Different Shades of Life

Sandhya Jane's   Second Spring is an amazing novel that showcase different shades of life. This type of novels are mostly liked by the readers as they are far better than those lovey-dovey romance novels. This novel has true essence of love. Not only this, it is a beautiful journey of Avantika who happens to be a seasoned banking professional. She is a single mother who handles her personal as well as professional life efficiently. She is an all rounder and when she falls for her employee, series of events takes place. The void is filled but still she couldn't find happiness in that relationship. A twisting and turning tale that keeps the readers glued to the pages till the end.

Cover- The cover of the book is beautiful and gives us positive vibes. The color scheme is vibrant.

Title- The title of the novel is related to NAture, '  Second Spring', which fills our mind with new hopes and enthusiasm. One can guess their own definitions like a new beginning of something. This clearly suits the story of the novel making it Apt.

Plot- Sandhya has constructed a gripping plot that revolves around Avantika, the protagonist, who is a businesswoman and a classy lady. The way she carries herself is admirable. She is a single mother and their is void in her life which is filled by her employee who is younger than her. Their chemistry is amazing yet they couldn't make it. Their relationship becomes a history with lots of memories. The way plot is developed is appreciable.

Characterisation- The author has vividly illustrated her the character of her characters. Avantika's character portrayal seems the toughest as per my observation. The way she carries herself and that attitude is hard to delineate in a novel. Further, Rohan's character is phantasmagorically shown. The author's note can beautifully justify Sandhya's thought process about these two character portrayals.

Technique- The story is written in first person narrative. The name of the chapters are the name of the characters i.e, Avantika and Rohan which shows each other's point of views. This point of view technique serves as a sugar coating on the cake. To add more, the personal as well as impersonal descriptions makes it enthralling.

Style- The language is lucid, simple and clear. It has brevity in it. The readers do not find difficult in reading. There are certain sentences that sound poetic. The use of adjectives like sexy, Boss Lady, beautiful for Avantika highlights her character. The locations used in the novel are fantastic. The use of E-mails makes it Epistolary in style. Further, the descriptions, use of phrases and connecting words makes it interesting.

Favorite lines- " Here's someone who doesn't listen to Avantika or give a hoot about our disapproval".
" It is Mercury that is responsible for the strange connection between us."

Others Reviews- http://blog.blogadda.com/2016/01/20/book-review-second-spring-sandhya-jane
https://plus.google.com/110100764236299760695/posts/iFdZmYQGsKk
https://daffodilstouch.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/book-review-second-spring-sandhya-jane/


Availability of the Book- 

ABout the Author- 

With a Master degree in Information Technologies from the University of Central Missouri, Sandhya Jane has been working for over two decades in the global corporate environment in USA, India and Hong Kong that includes some of the leading investment banks in Manhattan.

She has travelled widely across the globe, giving her a unique insight to different cultures and regions. Currently, she lives in Hong Kong with her husband and her son.

In addition to writing fiction, Sandhya also regularly writes on the subjects of technology, management and other motivational topics for leading websites and an Indian newspaper.

Please visit he at: http://www.facebook.com/SandhyaJane or http://www.sandhyJane.com. Write her at sandhya@sandhyajane.com.

First Call, First Love

‘Its over Ella’,said John.

She was numb on hearing this.She was devastated and here she did just the wrong thing.Begged him to stay.Promised him to be a better girlfriend.Asked him why.Pleaded.Covered herself with a snot and humility.Had she not done this,she could have saved her dignity.But John was gone and he left her for some other girl.

She was in trauma but soon she had realized John was not meant for her.She opened up Facebook just to divert her mind.

A new friend request!

"Who can be it?"

The profile picture was of a handsome guy with a well built body and the profile name was Steve Jones.She checked the mutual friends.Guess whose name appeared,John Smith.She accepted the request without much thinking.

Conversation started:

Steve:I heard about your breakup with John

Ella:So you thought its a good chance to flatter a heart broken girl!

Steve: don't take me wrong ,I didn't mean that way. I just want you to know that you are saved from a monster and he never deserve you. I heard you people talking on the phone but he hardly listen to you and he always kept it aside. He cheated you from the day 1 you went into relation. Its good that you guys are not together.

Ella:what??? That bastard! I wish I could slap him.Well he has got his beating and he ll suffer one day. I don't hate him because "people are not wrong, only the situations are". But he is a good person in the end. Its over and I don't want to talk about it. Do  you have any other topic to talk about?

Steve: Ella you are a strong girl and I know you ll overcome this. Let me tell you one thing, you are really sweet who knows the value of relations. I have come across your pics, your smile is killer and you look stunning.

Ella: Well,these things wont impress me and don't even try on me. I hate it now. It feels like every guy just want to flirt with girls.

Steve:I just said the truth and this is no flattery. I know you are really hurt. That's alright. I am sorry if I reminded you of John.

Ella logged out.

She was already upset and this man was confusing her so much. She liked the way Steve interacted but the fact that he was John’s friend was not letting her believe his words. She could not sleep that night. Was it her breakup or Steve’s entry?? She herself wasn't aware of it. 

Next day she send him message.

Ella: Sorry I was not okay yesterday and I just took out all my anger on you. I can’t forget what your  friend did to me and now I can't think of trusting anybody. Its not him to whom I curse, I curse myself because I said to his proposal and its all my fault. I can’t forgive myself now.

After five minutes the reply came.

Steve:I know very well what you are going through. It happens with people. When my heart was broken by some girl, I moved on and she was one of your friend only.

Ella:my friend??who??

Steve: Linda

Ella: Oh!Sorry to here this.

They both chat for sometime and then they exchanged their numbers. But it had being a week since they were friends on facebook and nobody had called each other yet.

It was late afternoon. Ella was chilling in her room. She was feeling low and depressed. She thought of calling her best friend, Suzanne but her number was busy and then she ended up dialing Steve's number.She had cut the phone five times and then called again the sixth time. It was ringing and the person picked up the call.
"Hello!!Is it Steve??"

Yes Ella.

She smiled and suddenly her heart skipped a beat. Steve had a heavy manly voice and it just amazed Ella. It was exactly the same voice that she had dreamt  about her Prince Charming.

John and Ella were couple in name. They hardly interacted with each other. But Ella had some dreams about her Mr.Perfect whom she called her "Prince Charming". John never matched her Mr.Perfect list.

Well, this guy Steve had become special in her life so soon.They started their conversation on phone. She loved talking to him whole day on phone and even Steve liked that. He used to wait for Ella’s call and they talked for hours and hours.They came closer.

Ella told him about her family,friends and her problems which were big like mountains. Steve was a good listener and he always used to advised her to embrace the things. Whenever she had a fight with her parents Steve always said that,'Ella,your parents owe you and you should not feel bad when they scold you as you belong to them and they have the right to say anything to you..just embrace the things darling.’ Even Steve told her about him. He told her that he was not a body builder 2 years back. He was an ignorant guy who was very fat.People used to hate talking to him but soon he realized something and he changed himself completely.He did workout and what he was in front of her was the transformed man. After hearing this, Ella started respecting him.

Ella soon had developed feelings for him but at the same time she never wanted to lose him.  She went to Paris for  2 days and there she switched off her cell,deactivated her id. During that time she missed Steve badly but she wanted to put restrictions on herself. She had to switch on her cell because of some reason. She got a call from an unknown number,she picked up and guess who was it? It was Steve. He said he had missed her. On hearing this, her heart wanted to dance. 

Soon she controlled and said.' I was busy Steve and I want to go away from everybody.'

Steve said,’Ok! But don't go away from me’.

She was happy to hear that but she wanted to test him. She said that they would not talk on phone or text each other.They both tried for one whole day. 

The next day Steve called her and said,

"Its hard for me to live without talking to you whole day"

"Even I can't live without talking to you"

He asked her the reason for her behavior and then she told that that John had called her and said she could easily be carried away  by good talks. He even said that she was committed to  him( Steve) .

"forget him", that was all he said.

Ella couldn't tell him that how much she loved him.One fine day,her parents came to know about the calls as the bill almost had hit their heads. It was triple then the normal bill and she was just 15. She decided to lessen the talks but couldn't live without talking to him. She thought of managing her friend's spare phone to talk so she got her number.

For the first time they were talking late night on phone. She called him from that new number and told him everything that had happened. He was shocked to here that.

He then asked,"Why are you doing this? Why are you cheating them just for a friend?

Ella got numb at that moment. She wanted to tell him how much she had loved him but she stopped herself and said that she liked talking to him. 

Steve confessed,‘I like talking to you and now you have become an important part of my life.I can't tell you how madly I wait for your call or message.When you don't message I get worried for you.I don't know what is it but something is there which I have never felt in my life not even when I was with Linda.Your absence kills me Ella and I don’t mind me saying that I have started caring for you. I fear for you when you are depressed. I want you to smile every time as I can't see tears in your eyes.’

On the other side of phone Ella was filled with tears and now she couldn't control herself and confessed,

"Steve, I feel the same for you and without any fear  I can say that   I have started loving you now.John completely broke me but you healed my pain and now I am completely addicted to you and I can't live without you.’

Both confessed their love on phone and they are the happiest couple till date. Its all about finding the right person and being with him. Love is another name of care. So you just need to find the correct man.

Author's Note: I wrote this piece in 2013,  I was an amateur writer by then so I have kept it that way because I want you to see that teen writer who made mistakes, who was mad about romantic stories and on this New Year, I want you guys to meet that girl who started writing under the pen name, Raga on booksie.com.

LOve ME Like You DO by Divyam KAushik

Love Me Like You Do by Divyam Kaushik is a love tragedy and this mesmerising and heart warming saga just melts the hearts of the readers.

Cover- The cover of the book is just fantabulous.. It gives a soothing effect to the minds of the readers.

Title- I feel nothing would have been better than this title as somewhere it justifies the theme of the novel.

Setting- The action of the story takes place at Dehradun as well as Haridwar and some parts of it in Delhi.

Plot- The story revolves around an unnamed guy who goes through many breakups in life and when he finally finds true love, he ends up losing his own life.

Characterization - There are too many characters in the novel that brings a lot of variety in the behavior and thought process of the characters.The author has beautifully characterized Swati's character. The main protagonist's views, his struggles have been beautifully portrayed.

Style- The novel is known for the unnamed protagonist who is quoted as 'he'. This type of technique makes the novel unique and outstanding. The novel is poetic in some parts. There are beautiful Shayaris, poems, liners which are the main highlighters and act as a sugar coating. They are the crux of the novel. The novel is written in first and third person narrative. The language was simple, lucid and easy.

My Observation- The poetic aura of the writer made this novel stand out. The best part is that a person can complete it in one go and it saves lot of time. There were little syntactical errors in the novel which requires attention. Further, the delineation of too many characters can confuse the readers. Not only this but also the many love plots might divert the attention of the readers. I feel the end could have been different. Since it was going on a pessimistic note then it should have ended on an optimistic note. But it's all what the author had planned so it's purely his thought process.

 Lastly, I would like to thank the author for mentioning my name in the acknowledgment section..trust me it means a lot.

Availability- This novel can be available on amazon, Flipkart, kindle paying and many more..