_askthebookbug's reviews
1337 reviews

The River Widow.
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Thank you so much for the review copy @annhowardcreel.
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Let me start off by saying how excited thriller genre makes me feel. I started reading this book in the morning and I'm done by 6 in the evening. I guess it speaks for itself :)
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The River Widow is the story of a young woman named Adah, who gets orphaned at a very young age. After being left on her own, she learns how to use Tarot reading and starts making a meager living out of it. She gets lured in by a handsome man during one of her readings and before she knows, they are married. Lester, her husband starts showing his true side very soon after their wedding. Adah lives under the care of her abusive husband for three years, taking care of her stepdaughter, Daisy.
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Things turn for worse when a flood engulfs their farm and Adah accidentally kills Les in self-defense. Now Adah has no option but to go back to Les's family before they can hurt Daisy. Les's family, the Branches are known for their mean tricks and conniving behaviour. As Adah struggles to live amongst the Branches after being mentally and physically tortured, she eventually finds a plan to escape from their clutches. But it isn't so easy to deceive a family that's so powerful.
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Luckily, Adah finds a confidante and conjures up a plan. But will she be able to escape once and for all? Will she defeat the Branches? This story had me in its grip from the very first page. The plot, the anticipation of where the story is heading had be baffled. The characters are masterfully worked on. It truly felt amazing to read such an amazing thriller.
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I would rate this book 5/5.

{ Book Recommendation }
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All we ever wanted is a book about self-worth and self-love. I'm writing about this book solely for the reason that over the years humans have lost the tendency to appreciate themselves. To know what they deserve and not settling for something less is a much needed topic to be discussed about. This book is all about that and much more.
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The story talks about how a sexual and immoral picture of a college girl, Lyla is spread among the community by her crush and classmate, Finch. Lyla is from a middle class family raised by a single father Tom who stresses about the importance of knowing one's worth. He believes in doing the right thing no matter the consequences. Finch, on the other hand comes from an affluent family who takes after his father. Nina, his mother having had a simple life before she married Kirk, knows how shallow her husband has turned out in the last few years. She knows her son is guilty of circulating the pictures and she knows she has to set it right.
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The story is simple. Finch is wrong but there are multiple stories surrounding the case. While Nina decides to do the right thing, she has to face her husband and consider her next step. This book is beautifully written. Nina's character is such a lovely and fierce one at the same time. Her decision to be honest and fight for justice even if she has to go against her son, is something that I truly appreciate. She teaches Lyla never to be afraid if she hasn't done wrong. This book is full of morality and goodness.
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In this era, where people are often too shallow and are worried about their bank balances, this story teaches that nothing is more important than the truth. It speaks volumes about love, forgiveness and consequences. There were few flaws as well. The story took an unexpected turn at the very end which I did not enjoy. But that did not change the impact it had on me as a whole. I'd urge you to read this and think about what's worth fighting for in your life.
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I won't rate this book because it'd be unfair to sum up all this into a single digit.

Vicious.
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There is nothing Extraordinary about this book. There, I said it. I know I am in the minority here but I can't just get over the feeling of how superbly boring and slow this book was. Vicious is Schwab's well praised work and I was extremely excited to read this but all my expectations fell flat. It's like the book fizzled into nothing. This book about Extraordinary humans simply failed to entice me.
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Eli and Victor are two pre-med students who come up with a plan to make their thesis unique and when Eli chooses the topic of researching about Extraordinary humans, Victor knows he has to get the upper hand in their quest. They come up with a plan to test the research and come out as EOs after coming back from death. They have their own powers and it is then that their friendship turns into something menacing. They turn against each other and Eli makes it his mission to kill all the EOs as he considers them to be an abomination excluding himself.
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The book is split between THEN and NOW, where Victor does most of the narrating. After Eli tries to kill him, Victor finds himself in prison and decides to kill Eli and seek revenge. There are couple of other characters that take some of the attention like the teenager Sydney who teams up with Victor and the big man Mitch who swears loyalty to Victor. And then there's Serena who sides with Eli. This book builds up slowly, gathering all the characters and describing them in detail. What follows is the hunt between Eli and Victor as they slowly circle each other.
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There are couple of things that I did not like about this book. Firstly, it was incredibly slow. It just drags along for half of the book while still describing Eli's character. Secondly, all the built up mystery was just for nothing. It's a simple story being wound up intensely for keeping the readers hooked while few chapters were stretched unnecessarily long. There were couple of interesting points about the book as well. The plot and the details, being one of the positive points. The entire concept of EO was truly impressive. But apart from that, it just didn't impress me much.
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Rating 2.5 / 5.

Things fall apart - { Book Recommendation }
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I have always truly admired African literature and lately I've been treating myself to such intense reads that often leaves me emotionally drained. I decided to read this book after @barackobama mentioned it in the list of best books of 2018. Things fall apart was Chinua Achebe's first novel and he has done a brilliant job in reaching out to the readers on an emotional level.
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The protagonist of this book is Okonkwo, an arrogant, rude, male chauvinist and extremely sexist who is considered as an important clan member. Growing up under the shadow of a failed father, Okonkwo takes up responsibility of handling the house from a very young age. He has three wives and many children like the fellow community members. To be honest, I detested Okonkwo's character for the fact that he was ignorant and considered himself superior than anyone else. All that changes with colonisation.
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The African culture is so richly highlighted in this book starting from the minute details like the weather, the clothes that they wear, the food that they eat and also various rituals and beliefs that they uphold. This is probably one of the significant reason that I enjoy African literature. Okonkwo's character is strong but not strong enough to face colonisation when British build churches and slowly capture their lands. When Okonkwo witnesses humiliation and sees his culture being uprooted, he loses his mind. This book is a classic narration of how it all started.
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'The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart' - Chinua Achebe.
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I can't ever get enough of such intense books. This book falls under my 'Favourite African Literature' list. A solid five star rating :)

~ Unmarriageable ~
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I have to admit that I was never a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice so I hesitated while picking this up. Unmarriageable is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in 2000s in Pakistan with Alysba as the protagonist. I would also choose Alysba over Elizabeth for couple of reasons but mostly for the fact that Alysba addresses the issue of sexism, masochism, gender inequality and also class.
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Unmarriageable makes a better version because of the underlying humour that every Indian and Pakistani can relate to. The mere fact that parents fret over their children's wedding is accentuated in this book and I couldn't help but laugh ever so often. I adore Alysba's character for she portrays what a woman in this era should be like. She takes the bull by it's horns and speaks openly about many condescending issues. She makes it perfectly clear that being an unmarried woman in 30s is nothing to be ashamed of and also stresses on women wanting to be independent post marriage.
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This book is extremely hilarious and I had a gala time reading it. If you're looking for a light book to make you cheerful then this is the one for you. Pride and Prejudice is one of the popular books of Austen and it's extremely commendable that the author chose this story for retelling. Such a brave attempt to touch a classic read and turn it into a masterpiece. I loved how she has portrayed the heritage of Pakistan and also adding humour as and when required.
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Five star rating through and through :)

The woman in the window.
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Such a disappointing read. I rarely come across books that makes me want to abandon them in the middle and this one takes the trophy. A lengthy novel that never seemed to end, made me want to hurl it aside and pick a new read. But I don't do that to books no matter how uninteresting they are and so I sat like a good girl and finished reading it.
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The protagonist is a woman in her mid-thirties named Anna who suffers from Agoraphobia. The irony that Anna was once a child psychologist is not lost on the readers as she struggles with a trauma that she faced few months ago and is still trying to cope with the healing process. Being trapped inside her house for months, she picks up a new hobby of spying on her neighbours through her camera lens. When the new neighbours move into the area, a woman called Jane drops by and spends an afternoon with her. Anna can't seem to remember the last time she opened upto someone.
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The story takes shape when Anna witnesses Jane get murdered during one of her spying sessions and she reaches out to the cops and her doctors for help. Except nobody believes her considering her mental instability along with her alcoholic state. The novel unfurls painfully slow as she tries to fight her doubts and figures out the murder mystery. I'll admit that the plot was quite unique but it happens only once you cross half of the story. The characters are well written with minute details being enhanced but the story made it all seem quite ordinary.
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A very overhyped story which did not please me whatsoever. What could have been summed up within few chapters was dragged till a 100.
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Rating - 3/5.

"What exactly was the difference? he wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pyjamas and which people wore the uniforms?" - Bruno.
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Everytime I read a story that revolves around the Nazi concentration camps, my heart breaks a little. I cannot, for the life of me understand why there was so much hatred bubbling amongst people back during the second world war. Millions of Jews were murdered, slaughtered and ruthlessly separated from their families and put into camps where they were starved and worked to death. My heart goes out to them for bearing the brunt of just being Jews.
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The boy in the striped pyjamas will forever be my favourite read when it comes to the topic of Holocaust and the boy, Bruno will always have my heart. For those who haven't read it yet, you must do so right away. This book is a treasure that'll leave you a weeping mess. This is not a review for books like these cannot be summed in few sentences.

{ Book Recommendation } - My Lovely Wife.
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It's just April and I already have plenty of book recommendations to make. Ever since I can remember, I have been a significant fan of thriller genre and when I noticed raving reviews of My Lovely Wife, I just knew I had to read this. Being quite a lengthy read, this novel had me hooked from the very first page. I dived into this read without even knowing or doing much research about it. All I knew that it was a psychological thriller and that was good enough for me. ~
Millicent and her husband live in the rich suburbs with their two children. While they seem like any other family, they have couple of secrets to maintain. Their love for each other is fierce but what ignites it is something darker. They feel high and invincible when they kill innocent young women. Just when you start thinking that the husband has been forced to murder women, take a step back. While the husband kidnaps women, it's Millicent who hides and tortures them. They have done this couple of times but something goes wrong when they kill the fourth woman. Things take a sharp turn from there and it all goes awry for the Smiths.
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There's a particular twist as you near the end and I could have never ever guessed it. This book is pure adrenaline rush. Something that you can't forget once you put it down. It's so captivating that you won't even mind ignoring your phone till you devour it. Samantha Downing is a genius for coming up with this plot and for executing it in a fantastic manner to keep the readers engaged. I previously loved The Silent Patient which was another psychological thriller but My Lovely Wife is one step ahead of it. If you're looking for your next thriller, look no further. These two are the best books in that category.
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A chilling, exciting, dangerous and surprisingly engaging read - this book is everything. Solid 5 stars!

Three thousand stitches.
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"I can give you many examples of people who may not have studied much but have done well for themselves because they believed they could." - Sudha Murty.
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I remember reading Wise and Otherwise last year and thinking how humble Sudha Murty truly is. Three thousand stitches caught my eye soon after that and I finsihed reading it in a single day. A collection of 11 short stories that revolve around Sudha Murty's life, this book is like a breath of fresh air. The stories are simple which is expected considering how the author herself doesn't like anything extravagant. But it's often the simplest stories that create an impact on the readers.
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There are many reasons why I liked this book. It might have something to do with the reality of it or perhaps due to the humbleness of the stories. The author writes about her experiences which range from her college days to the days of her being The Chairman of Infosys foundation. She sets examples with each story about how one should not give up during tough times or the teaching that you should not let money rule your heart. Her stories are sweet, practical and extremely relatable. We often judge people by the clothes that they wear or language that they speak while we shouldn't be carrying out such inconsiderate acts. This book is an inspiring and motivational read. It strikes a chord with those who really want to implement changes in their lives and what better way to do it than by listening to one of the kindest and grounded person in the World.
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A beautiful read to clear your head and count your blessings.
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Rating -4.5/5.

Homegoing.
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"We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth?" - Yaa Gyasi.
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There are thousands of books written about slavery that took place back in the 18th century on the lands of Africa. Many movies such as 12 years a slave, were made so as to show the World, the horrors that people had to witness when they were captured and sold to rich white men. Families back in the villages used to wait for the arrival of their husbands, brothers, sisters and sons while they were stuffed into the chambers of a slave ship, sailing towards an unknown destination. Homegoing is one such book which talks expressively about slavery and the stories of people who were once slaves.
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When I started reading this book, little did I know that it would be so intense and in-depth. What starts off with two sisters kept apart and never to meet, the author then carefully takes us through their generations. There are innumerable characters, all related to each other to the point of confusion. You cannot afford to lose concentration even for a minute for this book is a complicated one. The horrible days of slavery and how people from villages tried to sell their neighbours within the city of Ghana was shocking. They worked with the British in buying and selling of slaves for more than many decades. The disgusting behaviour of the white men towards the blacks broke my heart. The conditions of slave chambers in the slave ships, the scars on their faces and backs, the lack of freedom to speak their own language - it's so clear that I can almost see it.
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The book then proceeds to talk about the migration of Africans to the US where they were discriminated for the colour of their skin, the perpetual fear of being evicted and sent back to Ghana, all these facts were extremely painful to read. Post watching many movies, I still cannot comprehend the amount of hatred that these people harboured. Another significant part of the book was how blind and interesting the African cultures were back then. A must and phenomenal read.
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Rating -4.3/5