The Cul-de-Sac War by Melissa Ferguson

 I was going through English Audiobooks available for review on Netgalley when I saw the title "The Cul-de-Sac War" by Melissa Ferguson. The very first thing I checked was the language settings in Netgalley. Then I google the word "Cul-de-sac", what I gauged from the title was the book must be around neighbors. And that was described in the blurb. Based on these few things, I applied for the review copy in exchange for an honest review, and luckily I won it. So here I am discussing the sweet love story.

Written in settings of a cure rom-com (you may say sitcoms), the story revolves around the personal & professional lives of Bree & Chip. I don't want to discuss the plot once again as the blurb is more than enough. Let me talk about things I liked about the story

1. Pranks between Bree & Chip

2. Gentleness of Chip in all situation never losing his temper

3. Characters of the girlfriend of Chip & boyfriend of Bree. Both were caring and marriage material.

4. Fun-filled incidents ( I know the very first point was a prank, but I feel I should mention it)

Coming towards good points about the book

1) Light read

2) Language is easy and age-appropriate

3) The pace of the story is fast and will maintain

4) To the point story

Overall I enjoyed listening to this book. The book deserves 3.75 stars out of 5. 

A Must-read - The Cowherd Prince by Krishna Udayasankar

If you have read my review of books based on Mahabharata, you must be aware that I rarely skip book that is remotely related to epic. The very first retelling I read was from Krishna Udayasankar, and I was delighted. Unfortunately, I missed a chance to get two more books from that series. The God was gracious; I got 3rd party of that trilogy and was impressed by the author's work. And when I came to know that prequel to the series is about to get released, I didn't want to miss the chance. I like to thank the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Those who have read Mahabharata or any book on Krishna avatars knew most of the author either stretch Krishna's childhood days or after he met Pandavas. Rarely you will find a book which talks about what happened during his younger days, how he became a prince from a common cowherd. Thanks to Krishna (author), I got a chance to read a novelty. This book is more focused on that part of Krishna's life. 

As usual, the book started with the background/prologue of firstborn v/s firewrights. Those who have read the series are aware of the concept. For first-timers, the author has shown two knowledge sects, which makes the building block of the plot for 3 books. As I mentioned, the story covers the part of Govinda's life that gave him the title of a great leader and politician. The author has introduced suspense and thrill by bringing Govinda's missing family and his revenge into the story. Few major characters apart from Govinda, who has shone brightly, were Balbhadra, Yuyudhana, and Nanda. Each chapter brought a new set of characters or plot; you won't find repetition. Throughout the book, you will enjoy changes that come with a new chapter.

There are thousands of authors trying to recreate or Hindu mythological stories. But only a few got success. It requires a good combination of plot conceptualization, political inclusion, connection with original epics, theological or philosophical aspects. I have read more than 100 books on mythological fiction, but if I have to recommend the top 5 books series, Aryavarta Chronicles has made its place along with Meluha by Amish & Ajaya by Anand. 

Coming to writing style, the story progresses at a medium to fast pace. Krishna's usage of language is mixed type, I mean not too plain at the same time not too difficult. If you are a fan of such books, I strongly recommend this book to you.

The series is good enough to be adopted. I think I saw the news that screening rights were auctioned to Sonam Kapoor, but I haven't seen any further news. If time permits, I will make a video for this series.

Overall 4.75 out 5 to this wonderful book.

Book Review - THE MOST NOTORIOUS JAILBREAKERS: Untold Stories of Escaped Convicts by Abeer Kapoor

"THE MOST NOTORIOUS JAILBREAKERS: Untold Stories of Escaped Convicts" how can I say no to this title? I was so intrigued with the title, I took the book within a week of its delivery and finished it in 2-3 sittings. I read it around 6-7 weeks back and unfortunately, I forgot to write a review of the book. So I am trying my best to give you a full review (even though I read 3-4 more books in between)

You may consider this book as a collection of non-fiction short stories. Each dedicated to one notorious jailbreaking. But storytelling is different, it is not mere documentation. Those who have seen the prison break series must have seen the level of planning required to escape from jail. You may think the Indian system is corrupted but most of these prisoners were famous enough to escape just by paying bribes. Each chapter describes how meticulous planning and patience helped them.

Well, those who wanted well-documented articles may find content shallow. But for those who are satisfied with a newspaper like stories or short articles will find the book very entertaining. The language used is simple to follow and easy for the 14+ age group. As the book is hardly 200 pages long and content divided into 16 chapters, the content demands a very very fast pace narration style. If you get bored or dislike any chapter you can easily skip it. You will find many interesting villian's name that you might have heard in movies, for example I thought Natvarlal was a fictitious character only. 

Overall I will give 3.5 out of 5.

So You Had to Build a Time Machine by Jason Offutt

I wanted to listen to something light during the festive season of Diwali, so I selected "So You Had to Build a Time Machine" by Jason Offutt, after checking its blurb. I selected the book based on the title and blurb, as the cover design has only a title with cockroaches (later on, I came to know why cockroaches were portrayed). As per the blurb, the book was a comedy based on time-travel, so I thought of having a different experience this time. 

Though the blurb says about time traveling, it doesn't say much about narration style. There are 5 main characters in the story, four of them are on the good side, and one of them on the bad side. Skid, David, and Brick took a major role, their time-traveling scenes were given in different sequences, initially, I found them too random and haphazard but later on, I understood that it was done to keep the interesting quotient intact.

The author has taken the liberty and used the style of a scary movie to make the book a light-hearted comedy. In the scary movie, you find comic scenes based on different movies, here the author has taken plot-based characters from various fantasy books. You will find dinosaurs, golems, mantis, ogres, giant cockroaches, and whatnot. Things will pop out at unexpected corners and make you laugh. 

An enjoyable book. But it could have been better. 

I am giving 3.25 out of 5 to this book.

21 Fantastic Failures by Sonali Misra

The title "21 Fantastic Failures" is the lone reason for me to select this book by Sonali Misra. And as the title suggests, the USP of this book is lessons for readers from 21 successful personalities. 

Every self-made man/woman has his or her experience. It's a common fact that a single failure teaches us more things than multiple successes can. One of the most famous teachings of Chanakya was "Smart people learn from their mistakes, but the real champ learns from mistakes of other." ( I haven't used exact wording, so spare me from your wrath). In short, this book allows us to learn from these great people's failures.

Coming to 21 stories, let me warm you. If you are looking for some unheard stories of these personalities then you might feel disappointed. Because much is said and written about the life of these celebrities. Your next question would be "then what is new in this book?". Well, it is structured such that you will get an idea of what steps these people have taken (which in turn you may take) to get out of dire situations. 

One chapter is dedicated to each celebrity. The structure of these chapters go like this

1. Paths that the person could take.

2. Lessons learned.

3. ‘Extra mile’ that the person in question chose to go

Overall, a good motivating book. If you have read many books in this genre, then you may find it about average, but for once-in-a-while or first-time readers will find the book good.

The cover of the book can be improved, you may consider that as a weak point from my point of view.

Overall 3.75 out of 5 stars to this book.

The Warrior's Progeny (Heaven & Earth Series #2) by Jeny Heckman

 I was not aware of the auto approve concept on Netgalley. So when I was auto-approved by "Backlit PR", I was very happy. The book with which I got this approval was "The Warrior's Progeny" by Jeny Heckman. I was a bit skeptical while applying for the book because it is the second book in Heaven & Earth Series. But I was relieved of that tension once I started reading the book. Accept the initial 2-3 chapters, the book was somewhat independent. 

The usage of peacock feathers in cover design gave me the impression that there might be a reference to Indian God Krishna. However, the story is based on Greek Mythology. As I have already mentioned, this is a second book in the series, though it is part of the grander plan, the book is focused more on Colten, a football player, notoriously known for sleeping with his colleagues' wives, and Lilly, a single parent. Though their personalities were opposite, their attraction towards each other was as strong as magnetic opposites. Apart from mythology, this book covers a mature love story as well. Read the book to the know-how on a grander scheme Colten and Lilly would be helpful to ancient Gods.

Coming to writing style, Jeny has used easy-to-read and easy-to-comprehend language. I found no difficulties following the storyline of Lilly & Colten. I accept I faced difficulties while reading the first few chapters as they influence the first book. The tempo of the writing was high, so is the pace. You will hardly find a dull or boring page during the story. I enjoyed it. 

Overall I will give 3.75 out of 5.

By Sea & Sky: An Esowon Story (The Sky Pirate Chronicles #1) by Antoine Bandele

I am reading and following manga since 2008. And my most favorite is "One Piece" a Japanese comic based on a fantasy world where Pirates rule the world. So when I saw "By Sea & Sky: An Esowon Story" I was very excited. I am happy that I got its copy in exchange for an honest review.

"By Sea & Sky" is my second audiobook from Netgalley honest review copies. I was glad that I waited for app updates because, by the time I started this book, the forward/backward option started working.

The book belongs to "The Sky Pirate Chronicles", a fantasy world. Our two major characters are  Karim and Zala. Karim was from the Vaji empire and was stationed on the first-ever sky Shop built by Vaji Empire. They were given tasks to prove the ability of the ship. On their voyage, they apprehended some notorious pirates, one of the key prisoner was Zalani, Zala's husband. Zala and her husband joined pirates to make some quick money so that they can buy the required ingredients for remedies for Zalani's cursed disease. But in that process, they got separated. Zala with 3-4 other members from her crew was stranded on a lone island. Read the book to know whether she was able to reunite with her husband or not.

The plot and storyline have good potential but the portrayal was shallow. The author had sprinkled every bit of things he had in mind for this fantasy. Many of those bits were used or referred to just one time. For the first book in the series, it would be too much for a reader to attach so deeply. I was expecting more details if possible for a few topics. 

Coming to characters, though Zala might be the protagonist of the story, I found Karim more interesting. Zala's character was part selfish and filled with folly. Usually, in this kind of book, the author portrays such that the reader gets attached to one side either pirate or marine. But here the author has used an unbiased approach, when I was listening to Karim's part I wanted marine to win, and when I was listening to Zala I wanted pirate to outsmart.

Coming to the audio book, the narrator has done a good job, voice modulation and tone were proper. In many places, background music is also given.

Overall an okay book still deserves 3 out 5.