Spirit Bound-Book Review

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Title: Spirit Bound

Author: Rachel Mead

Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

"Salvation has its price. The words stunned Adrian for a moment, but he kept going. "You're lying. What you're describing is impossible. There's no way to save a Strigoi. When they're gone, they're gone. They're dead. Undead. Forever."

WeReflect: After tedious and disturbing journey to Siberia, Rose Hathway is now back in St. Vladimir's Academy and given a chance to finish her graduation. However, Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong. Though a little wary about the plot being slow, I started this one immediately nonetheless. My curiosity is on peak to know whether Strigoi can be really turned back to their original form.

Rose Hathway takes pre-graduation trial and passes with flying colors. Now Lissa plans to go to regular college near Royal court. Rose toys with the idea of being a guardian to her royal friend. Before she could do that, she has another duty to fulfill. She steals important prison files and sneaks out of court with Lissa and Eddie. Here they hatch a plan to break the maximum security prison in Alaska to free their enemy Vicort Dashkov and succeeds. In return Victor leads them to his brother, Robert, the only spirit user who knows how to restore Strigoi. In Las Vegas, Lissa gains theoretical knowledge of how to restore a Strigo with spirit infused stake; however, Rose is completely against this idea for the fear of Lissa's safety.  Adrian joins them and is pretty miffed on Rose's attempt to stay connected to Dimitri. Here, they are attacked by Dimitri and a bunch of Strigois. Losing Victor and Robert in the chaos, they return to the royal court. Rose is punished for endangering the Moroi and put on rigorous physical labor as a disciplinary measure. Dimitri then kidnaps Lissa and Christian as a bait for Rose. Rose leads other guardians to their hide out with an intent to kill. A battle ensues between guardians and Strigois. Will she succeeds killing Dimitri this time? Will Lissa be able to turn him in to a Dhampir? What is the changing political dimensions in Moroi society? 

The most irking thing in this book is the love triangle between Dimitri-Rose-Adrian. Rose is heartbroken and devastated by Dimitri's presumed/assumed death, which turns out to be false, thanks to his threatening love letters. At the beginning of the book, she is Adrian's new girlfriend. Yet, she leaves on a mission to find a way to save her ex-boyfriend. All is good. But she uses Adrian's credit card everywhere to further her goals. I am starting to lose respect for the well-established character here. I understand writer's intent to keep the romance, passion, eternal love alive for young adults. And why Adrian lets himself to be treated as a doormat? However, I loved Rose's gutsy argument with Queen when she decides to stand up for all Dhampirs on underage decree. As usual, the book ended in massive cliff-hanger. Fortunately I have the next book on hand and I'm already on it.

Maasan-Film Review

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Film: Maasan

Director: Neeraj Ghaywan

Star Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Richa Chadda, Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi

Year: 2015

If we get to choose two best movies of 2015, Maasan is one among two, the other one is Kaaka Muttai. This review was long due because we got ourselves busy in accomplishing other to-do things of the year.

WeReflect: Set in the holy town of Varanasi, two stories run paralally.  First, Devi's (Richa Chadda) sexual encounter is busted by cops that leads to her lover committing suicide in the bathroom of the dingy hotel room. This mishap drags her father, Vidhyadhar Pathak (Sanjay Mishra) into vicious web of blackmailing done by a corrupt, menacing police officer.

Second, Deepak(Vicky Kaushal), a young, lower-caste boy whose family works in ghat cremating dead bodies. He is pursuing civil engineering and dreams of a better life. He falls in love with an upper-caste girl, Shaalu(Shwetha Tripathi). Not willing to succumb to social hierarchy, Shaalu reassures her commitment towards the relationship. Here the fate mocks at them pretty cruelly.

Chadda plays a headstrong woman, who is neither afraid nor regretful, takes on the societal snide remarks and smirks single-handedly. She wants to move out of this small town, quoting "small place, small mentality". She is educated, wants to pursue higher studies, financially independent who refuse to take all blames on herself for an act committed by two.

Sanjay mishra is phenomenal playing Devi's father, a retired teacher/shopkeeper from conservative background, scared of being scandalized.  He compromises on his values by sending young kid working for him into a dangerous game of coin-collecting from the Ganges. He and his daughter have their own issues even though that is a matter of past now regarding the circumstance in which wife/mother died respectively. 

The amateur love blooming between young couple melts your heart. Friend request in Facebook, the long bike ride, late night phone conversation, coyness are sure to make you to walk down the memory lane. The sweetness between Deepak and Shwetha is top-notch. And the immense pain of losing the loved one will have you in tears.

It is unbelievable it is director's debut movie. The performance is extraordinary by each and everyone. Kudos to the casting team for this. An electrifying performance by Sanjay Mishra as an hapless father. He is not an actor, he is natural. Varanasi is picturized beautifully especially the ghat part. It is not an easy movie to watch. It compels you to think about love, loss, greed, fear, guilt, and most importantly death. It touches serious issues of sexual oppression, casteism, gender discrimination, and death on many levels.

Do yourself a favour. Watch this awe-inspiring movie for its sheer brilliance and heart-touching story.

PS: When we heard Sooraj Pancholi won Filmfare best debutant award, we were befuddled whether to cry or laugh. Vicky Kaushal of Maasan truly deserves the award, nonetheless he has won million hearts with intense performance.

Shadow Kiss-Book Review

 

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Title: Shadow Kiss

Author: Rachel Mead

Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy

'I set off, off to kill the man I love"

Blurb: Rose knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa - the last Dragomir princess - must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken...

WeReflect: "Shadow Kiss" is the third novel written by Rachel Mead in the Vampire Academy Series. These books are my second series in Young-Adult paranormal fantasy after 'Twilight', which I loved despite many negative reviews. The first two books in the series (Vampire Academy and Frost Bite) I completed last year. The mistake I made was watching the film adaptation and boy, it was no where near to the book. The main thing missing in the film was chemistry between Rose and Dimitri that is so volatile and palpable throughout the books. I decided to give it a break and moved on to other books.  And, I almost forgot about them until last week when I was organizing the shelf. Here I picked this up and once again pulled in to the vampire world.

Three important things to understand here are; Moroi, Strigoi, and Dhampirs. Moroi, vampires that are born, mortal, and alive. Strigoi are undead, immortal, and made. Humans, Dhampirs, and Moroi can be turned Strigoi forcibly. Dhampirs are half-human and half-vampire. They are trained to be guardians of the Moroi to fight against Strigoi.

Rose Hathway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend, Vasilissa, a Moroi vampire princess. They have been on the run, but are brought back to St. Vladimir's academy. A lot has happened since then. Now Rose is about to complete her graduation and be a permanent guardian to Lisa along with Dimitri. She had earned two Molnija tattoos for killing two Strigois in the "Forstbite". In contrast to her reckless and impulsive self, Rose tries to be more grounded and responsible. Her misery starts after seeing ghosts of Mason (her rumored boyfriend); Lisa's experimentation with magic using fifth element, spirit with Adrian; dealing with Adrian's advancement; possibility of their enemy, Victor Dashkov being free; and her feelings for Dimitri, her trainer that is frowned up and forbidden.

The reading is breezy, simple, and holds your attention. I'm just halfway through it and already knew it is going to be wonderful. Why it won't be when it has romance, action, magic, and suspense.

Open and Shut-Book Review

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Title: Open and Shut
Author: David Rosenfelt
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Legal Mystery
Publication Year: 2002

Open and Shut-a legal mystery by David Rosenfelt and first in the Andy Carpenter series. I'm a sucker for high voltage courtroom drama and legal thrillers. It could be one of the reasons I fell in love with a lawyer among million other reasons.

Blurb-Whether dueling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent defense attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. But Andy prefers the company of his best friend, Tara, to the people he encounters in the courtroom. Tara, a golden retriever, is clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. However, just as it seems Andy has everything figured out, his dad, New Jersey's legendary ex-D.A., drops dead in front of him at a game in Yankee Stadium. The shocks pile on as he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons and an astonishing family secret that can close his case (and his mouth) for good.

WeReflect:  Andy's father (former DA) urges him to appeals for a death row inmate, Willie Miller, whom he prosecuted 7 years ago. Willie was convicted for the murder of Denise McGregor, young reporter in a dark alley behind the bar where he works.

Andy's father dies leavening him an astounding fortune of 22 million dollars, which Andy is totally unaware of. He also stumbles upon a picture of his father along with three other men neatly tucked away for almost 35 years old. This almost coincides with crediting of 2 million dollars in his father's account, unused, now has grown into 22 million.

On personal front, he is separated from his wife, Nicole, daughter of senator and childhood friend of his father's, Philip Gant. He is currently dating his private investigator, Laurie Collins. After his father's death, Nicole returns in an attempt to save their marriage. It creates friction between Andy and Laurie, who still continues to be his investigator.

As he builds a defense in Willie's case, he was threatened, being set up as a pimp (the courtroom scene had me in splits), beaten up in his office, and a murder attempt. These events further convince him of Willie's innocence. Who wants desperately to put an end to this case? Is there a real connection between the photo and the killer? Will Andy be successful in proving his client 'Not Guilty'? Will he be able to save his marriage? Need to read the book for that right?

Truth unravels in a rattling way. I was able to guess whodunit, but not the motive. It is racy, edgy, and perfectly fit the bill of legal mystery-thriller. The story runs in first person narration and gives insight into the protagonist's nature. Andy is a dog lover and has a cute golden retriever, Tara whom he calls the best dog in the world. Their chemistry and relationship is very endearing. He is quirky, witty, and sarcastic to the core. He will go to any extent to save his client. He is die-hard baseball fan, so there are a lot of references to them, which was kind of getting on my nerves. Andy is undoubtedly most likable character than any of Grisham's.

The supporting characters like Laurie, Kevin, Edna, Pete Stanton are very well portrayed. It has brusque and caustic humor; suspense; and right dosage of court drama. So what not to like? It is for certain a page-turner, gratifying, and has control over the readers. I have already got my hands on other Carpenter series. Need I say more.

PS: David Rosenfelt was nominated for Edgar award for best first novel by an American author.

Blood Promise-Book Review

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Title: Blood Promise
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Young adult dark fantasy

"Bound by love, But sworn to kill"

Blurb: The world thought Dimitri was dead. And to a certain extent, he was. But I hadn't been able to forget a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead - truly dead - than walk the world as Strigoi. It was time to honor our words.

After devouring 'Shadow Kiss', I moved on to the next in series 'Blood Promise' pretty quickly. As story sets in different country, I was hopeful for some action-packed drama with a little bit of romance and mystery.   

WeReflect:  Rose Hathway leaves St. Vladimir at the end of Shadow Kiss in search of Dimitri, the love of her life, now-turned Strigoi. Mason's ghost leads her to Siberia, which is Dimitri's hometown. She manipulated Adrian to sponsor her trip and other expenses on a promise that she will give him a fair chance when she returns. In St. Petersburg she meets a girl named Sydney, an alchemist who was ordered to accompany Rose to a Dhampir village. She meets Dimitri's family and bonds with them easily. A mysterious Moroi mobster pressurizes her to return to US. After falling out with Dimitri's sister, Rose goes off with unpromised Dhampirs to Novosibirsk to get a lead on Dimitri. In between, this group kills a lot of Stirgois and the news reaches Dimitri. He kidnaps her and gives her a choice to be awakened, that being turned into Strigoi.

A parallel story of Lisa, Adrian, Christian, and a new girl Avery in St. Vladimir runs through Rose's vision into Lisa's mind. Will Rose be able to keep her promise to Dimitri? That promise being to kill him if he ever turned into a Strigoi? Or her love for him and the desire to be with him forever wins? What is that twist at Lisa's end?

The book is slow in the beginning and picks its pace in later part. The most annoying thing is Rose and Dimitri's encounters narrated in flashbacks, which were not in the first three books. I know the writer has to maintain Dimitri's presence felt as he makes his appearance only in the second half. I loved how the story of Rose-Dimitri and Lisa-St.Vladimir moves alongside perfectly. There are few new characters added in the series like Sidney, Abe, Dimitri's family, Mark-Oksana (shadow-kissed couple), and others. Mead's writing is simple and elegant. I loved the ending and excited to start off the next one in the series. 

TE3N-Movie Review

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Film: TE3N
Director: Ribhu Dasgupta
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan
Year: 2016
Language: Hindi

One of the reasons to pique our attention of this film is the way the title is written. Another surely is the star cast. It is not every day one get to see three good actors sharing screen space. The movie is inspired by the Korean movie "Montage".

WeReflect: John Biswas (Bachchan Sr) lives in Kolkata with his wheelchair-bound wife. He visits police station every day to find out about the kidnapper to whom he lost his granddaughter, Angela 8 years ago. Now he suddenly stumbles upon a clue that may lead him to the culprit. He goes to Father Martin Das (Siddiqui) for assistance who is a police office-turned-priest and the one who handled the Angela's case 8 years back. He is not thrilled about it, however, goes along with John as a mean of pacification.

In the meanwhile, another child is being kidnapped almost in the same manner as John's grand kid. Saritha (Balan) is in-charge of the case ans she seeks Martin's help because of his experience with prior case. Both the investigation runs parallel with flashbacks in between.

Performance by lead actors are solid. Vidya Balan's name is credited as guest appearance, though she has more presence than that. Has she done this film for free? Bacchan's performance is superb. It is nice to watch him in a very ordinary, middle class role. He is a man consumed by guilt of not being able protect his grandchild. His unwillingness to move on is a feat to watch. Siddiqui is natural and splendid as he usually is. 

We're presuming the title is for three people, a grandfather (who lost his granddaughter to kidnapping 8 years ago), police- officer-turned priest, and police office coming together to nab the kidnapper.

First 30 minutes of the film is tad bit slow. It gives an insight into how John and priest are interlinked with same tragedy.

Though we can give ourselves the credit of finding out "Whodunit" in the end we dismissed it and that is the beauty of a thriller. You keep speculating and proven wrong until the very end. The excitement, curiosity, and intrigue will keep you glued to the seat. We loved Bachchan's performance; however, could not shrug off comparing his role in Wazir, which is almost same.

Landline-Book Review

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Title: Landline
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Year: 2014
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Landline by Rainbow Rowell won Goodreads best fiction in 2014 and that is how I came to know about this book as well as the writer. This is author's fourth book and mine first.

Blurb: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply—but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts.

WeReflect: Georgie McCool gets an opportunity to have her own TV Show with a major broadcaster, which she has dreamt of and worked relentlessly with her friend, Seth of 20 years. Only glitch is she is all set to fly off to Omaha, Nebraska with her family to celebrate Christmas with her mother-in-law. She cancels the travel much to the chagrin of her husband Neal, who in return takes their two children and goes off to Omaha as planned. She finds herself alone and decides to crash at her mother's place until their return. Neal is not picking her calls, that worries her endlessly. She reminiscences about her 14 year of marriage during this time. Neal takes her call when she calls from her childhood landline and he is not the same Neal. It is the Neal of 1998 a week before his proposal. She wonders about having hallucinations. How she comes to terms with marriage? How she understands her marriage is falling apart?

Georgie is totally a unrelatable character. She is a comedy writer by profession, but could not make me smile even once. And Neal is a guy who hardly smiles and has a wasted dimples. He is selfish, mean, and jealous of her success. I don't understand why anyone wants to stay married to this guy even if he takes care of the house and children. Or may be that is the only reason she puts up with him as 90% mothers do. It is not clearly explained why she fell in love with him in the first place. Even though it is portrayed as Georgie having a successful career, all I can read is her grumbling and brooding. Neal and Georgie's relationship failed a big time here. Georgie's mother and sister's characters are little enjoyable though. 

I was bored after reaching 10th page. The story revolves around Georgie making call to her husband, going to work, coming back to her mother's place, and calling again from landline. Next day, again the same drill. I had to force myself to continue reading, and completing it is not a small task. I'm told the author's earlier works are much better, but I'm not in a mood to try them yet.