Review #555: I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.”

----Chuck Palahniuk

Rae Meadows, an award winning author, pens a heart wrenching story about a farm family in her new novel, I Will Send Rain that centers around the Bell family who have migrated to Oklahoma but gradually they get caught up in the fierce dust storms that disrupted their farm harvest, their health, their dreams and also their relationship among one another, but the woman of the family tries to hold her family together even if she needs to sacrifice her own happiness. A story of survival of a family and of the times of Dust Bowl and their struggle to hold up together.

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Review #533: Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Once you have been in an earthquake you know, even if you survive without a scratch, that like a stroke in the heart, it remains in the earth's breast, horribly potential, always promising to return, to hit you again, with an even more devastating force. ”

----Salman Rushdie

Stacey Lee, a Chinese-American author, has penned an incredibly arresting young adult historical fiction novel, Outrun the Moon where the author weaves a story about a Chinese-American teenage girl who breaks free from her wretched life in Chinatown and earns a shortcut way to one of the prestigious and poshest boarding school in America where she outsmarts the game of pretending on being some heiress but when tragedy strikes, it is her moment to save the school thereby saving the world.

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Review #375: If I Stay (If I Stay, #1) by Gayle Forman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“And that's just it, isn't it? That's how we manage to survive the loss. Because love, it never dies, it never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it.”

----Gayle Forman

Gayle Forman, an award-winning best-selling author, has penned an incredible tale of young love as well as family love in her book, If I Stay, which is the first book in the If I Stay series. This series opens with Mia's heart-breaking story of loss and her passion for music with a ground-breaking decision on whether to fight for love when you have lost the most precious possession of your life- family. Now a major motion picture with the same name, directed by R. J. Cutler, starring, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jamie Blackley and many more.

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Review #372: The Crooked Heart of Mercy by Billie Livingston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.”

----John Green

Billie Livingston, a Canadian author, pens an emotional and stirring family drama in her new book, The Crooked Heart of Mercy that unfolds the story of a couple coping with a sad tragedy and how it tears them apart and how their families try to contribute towards their hearts' reunion, whereas on the other hand, this couple separately tries to help their family from their troubles in their own way. The story is all about forgiveness, grief, and love.

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Review #122: The Darling Girls by Emma Burstall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


“Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies.”

                                                       ----Dorothy Allison an American writer, speaker, and member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers

Emma Burstall, the English author's, latest book, The Darling Girls explores the lives of three women held together by a common relationship- a man shared by all three.

Synopsis:
Three women, one man, and a tangle of lies.

When the world famous music conductor Leo Bruck dies suddenly, the three women who loved him meet for the first time at his graveside.

Victoria, his partner of twenty years and mother of two of his children; Maddy, mother of Leo’s daughter Phoebe; and twenty-four year old Cat. Can these three very different women, whose lives become inextricably bound, break free from the masterful control Leo exerts - even from the grave - once and for all?

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Review #113: Minty by Christina Banach

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other.”
----Carol Saline, a journalist, broadcaster, author and public speaker

Christina Banach, an Scottish author, who simply enthralled our minds and soul with her gripping and enduring debut novel, Minty , which is a dark as well as an intriguing story about two twin sisters, their loss, the importance of family and life beyond death.

Synopsis:
Fourteen-year old twins Minty and Jess are inseparable. Maybe they bicker now and then, even crave a bit of space once in a while. But they have a connection. Unbreakable. Steadfast. Nothing can tear them apart. Until a family trip to the coast puts their bond in jeopardy. As Minty tries to rescue her dog from drowning, she ends up fighting for her life. Will Minty survive? If she doesn't, how will Jess cope without her? Only the stormy sea has the answer.

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Review # 86: Murderous Little Darlings (A Tale of Vampires #1) by John Hennessy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


William Francis "Bill" Nighy, an English actor, has quoted about the 'vampires' as:

The phenomenon of vampires have always appealed to me. Everyone kind of likes a vampire story because it almost could be true.

Once again, my very dear friend and my favorite English author, John Hennessy, has come up with a tale about a vampire folklore, in his latest release, Murderous Little Darlings which happens to be the very first book, in yet another thrilling series named, A Tale of Vampires.

Synopsis:
Three siblings. An endless list of victims. A whole lot of time to kill.
With two specimens of the undead on either side of her, Juliana knew there was no escape. Kill the one they had selected for her, or be killed, and become of them. What had the neighbors in the road called them, back when their childhood pranks were just that?
Oh yes, she remembered now. Murderous Little Darlings. They had the faces of angels, but possessed the very soul of the Devil.

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Review #85: Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


According to Wikipedia:

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neuro-degenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and behavioral symptoms. It typically becomes noticeable in mid-adult life.

And after reading Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer, who is a Canadian author, I can't stop myself from penning down the following spectacular and moving poem written by an anonymous boy for his "Huntington's-stricken" mother: 

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Review #83: Portrait of Stella by Susan Wüthrich

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“Often the right path is the one that may be hardest for you to follow. But the hard path is also the one that will make you grow as a human being.”
----Karen Mueller Coombs, author

Susan Wüthrich, an English author, has envisioned a heart-touching story in her debut book, Portrait of Stella, which is about the journey of a young woman, named Jemima searching for her real identity and roots.

Synopsis:
A fake birth certificate! No record of her existence in the UK data base. Jemima Ashton is desperate to discover her real identity.
With scant information and the burning question 'who am I?', she embarks on an incredible journey of detection.

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Review #64: Ruined (Stratford High #1) by Marian Manseau Cheatham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


         “Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
           Men were deceivers ever,-
          One foot in sea and one on shore,
         To one thing constant never.”
                ----William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing

Based on Shakespeare's famous play, Much Ado about Nothing , Marian Manseau Cheatham, a Chicago based author, has penned her latest novel, Ruined which explores the roller-coaster ride of the emotions of teenagers and their impulsive attitude over everything in the twenty-first century.

Synopsis:
Blythe Messina, the senior year student of Stratford High is no longer in a relationship with the lacrosse star of her school, DB Whitmore. But it is getting impossible for Blythe to get over DB Whitmore when her uncle Leo is sponsor of the whole lacrosse team. Her niece, Bonni Messina is falling for another lacrosse star named Cory Rash. But when scandalous and illegal photos of Bonni and the lacrosse captain are texted among the whole school, Boon's reputation is immediately

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Review #60: Godiva by Nicole Galland

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


We all know that tales of Lady Godiva- an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants.

Daniel Donoghue, a Professor of English at Harvard University, has quoted remarkably about Lady Godiva:
“Would anyone remember the story of Godiva if she lowered Coventry's taxes without taking her clothes off?”

It's true, maybe, we won't even remember her good deeds, since with a negative act she tried to instill and restore the good among her countrymen, and we remembered her as the bad woman who created history. And the author, Nicole Galland, who is an award winner screenwriter, has captured Godiva's tales in her new book, Godiva dating back to some 11th century in the very English kingdom where she portrayed those women who created history by getting entitled as "pagan", meaning irreligious.


Synopsis:
Lady Godiva and her nun friend, Mother Edgiva were two most popular woman of their times, Countess Godiva was known for her cheap tricks she used to manipulate powerful men with false promises to support her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia. Whereas Mother Edgiva was a pure virginal woman who was quite famous for her herbal medicinal treatments and of course due to her wisdom. Together with her husband, Godiva founded and endowed a Benedictine monastery at

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Review #59: Eastland by Marian Manseau Cheatham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Before beginning my review about the novel Eastland by Marian Cheatham, I request you guys to read this small excerpt about one of the largest shipwreck in America’s history:

The SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On July 24, 1915 the ship rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was to become the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

The author Marian Cheatham has paid a tribute to all those passengers and survivors of SS Eastland's mishap in her new novel, Eastland. After all there's no other greater way in paying tribute to these victims, by representing them in words and forever etching them into our hearts. With her eloquent words, she has caught the danger, horror, panic and pain afterwards so sharply and strikingly.

Synopsis:
This novel is about one of the survivors, Delia, a.k.a, Dee and her best friend, Mae, who unfortunately couldn't survive in that ship-wreck. Dee and Mae, both 17year old, used to work in Western Electric in the coiling department. Their company threw a picnic on the new ship, Eastland, on Saturday, July 24th, 1915. Dee, always had a crush on Mae's brother, Karel, hence she was looking forward to this picnic day. But unfortunately, on that day, her mother asked her not to go on that ship, and being

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Review #7: Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


John Griffith "Jack" London, an American author, journalist, and social activist, has quoted remarkably about "Hobos", i.e. homeward-bound;

"They were hobos, and with every word they uttered...
It all spelt adventure."

Let me be clear one thing, homeless people are not exactly "hobos", "hobos" are more interesting with lots of experience in life. "Hobos" have got a direction in their life and generally people coin "Hobo" in a negative way, but it's actually a positive word! The author, Barbara Stuber has shown that in her award-winning book, Crossing the Tracks. Yeah, I know sounds very hobo indeed, but it’s not, although, in the end, the protagonist is left as homeless and living off in some body else’s home, still, the title is so fitting with the protagonist, Iris's situation, who resided in Atchison, in Kansas, but all of a sudden we see her as a hobo living in a farm in Wellsford. This tale is so profound that it takes away your heart and makes your heart ache for Iris's journey towards her home, to where her heart belongs.

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Review #6: Girl in Reverse by Barbara Stuber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Don't forget who you are and where you come from."
----F Scott Fitzgerald

It is becoming hard for Lily to move ahead without getting any idea about her real mother or father or her real roots. Without the raging war between America, Japan and Communist Party in China and for Lily, who happens to have a "chink" face and living with her adopted American family in the Kansas City, it is getting harder to survive her high school days without any mockery or racial teasing.

Barbara Stuber's protagonist, Lily, in her new book, Girl in Reverse is a meek, confused and curious young teenager, who's life suddenly takes on the reverse gear to find out about her past, that happens to haunt her almost every day! Girl in Reverse is not any kind of cheesy YA tale, instead it weaves a tale about finding your real roots and how to not forget them and exploring the bright dimension of art, antiques and cartoons!!

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Review #2: The Separation by Dinah Jefferies

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Malayan Emergency, the year is 1955, which is when the Malayan guerrilla war was being fought for an Anti-British government in Malaya. The period of Insurgency has occurred just after the Japanese troops left the country followed by Malayan economic disruption. The war is at its full form, and the red-headed Europeans were treated with disrespect.

A woman named Lydia Cartwright who found herself searching for her two young daughters amidst of deadly war and terrorism, murder, lies, and deceit. A wild goose chase for a ray of hope in the Malayan jungles, Lydia's life had never had been so terrorising and so on the edge. A mother's painful journey of searching her daughters among pain and bloodshed and uncovering so many hidden puzzle pieces , mysteries and secrets, in the way letting her guard down for more than one time.

The Separation by Dinah Jefferies is an enriching and soul-touching story that is bound to be etched on to your hearts for a very long time.

Synopsis:
On the opening scene of the book, we see that Emma is playing with her younger sister, Fleur on their Malayan country home and then all of a sudden, their dad, Alec is asking them to pack off all their belongings hastily and all the while, Emma was asking what about their mother, Lydia, will she come with them, how will she know that they have left the house, worrying badly about her. When Lydia returns to the empty house, she meets Maznan, a young half-Chinese boy, who has to be rescued to be taken back into the jungle to his mother. And thus Lydia embarks upon a journey to save another mother's child and of her own daughters. From terrorist attacks to ambush to getting lost in a deep dark jungle which leads to uncertainty, how much pain can a mother take for the sake of her own daughters?

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