Nagasravika's Book Reviews Blog

 Bad Blood  (The Naturals #4) By Jennifer Lynn Barnes  Published Year: 2016 Page Count: 375 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Suspense, Cults and Secret Societies, Young Adult, Blood and Gore, 2026-read.  Rating: 4.5/5 😀😀😀😀😀 This series is so much fun to read! Hands down. I had formed various threads in my mind of how this book would unravel and how the ending would play out. There are many twists and surprises in the story but the one that came in lieu of Cassie's mother's dual nature felt redundant. Why can't she justify herself as someone who wanted to survive against all odds because she wasn't someone who would give up easily ? Why introduce this new element into an already twisted and mind bending story? I also felt that the author had not laid enough groundwork for establishing a solid timeline ( because so much was happening all through) to the succession of Masters and their apprentices - like the relation...

 Killer Instinct  (The Naturals #2) By Jennifer Lynn Barnes  Published Year: 2014 Page Count: 370 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Action, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Profiling, Murder Mystery, Young Adult, Hit Series, FBI, 2026-read.  Rating : 3/5  Not as sensational as the first book in the series. I was totally blown away by book 1. It had a mixture of suspense, psychological profiling, insights into deviant minds bordering on psychopathic tendencies and romantic triangle between the lead characters. In this book, I thought no emphasis was laid on any of the above aspects.  The author had laid exaggerated importance on the character of the villain who seemed to be the kingpin behind the 5 murders in this book. He had minions - referred to as copycats, students, partners or apprentices - who echoed his MO and signature in their crimes. That guru happened to be the father of one of the teenagers in the Naturals programme funded and...

 Divine Rivals  (Letters of Enchantment #1) By Rebecca Ross  Published Year: 2023 Page Count: 360 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Fantasy, Romantasy, Epistolatory, Gods and Magic, Young Adult, Enemies to Lovers, 2026-read.  Rating: 5/5 😍😍😍😍😍 I didn't feel this story should be encompassed under the umbrella of enemies to lovers. There was definitely some rivalry between the two main characters - Iris Winnow and Ramon Kitt - but it was never devoid of some empathy and mutual attraction. Ramon and Iris are vying for the role of a columnist in the Oath Gazette newspaper organization. For Iris, it is a matter of survival because with her mother enfeebled and muddled in drink, she is the sole bread earner of her family. Her brother is away, fighting a war between the Gods Dacre and Enva. Dacre is the God of the Underworld while Enva is the Skywards. They too had a enemies to lovers and back to enemies history. I liked how their background is uncovered ...

 The Naturals  (The Naturals #1) By Jennifer Lynn Barnes  Published Year: 2013 Page Count: 306 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Thriller, Young Adult, Suspense,  Murder Mystery, Detectives, FBI, Intuition, Solving Murders, 2026-read.  Rating : 5/5 😀😀😀😀😀 I usually read up every genre that falls under the banner of Fiction and never have I come across such a simplified yet complex, thrilling story. It is just structured and constructed differently. I felt really invested in diving into the psyche of the serial killer that was disrupting everyone's peace of mind. The author deftly took me through the motivation, needs and cause-effects of victims and the psychopath that was brutalizing them. I was enjoying the read while also learning something about the world of investigators and criminology. How cool is that!! I had committed to my memory important terms like MO, Signature, Victimology among others. I finished this book earlier than I thought....

 The Talisman  (The Talisman #1) By Stephen King, Peter Straub  Published Year: 1984 Page Count: 765 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre : Multiverse, Science Fiction,  Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Young Adult, Coming-of-age, Adventure,  Action, 2026-read.  Rating : 5/5 😃😃😃😃🥳 I would say what a sensational book! The collaboration between two masters of horror and fantasy worked splendidly. I could easily discern the author by his writing style. The clonky book is broken into four parts - i think the 1st and 4th are written by Straub while the middle two are Mr. King's work. There isn't a book I haven't liked of King yet and this is my introduction to Straub. I liked the nuances and knowledge transfer that was happening from their minds into mine throughout the plot. Purely magical and addictive! I couldn't put down the book. Even if I was only managing to read about a hundred pages a day, the story lingered in my mind. I was churning through the e...

 An Acceptable Time  (Time Quintet #5, Kairos #8) By Madeline L'Engle  Published Year: 1989 Page Count: 295 pages  Medium Used: ipad Air  Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, SFF, Mythology, Time Travel, Primeval Time, Young Adult, Teenagers, Adventure, Healing, Childrens Fiction, Classics, 2026-read.  Rating: 5/5 😀 😀 😀😀😀 Absolutely thrilling. I always maintained that one doesn't have to study medicine in order to heal and this book dealing in healers from the ancient times proves me right. The world development of the ancient times  is immaculate - having read all the books in this Time Quintet series, i can attest that the author writes past better than the current times. She is also a critic on the past conditions of people and how the current world is not much different even though more civilized and evolved. I agree with her on that. We have come far technology wise but have much to improve spiritually and self analysis, correction. I liked how t...

 A Swiftly Tilting Planet  (Time Quintet #3, Kairos #3) By Madeline L'Engle  Published Year: 1978 Page Count: 236 pages Medium Used: ipad Air  Genre: Classics, Childrens Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, SFF, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Unicorns, Time Travel,Adventure, 2026-read.  Rating: 5/5 😍😍😍😍😍 What a brilliant book! This book is quite unexpected and quite a leap when compared to the two previous books in the series. It didn't read like childrens fiction. Because the plot is quite complex to grasp. And also the main characters are no longer kids. Charles Wallace is fifteen now. Meg Murry O'Keefe is pregnant with her first baby.There are many threads that come together and sew into a comprehensible plot when nearing the end but until then it is quite a jumble of repetitive character names and events. The idea of the book is novel and its execution kept me gripped from page one till the end. The author has masterfully blended themes of mythology, ti...

 A Wind in the Door  (The Time Quintet #2, Kairos #2) By Madeline L'Engle  Published Year: 1973 Page Count: 236 pages  Medium Used: ipad Air  Genre : Classics, Adventure, Childrens Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Speculative Fiction, 2026-read.  Rating : 3.5/5  Once again, Meg Murry is on an adventure to save her youngest brother, Charles Wallace. Like in the first book, she shows gumption and resolve, using intuition and some luck to get him out of death's snare. In this book, she fights and defeats Echthroi, masters of War and Destruction, seeking to destroy/annihilate/X the creation by destroying Charles Wallace. Farandolae within Mitochondria are fictitious creation by the author which the Echthroi target for destruction in Charles' body. The theory goes that if the Mitochondria die, our body cannot live, similarly, if the farandolae die, the Mitochondria cannot live. Death of all farandolae will eventually lead to the death of the ...

 They Both Die at the End  ( They Both Die at the End #1) By Adam Silvera  Published Year: 2017 Page Count: 370 pages  Medium Used: Paperback  Genre : Speculative Fiction, LGBTQ, Coming Of Age, Young Adult, Facing Death, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😀😀😀😀😀 Death Cast is a company that has come into existence six years ago, in 2011. By some miraculous maneuvering, they can predict the death of a person within a 24 hour window. Every morning, the company representatives, called Heralds, call up the people who are dying that day (within the next 24 hours) and alert them to the bad news. Mateo is spending his time alone in his apartment when he gets the call. His mother died in child birth and his father is in a coma. He is eighteen years old and completely freaks out. He wants to go visit his dad and bid his goodbyes but is scared to leave the safe haven of his apartment. Rufus is a seventeen year old teen who is thrashing up his girlfriend's new bf,Peck,when he get...

 So Let Them Burn  (Divine Traitors #1) by Kamilah Cole Published Year: 2024 Page Count: 334 pages Medium Used: Kindle Paperwhite  Genre: Dragons, Gods, Magic, Young Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sister Bond, Political Intrigue, 2026-read. Rating: 4.85/5 When I started to think about the apt rating for this book, I was conflicted between bestowing it a 5 pointer or a lower 4.5. I finally settled with a 4.85 because while it wasn't a story that was blowing me away, it was logically sound and highlighted the moral ambiguities, natural flaws in human nature impressively. There were a couple of places where I had to back up a bit and rewind to understand the author's sound and clever conclusion! There are quite a few things that impressed me and educated me in this book. First off, the writing is great. It is very riveting and gave off a refreshing vibe. Even when good and evil are fighting off each other, the vibe is not one of  despondency. I liked how dragons -  ...

 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder  (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #1) By Holly Jackson  Debut Novel  Published Year: 2019 Page Count: 396 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre: Murder Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, Science and Tech, Detective, 2025-read.  Rating : 5/5  This happens to be my last read for the year 2025. Today is December 31st and I am super glad to wrap this year up with this sensational book. This story starts out with Pippa Fitz-Mobi, alias Pip, picking up a homicide case, that was closed five years ago, as her school project. The major focus of the plot is how she solves the case, finds the perpetrators who are still walking free, with little to no help from the police and all the while being haunted/chased by someone threatening/warning her to stop her research. She strongly believes in the innocence of the accused, Sal Singh, and resolves to prove herself right. She approaches and takes the aide of the accused's brother, Ravi Sin...

The Book Of Lost Hours  By Hayley Gelfuso  Published Year : 2025 Page Count: 391 pages  Medium Used: Kindle Scribe  Genre : Science Fiction, Time Travel, Alternate Universe, Romance, Young Adult, Adventure, 2025-read.  Rating : 4.85/5 😀😀😀😀😀  I was munching candy while reading the book and the last few chapters, I forgot the count of how many I ate. I was surprised to find that I finished quite a lot of them. I was glued to the story. I was very invested in what the next chapter would unveil. On the downside: I want to say wow, what a fantastic book this is. But I don't think I will. The main character is not flawless, moral and selfless which made her less of an adorable protagonist to me. She kept her lover and daughter first and foremost - above all other concerns. She killed, manipulated, hurt and harmed others so that her daughter would be safe. Yes, she was a typical mother. I think I could see her point to a certain extent and might very well do ...

 A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking  By T. Kingfisher  Published Year: 2020 Page Count: 282 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre : Fantasy, Bread Men, Magic, Action, Young Adult, 2025-read.  Rating : 4.25/5  This is my first book by the author. I have many other books from her in my tbr and having read this, I feel she is worth checking out! This book felt more targeted for children and adolescent audience but I also enjoyed it. I felt a bit of disconnect with the story because the narrator is so objective and detached in her style of writing. I didn't feel that invested in the plot as I would have had if there was more emotional depth created through the narrative. The Duchess,one of the key characters, in the story, seemed more interested in bestowing laurels, badges of honor on heroes of war than controlling the wild elements of her council or running her government efficiently. Lol. But still, this felt like a good enough story if not the most cr...

 If he had been with me  By Laura Nowlin Published Year: 2013  Page Count : 385 pages  Medium used : Paperback  Genre : Romance, Young Adult, Teenage Love, 2024-read.  Rating : 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌠 This is a well written, cute, little love story. I felt very warm and fuzzy reading it .. until realization dawned on me on how it is going to end. It is definitely a sad ending but also holds some hope and promise for the future. The writing is utterly captivating. I congratulate the author on her amazing writing skills that brought this story to life!  To get to the rest of my review, click the link to wordpress.com below.  Read My Full Review Wordpress  Or Find the same review on Wix.com below Read Full Review on Wix

 The Serpent and the Wings of the Night  By Carissa Broadbent  Series : Crowns of Nyaxia #1  Published Year : 2022 Page Count : 450 pages Medium used : Paperback Genre : Fiction, Fantasy, Vampires, Romance, Young Adult, Adventure, 2024-read.  Rating : 3.75/5 ⭐⭐⭐💫 💫 Its an okayish read for me. At times I found myself wondering if this story is for real. A human girl fights and wins against hard-core vampires through sheer brute force and some magical abilities that she doesn't really know how to wield. She summons them in case of need but that doesn’t work always. I read the whole book and I am just as clueless, about why she is called a serpent, at the end as I was at the start. She is clearly raised with messages of wanting and needing self protection and self denial from associating with vampires in her father's(the Vampire King) court because she is a human. Why is she called a snake/serpent? Is there some part of her history that is not disclosed at this p...