The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - A Book Review

A fellow classmate of mine suggested me this book out of the blue. But when I was surfing around Amazon in the Used Books section, I came across all the books in the trilogy at a freakingly low price and it was an offer I could never refuse when it comes to buying books. I ordered them all and here I am writing a “review” after finishing it which feels like forever.

You can get the book (used) at an awesome price here (which is where I bought)

• Amazon

I was a little hesitant in reading the first few chapters of the book for several different reasons.

1. I was not sure whether I would like this book.
2. The size of the book was a tad bit longer than my average book.
3. And I have been way too many books which have lead girl characters, so it got kinda monotonous.

This book took away all the doubts and started to become a book that was actually likable as I dived into it. The first few chapters would make you think that this was a book that is gonna be revolving around this weird girl named Lisbeth Salander but Mikael Blomkvist takes the stage midway and keeps the story interesting till the very end. The thing that I did not like about the book was where it had all these descriptions about the financial kind of stuff that happens in Blomkvist’s profession and to be honest, I did not get what was happening much.

But I could only know that he was not winning. This is where I thought I was not going to finish this book and thought that I was going to put the book down. The first eighty pages or so were filled with things that have to do with financials and other problems that he comes across in his job that you kind of just flip through the pages but are not exactly engrossed. Then as the pages turn, the Lisbeth’s character generates momentum and I got to understand her in a way of why she behaves in such manner and could empathize with her on some levels.

I read in Goodreads where some people felt that the book was way too descriptive of unnecessary scenes and situations. I think it was actually so. The book spans of about 530 pages in paperback and could have been a lot more gripping if the story was shortened a bit. There are an awful lot of characters that are not very memorable and have very minor insignificant roles to play in the story. It gets confusing after a point to recollect when a character is being talked about. The criminal investigation is so perfectly written where the crime is viewed in literally all angles and perspectives of different people present on the day of the crime. The way with which the investigation moves ahead is simply cool.

This book is a good book when you forego the unwanted description of scenes and the buck load of characters that come and go. I have the remaining books from the trilogy and would start those before this year for sure. 

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - A Book Review

Whenever I am on the internet browsing through book websites or scrolling through my newsfeed on facebook, I would normally stumble on posts like “Top 5 books that will blow your mind”. This usually interests me and I follow them up ending up reading about the premise of the books and checking for their price online to see whether I would be able to afford new paperbacks for my bookshelf. Once I fixated that I wanted to buy this book next, I kept my eyes glued on the websites on which I normally buy the books. I waited and waited until the prices fell. I did and I bought it.

You can get the book from here at an awesome price

·         Amazon

·         Infibeam

The book is about two U.S. Marshals who come for an investigation to the Ashecliffe Hospital to find an escaped criminally insane murderer/prisoner named Rachel Solando on the Shutter Island. As the investigation unfolds, Teddy Daniels (the Marshal and the protagonist) finds that the situation at the island is more than just a missing prisoner. The events that happen once they step foot on the island become so crazy that as time goes, Teddy can’t tell who the actual victim is.

Is Ashecliffe really a hospital like it claims to be? Why are they reluctant in giving information to the officers of the federal government? Does it experiment on the prisoners in the light house? And who is the patient number sixty-seven?

Now that we have got the premise out of the way, I would say this was pretty different book compared to the books that I have read before in terms of writing which was strikingly good. The perspective of Teddy Daniels gives us a clear picture of what Lehane wants us to picture in our minds. Teddy’s partner Chuck Aule calling him “boss” builds his character and as the story moves forward the writing got preachy at parts and gripped me in certain pages. The plot twist again was another thing that I knew beforehand. I think it is only surprising when you do not know that there is going to be a plot twist. I only say this because the whole time I was reading it even in the boring parts of the story I kept saying to myself “the plot twist is gonna be awesome. Just read on”. I mean, plot twist are better when they are unexpected if I am not wrong. 

The book was dark and thrilling, that’s for sure. The writing was so good that I never wanted to put the book down except for a few pages in the beginning of the book. You just have to bear through the first few pages. The way Lehane has written it would not be in a certain format that you can understand easily. The conversations that he has with the prisoners/patients about the murder leads to them talking about how they view the world. They talk about how they murdered some people and it gives you the creeps. The setup where the story happens is entirely in the Shutter Island except for the flashbacks. The recommended time to read this book is after midnight so that you experience the book to the fullest.

I would definitely recommend this book to someone who would be interested to read a book that is dark, thrilling, and suspenseful. There are not many parts in the books that would make you go ‘woah!’ or anything like that but still is a good book.

Did you like the book? Or absolutely hated it? Let us know!  

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - A Book Review

I was very excited to read this book, first of all. The anticipation grew as I read reviews on goodreads, saw video reviews of booktubers raving about this book and I was indeed intrigued to know what this book was all about. After much of browsing for the “best price online” I got the book for a solid 279 INR. Cha-Ching, right?

You can get this book at an awesome price from here

·         Infibeam

So, did this book live up to its expectations?

The story revolves around a girl named Mare Burrow who is Red by birth in a land where people are separated by blood: Red and Silver. Red are the normal people who live in poverty, suffer, and have mandatory military service for every kid that is 18 (conscription) and so on. Silvers have special abilities; they frame the rules and rule the Red. Mare’s only friend Kilorn is up for his conscription and Mare wants to save him. One thing leads to another and the Silver find out that Mare is different so they try to protect her identity and hold her a sophisticated captive. Till what extent does Mare go to protect her family, her friend and even more her own self?

When I began reading the novel, the first few chapters were captivating as they built the world and the characters introducing Mare, Kilorn, the differences in the Red-born and the Silver-born. But after a few chapters, I realized this was an average Young Adult dystopian novel after all. I was supposed to be taken by surprise at places where I actually felt ‘meh’ and nothing more. I am not the one for love triangles and the love triangle in this one wasn’t any breathtaking one either. The characters just came and went. Even though it has only been few days after I finished reading it, I do not remember any of the names other than the main characters’. They are not memorable since they do not play impactful roles in the story.

The second half of the book was better compared to the first since I knew that there was a plot twist. Accidentally, I misplaced my bookmark one day exactly on the page where the plot twist was and I read the spoiler. Boy, was I stupid. I think I would have had a different view of the book had I not seen the spoiler. I hope you don’t read any spoilers before reading this one. I saw on the internet where people were taking teams such as Team Maven and Team Cal or whatever. I don’t know. I never truly felt rooting for either one of them as they practically did nothing amazing of any sorts. This was definitely not going to be a DNF (Did Not Finish) and I was sure of. I have not read many YA (Young Adult) fiction yet I could see that this story was not something very original. Even the review at the back of the book says that it is a blend of Hunger Games, The Selection, Divergent and Graceling. Can’t get any more original, now, can it?

I liked the ending of the book, though. You know when you watch certain TV shows where you don’t exactly like it but at the end of the episode you wanna watch the next one? This book was like that for me. I might get around reading the second and the third book of the series. 

Did you like the book? Or absolutely hated it? Let us know!