*Book Review : Heart of Bullets by Nikhil Kushwaha

Name of the Book: Heart of Bullets

Author: Nikhil Kushwaha

Publisher: Petals Publishers

About the Author: Founder of Perx Studio, a complete photography solution, and a professional photographer himself, Nikhil Kushwaha has already touched hearts of many through his previous works, ‘Six Teen Mistakes’ published in 2014 and ‘The Waning Moon’ published in 2015. Born and raised in beautiful city Ranchi, he graduated in 2013 as an Electrical & Electronics Engineer from NIST, Odisha and after working for some time, he left his job to change his dreams into reality. Get to know more about him: www.nikhilkushwaha.com, www.perxstudio.com Or write to him: me.nikhilkushwaha.91@gmail.com. (Via Flipkart)

Blurb: 'The only way to get close to those glittering stars in heaven is, to look at a soldier with stars on his shoulders' Every time, they're around, the thing that we see is the bravery awards, medals, the pride, but what we can't see is their heart that lies inside the iron chest, some untold stories, sacrifices, and the hardship they've been through. Every soldier has a story that is unique and extra ordinary. A tale of brotherhood & heroism, a tale of love & betrayal, 'Heart of Bullets', is about two best friends, Arpan & Sam, and the untold story of their friendship, untold story of their love, Shradha, but what happens when Sam gets hit by the enemy - across the border? What will Arpan do to save his friend? Will love prevail over friendship of lifetime? There is a decision to be made, is the life without love, and friends, better than dying to save the one we love the most? (Via Amazon)

Verdict: As the blurb states that the story revolves around Arpan and Sam who are best friends since when they did not even know the real meaning of friendship. It’s about the ups and downs they face together in their life and how and if their friendship prevails and stands against the test of time. It’s about the love of their life and how they deal with tough situations and what choices they make. It’s about what choice Arpan makes when his only best friend Sam is hit by the enemy and whether or not will he be selfish or not. Let’s find out the rollercoaster journey of these three people.

Positives:                   

1) Good story line.

2) Good cover.

3) Some of the poems were beautifully written; I especially liked the lullaby poem, the poem written for Zafar, the poem written for mothers in twenty-third chapter and the last poem written as a note from the author.

4) I really liked Shradha’s character and I loved Sam’s character.

   
Negatives:

1)   There are many editing hinges, almost every few pages, which makes it tough for the reader to built interest and can often not please them. There are shortcuts used for the words and as & and for or as / which should have been avoided.

2)   There are certain events in life that happened between Sam and Shradha which wasn’t told to Arpan in the entire book but he still seemed to narrate those events.

3)   Certain facts that had been stated earlier got changed when repeated the next time.

4)   The book has a little bit of too much poems and some philosophies which can make the reading boring and not interesting. It could have been better if those things had been kept in minimum.

To sum up with the review it’s a good story line and the attempt made by the author is good too. Had it not been for the editing mistakes and shortcuts used I would have liked it even more. The story line and the ending has the ability to leave you teary eyed. The friendship and love have been narrated well in the book. All in all it’s a good read.

Ratings: 3 OUT OF 5.

Book Details:

Title: Heart of Bullets

Publisher: Petals Publishers

Author: Nikhil Kushwaha

Edition: Paperback

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-9385440120

ISBN-10: 9385440128

No. of Pages: 296

Price:  75 Rs

Purchase Here

©Heena Ahuja

31^st May, 2016

*The book copy has been given to the reviewer by Naaz.

*Book Review : The Broken Sun by Alokita Sharma

Name of the Book: The Broken Sun

Author: Alokita Sharma

Publisher: Petals Publishers

About the Author: Alokita Sharma is the author of Dying at 19, her debut novel, which was published in 2011. She is an engineering graduate and has worked for Essel Group and a publication house from 2012 to 2014. She is currently pursuing a management degree in New Delhi. The Broken Sun is her second novel, which is the first installment of the Broken series. (From Book)

Blurb: Anay had everything he could ask for. A job he loved. A girlfriend he adored. He was getting recognition for his work. Life should have been dandy then. When layers were peeled off from this so called dandy life of Anay, he loved his assistant more, his girlfriend was dead and his research was missing. He was truly broken. People knew his deepest darkest secrets, his father was still a bastard and he was a murder suspect. In nine hours his life has taken a drastic turn. Could he survive this? Would he survive this seems like a more appropriate question! (Via Amazon)

Verdict: As the blurb states that the story revolves around Anay who had everything working perfectly well in his life until the last nine hours which turned his life upside down. In the last nine hours of his life his girlfriend was dead, his research went missing and what was worst that he was a murder suspect. Would he survive this turmoil or would he succumb to the situations and accept defeat? Let’s find out what Anay’s destiny has in store for him.

Positives:                   

1) Nice story line.

2) Nice cover.

Negatives:

1)   There are too many editing hinges, almost every few pages, which makes it tough for the reader to built interest and can often not please them. It could have been avoided to make the reading fluid and easy for readers without any hindrance.

2)   The character name of Anay’s dead girlfriend has been goofed up in one chapter. There are chapters named as part two of something but there’s no mention of part one before that chapter.

3)   Certain logics and facts of the sequences that happen in the book has been ignored, which makes the reading and understanding of events tough.

4)   The second last chapter seemed as a hurried attempt to cover the book within the given number of pages, where as the rest of the story before was at even pace.

To sum up with the review it’s a nice story but it could have been better if only the little facts and logics were taken proper care of. The editing mistakes, name goof up could have been certainly avoided and even the chapter names could have been kept appropriately.  

Ratings: 2 OUT OF 5.

Book Details:

Title: The Broken Sun

Publisher: Petals Publishers

Author: Alokita Sharma

Edition: Paperback

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-9385440182

ISBN-10: 9385440187

No. of Pages: 136

Price:  100 Rs

Purchase Link

©Heena Ahuja

25^th May, 2016

*The book copy has been given to the reviewer by Naaz.

I Stand......

Photography by Pratyush Pushkar

Alone I stand

In midst of my beings

Bereft of my wings

That shades my soul-

Green for the glee

As I sway with the wind

Orange for the glum

That stays within

Yellow the hue of wither

As I’ll fall on the ground below

Brown the tinge of my rust

When my wings are nothing but crust

Today as I stand alone

I found my wings

With their rusted crust

Flowing and following

To the tunes of the zephyr

Without turning back

They tear me apart

And bid me their

Unsaid goodbye

But I still stand tough

With all my strength

To survive the storm

© Literati Meraki - iwrite

17^th April, 2016

*Book Review : The Justified Sin by Harpreet Makkar

Name of the Book: The Justified Sin

Author: Harpreet Makkar

Publisher: Petals Publishers

About the Author: Harpreet Makkar, born n brought up in Ludhiana was a Senior Design Engineer in one of the top MNC’s of the country till the moment he decided to quit and devote his time to the family and persuing his passion of writing. Currently working as a financial analyst by profession and a publisher by choice, and being an avid reader, he finds ample time to work on his passion of reading and writing. His short stories, and the versatility in his writing, helped him to create an impact on the readers. Discovering new places around the country, being his favourite part time, he enjoys going to exotic places and pouring out his innermost feelings via innumerable romantic poems. He came with his first book, ‘The Justified Sin’ in 2013, which was declared a bestseller within six months of its release. He can be contacted at: md@petalspublishers.com (Via Flipkart)

Blurb: What do you call it when three beautiful women come in your life, but you are still single? What if they all, at some point, tried to entice you, but you still feel like committing suicide because of loneliness? What do you call it when you made no mistake, but still, you feel guilty as sin?
Jay had a common life until Saloni, Prachi, & Varsha came in his life and changed everything. At times, he avoided the love that knocked his door, but when he actually needed it, the same love knocked him.
He betrayed... He got betrayed...
He rejected... He got rejected...
From being shot, by Prachi's father to getting intimate with Varsha under the influence of alcohol, his life was as spicy as those masala Bollywood movies...! He was getting used to his life, until, one night, he decides to jump off a building and end everything...
Will there be love, or will it end?
Find out what happens when love has to pay its price. (Via Amazon)

 

Verdict: As the blurb states that the story revolves around Jay who from time to time had three beautiful women in his life but was still single. He as normally many youngsters do had avoided being in love when love knocked on his doors but when he needed it, wished for it love knocked him down. Whatever he did as his karma it came back to him, whether it be betrayal or rejection. His life had all the ups and downs that usually we see in many Bollywood movies. But there’s more to it when Jay in all his helplessness decides to quit his life. What happens in the end? Will he eventually do suicide or will he give life another chance? Let’s find out all about it in this book.

Positives:                   

1) Good story line.

2) Nice cover.

3) The title and the book cover suits each other.

Negatives:

1)   There are too many editing hinges which makes it tough for the reader to built interest and can often not please them. There are many shortcuts used while narrating the story which should not have been the case for books.  It could have been avoided to make the reading fluid and easy for readers without any hindrance.

2)    The small facts that were earlier stated in the book changed on the very next page which could have been easily avoided.

3)   Though the title and cover suits each other but it does vary from the story line point of view. If what’s depicted on the cover is indeed the justified sin as the title says then approximately one third of the last part of the book doesn’t seems to be connected to it or if that’s not the sin then I couldn’t see what the sin was which the title kept telling the readers.

To sum up with the review it’s a good story line that goes around Jay’s life and his ups and downs. The way he deals with them and the decisions he takes along with their aftermath. It could have been much better if the editing would have been properly done and if the shortcuts weren’t used while narrating it.  All in all it’s a nice read.

Ratings: 2 OUT OF 5.

Book Details:

Title: The Justified Sin

Publisher: Petals Publishers

Author: Harpreet Makkar

Edition: Paperback

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-9385385001

ISBN-10: 9385385003

No. of Pages: 200

Price:  75 Rs

Purchase Link: Click Here

©Heena Ahuja

4^th May, 2016

*The book copy has been given to the reviewer by Naaz.