Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday - Book Review

Series: #1 (couldn’t find the series title)

Publication Date: 23rd April 2024

Genre: Regency Romance 

3.7 stars 

One Liner: Slow-paced but entertaining 

1821

Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, calls himself lucky for having two best friends who would do anything for him. Simon and Effie are his dearest friends and partners in crime. The trio plans an all-men trip every year and calls it the Earl’s Trip to unwind from the pressures of daily life. 

That year was no different until Archie got a letter from Sir Albert Morgan, an old family friend, begging for help. His daughter Olive has eloped with someone. His other daughter, Clementine, has rushed to rescue Olive. Now, Archie has to rescue them both and bring them back safely. 

Archie and Clem go back a long way. They were always good friends, but Archie finds the grown-up even more alluring. When Clem shares a proposal, Archie knows he would accept it. But where will this lead? 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Archie and Clementine. 

My Thoughts: 

As the premise suggests, this is a fun book that deals with some serious topics. However, the overall tone is lighthearted and entertaining. 

The beginning is slow but in no way boring. We get enough laughs as the characters are introduced and established. At the same time, we get a glimpse of the deeper emotions these characters feel. 

Dementia/ early memory loss, found family, sibling relationships (between sisters), loss of a parent, dysfunctional families, etc., are some themes explored in the book. Not all of them are prominent, though. A few more tropes are modernish, but it has almost become a norm, so I won’t complain. 

Archie is surprisingly easy to like. He is lively, friendly, mischievous, understanding, supportive, and fun. Yet, he has his pain, uncertainties, vulnerabilities, and doubts. Clem is nice, though not as much as Archie. He is a gem. 

While it is good to have Regency FMC as a vegetarian, even if it doesn’t seem realistic for the period, Clem comes across as a bit too judgmental about others. (I’m a vegetarian, too, but I don’t go around wrinkling my nose at meat eaters). Moreover, she doesn’t seem to make the same effort to understand Archie the way he tries to get to know her thoughts and takes them seriously. 

The relationship takes time to progress. This gives space for enough scenes and conversation between them. Things don’t feel rushed, despite what the blurb states. 

The side characters are developed enough to go beyond what’s initially defined for them. There’s more than what meets’s eye applies here. Olive’s arc is very good. I did like her more than the FMC sometimes. 

The repetition slows down the pacing, which could have been trimmed a little. The chapter length also contributes to the slowness due to the extended length (I like short chapters). 

The book has some steam, though I don’t know why it changed toward the end and skipped over the scene (which was important). Didn’t make sense to me, but maybe they had a page limit to work with (?). 

To summarize, Earl’s Trip is an entertaining book with a loveable male lead and worthy side characters. It works well as a standalone. The last chapter could be considered a lead for the next book, which I would love to read. 

Thank you, Edelweiss+ and Kensington Books, for eARC. 

W for Why the Vindhya Mountains Swelled - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaste, 

Mahabharata has many short stories from different Puranas. This is one such story from Aranyaka Parva, shared with Yudhistira during the early years of the Pandava exile. 

Rishi Lomasa presented the following story about why the Vindhya Mountain started swelling and how the situation was handled. 

A long time ago, the Vindhya Mountain noticed how the sun (Surya Deva) would do a pradakshina (circumambulation) around the divine Mount Meru every day. After a few days, the Vindhya asked the sun why he did that only for Meru. 

The sun replied that it wasn’t his choice but how the creator carved his path, which he followed every day without fail. 

This annoyed the Vindhya Mountain. It expanded in size and swelled large enough to block the sun’s path. The gods went to soothe and convince the mountain to get back to its previous size. However, no amount of pleading worked. The Vindhya Mountain continued to obstruct the path of the sun, moon, and stars to satisfy its ego. This also caused trouble for the rishis and earth-dwellers in the region as the days and seasons went off cycle. 

A group of rishis went to Rishi Agastya and explained the situation, asking for help. He assured them he would take care of the matter. The rishi went to the Vindhya Mountain and asked it to create a passage for him to travel southward. The rishi said the mountain could close again once he came back. The mountain agreed. 

Rishi Agastya went to the south but stayed there. The mountain had no choice but to keep the passage open, as per their agreement. This resulted in the mountain shirking into its previous size. It could no longer obstruct the sun’s path or interfere with nature’s cycle. 

Interesting, isn’t it? 

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V for Varuna’s Sabha - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaste, 

Narada described various celestial courtrooms (Sabha) to Yudhistira during his visit to Indraprastha for the first time. This event took place in Sabha Parva. We have seen Brahma’s Sabha, Dwaraka, Indra’sSabha, and Kubera’s Sabha until now.

Varuna is the god of rain, water, ocean, seas, rivers, etc. His Sabha is called Pushkaramalini and was built by Vishwakarman, the celestial architect. True to his powers, Varuna’s Sabha is located underwater (in an ocean) and has the right temperature for everyone to thrive. It has white walls and arches and is the same size as Yamadharmaraja’s Sabha (we’ll do this next). 

The Sabha is surrounded by celestial trees with gemstones, lovely blooms, and fruits. Plants of all colors - turquoise, yellow, black, purple, white, and red can be found in this Sabha. Exotic birds are also a part of it. The sweet melodies of the birds fill the Sabha.

The rooms are large and artfully decorated to suit Varuna’s taste. He is accompanied by his queen Varuni and lords over the Sabha with many heavenly creatures, beings, rishis, kings, and gods. For example, the Nagas are predominantly found in his Sabha. Similarly, Kings like Bali, Prahalada, Naraka, and many daityas (anti-gods) are also present. 

The oceans, seas, and rivers are a part of Varuna’s Sabha, along with lakes and tiny ponds. All aquatic creatures can be seen in this Sabha, sharing space with the Gandharvas, Yakshas, and apsaras. Varuna’s minister Sunabha, with his sons and grandsons, waits on him near the holy place of pilgrimage called “Gau” or Puskara.

Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? 

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A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall - Book Review

Series: The Sunken Archive #1 (cliffhanger)

Publication Date: 25th April 2024 

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Epistolary 

3.5 stars

One Liner: Ultra-slow-motion; but beautiful! 

E. sends a letter to renowned scholar Henerey Clel after she spies an intriguing aquatic animal outside her window. Soon, they correspond regularly and fall in love. However, life in the underwater world has its risks. When the duo uncovered a mystery, they didn’t know it could destroy E.’s home. E. and Henerey vanish, presumed dead. 

A year later, E.’s sister Sophy begins to archive her articles. She contacts Henerey’s brother Vyerin, and they begin to go through the letters and notes to discover more about their siblings and the mystery.   

What happened and why? How does the truth change their lives? 

The story comes in the form of letters, news reports, and other snippets shared by different characters. 

My Thoughts: 

Firstly, a huge thanks to an early reviewer. Her review helped me go into the book with the right expectations (ultra-slow pacing, almost non-existent plot, and a cliffhanger). I’m sure I enjoyed the book more because I knew what it was going to be. 

The beginning is intriguing but soon dissolves into a lengthy character-building exercise. While the idea of showing character development only through letters and journal entries is a great idea, it cannot come at the cost of the plot. 

I continued to read and read and read and finally, after 70%, saw a ray of hope. Maybe if the letters were shuffled to provide two tracks – one to get to know the characters and another to follow the mystery, we might feel better involved in the book. 

The underwater setting is ambitious. It takes time to understand the whole thing, so wing it until you get a hang of it. There are enough details to picture the setting, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Moreover, the technology and stuff used can be compared to what we have, making it even easier to create parallels. 

There’s no denying E.’s arc. It is indeed beautifully done. Sophy and others are well done, too, but E. shines just as she should. Henerey is equally adorable. My only grouse is that the plot and pacing needed to be sacrificed for this. 

The letters are formal, with many post scripts, dashes, and parentheses. Do I mind it? Nope! That’s how they are supposed to write. It aligns with their professions and backstories. However, I wish the voices were a little more distinct. Giving them each a quirky trait might have helped. On a side note, I have no idea how this would work on audio. 

The last section is truly where things start to come together. But it shouldn’t have been left until that point. Strengthening the threads from the midpoint would have worked even better. 

Also, sorry, but E. Cidnosin sounds a bit too close to e coli (at least to my brain). It’s a me thing, but I had to mention it. Her full name, though! Poor girl. I understand why she preferred E. 

To summarize, A Letter to the Luminous Deep is a character-driven book that sets the stage for the next book while providing snippets of information. Whatever is revealed is my kinda stuff, so I would love to read the next book and see where it goes. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Group (Orbit), for eARC. 

#NetGalley #ALettertotheLuminousDeep

U for Usinara’s Test - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaste, 

Usinara is one of the Hindu kings from ancient times (Dwapara Yuga). He was known as a fair ruler and a yagna performer. One day, he was participating in a massive yagna that surpassed even Indra’s attempts. Indra and Agni wanted to test Usinara to check if he was his dedication to justice and dharma was true. 

Indra became a hawk, and Agni turned into a dove. The dove flew towards Usinara and asked for his protection as the hawk swooped behind. Unisara shielded the dove with his hands. 

The hawk said to Usinara that he was acting against dharma by preventing him from eating his food (the dove). The dove trembled in Usinara’s lap in response. 

Usinara replied that his dharma was to offer protection to the dove that took shelter in his arms. The hawk retorted that eating its food was its dharma and that it would die without food. It asked Usinara to do the right thing. 

The king said he would offer as much meat as the hawk wanted to consume. He gave the hawk options like ox meat, boar meat, buffalo meat, etc. The hawk didn’t want any other meat, as doves and pigeons were its food. 

King Usinara said he would offer all his wealth and anything the hawk asked except for the dove, which was under his protection. The hawk demanded a portion of the king’s flesh in the same weight as the dove. The king readily agreed. 

The guards brought a scale. Usinara cut a piece of his flesh and placed it on the scale. The dove was heavier. This happened a few times. At last, the king stepped on the scale and asked the hawk to consume him.  

The hawk and the dove transformed into Indra and Agni. They praised him for his dedication to dharma and healed his body. Indra blessed Usinara that his glory would be sung forever and that he would find a place in heaven after his demise. 

The same story is also attributed to King Sibi, Usinara’s son. Both can be found in Aranyaka Parva of Mahabharata. It is a popular story in the folklore and has been retold in many ways over the years. 

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T for Takshaka, the Naga King - Mahabharata Mashup

Namaskar, 

We have read about Takshaka in Janamejaya’s SnakeSacrifice. He is the king of Nagas from the Patala (underground kingdom) and is a descendant of the Airavata family. 

Takshaka was first mentioned in Adi Parva when he stole earrings from Rishi Uttanka. This incident angered Uttanka, who later went to King Janamejaya’s court in Hastinapura and informed him of Takshaka’s role in the death of Parikshit (J’s father). 

Parikshit was a capable and loving ruler of Hastinapura. One day, however, during a hunt, he was tired and went to a rishi's ashram, where he insulted a rishi who was in maun-vrat (vow of silence) by placing a dead snake around his shoulders. Though the rishi forgave the king, his son Sringin cursed Parikshit that he would die in a week due to a snake bite. The old rishi sent his student to inform Parikshit about the curse. 

Parikshit then built a tower with no doors and windows and stayed in it. Many rishis, even from far-off places, arrived to treat him if the need arose. However, Takshaka found a way to hide in a basket of fruits carried by the rishis. When Parikshit grabbed a fruit, Takshaka rose from the basket and bit the king, ending his life as per the curse. 

This information made Janamejaya angry, which led to the snake sacrifice. Of course, we know that even that wasn’t successful, and Takshaka was saved in the last moment when Janamejaya agreed to grant Astika’s boon. 

If we see the events, we notice how determined Takshaka was to end Parikshit’s life. But why? 

Well, we could say the answer lies in the past. Takshaka and his family lived in the Kandava forest, the same one Agni wanted to consume as food. Arjuna and Krishna helped Agni devour the forest, which led to the death of Takshaska’s family (he wasn’t in the forest when the incident occurred). His wife saved their son, Asvasena, in the burning. 

However, Asvasena wanted revenge and waited many years. When Karna and Arjuna had a face-off on the 17th day of the Kurukshetra War, Asvasena became an arrow in Karna’s quiver. Krishna saw this and pressed the chariot wheels into the ground, thus causing the arrow (Asvasena) to strike Arjuna’s crown. Asvasena asked Karna to use his as an arrow again, but Karna refused, saying he didn’t need anyone's help to kill Arjuna. Asvasena attacked Arjuna directly but was killed by his arrows. 

We can assume that Takshaka held Arjuna responsible for everything. When Parkishit was cursed, he made sure it was he who fulfilled the curse and got his revenge by killing Arjuna’s grandson. It took Astika and Janamejaya to create a truce between the Kurus and Nagas.  

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