Book Review: Ivan, Boris and Me by Suze Leonie

24/05/202530/06/2025Comedy, Contemporary Fiction, Drama, Literary Fiction, noir, Surreal FictionLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Suze Leonie
Release Date: May 1, 2024
~~Series~~:
Genre: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Comedy-Drama
Format: E-book
Pages: 219 pages
Publisher: Fidessa Literary
Blurb:
Illustrator Elodie Ginsburg and her spendthrift best friend, Boris, are inseparable. Taking care of an audacious yellow-haired clown in a red-and-white-striped onesie and oversized black shoes can be a challenge. However, Boris means the world to Elodie. He is a handful, but he’s her handful. Their symbiosis is disrupted when Ivan Lennard, a former professional cyclist with a closely guarded secret, moves into the house next door and becomes a regular occurrence in their lives. Each encounter is a catalyst for Boris to spiral more out of control and increase his outrageous demands, until Elodie finds herself at a crossroads and has to make the most difficult decision she’s ever made.

“A stylish parable about the disconnect between inner and outer worlds.”
— Kirkus Reviews

Review

Suze Leonie’s Ivan, Boris and Me is a whimsical, whip-smart, and refreshingly unconventional story that’s as colorful as its cover suggests. It’s a delicious blend of chaotic friendship, identity crises, and the beautiful messiness of adulthood. This book thrives on character over plot — and what unforgettable characters they are!

The story’s narrator is neurotic, sincere, and effortlessly funny, making her way through life with two eccentric friends, Ivan and Boris — who are not just foils, but deep reflections of her fractured sense of self. The novel feels like an extended existential stand-up routine, complete with emotional gut-punches when you least expect them. It reminded me of the raw vulnerability in modern literary fiction, but with the comic sharpness of a Wes Anderson screenplay.

What works incredibly well is author Leonie’s voice — self-aware and brutally honest — capturing the absurdity of daily life and the unraveling of one’s sense of purpose. There’s a certain European charm and melancholy in the backdrop, and the prose carries a lyrical cadence even when it’s describing the mundane.

If I were to nitpick, the pacing occasionally falters in the middle, where introspection teeters on indulgence. But honestly? That’s a small price to pay for a narrative so richly textured, funny, and authentic.

It’s an unclassifiable gem — part literary fiction, part comedy of errors, part psychological excavation. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy character-driven stories brimming with wit, self-discovery, and emotional nuance.

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Book Review: The Means of Keeping by Rich Marcello

06/08/202406/08/2024Drama, Literary FictionLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Rich Marcello
Release Date: July 12, 2024
~~Series~~:
Genre: Literary Fiction, Climate-Fiction, Drama
Format: E-book
Pages: 332 pages
Publisher: HarvardTown Press
Blurb:
The Means of Keeping is a profound exploration of grief, friendship, and the indelible impact of climate change on personal and global scales. Set in a near-future America, the novel follows Tereza Allard and David Luca, two lifelong friends in their forties shattered by a climate crisis-induced tragedy that claims the lives of their families. The evolving dynamics between these characters against the pressing issue of climate change provide a rich narrative ground, exploring the intersections of personal loss, love, renewal, environmental activism, and the search for meaning in a world on the brink of unrepairable catastrophe.

With a narrative style that blends the introspective depth of Kazuo Ishiguro’s works with the environmental consciousness of Barbara Kingsolver, The Means of Keeping is aimed at readers who appreciate books that not only tell a compelling story but also reflect on the larger issues facing humanity today. With haunting prose and evocative imagery, the novel challenges us to imagine a future where love, resilience, community, and the fervent desire to protect our planet become the means to reclaim our shared humanity. May our children inherit not only a healthier planet but also an indomitable spirit to prevail against all odds.

Review

The Means of Keeping by Rich Marcello is a beautifully penned novel that resonates deeply with our current environmental and emotional situations. Author Marcello skilfully captures the complex web of human emotions against the stark backdrop of a climate-ravaged world, crafting a poignant story.

The main characters, Tereza and David, are developed with remarkable depth and realism. Their journey through grief and towards healing in the wake of a devastating climate crisis-induced tragedy is both heart-wrenching and beautifully depicted. The personal losses they endure are a microcosm of the global catastrophe unfolding around them, making their story a powerful allegory.

The author’s ability to intertwine personal and global tragedies is quite impressive. The exploration of love, renewal, and environmental activism is beautifully woven into the story, making The Means of Keeping a significant commentary on the times we live in. The novel does not just tell a story—it also poses urgent questions about the future of our planet and the legacy we wish to leave for future generations.

Overall, The Means of Keeping is a book that deserves a place on the shelves of anyone who values deeply moving narratives intertwined with significant contemporary challenges. Author Rich Marcello has not only written a book that entertains but one that also enlightens and inspires.

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Book Review: The Greatest Game by Greg Rajaram

25/05/202125/05/2021Drama, Greg Rajaram, Indian Literature, Literary Fiction, Philosophy, Surreal FictionLeave a Comment

Author: Greg Rajaram
Release Date: 15th April 2021
Genre: Philosophy, Drama, Literary Fiction, Surreal
Series:
Format: E-book
Pages: 242 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
Ever since humans became self-aware, we have struggled to find the meaning of life. The price we paid for becoming intelligent was to become painfully ignorant of the difference between good and evil.

Adi, a 10-year-old boy, works together with two old philosophers as they try to unravel the prophecy of a promised King. With insatiable curiosity, Adi must work with the wise men as they rationalize with each other on why and how humans became intelligent. Together they attempt to answer some of the most profound questions related to existence. Does evolution end with human beings or is there an ‘Overman’ who can reach evolution’s pinnacle? Will this Overman be able to define values for humankind?
Centuries later a young boy promises his mother that he will always uphold the love that she has taught him. It is a promise that drowns him in the nectar of the gods. Krish grows up to be an engineer and joins a team of scientists as they try to create artificial consciousness in a machine.
Krish soon realizes that he has a bigger fight on his hands. A fight to preserve love in a desolate world. His quest for true love ultimately leads him down a path where he comes face to face with a fearsome snake delivering a kiss of death.
Humans have come a long way by questioning the nature of objects around us and pushing the limits of our intelligence, but it’s now time that we ask the greatest question yet: when does intelligence transcend to become consciousness?

Review

The Greatest Game by Greg Rajaram is a philosophical read with complex characters and plotline that will leave you introspecting about life and everything else in its wake.

This book a very fresh take on a concept well-loved and widely accepted therefore it was very interesting to read this book. I liked the author’s narrative style and the fact that the book was layered with complexity, intrigue and knowledge very well. I also liked the characterisation as they were all well-developed and rounded characters.

I’d recommend this book to all readers, especially to readers of philosophical fiction.

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Book Review: Love On The Everest by Deepthi Ayyagari

25/10/2019Deepthi Ayyagari, Drama, RomanceLeave a Comment

Author: Deepthi Ayyagari
Release Date: 13th October 2019
Genre: Romance, Novells, Drama
Series:
Edition: E-book
Pages: 48
Publisher: WordBuzz Publishing
Blurb:
Snow-capped mountains and peaks that appear precarious to folks who prefer the solid comfort of level-ground, are like home to me!
I am Siddharth. My parents would have probably been okay had I turned to the forests seeking nirvana like the Buddha. But I have turned to the mountains to seek solace; or adventure, depending on how you look at it. The mountains are my home. They are my paradise.
My parents wanted me to leave my adventures, marry a girl, and ‘settle down’. I’m not sure what that means, but I understand their love. So I obliged them by getting engaged to a girl of their choice, but fate had other plans for me. During my mission to climb Everest, I fell in love–with my Sherpani, the woman who was my guide on the treacherous climb. Fate, however, is not satisfied playing games with me. It wants me to deal with more. Much more!
I don’t know if I will ever climb Everest. I don’t know if I will ever win my Sherpani. But I know that I MUST. Even though life has taken a drastic and unimaginable turn…

REVIEW

★★★★

I have read tons of romance novels and found most of them somewhat the same – tons of cliches, unnecessarily cheesy and cringe-worthy scenes and senseless decisions. But this book is nothing like them. This book is a refreshing new take which fits the bill of sensible romance novel perfectly well.

The book started out slow but picked up in time and took me sailing through a journey that was equal parts emotional and entertaining. This book explores romance very differently. We get to see sacrifice as one of the themes that is generally overlooked by contemporary writers. The author did a pretty good job with the themes of the book and created what I would personally recommend to my friends and family.

It is a very quick read and the writing was good too. I liked the ending as it wasn’t very predictable, though it made a lot of sense so overall I was very happy that I read this book.

I’d recommend this book to all romance readers as well as those who like to read dramas and are okay with emotional themes.

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Book Review: Kaitlin’s Mooring by Carey V. Azzara

09/08/2018Carey V. Azzara, Contemporary Fiction, Drama, Relationships, RomanceLeave a Comment

Author: Carey V. Azzara
Release Date: 3rd July 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Family Drama, Romance
~~Series:~~
Edition: E-book
Pages: 208
Publisher: Glass Spider Publishing
Blurb:
Nothing is more horrific than losing a child, nothing more joyous than the birth of one. When grief intertwines with joy, it throws the Deveau family into turmoil.

Pregnant twenty-year-old Kaitlin Deveau leaves Boston University in a hurry when Henry, her grandfather, calls from Maine with devastating news. Bereft of hope, Kaitlin’s son, Christopher, becomes a life preserver, keeping the family buoyant. Henry, now Chris’s only male role model, teaches him lessons he uses throughout life. In the end, Chris and his adopted sister, Susan, must save their parents from the fate that took his grandparents–but the outcome is uncertain.

Review

★★★★

Kaitlin’s Mooring by Carey V. Azzara is a beautiful story about relationships and family.

This book was surprisingly good and I savoured reading every minute of it. The overall story was a feast and the writing was pretty good and the characters strong and believable. The character’s inner conflicts seemed real and they complemented the carefully woven tale very well. The beginning was slow but built up steadily and the ending proved to be apt.

Except for a few minor pacing issues, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I’d recommend it to all contemporary fiction readers and to those readers who want to explore new authors and books.

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Book Review: River Rising (Carson Chronicles #1) by John A. Heldt

12/02/2018Drama, Historical, John A. Heldt, Mystery, Romance, Science-Fiction, time-travel1 Comment

Author: John A. Heldt
Release Date: 7th February 2017
Genre: Science-Fiction, Romance, Historical
Series: Carson Chronicles
Edition: e-book
Pages: 661
Publisher:
Blurb:
Weeks after his parents disappear on a hike, engineer Adam Carson, 27, searches for answers. Then he discovers a secret web site and learns his mom and dad are time travelers stuck in the past. Armed with the information he needs to find them, Adam convinces his younger siblings to join him on a rescue mission to the 1880s.
While Greg, the adventurous middle brother, follows leads in the Wild West, Adam, journalist Natalie, and high school seniors Cody and Caitlin do the same in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Like the residents of the bustling steel community, all are unaware of a flood that will destroy the city on May 31, 1889.
In RIVER RISING, the first novel in the Carson Chronicles series, five young adults find love, danger, and adventure as they experience America in the age of bustle dresses, gunslingers, and robber barons.

REVIEW

★★★★★

River Rising by John A. Heldt is an engaging sci-fi historical book that’ll take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

I’ve always loved author Heldt’s books because of the beautiful storylines and his exceptional storytelling skills, and this book is no different and had the same charm that I find nothing short of magic. In fact, this book was all this and so much more; it had elements of mystery and something very different from the author’s previous books – this book is a series based around the same family. This made me look at the characters, the main ones as well as the secondary ones, in a very different light.

Overall it was a very good read and I enjoyed every aspect of it. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, science-fiction – time travel, simple romance, family drama and easy mystery.

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Book Review: The Man You Scripted by Calvin Honors

24/02/201718/05/2017Calvin Honors, Drama, DystopianLeave a Comment

Author: Calvin Honors
Release Date: 4th September 2016
Series: –
Genre: Dystopian, Psychological Drama
Edition: E-book
Pages: 129
Publisher: Self-Published

Rating: ★★★★

Blurb:

2115 London
The city is overrun by organ traders in truck size hearses trawling the streets in the aftermath of the Hemo plague. Writer James Nolte meets Laila an X1 cyborg sent to scan humans for signs of Hemo.
Modern Day New York City
Internal Affairs agent John Azolo connects the dots from an unfinished manuscript to unravel a mystery surrounding his friend’s suicide. Detective Laila Carter, whom John audits, might just hold the key to both stories.

Review

The Man You Scripted by Calvin Honors is a Psychological Dystopian Drama based on a remarkably unique futuristic concept.

The fast paced book offers a lot for the genre lovers. It explores a unique writing style of combining two parallel, seemingly unrelated stories and then bringing them together to a great climax. The characterization was god and all the characters were relatable.

The writing style had a nice flow and made this book an easy and quick read.

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to al the Dystopian and Speculative fiction buffs. This is one book you wouldn’t want to miss.

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Movie Review: Dracula Untold

18/10/201426/10/2014Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror/Paranormal, Movie Reviews (by Genre), Science-Fiction, War16 Comments



Directed by: Gary Shore

Starring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon and Dominic Cooper

Release Date: October 10, 2014
 
Running Time: 92 minutes

Adapted From: Dracula

Language: English

Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2aWqecTTuE

Plot Summary

Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans) is a great hero, but when he learns the Sultan is preparing for battle and needs to form an army of 1,000 boys, including Vlad’s son, he vows to find a way to protect his family.

Vlad turns to dark forces in order to get the power to destroy his enemies and agrees to go from hero to monster as he’s turned into the mythological bloodsucker Dracula.

Based on characters by Bram Stoker.

–Tribute

Review

I’ve always been fascinated by Darcula, though I’ve never read about him but I’ve always been curious to know about his life. I’ve always thought of Dracula as a very negative character due to the frequent negative portrayal of him. I’ve always considered him a bloodsucking killing machine, but after watching this movie I felt a strong need to kick myself! I never thought that Dracula can be interpreted in such a glorious and honourable way. He is shown as a caring and protective father who’ll go to any lengths to save his family and empire from the rude and egoistic Turks. After watching Dracula Untold I’ve undoubtedly turned into Dracula’s sincere fan. To be honestly he has successfully hit the top note when it comes to my “Favourite Vampires list”. I can say, without a single speck of doubt, that Vlad is the best vampire that has ever walked on the face of the Earth.

The bats are shown pretty amazingly, specially the bat-effects whenever Vlad took a flight or ran super-fast. Dominic Cooper played the part well, though I thought there should have a bit more action! I was left craving for some one on one bad-ass and gory fight between Vlad and Sultan. There could have been a lot of action in the last 15 minutes but unfortunately the fights were child-like!

Other than the awesomeballs character of Vlad, I really really liked Master Vampire. He scared the hell out of me and I really freaked out at his close-up. He looked every bit like the name suggests and I was actually hoping for the villain to be as scary and dangerous as Master Vampire, as disappointing as it is, that was really not the case.

Vlad looked dangerously scary when, near the end, he bites Dominic Cooper. The effects are awesome and the costumes were up-to the mark. Sarah Gadon’s performance really didn’t stand out. In my opinion, some other heroine might have played the part better!