"My first Freida McFadden! And while I wasn't as enamored with The Housemaid as most readers were, I did find it decently entertaining.

To start, I can totally see why people talk about this book as being bingeworthy. It has all the hallmarks of a one-sit read, with short chapters, lots of dialogue, and dramatic developments one after another so you can't look away. There's this perpetual feeling that you can read just one more page, and before you know it, you've read the whole book.

But that isn't to say this is the most original story ever. There were definitely moments as I was reading this that I had the strongest sense of déjà vu, as if I've read the same exact thing somewhere else before. The book cheerfully employs several common thriller elements, and while there is nothing wrong with that, it does make it feel like the story had no real surprises, especially if you've read a lot of thrillers like I have.

One thing I found interesting—and I'm not sure if this was done on purpose—was the humor. On the one hand, the story seemed extremely earnest throughout, with every character and every point of view being serious in the way that thrillers always are. But on the other hand, there were moments when everything was so over the top that it felt like the author must be leaning into it, having a bit of fun at the reader and the story, all in one go.

A lot of reviews mention the bad writing, and I feel like that's a little bit unfair. It isn't that the writing here is bad so much as it is very simplistic. Let me put it this way—my two-year-old was curious about what mama was reading, so I obliged by reading a random passage to him. And he was riveted. He wouldn't let me stop. He even chose this book as his bedtime story three nights in a row! His favorite parts were the discussions about things being clean/dirty, the stormy weather, and the scene with the garbage truck. So there you go, if my toddler can follow along just fine, I think that tells you something.

Was this story entertaining? Yes. But it also left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied, having fulfilled none of my reading cravings. It's the sort of story I was into while reading it, but as soon as I put it down, I had no real desire to pick it back up again. I didn't really care about the characters, I could see where the story was going from a mile away, and reading through it felt like spelling out in long form something I already knew.

The thing is, there is a marked difference between a book keeping your attention because you just happen to have it open versus one you would actively seek out to read. And unfortunately for me, this was too much the former and not enough of the latter.

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�� Connect with me �� ��
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"As the British like to say�� ‘Are you taking the mick!?��

In Beautiful Ugly, Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life. He has just heard some exciting news regarding his job and now on the phone to his wife Abby he hears his wife slam on her brakes and when he tries to find out what is happening, he hears her get out the car and that’s it.
Arriving at the scene where her car is by a cliff edge he realises she has disappeared. Still overcome by grief a year later, he goes to a tiny Scottish island to try and find solace and get his life back on track. But this becomes far from possible when on the island he sees a woman that looks exactly like his missing wife��

Ok so if you’re like me, after reading that blurb you’re probably expecting to read a tantalizing, suspenseful, domestic, cat and mouse tale surrounding husband and wife right!?

WELL, SORRY THAT’S NOT HAPPENING!! For me the intro chapters were the only exciting part of the book. As I was trudging through chapter after chapter, the same question kept sweeping through my mind ‘so when does this get good!?��

Feeney deserves an award for her over descriptive analysis of the island. She packs on all the adjectives and atmosphere to makes sure you picture what this island looks like whether you want to or not. This consumed most of the book rather than the plot and I found myself closing my kindle many, many times.

There is not one likeable character in this book except the dog Columbo that I kept praying would somehow gain magical powers and escape this batshit island. I can see that Feeney was trying to create an ominous atmosphere within all the characters, but it just irked me and felt like a typical trope being stuffed down my throat. The book is formatted in a dual POV with Grady and Abby (before) chapters and even that couldn’t entertain me enough.

PAGE 305! Yes, that’s what I said, that it takes for the ‘reveal/ action�� to take place and I’m just going to say it really is a love it or hate it kind of twist.

I HATED IT��

1. It made no sense
2. It created a massive plot hole to a particular scene and that was not explained
3. Way too far fetched
4. (view spoiler)[There is being an unreliable narrator, but it doesn’t make sense in this case. (hide spoiler)]

⋆｡°��WHAT I LIKED⋆｡°��
�� The premise (initially)
�� The short chapters
�� The atmosphere
�� Columbo the Dog

⋆｡°��WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE⋆｡°��
�� The book dragged
�� Quite Trope-y in the overused way
�� The characters
�� The ‘reveal��
�� Inconsistencies
�� Gave me a headache
�� The last chapter nearly had my eyes glued to the back of my head

To conclude Alice Feeney books really are hit or misses and its always the twist that makes or breaks them. It’s a shame that this book didn’t deliver for me, but I won’t give up and will probably read the next book she puts out.


SPOILER
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(view spoiler)[I’m all for women power but this was just too damn illogical! You really want me to believe that a grown ass man dressed up as a "woman", lays in the middle of the road while also being on the phone with his wife at the same time, pushes her off a cliff then she comes back for vengeance by getting a group of women who all hate men and live in a secluded island to now kill him.... GTFOH! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 (hide spoiler)]





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⋆｡°��pre read⋆｡°��
This author is such a hit or miss for me!!
but I live for her TWISTS! (when they're good😏)
Come on Feeney! Give it to me good!😁😁
💚🤍💚&��ܴdz�;

"I was excited to read this book, because I used to love Alistair MacLean. But I was also nervous to read this book, because I used to love Alistair MacLean, and what if he wasn’t as good as I remembered? I did enjoy the book, but it took me a while to get into it. I think that’s because the protagonist is the crew as a whole, so it didn’t feel like there was a main character, just a lot of secondary characters. But as with most novels, by the middle, even secondary characters can be compelling and I may have shed a few tears by the end of the story.

The book revolves around the WWII Arctic convoys. The Ulysses had been on Arctic duty for some time as the book begins, and the duty isn’t easy. It’s so rough that they’ve just squashed a slight mutiny. Despite their exhaustion and bad morale, they set out again to escort ships carrying fuel, tanks, and planes to the Soviet Union. Along they way they battle horrid weather, the German navy (surface and underwater fleet), the German air force, and indifference and incompetence from the Royal Navy back in England. They rarely have more than a minute or two of down time before the next crisis emerges, so it’s a good novel for fans of fast-paced, action-packed stories. Many of his other novels have happier endings, so if you prefer happy endings over beautifully tragic books, I’d recommend trying a different one. On the other hand, this one does a good job giving readers a taste of the trials and sacrifices common on assignments like that, giving me a greater appreciation for what WWII Arctic convoys went through. It’s fiction, but I doubt it’s too far off reality. "

"Subbu Publications have been on the forefront of publishing many books related to our Itihasas and Puranas. The Flag of Ananta is the latest offering which had piqued my curiosity after the recent launch. The first striking feature of the book is the classification as Indology which is a very welcome change as compared to Mythology as quoted for another book I am currently reading.

The Flag of Ananta is a Indology-fiction genre about the journey of a girl athlete, a journey of discovering our ancient roots through Ramayana. Like any modern child, she has her own apprehensions on Valmiki’s magnum opus whose secrets and riches are unravelled through some conversations and unique experiences. Unlike the other common books, the major character from Ramayana in this book is Sugreeva. The main protagonist has an astral travel experience where she comes face to face with Sugreeva and the rest of the book is about her journey where she has a ring-side view of Ramayana as it unfolds over the various kandas of Ramayana.

The author should be appreciated for integrating the various verses from Kishkinda, Sundara and Yuddha kandas along with geographical findings of the modern era which is still trying to explain some of the unique marks across the world like Paracas Candelabra. The author has also interspersed a tribute to Dr. Padmakar Vishnu Vartak whose astral travel experiences are legendary and definitely would appeal to the interest of readers.

In a very recent podcast, Anuradha Goyal ji mentioned that every character in Mahabharatha is named with a specific intent. I could relate to this anecdote when I read this book. I do feel that the name of the main character who is a martial artist, as Bhuvaneshwari is by design, inspired by Bhavani Devi, Gold medallist in fencing. Similarly, the journalist Neeta Prakash is perhaps inspired by the ace journalist Smita Prakash. Each of the characters are quite well brought out (albeit with a one specific observation) and their conversations are quite illuminating.

I do have a couple of observations about few aspects of the book. First, the character of the father is mentioned in only 2 places. I feel that the author could have fleshed this out a little better and could have employed the character to further the narrative with his own unique perspectives.

Next, the book mentions that Ramayana occurred 14000 years ago. This specific dating could be quite contentious as various texts have varied interpretation. While we do have a concept of recurring Ramayana across Manvantharas, Devi Bhagwatha Mahapurana has a specific time line for Vaivaswata Manvnathara i.e. 19th Chatur Yuga, which is a long time back as we are in 28th Chatur Yuga now.

S.D.B. 4.16.14
yugē caikōna vinśēStha trētākhyē bhagavan hari�� jamadagnīsutō jātō rāmō nāma mahabala��

S.D.B 4.16.19
trētayugē raghōrvanśō rāmō daśarathātmaja��

Even if we consider 28th CY, the duration of Dwapara is 2000 Deva Varusham which again a large spectrum of time. I do understand that there are different schools of thought, but I am referring to the ones from our Puranas.

Lastly, I personally wasn’t very happy about generalising the Vanaras as forest dwelling tribes who wore masks and tails as appendages as part of appearance. While this could indeed be true, I refer to the original Valmiki Ramayana. In the first sarga of Kishkinda Kanda, the great Rsi has written

तौ ऋष्यमूकस्य समी�� चारी चरन् ददर्�� अद्भुत दर्शनीयौ |
शाखा मृगाणाम् अधिप�� तरस्वी वितत्रसे नै�� चिचेष्�� चेष्टाम् || ��-��-१२��

�� तौ महात्म�� गज मन्द गामि शख�� मृगः तत्र चिरन�� चरन्तौ |
दृष्ट्वा विषादम�� परमम�� जगाम चिन्ता परीतो भय भा�� मग्न�� || ��-��-१२��


शाखा मृगाणाम् - Translates to the ones on the branches of trees, which is Monkeys. I personally believe that Ramayana is from an era where Monkeys were as evolved and knowledgeable as humans. I am highlighting these aspects as the book shouldn’t lead to a dilution of the original epic. Like how the guiding characters of the book emphasise repeatedly, one should learn from the originals.

These minor aspects aside, this book is a VERY GOOD read. If we can love Da Vinci code, I feel there is a much richer, more nuanced imagination about our ancient knowledge systems in this book. This is VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book. Kudos to Subbu for the fine quality of the book too !!!


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