

Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | 

Amazon.com.au | Amazon.ca

Notion Press | Flipkart | SapnaOnline | Bookadda |

Infibeam | Paytm | ShopClues 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In 2014, Sundari self-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).

2015 brought yet another opportunity. Readomania came forward to traditionally publish this book - The Madras Affair - a mature romance set in Madras.

An Autograph for Anjali, a romance with a touch of suspense, is also a self-published novel. Going a step further, the author has published the paperback version through Notion Press.

Stalk her @

               

Follow us # +Pinterest



Follow The Book 's board An Autograph for Anjali by Sundari Venkatraman on Pinterest.




Every day new links and tasks will be added. Follow The Tour Hosts of ATUW by +Sundari Venkatraman



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out The Book Club Tour Schedule 

This Tour is Hosted by 

Facebook | Website | Blog Tours | Twitter | | Linkedin

We Promote So That You Can Write 

Destiny drew them together. 'Saved in Sri Lanka' by Devika Fernando

Book Blitz 

Saved In Sri Lanka 

by 

Devika Fernando

Some People Are Destined To Meet 

Blurb 

Some people are destined to meet.



It sure feels that way when Sri Lankan tour guide Sepalika meets Daniel. The mysterious tourist from Ireland steals his way into her heart and makes her question everything her life is built upon. Instant attraction turns to love – but does he feel the same? And what about the secret she’s hiding from him?

Follow the two on their quest for a happy ending amid the beauty and wonders of the tropical island paradise of Sri Lanka.

Grab Your Copy

 Amazon.in | Amazon.com

About 

Devika Fernando

Almost as soon as Devika Fernando could write, she imagined stories and poems. After finishing her education in Germany and returning to her roots in Sri Lanka, she got a chance to turn her passion into her profession. Having lived in Germany and in Sri Lanka with her husband has made her experience the best (and the worst) of two totally different worlds – something that influences her writing. Her trademark are sweet, yet deeply emotional romance stories where the characters actually fall in love instead of merely falling in lust. She draws inspiration from everyone and everything in life. Besides being a romance novel author, she works as a self-employed German web content writer, as a translator, and as a faithful servant to all the cats, dogs, fish and birds in her home. What she loves most about being an author is the chance to create new worlds and send her protagonists on a journey full of ups and downs that will leave them changed. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or thinking about writing.

Stalk her @

Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Book Launch by:

Facebook | Website | Blog Tours | Twitter | Pinterest | Linkedin

Review of 'She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not', author Zeenat Mahal

She didn’t seem to mind looking at him. She didn’t even avoid looking at his face , or cringe in revulsion. If he didn’t know better, he could almost forget his own grotesque reality, the way she looked at him.

Zeenat. She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (Kindle Locations 937-939). 

                   Life has not dealt Zoella an easy hand but she accepts what comes her way with a smile and tries to make the most of it. Fardeen on the other hand is the original golden boy, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Rich, successful, more attractive than what is good for him he has the world at his feet. Zoella who is a good friend of his sister Swaba, has fairly grown up in their house and knows she is just one among his legion of admirers but Fardeen has eyes only for his fiancée Neha.

                  This bubble bursts when Fardeen meets with an accident and is badly disfigured. Shunned by his fiancée, a bitter Fardeen locks himself away from the world convinced he is good for no one and not ready to even try.  A series of events cause them to be married: a marriage Zoella knows is purely of convenience and one that Fardeen views with utter disdain. Is this how Zoella’s life is destined to play out , tied to an embittered , cruel man whose only aim in life seems to be to cause as much pain to everyone around him as he is going through himself?

                  Zeenat Mahal excels in her descriptions, be it kite flying on the roof tops of Lahore, or the hustle and bustle of a wedding house or other little vignettes through the story. She subtly emphasizes and brings out the nuances of social dynamics within a family and between couples. I absolutely loved the character of Fardeen. He was marred and broken and at the end so very real, that he fairly jumped off the pages at you. I did not find the same thing happening with Zoella. She seemed too much of a martyr and too one dimensional for me to really like or understand her.  This I found to be a weak point in the book from my perspective. This was saved by the ebb and flow of the dialogue between the two main characters which was funny, witty, poignant and romantic.

                   I would give it four stars as it’s got a good plot that picks you up and takes you with it keeping you interested throughout.

Scorched by his Fire.

Review of ‘Scorched by his Fire’ by Reet Singh.

‘Dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn’t’, is the position Detective Tanay Devkumar finds himself in when he sets out to teach Mita Ramphul a lesson for her supposed indiscretions with his brother-in-law, Samrat.  Haughty to the point of being arrogant, he is not ready to listen to any of her remonstrations of innocence. Even as he is working on his own agenda of keeping Samrat and Mita apart, he cannot but acknowledge the intense attraction she holds for him.

Samrat is Mita’s oldest and dearest friend and ‘just that and nothing else’. Beautiful and feisty she is absolutely indignant at Tanay’s attitude towards her and is not ready to go down without a fight.

The attraction between them is palpable, heady and intense and thank God for an author who doesn’t get her characters to get all coy and evasive about it. She aptly portrays Tanay as this decisive, meticulous go-getter and then she brings into relief the havoc Mita is causing in his life by the way his ‘grand plan’ can be thrown into absolute disarray by a single glance from her. Her family is warm friendly inviting and the descriptions of them and the island are marvelously sketched.

What I would have liked is a bit more of Samrat as he was the whole reason they met in the first place. Just one or two scenes to show the undercurrents between the three of them would have been entertaining and added support to the storyline. Besides, that sub-plot that revolved around Mita ended quite lamely in the end.

On the whole the book was a fast, smooth read that I thoroughly enjoyed: mainly due to it being interesting with well defined characters and above all the flow of the plot was very good.

Review of 'The Runaway Bridegroom' author Sundari Venkatraman.

REVIEW OF THE RUNAWAY BRIDEGROOM by Sundari Venkatraman.


On the face of it petite, attractive Chanda is a typical young Delhi college girl. She has her circle of friends, is carefree and independent and is studying to become a computer professional. So when she lands an internship with R.S Software it is a career opportunity that cannot be ignored. What nobody knows is that Chanda has a secret: she was married as a child and her husband abandoned her and ran away straight after the wedding. She is well aware that this marriage would not be considered valid and enjoys the full support of her family, yet in her mind’s eye, the shadowy figure of her husband whom she doesn’t even know always holds her back from romantic relationships. That is until she meets Ranveer.

Dashing, sexy Ranveer is the head of R.S Software. He has the confidence and magnetism that only a self made man can have. He is drawn to Chanda from the word go and once she comes to work in his office he knows he has to spend as much time with her as possible.

Will Chanda be able to get over ghosts past to build a loving relationship with Ranveer?

Sundari transitions through time and weaves her story deftly around that ceremony to show how child marriage affects everybody. Without standing on a soap box she manages to get her point across about the enormity and the futility of forcing children to get married and the poignant thoughts of Veer stayed with me ‘ that he is not old enough to have a say in his marriage but he is old enough to get married.’

The buildup of their attraction and love for each other is a sweet, tender process and you really want Chanda to get past her reservations.

For me the surprise package in the story was the character of Shikha. I have hardly come across a secondary character in a story that interested me as much as she did. She was well etched and jumped off the pages. There were times she actually overwhelmed the main protagonists and pulled my interest towards her. Not sure if this was intended or not but I enjoyed her appeal. What I didn’t much care for was the part of the astrologer. I felt undue importance was given to his predictions which showed indirect support for these methods. For me this was the one jarring part as I absolutely enjoyed all the other relationships and characters that were woven into the story be it Chanda’s family or even Veers. Even the detective was interesting in his little cameo.

The best part of the book was the subtlety Sundari employed to get her point across about the ills of child marriage and lo and behold she used a romance to do it.

Review of 'Rapid Fall' by author of 'Full Circle' Yamini Vijendran

Yamini Vijendran author of 'Full Circle' has the
following to say about 'Rapid Fall.'  


 
"The narration is crisp and language seasoned."







Read her full review at : http://yaminivijendran.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/a-review-of-rapid-fall-by-adiana-ray/comment-page-1/#comment-584

Review of 'Rapid Fall' by author 'Adite Banerjie'

"Adiana has a very vivid writing style. Whether it’s the action-packed scene of the rafting accident or the passion-drenched romantic scene, the author deftly carries her readers along for the ride."

Adite Banerjie

http://aditebanerjie.com/review-of-rapid-fall-by-adiana-ray/#comment-11805

Review of 'Rapid Fall' by author Usha Narayanan

"It is 70 pages of flirtation, passion and drama, staged in Mumbai and amidst the swirling rapids of the Ganga."

http://www.ushanarayanan.com/rapid-fall-by-adiana-ray/

Spotlight on Rapid Fall by author Devika Fernando

Devika Fernando author of 'When I see your Face' and 'Playing with Fire'

has put up a 'Spotlight' for 'Rapid Fall'.

Thank you Devika

http://www.devikafernando.com/blog/book-club-blog-tour-spotlight-for-rapid-fall-by-adiana-ray

Rapid Fall by Adiana Ray

Rapid Fall

byAdiana Ray

The Blurb

  Sonia and JD’s tempestuous attraction is as stormy as the rapids at Rishikesh. Not even a dip in icy waters can douse the sparks that fly when they are around each other.


JD’s recent divorce, however, has left him commitment phobic and bitter, and he doesn’t seem to want more than a physical relationship. At heart, Sonia is conservative; can she bring herself to accept a modern ‘live-in’ relationship, or will she push him away with her demands for a commitment?

Buy @

Amazon.com | Amazon.in | FlipKart | Indireads

Watch It 

Meet the Author

The Author's Thoughts

'Sixteen and counting' are the number of cities that I have lived in so far. I like to think of myself as a 'Metronaut'. The myriad city cultures, the food, the hustle and bustle, the people are all elements of life that I thrive on and if you can have an 'Astronaut' why not a 'Metronaut' after all there are so many more of us out there?

I believe in the Zen tenet that every situation has a 1000 truths. It helps me write and it definitely helps when I am dealing with my two children. I like reading, I like cooking, I like travelling and I love sitting like a mindless zombie in front of the TV and if anybody says anything to that....Aha! a 1000 truths come in very handy.

I also write under a pen name M.X Steele. Why? My daughter thought Adiana Ray was too boring a name.

I do hope you enjoy reading all my work because I believe passionately that though we writers love pontificating and are totally in love with whatever we write; at the end of it all it is the readers that matter and above all what we write has to be 'entertaining'.

You can stalk her @

               

                          





Check out The Book Club Tour Schedule 

This Tour is Hosted by 

Facebook | Website | Blog Tours | Twitter | Pinterest | Linkedin