Canvas of Dreams

Book Title: Canvas of Dreams

Author: Jaya Siva Murty

Genres: Fiction

Rating: 3

Riya seems to have lost everything—the man she loves to another woman, her husband to death and her soul to fear.
An unexpected meeting with her first love, Ryan, stirs up long repressed feelings but also allows her to move out of the long shadow of the past. Unburdened, she feels free to pursue her dream of opening an art gallery and the handsome and intriguing artist Rehaan. But memories of her marriage refuse to fade away and then suddenly, Ryan shows up in her life again. Now, Riya must find the courage to reconcile her past and present.
For Riya, life is a canvas of dreams. Can she distinguish between reality and fantasy?

Review

Canvas of Dreams is the story of Riya and the men in her life. Who stays, who stirs her up, what happens to her passion for Art unfolds with a lucid narration. For a debutant Author, the overall quality is commendable.The idea of using dreams to bring out the latent thoughts of Riya is interesting. I loved that the story was painted on the canvas of Art. I enjoyed understanding the kind of work a Curator does. 
On the flip side, Ryan's side of story remained hazy till the end. At the end, I particularly wondered about the point of view of Sia's daughter(I don't want to elaborate and be a spoiler). Though I liked this book, I reserved myself from giving an extra star because the book is not a racy or page-turner kind. I liked this book in the sense that the things that would have gone wrong didn't go wrong like flaws in the plot, unanswered questions, inconsistent characters or predictable flow of events.  Still, there are times when that is all you need. A breezy story and a cup of coffee. And Canvas of Dreams fits the bill.

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She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Book Title: She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Author: Zeenat Mahal
Genres: Fiction
Rating: 4

Zoella has been in love with Fardeen Malik, her best friend’s gorgeous older brother, since she was ten, but he’s always seen her as a ‘good girl’—not his type—and he can barely remember her name. Besides, he’s engaged to a gorgeous leggy socialite, someone from the same rarefied social strata as the imposing Malik family. In short, Zoella has no chance with him.

Until a brutal accident leaves Fardeen scarred and disfigured, that is. Suddenly bereft of a fiancée, Fardeen is bitterly caustic, a shell of the man he used to be, a beast that has broken out of the fairy tale world he once lived in. And a twist of fate lands him his very own beauty—Zoella.
This man, however, is a far cry from the Fardeen of her dreams. Stripped of her illusions, Zoella creates her own twist in the fairy tale, beating him at his own game.
Zeenat Mahal explores themes of love, longing and arranged marriages in this modern, unusual interpretation of the old-age fairy tale

Review

Though Romance isn't a genre I would normally pick, this book has questioned my notions(had there been any). I might not yet be ready for a book oozing with love but a big nod to a fairy tale with a generous topping of Romance. 'She loves me, He loves me not' might be a modern interpretation of a Fairy tale, yet Zoella and Fardeen aren't fantastical beings. They are true to life characters saying and doing things impulsively. Zeenat Mahal takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride with Zoella making us dream, stumble, hope, fret and despair. Along the way, the perspective shifts from Zoella's to Fardeen's. I liked the way how smoothly I changed positions and started empathizing with Fardeen hoping Zoella will forgive his words and deeds. The dialogues were witty and enjoyable, with a hint of humour. The Romance was subtle and alluring.

Haveli

Haveli by Zeenat Mahal

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's always a pleasure to read a Indireads novella, the winning point being its quality. So far, I have read four and I never had a complaint about the characters, writing or the the story. The stories, being a novella, are just a slice but still you can get a hang of the whole picture. The characters aren't flat but have depth. The writing is undoubtedly above average, infact a few novellas make a distinct mark. I am now confident that Indireads is doing a sincere job handpicking deserving stories and author.

Talking about Haveli, its all that's mentioned above. The lead character Chandni comes across as a confident, egoistic women at the surface but she reveals her naive, dreamy little girl side to us, the readers. Orphaned at birth and brought up by her grandmother, she goes through a phase of illusioned love. The 'literary' conversations between Chandni and Taimur are interesting but would have become a overdose had it not been a Novella. Another aspect which of course did not bother me while reading but left me wondering later on was the story's setting. It's set in Pakistan in 1970s but that makes little difference to the story. Overall, another quality work from Indireads.

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Love's Labor

Love's Labour

Andy Paula

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading this book at one go and later wondered what kept me glued when the story is such a simple, typical one. It's definitely the author's storytelling skills. The blossoming of love between Sathya and Piali, the way they take it forward and their families stance are realistic and never appear cliched. A couple of conversations between Sathya and Piali are actually cute. I would have loved to read more of their sweet nothings :-) And this novella definitely 'captures the very essence of being South Asian', as Indireads claims itself to be. On the flip side, I felt the book ended a little abrupt.

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Against All Odds

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Against All Odds by Jazz Singh
My Rating 3 out 5 star

Against all odds, a simple love story with its lifelike characters and vivid narration is a compelling read. As the author unrolls the canvas, the characters spring into life as though they have been living next door all this time. Every character has an accurate portrayal irrespective of how big or small their role is.

What didn't work for me though are the portions depicting the intimacy between Sanjana and Abhimanyu. Its my personal opinion that premarital sex shouldn't been advocated in a book. It is still a taboo in our culture. There are exceptions in the society. Exceptions cannot define rules. Exceptions might soon become the norm. But let us not make it sooner. Books, these days are  increasingly having such obscene stuff. Let us spare another Sanjana in a small town to imagine it as a 'cool' thing taken lightly by the city-bred. Overall, a quick and relaxed read.

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Unsettled

Books and Movies are reflection of a society, a frozen piece of life and culture. Indireads aims to do just that, record the life and times of South Asian community. When I picked up the book Unsettled by Neelima Vinod , I had least expectations. For one, everyone has a story these days, humble or otherwise, and wishes to share it with the world. The mode of reading, the audience, the publishing industry everything has flourished in ways unimaginable. That said, even if the boom means a never ending to-read list , bring it on, I say! 

Unsettled by Neelima Vinod

My rating : 5 out of 5 stars

Unsettled, the story of a couple and their visit to a haunted house in hopes of saving their marriage is an excellent read. Just few pages into it and am convinced I have a good read at hand and with every page I feel that it is surpassing my expectations. As the story progresses, am just traveling with it, eager to find what the story is all about. Both the story of the couple and that of the yakshi are convincingly narrated. Considering that it is a novella, the Author gets across the characters emotions crisply. 

She wanted to trust, to forgive his transgressions, not because she was a doormat but because their love compensated for all foibles 

She was like the words he(a poet) chased elusive yet necessary 

The author's brilliance is reflected in her narration. Few samples that I really enjoyed,

Their love was sweet and young and cut unripened  

Death had only magnified his presence as though he were broken shards of glass everywhere

...Quicksand is not good bedding 

Libraries as large as the folds of our brain 

Overall, its a very satiating read. Just one trivial point, I would have preferred a better title! Am looking forward to reading more from Indireads. By the way, I have strict standards for a book to enter my favorites list. Not that am a voracious reader, a literature freak or anything, its just that there is some unexplainable joy and excitement that only certain books evoke in me. And there goes Unsettled, into my favorites list :-)

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