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Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Balli Kaur Jaswal | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I started reading this book, I really didn't know what to expect from it. The name of the book was simply unbelievable. The more I read it, the more it shocked me, and I know for sure, that after reading this book, I will never look the same at South Asian aunties and the community. The description of the book is quite accurate. British born Punjabi Nikki gets a job in gurdwara in Southall, London, to teach reading and writing to Punjabi widows, who are mostly from villages. She quickly notices that these widows are not interested in learning how to write, instead, they are very keen to share their erotic fantasies with other women. While teaching the widows, Nikki learns, that Southall, and the community itself are hiding many dirty secrets of its own.

I found the characters of this book very amusing, and at the same time very close to my heart. I loved how author put two opposites in the book; Nikki, who wants to live her life and make her own choices, and her sister Mindi-who still wants things done the traditional way. All the widows, who participated in this book, were really interesting and diverse personalities. They all had a story to tell, not only erotic one, but the one of their life as well. I do know quite a lot of South Asian people, and the way author described them in the book is very accurate. I am not including their fantasies, but the part of how they present themselves to society, is quite accurate. Respect of the family is the main value in Asian society, and all people try to maintain that. That’s why Nikki is kind of rebel against traditional values, which is sometimes quite shameful in the eye of the community. Everything in this book sounds very real and believable: characters, plot and the way author described places used in this book, it’s unbelievably accurate. I liked that author included more than one character in this book, and told the story from Nikki’s and her employer’s Kulvinder’s perspective. Kulvinder has huge influence in the book, with the tragic story of her daughter Maya, who died very young. Through the views of Nikki and Kulvinder, the story of the book unfolds very nicely, and keeps the suspense going.

The plot of the book is very original; nevertheless, it tells couple of different stories at the same time. Most of the action in this book happens in Southall, London. As the author said in the book, she lived in Southall, while she was studying at university. That explains why she wrote about this place with such detail. She described every corner and street with great accuracy, and beautifully presented the spirit of that place. How do I know? I visited that place many times, that’s why the similarity shocked me. This book tells not only the story of widow’s fantasies, but also involves murders, and many dark secrets of the society itself, and that really made the book amusing, twisty and hard to put down. The more Nikki gets involved with the widows, the more this story turns and thickens. Author discussed a lot of important topics in this book, such as: honour killings; family relations between parents and children, and what honour and respect of the family means in Asian society; immigration and adjustment problems; and many more. Author showed really nicely, that women, even after marriage remain women, and that after washing dishes, cooking and cleaning houses, they have their wishes and desires, which are not always fulfilled. Let me tell you one thing, those erotic stories they tell are really kinky, and has wide variety of action going on, so it is definitely not for young people to read.

So, as I mentioned before, and as it is obvious from the name of the book, it contains so foul language but at the same time is very comic and funny to read. This book is quite detailed, but it doesn’t make it boring, it helps to understand the situations better. I really liked, that the chapters were divided, so it was easier and more fun to read it. The ending of the book is nice and ended the book really well, by putting all characters at peace. To conclude, I really enjoyed this layered, funny and very beautifully written book and I do recommend reading it to everyone, who would like to have an insight of South Asian community, and get involved with those great topics which author brought up in this book.
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated Perfect in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
Perfect
Perfect
Cecelia Ahern | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Celestine is Flawed to the very backbone, according to The Guild. She went against society and assisted a Flawed man – going against every value a Perfect citizen should hold. She was branded as flawed, not just the maximum of five times, but a sixth. Now, she finds herself on the run from The Guild and their Whistleblowers, an attempt at freedom that a Flawed citizen should never have.

Perfect is the second and final book in Cecelia Ahern’s Flawed series.

I read Flawed, the first book, a couple of years ago now. It’s the first book I had ever read by Cecelia Ahern, and it’s what made her writing stand out to me. However, for whatever reason (I can’t remember now) I’d put off buying Perfect. And when I did finally buy it, it sat on my bookshelf for ages. That was until the other weekend when I finally made the decision to read it.

I forgot how immersive the world Ahern created was. I was straight into the book as it jumped straight into action, and found it really easy to remember everything that had happened in the previous book.

Perfect is a fast paced novel, that never really slows down for a second. I found myself finishing it in just a couple of days, and really couldn’t put it down. It was addictive and kept me wanting to know what happened next.

I love Celestine as a character. The fact that she points out that she’s Flawed, but likes that part of herself because it makes her real is one of my favourite ideas of the whole book.

Celestine is strong and confident, and doesn’t need to have anyone by her side to help her get her way. She’s the perfect independent protagonist and I love her for that.

The focus on an over-controlling society where if you do the slightest thing wrong, you’re branded for life was really interesting. It makes you question whether a person can really be fully bad, and whether a person’s past is really different to who they are in the present day.

It’s definitely a thrilling book with some of the best characters you’ll find in YA. I would usually comment about how I’m not really into YA or Dystopia, but I’m not because I’m now definitely a convert and really enjoying the genre.
  
Allegiant (2016)
Allegiant (2016)
2016 | Action, Romance, Sci-Fi
The third film in the popular “Divergent” series is here and will follow the pattern of recent book based films of splitting the finale into two films. In “The Divergent Series: Allegiant Part 1”, we catch up with Tris (Shailene Woodley), and Four (Theo James), shortly after the events of the previous film.

The wall has been opened and residents seek to leave the city and see what lies beyond. This is cut short when a power grab arises as Four’s mother is putting people on trial for supporting the last regime and executions or a common place as mob mentality has arisen.

Risking it all, Tris, Four, and a few companions make a daring brake and discover a wasteland beyond the wall before being taken in by a seemingly ideal community under the leadership of David (Jeff Daniels). It is learned that via sophisticated technology, they have watched Tris and the others as well as their society for ages as they were conducting a social experiment to undo evils of the previous world which lead to war.

Tris is highly prized as she is seen as genetically pure and David hopes to find out why and how so it can be replicated for the betterment of humanity. Naturally things are not always as they appear and before long, Tris, Four, and the others are forced to pick sides especially with a civil war brewing back at home.

The movie has some decent visuals but relies on the characters to carry the film. In many ways this is the downfall of the film as Woodley simply does not emote and James is very one-dimensional. Only Miles Teller and Jeff Daniels show any real or sustained emotion throughout the film.

There is also the matter of plot holes such as a society which amazing surveillance technology but they could not see a fairly obvious and common effort used during the finale of the film.

The movie is setting up the finale which hopefully will bring some advancement and satisfying closure to the series and characters. For now the film is a flawed but at times entertaining entry which should keep fans happy until the final film arrives.

http://sknr.net/2016/03/18/divergent-series-allegiant-part-1/
  
Branded (Sinners, #1)
Branded (Sinners, #1)
Abi Ketner | 2013
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Original Review posted on <a title="Branded by Abi Ketnet and Missy Kalicicki" href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/07/blog-tour-branded-by-abi-ketner-and-missy-kalicicki-review.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Note: Formatting may be lost due to copy and paste.

<i><b>Disclaimer:</b> A copy was provided for free by the author for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review. The review is not influenced in any way.</i>

     So. Branded. It has great potential as a series, and it takes quite a different twist from other dystopian books like The Hunger Games and Divergent. It's the first in the Sinners series, and is about a girl named Lexi Hamilton wrongly accused who lives in a futuristic society where there is no equal justice and a Commander who believes the Seven Deadly Sins are the downfall to society. Those who are accused are taken to live in a place called the Hole and branded with their sin. With danger lurking at any corner, those branded have to fight for their survival every single day.

     Branded didn't exactly feel like the first of a series. It felt more of a second, or second to last, or maybe even the last with a possible spin-off in a series rather than the first. For some reason, it felt as though there was another story prior to Branded, even though Abi and Missy gave a decent explanation to Lexi's past that filled in most of the blanks throughout the book.

     I loved most of the supporting characters, such as Alyssa, Bruno, Keegan, and Zeus especially (no, not the Thunder God... unless he decided to take on a different form other than human), but the romance between Cole and Lexi also seemed much too quick for my taste (I usually like a good build up, with a few exceptions).

     Overall, Branded has a great potential, and would be a great book and series with a few tweaks here and there. It doesn't have a lasting or major impact on me or the type of book where I'll be miserable not knowing what happens for at least a year as I was hoping for, but I do hope that in the end, the innocent peeps in the Hole receive a happy ending (no guarantees. I'm not a mind reader, but it never hurts to hope).