Name : Heroes R US / Herogiri
Series : Stand Alone
Paperback : 290 Pages
Published by Random House India
Language : English
Source : Gifted



First Sentence : Arnab Bannerjee wondered if Tolstoy would ever be found guilty of causing his death.

 I started reading this book without even bothering to read the blurb or reviews. Truthfully speaking I fully expected to not even get past reading 10 pages of this book. Earlier I have tried reading books by Indian author and DNF'ed those books by the time I have crossed 50 or so pages. So this is what I expected of this book too. So Wrong !

Arnab Bannerjee is an assistant Librarian in a Delhi college. His search for a missing book led him to a ongoing robbery in the campus Bank. His attempt at saving the book was misunderstood for him rebelling against the robbers and him getting beat up by them. Later after recovering from some minor injuries from the scuffle, one day Arnab stands up against a few eve-teasers and discovers he has some new powers. Still trying to figure out what is happening with him, he finds himself falling for a girl named Mishti, who is his boss's niece. And when Mishti escapes from the clutches of some fiends who tried to threaten her life, Arnab decides to take matter in his own hands. He follows up on those low-lives and with his new found powers defeats them and then makes his escape when he sees the police coming.

That was just the beginning. I don't wanna dish out the whole story in my enthusiasm. Arnab is the new Generation Superman. Who stands for and will fight for the people, and overthrow the justice system if it comes in the way. I liked the naivete and clumsiness of Arnab. Mishti although she was the love interest but not the center of the plot which was refreshing to say the least. But the most interesting character parallel to Arnab was Khan Chacha. He was a mentor, a friend, a guardian, and a father figure to Arnab. As far as the villain goes, there were more than one unlike other superhero stories.

To cut it short. The story is good and definitely worth a read. I was expecting more than a few laughs but fell just short of some giggles but that's ok. If someone is not into politics than they will be seriously disappointed because this one has a lot of politic issues. Other than that I will definitely recommend it.

My Rating : 3 out of 5 Stars.

Re- Read Reviews : Dark Lover

Dark Lover by J.R.Ward 

Series :  Black Dagger Brotherhood #1

Paperback : 393 Pages

Published by Signet

Language : English

Source : Bought a copy.

Blurb : In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six Vampire Warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

  The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed - leaving his half - breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate - Wrath must usher her into the world of undead - a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

First Sentence -

 Darius looked around the club , taking in the teeming , half naked bodies on the dance floor.

I'd read this book earlier in 2011 already. While at that time this book not my favorite but still I'd liked it enough to continue the series (And thank God for that). Because the series got much better after the first one. This book had Wrath , the Leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood as the central character and Beth, one of the Brother's half breed daughter as his heroine. Wrath is your typical, brooding, mysterious and tough exterior Vampire. Behaving sometimes hot and sometimes cold towards Beth. Making Beth confused as to what he is upto and all. Not gonna go into much detail about this one because truth be told the plot is kinda predictable. The best thing though is the world building which is the base of this series. I completely fell in love with the Brothers. Beth's platonic friend Butch was one hell of a side character too. I look forward to re-reading his story as well. So while I wouldn't recommend this book but the series definitely. 

My Rating : 2 out of 5 Stars

Review: Rook

Rook by J.C.Andrijeski
Series: Allies War #1.
Paperback: 406 Pages.
Published by White Sun Press.
Language: English.
Source: Copy Provided by Author.

Blurb : Twenty eight year old San Francisco Native, Allie Taylor at least thought she was human. Against a gritty and original backdrop of a modern day Earth populated by a second race of beings, Allie finds out she's a member of an enslaved yet deeply powerful race, whose members believe her to be their most venerated leader, come to end the reign of humanity. With her guide, Revik, a mysterious and deadly seer who acts as her bodyguard and teacher, Allie will come to grips with who she really is, or end up a slave like the rest of her kind....or worse, betray the very people she always thought of as her own.

First Sentence - 
"PUT IT DOWN!" A VOICE YELLED. "ON THE GROUND! RIGHT NOW!" 

Naturally something that starts with something like this has gotta be intense right? It was. Very Intense. Unfortunately this book arrived two weeks before my exams were about to start so I just read a few pages. Big Mistake. Okay enough of my blabbering.
  
In the beginning we get introduced to the main character Allie. A little bit about herself and then enters the mysterious and enigmatic/ handsome/ droolworthy ..you get my point.....Revik. And then begins the journey of self discovery. Allie is slapped awake with a reality that she never would have wanted and would have dreaded before. 
"You are the Bridge," he said. "The Harbinger."
Then comes the denial. Off course. Like any sane person would Allie tries to deny that she has any powers or is from another race. It takes a lot of convincing and some car chases to make Allie think that Revik might be saying something that could be closer to truth. Also there's something very fishy about the looks that pass between Revik's friends and Revik. Like they are keeping some kind of deep secrets about Allie and Revik which Revik knows and Allie can't seem to quite figure it out. 

Characters : Personally I didn't much connect with Allie. Not because her character was naive or totally weak but because her logistics were not something I would have really cared about. Maybe some other time I would have loved her character but right now I didn't. Revik on the other hand was off course delish. His mysterious entry, his anti-social ways, his surprising flashes of past kept me curious and entertained all at the same time. Cass's character was a bit refreshing compared to the typical BFF characters I have read. I loved how supporting as well as a good friend she was to Allie. Jon. I would have liked to know more about him other than the fact that he was Allie's elder brother. Terian. Now he was a more mysterious than even Revik. He was a enigma. If that makes sense. Because I couldn't paint him in a black or white role. Maybe a grey character? Neither good nor bad. 

Plot : The world building though confusing at start gradually became more magnificent as the story progressed. The plot had lots of twists and surprises that caught me off guard and kept me on the edge of my seat. Though the the previously mentioned secret of Revik and Allie was a bit annoying because everyone could sense it other than Allie herself which is kind of irritating. And the obstacles between Revik and Allie weren't basically obstacles more like unwanted emotional junk which could have been dealt with if only Allie and Revik could have been more open to the idea of communicating with each other. Terian was a whole lot of box filled with surprises which kept the plotline interesting. 

Overall : I'd say this is a one time read book. Though the book didn't end on a cliff hanger, it was an engaging enough read that I'd sure like to read the next one in the series. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes twisty plots with a dash of spicy romance. 

 My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars.

Take Control of your TBR pile: March 2014

Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting this Challenge. 

Here are the Rules as Stated :

• Rules
• Link-up! This is open to everyone. If you do not have a blog then link your Facebook or Goodreads account.
• Make a Goals/updates/Results post (can be combined)
• Beginning March 1st, 2014 and ending March 31, 2014 at midnight read books from your TBR pile ALL books must have been published before March 2014.
• Post a review to Goodreads, your blog or Facebook then link it to the Rafflecopter for an entry. (review only needs to be a short one)
• You can combine events, challenges etc.
• No novellas for this one peeps
• The rafflecopter will allow you to enter up to two books daily, so update as soon as you finish a book.
• Earn an extra entry for adding Take Control Button to your blog, or facebook (with link-back)
• Use hashtag #TakeControlTBR
• Rafflecopter will close on April 2, 2014 at midnight and a winner will be chosen. Open internationally as long as Book Depository or Barnes and Noble ship to you. Prize: New 2013 release. I will do pre-orders as well. (may request eBook copy)

Since this is my first time participating in this challenge I will try to read as many books as I can. I will keep posting reviews and Updates of books that I will read as I finish them. If you want to join in on the fun click on the link provided above. 

Resurrection of a Dead Blog.

I had been pretty sick of my blog design for a while now. Finally it got to the point that I could no longer bear to see my blog in all its girly pinkish glory. Since I have no means to hire myself a blog designer I went to Google Guru to help me out in my dilemma. And I am very thankful to Julie from Fabulous Blogging whose blog post helped me give my blog a new face. While I was at it I also realized that my blog name was a bit boring too and didn't really suit since I haven't had much time to write these days so I came up with this title which is I know very common perfectly describes my situation since I am drooling on all the new books I have purchased in the last four months but haven't had the chance to read. Hopefully I will be back to reading books as soon as my exams are over and reviewing some new books which I received from authors but have been pushing them behind on my shelves !! 

  

 So what do you think? Does the new design rock or is it kinda okay? I will probably change it in a week or so if not ! Lemme know what you think in the comments !! 

Teaser Tuesdays #1

                           

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Mizb @ Should be Reading . Anyone can play along. Just do the following:

• Grab your Current read.
• Open to a Random page.
• Share two { 2} "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
• Be Careful not to include SPOILERS ( Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others! )
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers !

My Teaser :

"What do you think, little girl? You were raised human." 

Her lip curled, but it wasn't really a smile.

"Would you kill him? Or play with him awhile first?"

~ Page 107, "Rook, Allie's War, Book One" by J.C. Andrijeski.

Stacking the Shelves { 8 }

                          

 Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we book bloggers share what we purchased online or from a local bookstore, received in mail, borrowed from friends or Library, physical copies or ebooks !

 Since I am running out of space to store physical copies at home I am trying to cut down on buying any books this year until I get myself a proper bigger bookshelf ! Which could be a while from now. Thankfully atleast that has restricted my options in buying anymore books than absolutely necessary.

 This week :

Received for Review :
 I signed up for reviewing this book at The Masquerade Crew and was lucky enough to receive a print copy by the author in exchange for an review.

Won :


Goodreads First Reads Winner !! I was so surprised because I never win anything from Goodreads ! I am very excited about this one because its based on Indian Mythology and has a very amazing story line! Will be reviewing this as soon as next week !

Purchased :


I haven't yet read Clockwork Prince and hardly remember anything from Clockwork Angel. But what I do remember is I loved Will and Jem and Tessa. So since this one was on a very low price (80% off) I had to get this one ! Thank you Amazon India!

That's all I got this week. What did you get for yourselves this week? What lovely books are decorating your shelves this week? Leave me a link to ur blog or drop in a comment and I will come over to fangirl over your blog.

Stacking the Shelves { 7 }

                                   


Stacking the shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share what we recieved in mail , purchased online or in local bookstores , borrowed from Library or friends. It could be physical books or ebooks !

Sadly the growing pile of unread books does nothing to my quench of buying more books. So instead of buying new books this week I ordered two books from the series I love the most by my favorite author. And since they were on a discounted rate on Amazon India (Thanks Amazon! ) I didn't burn any wholes in my pocket too!
Here's what I got :
 
Name: Goddess of the Sea.
Author: P.C.Cast
Series: Book #1 of Goddess Summoning Series

Goodreads Summary : On the night of her twenty-fifth birthday, alone in her apartment, Air Force Sergeant Christine Canady wished for one thing: a little magic in her life. After drinking way too much champagne, she performed, of all crazy things, a goddess-summoning ritual, hoping that it would somehow make her life a little less ordinary...but she never believed the spell would actually work!

When her military plane crashes into the ocean, CC's mission overseas takes an unexpected turn. She awakens to find herself in a legendary time and place where magic rules the land—occupying the body of the mythic mermaid Undine. But there is danger in the waters and the goddess Gaea turns this modern, military gal into a beautiful damsel so that she can seek shelter on land.

CC is soon rescued (literally) by a knight in shining armor. She should be falling in love with this dream-come-true, but instead she aches for the sea and Dylan, the sexy merman who has stolen her heart.




Name: Goddess of Spring.
Author: P.C.Cast
Series: Book #2 of Goddess Summoning Series.

Goodreads Summary: This time around, a down-on-her-luck baker comes upon a cookbook that turns out to be a goddess-send...

Lina's trendy bakery in Tulsa is proving to be less than lucrative, and she must come up with a plan. When she stumbles upon an Italian Goddess cookbook, Lina can't help but think she's found the answer to her problem—even if it means invoking a goddess to save her business.

Soon enough, Lina finds herself face-to-face with Demeter, who has a plan of her own. She proposes that Lina exchange souls with Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, who will breathe new life into the bakery. In return, Lina must set order to the Underworld.

Before all this, Lina's problems mostly involved sourdough and second dates. Now that she embodies the enchanting Persephone, Lina has weightier things on her mind—like the formidable task of bringing Spring to a world of spirits. But when the handsome, brooding Hades kindles a spark in her heart, Lina wonders if this Lord of the Underworld might be the man of her dreams..


And since I just couldn't stand the idea of only buying two books I had to check out more and found some more good deals on Amazon India. 



Name: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Book #1 of Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series.

Goodreads Summary: "Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.
When Brimstone called, she always came."

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

Name: The Vincent Boys.

Author: Abbi Glines

Series: Book #1 of The Vincent Boys Series.

Goodreads Summary:  Beau Vincent is rude, bad, and dangerous to know. So why can't good girl Ashton Gray keep away from him? She already has the perfect boyfriend - her town's local Prince Charming, Sawyer Vincent. But Sawyer is away for the summer, and in the meantime Ashton is bored, and the heat between her and Beau is undeniable - as well as irresistible. Ashton is about to unleash her bad girl - but what will she do when Sawyer comes home? And how will Sawyer react when he returns to find his girlfriend in the arms of his best friend - and cousin? THE VINCENT BOYS is a sexy, exciting and enjoyable romp through one steamy Alabama summer.

Name: The Vincent Brothers

Author: Abbi Glines

Series: Book #2 of The Vincent Boys Series.

Goodreads Summary : Smouldering Sawyer Vincent is in a bas way after his break-up with Ashton Gray. Losing the girl he dreamed of marrying is bad enough, but to lose her to his brother Beau is plain humiliating. 

Byt Sawyer won't be alone for long - not of Ashton's cousin Lana has her way. Lana's grown up to be a pouting femme fatale and she wants Sawyer, real bad.

But deep down, will Lana ever feel good enough to compete with Ashton in Sawyer's eyes? She's red hot, but inside Lana's still the shy geeky girl she used to be.

Lana's gonna need all her sexy powers of persuasion to make this gorgeous Vincent boy her man ..

That's all I got this week. What have you gotten this week? What lovely books are decorating your shelves this week ? Lemme know in the comments or leave a link to your haul and I will come over to fangirl over your books too !!

Short Reviews

I have been having trouble reading these days could be the drastic pile of books that are sitting on my shelves all unread or it could be that every book I have picked up in the few months has turned out to be less than what I expected! Moreover because of work I didn't get any time to read. Or it could be the personal problems I have been facing this year that has led to me distancing myself from the only escape I loved - Books. 

 Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson #1) by Louise Rennison.

 The blurb seemed to be directing towards humor and a very good teen book. And having heard so much about the series my expectations from it were very high. The writing is good but I just couldn't connect with Georgia. Her inner monologue was just too annoying for me. Georgia's use of 'Matti and Vati' instead of 'Mom and Dad' was confusing. Being no expert at writing I wouldn't even think to comment on that. The only thing that got me reading the whole book was Robbie. I wanted to find out what happened between Georgia and him. Sadly there was very less of Robbie for me to read. I wouldn't even think of picking up the next book in near future. 

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse/ The Southern Vampire Mysteries #13) by Charlaine Harris.

Whew! Finally the series sees an end! Its been a long time coming. I mean not that I don't love this series but after the 12th book I just wanted to see it come to an end. I wanted to see finally who Sookie ended up with. No I am not gonna reveal who did. But I would have been happier to not read this installment at all because I knew what was gonna happen. The story was confusing and writing was completely rushed. I could feel that the author just wanted to end the series. Tie all the loose ends and blow all the rest to heaven. I am quiet disappointed that it all had to end in such a disastrous way. I wouldn't recommend reading this to even my enemy. 

Sadly this has not been a best year for me in books. Most of the books I have picked have been disastrous or just plain boring. Only a few books have been totally worth the reading time. Hopefully I get to read some good books before the year ends.

Stacking the Shelves { 6 }

                          


Stacking the shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we bloggers share what we received from Authors/Publishers or won in a Giveaway, purchased , borrowed from Library. Whether it be physical books or ebooks!

I didn't win any books but I did purchase some books on a whim.


I actually purchased this last week with a GC I had. I just couldn't resist buying this one. I have heard lots about it and am hoping it lives upto its hype !!



I have been meaning to buy this one since its release but only now it was available and I grabbed the opportunity to buy it ! I have seen this one getting mixed reviews but hopefully I will like it !

That's all I got this week. What have you gotten this week? What lovely books are decorating your shelves this week? Lemme know in the comments or leave a link to your haul and I will come over to fangirl over your books too !!

Review: Rouge by Isabella Modra.

       


"You have a fire inside of you."  


Hunter Harrison desperately hopes her guardian Joshua is joking when he confesses - very solemnly - that she is pyrokinetic. Hunter would normally laugh in his face, if it didn't explain all the spontaneous fires that happen only when she is nearby. Still, the logic is a little hard for a smart, socially isolated eighteen-year-old to comprehend. That is, until Joshua explains the truth behind her parent's death.

  Spun into a new life filled with cold truth, terrifying wonder and a mountain of responsibility, Hunter faces the flames dwelling inside her. But the fire is more deadly than Hunter can comprehend. It explodes when she is angry. It erupts when she is afraid. And, worst of all, it threatens the life of her boyfriend Eli, who is innocently unaware of her abilities.

  So how does an extraordinary teenager juggle dealing with superpowers between work, graduating and keeping her hormones in check?

Simple. By fighting fire with fire.  {Goodreads}

My Thoughts:  A few months ago I had Rouge as my WoW ! I was so excited when the lovely author of this book , Isabella provided me with an e-copy of Rouge for review. Unfortunately only just now I had the chance to read it. It took me almost a month to complete this book because I have been in a book reading slump. 

 Characters: Hunter, the main protagonist is kind of a weak character. I somehow couldn't connect with her. Yes, teenagers sometimes run away from their problems but not always. I like my heroines to be a bit more courageous , so Hunter felt a bit flat to me. Eli on the other hand was sweet and totally a guy I would fall for. Joshua's character was a complete surprise. I couldn't predict a pattern in his behavior and that's a strong point for me to keep reading the book.

Plot: Initially, I wasn't sure where the story was going. The beginning was all confusing and got dull but being a patient reader I held on to it and finally saw the plot turn a bit interesting. The plot in itself wasn't predictable but Hunter was. Every time something happened her answer was to cut and run. Which in my opinion isn't the best of traits for a heroine. The plot in itself was complete but something felt missing.

Writing: Now I am not a professional writer and make many a grammatical mistakes on a daily basis but here and there I found some errors and spelling mistakes which annoy me at my best. Other than that I would have loved to see some humorous situations in the book to lighten up the tense moods of the character now and then.

I am sure if there would be a sequel to this book I would be reading it just to see what happens next but I am hoping it would be far more better than this. 

My Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars. (It was Ok)

Stacking the shelves { 5 }

                                 


Stacking the shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share what we received in mail won at a Giveaway , purchased or borrowed from Library . Whether it be physical books or Ebooks !!

  I haven't had time lately to read books but does that stop me from buying them, NOOOO! And the sale didn't help matters either. I found some very good books there the first time so I went for round two. Also I found some amazing deals at Amazon India.
These are the books I got from sale ::

       
     

     

     


Amazon Goodies on sale :

    

Just Arrived on my Doorstep from Amazon

     


I am soooo excited about reading Divergent and The Raven Boys ! Unfortunately I am so far behind on my review pile that it will be another week or so before I get to reading these books !!  I already read 'Star Crossed' and it was okayish not really my forte ! And a week ago I read 'Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras' and it was hilarious so I am looking forward to reading other books in that series !!

 That's all for this week. Hopefully I will get some amazing ebooks next week because I am running out of shelf space now. So what's decorating your shelves this week?? Leave me a link to ur haul and I will drop by to fangirl and squee over your goodies !! Or just leave me a comment !! : )

Stacking the Shelves { 4 }

                             



  Stacking the shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share what we received in mail , won at a Giveaway , purchased or borrowed from Library. And yes Ebooks count too !!



This has been a crazy week. What with exams going on. I am about ready to pull my hair. Fortunately with exams ending on Monday (whew !!) and unfortunately Work starting on the same day I might not get that much time to read as much as I want to. The only amazing thing that happened this week was that I got a chance to shop for books which were on sale ! This sale happens every three months and they sell books by weight. 1 Kg of books for 2$ !! How amazing is that ??

Anyhow! Here's what I got this week:

    

     


    

    


That's all for this week. Hopefully I will get some more good books tomorrow since I will be going back to the sale for Round Two of CRAZY Book Shopping !!

So what's decorating your shelves this week? Drop in a comment or leave me a link to your haul and I will come by and fangirl over your goodies too !!!!