Deepa

The Emily Wilde series is so much fun to read. The 340 pages just zoomed by. The fantasy world building is magnificent. I'm now totally invested in the lives of Wendell and Emily. Cannot wait to read the next book. 

A good book. Easy to read. The story is a very heart warming one too. Even though there are so many dangers involved, Em's adventures with Wendell were somehow delightful. The simple love of the villagers and the imagined life rules of the faeries were quite enchanting. I would definitely love to continue this series. 

Yikes! I feel physically disoriented. A mistake to have even started reading this book. I am NOT a fan of these high-brow, illogical books that are a pain to read and understand.  Some parts were relatively all right, but that's far too few and far between. I must remember to read reviews and check for unhinged writing alerts. Glad I didn't buy this book. The last time I read and hated a book so much was with A Hundred Years of Solitude. Readers who enjoyed that kind of “dream-like half-crazed” books might enjoy this one too. 

I'm not sure if I completely like the book. I did not like the beginning- it just dragged on and on. I did not, definitely NOT, like the ending. It seemed like a cop-out, a way way out, non-committal, too yellow to let the right guy win conclusively. Maybe it was supposed to “not be a cliche” ending. Perhaps. I'll say this though - the characters are really interesting, the plot is good and the ending was unexpected (for me), even while feeling inconclusive (my opinion). Definitely not a bad book. 

I read this book on and off and I think that might have impacted my enjoyment quite a bit. It was a cozy mystery kind of book and I ought to have enjoyed it more - but I didn’t. I was bored in places, not sure why. It is still a good story; I might read other books in the series, if it works for some future readathons.

One  of the worst books I've come across in recent years. Very boring, very crazy, very complicated, very unhinged. Not for me at all. Might have received awards and star ratings, but I found it unbelievably tiring. I read a comment somewhere that the author was “high” while writing this and I must say I do not disagree. 

This is a picture book! So l finished it much faster than the first one I had read in this series. But it was finished far too soon. The stories were just mini chapters about various lands on top of the faraway tree and it felt a little repetitive after a few ones. The first book in this series is far more satisfying, imo. 

A long book, but a very gripping one. It is a strange land governed by strange rules and practices and strange powers. It is complicated, yet interesting. There is a lot of politics, which I usually detest, but not so much in this case. A great book overall, I will definitely continue reading this series. 

Such a fun, cozy, fuzzy book. An easy romance with a sprinkle of sparkly magic. I am already wondering if there will be a sequel. I read this book as part of several reading challenges. This was such a popular choice for Book Clubs. And I get it. Totally get it. Interesting that there is also quite some life-wisdom within these pages. Niceness versus Kindness... Home is worth finding, even if it takes a while... This is going to be one of my comfort reads, go-to book for that warm, sweet, smile-on-my-face feeling.

Wow! The ending was superb! There were quite a few surprises in the last chapters but the ending was chef's kiss! Really liked this book. Definitely reading the rest of the series. I read this book as part of The52BookClub readalong - might not have thought of picking this book otherwise. A great read! Highly recommend. 

Very very familiar with this book. This book introduced one of the greatest detectives of all time - Sherlock Holmes. I love reading the early days of Holmes and Watson. The story itself is rather long, the Mormon story is a little booklet in itself. But overall it is an interesting read. 

Very gripping story. The author has written several crime series books and I believe that the first book of each series is free. That's how I purchased (?) this one. Also I read it as part of a reading challenge - Magical Readathon. The plot is very interesting, the writing is crisp, it is a short book. I read it entirely in one sitting and enjoyed it immensely. I will purchase a few more books in the series, for sure. 

I started off thinking that this was another of those books that I couldn't possibly read in a cafe, crowded train etc... thanks to a lot of explicit scene descriptions. But then the actual story started and I must admit it was riveting. It was quite unputdownable. At some point, I had begun to suspect and yet, I found the ending upsetting. It was a pity. But the story is good, very good.

An excellent tale. I'm quite surprised that it is Agatha Christie's first book. The story was gripping and masterfully unravelled. I have always been partial to Miss Marple, but Poirot is fun too. 

The mfl, Molly, is awkward and she definitely talks funny, but in a very endearing sort of way. I'm surprised at how invested I felt in Molly's situation, how tense I felt and how badly I wanted her to be free of her worries. I loved her granny's principles that Molly lived by. And the fact that there were so many good people around her to recognise the goodness in her and to help her. A great book. Highly recommend. 

“We're all entitled to a bad day now and again, I heard Gran say in my head. But when they are all bad days, with no pleasant ones, then it's time to reconsider things.”

“Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.”

Such an awesome book. Marley, the loopy Labrador “evader” is so much fun and such a wonderful “character”. Marley is a great example of how a pet is so much a part of the family, a part of us. John Grogan‘s writing is wonderfully engaging; I felt like I was romping around with Marley myself. I laughed so much while reading the book and I even cried quite a bit towards the end. A wonderful book. A must read for all pet lovers.

My favourite from my younger days. Love love love everything about this book. The story is so simple but so well written. All the characters have so much depth to them. Also the following books really do so much to fill in the gaps. It is a wonderfully planned series. I am planning to binge on the entire series soon, followed by the movie series,too 😊😍

I love the Miss Marple series of books. I love the idea of a gentle, old lady knitting away silently, not missing a single trick. She is sharper than most of the professional detectives and police forces combined, thanks to her skill of observing people and learning from life. Maybe it is because I'm quite the opposite, that she intrigues me so. Great story, great characters and a great mystery. 

A very captivating read. I found it very hard to put the book down until I had read through to the last page. In Hindi, the book is tilted “Sitayan”, a more apt name for the story,I feel. It is indeed Sita's life examined with an equal mixture of admiration and sympathy. It is so true and so sad that women, over the ages, have been forced to suffer and take blame for men's foibles and failures. It is shocking that this was happening even during ancient times, whenever the Ramayana was initially composed. Growing up, we have all revered Ram as the maryada-purush and yet, he too was immensely cruel towards the one who loved him the most. 

I have a theory - “Great” men, or women, are “great” mostly for posterity alone; people will surely sing their praises for years to come. But “great” men, or women, usually inflict great suffering upon their families. The ones who pay the price of their greatness are the people who love and care for them. 

Many people seemed to have enjoyed this book. I frankly hated it. To begin with, I do not like this type of illustration style. To me, it is jarring. The wonky representation of the Hindu deities does not impress me either - a corporate version of heaven, really! The story itself is the only saving grace - it is an interesting plot. But I cannot be bothered to read through more of these painful drawings - even to satisfy my curiosity about the story. I regret buying this book. 

A fun, easy, quick read made even better, by the antics of the Siamese. This story in particular, had a slightly grisly twist at the end. But Qwilleran and Koko and Yum Yum are familiar territory... I've read several books from this series and enjoy them a lot. Particularly these days, I appreciate the clean writing without steamy passages ever more. I also love that the cat plays detective and that his hooman respects him for it.

A precursor of the Harry Potter style of fantasy books - a shorter and simpler story. It also reminded me so much of Enid Blyton, but with much more complex world building. I was surprised by how quick a read this book was; I was expecting a long-winded explanation of the fantasy, and a much more complicated plot. Good book. Definitely recommend. Will keep the next books on the series in mind for future reading. 

Definitely a gripping book. I have been reading so many fantasy books these days that all of them are such a blur - faerie kingdoms, faerie powers and glamours, faerie kings, queens, princes and princesses, faerie politics, court intrigues, mortals among the faeries - it is mostly the same. But this one was really good, in spite of being similar to the others. I hope to continue this series. 

Interesting perspective of King Henry's reign. Have already read so much about this horrifying king, so I already knew what to expect. But to read from the perspective of a woman who knew him as a child, cared for him throughout his youth, on whose lap he cried during his grief, that was different. And the cruel end to which he condemned her was the harshest blow ever. Glad we live in better times. 

The deduction style is very Sherlock Holmes -ish. The tale is a gory one, too. I certainly did not expect a culprit as exotic as this. The story was short - that was a bonus. But the style of writing was very strange, almost boring. Nonetheless, I'm glad I read this one. Definitely a must read.