Wedding Shenanigans by Adite Banerjie - [Book Spot Light]

Book Details :

Title: Wedding Shenanigans: Or, how Rayna grapples with heartbreak, scandal and a hot hotelier
Author: Adite Banerjie
Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Print Length: 246 pages
Source: Kindle Edition

Blurb:

Freshly dumped Rayna Dutt does not feel like flying to her best friend’s big fat Indian wedding. But letting down her friend is not an option. So, she decides to grin and bear it. A mix up with room allocations forces her to share a luxury villa with Neel Arora, the gorgeous owner of the resort and best man at the wedding. Sparks fly and attraction sizzles.

When her ex turns up with a new girl on his arm, scandal comes calling. In desperation, she turns to Neel and proposes a fake engagement. As the attraction between them reaches fever pitch, it seems like Rayna has signed up for more trouble than ever!

*This book was previously published by Harlequin/Mills & Boon as Trouble Has a New Name.

My Review:

I am reading a wonderful romance after a long time. I loved this story which is a light read. 

Rayna Dutt is a supermodel but she is depressed with a recent breakup from her boyfriend Sid. Fortunately, her mood changes as she has to attend her best friend Milee's luxurious wedding function in Andaman islands. There she meets Mr. Neel Arora, who is a handsome hotelier. 

As fate would have it, she meets Sid in Andamans who came to the same hotel, hand in hand with his new girlfriend, Karishma. Rayna makes everyone believe that she is engaged to Neel to avoid the embarrassment of being dumped by Sid. 

But, both Neel and Rayna are getting attracted to each other day by day. Without themselves knowing about it, they get close, open their hearts to each other in very less time and fall in love. 

Things aren't easy in Neel's life and he had to leave Rayna and the drama they are playing before others. What would Rayna do? She is in too much love with Neel to hate him. Can Neel forget Rayna by just moving away from her life? 

Real love is not easy right? All relationships are complicated. Of course, this book just shows that to the reader. The Boy and girl will live happily ever after but they have to overcome their insecurities, believe in themselves and in each other before that.

I loved reading about this luxurious wedding, arrangements, parties, rituals and all that fun that comes with marriage. The hot romance is a plus. While the story is not new, the backdrop, the characters etc., made this a good read.

If you love romance, you will like this. 

My Rating: 4/5

About the Author:

Adite Banerjie discovered the wonderful world of books at an early age which sparked her interest in writing. After a fulfilling and exciting career as a business journalist, she turned her attention to fiction.

Three of her romance novels have been published by Harlequin/Harper Collins India. In 2018 she embarked on her indie journey as an author-publisher.

She also writes screenplays and in 2017 one of her scripts made it to the semi-finals of the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowships.

When she is not grappling with her current work-in-progress, she enjoys spending time with her husband and watching back-to-back movies.

She loves to connect with her readers through her 

website www.aditebanerjie.com, 

Facebook page (https://facebook.com/AditeBanerjieWriter) and Twitter account (https://twitter.com/adite).

Until next time,

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - [Book Review]

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Book Details:
Title : The Girl on the train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Psychological thriller, fiction, mystery
Print Length : 326 pages
Source: A copy from the local Library

Blurb:

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see; she's much more than just the girl on the train...

Purchase Link:

Amazon

My Review :

The Girl on the train is a great psychological thriller. The story is narrated in the perspective of  2 ladies. Rachel who is divorced and still couldn't cope up with her single life even after 2 years is a regular commuter by train to the office. Since she is frustrated with her life, she fancies watching 'Megan' from train daily and thinking of how lucky she is to have a loving husband and a happy life. 

While Megan seems to be a happy wife to her loving husband Scott, she has her own problems to deal with. While her past still haunts, she is not able to reciprocate her love to Scott. 

While the story is narrated through both of these characters, an unexpected incident involves Rachel in Megan's life. Megan is dead and Rachel thinks that she could be of some help to give important information to Police on her disappearance. Unfortunately, her involvement makes her entangled in deep trouble but, the investigation also helps her to make peace with the past. 

A good page turner, indeed. I loved the characterization. It is interesting to understand the deep layers of each character through the narration. Characterization and mystery element made me read the book continuously. I didn't read it in one go but would have done it if I wasn't busy with office and home.

One more plus is the narration. I liked the way the suspense is maintained till the end and how things are revealed gradually in the story. 

I know, it is a best seller and so, I had high expectation on the book. This book has met all my expectations. If you love psychological thrillers, you might like this book.

My Rating : 4.5/5

Read my Review of Paula's other book - Into the Water.

About the Author:

Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction.

Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since. Her first thriller, The Girl on the Train, has been published in over forty languages, has been a No.1 bestseller around the world and is now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt. Into the Water is her second thriller.

Until next time,

This post is written as part of a blog train #letsblogwithpri hosted by Prisha. Thanks to Kanika for introducing me to this blog train. I would love to introduce Noor to the blog train. Noor writes about her life experiences about travel, parenting and lifestyle topics. Read her posts.

Hosted By :Prisha Lalwani Mummasaurus.com IG: @mummasaurus1FB: /mummasaurus1

A day trip to Idaho Springs, where Gold Rush began

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Idaho springs is a historic town located in Clear Creek county of Colorado. This city is founded in 1859 when the first Colorado Gold rush has begun. Mining has been responsible for the growth of Idaho springs and now, it carries rich heritage.

From Scenic byways to hot springs to waterfalls and Gold mine tours, this quaint mountain town has to a lot to offer. 

How to reach?

Denver is the nearest airport. Check these flight options with fare less than $200:

Lake Dillon is just 38 mins drive from Idaho springs and Dillon Marina offers rental boats. This lake is gorgeous nestled in a scenic place with mountains in the background. Advance reservation is preferred for boating but it will make an unforgettable experience to anyone.

After boating, we went to an easy hike of about 0.6 miles loop at Saphire point overlook. This hike has good overlook points for photo opportunities and this is a good place for wedding photography. A bonus to this hike is watching chipmunks. Kids would surely love to see them and chipmunks are absolutely friendly posing to the photos and jumping around people.

Mt. Evans scenic byway in Idaho springs is a must visit. This is the highest paved highway in North America. Mt Evans Summit is opened only from memorial day to Labour day, weather permitting. This road reaches an elevation of 14,130 ft above sea level in just 14 miles from the visitor station.

We drove through clouds and fog as we reached to the summit. The rock house on the summit is great too. The drive has breathtaking views.

This picnic stop near Chicago Forks before Mt Evan's Visitor center is easy to be missed.

Our next stop was to St. Mary's Glacier which is around 1.5 hrs from Mt.Evans. The hike is tough and it is a very rocky road of around 1.5 miles to watch the lake on the way to the glacier. It is not easy to hike with kids.

We have planned to drive through Guenella pass which is 30 mins from St.Mary's glacier but didn't have enough time to cover this.

On the highway, while returning from St.Mary's Glacier, spotted this waterfall. Isn't it amazing?

PC: Google image labeled for reuse

A few more places that you can cover in a trip to Idaho springs are the gold mine tour at Phoenix gold mine / Argo Mill tour, Hot springs, Oh my Gawd road and the casinos at Black Hawk/ central city.

Argo Mill
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Do you like my travelogue?

Read my other Colorado Travelogues here:
https://www.fantasticfeathers.in/search/label/Colorado

Until next time,

This post is written as part of a blog train #letsblogwithpri hosted by Prisha. Thanks to Kapila for introducing me to this blog train. I would love to introduce Mythri to the blog train. Mytri is a freelance social media professional based in jaipur and a mom blogger. Read her posts.




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Stay in Idaho Springs!

5 ways to Find out your hidden talent

As per the Dictionary, A 'Talent' is natural aptitude/ skill. Everyone has some talent but they find it difficult to identify them. Some of my friends used to tell that they are not good at anything/ any skill. I tell them, "It's wrong. You just don't know yet what you are good at".

Our genes, the environment that we grow, the people we are surrounded with, the opportunities that we pick up, the risks we take etc., are several factors that might decide our talent. We get a few skills through genes, we gain a few skills as we have a passion for them, and we gain a few skills as we work hard with determination.

Creative abilities are hard for us to identify until we try them by ourselves. Athletic abilities cannot be found until we are introduced to them at least once in our lifetime. There are some other skills like observation, adaptation, flexibility, courage which come out based on situations we face.

I suggest below 5 ways to identify hidden talents:

1. Determine what you enjoy:

I think this is the easiest way to find out our hidden talent. If we love something more than the other, that might be something we are good at. This need not be true for all. But, we choose our hobbies depending on what we enjoy in our life, it can be photography/ art/ dance/ sport. If we don't love that activity we cannot spend that extra hour from our hectic daily life, right?

I enjoy writing, reading books, painting, and dancing. I am ready to sacrifice a few hours of sleep/ TV time to work on them as it gives me satisfaction and happiness.

 So, start by listing the activities that you enjoy. There are chances that you might be good at these activities. Even if you are not good at it, your mind is ready to work hard to become better at it.

2. Explore Multiple activities:

Most of the people I know are not exposed to/ introduced to the activity they are good at. So, there is no chance for them to know about it. That is the reason, I suggest that we should explore all the hobbies/ activities even when we think that it is not for us. We cannot say, what might interest us, with which activity we might feel passionate about.

I know, many parents these days are introducing many activities to their kids, which is great. But, an overdose will make them hate the activities that they might be good at. If you want to try a new skill like crochet/ painting, learn it, try it, explore it, give it some time, before deciding/quitting it.

3. Leave the fear of rejection :

This is the most important thing. Let's say, you realized that you are good at writing. You start a blog, write a few good posts, get appreciations from friends and family, you proceed, improve your skills, start a business of content writing. If some publishers reject your work/ you don't get any monetary benefit, it becomes disappointing. But, please continue for the love of your hobby, for your happiness and for your satisfaction.

Rejections doesn't mean you are bad at that skill, it just means that you didn't meet the requirements of the person who rejected it.

You might choose some other profession for a living but never leave the hobby that you are good at. If we can get away from the fear of rejection, it is easy to find the skills and improve them.

4. Come out of comfort zone:

Sometimes, we cannot identify our skills if we don't come out of our comfort zone. I was thinking from my childhood that I am an introvert and not outgoing as I didn't feel comfortable talking to people in crowds. But, that's not true. As I grew up, I enjoyed being with people, felt happy to get attention.

When I had to give a speech for the first time on stage, I was afraid, but I could easily grasp the techniques on how to talk in public, use modulation, pauses, not to show the nervousness etc.,with practice.

Yes, these skills might not have come naturally for the first time. But, these were gained with learning and practice.

5. Identify the skills that you are passionate about:

Most probably,  our passion and emotional  connection drives our ability.

Identify any skill that you are passionate about and something that motivates you to become better at it.

 A skill that ignites your passion.

A skill on which you can spend hours and hours at a stretch losing the track of time.

Use your strengths to the benefit.

I hope, these points help you to find your hidden talents and work on them for your happiness and satisfaction.

Until next time,

This post is written as part of a blog train #letsblogwithpri hosted by Prisha. Thanks to Debidutta for introducing me to this blog train. I would love to introduce Sharvari to the blog train. Sharvari is a mom , a HR professional and a beauty and health blogger. Read her posts.


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The Coven Murders by Brian O'Hare - [Book Review]

Book Details:

Book Title : The Coven Murders (The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries Book 3)
Author: Brian O'Hare
Genre: mystery, crime, horror, thriller
Length of the book : 385 pages
Publisher: Crimson Cloak Publishing; 1 edition (February 11, 2018)

Blurb:

The Coven Murders opens with a horrifying account of a ritual Black Mass with human sacrifice in an abandoned church.

 Twenty-one years later, near an old ruined church in an area of outstanding natural beauty, Chief Inspector Sheehan and his team discover the skeleton of a young woman. But what seems initially to be a straightforward case, brings the team into conflict with a powerful Satanist who has plans to offer up to Satan another human sacrifice on the evening of the great Illuminati feast of Lughnasa. 

Several murders occur, baffling the Inspector until he makes a connection between the modern murders and the twenty-one-year-old skeleton. The team’s pursuit of the murderer, and their determination to protect a young woman who is targeted by the coven, lead to a horrific climax in a hellish underground crypt where Sheehan and his team, supported by an exorcist and a bishop, attempt to do battle with the coven and a powerful demon of Baphomet, jeopardizing not only their lives but risking the wrath of Satan upon their immortal souls.

My Review:

The story starts with police discovering a skeleton near the old church ruins. When the main detective Sheehan and his team start investigating this, they find out that the dead body is of a pregnant lady who was stabbed to death 21 years ago. 

In the next few days, six murders happen in the same way without any clue or motive putting more pressure on their investigation. The remaining story is about the team's deductions and the details about a coven, human sacrificing ritual which is linked to all these murders and finding the culprit. 

I am not really a big fan of crime series/ murder investigations. But, this story is very interesting with a twist of satanic cult, rituals and other unbelievable facts. Initially, I felt that the story is not progressing fast enough, but it picks up pretty quick at the end.

The narration is gripping and the suspense is maintained till the last page. I enjoyed the part where the Bishop explains about different covens, the symbols, and rituals. The team of inspectors doesn't look smart but they are easy going and good at their job. Even though the team couldn't find out who might be the culprit till the end and though they are clueless without any evidence, they form a great strategy to attack the enemy at the right time. 

I loved Sheehan, Stewart, Allen, Serena and Mc Bride. All characters are near to real life and the conversations are casual. I enjoyed the mystery in the story. The book cover is a plus.

I didn't like the initial few pages as I felt bored that there is not much progress in the story. 

My Rating: 4.5/5

PS: I have received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review and this is my honest opinion on the book.

About the Author:

Because of a childhood disease that required a liver transplant late in life, Brian O'Hare, MA, Ph.D., took early retirement in 1998 from his post as Assistant Director of a large regional college. He now enjoys full health, plays golf, and travels. He is the author of several academic works, two memoirs, and three award winning fiction novels. The Coven Murders is the third of Crimson Cloak's award-winning Inspector Sheehan Mysteries Series. Look for the first two, The Doom Murders and The 11.05 Murders [Crimson Cloak Publishing.com]

Until next time,

This post is written as part of a blog train #letsblogwithpri hosted by Prisha. Thanks to Kapila for introducing me to this blog train. I would love to introduce Kanika to the blog train. Kanika is a mom of 2 girls , a blogger who also tries her hands on baking and gardening.  Read her posts.





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Day 3 : Pagosa Springs and Crestone #UtahVacation

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Before going to our Day 3 travelogue, please go through below posts to follow the itinerary.

Utah Vacation Plan with Kids

Day 1 - Arches National Park and Canyonlands National park

Day 2 - Monument Valley Park and Four Corners National monument

Day 2 - Mesa Verde National Park

We reached our hotel in Pagosa Springs on the night of day 2 itself. We intentionally took more rest on day 3 instead of visiting places. When we plan any vacation with kids, this is very important. Continuous traveling will impact kids making them cranky. So, we wanted to get up late, enjoy the breakfast buffet, relax in the pool and hot tub before starting our drive.

As mentioned in the previous post, Chimney Rock National monument is around 30 mins drive from Pagosa Springs. This is a good place to visit if you are interested in archeology and native American Lifestyle.

Chimney Rock
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It also makes sense to visit the world's deepest geothermal hot springs. There are 3 locations with access to hot springs in Pagosa Springs - The Springs Resort & Spa, Healing waters Resort &Spa and the new Overlook Mineral Springs Spa.

Hot Springs
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We drove towards Treasure falls, which is seen from the highway itself. There is a short hike going near the falls, but we couldn't go on a hike due to time constraint. Treasure falls is beautiful and it is worth the hike.

Treasure Falls

After crossing treasure falls, the drive is very scenic with mountains and valleys. We crossed 'Wolf Creek Pass' and skiing area as well on the way. The views were breathtaking.

Our next stop was to Crestone. 

The drive from Pagosa Springs to Crestone is scenic too.

Near Crestone

This Mahalakshmi temple and Haidakhandi Universal Ashram is in the foothills of San De Cristo mountains. The place is peaceful, good for meditation and yoga. The devotees perform aarti every evening at 6 PM and they provide overnight accommodation as well on request. There is also a Mahalakshmi shop with brass idols and pooja related items. 

Mahalakshmi temple and Haidakhandi Ashram

They have built this ashram in a self-sustainable way by properly utilizing the natural Sunlight to the advantage. The Ashram kitchen also offers lunch to the devotees. Visit this site to know more about this ashram.  

I have also heard that there is a small waterfall near the temple which is accessible by a short hike. We couldn't go for that as we had to return to Colorado Springs. We could reach Springs by 6pm itself which gave us enough time to rest and get ready for our daily grind from Monday. 

Thus, our 3-day Vacation ended on a happy note. 

Bonus Tips:

1. There is one specific part that we left on this trip which is on the way - Telluride and Ouray. These mountain towns are on the way to Pagosa Springs from Mesa Verde. We wanted to cover these places in the next fall and of course, we need another 2 days to relax in the Switzerland of America(Ouray).

2. One more part that you can customize is the plan from Monument Valley Park. We have covered Four Corners and Mesa Verde after Monument valley, But if you have time for 2 more days, I suggest you cover Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Lake Powell from there as you will be nearer to Arizona border from there. 

Accommodations near Pagosa Springs:

So, How do you like our travelogue? Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,

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This post is written as part of a blog train #letsblogwithpri hosted by Prisha. Thanks to Revati for introducing me to this blog train. I would love to introduce Noor Anand to the blog train. Noor writes on multiple topics like food, travel, parenting etc., Read her posts.

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Day 2 - Monument Valley Park and Four Corners #UtahRoadTrip

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Before going to our Day 2 travelogue, please go through below posts to follow the itinerary.

Utah Vacation Plan with Kids

Day 1 - Arches National Park and Canyonlands National park

We stayed at Bluff, UT at Kokopelli Inn. This budget-friendly inn is decent with cool interior decor aligning with the Native American culture.  We have reached the hotel late but realized that it is just 1 mile from Twin rocks and 1 hr away from Monument Valley park. 

Mexican Hat

We started to Monument Valley park after breakfast on Day #2 and our first stop is at Mexican Hat to take a picture. To go nearer to the rock formation, you should go on a dirt road. Then, we saw the Valley of Gods and the drive is very scenic. Wind and water erosion over millions of years on Colorado Plateau resulted in this scenic park with many rock formations. 

The Famous Forrest Gump image

View from the Visitor Center

As you are about to reach the park you will see the famous image of Monument Valley park where Forrest Gump movie is picturized. The road and the rock formations form a fantastic view. Tourists even take photos in the middle of the road. After reaching the Visitor center, we refreshed, bought some momentoes and took photos. The Visitor center has some good photo opportunity places. Entry is $5 per head.

Elephant Butte

There is a scenic 17-mile loop drive which is a dirt road covering all rock formations. A 4X4 vehicle is preferred but we could drive our Van carefully. There are many Ups and Downs full of dirt and sand. The park is all about different rock formations - Buttes, Spires and Mesas. While Mesas are big horizontal gigantic rocks, Spires are lean and tall. Buttes are like Mesas but slightly narrow.

On the way to Four Corners monument from  Monument Valley, we came across Ship Rock, which is a gigantic Volcanic Ash rock. 

Our Next stop is the Four Corners monument. Here is one place in the USA where four states meet - Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

Four Corners monument is not properly maintained, no proper toilets and other facilities. But, it is interesting to stand where four states meet, right? So, if you are passing through that way, ensure that you visit this place too.

After our late lunch, we reached Mesa Verde National park around 4 PM. My Next post will cover Mesa Verde National park in detail as this post is becoming very lengthy.

We also came across these rocks on the way to Mesa Verde, which are called Baby Rocks. They looked cute and unique.

So, Guys! That's it about Day #2, Let us meet in the next post where I share details about Mesa Verde National Park.

Accommodations near Monument Valley:

Until next time,

This post is written as part of a blog train #letsblogwithpri hosted by Prisha. Thanks to Revati for introducing me to this blog train. I would love to introduce Shruthi to the blog train. Read her posts : https://aahamyaworldwithmaa.wordpress.com/.





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