Romantic Resonance - Book Review

Romantic Resonance

By Ketaki Sane

Review By Ila Garg

Romantic Resonance, a novel by the debutant writer Ketaki Sane, is published by Frog Books, an imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd. The cover is quite simple and it thoroughly represents romance. However, I didn’t find it much appealing after reading the book. After reading the book you will realize that the cover could have been a lot better than this. The title is direct and attracts the readers.  

Everyone has a story to tell, but not everyone is a storyteller. Mumbai based Ketaki Sane is a Pharma Marketer by profession. While her job demands her to constantly market her skills, she wants her writing to speak for itself, because life unveils itself in that form to her. Romantic Resonance marks her literary debut. You can also pick up Crumpled Voices to read her latest story titled ‘Freedom’.

The blurb reads as, “Isn't love controversial? While some people swim in its ocean, there are some who drown even in shallow waters. 

You know how it feels to ‘be in love’, don't you? Some may have expressed it, some may be waiting for the right time to say it, some may be in a blissful relation, some may have suffered pain, whatever be the state the love bug has surely bitten you.

The shy and sensitive Arya feels that ‘perfect love’ exists only in romantic novels and Bollywood. She is heartbroken when the person who made her believe in love leaves her ‘just like that’.

Her quest for love takes her to a new level of self-realization. She decides to follow her heart and gives love a second chance.

Will Arya's belief in love resonate with his feelings for her?”

Romantic Resonance, revolves around a young girl named Arya, her friend Dhruv, and her love interest Neel. Unlike other romantic fictions, Ketaki’s book take us on a roller coaster of emotions where we experience a whirlwind of romance, friendship, career and heartbreak. We see an innocent but mature Arya taking the lead and make us laugh and cry in the journey of the book. Her friend Dhruv is protective and caring towards her since the beginning and never lets go off her side.

However, not further revealing the plot, I would like to mention that this isn’t a love story purely. It has so many subtle plots woven in it. Apart from romance, it has given a balanced space to heartbreaks, misunderstandings, friendship, naughtiness, and the intricacies of a caring bond, and of course the smartness to deal with some crazy situations of our life.

The book has more to it than meets the eye. Initially there is nothing different that Ketaki Sane offers us in the book. It’s the same old tale with slight twists. But gradually it captures. The first half is a usual tale where Arya remains aloof because of a heartbreak that is caused to her by Neel and Dhruv and her parents keep consoling and distracting her but later on the story changes track. It has slight humorous episodes but I majorly enjoyed the suspense behind Arya and Neel’s break up and how intelligently it is revealed during the climax.

The complexity of Arya’s love story and the dejections that she faces, the mystery behind Dhruv’s character, and Neel’s sudden disappearance from Arya’s life are some of the reasons you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in Romantic Resonance. Another reason that would keep you glued to it would be the relation between Dhruv and Arya.

This 156 page book is well written and moves beyond the regular romance novels. The book has a few grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes and several other errors too. Apart from this, it is very entertaining. It’s a light read and I could have easily finished reading it in less than 2 hours if I wasn’t so busy with my editing projects. At some points it becomes dragging.

‘Yay’ Factors: The story line and the suspense that is built up.

‘Nay’ Factors: Excessive use of comma was a big put off!

My Verdict: To find out whether she survives through the incessant sufferings of her break up and moves on with his new found friend in Dhruv or not, will she be lucky enough to bump into Neel again, why Neel distanced himself from her, who is Dhruv, what relation exists between Arya’s father and Neel’s mother, how does it complicate their lives, how she sets everything right towards the end; you will have to read the novel, Romantic Resonance.

Ratings: 3.5/5

Buying Links: Infibeam | Landmark | Amazon | Crossword | BOOKadda | Flipkart

 

This (Unbiased) book review is a part of "The Readers Cosmos Book Review Program". To get free books log on to thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com. Thanks Nimi Vashi for giving me the opportunity to read such a nice book!

21 Things About Romance - Book Review

 

21 Things about Romance

By Shomprakash Sinha Roy

Review By Ila Garg

21 Things about Romance, is a self - help book written for everyone out there who was, is or will fall in love. Penned down by Shomprakash Sinha Roy, earlier known for books titled, ‘The Pink Smoke’ and ‘Life Served Hot’ this book is published by Grapevine India too. I am a little disappointed with the paper quality which is thinner than a newspaper. The printing is okay-ish! However, I found the cover beautiful and vibrant. The matt finish looks nice and the colours are appealing. The cover designed by Saurav Das is attractive and hooks the readers. It will instantly make you want to grab the book and read on.

Shomprakash Sinha Roy was born in New Delhi, spent all of his childhood in Chhattisgarh, and presently works as a Content Developer for Dell Inc., in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has an MBA in Marketing & Media Management from the Indian Institute of Business Management, New Delhi. His nativity is a tougher nut to crack – his family tree traces its roots in Rajasthan, and for the last few generations, they’ve been good-natured Bengali people.

The blurb reads as, “For more than a decade, we’ve had exposure to love stories in the form of novels, movies and more. We have fallen in and out of love, and we have been riddled with questions about the origins of love, our emerging sexuality, authenticity of people that we love, and so on. Our parents & society don’t always sync with our ideas of being romantically involved with people of our choices. Indian culture discriminates without discrimination, which in itself a very sad predicament for the new, evolving generation. Plus, there hasn’t been a single platform where all our troubles have been heard and voiced out at the same time. Not until 21 Things About Romance came into existence. This book, written by acclaimed young author Shomprakash Sinha Roy, clubs the viewpoint of an entire generation with his own ideas about romance in the twenty first century, through poignant essays, conversations and articles about love as we know it today. Be part of the romantic revolution with this radical book which is set to answer all your questions about love & change the way you look at romance, forever!”

Needless to say it is not a romance fiction but an interactive book that will help you in the course of your past, present and future relationships. A set of facts that the author shares with the readers through his experience and interactions with the winners of the Lovesteps Contest organized by Grapevine which will help you to tread on a path of self-discovery. These 21 chapters on romance will change you as a person if you are willing to take the helping hand that the author is offering. It will make you realize where your relationship is going and how you can improve it. And that’s not all, it also helps you to unveil your own short comings, and alters your perspective of judging the person from other sex on the basis of height and weight or even looks for that matter! In short, it is one of the best guides to a healthy and successful relationship and also tells you know when you should take a break and/or move on.

He gives ample examples in the book to help you understand the various stages of your relationship and provides instances from his love life too. In the journey of the book, he interviews the contest winners and shares excerpts from their stories. It is a different book, almost like a blog compilation.

The way Shomprakash Sinha Roy has penned down this particular book is really appreciable, he hasn’t only taken one side but has given insights from female point of view too. His advices are valid for both genders. The author has described every emotion that we normally go through in a relationship very beautifully. There are episodes in the book that make you feel so connected and read carefully. Every reader can connect with at least one point in the book and that will act as a life changer.

The 216 page book takes you along with it and makes you realise that you can modify your love story at any point. Some of the things are very meaningful and actually make you want to share this book immediately with your lover or parents too. Yes, you read correctly, parents should also read this one to understand why love marriages are not all that bad after all. The language is easy to comprehend and readers won’t find it boring. Contrary to that, this book 21 Things About Romance is quite engaging.

You should read this book if you have ever been in love or would be in love, to know what she wants or what he is looking at, to discover who can be your Mr. Right or who can you live happily ever after with, to see beyond his bulging tummy and her flaws, to see when it’s not working and it’s time to move on, to understand how you can continue your friendship if the relationship fails; you will have to read the book, 21 Things About Romance.

Still could not find a reason to read it? Well, the secret fairy tells me that you should pick it because it has two great tips to naturally reduce your tummy. Intrigued? Go ahead and pick this one. Highly recommended!

Ratings: 3.5/5

See this compilation of caricatures from the book to get tempted all the more!

Buying Links: Homeshop18 | Amazon | Flipkart

And I felt like a Magician!

It was an ordinary day, which suddenly turned extraordinary as I held the magic wand in my hand. I reached my workplace in time and started my work tasks for the day, when I remembered that I had to go on a photo walk that evening and I had forgotten my camera at home. I somehow accomplished all my tasks for the day and left office.

I met my friend Riya at the decided venue and told her that I will not be able to go further as I don't have my camera. She assured me that it won't be a problem and winking at me she gave me her phone. She told me it would serve better than a camera, I just stared at her dumbfounded. I remember calling her insane and how can she even think this will beat a camera. She just smiled and taking my hand she literally dragged me. 

We started clicking pictures once the whole team had reached the venue. I was amazed at the camera quality of this phone - ASUS Zenfone 5. I was awestruck as I continued to use this new PixelMaster that captured perfect professional pictures.

Soon, it got dark and I could see my helplessness getting back. The whole team was now using flashes and I was feeling weird, looking at the phone. 

'Okay then, that's it for me, I guess! I should call it a day and head back home', I told the team. 

'Leaving already? But the night photography is the best part of this photo walk. How can you just miss it?' Varun tried to stop me and lure in the plan. 

My friend, Riya convinced me once again by showing some incredible features of the Zenfone - Low Light Photography.

Added to that, with Time Rewind feature in the phone, I was just too intrigued to click more. I enabled Time Rewind, and the PixelMaster camera automatically started recording images two seconds before and one second after pressing the shutter button. During this three-second period, 31 photos were recorded for me to choose, meaning that the perfect moment is never missed if you click from this phone.

I felt like a magician capturing shots that added to my memories. That night, I decided to stay at Riya's and explore this incredible phone. 

It was fun, 'this phone has super powers', Riya hushed at me. I eyed her and told her she should not exaggerate. 

'I know this is wonderful, has a powerful extraordinary camera, but super powers? No, please! Let's be realistic', I said to her.

She laughed it off and showed me the super power for real. 'Okay so this is called The Incredible Searchathon - this is like WOW! It can help you trace any of your friend just by imputing some information', she opened the feature. 

I simply drooled and gasped, curious to discover how it works. 

She continued, 'With this feature, you can see what others can't see and do what others can't do. Do you wanna try?'

'Of course!'

'Okay, so look all you have to do is open this Incredible Searchathon and start filling in the details - the phone number, name, and link of his/her Facebook profile and click on 'GO'. Simple, isn't? And then it simply traces your friend's phone location and takes you along with him on this map.'

'Oh well, it's superb. Almost like the magical map from Harry Potter!'

'Yeah. Isn't it fun? You know what, its 5 inch screen has an amazing display that will help you writing and editing docs on the go. You being a writer can utilize it to the fullest. It has multiple themes and fonts too.'

'I am just speechless.... My search for incredible ends here! - ASUS Zenfone 5. Thanks Riya for introducing me to this simple, peaceful, and beautiful phone.'