Sravika's Books - Reviews and Other Trivia

 Egypt (Rai Rahotep #3) By Nick Drake  Published Year: 2011 Page Count: 275 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre : Historical Fiction, Ancient Egypt, Murder Mystery, Suspense, 2024-read.  Rating : 2.5/5  This book is the last installment in the Rahotep Series by Nick Drake. I think in the triology, this book is the most disappointing and underwhelming to me. Most of the book takes place in kingdoms and places outside of Egypt. The evocative nature of Ancient Egypt - as when the Pharoahs and Queens were ruling it - is not there in this book. I was amazed by the atmosphere that was created in the first book, Nefertiti. This is a rapidly put together story without much thought, I felt. Its easy to see how most of the story is a concoction and not based on real or known historical facts.  Ankhesumun is 21 years old when her husband, the boy king, Tutankhamun dies in a hunting accident. She is married to Ay who is really an old despot with rapidly failing health. Their marriage lasts for 4

 Where the Crawdads Sing  By Deliah Owens  Published Year: 2018 Page Count: 368 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre : Coming Of Age, Mystery, Murder Investigation, Court Room Drama, Animal Behavior, Romance, 2024-read.  Rating : 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Disclaimer : Some Spoilers from the book mentioned here!  This is a fantastic story. Very riveting. A mashup of multiple, different genres that have churned out a totally engrossing and worthy read. Like the lagoon and the rivers which the main character Kya navigates through .. everyday of her life in the marshes, this story and the prose have a sweet, smooth flowing quality to them. The book was unputdownable. I liked the parallels the author was able to draw between the different mating strategies, romantic behaviors of animals and the different lovers of Kya. The characters are well developed and got me very invested in their fate.  The author tied up all the loose ends into a tight knot, leaving no lingering questions.  Kya, the marsh girl,

 The Forty Rules of Love  By Elif Shafak  Published Year: 2011  Page Count : 350 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre : Mystical, Spiritual, Fiction, Rumi, Shams of Tabiz, Religion, Love, 2024-read.  Rating : 5/5 💝💝💝💝💝 Disclaimer : Some Spoilers from the book mentioned here! I just wrapped this up and I couldn't imagine putting myself in the shoes of either of the main characters. They had both experienced a truly, unique kind of spiritual love with people they couldn't hold onto. Needless to say, my emotional state is in a turmoil and nerves are strung raw.  This is a very complex book with layers upon layers of wisdom and spiritual guidance. The author has tried to simplify and make us understand what it means to look at the world - all flawed and filled not only with saints but also with drunks, robbers, murderers and prostitutes - through eyes of acceptance and open hearted love. She shows through the experiences of two people - Rumi of 13th century Konya, Baghdad and

 The Winter King [The Warlord Chronicles #1] By Bernard Cornwell  Published Year: 1995 Page Count: 486 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre: Historical Fiction, War, Britain, King Arthur, Christianity, 2024-read.  Rating : 5/5  I think this work must be commended from the fact that it is almost 99 percent a concoction and an output from the imaginative mind of Bernard Cornwell. As he mentions in the Author's Note towards the end, the existence of a warlord named and celebrated as Arthur cannot be claimed with surety. Based loosely on the historical records that put a person matching the image of Arthur during the 5th or 6th centuries AD, this story is weaved. There are multiple elements added to reflect the conditions of that time period(I am sure he has done justice enough to the facts). The period espoused civil wars within the Britain, wars with Saxons(Germans) that are trying to make frequent forays into Britain .. seize the power and colonize it, religious dissent and tolerati

 The Seventh Scroll  [Ancient Egypt #2] By Wilbur Smith  Published Year: 1995 Page Count: 700 pages  Medium Used : Paperback  Genre : Historical Fiction, Ancient Egypt, Pharoahs, Adventure, 2024-read, Archeology, Ethiopia, Britain, Egypt.  Rating : 3.5/5  I thought the story is riveting and the narrative pretty well paced. I liked the book and felt a lot of information was adding  value  to my knowledge. I felt the fight sequences towards the end a bit superfluous. The length of the book could have been shortened. The starting scene is absolutely mind boggling and remained with me well past the book is finished. I couldn't follow all the different actions that went into the construction of the dam and other artifacts surrounding in the story. I think the writing could have given a better picture of how the different structures are posed or like add a picture/photograph to detail it. This book is continuation of the Ancient Egypt series and is the second book after River God in the

Tipping the Velvet  By Sarah Waters  Published Year : 1998 Page Count : 472 pages  Medium Used : Paperback  Genre : Historical Fiction, Romance, Lesbian Love, Coming-of-age, Britain, 2024-read.  Rating : 4/5 😋😋😋😋 I feel like I am putting my feet on two boats with this one. On the one hand, I don't usually read this genre (which isn't SFF or mystery). It felt like I was wasting my time which I could be utilizing on reading much better and impactful fiction. I felt my fingers twitching and my brain driving me to hate the chapters where nothing much is happening. I wanted to skip several pages and call the act of "reading" this done! But then, the other side of my argument appears and tells me how good the writing is! How strong, powerful and poignant the main character of Nancy Astley is! The prose is so good .. I was astonished and quite incredulous to learn that this is a debut book. It definitely felt like the work of an experienced hand. The command - the author

 YellowFace By Rebecca F. Huang  Published Year: 2023  Page Count: 320 pages  Medium Used : Paperback  Genre : Drama, Literary Field, Suspense, Young Adult, 2024-read.  Rating : 5/5 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 I got a lot of exposure into the world of publishing and literature. Like how they make their manuscripts, make edits and replacements with the help of their editors team and clout, publish the book and get their pre-orders, reviews, ratings and public talk etc. I even learnt how they sell rights to foreign country publishing houses post/pre release and how books get turned into movies onscreen. It's a fantastic and mesmerizing world in itself. The transience of authors and their reputations..how they have to keep churning out material to stay relevant in a high stakes game. Its wonderful! At times, I felt the story to be going slower for my required reading pace. It felt dragging and drawling. If I choose to ignore those narrative spots where it goes at a glacial pace, the story is fantastic

City of Stairs  (The Divine Cities #1) By Robert J Bennett Published Year : 2014 Page Count : 510 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre : Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Divinity, Gods, Adventure, Alternative Reality, Multiverse,2024-read.  Rating : 3.25/5 😃😃😉 So the author has tried to mix too many things into the plot - like sea monsters, parallel universe travel, political intrigues, ships that fly in air through magic, divinities/gods and elements that want to fight and get rid of them. This turned out to be a convincing  - if not a compelling - read. Yes, despite all these different elements, the story is entertaining and edifying. The last 30 pages are pure divinity/theological gold - what could have brought the Gods in the story into existence, made them do the things they have done, why did they suddenly disappear and surrender to mere human foes.  I thought the world building is good - but it is an unenjoyable, drab and to-pieces-destroyed world that I desperately wanted to