Review of Tom Clancy’s Op-Centre ‘State Of Siege’ by Jeff Rovin

Paul Hood the erstwhile head of The Op-Centre has resigned so that he can try and put his flailing personal life back on track. He leaves behind an organization with a impressive success ratio in all their endeavors to contain wars and mitigate threats to world peace. Yet even as his professional life shines his personal life is dismal. In a desperate bid to make amends, he takes his family for a trip to New York where his daughter will be performing as part of a music ensemble’ at the United Nations. That is where all hell breaks loose as the venue is taken over by armed gunmen who will stop at nothing to get their demands met.

Who are these men and what do they want? Set against a backdrop of diplomacy and international relations Hood turns to the true professionals who can help him in his hour of need ‘The Op-Centre’.

In true Tom Clancy style the novel is a fast paced, electric read. The build-up is racy and the plot holds tight.  The character of Hood is well sketched and aptly brings out his ambivalent feelings towards his marriage and his job. The scenarios of the working of the U.N are realistic as are the action sequences and the dynamics between the various protagonists in a hostage situation.

If I had a gripe with the story it was that there was just too much background; even though it was well researched and written.  Yes, I do want to know something about the characters but two paragraphs would do just as well. I found myself skipping over all these background descriptions as they just became too detailed.

Other than that, a great book and that is why I would give it a four star rating.

REVIEW OF ‘TROUBLE HAS A NEW NAME’ BY ADITE BANERJIE

                Weddings can be a magical occasion and Indian weddings even more so. Beautiful model Rayna Dutt has come to an Indian Ocean island to attend her best friend’s wedding. However, behind her mesmerizing smile there lies a pool of pain and heartache. Ditched by her boyfriend on the verge of her moving in with him; she proposes a make believe engagement to Neel Arora the owner of the resort where she is staying to attend her friend’s wedding. She does this to get away from the press, inquisitive friends and relatives from her past and to save face in front of the very man who ditched her. Somewhere is all this Rayna realizes that she wants more than just a pretend engagement. She wants a real relationship.

                Suave, sophisticated, successful Neel; who hides his guilty demons away behind a mask of efficiency and indifference. He is blown away by Rayna but is too scared to admit it; sure that his past will catch up with him over here too and destroy everything.

                

                Will Neel be able to conquer his fears and go to Rayna before she gives up on him?

                This is the second book that I have read of Adite Banerjies and yet again I was captivated by her settings and her descriptions. They were beautiful and just pulled you in. Neel’s anguish at his sister’s condition was palpable and the strength of Rayna came through in her ability to deal with whatever life threw her way. The passion between them is electric and fairly bounced off the pages. What really stayed with me though was the spirit Rayna brings to the situation even when she is absolutely down in the dumps and at her lowest.

 She gets up; the smile is flashed once again for ‘the show must go on.’

The Ice Bucket Challenge....now why didn't Ronaldo tag me?

Well the world and some seem to be doing it...as for me, I think I would just donate the money.
Hot Indian blood can't take the ice.

But for those who can......brrrrenjoy!!!!!!!!!! Even if you want to do it all formally dressed

http://elle.in/blog/watch-the-best-ice-bucket-challenge-videos-/

Spotlight on 'Choices' by Ruchira Khanna.

Choices by Ruchira Khanna

The Blurb

Leonardo is a young man who is standing on a crossroad of life, facing choices. One road leads to a high stress career that brings in big bucks; the other is a chance to make a real difference in lives of others. He has a few questions, questions that all of us have faced when facing choices that can change our lives. Does fate make a man, or do his desires? Do ambitions and desires actually lead a person to true happiness and fulfillment, or does providence and life changing events actually show a person the true path to follow? 

‘Choices’ raises these questions, and attempts to answer them. It is a slice-of-life, a book written from the heart.(

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Meet the Author

Choices: A Novel talks about how we all come to crossroads in our respective lives, and then the impact it makes by a choice we make.
A biochemist by profession made a mere choice of enrolling myself into a technical writing course. Now, little did I know that this small decision would take me on a path to creative writing and eventually publishing a novel.

This novel, Choices helps answer many questions about man's ambitions and desires and how is it a road towards happiness and contentment that could eventually become your destiny. This is a "slice-of-life" genre thus, impacting all humans who have made a choice sometime or the other in this lifetime!

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Meghna by Sundari Venkatraman

MEGHNA by Sundari Venkatraman

The Blurb

     The young and dashing Rahul Sinha lives in England with his parents, Shyam and Rajni. He is an only son of the rich banker. Rahul is totally attached to his father but does not care for his mother. Read the book to find out why…. 

     Rahul is exulted with his efforts at work paying off and plans a holiday with his best friend Sanjay Srivastav who lives in Mumbai with his wife Reema, kids Sanya and Rehaan and most importantly, his sister, Meghna. Rahul recalls meeting Meghna just before they parted six years ago. 

     Meghna works for a website and also teaches modern dance as she loves it. She’s thrown for a toss when Rahul comes visiting. She had thought he had forgotten them. 

But how could Rahul do that? Sanjay’s his best friend and Rahul had always treated their home as his own. Sanjay’s mother had been more of a mother to Rahul than his own. Rahul had stayed away after moving to England or so Meghna believes. 

     Thus begins the story between Rahul and Meghna, the teasing, the flirting, the anger, the tears… …will they find love? 

A FRIENDLY WARNING: This book has been written only for the purpose of Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment! If you are looking to learn something or improve your lives after reading this work, then this book is not for you. I am not trying to get into competition with the Author Biggies of this world. I wrote this simply for the fun and joy of it. One thing I can promise the reader though: Well proof-read, perfect language that I feel is very important for every book that's written in any tongue. 

Yours truly, 

Sundari Venkatraman

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Amazon.ca | Amazon.com.au

Meet the Author

The Author's Thoughts

Even as a kid, she absolutely loved the 'lived happily ever after' syndrome as Sundari grew up reading all the fairy tales she could lay her hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end. Soon, into her teens, she switched her attention from fairy tales to Mills & Boon. While she loved reading both of these, she kept visualising what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine.

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! She could never string two sentences together. While her spoken English had always been excellent - thanks to her Grandpa - she could not write to save her life. She was bad at writing essays in both school and college. Later, when it was time to teach her kids, she could manage everything from Science to Mathematics and History & Geography.

When it came to writing compositions, her kids found her of no help at all. All this changed suddenly one fine day in the year 2000. She had just quit her job at a school's office and did not know what to do with her life. She was saturated with simply reading books. That's when she got home one evening after her walk and 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 Indian heroes and heroines needed an outlet and had to be put into words. That's how her first novel, The Malhotra Bride, took shape.

While she felt discouraged when publishing did not happen, it was her husband who kept encouraging her not to give up. There was no looking back after that. While publishing took a long time happening, Sundari continued to write novels and then short stories. Her luck turned when Indireads approached her to write for them and Double Jeopardy was born.

Now it’s all about self-publishing her books on Amazon. She has published The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition) and Meghna so far while planning to publish her fourth book - The Runaway Bridegroom -  in September 2014. 

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Scarlet Revenge by Ann McGinnis

Scarlet Revenge by Ann McGinnis

The Blurb

The FBI doesn't know what to do with Analyst Caycee Scarlet. She's brash, brilliant & brutally relentless when tracking a serial killer. But she also has a temper, problems with authority figures and recognizing the chain of command. Things go sideways for Caycee when she uncovers a lead that saves the Omega Killer's latest victim. Rather than working the system and making nice with her pompous boss, sparks fly and she gets into an altercation with the lead Special Agent on the case, resulting in a transfer to another assignment. Caycee finds herself transferred to an FBI interrogation facility where she assesses the most dangerous of criminals in custody. She struggles to get over the loss of her dream job, but her new boss, handsome Special Agent Gil Graham, may soften the blow. Sparks, of a different variety, fly between the Special Agent and his new Analyst, as they work together to crack the most difficult cases. Just when Caycee's wounds are healing from her expulsion on the Omega Killer team, she is dragged back into the thick of it. Caycee and her new team are front and center, focused on an interview of a bombing suspect, when Omega comes looking for revenge. His attack wounds her team, leaving Caycee with only one option for help-the devastatingly handsome bombing suspect. It will take all of Caycee's wits, and a kiss for luck, to stop Omega and save her co-workers.

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Meet the Author

Ann McGinnis writes about characters that let their egos and sense of justice rule their lives, while they protect the public from serial killers and unthinkable crimes. Of course, Ann's characters always find a way to blow off steam -- romantically!

As a writer, Ann comes from the world of action/thrillers and screenwriting. She has two scripts currently in development. A third script, about a spunky FBI analyst, is the basis of "Scarlet Revenge" and the main character Caycee Scarlet. It is the first book in a series, with Book 2 “Scarlet Envy” coming out in September 2014.

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Love's Labor by Andy Paula

<---Visit Lily's Leap by Téa Cooper

23rd July, 2014

Andy Paula  is the 23rd Author in the Tornado Giveaway.She has decided to give 10 copies of her book to 10 lucky winners. To enter the Giveaway, see the bottom of this post. To see all the books that are part of the Tornado Giveaway - Click Here

Disclaimer: This is an initiative of The Book Club.

WHAT IS THIS STORY ALL ABOUT ?

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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?

GET TO KNOW HER 

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 her :  Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

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Check out the First Book of Tornado Giveaway: 

Tornado Giveaway: 1st of July 2014 Scarlet Revenge by Ann McGinnis