Book review of Blood Tide

About the book

Megalops is an Aquarian, a human-dolphin hybrid who lives in one of the many reef-cities that thrive beneath the waves on an Earth ravaged by climate change. Some of the Humans who cling to the barren lands blame Aquarius for their plight and unleashed the Medusa Plague that entombed Megalops's wife and daughter in stone. Tormented by that loss, Megalops dedicates everything to avenging his murdered family, no matter what the cost. He unleashes a Vendetta Virus as cruel and lethal as the Medusa Plague, a bio-weapon that transforms living Humans into Aquarian corpses.  

Ocypode -- one of the heroes who stopped the Medusa Plague -- and his band of Human and Aquarian allies battle desperate odds to prevent Megalops from committing an act of genocide that will escalate into global conflict, dragging the Earth's other humanoid species into the chaos. War demands sacrifice. If Mother Earth and Mother Ocean wage war against each other, will anyone survive?

My Review

I love reading Sci-Fi books and this book is a great read. What I loved about the book was the intensity and preciseness with which the story is told. Though the story is very complex and you may not catch the details in the first place, I would suggest you need to read the first book in order to understand who is what. I was a bit confused in the middle of the story as to who is being killed and for what crimes they committed. But as you read on you will find the book spell binding and also the story plot.

The story is filled with intense violence and killings and the use of technology in the story is just out of the world. I loved the cyber-ghosts who are computers but can reflect the memories and thoughts of a dead person. As you read the book you will find new and myriad number of characters in the story which are created from the author's imagination and have been brought to life in the book.

The imagination of the author is duly reflected in the story as new worlds are introduced with new species of living beings in the story. Hybrids like human-dolphins called as Aquarians and Atavisms human- aquarians hybrids are the characters to look out in the story.

Overall a great book with a gripping storyline and I felt that this book can made into a good Hollywood movie. 


Read more about the book at Online Book Club 

Author Interview of Aniesha Brahma

All Signs Lead Back to You by Aniesha Brahma

2013.



As the final bell for the day rang on their last day in school, Diya Rai, had a chill run down her spine. The chill of not knowing what the future holds for her and her high school sweetheart, Ashwin Chowdhury.

So she does a preemptive strike.

She dumps him before he can hurt her.



2015.



Two years later, Ashwin and Diya, cross paths. Each holds grudges, feelings and only one half of the story that completes them.

Told from alternating points of view, through a non-linear timeline, this is the story about

first love, second chances and ALL the SIGNS THAT LEAD BACK TO YOU.

Meet the Characters

Diya Rai – is the protagonist of the story whose actions have always had terrible consequences for those around her. Diya is self-absorbed and never chooses anyone else over her own self. Diya’s troubled past keeps her from letting people into her life. Even though she’s hurt Ashwin she wants him back in her life years later.



Ashwin Chowdhury – is her best friend in school and later on, boyfriend. He is left heartbroken by Diya but when their paths cross later on, he realises he doesn’t want anything to do with her. He lives with his mother and elder brother and hails from a upper middle-class family background.



Nina Gonzales – is Diya’s best friend in college. She and Diya had met during their admissions and had become fast friends with one another. Nina and Ashwin end up competing with one another to see who is really Diya’s best friend!



Rishabh – is the quintessential hot, rich guy that Diya dates in college. He seems to be in love with her, but Diya doesn’t seem to return the same affection towards him. Nina hates his guts.



Trina – is the girl Ashwin is interested in. She goes to the same college as Diya and Nina, and while Diya dislikes her mostly because Ashwin seems to be interested in her, Nina is indifferent to her.


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Author Interview

1. What inspired you to write the book?

All Signs Lead Back to You was written when I was playing around with the idea of a girl who just doesn’t know when to hold on and when to let go. She’s clueless about how to deal with life and therefore does whatever she wants, without sparing a second thought about the consequences! As opposed to her are two very steady characters who try to understand her but fail miserably. I just wanted to explore the topic of if ever first love would deserve a second chance!

2. When did you realise that you want to write a book?

I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was six years old. So wanting to write a book was nothing short of second nature for me.

3. Who helped you in writing the book and please say about their contributions?

My publisher, Esha Chatterjee, had a huge role to play in making me write the book. Thereafter, Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma, my editor helped me polish the story and get it into shape. The final proof was again done by BEE Books’ in-house editor, Sugandha Bandyopadhyay and Esha.

4. How is your book going to inspire the readers?

All Signs Lead Back to You is a book about first love and second chances. It deals with the idea that while it’s okay to think about the person you’d once fallen in love with, it’s not always the right choice to want to go back to them. It should help readers who are still reeling from broken hearts realise that there’s always hope, because there’s always a new dawn.

5. If you are given the chance to change one thing in your book what would it be?

I don’t want to change anything about the book. I liked it as it is.

6. How do you find time to write and which part of the day is best for writing for you?

You don’t find time to write when you decide to be a writer. You make the time to write. For me it’s either during my lunch break if I’m at work or it is post dinner. I write on most nights from 12 midnight till 2 am.

7. Which books have inspired you the most, in the journey of writing this book?

Most of John Green’s novels especially Paper Towns. I aspire to put together sentences the way he does. So that the words stay with my readers long after the story is over.

8. What is the best advice, you would give for writers who are trying to write a book?

Take part in NaNoWriMo. Keep writing. Power through the writer’s blocks. Because you can edit rough draft, but you can do nothing with a blank page!

9. What are your hobbies?

Watching tv shows, reading books, watching movies (but nowadays I don’t find time), drawing cartoons and mostly just playing with my five super adorable cats!

10. What can we expect from you in the future?

Hopefully more stories to tell you and this world! Hopefully a new book every year – for other age groups and in other genres. I have been working on a couple of children’s projects. Let’s see what happens next. 

About the author

Aniesha Brahma is an author who realized her passion for writing at the tender age of six. She also happens to be the social media manager for BEE Books. Her debut novel, The Secret Proposal (2012) was published by General Press and was followed by When Our Worlds Collide (2015) by the same. She blogs at: www.anieshabrahma.com and runs an online magazine, BUZZ Magazine. She can be contacted at: aniesha.brahma@gmail.com. She lives in Kolkata with her family and her five super adorable cats!

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Book review of Guardian of Paradise

About the book

In 1888, Kira Wall, surviving daughter of missionaries swept away in a tsunami, lives a primitive, but enjoyable life with natives on an isolated island in the South Pacific. But her serene world is turned upside down when an Australian merchant ship, commanded by the sinister Captain Darcy Coleman, arrives with an overabundance of modern and lavish goods. Kira suspects ill intent. Chief Ariki refuses to listen to Kira’s warning, forcing her to uncover the real plan of the captain on her own. Unfortunately, she has a distraction. A six-foot tall, blond, and handsome distraction. Trevor Marshall, doctor and botanist, hopes to find exotic plants on the island to research new cures and medicines. He is dedicated to science, but when meeting the strong-willed, beautiful Kira Wall, he’d prefer to spend time researching her—all night. 

The captain thwarts Kira’s attempts to call him out at every step, turning the village chief against her. With only Trevor and her best friend Malana by her side, she stalks the captain and his officers through the dense, predator infested jungle, toward the island’s inactive volcano. Frustrated by her failure to reveal the captain’s true intentions, Kira begins to think maybe she’s wrong about everything. Then an explosion and earthquake bigger than anyone on the island has ever seen renews her resolve. Was the blast natural or man-made? She is determined to prove it was the captain’s doing. Kira races against time and the island people’s naivety to stop the captain from destroying her home and killing everyone she loves.

My Review

Kira the protagonist of the story lives in Alofa an island in the South Pacific. She has lived on the island for long and is a person of importance. She has taught the people of Alofa the language of the people that came in ships to trade.

When she encounters a ship that had docked on the shore, Kira is septic about the Captain and their motives. It’s strange why Kira is so concerned about the arrival of the strangers on their island. You will find out the reason as you move through the pages in the story.

Coleman the Captain of the ship speaks with the Chief and assures him that he has come to their island in good will. Kira tries to intervene and asks the Chief to monitor the activities of the guests who have landed on their shores. The Chief isn’t convinced that there is any need to monitor the activities and gives the guests thumbs up of their arrival.

Now Kira has an unwelcomed distraction of having fun with the Trevor, a doctor from the ship who came to find new herbs and plants for preparing medicines. But she never takes her eyes off the Captain and tracks his whereabouts and tries to find out why the Captain is digging near the riverbed.

Now why the digging is going one and what can be the reason for that? Will Kira be able to find the true purpose of the Captain’s interest in the island? What is he looking for and why?

With so many questions to be answered and the mysteries that have to be unrevealed you have to read the story to find out what happens next.

The storyline is great but I believe it is a story for the school kids full. The author has done a great job creating the suspense early on in the story but it happens to be a lot earlier than I had anticipated. I don’t know why the words blimy and tee has been used so often in the story. I felt like the author has tried to show the Alofa’s talking accent, which is great but they are used more too often than required.

Ignoring those words, the book is a great read and the kids who like to read suspense and mystery genre stories will love the book.

Read more about the book at Online Book Club.

About the Author

W. E. Lawrence graduated in 1978 from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a BS in business administration. Despite wishing he had taken more courses in journalism and communications, he has spent most of his adult life in the corporate business world. Now he reads and writes.

Passionate about God, writing, reading, family, sports, politics, and America, Lawrence currently lives in Davidson, North Carolina, with his lovely wife, Martha, and their wonderful children, Abby and Davis.

Book Review of First Contact: Strings Attached

About the book

Zalk, an astronomer on an oppressive pre-industrial world, discovers more than just life on the other planet they share their orbit with: he forms a telepathic link with an ambassador from this spacefaring society, who promises wealth and fantastic technology. The catch? Zalk must implement his plans for a mining operation, financed by drops of gold from the heavens.

What exactly are the intentions of this celestial messenger? Can he reconcile with an antagonistic reporter to find out in time? Joining forces may be their only hope to save their world.

My Review

Strings Attached is a work of extreme imagination and creativity. If you love to know about the mysteries of the universe and the weird ways it can work, this is a book for you, to think beyond your wildest of imaginations.

I have always envisioned a world where we can have inter-planetary or inter-galactic football matches or send even mails to other worlds and an even more stunning virtual reality of making an all expenses paid trip to the nearest star.

Paul J. Nelson has created a world of virtual reality where people are able to contact with other worlds telepathically. Zalk a sensitive, of the present Orb (planet) is a scientist whose work is commendable in the field of astronomy. One fine day Zalk is petrified when he looks at the nearest Orb Arken through his telescope and was able to see person inside his house and suddenly the person looks and him and says “Good evening Professor Zalk.”

How is that even possible for someone to feel the presence of another and that also from another Orb? Mystery adds up as Zalk encounters this person (Sorrab) from another Orb. Why did he contact Zalk in the first place and what could be his intension? You will confront delicacy of life and how your choices can affect a generation.

You need to read the story to find out that, as I don’t want to be a spoiler.

What I didn’t like about the characters is the nomenclature (names) of the people of the Orb. Weird names are messy and I had a hard time remembering who is who. And what I didn’t like again was the new words that were introduced in the story. The author has detailed out every single detail of the happenings and that makes the story interesting.

In the end I liked the storyline and the creativity of the author in describing the incidents and also the flow of story which was even throughout my read.

What the story lagged is a composite approach and it became predicable at times as to what will happen next in the story. But with originality imbibed in the story I wish the sequel to be more exciting with more mystery and surprises. 

Read more about the book at Online Book Club

Cover reveal of All Signs Lead Back to You

~~~ Cover Reveal ~~~

All Signs Lead Back to You by Aniesha Brahma

2013.

As the final bell for the day rang on their last day in school, Diya Rai, had a chill run down her spine. The chill of not knowing what the future holds for her and her high school sweetheart, Ashwin Chowdhury.

So she does a preemptive strike.

She dumps him before he can hurt her.

2015.

Two years later, Ashwin and Diya, cross paths. Each holds grudges, feelings and only one half of the story that completes them.

Told from alternating points of view, through a non-linear timeline, this is the story about 

first love, second chances and ALL the SIGNS THAT LEAD BACK TO YOU.

About the Author

Aniesha Brahma is an author who realized her passion for writing at the tender age of six. She also happens to be the social media manager for BEE Books. Her debut novel, The Secret Proposal (2012) was published by General Press and was followed by When Our Worlds Collide (2015) by the same. She blogs at: www.anieshabrahma.com and runs an online magazine, BUZZ Magazine (www.buzzmagazine.in). She can be contacted at: aniesha.brahma@gmail.com. She lives in Kolkata with her family and her five super adorable cats! 

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