Tag Archives: Mills n Boon

The Love Asana – A Book Review

The Love Asana by Milan Vohra

What better day to post a review of a Mills n Book than on Valentine’s Day?

In January, when the publishers offered me a copy of this book to review, I just had to leap at the opportunity. There was a brief period during my teenage years, when I devoured M & Bs (as we called it). My friends and I had our favorite authors and we would hotly debate on which authors books were superior, and which ones were pure trash…Ah, the good times, when we actually had the time and energy to argue such things

Anyway, back to the book. This is the first M & B book set in India, with an Indian storyline and setting, and written by an Indian author. The latter is the most important aspect. There are tons of these romance novels that feature men of Asian origin (usually a Sheik of some sort), but this is a first attempt at localizing an entire genre of books to cater to Indians.

How successful is this attempt?

Vivan Parasher a self-made multi-millionaire playboy wants to take revenge on the man who betrayed his beloved sister. He gets an opportunity to destroy his enemy’s business, but when he meets his sister, his thoughts on a professional revenge get side-tracked. He decides to marry the girl and ruin her life. At first, the marriage is nothing but an elaborate PR stunt, but soon they get to know each other better and by the end of the book, they are genuinely in love.

Based on the above summary, this does sound like the stereotypical M & B book, and it is one. However, the author has written some very genuine moments, and does her best within the M & B framework.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. Vivan and his wife Pari are stereotypes, but I was pleasantly surprised by the secondary characters, the settings and the rituals.

All in all, good weekend reading, thanks to Madison Public Relations who forwarded me a copy of this book.

And here’s wishing everybody out there a very happy Valentine’s day!

Happy Valentines Day - Love to you all!

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An Exciting Competition for Aspiring Writers

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Some exciting stuff here

Last year, Mills and Boon launched in India with stories and characters based in India…they did this with a bang by holding a writing competition. The winner of the competition got an opportunity to be a Mills & Boon author – a dream opportunity for aspiring romance writers.

This year as well, the Passions competition is underway.

I love their website design

Between 15th December, 2010 and 20th January 2011, any Indian citizen aspiring to be a Mills & Boon author can send in a story of 1500-2000 words for review by an international jury of Mills & Boon editors. A dedicated site http://www.millsandboonindia.com/ provides guidelines on participation and writing tips. Five shortlisted stories will be put up for public vote on the website on 31st January, 2011, and a special award will be given to the winner.

If you can’t think of a short story, you could even write a short essay on your experiences with Mills and Boon – your first book, or why you enjoy Mills & Boon books so much…

The exciting part of the competition (for me), is that readers of my blog can submit entries directly to me. I get to cherry-pick the top 3 entries and forward it to Mills & Boon. Isn’t that exciting?

So, all you talented writers out there – I know there are many . What are you waiting for? Just give it a shot, who knows you may get to see your name in print as well just like last year’s winner – Milan Vohra whose Mills & Boon novel The Love Asana which is flying off the bookshelves now.

Send in your entries directly to me at nishikk@gmail.com. Oh! I am really looking forward to all the entries!

Down Memory Lane with a Literary Meme

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Gosh! I am taking ages to complete the book I am reading, and so I have resorted to stealing interesting memes from off the internet to fill up my blog. This one is taken from Eve’s Alexandria, which she in turn seems to have taken from somebody else

The idea is to list the books that most shaped your reading life as a child and young adult year by year, or by spans of years.

So, down memory lane I go thinking of all the great and not-so great books that influenced me through the years…

Ages 6-8
I think the Noddy series by Enid Blyton did the trick for me. I was obsessed with Noddy and his friends. I used to often escape into my dream world where I played with my imaginary friends – Noddy, and Tessie Bear, and Wobbly Man, and Inspector Plod, and Big Ears, and Bumpy Dog, and my god who else have I missed. Now, I am getting to relive those days with my daughter who also seems to have a liking for Noddy

Ages 8-10

Again Enid Blyton ruled. She was my favorite author. I devoured her Famous Five, Mallory Towers, and St.Claire’s series of books. Just like Eve, these books made me dream of going to boarding school. I remember my mom threatening to send me to boarding school when I was behaving badly, and being utterly taken aback when I ecstatically responded YES,YES,YES!

I also drooled over her descriptions of food – jammy buns, buttery scones…all these sounded so appetizing for my taste buds that seemed to be always getting boring idlis and dosas. She also inspired me with the idea of having midnight feasts with all my friends and young relatives.

Ages 10-12

This was the age when I started to delve into classics. I was a tomboy at heart (still am), and Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn really sparked my imagination.

I did also read Pride and Prejudice, but I must say didn’t really get too much out of it. It was only when I reread it many years later, that I could appreciate it for what it is.

This was also the phase of gothic thrillers and horrors. There was a dramatization of The Woman in White on TV at the time and seeing that prompted me to read and enjoy both The Woman in White and The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I also enjoyed Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre by the Bronte sisters.

Agatha Christie also stormed into my life, and I read every book of hers many times over. I still do, there is something so wonderful about her books. Even knowing the identity of the murderer does not spoil my pleasure in re-reading.

In summary, this was a great book-reading phase thanks in part to a neighbor who indulged my love of reading, and often lent me a lot of books from his own personal collection of classics. I even read some Russian authors, and enjoyed Crime and Punishment, which I am quite surprised at now.

Ages 14-16

This is rather a dark period in my reading history. Spent more time focusing on my studies and not too much on books. I remember a friend stealthily lending me The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon, and that was my introduction to the big bad adult world of books where sex was explicitly mentioned. I rapidly read the rest of his books, and I must say they were quite instructive

I also started reading Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and The Three Investigators series of books – primarily because I did not have much choice, and that these books were the ones stocked in my local library (which was pathetic to say the least). Of all the three, I remember liking The Three Investigators best.

This was also the time of Harlequin Romances and Mills n Boon. Barbara Cartland also makes an appearance. But, I think the less said about these the better.

Ages 16-18

By this time, I was fed up of modern-day romances and teenage detectives. I upped my reading slightly to Jean Plaidy’s historicals (I loved the Tudor and the deMedici books), Victoria Holt’s gothic romances, and Georgette Heyer’s regency comedies.

I also started having access to the internet and reading a lot of reviews on books that I would not normally read. The Hobbit was one such book. I picked it up after having heard some interesting stuff on the web, and that was my introduction to the wonderful world of fantasy. I also picked up Asimov’s Foundation, and I fell in love with his very rational style of writing – something that I had not been exposed to earlier. Science fiction and fantasy were then added to my reading lists.

Looking back, I don’t know quite what to make of my list. It seems that at each stage of my life, my reading has reflected the person I was then. There is a lot of variety in this list – partly because I read anything and everything that was available (did I mention my lending library was pathetic), but also, I think it reflects the person I am – constantly searching for something new. And I think that’s still me – because my reading list is pretty varied even now, I think.

All in all, this post was one I really enjoyed posting. Looking back at my idyllic childhood and teenage years was really fun. I might even go back and reread quite a few of these books mentioned here. Hopefully, I will recapture some of the awe and wonder I felt when I first read them.

I am also looking forward to enjoying and guiding my daughter’s path through the world of books. Hopefully, she will enjoy reading as much as I do. It’s too early to tell, right now

Well, that’s enough rambling from me folks. Would you like to tell me about some childhood reading memories? I would love to hear back from you.

Who’s Your Favorite Literary Hero?

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Messieurs Mills n Boon and the Cheltenham Literary festival have a nice little competition here. You get to choose your favorite literary hero from the following list:

Richard Sharpe – Sharpe by Bernard Cornwall
Fitzwilliam Darcy – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mark Darcy – Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Rochester – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Rupert Campbell Black – Rutshire Chronicles by Jilly Cooper
Rhett Butler – Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Heathcliff – Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Captain Corelli – Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Henry DeTamble – The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Gabriel Oak – Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Not a very long list, but it was easy for me to make my choice – Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones’s Diary. I think he is just the perfect modern-day hero

Who is your favorite literary hero?

Guilty Pleasures…

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In this funny article in The Guardian, the reporter interviews Michelin award-winning chefs about their favorite guilty pleasure foods. The stuff that came out was quite surprising ranging from Burger King cheese burgers to Filet-o-fish from McDonald’s.

This is a fun article and actually quite reassuring to read. Reading the comments at the end of the article is even more fun, almost everyone has a few guilty pleasures.

Since, the article is now closed for commenting, I thought I would list my guilty pleasures here (in no particular order of preference, and not limited to food):

Ooty Chocolates (especially the mint flavor). Not only am I guilty of this, but I have spread the mania to dozens of co-workers by bringing boxes of the stuff to office to distribute
Baskin Robbins ice-cream – I don’t think there is a flavor they have that I don’t love
Subway subs and cookies – yumm!
Maggi noodles – the good ole Masala flavor
Stardust and Cine Blitz magazines – all the gossip, the salaciousness. Best way to enjoy a rainy afternoon!
Rereading Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton, Victoria Holt novels-occasionally even a Mills n Boon
Random driving just for the sake of it – yes, even in Bangalore traffic, I just love it, and when I am speeding up on the Outer Ring Road, I sometimes like to pretend that I am an F1 driver

There, now I have unloaded … you tell me, what are your guilty pleasures in life?

Twilight – Book Review

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Last week, before going to Chennai, I went to Eloor lending library to pick up some “light-reading” books that will take me through the long afternoons when everyone else is sleeping.

I am one of those persons who can never sleep in the afternoons. When I am at home, this is a good time for me to catch up with pending office work / domestic chores. However, when I go on vacation, I tend to really scramble for things to do to make the time fly.

Anyway, for this trip, I picked up the following books from Eloor :

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks

I picked up Twilight since there is a lot of buzz surrounding this book (it is actually a series of books), and there is even a movie coming out. I did not have a very high impression after reading the blurb at the back of the book. It sounded like a mushy love story between a school girl and a vampire. But, since the reviews have been good, I picked it up anyway.

Well, the book was exactly what the blurb promised it would be. Extremely disappointing for me. I was expecting something along the lines of Anne Rice novels, or at least something like Buffy – The Vampire Slayer TV series, which was also partly about a teenager who fell in love with a vampire. I used to be a huge fan of Buffy (when Sarah Michelle Gellar played the role). The script was really tight and there were a lot of surprises in store. But Twilight was the hugest disappointment. Considering that it is a vampire novel, there was scope to do so much. Instead, it comes across like any standard Mills n Boon ish kind of tale (extremely shallow).

The protagonist is the most milkiest girl I have ever come across. She is clumsy, quiet, shy, doesn’t have any personality at all. She falls in love with the god-like, handsome, and strong vampire ( the vampire also loves her back, but he also wants to eat her as she smells very tasty ! ). She is willing to give up everything for him – her friends, her family, her soul, even her life for him. The rest of the story deals with how he learns to control his carnivorous impulses, and protects her from other vampires who are not so self-controlled.

The book is full of the blahest love dialogues between the two of them. Consider the following example:

Bella : “Look, I love you more than anything else in the world combined. Isn’t that enough?”

Edward : “Yes, it is enough,” he answered, smiling. “Enough for forever.”

Another example:

Edward: Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars——-points of light and reason….And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliance, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything”

And tons more of the same (almost 500 pages)…This was a book that really took all my will-power to finish. Probably, the best thing about the book is the cover. I thought it was quite well-designed, very pretty and feminine (and somehow reflects the character of the heroine).

Twilight Cover

Although, I did not enjoy this book, I might just end up reading the rest of the books in the series:

New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

Somehow, when I start reading a book that is part of a series, I feel I must complete the entire series. This time though, I will take a long break before beginning New Moon. I just feel the need to take a break from this.

I should also be more careful what books I pick up in future and not get brainwashed into reading books that are so not my style.

Coming up next – my review of Devil May Care…

Chick-lit Zindabad !

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Do you have some days when you don’t want to read anything that you cannot finish within a couple of hours?

Well, whenever I am in that mood, I generally turn to my favorite mystery /suspense novelists to give me my CTs (cheap thrills).

However, one of my friends is a big fan of the chick-lit genre and she recommended a couple of books for me:

Almost Single by Advaita Kala
The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan

I finished reading both the books and below are some things that I liked and disliked about them.

Almost Single
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Things I like
1. Very easy reading – ideal for any kind of short journeys
2. The heroine (I can only think of her like that. The term protagonist does not really work in this context ) works as a Guest Relations Officer in a hotel. This was very interesting for me because once upon a time, I used to perform the same function. A lot of the description about the day-to-day functioning and the kind of issues she faces ring very truly and bought a lot of nostalgic memories to me.

Things I dislike
1. The character build-up of the heroine and her friends is extremely cliched and one-sided. They come out looking very artificial, and it is difficult to empathize with anything they are going through.
2. The hero is nothing but a cardboard cut-out of a typical Mills n Boon hero. There is nothing in the novel that brings out his thoughts, feelings, or even basic tastes. It is extremely difficult to understand how this paragon of handsomeness and all other virtues falls for this rather dumb, not-so-attractive heroine.
3. The ending is very abrupt and unsatisfying, and it looks like the author has written it with a view to writing a sequel in the future. It also looks like the book has been over-edited and probably some kind of continuity between chapters is missing. Each chapter starts very abruptly.

The Zoya Factor
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Things I like
1. Hero and heroine are very adorable. In fact, each character in the book comes out quite sweetly (even the nasty characters). In addition, the chemistry between the hero and heroine is really nice. You can understand why the hero (who is the captain of the Indian cricket team) falls for the heroine (who is neither an actress or a model).
2. The book is loosely based on cricket and since I like cricket, this was an easy-sell for me.
3. The book and the characters are based on existing personalities in cricket so it is great fun mapping the characters to their real-life avatars (for example, the hero Nikhil Khoda is very obviously based on Dhoni).
4. The sense of humor in the book appeals to me.

Things I dislike

Not much anything

My friend has now lent me one more chick-lit book “You are here” by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan. But, I think I am totally overdosed on this genre. This book is sitting on my shelf gathering dust, while I am revisiting my tried and tested mystery / suspense novel.

Up next, re-reading The Bourne Identity