Nimi's Blog

Title:  Running to Stand Still Author:  Lauren Rosolino Genre:  New Adult Romance Having read, enjoyed, and reviewed Lauren Rosolino's Running to Stand Still , I felt like I knew the characters. But I still had many questions for them. Running to Stand Still is the story of Jaime and her family. Her family the very foundation of which got disturbed the night her mother, Amy left them. Amy didn't get to say much in the book. Her point of view was never really explained. And yet, the author wrote about her in a way that I had a soft corner for her.  Here are my questions to her and her answers. Hi, Amy. I know it was not easy for you to leave. The very fact that you made your last evening with your family special, says a lot. Was it worth it, the leaving? Yes. It took a long time for me to make the decision to leave. I didn't take it lightly. I struggled with it a lot . to this day, I regret that I had to walk away, that I had to hurt th

Title: Thousand Unspoken Thoughts Author: Prerna Khatri Genre: Poetry Prerna Khatri's collection of poems, Thousand Unspoken Thoughts are truly many thoughts entwined.  These poems talk about varied topics, exploring introspection, love, silence, and more. Prerna Khatri's poems are usually abstract, but there are others which almost tell a story. Some are very short (5-6 lines), others run for a couple of pages. Some poems talk of hope that lift your spirits, others have a lingering darkness that could haunt the reader. The interesting thing about this is that you have no idea what you will encounter next. The poems go from sweet to passionate to introspective to spiritual to dark to self-congratulatory to inspiring, and even a soldier's voice. The poems talk about love, finding self, looking within, spiritualism, and more. There are hope and introspection and darkness. The darkness was a surprise, I have to say. Surprising, and so well

Title: A Broken Man Author: Akash Verma A Broken Man  is the story of Krishna and Chhavi. Krishna, the guileless, Dalit boy, who has dreams. He has experienced too many harsh realities of life to be openly ambitious. But he has dreams, and sensitivity, and talent. "My dreams are like a fire burning inside my heart." Chhavi, the daughter of a powerful politician, belongs to high caste. She has had a sheltered enough life to naively believe that she can change the world. (This perception of Chhavi is the realist/cynic in me talking.) A Broken Man  starts in the glittering world of Bollywood, soon to go back in time to Lucknow University. Through the words of Krishna, the author has portrayed the convoluted issues of politics and caste and caste politics with a surprising simplicity. "It's only here unlike any other place in the world that you are born with two identities - your religion and your caste. You may not have a name, bu

Title: Wrong Means Right End Author: Varsha Dixit Genre: Contemporary Romance The second story of love and friendship in the 'Right Wrong Series' by Varsha Dixit is Wrong Means Right End . As I was reading the Right Fit Wrong Shoe , I was wondering what Wrong Means Right End would be about. I hadn't read the blurb. I had thought that had Sneha not been married, it could have been about her finding love. Well, Sneha was married. Now she is not. Ok, back to the beginning... Wrong Means Right End is the story of Sneha, a happily divorced single mother, and Nikhil, who made a fleeting appearance in the previous book.  When the two meet for the first time in this book, it is not a good start for them. There are antagonism and awkwardness. The apparent dislike between the two, and the obvious attraction make for a perfect kick-off for a story of romance. Nikhil is good looking and filthy rich, just as Aditya in Right Fit Wrong Shoe . S

Title: Right Fit Wrong Shoe Author: Varsha Dixit Genre: Contemporary Romance Varsha Dixit's Right Fit Wrong Shoe is the story of Nandini Sharma and Aditya Sarin. The two share a history and are meeting again after over three years as the story begins. Nandini's chemistry with her best friends, Sneha Verma is also an important and engaging aspect of this book. The two friends work in an advertising agency. Nandini seems to be content with her life. "I just want to live my life the way it is happening. I do not want to expect, plan or steer it in any direction." Based in the city of Kanpur, the author has given a truly Indian setting to this story. Issues like sexual harrasment that affect us in our day-to-day life have been woven into the story. Right Fit Wrong Shoe has been on my to-read list since I read Varsha Dixit's Only Wheat Not White .  Once I had the third in the 'Right Wrong Series' - Rightfully Wrong Wrongfully Right

Title: Vikram Rana Investigates Author: Sharmishtha Shenoy Vikram Rana, an ex-cop is now a private detective. Through Sharmishtha Shenoy's Vikram Rana Investigates , as he solves his first case and then another, we get to know this principled man and get familiar with his life. The two episodes, The Mysterious Affair at the Lohia Mansion and The Sonia Sinha Case are both murder mysteries. Episode 1: The Mysterious Affair at the Lohia Mansion Vikram Rana is finally working on his first case. Vikram's childhood friend, Rohan Lohia's sister-in-law has died and foul play is suspected.  The filthy rich Lohia family with its' many secrets make for interesting unraveling through the story and keeps you guessing about the real motives of each one of them.  The family politics of Lohias does remind one of a famous, rich family of India. Set in Hyderabad, Vikram Rana Investigates is a good mystery where you, as a reader, may suspect many, but can not rea

Title: Running to Stand Still Author: Lauren Rosolino Genre: New Adult Romance Written in alternative first person narrative of Jamie and Collin, Running to Stand Still is a story that moved me with its' emotions. I love the title. The paradox so thoroughly explains the sentiment. It is the story of a dysfunctional family that looks normal from far off but has been living on tenterhooks since that one night years back when everything changed.  The family comprising Jamie, her younger brother Nate and their father Charlie. Lauren Rosolino has brilliantly written about a life where one, having lived with the underlying tension, becomes sensitive to the slightest of mood changes. Jamie is clear in her mind that she will move out and leave for a bigger city once her brother goes to college. "Don't get stuck here" are the four words that are stuck in her mind. "This was the place where I was from, whether I liked it or not. How often woul