Book 20 : Lord of Shadows(The Dark Artifices #2)

Title : Lord of Shahows (The Dark Artifices #2)

Author :   Cassandra Clare

My Rating : 5 / 5 stars

Synopsis:

Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

Review:

Cassandra has once again weaved an absolutely brilliant book with this 2^nd installment in the “dark artifices” series. Her capability of holding together the huge amount of characters and plots has always amazed me and with this book she has made it clear that her talent is no joke. Surprising us all with an intensely complicated plot but nonetheless written in a charmingly sinkable way, she has done a wonderful job.

Cassandra in this book has delved deeper into the character of Julian, who I thought would never get any better than he was.  She has made sure that he gets the focus of the plot, completely transferring the main protagonist’s credit from Emma to him effortlessly. The plot in this book not only revolves around Julian, Emma and Mark but also to a large extent involves the smaller kids Ty, Livvy, Kit and Drusilla.

I believe to make an excellent book, it should be written in such a way that it should not only have a well-planned out plot, but also lively characters who are able to evoke emotions in us. This book caters both the needs beautifully as Cassandra further explores Julian and Emma’s intense love story along with Mark, Kieren and Cristina’s triangular love story. The book gives us an absolutely adventurous plot along with heart-tugging love stories which are able to capture the flaming tension, burning desire and deep passion in each of the characters.

Cassandra has very thoughtfully ended the book in an absolutely unexpected way which leaves us with a pang, looking forward to the third installment in the series very eagerly. I am sure you would love this book. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars. 

Happy Reading 🙂

 

Free Adult Coloring Page

Do you love coloring? or Are you like me who colors the intricate patterns to relax and wear away your days tiredness? Then you are at the right place to get a free handdrawn coloring page to color away.

On account of promoting my ETSY Shop, I am giving away the shown high-quality handdrawn fairy adult coloring page. You can claim your coloring page in an instant by just visiting my etsy shop and retweeting a tweet from the below mentioned link. The giveaway ends on 1st Jan 2017, so HURRY UP!!!

How to enter the giveaway:

• Click here : Mega Sample Adult Coloring Page Giveaway
• Visit My Etsy Shop
• Retweet a tweet
• TaDa!! You can claim your coloring page in an instant

Enjoy coloring!!!!!!! Hope you love it.

DIY Gift: How to make a DIY Quotes Gift Jar gift for your loved ones

When I am usually depressed I go through different quotes in Pinterest to make my heart lighter. This gave me the idea for the DIY Quotes Jar. Yes! I know you must be wandering, “We have heard about Memory Jars but what is a Quotes Jar?” Well, a quotes jar is nothing but a jar/box filled with handwritten or printed quotes. I feel the handwritten quotes make a great gift for your loved ones as it adds a personal touch.

So for this, the materials needed are:

1. Colored chart papers
2. Marker
3. A box or a mason jar
4. Golden thread
5. Plenty of lovely inspirational quotes.

Step 1: Get all the colored chart papers and cut them into strips (as shown) and stack them together. This will make it very easy for you to write the quotes whenever you feel like it.

Step 2: Write the quotes on the paper strips with a black marker.

Step 3: Roll the paper strips and tie it with a golden thread.

Step 4: TaDa! And you are done with a great gift of your friends, family and loved ones.

Hope you liked it.

DIY Fairy on Wall : Fairyland Wall Art 3

Drawing & coloring is relaxation for some and so is it for me and I am back with a new fairy-land wall art this time again. I know you must be thinking, “Where does she get the walls to paint her heart out”? Well! This time it’s my Uncle’s home. My Uncle got very impressed with my wall art and offered me his room wall for another fairyland adventure.

The room walls where covered in two different colors, one a light pink & the other a light green. So, we took a darker shade of the background wall color to unleash our art on both the walls. Taking up of the darker shade gave the wall art an self-design kind of look.

The fairyland includes a big gate which we drew in the form of a dome over a window and four fairies each connected with pixie dust. The idea of the pixie dust with rhinestones make it a fabulous piece of work and you should definitely use it in your wall arts.

Required Materials:

1. Chalk pieces for outlining you art on the walls ( Don’t use pencils as make the walls dirtier and increases you difficulties)
2. Water-based Maroon & Green Paints (The background paint of the wall is also water-based).
3. Brushes
4. Rhinestones
5. White Gum
6. A brilliant idea and some patience as always.

First, I should apologize because I couldn’t provide the step by step tutorial of the wall art again but the final fairyland wall art is available.

Hope you got some inspiration and ideas from the fairyland. You can check out my previous fairyland wall ventures here and here,

Enjoy!!

Free Adult Coloring Page

HERE’S A CHANCE TO GET A FREE ADULT COLORING PAGE

In celebration of opening up my Adult Coloring Page Store @ETSY, I am giving away the below sample free adult fairy coloring page from my collection.

To avail the sample coloring page, you have to just enter this giveaway.

Mega Sample Adult Coloring Page Giveaway

For a chance to win a set of this amazing 4 fairy coloring pages, all you have to do is:

1. Color the sample coloring page that you got from the giveaway
2.  send it @FacebookPage or tweet to me @Twitter or Instagram with #MessedUpImaG and #ColoringForAdults. Also add this ETSY Link: http://buff.ly/2bvtKjQ

The best colored page will be selected as the winner and the winner will be contacted through mail.

Grab this offer this instant. The giveaway expires on 14th Sept. 2016

For any Query contact me at messingwithimagination@gmail.com

Happy Coloring!!!

 

 

 

New Adult Coloring Pages #1

Fairy Coloring Page, Coloring Book Pages, Adult Colouring Page, Printable Adult Coloring, Hand Drawn Detailed, Fantasy Coloring Page, Fairy Coloring Page, Art Therapy, Instant Download Print

Coloring intricately can help relax, reduce stress and boost mental clarity. Keeping this in mind this hand drawn coloring page is endowed with detailed fine lines for adults as well as children. This coloring page can be downloaded and printed instantly. The drawings are digitized on the computer for crisp clean lines.

This item is made especially for coloring in, you can use color pencils, pens, fineliners, watercolors, crayons etc. to color the page beautifully. It would be great for making gift cards, craft projects, gifting, wall art frames and home decor.

Size is A4 size (Standard Print Size)
21.00 x 29.00 cm
8.27 x 11.69 Inches

You can find this at my Etsy Shop : MessedUpImagination@ETSY

Book 19 : Merjella

Title : Merjella

Author :   Yuvaraja Dhayanithi

My Rating : 4 / 5 stars

Synopsis:

Jella, an octopus, is the rightful ruler of Zypher, a kingdom in the sea. But her father was killed and the kingdom was taken over by the evil Chiro. She has no one left but her two little friends, Qwerty and Bingo. Now the task of winning back Zypher and freeing the people is up to her. 

Marina is an eminent scientist who has no clue about her contributions to the world. Her inventions are placed in the wrong hands, posing a huge threat to everybody.

Jella finds Marina stabbed and left to die in her sea. In a magical intervention, together they discover each other’s life experiences – but will they be able to reclaim their destiny?

Review:

Merjella makes a great children’s book. I loved the whole concept behind the book, interweaving the human and marine world the author has made a great effort in bringing out and presenting a beautifully created imaginative world. The author has done a great deal of research related to marine life and has created a unique storyline based on it. The author’s writing style is very crisp & clean and also very easy to understand.

The story of Jella and Marina are two very different ones which captivates our interest. Jella’s story makes us imagine an Ariel-like or a Nemo-like colorful underwater world easily where Jella needs to win her kingdom back while Marina’s story makes us think what the future technology may lead us to if placed in wrong hands. I especially liked the author’s idea input in Marina’s innovations of Pro-dog & Bird mails and how they were wrongly used.

The story builds up beautifully in the start but as the story goes by I felt the book was a bit rushed up in the end. I would have loved it more if the author could have tried integrating more feelings between the lines.

I believe the book would make a brilliant story for the young minds and also give them something important to think about. The author’s creativity in penning down a moral & engrossing story for the children is immense. The storyline runs along friendship, empathy, strategy, planning & the prevailing of the good.

It’s a thumps up for all the children out there and it’s definitely a lovely read for all other age groups as it would take you back to your imaginative childhood days.

I rate it a 4 stars out of 5 stars in the fantasy/fiction category for children.

Happy Reading!!! 🙂

 

 

 

Fairy Land DIY Wall Decor/Art

 

A year-round workaholic deserves a well-enjoyed break and I go by this principle. Last month I had this great opportunity to relax, enjoy and cherish an awesome vacation which gave me a fabulous chance to work out my new wall art idea in my vacation home. So, I am back with one of my most favorite DIY – a fairy land wall art and this time its a different fairy land with fairies, fairy dust, lamp post and sunflowers. The fairy land idea rooted from my previous wall decor art fairy land with some creative changes but with the same base idea.

Research says that different colors can affect the mood of people sharply and so we implemented the lessons learnt from our previous wall art venture here and chose a brilliant colored background and dark shade paint for the designs as we were short on lightings in the room. The amber(yellowish-orange) color that we used for the background radiates happiness, confidence and energy. But, as too much of yellow based colors can be distressing we painted just one wall with amber and the others with white and amber as border.

To start with you will need either oil paint or emulsion paint (water-based), brushes, white rhinestones/gemstones, white glue (Elmer/Fevicol), a brilliant idea and some determination. Before starting, we outlined a general idea of the fairy land and took out some printouts of the silhouettes of the main elements of the art like lamp-post, fairies etc. The fairy land comprises of two fairies flying near a lamp-post with fairy dust and the top adorned with leafs and flowers whereas the bottom is graced with sunflowers. The finished work can be seen below.

DIY Fairy Land Wall Decor

All the designs were hand-drawn on the wall with a chalk-piece as the sizes of the art on the wall are bigger than A4 size.

The lamp-post is a combination of 2 lamp-post from the below images.

Street lamp and welcome shild in retro style

After finishing the wall decor, we pasted some silver rhinestones on the fairy dust.  I preferred the silver gemstones compared to the colored ones as they reflect light better and shine from different angles but nonetheless there are infinite possibilities that you can try. The final art was just awesome and I believe you would too agree with me.

Thank you for visiting us and feel free to take inspiration from the art. If you like the work, please please pin the images.

Happy Reading!!!!:)

Book 18 : Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

Title : Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1)

Author :   Cassandra Clare

My Rating : 4.5 / 5 stars

Synopsis:

In a kingdom by the sea…

In a secret world where half-angel warriors are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word.

A parabatai is your partner in battle. A parabatai is your best friend. Parabatai can be everything to each other—but they can never fall in love.

Emma Carstairs is a warrior, a Shadowhunter, and the best in her generation. She lives for battle. Shoulder to shoulder with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Los Angeles, where vampires party on the Sunset Strip, and faeries—the most powerful of supernatural creatures—teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When the bodies of humans and faeries turn up murdered in the same way Emma’s parents were when she was a child, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge—and Julian’s chance to get back his brother Mark, who is being held prisoner by the faerie Courts. All Emma, Mark, and Julian have to do is solve the murders within two weeks…and before the murderer targets them.

Their search takes Emma from sea caves full of sorcery to a dark lottery where death is dispensed. And each clue she unravels uncovers more secrets. What has Julian been hiding from her all these years? Why does Shadowhunter Law forbid parabatai to fall in love? Who really killed her parents—and can she bear to know the truth?

Review:

“You’re walking the edge of a razor blade, Julian, with everything you hide. Believe me, I’ve walked that razor blade half my life. You get used to it, so used to it sometimes you forget that you’re bleeding.”

Before I share my view about the book I really want to say that Lady Midnight is yet another fantastic piece of work done by Cassandra Clare. She has not only done an extremely good job in weaving an intricate & beautiful plot marvelously but has also taken care not to make it a clumsy affair.

The characters in the book are so well-done that they bring live the context stunningly and it’s a pleasure reading them as we hop into a journey of friendship, family, forbidden love and more. Emma Cartsaire is bold, beautiful and nothing less than what we would expect from a teenage Shadowhunter who is fueled by the burning desire for revenge of her parent’s death. Julian is the straight opposite of Emma with his calm and contemplating demeanor, but what wins our heart is his stubborn mind-set to keep his family together and his struggle to realize the idea amidst the many problems. Even though Julian is portrayed way different from all previous Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter male protagonists, he is easily lovable as we are able to connect and empathize with him deeper.

Cassandra Clare’s determined attempt in bringing out the family ties among Julian and the kids is inevitably seen through the pages that it makes it one of the most relishing work in the book. The characters of the kids Ty, Livvy, Dru and Tavvy are also done well, but since we see them through the eyes of Julian and Emma it sometimes feel like they are younger than their described age. I also loved Mark’s side of the story as his struggles fitting in and his feeling of being left out are quite evident.

One of the biggest highlights in the book is Emma and Julian’s forbidden love story, as I loved how Cassandra Clare dealt with the pair’s emotions and their desires. The forbidden love between the two parabatai’s has been taken slow and is not only heart-warming but also keeps us on the edge of our seats making us wish all the time that they end up together.

Overall the book is fast paced, engrossing and brilliantly written, as it gives us a complete satisfaction of delving into a world of actions, emotions, family, friends, teenagers & Shadowhunters very smoothly.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a fascinating story merged with a journey of emotions and actions. I almost want to give this book a 5 stars but I think 4.5 stars would be the best. Nonetheless, the book is awesome and its worth a read.

Happy Reading!!! :)))

Book 17 : Rachet – The Reluctant Witch

Title : Rachet – The Reluctant Witch

Author :  Sara Pascoe

My Rating : 4 / 5 stars

Fourteen-year-old Rachel Hollingsworth (Ratchet) is sick of living in foster care. Desperate for her independence, she runs away. But unaware she’s a witch, she accidentally travels back in time to the notorious Essex witch trials, along with her social worker-witch mentor Bryony and Oscar the cat. They all face execution, but their powers are failing and time is running out. They manage to escape, but to Old Istanbul. Ratchet, now a skilled fortune teller, is invited to the Palace to read the Sultan’s wife’s future. But the Sultana has something else in mind. She holds Ratchet’s friends hostage, until she does ‘one small favour’. With her friends’ lives in the balance, Ratchet has to make the most difficult decisions of her life, and carry them out – all on her own.

I picked this book because Rachet & Oscar rang a very familiar bell – remember “Sabrina the teenage witch” I just used to love those series; but even though this book is written in a completely different note it is engrossing and likeable.

The book is very beautifully written as the author very aptly captures the moody, irritable, rebellious and reckless character of a teenager with Rachet. Rachet being grown in a foster care explains her yearning to break free and start on an independent life journey. The book is fast paced and gives us a joyful venture through Rachet’s exploration from being a troubled & naive teenager to a better person.

From Rachet’s realization that the real world is not that easy as she thought to the discovering of her unusual witch powers, the author engrosses us completely. The author has also very smoothly carried out the transportation part of Rachet from London to the notorious Essex witch trials and from there to old Istanbul. Rachet’s situation in the Essex witch trial unbelievably gives us the creeps while the environment in old Istanbul is so warmly described that you start enjoying it. But, I felt the old Istanbul portion got a bit dragged on and also the characters there got a bit jumbled up.

Apart from Rachet, Oscar’s (the talking cat) character is very beautifully done and his company in the chaotic situation is soothing. The book in all packs a journey of growing-up, finding a family and being loved

I would recommend this book for everyone and would rate this a 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Note: I won this book in goodreads giveaway and so I would like to thank goodreads and the author Sara Pascoe for sending me this book at the earliest.

Happy Reading 🙂

P.S – I know I have been absent from the blogging world for almost three months but recently the harry potter bug bit me again and I started rereading the whole series without the track of time. Well! the thing is still going on but I suddenly realized that I am lagging from the blogging resolutions and I just jumped back here with all my might. 😉

My Artistic Creation : Handpainted Terracotta Wall Hanging

Hey there,

I am at last back with my new creation, its actually a Indian handcrafted terracotta wall hanging which has being painted with acrylic paints and sealed with varnish. 

The wall hanging depicts a traditional Rajasthani dance called Ghoomar. It is performed by women in swirling robes, and accompanied by men and women singing together.

The Rajasthani Ghoomar Dancers Wall Hanging were painted in detail with acrylic paints, decorated with small red & gold diamond stones and were sealed with varnish for protection.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The length, width and height of both the man & women are: Length x Width x Height = 19cm x 1cm x 35cm (approx.). Each wall hanging weighs approx. 1kg.

I am selling this @Etsy, @OLX & @Quikr and if you are out of India and are interested in buying, please contact me at messingwithimagination@gmail.com, I would be very happy to sort out the shipping with you.

I hope you like this creations!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

My Artistic Creations : Cold Porcelain Cow

I know it’s been a long time since I last updated my blog, but I have being a lot busy lately. But nonetheless I am finally here with a new cold porcelain doll which is actually a cow that I made for my 2-year old niece 🙂.

The cow was very easy to make without much fuss and came out really good, so I feel it was worth the time. All it needed was:

• Cold porcelain
• Tooth pick
• Acrylic Paint
• Brush
• Some amount of great patience (Yes! we need it, I am not joking)

Procedure:

1. First make the 4 legs of the cow, with a small part of the tooth pick protruding out of the legs in the upper direction for fixing the body of the cow.
2. After the 4 legs dry, make a oval shaped ball out of the cold porcelain (for the cow’s body) and fix it on top of the legs. (Make sure to let the legs dry completely, otherwise the weight of the body will press down the legs)
3. Fix a small tooth pick on the cow’s body for fixing its head.
4. Let the body dry out, then make the cow’s head and fix it on the body. Also don’t forget to add the tail and ears.
5. Finally when the cow dries paint it.

Tada! It’s now ready to be gifted for you little ones. All animals can be made in this way and a great set of animals can be gifted easily for birthday or for some other occassion or just as a token of love.

My dried and halfway painted cold porcelain cow

My final product

You can even fix a eye pin in the cow before it dries to make a keychain, bracelet or necklace. Experiment with it and I am sure it will turn out great.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you liked it. I would soon return with another one of my creations 8-).

Book 16 : SHE – Ekla Cholo Re

Title : SHE – Ekla Cholo Re

Author :  Santosh Avvannavar, Shayan Haq

My Rating : 4.5 / 5 stars

Set in the backdrop of 1990 Calcutta, She is a story about finding one’s own identity in spite of all odds. The story spins around the life of Kusum, a brave heart whose identity is often untitled and blurred; it does not belong anywhere, definitely not under the ‘he’ or ‘she’ bracket. Will she be successful in her mission in standing against the society and embrace her identity?

The book basically revolves around the status & treatment of transgenders in the society. Like the many other books of the author, this book too takes its root from a social issue – the acceptability of transgenders in the society. I should say this is one of the best works of the author as he has been very successful in bringing out the essence of the story in a very short read.

Kusum’s life story is beautifully said; her birth as a male and the pressure to be a male in the society shows us the yearning of a transgender to break free from their natural form. Her decision to follow her heart and embrace her identity even after many heart breaks and let downs, makes us have great respect for the transgenders. In short, the book makes us think and changes our perceptive towards those who have sought out their identity without fear.

I give the book 4.5/5 for its ability to stand out and invoke a change. The rating should say it all and I would recommend this book for everyone.

Note: I received this book as a complimentary copy from the Author in exchange for a honest review. The opinions expressed in the review are my own, and remain unbiased and uninfluenced.

Happy Reading! 🙂

 

 

 

Coloring Pages

Hey there,

I am super excited today! You know why? Because I started a new Etsy shop named MessedUpImaginations today for selling my hand drawn adult coloring pages. Most of my artworks are inspired from traditional Indian bride looks.

These coloring pages can be downloaded instantly and printed easily to be colored. These coloring pages would make great cards, gifts, framed wall arts for home decor when colored.

They come with a black border in the standard letter size 8.5″ x 11″ inches and are provided in a high definition PDF and JPEG files.

 If you like them, you can buy these at my Etsy Shop MessedUpImaginations

Book 16 : Tainted Deception

Title : Tainted Deception

Author : Aleya Michelle

My Rating : 3.5 / 5 stars

The book follows the story of Ivy and Chase. Ivy Maisen is that type of a character, who is trying to break away from the stereotyped daughter image of a rich family and Chase Hudson is the type of guy that Ivy thinks she wants to escape — billionaire, extremely good looking, cocky as hell, and a guy that women salivate over.

But looks can be deceiving…

Underneath the tuxedo, luxurious demeanor and smooth character is a bad boy covered in tattoos, piercings, and the lead singer in a band. Will Ivy finally open her eyes and allow herself to see the real Chase?

I loved the first half of the book very much; it was all I would want from a contemporary romance novel to be really good. The lead characters Ivy and Chase were great and their character buildup was good. The plotline was easy to follow and the book was fast paced. I loved how the author brought out variations in both Ivy and Chase’s characters.

What disappointed me very much was that the book focused only on the lead characters; I know you must be thinking that “Isn’t contemporary romance genres are usually like that?”, Yes they are but when a 250+ pages novel does that it gets a bit draggy. The author could have either cut short the book’s length or could have expanded the climax with Chase’s friend Talon. The overall idea of Talon’s story was very good but it felt as if the author couldn’t do justice to it as it was given a very small part in such a big book and was rushed up.

The author could have focused more on intertwining talon’s story with the lead character’s life rather than on the lead’s physical relationship. It’s fun to get a glimpse of the romantic scenario happening between the lead couple but we lose interest once things get repetitive.

Overall the book is a good one and I would definitely suggest it for anyone who is looking for romantic genres and especially for those who are freshly entering into the romantic genre world.

I rate this book 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Note: I won this book in goodreads giveaway and so I would like to thank goodreads and the author Aleya Michelle for sending me this book at the earliest.

Happy Reading! 🙂

My Artistic Creations : Painted Diwali Diyas

Hey there, I am back with my latest DIY. I know you must be thinking “Hey! this is Christmas season, not Diwali” but my apologies, I know I am late. So lets get on with whats in store for you today. Oh yes, its the Diwali diyas painted with metallic fabric/acryllic paints. Since Diwali is the festive of lights I just loved painting these diyas and lighting them.

I bought some plain earthern diyas, which were quite inexpensive and painted them.

Did you like it. Go ahead and try it out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Book 15 : Black, Grey & White

Title : Black, Grey & White

Author : Santosh Avvannavar & Santosh Biradar

My Rating : 3.5 / 5 stars

Black, Grey & White is a very good attempt by the author at spreading awareness about the misconceptions revolving around AIDs.

It basically incorporates 5 short stories, each with a different plot. Shahid’s story keeps your attention but it lacked the spark, as the repetitive dialogues keep dragging you out of the plot scenario and the very dramatic ending doesn’t give you a satisfied feel. Chintu’s story was the one I really enjoyed as it brings out the emotions the author is so earnestly trying to arouse within us; we really feel the hurt behind the innocent’s heart when he has to face and live through people with the untouchable misconception around AIDs.

Even though the third story of Mithali lingers around the fashion world, it is quite believable and an eye opener whereas Savitha’s story gives us an insight into how people unknowingly become victims of AIDs and how their families gets affected.

The last story is an retake on the lost son’s parable from the bible.

The book being a short read is a good one. I would have loved it more if the author could have undertaken a different writing style rather than the screen-play manner.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for everyone as it a short and useful read.

Note: I received this book as a complimentary copy from the Author in exchange for a honest review. The opinions expressed in the review are my own, and remain unbiased and uninfluenced.

Happy Reading! 🙂

 

Book 14 : Umbilical Cord

Title : Umbilical Cord

Author : Meena R. Chandawarkar, Santosh Avvannavar

My Rating : 4 / 5 stars

My Review :

Umbilical Cord is a compilation of 4o different short stories. Each story deals with some or the other aspect in a person’s life like love, forgiveness, trust, hope, blessings, miracles etc.

I basically loved the book because each story taught me something or the other. We hardly come across books that are thought provoking and, make us linger and think; I am happy to say that this is one of those books that made me to think. The authors have efficiently accomplished the main point of captivating others thoughts with this book.

Even though I loved the book, I felt the stories would have been better if they were not so short, as we feel quite left out once the story ends very abruptly.

The book is compelling and gets our attention quite easily. I would recommend this book for everyone as it is a short read and worthy one. Hope you enjoy the book.

Note: I received this book as a complimentary copy from the Author in exchange for a honest review. The opinions expressed in the review are my own, and remain unbiased and uninfluenced.

Happy Reading:)

 

My Artistic Creations : Cold Porcelain Wedding Couple 2

Hey there,

I am so excited to share another one of my hand-made cold porcelain creations which made for one of my colleagues. The cold porcelain wedding couple came out far better than the last time. Cold porcelains can be easily made at home and are cheaper compared to polymer clays. The same dolls can be made with polymer clay too.

Cold porcelain are basically an alternative to polymer clays which do not need to be oven-baked, as they are air-dried.

These dolls can be used as wedding cake toppers too! I just loved this one and for those enthusiasts out there who are like me, you should definitely try it out.

Procedure :

1. As usual I made use of quilled paper domes as the base for the cold porcelain couple.
2. Cold porcelain clay was used for the structuring of the dolls – let them dry after each step, otherwise you may mess it up (So patience is the golden rule here).
3. Then when the dolls get air-dried just paint them with fabric paint and varnish them.

If you want more details make sure to check out my previous posts too.

Hope you like it. So check it out.

The cold porcelain couples before painting them – The air-dried couples

 

The final product – After painting them 

Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Hope you get some great inspiration for your hand-made dolls.

Book 13 : Maybe Someday

Title : Maybe Someday

Author : Colleen Hoover

My Rating : 3.5 / 5 stars

My Review :

The book follows the story of Sydney who is twenty-two years old and is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to move-in with her neighbor Ridge.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by Ridge. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves developing feeling for each other.

“People don’t get to choose who they fall in love with. They only get to choose who they stay in love with.”

Maybe someday is one of those romance books which have more feelings comparatively. The author’s work is good even though the story is slow paced; there is no denying that her work gives you a pleasant satisfaction after reading it. Sydney’s character is portrayed well but since, we are mostly in her head, at times she feels like a whiney type.

I loved how the author penned down Ridge; she saw to it that his incapability to hear did not affect the interaction between the leads. Their conversations through text were very beautifully captured in the book. In one way, his disability gave life to an otherwise normal love story. I loved all the other characters too, especially Warren and Maggie. Even though Warren seemed to be giving out negative vibes at start, by the end of the book he becomes acceptable.

When we talk about the plot, it’s basically a love triangle where Ridge is already in a relationship with Maggie when he starts developing feelings for Sydney. Even though I really wanted to enjoy the chemistry between Ridge and Sydney, the thought that Ridge was literally crossing his limits and is ultimately going to leave Maggie disturbed me. By the time I got to the middle of the story I was totally confused about how I should feel about Ridge and Sydney’s relationship; sometimes I felt like punching Ridge and other times I felt like punching Sydney. But the author has really done a great job in effortlessly taking us through the dilemma of their situation.

Even though Ridge is in the bad side of our opinion all the time, by the end of the story we get to understand his side of the story; I just loved that in the book. The author definitely took the cake at the end, while explaining Ridge’s side. The author played the feelings part really really well. Even though we keep feeling that whatever is going on between Ridge and Sydney is wrong, the author still makes us want them to end up together.

This book is an awesome journey through emotions. I would definitely recommend it for any-one who are comfortable with love-triangles and for anyone looking out for a different take in young-adult romance. I rate it a 3.5 stars out of 5.

Happy Reading 🙂