Nagasravika's Book Reviews Blog

 The Surrogate  (Brennan and Esposito #1) By Tania Craver  Published Year: 2009 Page Count: 438 pages Medium Used: Oneplus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre: Horror, LGBTq, Thriller, Crime,  Mystery, Detective, Surrogacy, Blood and Gore, 2026-read.  Rating : 4/5 😎 😎 😎 😎  This is not as bad as I had expected it be. I learnt the basic story of the book before jumping in. I fully prepared myself to face some seriously deranged characters, some nauseating scenes but somehow I felt the author didn't let herself go fully in. She refrained herself from making horrible things happen to those babies. I am thankful to her for that. Some scoundrel wants to gift his wife babies because she cannot make them herself and goes about doing it by carving those babies out of pregnant women's wombs. The silly reason given is that this makes the bonding between the baby and its pretend mother complete. The woman into whose hands these children were driven was hateful, obnox...

 The Last Wish  (The Witcher #0.5) By Andrzej Sapkowski  Published Year: 1993 Page Count: 280 pages Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Classics, Horror, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Vampires, Sorcery and Magic, Dark Fantasy, Anthology, Short Stories, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎  This book is a collection of stories about the encounters of the witcher - who is a sorcerer and magician that kills demons for money - with different, troubling, evil characters and demonstrates how he tackles them - in some cases, he reverses the spells that made them monsters, in some he kills them and in others, renders them impotent of their mischief. The writing is gorgeous. The world created is spectacular and dark in every way. It's like being transported to a different time and space. I wondered if the author even inhabits our dimension(earth) in his mind's eye! The names of people and places signal the breadth of his imagination  because they don't sound rea...

 The Demon Star  By Jesse Aragon  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 400 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus, Moon Reader  Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy,  Fake Gods,Magic, Young Adult, LGBTq, 2026-read.  Rating: 3/5  This is a debut novel and I think the author made a bold attempt. She definitely has a command over english language but not enough on story telling or world building. The logic that holds together a brilliant plot felt handicapped here. The writing felt boring and confusing at times. The world building could have been better. This is not part of a series(as far as I know) and I am disappointed and dissatisfied with the ending. There are no breath hitching twists except for the one or two which are frankly passable. In some scenes, I didn't grasp what was happening. The author couldn't impress me with a shocker element even when she has had me in a thrall. Pity!  Coming to the story, there are three main charac...

 Annie Bot  By Sierra Greer  Winner of Arthur C Clarke Award 2025  Published Year: 2024 Page Count: 240 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus phone, LibreraX  Genre: Suspense, AI bots, Sentience, Human AI interaction, Science fiction, Evolution, 2026-read. Rating : 3/5 😎 😎 😎  Frankly, I should like this book better. I mean, the author has transported herself into the thoughts of a rapidly evolving AI cuddle bunny robot, Annie and tracked the evolutionary process with integrity and much imagination. But I don't like it as much because I hated the ending. I hated the personality Annie has grown into, after much work from both herself and her owner, Doug. Sure they had hit a rough patch along their three year plus journey and he showed some inconsistent,self serving and cruel behaviour which rattled/traumatised her deeply but that is only to be subverted in the face of change in him for better with time, right? He has certainly never demonstrated his punishing c...

 Black House  (The Talisman #2) By Stephen King, Peter Straub  Published Year: 2001 Page Count: 624 pages Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Horror, Thriller, Fantasy, Multiverse, Good vs Evil, Action, Young Adult, Magic, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😎😎😎😎😎  I liked this story almost close to the first book in the series, the Talisman. I could venture a guess here that the first and last parts are written by Straub while the middle two by King. I enjoyed King's writing better. I can't explain how he has such a strange hold on the language and the reader. In this book, we don't see so much of the Territories other than for a couple of episodes. The focus is laid on a Black House - both covered in black paint and also feels depressing, bleak inside - which acts like a worm hole between the infinite worlds in existence. In this book, we meet the grown up coppiceman(a cop) Jack Sawyer, twenty years after Talisman adventure has ended. So, he is 32 now.  He has worked...

 Mister Monday  (The Keys to the Kingdom #1) By Garth Nix  Published Year: 2003 Page Count: 200 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW Genre: Adventure, Action, Young Adult, Children's Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, 2026-read. Rating : 4.5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😄  There once was an Architect who created the House and the Secondary realms from Nothing. It is possible to navigate to different realities from the House. After a while, she goes off, leaving behind her Will. The Will document is broken into pieces and one of them is stored away on a distant star. The book starts with this component escaping and continues with a man called Mister Monday and his steward approaching an asthmatic kid, Arthur, who is struggling to catch his breath, alone on his school's playground. This man, Monday, gives him a Minute Key - his property/power -  because he is tricked by something into doing so. After that the adventures of Arthur start. He is a randomly chosen heir to...

 The Book of the Dead (Part 2) Edited by Jonathan Strahan  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 475 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre: Horror, Thriller, Suspense, Anthology, Short Stories, Collections, Various Authors, 2026-read. Link to the part 1 stories in the book  Part 1 stories review Link to Part 3 stories in the book Part 3 Stories Review Wait by Cassandra Khaw  Rating : 3.5/5 A woman of forty thinks that the arrival of a certain dog means her death is near. Long time ago, her mother had shot herself, orphaning her and her sister. Her friend requests her to wait before committing suicide herself. Then on the day she decides to drown herself, she meets a stranger. And her plans get foiled. What I liked about this story is the message that no matter how aware people are about the certainty of death, when time approaches, they want to tarry. No one wants to die because there is always something worthwhile to do, to accomplish! ...

 All of us Villains  (All of Us Villans #1) By Amanda Foody, C.L.Herman  Published Year: 2021 Page Count: 384 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Magic, Games, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Betrayals and Alliances, Young Adult, Horror, 2026-read.  Rating : 4/5 😎 😄 😄 😄  First of all, the world and character building are good. All though all the characters stick to their true selves, the problem is none of them are likeable/good. Like the title reads, they are all villains in some form. There are seven main contestants to the game of Blood Veil and each has been groomed since birth for the prize. Participating in the game is generational for the seven families. Grieve family has never won - not even once in the last eight centuries with the game played every twenty years. Lowe family has won the most and has been possessor of the high magick which becomes theirs as the winner's family. The stakes for the participants - who are mere kids - is so high. Only...

 My Husband's Wife  By Alice Feeney  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 314 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre: Thriller, Psychological, Suspense, Twists, Mystery, Detective and Police, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😎😄🆒👍👍  I am usually not that impressed with thriller books though I read them whenever I come across a well acclaimed novel. This is my second book (Rock paper scissors being first) by the author and I feel this is a much superior work than that first one. It has solid world building and a satisfying, well formed story line from all character povs. I don't know how many re-reads, corrections it takes for the author and her editors to reach this stage but I am happy with the final outcome! 🏵️🏵️ The first two chapters, I was wondering if I have accidentally (but fortuitously because I love these) stumbled upon a book dealing in alternate realities, multiple universes and time travel. It was so eerie and had that vibe of a teas...

 Dharmayoddha Kalki : Avatar of Vishnu (Kalki Trilogy #1) By Kevin Missal  Published Year: 2017 Page Count: 440 pages Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Epic Fantasy, Mythology, Hindu Mythology, Indian Authors, Fantasy, Good vs Evil, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎  Highly entertaining. I am damn sure that someone who doesn't have background knowledge of Hindu myths won't be able to make heads or tails of this book. But I am glad that we have some gifted writers like Kevin Missal among us who want to dabble in God stuff, so to speak. Kevin's writing and command over English language felt superior to Amish Tripathi - another Indian taking inspiration from Indian myths to concoct captivating stories. It is impossible to evade comparisons between the two authors I feel. I loved the court intrigues, the politics and even the bloodshed which felt liberating and endearing in this book, for some damn reason I don't know!  This book deals in the shaping out of dharm,...

 The Fires of December  (Hoid's Travails #3) (A Cosmere Universe Novel) By Brandon Sanderson  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 452 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre: Science fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel, Science Fiction Fantasy, Romance, Demons, Good vs Evil, Alternate Realities, 2026-read. Rating: 4.85/5 😎 😄 😄 😄 😄  This is the third in series but happens to be my first book from the series. It can be read completely 💯 standalone. I didn't feel any lack in my understanding because of not picking this one in the set order. The descriptions of the landscape and layout of the city, with the demon, felt difficult to follow but illustrations presented  alongside the text helped. There seemed to be some incongruencies where December, the main character, was trying to portray herself a mature woman to Flint, her current romantic interest and future husband, but was also flirting using tricks that naive, young girls do. I felt per...

 Skeleton Crew  By Stephen King  Published Year: 1985 Page Count: 762 pages Medium Used: Paperback Genre: Horror, Short Stories, Anthology, Thriller, 2026-read.  Rating : 4.25/5(overall) The real thrill I felt while reading these stories was knowing that they were from the master storyteller King and also not knowing what was going to be there in a story. Sort of like diving blindfolded yet knowing it will be an enjoyable ride! King knows very well how to play supernatural with horror/suspense like a fiddle. I pick up a story and feel that it's gonna be atleast a 3.5/5 which is encouraging!  I am reviewing bigger stories/ novellas here. There are other shorter stories apart from these which I will give a overall rating at the end to. A couple of really short stories like the milkman fail to impress and stir horror in me. Plus all these these stories are very old - from the late twentieth century. So overall rating for the book is 4.25/5  😎 😄 😄 😀  T...

 Trad Wife  By Saratoga Schaefer  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 310 pages Medium Used: Mobile Phone, Moon Reader  Genre: Horror, Demons, Thriller, Supernatural, 2026-read. Rating : 4/5 😎 😄 😀😄  It was a good read. But I had some reservations with the characters and the characterization among other things. First off, this book is very unsimilar to Rosemary's baby. In that book, a woman is tricked into bearing the child of satan and is very quickly parted with her child post birthing. Here, we have a woman who (seemed demonic herself to me) willingly gives birth to a demon's child and then parts with her humanity to become one with the cult. Its a novel idea for sure but somewhere in the last 50-60 pages, I felt certain of the ending and that dampened some of my interest. There was only one way the story could go and that way it went!  The narrator mentions that her husband is domineering and controlling like her father and only wanted her for her submi...

 The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom #1) By Rachel Gillig  Published Year: 2025 Page Count: 385 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Romance, Romantasy, High Fantasy, Gods and Magic Objects, Young Adult, 2026-read.  Rating: 4.5/5 😎 😄😀😏  The writing is compelling. The story has traction and reads solid. One corrupt human turned God. She is not benevolent. She makes five fake gods called Omens and keeps them chained to her gifts of gold and divine offerings for centuries. They have got used to having power that they don't want to relinquish. She takes on young orphan girls and trains them at the arts of divination. They can get signs and portents from these omens and use them to guide/control people and kingdoms. One such diviner is Sybil Delling, also called 'six' because she is the sixth and most noted diviner in her batch. These diviners are on a rotation cycle of ten years - every ten years new ones take the roles of diviners. There are f...

 The Ministry of Time  By Kaliane Bradley  Published Year: 2024 Page Count: 288 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Debut Novel, 2026-read. Rating : 3/5 😎 😎 😎  Winner of Sci-fi Goodreads Award 2024 .  This is the kind of book you either totally love and vouch for or toss it aside and carry on with next read. I somehow made it till the end because its my motto to not DNf a book unless its so damningly frustrating and hopelessly boring. This is a convoluted story that made me scratch my head quite a bit and then ponder, ponder until I settled on an acceptable narrative. I don't mean to imply that there are more than one possible interpretations but there might be for all I know. The author has mashed together elements of time travel, spy thriller, romance and suspense to churn out this meal that, to to be honest, is not entirely sumptuous. I will explain a bit of the plot and give out my poi...

 Oracle  (Robert Grim #2) By Thomas Olde Heuvelt  Published Year: 2021 Page Count: 460 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre: Horror, Thriller, Supernatural, Gods and Sacrifices, Fantasy, Young Adult, 2026-read. Rating : 3.85/5 I very near DnFed this book while reading the last 30 percent. I wish the author has written it a bit differently than the mundane fight between good and evil, played out through a clueless kid and an evil bureaucrat. And once we know what's gonna pan out, he makes it even more boring by dragging it. I wanted to bang my head to the floor to make the pace go fast so I  can wrap the book or get to some better stuff which might be interesting in the later chapters. This book has a great start and good going till the revelation of the mystery behind the events. Then its all predictable.  A small kid becomes the Oracle for an old, crippled, cursed and long forgotten God who is trying to fight another evil God who w...

 One True Loves  By Taylor Jenkins Reid  Published Year: 2016 Page Count; 327 pages  Medium Used: Paperback Genre: Drama, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Suspense, Coming of Age, 2026-read. Rating : 4.85/5 😎 😄 😄 😄  A woman torn between two true loves. She has to choose whom to spend the rest of her life with. One of the guys was her former husband, her sincere and best friend for over ten years and whom everyone thought perished in a helicopter crash. The other is someone who had crush on her before she met her husband and with whom she rekindles an affair after all this time. I wonder what would have happened and whom she would have chosen and appeased if they both wanted her equally. But as it happens, they are both kind and smart enough to let go when it mattered and hand the choice to her alone. I loved that the most about this book. It is not everyday that a woman gets two incredibly amazing guys, both rooting and wanting her. Her husband, J...

 The Devil Knows Her Name  By C. N. Vair  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 384 pages  Medium Used: OnePlus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre : Horror, Devil, Thriller, Murder Mystery, Gothic, Magic, Young Adult, 2026-read.  Rating: 5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎  Wow. What an amazing read. The factor that stands out in favor of this book is how damn good the prose is. It baited me and had me clinging to the hook till the end. The eerie atmosphere is present all through, giving chills down the spine. Very original, freakishly scary. This comprises of all the usual and unique scaring elements like making deals with the devil, eternal youth, mind control magic, binding the devil and his power among other things. There is desperation and violence resulting from that. This is the first person narrative of a woman Tess and she tells her story of how far she went and how many sacrifices she made to save and secure the most important thing to her! A woman - a witch - actually,...