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An Ode to Women Who Fight Fate

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  Review by Ronica Wahi A Tale of Mermaids By Ann Parker Published: July 26, 2022, The Book Guild. Pages: 170. ASIN: B0B7S1GK7J Set in the late 17 th century, with sea life forming a sizeable chunk of the narrative, A Tale of Mermaids takes the reader into a world that existed long ago. While fraught with tussles, revenge, sadness, and loss, this is yet a world that fascinates, for it tells of a reality that presently survives in only history books and historical fiction. This tale is not of the mermaids of folklore who have mesmerized writers, artists, and others, but of – if the word mermaid is to be considered in its literal meaning – two young women who spend an invaluable part of their lives on the sea, on a pirate ship aptly named Mermaid. Ann Parker creates two entirely different backgrounds for her two protagonists, and creates two equally interesting plots separately before chance brings the protagonists together. These early portions of the novel, in which
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The Tale of a Full-time Traveller

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  Review by Ronica Wahi One Way Ticket By Mark Phipps First published: November 29, 2022, Lost in Paradise Publishing. Kindle Edition Published: December 4, 2022. Kindle Edition Pages: 217. ASIN: B0BNLK3BF2   Twelve years of travelling! This sure sounds exciting and may be on the agenda of many. To those who harbour such dreams, One Way Ticket , Mark Phipps’s debut book, provides a reality check. A life of travel is not a bed of roses, and it certainly is not everyone’s cup of tea. The reader gets to know from Phipps how his mindset developed. He created opportunities or grabbed them along the way, with no other plan than satisfying his love for travel, adventure, and newer experiences. You Can’t Get Lost When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going ­ – this subtitle aptly expresses his approach. There are some interesting things to make note of for readers inclined to travel, some wonderful experiences to know about, and some heartwarming incidents of kindness shown by
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A Roller Coaster Corporate Ride

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Review by Ronica Wahi 9 to 5 Cubicle Tales By Harish C. Rijhwani First published: November 24, 2022, Self-published. Paperback Pages: 316. ISBN: 9789357017589 This is the kind of novel that will remind a reader who’s experienced corporate life in any capacity, not just as an IT professional, of his/her own experiences, often bringing a smile to the lips or a wistful thought to the mind. It is the kind of book that speaks of the author’s lived experiences that are so similar to the lived experiences of countless people, and so becomes a winning piece of work in terms of how authentic and relatable it is on multiple levels. 9 to 5 Cubicle Tales is not just about the monotony and the confines of an assigned cubicle within a corporate office, but also about what happens beyond the space of that cubicle. The protagonist Hridaan Rajdev is on a journey of which the cubicle space is a big part but not its entirety. Hridaan’s journey starts from a brave promise, moves on to dedi
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A Heart-warming YA Tale!

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Review by Ronica Wahi   Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life…and a Man By Reenita Malhotra Hora Published: August 22, 2022, Zenith Publishing. Pages: 220. ISBN: 9781958503089 Cute, light-hearted, entertaining, and at times, funny, Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life…and a Man by Reenita Malhotra Hora is a young adult novel, whose protagonist – well – does exactly what the title and the subtitle suggest. Ila, the protagonist, is a teenager who – like all teenagers – has certain issues with how her mom wants her to live; part of what her mom wants is that she give up her obsession with Ali Zafar and find a boyfriend for herself. Ila, helped by her best friend Deepali and one of Deepali’s three boyfriends – Dev, whom Ila herself is attracted to, sets out to find a man for her single mother instead. The plot is fun, and the narrative flows really smooth. The best portion of the novel is when Ila, after cr
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A Thrilling Chase to Find a 2,000-years Old Secret!

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  Review by Ronica Wahi  Cleopatra’s Vendetta By Avanti Centrae First published: November 15, 2022, Thunder Creek Press. Pages: 397. ASIN: B0B5JJGV2N Cleopatra’s Vendetta is stellar work! This is a cleverly crafted novel that entwines past and present, fact and fiction, history and science, thrill and drama. Adventure, suspense, and fast-paced action make this a quick and fun read. While Timothy – or Tim – Stryker with Sam and his other associates is on a mission to stop the next of the planned assassinations of high-profile individuals across different locations in the world, there comes another grave thing to tackle – Tim’s wife Angie and their daughter Harper – who are also Sam’s sister and niece – are kidnapped while holidaying in Italy, leaving behind hardly any clue of their whereabouts. Tim and team rush to prevent the assassinations they do not know the exact purpose of, and also save Tim’s family timely from a
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An Exciting Revenge Thriller

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Review by Ronica Wahi A Kiss After Dying By Ashok Banker First published: June 23, 2022, Michael Joseph. Pages: 400. ISBN: 9780241510513 A couple of pages into A Kiss After Dying and the reader knows there is a sinister plot on offer. After a bombshell start, the scene of action changes and for long pages afterwards, the novel seems to go the way of the enemies with a revenge motive-turned-lovers-turned-life partners tale until another bombshell is dropped. Not for nothing is patience a virtue; yes, a bit of patience would be required in getting to the exciting zone in this novel but this patience will be rewarded. The plan hatched by Hannah, the female protagonist, for the “mission” is a well-thought out one, and she is smart enough to spring into combat mode and alter this well-crafted plan whenever the need arises. The title A Kiss After Dying is reminiscent of the title of Ira Levin’s superbly successful A Kiss Before Dying , with which Ashok Banker’s work shares
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A Fine Resource for Parents and Teachers

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Review by Ronica Wahi Back to School: A Useful Guide to Navigate through the Pandemic By Lavitha Vaz and Shalini Mukund First published: January 1, 2022, Sita Infobytes Solution Pvt. Ltd. Pages: 74. ISBN: 9788195656806 Back to School: A Useful Guide to Navigate through the Pandemic by Lavitha Vaz and Shalini Mukund is, as the subtitle says – yes, truly – a useful guide that can aid parents, teachers, and schools in making the transition back to school much easier for young children and teenagers. The book starts with a pretty poem that talks of – among other things – hope and how children are beacons of light. It is the collective responsibility of parents, teachers, and schools to ensure that all school-going kids are steered in the right direction so they can shine their brightest, and this book offers tools and techniques to help in such endeavour. Once the pandemic started, children were denied the pleasure of playing outdoors and got only limited opportunities fo
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