Shikha Pathak

‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗨𝘀’ 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁, 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰é𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀? 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱-𝘂𝗽. 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 ‘𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁’ 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁 (𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆) 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 (𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲). 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱: 𝟮.𝟱/𝟱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 ⭐️

In the mood for short stories? Try Cecilia Ahern’s ‘Girl in the Mirror’. In part spooky and in part suspenseful, you won’t be able to keep the book down even if you want to. Rated: 3/5 stars 🌟

Kevin Wilson’s ‘Nothing to See Here’ is a delightful story that talks about acceptance and how even outsiders can be a part of your family. Lillian takes up a job of being her best-friend’s step-children’s nanny. But these are not ordinary children. They can emit fire when anxious or angry and it is Lillian’s job to make them normal. A good story with its heart at the right place, I must say :) Rated: 3/5 stars 🌟

Omair Ahmad’s ‘The Storyteller’s Tale’ is a story of love, friendship, family and deceit. You will get used to the connotations, but yeah it made me feel like I am reading a poem. Is the meaning this? Does the storyteller wants to say this? Is this really happening or is it a fragment of the character’s imagination? A lot of questions there and so few answers :) It is not just a simple story, it is the storyteller’s tale ! Rated: 2.5/5 stars 🌟

Pride, Prejudice And Other Flavours by Sonali Dev is a love story between a Royal immigrant staying in San Francisco and a chef from meagre background who can hardly make ends meet. So what what happens when Dr. Trisha Raje and Chef DJ Caine finally meet ? No fireworks! Well the story is about two people from entirely different backgrounds bumping in together from time to time by fate, fighting at the slightest moment and then finally acknowleding their true love for one another. No grand gesture, no Bollywood style romance :) It was good to read a simple love story between sunch different individuals. I loved the pace of the story and the whole character buildups. Family bonds, friend turned foes and a slight sprinkle of romance, this book is an easy breezy read :) Rated: 3/5 stars ⭐️

@kerrywinfrey’s ‘Not Like The Movies’ has been on my rom-com reading list for long, I mean ever since it got announced, and finally I completed it (A personal achievement considering work from home conditions!). Nick and Chloe make an adorable couple and they have an entire section of rom-com movie lovers supporting them but will their relationship go beyong their normal boss-employee dynamic? Halfway through the book, I thought Chloe to be an absolutely pathetic loser, not agreeing to be in a relationship in the garb of her many responsibilities that ironically she doesn’t even want to share, thus turning down Nick’s sincere love every single time but as the old adage goes, all’s well that ends well. The second half lets the romance extravaganza flow and gets your heart racing and in the end, I am all #teamnickchloe ❤️ The story has all the potential for being a blockbuster movie :) Rated: 3.5/5 stars ⭐️ #kerrywinfrey #notlikethemovies

Vasudhendra’s ‘Mohanaswamy’ is my first Kannada literature red and frankly speaking, I did not expect this story to be so bold (in a good way that is). Mohana is gay and just like millions of others who face backlash for their sexual orientation, he is constantly criticized by his parents and sister. He is not able to show his true feelings even when he is mature enough to know that there is nothing WRONG with him. It’s just that he doesn’t fit into the societal norms of being a normal human being and hence is often ostracized by people around him. But he faces this adversity with a bold face and that’s what makes the story brilliant. It’s a story that talks about struggles and hardships, broken hearts and lost dreams. But it’s also a story of that silver lining :) Rated: 3/5 stars 🌟

@betholearyauthor’s ‘The Flat Share’ is one of those rare gems that you accidentally read only after skimming through thousands of boring old-age romantic stories. Two flat-mates that share the same bed but do not even see each other in the first few months is a story that not many of us will resonate with. But what happens when these two broken individuals from different wakes of life end up sharing a flat and then their life together? Magic. Yes, pure magic :) Sheer brilliant storytelling, solid character build-up and those sprinkles of humor all the way makes it one of the best books I have read so far in 2020. Rated: 4.5/5 ✨

Zara Raheem’s ‘The Marriage Clock’ is a story that almost every indian girl resonates with. Your being an unmarried 26 years old elicits so much drama from uncles and aunties that your parents have no other option but to put their foot down and give you an ultimatum 😆 Well, I have been there and done that ! I can so much relate to Leila’s story here. But even more delightful has been the ending when Leila finally believes in herself and makes a major decision :) Add to that some Bollywood style show-sha, a couple of good looking men and the story is good to go. Although not too high in the literary game, this novel makes for a breezy read. Rated:3/5 ✨

‘An American Marriage’ by @tayari is a story of love, tragedy and despair. It talks about a marriage between Roy and Celestial, and how their love starts losing momentum once Roy gets hit by a tragedy that literally takes their life apart. But while at some point you start feeling sorry for Roy, you will instantly be irritated by his misogynistic remarks and his callous attitude towards the woman he professes his love for. And while you will come to support Celestial’s decisions, you will eventually hate her for being so heartless. But then even when the story ends, you won’t be able to separate the right from the wrong. Such is their story, such is their tragedy. And then there’s the third wheel Andre who for some reasons tries really hard to show his negative side but fails miserably because in the end, he is the only character who stays true to his nature. He loves Celestial and he knows there’s nothing wrong with that. Andre, I wish you were my hero. It’s not a fast paced thriller. Nor is it a romance guide. But An American Marriage is an effortless story of what actually happens in a marriage. Story flows beautifully across different people connected by a couple and I really liked the one on one narrative style. Rated: 3.5/5 stars 🌟