Book Review

The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins

Stuti Gupta1 Comment

📍 Genre- Psychological Thriller, suspense

📍 Recommendation- Must Read ❤️

🆚 Book📙 vs Movie🎥:- Book 📙without any doubt! The movie was so confusing and I complete. I wouldn’t have understood half the things if I hadn’t read the book first.

🔆 Storyline:- Rachel is an alcoholic divorcee. Her life is a mess, it has no purpose. She is living a mundane life. Everyday she leaves for work, boards a train and comes back home. Everyday she sees people out of the train window and makes up their stories in her head. The people don’t know her but she knows them. One day something happens and now she is actually dragged into their real lives. How are those strangers related to her? What effect will it have on her life?

🔆My Opinion:- Oh My God I loved this book. Reading this book is like being in a trance. The whole book goes in first person. There are three women narrating their stories separately. It starts with Rachel and you see things from her eyes.

This book has the power of giving you a great picturization of the story. Everything Rachel sees, you can see too. The story is so gripping you don’t want to put the book down. I personally feel that this book is a little different from regular thrillers. It was so intense and full of suspense. The plot twists, the build up of the tension, the characters and the ending, everything with give you chills!

This is a must read book, not just for the nail biting story it has but also for the way it is written.

Book Review

Emma – Jane Austen

Stuti Gupta3 Comments

📍 Genre- Classic, Fiction

📍 Recommendation- Don’t even think about it 🙅‍♀️

🔆Storyline:- Emma is a beautiful, rich and self-absorbed girl. She thinks she is really good at matchmaking and in the process, hurts her closest friends. She has vowed to never marry because her father is a very fragile person and she can’t leave him. But owing to certain events she realises that she is in love and she has to marry.

🔆My Opinion:- I hated this book. I maybe being to harsh but it is what it is. I wasn’t a fan of Jane Austen after Pride and Prejudice but I don’t like judging a writer on the basis of just one book. Since I have heard a lot about Emma so I gave it a try and I cursed the moment that I bought this book.

The whole story revolves just around socialising. It was only the last 10-15 pages that I thought were at least bearable, maybe because I was too happy that the book is coming to an end. There is literally no story. I was bored to death reading this book but I completed it because I don’t like leaving books in between, no matter how bad they are. It felt like forever in completing this one.

Don’t read this book, unless you want to be bored as hell. Even if you like reading romance, you’ll not enjoy this book. Not at all recommend!!!

Book Review

Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom

Stuti Gupta1 Comment

📍 Genre- Non-fiction, Memoir

📍 Recommendation- Must Read ❤️

🔆Storyline: This is book about 14 life lessons gained by sports columnist, Mitch Albom, on fourteen tuesdays. Tuesdays because that’s the day he can free himself to meet his college professor who was dying from ALS. The book starts with a little introduction about how the story will go and then the chapters are divided as 14 tuesdays and the life lesson it gives with the story.

🔆My Opinion: This is such a beautiful book. It gives you a whole different outlook towards life. We complain about the tiniest inconvenience that happens to us but after reading this book you will realise that life will always gonna be so unfair but you can always beat it by finding a way to be happy. It actually teaches you a lot but it will only help you if you actually apply it in your life, which requires a lot of courage. At some points, this book will make you laugh at others you may find yourself crying.

Even though this is a non-fiction, it is not at all boring because the story is really very engaging. And come-on how long can it take to complete mere 57 pages; maximum two days even if you are a beginner.

Just go for this book guys without even thinking twice. At the end, you will come out as a better and happier person with lot of insights to life.

The Best Laid Plans – Sidney Sheldon
Book Review

The Best Laid Plans – Sidney Sheldon

Stuti Gupta1 Comment

📍Genre- Suspense, Thriller

📍Recommendation- Should Read

🔆Storyline:- Oliver Russell is running for President and he comes to Leslie Stewart to run his campaign. They both fall for each other and decides to get married. However, Oliver ditches Leslie and marries his ex to become the president.

Leslie is shattered and she decides to take her revenge by destroying Oliver. She has a perfect plan and all is going well when suddenly tables are turned and she is the one questioning herself!

🔆My Opinion:- I just loved this book. Right from the start it is so engaging. You don’t know what’s gonna happen next. It keeps you hooked throughout. The best part about this book is its suspense. I mean you can never expect that, it was crazy.

There’s so many things in this book; dirty politics, heartbreaks, wars, crimes, betrayals etc. This book is so good that I finished 384 pages in less than a week (and I consider myself a slow reader). It is something that kept me up way past my bedtime and I kept turning for one more chapter which eventually ended up being, like, ten!

I am a fan of Sidney Sheldon, it feels like he doesn’t have any bad books. All of them are mind-blowing! You’ll have a great time reading this one too.

Book Review

Tell me your dreams – Sidney Sheldon

Stuti Gupta2 Comments

📍 Recommendation:- Must Read ❤️

🔆Storyline: Three girls, Ashley, Toni and Alette, belong to different backgrounds and have different natures. They work in the same office but they don’t get along very well.

Ashley is introvert and anxious, Toni is more outgoing and tough, Alette is very shy and has an interest in art. Toni and Alette do get along fine but Toni doesn’t have a very good opinion of Ashley.

Of late, Ashley has been feeling like someone is following her and the events that she encounters are making it more evident.

Then a series of brutal murders are taking place at different places but somehow they’re all related.

Now, how all the girls and these murders are connected is what you’ll find out.

🔆My Opinion: This book is crazy! Sidney Sheldon makes you believe in something and you just go along with it but when he drops his bomb, you’ll actually stop for a few seconds to process the information.

So many things are happening at first and all separately, but the best part is when they merge together.

In this book Sidney Sheldon has discussed about a medical condition and how difficult it can be.

This is one of the best mystery novels. The way it all goes is just so amazing. Highly recommend!!!

Go set a Watchman – Harper Lee
Book Review

Go set a Watchman – Harper Lee

Stuti Gupta1 Comment

When I found out that To kill a Mockingbird has a sequel (not exactly a sequel because Harper Lee wrote this one first but was rejected by publishers), I was really excited to read it. So I bought this book with huge expectations.

Storyline: After 20 years Scout has come back home from New York to her aging father and childhood friend Hank. She is happy to be there but somewhere she feels like it’s not the same as before. Then she encounters something that shakes her whole world. She couldn’t believe how a person can change his principles. Now, she is having a really hard time with all this and all she’s waiting for is to go back to New York.

My Opinion: I was really disappointed with this book. I expected more. There are some parts where the author has just stated some event (I’m really trying to not  give any spoilers here) but have given no explanation for the same, which can be a little frustrating. At some points, I just felt like Scout is a bit overreacting to things.

So as I mentioned that this book was written before To kill a Mockingbird but published afterwards, I think it does not stand on its own. You need to know why Scout is reacting the way she is and about her background, then only you can understand what’s going on.

I don’t recommend this book! Because after reading To kill a Mockingbird you start to expect so much and this book doesn’t stand up to it. I wasn’t happy after reading this.

Book Review

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

Stuti Gupta3 Comments

📍 Recommendation:- Must Read ❤️

Second book of Khaled Hosseini, which you just can’t resist after reading his “The Kite Running”.

🔆Storyline: Unlike kite runner, this book is women centered. It has two main female characters.

Mariam; who lives with her mother in a village abandoned by her rich father, Jalil, but he visits Mariam every Thursday. Mariam loves Jalil and never trusts her mother when she tells her that he is not a good man and all they have is each other. Then she does something that changes her whole life and not for good.

Laila; a beautiful girl, loved by everyone and is having a perfect life. She goes to school and her father, who is a teacher, is giving her lessons of life as well. She is bold and courageous. Due to constant bombing in Afghanistan, her whole life falls apart.

Now the story goes with both Laila and Mariam together and shows their struggles.

🔆My opinion: Khaled Hosseini does it again. Yes, most of the social aspects are similar and the story is based on Afghanistan with similar struggles but the focus is totally different. It highlights something that is not very talked of; marital rape!

Mariam is a victim throughout the story and even her ending is sad. However, Laila get a happy ending. This is actually a Khaled Hosseini style; having two main characters, one gets a happy ending and the other one does not.

Talking about the emotional part, you’ll cry in this novel too. This is just a thing with his books. At some level, no matter how small it is, you can always relate to characters. You can feel their emotions.

Amazing book!!! It is a must read. If kite runner shows father-son relationship, this one is about mother-daughter or father-daughter relationship. It is such a beautiful book.

Angels and Demons – Dan Brown
Book Review

Angels and Demons – Dan Brown

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📍Genre- Suspense, Thriller

📍Recommendation- Should Read

🔆Storyline:- Robert Langdon, professor of history of art and symbology, is contacted by Maximilian Kohler, director of CERN, to investigate the murder of a talented physicist who created something that can destroy everything in the blink of an eye. Robert and Vittoria, daughter of the dead physicist, have teamed up to investigate the murder but they don’t know how deep rooted this is  and what craziness they are about to witness.

🔆My Opinion:- This book is predecessor to the Da Vinci Code, an insanely famous book. I like reading in sequence so I picked this one up first. The prologue, I think, wins you over in the very start. Even the starting of the book is interesting. Dan Brown did not waste so much time explaining about the characters, which is a good thing. Although there are some parts where you feel like story is being stretched but they aren’t boring as such; I think they are there to keep you hooked. Every detail, every instance is explained so nicely that you can easily see it, imagine it in front of your eyes. The book really comes to life. What is commendable is the suspense keeping. I mean the writer will give you a glimpse of the truth and when you think on the next page you’ll see the killer, the chapter ends, keeping you hanging in the middle. And the ending, oh my god, is crazy. There is no way you can expect it. I was so intrigued by the ending, my jaw literally dropped and I was staring at the book like a crazy person with my eyes wide open. This book also teaches you about Vatican City and It’s history, so it adds a lot to your knowledge.

If the book is a beautiful cake, the ending is the cherry on top, or shall I say ‘cherries’ on top!

This book is a real page turner, keeping you up for one more chapter. The suspense, narration, story and everything is top notch. Just go for it!

Favourite quote:- “Stand tall, smile bright, and let them wonder what secret’s making you laugh.”

Book Review

Rage of Angels – Sidney Sheldon

Stuti Gupta2 Comments

📍 Recommendation:- Should read

🔆Storyline: This is the story of a girl, Jennifer Parker. She is starting to work under the best district attorney of Manhattan, Robert Di Silva, but things doesn’t go her way and she falls prey to a plan laid out by one of the most powerful crime lord of America, Michael Moretti, which leads to her getting fired. But Jennifer is determined and passionate about her career so she doesn’t give up but things aren’t going very well for her. That’s when Adam Warner comes to her life and everything changes for her. She is living her dream world but her world is going to turn upside down.

🔆My Opinion: This is an amazing book. I love reading thrillers and this book stood up to my expectations. First thing to love about this book is Jennifer. She can be an inspiration for achieving your goals and being passionate about what you do, even if everything is going against you. You have to have that belief in yourself that you’re good and work hard for that. She shows that she can go to any extent for the people she loves.

Talking about the book itself, the content is good and the series of events that are happening is nail-biting. You’ll think that this will happen next but what actually happens is the opposite. The story overall is very good but a tiny speck can be the ending. I mean it’s not very bad but it doesn’t do complete justice to the crazy ride you’ve had.

I totally recommend this book. Yes, this is a thriller but it also shows you what dedication is. Even though I wasn’t very happy with the ending, it didn’t ruin the book for me, I still like it.

Favorite quote: “Do you know what it’s like to hold someone else’s life in your hands? It’s like playing God. Can you think of anything scarier than that?”

Book Review

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Stuti Gupta1 Comment

This was my first classical novel and at that time I didn’t have much idea about these but now when I can evaluate it better here’s my review.

🔆Storyline: The story focuses on Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy (I don’t think his first name was mentioned in the book, I don’t remember). It is a story about how hate for someone can turn into love. This is what happens with Elizabeth and Mr Darcy; they hate each other when they first meet and that hate only grows, owing to a series to misunderstandings. But at the end they see each other for who they are and fall in love.

🔆My Opinion: I don’t like romantic novels and so I didn’t like this one very much either when I read it because I was new to the world of reading and given that this was my first classic novel I had a hard time understanding the language. I actually struggled with it.

Thinking about the book and the story now, I think it’s not so bad. The novel was published in 1813 and I think, at that time the concept of love generating out of hate must have been new but since then the stories of many books and movies have been revolving around the same concept, which has made this less interesting. So, I think that the book is not at fault for sounding like a cliché.

The way story flows is a little bit slow and can be boring but the quality of content is good. The parts where Elizabeth and Darcy are together are interesting.

Overall, the book is not that bad but from my own experience of it, I won’t recommend it especially if you are just starting to read books. But if you love reading romance, you may give it a shot.