Review: The Other Side of Him

The Other Side of Him by Alice Rene
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alice Rene!

This. Is. A. Masterpiece!



I absolutely adored this book!

Set in the middle of 20th century, The Other Side of Him unfolds the story of Claire who dreams about having a perfect life.

Claire, a young, ambitious, enthusiastic and passionate girl, wants to study medicine and have an independent career.

Her German mother's life's only goal is to marry her daughter into the riches.

Greg, a handsome, prosperous, charming takes Claire on a blind date and since then they know they are in love with each other.
Claire has met with the man of her dreams. Her life has become a fairy tale.

Until she encounters with the deadly secrets of Greg. She found it too late!

She breaks up with Greg and continues to work at the hospital as a case worker.

But she is not going to have an easy way out.

Kicked out from the place she worked devotedly for, she hunts for a suitable job with her shining bright degrees and ends up working in a pub.

Her determination takes her to places and finally she is living euphoric.

But with Greg just around the corner, will she get a life of her dreams?



A book about obsession and what excessive love can do! With a historical background!

Exceptionally beautiful narration made my heart skip a few beats. Characters are well-researched and their spicy lives kept it interesting. Dialogues are perfect and keeps you entertained.

It's fantastic to see Claire's mother convincing Claire to marry someone in half English- half German.

With The Other Side of Him, Alice Rene has proved that she very well deserves to be in the list of talented and skilled literary giants.

The fact that this book was inspired from true events, increased the zeal in me.

This kind of book I'm certain you'd had not read anywhere.

In the arena of Historical Fiction, I recommend it highly!!!!
Anyone who wants to read a haunting and obsessive romance from World War 2 era, Get This One!



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Review: This Was a Man

This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And Jeffrey Archer does it again!

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Giving anything away of its synopsis would be an injustice to others. So I'll only talk about what I felt throughout the book.



Well, to start with, This Was Fabulous.

Yes. FABULOUS.

Since the first few words to the ending, it was a roller coaster ride.

There was no stopping to the adventurous expedition I had with the last series by Jeffrey Archer.

What I found extremely striking about the author's writing was that he first gets his readers surrounded with the thoughts of only his characters and one by one, he asks you to choose your comrade among them.

Whether you are selecting them or they are choosing you is still a matter to be pondered upon.

There is always a bit to say about the way the writer accumulates everything in the climax. Beautiful thing was that even if you might have been thinking about some other endings, you will finally be satisfied with the author's perspective. Atleast I was.

In presenting the various features of the characters, the author is impeccable.

All of them are likable in their own way. As one goes on reading the series, chapters after chapter, he sees himself getting dissolved in the flawless fabrication weaved by the author.

Slowly and carefully, he unfolds the story before you.

This series would be definitely my suggestion to anyone I meet.

I'm yet to get out of the shocks and thrills I had when I came across the twisting secrets and exciting events.

One thing is for certain : Jeffrey never disheartens his readers.

The way he carries the readers' attention cannot be matched.

My advice to the readers who have never read anything of Jeffrey would be to read the first parts of this series before this one and your favorite thriller/drama writer would be decided then and there.

Verdict : I felt short of adjectives for this one. What else can I say!



View all my reviews

Review: This Was a Man

This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And Jeffrey Archer does it again!

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Giving anything away of its synopsis would be an injustice to others. So I'll only talk about what I felt throughout the book.



Well, to start with, This Was Fabulous.

Yes. FABULOUS.

Since the first few words to the ending, it was a roller coaster ride.

There was no stopping to the adventurous expedition I had with the last series by Jeffrey Archer.

What I found extremely striking about the author's writing was that he first gets his readers surrounded with the thoughts of only his characters and one by one, he asks you to choose your comrade among them.

Whether you are selecting them or they are choosing you is still a matter to be pondered upon.

There is always a bit to say about the way the writer accumulates everything in the climax. Beautiful thing was that even if you might have been thinking about some other endings, you will finally be satisfied with the author's perspective. Atleast I was.

In presenting the various features of the characters, the author is impeccable.

All of them are likable in their own way. As one goes on reading the series, chapters after chapter, he sees himself getting dissolved in the flawless fabrication weaved by the author.

Slowly and carefully, he unfolds the story before you.

This series would be definitely my suggestion to anyone I meet.

I'm yet to get out of the shocks and thrills I had when I came across the twisting secrets and exciting events.

One thing is for certain : Archer never disheartens his readers.

The way he carries the readers' attention cannot be matched.

My advice to the readers who have never read anything of Jeffrey would be to read the first parts of this series before this one and your favorite thriller/drama writer would be decided then and there.

Verdict : I felt short of adjectives for this one. What else can I say!



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Review: Knowing Women

Knowing Women by James Lawless
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Knowing Women by James Lawless is an addiction! I'm serious!

A perfect kind of genre I was looking for!



Laurence J Benbo, a graphic designer by profession, a protagonist who would stay with you for the rest of your life, is someone you should definitely be involved with.

His reserved mannerism when it comes to women, is to leave you enticed. He is alone, cheated and betrayed by his previous girlfriend and trying to get over her.

But Time changes and it changes very quickly.

For him, it all began when he saw an interesting girl smiling at him. His curiosity got over him and he figured out that this girl is a lap dancer and learning English.

He makes his innocent moves. (The way he works is adorable!) and he interacts with her.

One day, he wins a lottery. All of a sudden, his jealous brother and his family knocks at his doors.
Later, they blackmail him severely to hand over the money to them. For that, they could go to any extent.

A story of betrayal, greed and morality over the edge of loneliness and grief.



You will not realize when and how you yourself were in the skin of Laurence J Benbo, being the melancholic him, the cheerful and hopeful him.

There is no way one can prevent themselves from falling for these characters.
The elegant and refined writing style won my mind over and over.

If you're wondering which genre this book falls under!

It's Accessible Literary Fiction, there you go!

The author's work is commendable and thought provoking. I remember when I was reading The Avenue, I was left contemplating about various notions in my head.

Same thing happened while I was reading this one.

My favorite scene was when Jadwiga, the Russian lap dancer says that she wants to change her yob.
Laurence corrects her that it's not yob, it's job!

I was cracking at this. Who would not?

This shows that the dialog and characters' portrayal has been done superbly. They make you stick to it completely.

The author's interview at the starting, not only provided nourishment to the story but also held my attention amply. I was musing to myself, 'Why in the world didn't I read this before!'

The author demonstrates his writing abilities in most cheerful, poised, tasteful, pensive and glittering manner. At the same time and with a different perspective, the story is sorrowful.

The blurb leaves you hanging in the middle.

As I was reading the story, I would again go to the back of the cover, read the blurb again and think to myself ' Now, this part has happened, this is the next!' and until that point arrives, I would hold my breath, when it will pass, my amusement would keep repeating this process.

Clearly, the book is to touch the skies and go beyond it. You have my high recommendation for this one!

To end an year with a book like Knowing Women, was a terrific step.

Verdict : James Lawless is a Rockstar!

Try not becoming his fan after reading this book, you will certainly fail to do so.



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