Magic Moments

Firstly, great book cover. Almost alluring. I just had to read this book. After reading Then She Was Gone , I was enamored by her narrative style. It is very fast paced, doesn't give you time to breathe before throwing one after another surprise. And before long you realize your eyes are bulging out, you have goosebumps and your heart is racing. Yes, it's that gooood! Believe me when I say this, because I am a rather slow reader, yet I managed to finish this one in 2 days. The fastest read by far in months. But I would say that the explanations for a few characters' story towards the end was a bit unreasonable and a tad boring for me. But that can be excused, of course. It is difficult to come across thrillers these days that actually do thrill. Being able to predict and just waiting for the story to go in that direction isn't thrilling. This book, we wait with bated breathes so as to know what happens next. The family, the people that come into their lives, the power s...

When I watched the trailer of ‘The Handmaiden’, I had a picture of who is innocent, who is being tricked and the suspicious hints in the storyline. But what I found in the first half of the movie, was totally different from the impression that the trailer had had. A Korean girl from a con artists’ household travels to a rich Japanese home to play Miss Hideko’s personal maid, Tamako, with the mission of making her fall for The Count- another acquaintance who wants to get her inheritance for himself by marrying her. Things go out of the plan when Tamako feels for her missus- pity, love and remorse for the innocent being that she was and wants to prevent The Count from taking advantage of her and hurting her in the process of acquiring her treasures. Tamako herself is in dilemma, as she wants riches to fulfill her own dreams, but wants Hideko to be safe from their ploy. Lady Hideko is delicately beautiful. She was raised as a virtual prisoner by her uncle, the book collec...

When I started reading “Beautiful Malice” by Rebecca James, I hadn't expected to be so impressed and so totally blown away by it. I started reading it only to satisfy my curiosity to know the mystery behind the enigmatic cover. After 70 pages, I knew I was going to like the book. Its theme is on life and death, especially death and the void it creates in one’s life. Those who have seen death, experienced the loss, and have gone through the pain of losing someone near and dear forever, are changed entities. They are not themselves anymore. In the first 70 pages, I’ve learnt that it is ok to be sad, to cry. It is ok to complain, and cry to a friend, sharing the long buried feelings- the grief and the guilt; it is ok to open up one’s mind, to put one’s guard down, and be vulnerable to the outward emotions. And it’s normal to fear death, and human nature to be overprotective. But the slow, gradual, mysterious turn of events is not what one had expected earlier. Pe...