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Tina

Periodical Gazette

This blog is dedicated to both fiction and non-fiction. My personal favorites in fiction are mainly contemporary romance, suspense thriller,  historical fiction and YA then in non-fiction, I love to review inspirational, self-improvement and finance related books. I review outside these genres also because of the fact I love to read.

Poetic Expressions Vol. V

Poetic Expressions Vol. V - Carl McKever

As soon as I laid my eyes on the impressive hard cover of the book I couldn't wait to read it.I was very sure, the book will sound more promising than it's lovely cover and the book description.Once again due to my never, ever ending TBR list I had to postpone it which is a sad thing but I am now glad to say i loved the book.

 

Inside the book, I found all the 14 short stories and three poems to be a compelling read and I must say I was so much enthralled by some of the stories that I couldn't get it off my mind till now. I was totally immersed into the book.

 

My favorite short stories are Provocativeness, The Masses, A cup of coffee will do, Living in the moment and Wordy world. These are also the stories that I treasure the most in this book.

 

My special likings goes to The wordy world as it was a different take on rest of the stories. It is very rare to find such imaginative and yet a meaningful one nowadays because of the new concept that happens around a kingdom where Dictionary and Thesaurus is also present for their work is to develop new, new words. We all know that thesaurus is not so popular when comparing to Dictionary. There's a story here which I don't want to reveal.

 

Paparazzi was another great story which I liked, it was nice but it's not my cup of tea. I should really say the author has done a fabulous job in penning down his thoughts and imagination on Poetic Expressions.

 

As I mentioned earlier there were three poems, if you ask me which one's my favorite I would say " Cake Batter". This poem depicts beautifully the unconditional love of a mother.

 

That being said, I don't want to give away too much insights to the book so as to avoid spoilers. When I finished reading, I got a feeling that I am indeed very blessed to have received this wonderful book by the author.

Undescribable (Undescribable, #1)

Undescribable (Undescribable, #1) - Shantel Tessier

There are certain books out there, you just don't want the story to get rid off your mind so that it can remain with you for some more time. I had the same feeling when I finished reading this wonderful novel by Shantel Tessier. I would also say I had a mixed feeling towards the novel. I t was hanging somewhere in the middle of whether to like or not like(because of Slade).

 

It was nice reading it in the beginning .I just wanted to lose myself in the novel. At the same time, I would've liked the story to be some what different. I liked Samantha. She was so perfect in all the right places. She is kind, pretty, caring and also independent. After Jax left her, She could have had any man(I mean Good man) she want ,instead she chose Slade.I swear I didn't really like her being with him after she split from her ex. When she first met him, she was very hard on him. I would have liked her to remain like that for few more chapters.

 

There could be only two good reason why I don't want Samantha anywhere near him. 1) He treats women like shit 2) and also sleeps with different women daily as if he is going to get a trophy for that. Okay, he is handsome, I mean very handsome. But she is nothing like all the other women who fawned over him. Slade may be drop dead gorgeous but he even knows he is not the best match for her. As he himself calls her Angel(always), what does that make him ?Other than this I have to say I couldn't deny enjoy reading the novel even for a bit.

 

I felt very sorry for Samantha when she reveals her mother disowned her for 12 million dollars. I didn't really care about her mother as there were so many other things to worry about. There is something that grabbed my attention in the latter part of the novel. Suddenly, her mother reappears into her life after so many years have passed. I must really say this. I neither expected her to return nor I expected her to explain herself for the things she did.

 

On the whole, I had many issues with Slade and as for Samantha, I just loved her with all my heart. My favorite characters after Samantha is a Couple, Slade's brother Micah and his girlfriend, Holly. Holly is very luck to have him as her boyfriend. I wish every men in the world are like him. I also loved Josh and Courtney. If I have to sum up the novel into one sentence, I would say Love is truly blind. If you don't believe me, read this amazing novel and tell me what you think.

Shift: Innovation That Disrupts Markets, Topples Giants, and Makes You #1

Shift: Innovation That Disrupts Markets, Topples Giants and Makes You #1 - Jagan Nemani This book is a must read for all those people who are thinking about starting their own business concern or have started it but are struggling to taste success.This book is definitely worth buying. There are many great tricks and tips to learn from the book. Even for a person who don't know much about business, this will be a complete learning guide. In terms of language, it is simple and well written. The author's intellectual ability will amuse readers of all sort of genres. The introduction of the book begins with the author quitting his job as a Management Consultant at Deloitte to start his own energy efficiency business where people can save their electricity usage, gas usage, get relevant tips, and save energy as a community. It began well but drastically failed in the year , 2010, when Microsoft Hohm which also had the same idea as his but focused on saving an individual's energy failed two years later. This failure made him to think deeper and deeper, why the business was a total failure. His idea was new and very innovative, if the consumers had found it useful, there would be surprisingly a reduced carbon emissions in the environment. The answer to their failure was simple as this. They focused on innovation from the perspective of technology rather than finding out how the customer would experience that technology.After researching, he found a nine factor customer experience framework which can be applied to almost all industries .These include price, availability, service, quality, fashion, social responsibility, brand, etc. He has also discussed it in detail in the seven chapter book to help all the budding entrepreneurs.Shift: Innovation that disrupts markets topless giants and makes you #1 is not really a book to skim through. There is so much to learn from it. We can learn about poor customer experience, some of the examples might even feel like we have experienced it before.Inside the book we can find many elaborate details of successful companies with numerous charts and figures and the reason to why they all succeeded. Blockbuster, Netflix, Redbox, Amazon, Fab are some of the notable companies that are worth mentioning from the book.It also covers most of the industries and has amazing facts about the companies we deal with our day-to-day life. Healthcare , pharmaceutical , Airline and Online industries are just to name a few.The answer to the big question, why customers chose a particular company to satisfy their needs and wants rather than from its competitors lies in the book.The source to those websites in which the author got the information he needed can be found under the respective pages which gives the readers to search it later on the net for more details.All business students and aspiring business owners should get this book to have a thorough knowledge of Innovation and customer experience because the final chapter deals with the overview of how to deliver a best-in class customer experience.

Letter from a Rake

Letter from a Rake - Sasha Cottman Letter from a rake is about two soul mates Millie and Alex who are meant for each other.The story dates back to 1817, where Millie Ashton, a duke, born and raised in India has just arrived in England with her family. She hates England and keeps on whining about her wish to return back to India . While no body in England welcomed Millie, like the way Alex's sister Lucy did, also a duke like herself, she would have sworn to have died living in England. But the only problem is Lucy's second brother Alex, the sight of him looking at her gave shivers. When she gets to know him better, she comes to a conclusion he is not all bad. It is love at first sight for him. When everything was going well until a fateful night, Alex screws his love by taking Millie away from a public party without his sister and her brother knowing. When they were caught filled with shame, Lucy breaks off her friendship with her, blaming her for being only friends with her to get closer to his brother like all the other girls did. She gets a wrong impression of Millie and then the next day their whole family is off to Scotland because of the two. Millie is shocked but she quickly recovers from it.I loved the author's portrayal of Millie Ashton. In almost all the novels the female protagonists are slender with beautiful curves while in this novel, the author has introduced us to a plump, fat girl with curvaceous figure who also wears a sapphire nose ring much to the men's disguise but she is amazingly the most ravishing , strong female characters I have read so far. She is also very likeable, valiant and knows how to defend for herself in times of trouble. Alex's character is the most humorous and also the saddest part in the novel. He has bad tastes in women. When he returns for Millie from Scotland, he is heartbroken to see her new slender figure. I also laughed so much at his innocence and stupidity. He knows how to make thinks harder. He almost puts two ladies in Jeopardy because of the silliest reason that he could not write or read. This time his brother doesn't come to his rescue which makes things even harder. He has to right the wrongs before Millie chooses the first man who agrees her to live with her in India.Overall, I wasn't able to like the first half. I felt the story was rushed .The second half was full of fun and entertainment. The ending part was so touching with Lady Carolice finding the right man like she deserved.I highly recommend this to everyone who like historical fiction.

Mangled Hearts: 1

Mangled Hearts - Felicia Tatum I was very excited to read the novel not because I liked the book blurb. It is mainly due to author's note in the beginning of the novel."This book is dedicated to all the "Cade"s of the world. I hope you find your peace. ""This book has been really hard for me to write, not because it’s a bad story, but because some of it is based on real feelings, emotions. I hope you all enjoy it."How can someone be not intrigued by these words? So I was very sure that the author has a strong message to convey to the readers and it was proved when I finished reading the novel.Felicia Tatum is a great author. I have to really, really appreciate her for writing this incredible novel. I haven't read any of her previous novels but I liked her mangled hearts. This novel coveys a good social message to all those reading the novel.Francesca is a perfect, fine young woman. She is also a lawyer and is loved very dearly by all her friends. Cade, on the other hand, is a big alcoholic and a drug addict. He is warned by everyone for his severe addiction to alcohol. His life is a good example for how a man should not live. They are the two opposite people who are not destined to love each other atleast not for the second time. But nobody can blame it on the destiny. Unfortunately, she cannot avoid him this time not after knowing he is her first client. She has to somehow deal with this fact and get him off her shoulder as soon as she can. Cade is also shocked to find out she is appointed as his lawyer but he is very eager to meet her unlike her and now wants to make amendments for his past mistakes. Francesca shouldn't be with Cade. He doesn't deserve her. It is because of him, her life was miserable when she was studying in high school. She can never let that happen again. She doesn't want to repeat the same thing she did eight years ago.It is very rare to find a novel that gives equal importance to both female and male characters. It was very thoughtful of her to right this way. If you are thinking about reading a novel that gives you a lot of meaning, never miss reading this one.Overall, it was a great experience reading this novel. My only complaint in the otherwise perfect novel was the letter writing part. I am sure the author knows what I am referring to.

Compass Box Killer (Inspector Virkar, #1)

Compass Box Killer (Inspector Virkar, #1) - Piyush Jha Compass Box Killer by Piyush Jha is a fantastic crime thriller with a lot of twists and turns which no one will ever forget because of it's uniqueness and an outstanding narrative by the author.It stars Police Inspector Virkar who must stop a series of killings by a fiendishly clever killer before it is too late. The first victim is a senior police officer named, Akurle, who died after eating Vada Pav mixed with ricin, a lethal poison extracted from Castor Beans. Each killing pattern is different, the only thing that doesn't change is, he leaves a note of the next victim inside a compass box written in blood. Now Inspector Virkar must find the killer before he shatters another life.Each time Inspector Virkar attempts to save the victims, he is taken by surprise because of the Super intelligent, brilliant mind of the killer. The motive behind the killings was the one thing I least expected. All the victims seemed really nice with a clean background, but as the proverb saying goes "Do not judge a person by their appearance". I was also very excited and at the same time thrilled to know the fact , after he has killed three people, the killer doesn't know who his next victim is and silently seeks the help of Inspector Virkar to kill him. You can't help yourself from laughing out loud at this particular scene.The pace of the novel in the beginning was a bit slow but will keep you engaging. There is a lot of repeating, like for example, the details of food and drinking habits of Inspector Virkar were repeated again and again which I hated. What I did like in the novel was the sudden turn out of events by those people whom he trusted more, and later when he was thinking everything is going to end, he is betrayed by the one whom he had the most faith in. This novel gives a great insight of the media people and their quest for fame. There are some Marathi words which I initially mistook for hindi words because of my average knowledge of the language. If you don't know either of these language, you may well likely to laugh while reading those sentences.On the whole, this is the kind of novel you won't be able to put down. Even if you try to put it down, you can't help yourself from getting back into reading the novel again. This is a very compelling , quick entertaining read. It doesn't bore you and has the great potential of becoming a blockbuster movie.

Killing Me Softly

Killing Me Softly - Leisl Leighton I didn't honestly expected to like this novel when I began reading it a few days ago. It was very boring and I didn't like the flow of it. I was very much disappointed with the novel after reading the first three chapters. So I came to a conclusion, this novel was not really for me. But I gave it a try. To my surprise, I was actually able to like the novel because of the main protagonist Alexia and those fascinating people around her.Leigh Leighton's Killing me softly is about Alexia alias Lexi, a 29 years old very talented and popular music producer who agrees to work with one of the famous singer Daemon Flagherty and his band on one condition that is to work and stay with her at her private country estate until their work is finished .She is very secretive and hideous which makes Daemon not able to believe her. So he asks his manager Nigel to have a thorough background check on her history. When he learns about her past, he empathizes and is more attracted to her than before.Both of their lives are somewhat similar although what Lexi has to endure is more than unimaginable and horrifying. There is a strong reason for that. Lexi has a twin sister, Catriona who is in a vegetative state for almost eleven years with big Scars on her face that makes her unrecognizable as her identical twin. She has a strong guilt for her sister's catonic state as she feels she is the one responsible for everything that happened , which is absolutely untrue because Lyndon James is the only one answerable to them but unfortunately he was killed in Jail without experiencing the immense pain encountered by the twin sisters thereafter.In the mean time, Lexi reciprocates her love for Daemon but she is afraid to let their relationship grow and give it a new status with her being stalked by a psychopathic killer who knows her past and is now haunting because of that. For this reason, she was living under a pseudonym and a private address. Now the stalker knows where she lives but could it be because of Daemon's band? She is so confused and also scared. Now Daemon knows her deadly secret of being abused and stalked by an unknown person but the question is will he be able to save her from the killer?All the characters in the novel appealed to me but Billy was the only one who gained my love and interest. If you read it you will know why I am saying this. I liked Lexi but I didn't like Daemon, it may be because I am not a great believer of love at first sight and it is so stupid. Lexi's initial shyness is very much understandable as she is also a virgin. Bev and Karl also made it to my favorite list despite their role being short. Catriona has a suspense for everyone, read the novel to find what is it. I had a guess on the stalker but didn't know exactly he was the one as I had my doubts on almost everyone in the novel including Daemon Flagherty. Overall I enjoyed very much reading the novel , whenever Lexi received that letter , I wasn't patient enough to know who her stalker was. Finally, towards the end of the novel, I was contented with the fact Justice was served .For me, this novel was like watching those serial killer movies and soap operas in which the cops try to unfold the true identity of the serial killers and also the reason to why they did it.

Saving Wishes

Saving Wishes - G.J. Walker-Smith Charlotte Elisabeth Blake is a 17 year girl who lives with her brother Alex Blake in Piper's cove, Tasmania, a small village in Australia. She is the kind of girl every mother warns you about. She always lives in La La Land. She and her best friend Nicole plan to spend their long-term dream for ten years by travelling the best places in the world. So they try to save as much as they could for their luxurious travel since this year will be the end of their school life. Then Adam comes into picture, her French teacher's cousin. The world changes around her when he enters her life, to be precise, enters her world. He is a 21 year old guy who is flawless and perfect in all the ways. There is no reason for a golden boy like him to love a trouble maker like Charlie. He could get any girl he wants as he is also filthy rich .But blame it on the destiny. They fall madly in love. If not for Adam I would have given up reading the novel. According to me, he was the only sane character in the novel. I had my doubts on Gabrielle after her love life with Charli's brother Alex was let loose. I wasn't able to like Charlie's father either (*Spoiler Alert*her 34 year old brother was her biological father)because no father would say their daughters a big trouble in front of other people. And also not interfere and shatter their love life into pieces, if the person they fell in love with is not only a good one but a god sent. May be I think her young father was having trouble with a fact that she might not need him after she has him. But that was really a selfish thing to do when he has his lover Gabrielle.So I am against supporting all the characters in the novel except Gabrielle and Adam at the end of this series. For me, it was a love-hate relationship with the main character, Charli. She is not a puppet. She is going to be eighteen and she can make her own decision. I know her life was a mess, but now what she is doing is making more mistakes than before.Overall, I love Adam for his kindness and unconditional love he offered to charli, Gabrielle for her peace making and Alex for being trustworthy. And now goes my haters list, Nicole(You'll hate her at the end) , the beautifuls , Ethan, Mitchell and also Charli. After hating Charli, I still am eagerly waiting for the second series of this novel only because of Adam.Does he still love Charli?I can find out only after reading the next series.My rating:3.5

Awakening Colors

Awakening Colors - Ritu K. Gupta I feel sorry for myself as i initially judged the book by it's cover and the not so promising book description.It's not like they were bad or worse.It's just that i wasn't attracted to it.After i enjoyed reading the book, i was like, is there a sequel?If the author haven't yet thought about a sequel, I'd like her to write one right now because there are so many things left unanswered in the book.In Awakening colors, Ritu K.Gupta delivers us the story of Pari who has the ability to see though people by the color that is surrounding them.Each color has its own meaning.For instance, if she sees bright red color around people, it is either they are going to be in big trouble or they will encounter a major loss in their life.It was hard for me to believe it at first.But as the book progresses more and more, i can't wonder about the great ability of Pari and what she is going to do with her immense power of seeing colors.The first half of the book was tortoise slow but it kept me going anyway.There was not a single moment i could point out as being bored up by Pari's story.I was actually living in the story.I was also amazed by the lots of marvellous and wonderful quotes extraordinarily well written by Ritu K.Gupta.Pari is not a saint.But there are things that is happening around her life after meeting up with a huge accident that makes her believe in spirutuality more than before. She also loses her father in the accident that is when she sees the strange colors around her after being comatized for several months.When i came to the last page of this astonishing novel, I had lot of questions to ask the author.Let me say a few non-spoilers(may be spoilers) alone.Was Pari's father killed?Why is Navina's son doesn't behave like a boy at his own age?Is Arche a good man or a bad man?Why is Pari seeing all those colors?What do Chanakya, her mother's spiritual guru want from her?Why is Doctor Vincent's deceased wife look like Pari?There are lot more questions like this keep coming to my mind, so i want all these hundreds and hundreds of questions to be answered in the next series.Thanks to the author for giving me a free ecopy of this book for review purpose.

Killling me softly by Leigh Leighton

 

My Review

 

I didn't honestly expected to like this novel when I began reading it a few days ago.  It was very boring and I didn't  like the flow of it. I was very much disappointed with the novel after reading the first three chapters. So I came to a conclusion, this novel was not really for me. But I gave it a try. To my surprise, I was actually able to like the novel because of the main protagonist Alexia and those fascinating people around her.

 

Leigh Leighton's Killing me softly is about Alexia alias Lexi, a 29 years old very talented and popular music producer who agrees to work with one of the famous singer Daemon Flagherty and his band on one condition that is to work and stay with her at her private country estate until their work is finished .She is very secretive and hideous which makes Daemon not able to believe her. So he asks his manager Nigel to have a thorough background check on her  history. When he learns about her past, he empathizes and is more attracted to her than before.

 

Both of their lives are somewhat similar although what Lexi has to endure is more than unimaginable and horrifying. There is a strong reason for that. Lexi has a twin sister, Catriona who is in a vegetative state for almost eleven years with big Scars on her face that makes her unrecognizable as her identical twin. She has a  strong guilt for her sister's catonic state as she feels she is the one responsible for everything that happened , which is absolutely untrue because Lyndon James is the only one answerable to them but unfortunately he was killed in Jail without experiencing the immense pain encountered by the twin sisters thereafter.

 

In the mean time, Lexi reciprocates her love for Daemon but she is afraid to let their relationship grow and give it a new status with her being stalked by a psychopathic killer who knows her past and is now haunting  because of that. For this reason, she was living under a pseudonym and a private address. Now the stalker knows where she lives but could it be because of Daemon's band? She is so confused and also scared. Now Daemon knows her deadly secret of being abused and stalked by an unknown person but the question is will he be able to save her from the killer?

 

Thoughts on the novel

 

All the characters in the novel appealed to me but Billy was the only one who gained my love and interest. If you read it you will know why I am saying this. I liked Lexi but I didn't like Daemon, it may be because I am not a great believer of love at first sight and it is so stupid. Lexi's initial shyness is very much understandable as she is also a virgin. Bev and Karl also made it to my favorite list despite their role being short. Catriona has a suspense for everyone, read the novel to find what is it. I had a guess on the stalker but didn't know exactly he was the one as I had my doubts on almost everyone in the novel including Daemon Flagherty.

 

Overall I enjoyed very much reading the novel , whenever Lexi received that letter , I  wasn't patient enough to know who her stalker was. Finally, towards the end of the novel, I was contented with the fact Justice was served .For me, this novel was like watching those serial killer movies  and soap operas in which the cops try to unfold the true identity of the serial killers and also the reason to why they did it. This novel is unique and likeable in a different kind of way because of the lot of emotions between the characters that could only be experienced in a very hard way.

 

Rating 4/5

When Strangers meet..

When Strangers meet.. - K. Hari Kumar When stranger's meet by K.Hari Kumar focuses on three people, Jai, Iyer and Hussain.Jai and Hussain are originally from North India while Krishna Prasath Iyer is a Tamilian which makes him a south Indian.The story is mainly about Jai, a ruthless teenager who has just completed his high school and wants to make a big career in the Film Industry.But his father forces him to study engineering .He doesn't agree, his father fights hard to change his mind.As no choice left, Jai leaves his home with a letter behind saying not to search for him that he will be okay wherever he goes.From there, the real story begins.While he is sitting in a metro station, he meets two strangers, one of whom has the ability to change his carefree attitude towards life.To be honest, from the beginning of the story i didn't like Jai's character.It seemed a bit unrealistic to me.First he breaksup with his girlfriend then he leaves hurting his father only to pursue his dreams.If he had fought/tried hard with his father then he would have agreed somehow.The way he talks to Iyer was also more than undigestable.My favorite part of the novel was Iyer's flashbacks of his life way back then when he was at Jai's age .I totally fell in love with the novel only because of Iyer's story.It was so real and fresh.As i am also a Tamilian, i have been to all these places of Iyer.Infact i was born in the exact same place where Iyer was born.So i could very well relate with his story.Even the secondary character in his story were as interesting and intriguing especially Kanna and Padma.Although i liked everything about Iyer, one thing i didn't like.That is the author's reference to him as a big fat, dark complexioned man.He could have just referred him as a Middle aged man.It is because I have been to Iyer's places, i know how most of the Brahmin's look.Hussain's character was also another character which i liked but he didn't have much scope in the novel except returning the broken cell phone of Jai , comparing him with his own son and worrying about his poverty.Besides this, there are lot of twists and turns in the novel, that left me real frozen.Only when you read, you will know what i am talking about.On the whole, I really enjoyed reading this fabulous story about three strangers, I recommend this to all youngsters and parents.I am sure after reading When strangers meet they will understand each other more than they were before.Even better, it will leave everyone reading thinking , what if i meet a stranger as lovely as Iyer.Hats off to the author for his incredible story telling.Sometimes all it takes is a stranger's tale to bring your life back on track..........

Autumn (Dog Days)

Autumn (Dog Days #1) - Sierra Dean First of all, i have a confession to make which is i am super-addicted to paranormal stories.There are three things i always expect before reading a novel, they are right choice of cover image , the title and the book description .Miraculously, Autumn by Sierra Dean has all the three.Having finished reading this novel myself that too with great zeal and enjoyment, i am already waiting for the next series with no patience (which releases this november ).I can't say how much i enjoyed reading this novel.I don't really want to spoil the novel.So i am giving a short review.Let the story be a suspense.Autum Dog Days # 1 is a story of two people, Lou Whittaker and Cooper Reynolds.She is a 16 year old girl from Fresno, california but destiny forces her to live with her grandmother in Poisonfoot after losing her loving father to cancer.She doesn't want to give up Texas for some small town called poison-foot but as it turns out her mother don't have enough fund for either her schooling nor their living, they can't help themselves from going to this bizzarre town.She meets a 17 year old boy Cooper there who also suffers from a loss just like her.She is fully drawn to this cooper guy eventhough everyone in the town are warning her about him.The grownups say he is bad and can't be trusted. Her friends say he is unpopular and whoever is friends with him is absolutely insane( bcoz he is a Reynolds).But this doesn't give Lou enough reason to stop being friends with him.She wants to know why everyone in the town are being rude to him and his family.There is something more to this.Like Cooper's family, Lou's family too has a big secret as she is a whittaker.Cooper's mother who also happens to be the town's sheriff warns him not to talk to her as she could be very dangerous.I felt like these people must get together as it turns out they both have secrets of their own they didn't know off until they met each other.One more reason why i want them together so bad is that i don't like Archer.What makes this novel even more exciting to read is, it has witches, coyotes instead of werewolves , a lot of strange people who keep secrets and also romance.There is one thing i didn't like in this novel, that is the ending part.I didn't want it to end so soon.A final touch, this novel is a combination of both Vampire diaries and Secret circle.If you ask me who would fit in cooper's role,then i would say Jake Armstrong from Secret Circle(although i'm a big fan of vsmpire diaries) as he is the perfect match for Cooper's role which is otherwise very challenging and as for Lou, the cover girl would fit in.My thanks to the publisher for giving a free ecopy of this wonderful novel

The Vampire Underground

The Vampire Underground - Brian  Rowe Is there anyone who doesn't like vampire stories?If the answer is "yes", then i appreciate you skip this novel for good.But if you really are a die hard fan , then no wonder you will become a fan of this author.You are not just going to read the book.As the characters are easily floating, you can visualise it as a picture.The vampire underground is full of fun and entertainment, i enjoyed so much reading it.I also finished reading the novel with one sitting.I usually have the habit of skipping the prologue but not for this one.The prologue is the main reason that kept me glued to the novel.The main character in the novel is Brin Skar, a 16 year old girl who enters her new year in Grisly high school where her bestfriend Ash also studies.She loves movies but not a big fan of horror movies instead she likes comedies and entertainment.What happens if she is a given an assignment to do a short film based on this genre?.Can she declain it?If she does her team of six Anaya, Chace, Lavender, Sawyer and Dylan loses their grade along with her.Apparently she has other problems than doing this short film.She wants to direct the film herself so as her team mate, Anaya, a five hundred pound, fat, ambitious girl with big dreams of becoming not just a director but a great director.They both fight at the beginning, but since anaya offers her a deal, Brin accepts, then changes her mind, later loses her spot due to her lack of preparation of the script.Now they all go to Bodie Ghost town as per Anaya's say eventhough the town is closed only to film their shoot illegally but less they know about the other dangerous creatures living there.It is very clear from the novel title, it is the vampires that is haunting the Ghost town.But how re they going to survive?They can't really escape the town without the help of a supenatural power.Like it is in everyother vampire stories, here also there is a male vampire , Paul who comes to help Brin save her friends and reach their house safely.The question is how many can he safe as they are really outnumbered among the hundreds of vampires.I felt very strange in Paul's character, why he wants to help Brin.I mean he is a vampire not exactly a vampire because of certain privileges they enjoy, if he helps her he is sure to be killed.There's a twist here that was beyond what you and i had expected and imagined in our minds.My most favorite character in the novel is Ash, i am a huge fan of each and every line he speaks.According to me, he is the only real, funniest and coolest character in the novel.His speech flows out naturally.I still remember all of his funny dialogues .The fights between the students are also very funny but what is more funnier is their gripings to the teacher asking to change their roles in the short film they are going to make.I also loved the fact since this is the first in the many upcoming series, the character development is more than the romance between the main characters. I could very well feel the depth of the characters like they are actually one of us.What i didn't like in this almost perfect novel is the vampires gathering part for a grand ritual to kill Brin's friends.I felt like it was over exaggerated.Overall, i would say this is the kind of novel that should be read on a nice weekend.This novel is even better than twilight.It has all elements like humor, horror, sentiments, friendship, romance and rivalry.Thanks to the author for giving me a free ecopy of the novel.I can't wait to read the next series because of my three favorites, Brin, Paul and Ash.http://periodicalgazette.blogspot.in/2013/06/the-vampire-underground.html

After The Darkness: Episode Four

After The Darkness: Episode Four - SunHi Mistwalker I received all four episodes of this novel through Librarythig giveaway.I had a wonderful time reading all four episodes.I thank the authorf for giving me a free copy of all the four episodes.After the darkness is a very fast paced, suspense-thriller novel.The first three episodes had me both gripped and worried for Nadia and her sister Mila.I couldn't handle the suspense of what is going to happen next to both of them.All the characters are well potrayed in the novel especially Nadia and Percy.Colby's character is also a very strong character in the novel, so i want to see him more in the next episodes.They will make quite a couple.I liked all the three series but the fourth series is a little bit lame.There are also many questions that is left unanswered in the book,like what is the main theme of the novel, who are these captivators, why they want to captivate these children and what is their motive behind it.But without a doubt, i think these will be answered in the next episodes because now Percy has Nadia, whether he will help her find her sister or will betray her for his own good.Instead of splitting the novel into multiple episodes, i would have liked to read the full book.

Only The Thunder Knows - East End Girls

Only the Thunder Knows – East End Girls - Gord Rollo, Rena Mason I won this book through Librarything giveaway. It was a wonderful experience reading this novel. There are two short novellas in this one book. It would be rather easy for me to rate both the novellas individually. Only the thunder knows is a very interesting novel but I didn’t like the entire story. I think if King Arthur part wasn’t introduced I would have liked the novel even more. For me, the shift between reality and fantasy was hard to take. This novel was an okay read only. But when it comes to which story I liked the most, I would say East End girls because of the unique ending which was unlikely to find in any other novels. It was also very interesting to know that both the novels were adapted from true murders that happened around the 18th century and also written by two different authors.

Teller of Tales

Teller of Tales - Ray Dacolias Teller of tales is a book full of short stories.Each story is unique and different from other stories.There are ten short stories which sort of felt like real life stories except the whispering bells and Autograph in the 170 pages long book.Janitor, Love, Crashing into you,March of life and of greater significance than mammon, are some of the stories that should not be missed reading by almost readers of all ages.These are the stories that made me think and feel the depth of other people's feelings when they are closer to dying. For instance, March of life is a story that can be related with all those people who feel guilty at some point in their life while "Love" is a story for all those people who think death/suicide is the only price to show their abundant love to their loved ones.The effect of this particular story is sure to make anybody cry.Unfortunately, the other stories aren't that good as these. So I am giving only 3.5 stars for this book because of the author's monotonous writing. I won't say i didn't like the book entirely,to be precise, it gave me a hard experience while reading the book because of the author's very very strict method of writing.The author could have been little lenient when writing this book.In the future, i would love a book that is written in a more simplest form than this one which is rather difficult to grasp in the beginning of each story, while the exception goes to stories like Love and Crashing into you.But without a doubt, all the stories are meticulously written in a way that gives some moral to all the readers at the end of each story. This is a book of unforgettable tales for all those who are going through a tough phase in their life.Few notable lines from the bookThe people were amazed that he had stories to tell and had lived a life just like any other man, and he had done it, they now knew, despite no help from anyone in town and practically anywhere else-and sometimes, they now knew, in direct opposition to the will and want of people like them everywhere.And they were truly ashamed-JanitorTheir inviolate love for each other, this unconditional, simple, precious love between father and daughter, constructed a window of pure white light through which they could peer into the soul of the other, where there are no secrets a good father and good daughter keep from each other-Love"I forgive you".He had said it, she knew now, he had said it even when imminent death was unfurled before him-Crashing into youA lie once told cannot be told twice, "he whispered, and then he and the rest of the village knelt down in profound contrition and bowed towards Genji and asked for his forgiveness-March of life.