The Guardian

                Moving along the life of Julie Barenson, a 29 year old widow, The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks is an exhilarating, dark, romantic thriller. While Sparks is known for writing sappy love stories that pull on the reader's heartstrings, The Guardian comes as a surprise, and is undoubtedly one of his finest works.

Julie loses her husband Jim to cancer, and is widowed at the young age of 25. She’s left with only his memories and an outdated letter that comes with a pre-planned Christmas gift by Jim – a Great Dane puppy. Jim’s promise to guard over her forever consoles the broken Julie and soon, Singer, the ever-loyal dog with a funny human-like nature, becomes an integral part of her life. Nearing her thirties, Julie decides to move on. But who’ll be her rock? Will her next man be Richard Franklin, the “sophisticated, handsome” engineer, for whom Julie seems to be the world, or Mike Harris, the “down-to-earth nice guy” who was her husband’s best friend?

While the reader expects a “happily-ever-after” line after Julie makes her choice, we soon find her fighting for her life and new-found love. The murderous battle, spawned by deception and a poisonous jealousy, captures the interest of the reader with its electrifying intensity and suspense.

A thrilling and emotional tale of betrayal and obsession, The Guardian, by Nicholas Sparks, is the finest blend of love and suspense. And for that very reason, it’s indeed on the top of my Must-read list!  J

Angels and Demons

                      An ancient secret brotherhood, a devasting new weapon, an unthinkable target – that’s what this heart racing thriller by Dan Brown is about.

In the CERN Institute of Switzerland, world renowned scientist Leonardo Vetra us found dead, branded with a mysterious symbol on his chest. Meanwhile in Vatican, the College of Cardinals assembles to elect a new Pope, unaware of the fact that somewhere beneath them a disastrous antimatter bomb is counting down to the doom of whole Vatican. Robert Langdon, Religious Icology Professor at the Harvard University, is introduced into the scenario by Maximilian Kohler, director of CERN. In a breathless, adrenaline pumping race against the clock, Langdon, along with Vittoria, adopted daughter of Vetra, has to decipher a labyrinth trail of ancient symbols left behind by those responsible – The Illuminati, an ancient brotherhood of Science. Langdon not only has to save the Vatican and the Churches, but also the 4 kidnapped cardinals from the Illuminati, who were reborn after nearly 4 centuries, to destroy their most hated enemy – the Christian Church, with one last act of terror.

Written in a breathtaking manner, the sudden twists and turns in the story add to the element of surprise present in this book, which makes this an absolute page turner. For the first time in my life, a book – Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, gave me a feeling that the story would wait for no one if I kept the book down. Go for it, if you can stand a heart racing @ 100 kmph!!

The Alchemist - A Review

            A book echoing with the voices of dreams, destiny and optimism, ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho is a book that urges people to pursue their destinies, the cause for which they were sent into this world by “the one hand which created everything”. The book tells the tale of a boy Santiago who chose to be a shepherd in order to fulfill his dream of traveling. 

When he decides to go, his father's only advice is "Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest and our women the most beautiful". In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "the treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired. As the alchemist himself says when he appears to Santiago in the form of an old king "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". This is the core of the novel's philosophy and a motif that echoes throughout the book. The author suggests that those who have the courage to listen to their heart and follow the path it shows indeed end up being a part of “The Soul of the World”. The others are doomed to a life of misery, emptiness and unfulfillment.

 ‘The Alchemist’ is a novel that may appeal to everybody, because we can all see ourselves in Santiago: all of us have dreams, and are dying for some inspiration to realize them. The novel skillfully combines words of wisdom, philosophy, and simplicity of meaning and language, which makes it particularly readable and accounts for its bestselling status. All I would say is just read it till the end and you’ll finish it with a smile on you face. The whole essence and excitement of the book lies in the very last page!