Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Goodreads Review: 

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

My Thoughts: 

This story is about truth, love, sacrifice, joy, sadness, beauty. I felt all these things while reading. I lived inside this book as child. And didn't feel like coming out of this book. I felt like he entered my brain and pulled out  a beautiful nightmare.Its just this amazing read. Its a fast read, will keep u engaged till the end. A very heart touching story. At first i was a  bit disappointed and thought of giving up on this but kept reading n reading and didn't knew when i finished. That's the beauty of this novel.

Happy Reading !!

Review: 12th of Never by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Goodreads Review: 

It's finally time! Detective Lindsay Boxer is in labor--while two killers are on the loose.

Lindsay Boxer's beautiful baby is born! But after only a week at home with her new daughter, Lindsay is forced to return to work to face two of the biggest cases of her career.

A rising star football player for the San Francisco 49yrs is the prime suspect in a grisly murder. At the same time, Lindsay is confronted with the strangest story she's ever heard: An eccentric English professor has been having vivid nightmares about a violent murder and he's convinced is real. Lindsay doesn't believe him, but then a shooting is called in-and it fits the professor's description to the last detail.

Lindsay doesn't have much time to stop a terrifying future from unfolding. But all the crimes in the world seem like nothing when Lindsay is suddenly faced with the possibility of the most devastating loss of her life.

My Thoughts 

If there is one author i keep coming back to read more and more is James Patterson. This is the 12th book in the Women's Murder Club Series. I did enjoy most of the books in the series but not all of them. 

I really liked all the different cases/crimes/story lines, I think there were four happening at once and found that really kept me interested. The book really flowed well from one into the other. I liked the developing relationships and breakdowns between the main characters and how not everything always works out well in the end. It gives it a bit more of a realistic feel

There was also the side story about Lindsay Boxers new born baby being sick and how that was resolved which was another interesting aspect to the entire story. Having said that I really didn't like how she went back to work when her baby was sick in hospital. I would have given the book 5 stars if it weren't for that. I know she is one of the main characters but............... Also I know it's a long time since my children were babies but I don't remember jiggling a newborn on my knee. But that's just being picky.

My kids were a totally a two different story, i can write a book on each of my boys ... lol .. 
P.s. Highly recommended not only to James Patterson fans but to all those who loves to read mystery and suspense. 

Happy Reading !! 

Review: And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

This book has a very special place in my book-shelf, cuz its been Personalized by The Man himself. Yes, Khaled was here in Toronto last week in one of the most beautiful Chapters store I've ever seen. He was here for the promotion of his new release. Today its been exactly 8 days that I shared a stage with him. My awwww moment. Once in life time moment.

Goodreads Review:

Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

My Thoughts on this:

Khaled is a gifted storyteller. I can say this because his this novel starts with a story. Just with the first few pages i knew i was in the hands of a master storyteller. I knew he is going to take me to a roller coaster ride and he makes sure that i reach my destination safe and sound.

I hate it when a good book ends. I feel like just keep reading , reading and reading !! This novel is one such. One more thing i want to add here is the way he portraits WOMEN in his books. OMG, I think, by far, he is the only male author who portraits women so beautifully like no one does. The same question was asked to him in the event I attended and he said, "May be i understand women very well." to which she said, "You are the only male who understands women so well. These days husbands don't understand their wives."  And everyone had a little laugh at that point.

And The Mountain Echoed will have you hooked from the first paragraph till the last paragraph of the book. Another unbelievable piece of work by Khaled Hosseini which you don't want to miss.

Happy Reading !!