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Two Strangers (Classics To Go)
by OliphantExcerpt: "And who is this young widow of yours whom I hear so much about? I understand Lucy’s rapture over any stranger; but you, too, mother—” “I too—well, there is no particular witchcraft about it; a nice young woman has as much chance with me as with any one, Ralph—” “Oh, if it’s only a nice young woman—” “It’s a great deal more,” said Lucy. “Why, Miss Jones at the school is a nice young woman—don’t you be taken in by mother’s old-fashioned stilts. She is a darling—she is as nice as nice can be. She’s pretty, and she’s good, and she’s clever. She has read a lot, and seen a lot, and been everywhere, and knows heaps and heaps of people, and yet just as simple and as nice as if she had{8} never been married, never had a baby, and was just a girl like the rest of us—Mother! there is nothing wrong in what I said?” Lucy suddenly cried, stopping short and blushing all over with the innocent alarm of a youthfulness which had not been trained to modern modes of speech."
The Ways of Life: Two Stories (Classics To Go)
by OliphantExcerpt: "He was a man approaching sixty, but in perfect health, and with no painful physical reminders that he had already accomplished the greater part of life’s journey. He was a successful man, who had attained at a comparatively early age the heights of his profession, and gained a name for himself. No painter in England was better or more favourably known. He had never been emphatically the fashion, or made one of those great “hits” which are far from being invariably any test of genius; but his pictures had always been looked for with pleasure, and attracted a large and very even share of popular approbation. From year to year, for what was really a very long time, though in his good health and cheerful occupation the progress of time had never forced itself upon him unduly, he had gone on doing{22} very well, getting both praise and pudding—good prices, constant commissions, and a great deal of agreeable applause. A course of gentle uninterrupted success of this description has a curiously tranquillising effect upon the mind. It did not seem to Mr. Sandford, or his wife, or any of his belongings, that it could ever fail. His income was more like an official income, coming in at slightly irregular intervals, and with variations of amount, but wonderfully equal at the year’s end, than the precarious revenues of an artist. And this fact lulled him into security in respect to his pecuniary means. He had a very pleasant, ample, agreeable life—a pretty and comfortable house, full of desirable things; a pleasant, gay, not very profitable, but pleasant family; and the agreeable atmosphere of applause and public interest which gave a touch of perfection to all the other good things. He had the consciousness of being pointed out in every assembly as somebody worth looking at: “That’s Sandford, you know, the painter.” He did not dislike it himself, and Mrs. Sandford liked it very much. Altogether it would have been difficult to find a more pleasant and delightful career."
I Too Had a Love Story
by Ravinder SinghDo love stories ever die?. . . How would you react when a beautiful person comes into your life, and then goes away from you . . . forever? Not all love stories are meant to have a perfect ending. I Too Had a Love Story is one such saga. It is the tender and heartfelt tale of Ravin and Khushi—two people who found each other on a matrimonial site and fell in love . . . until life put their love to the ultimate test. Romantic, emotional and sincere, this heart breaking true life story has already touched a million hearts. This bestselling novel is a must-read for anyone who believes in the magic of love
She's a Jolly Good Fellow
by Sajita NairSecond Lieutenants Deepa Shekhar and Anjali Sharma have an important task at hand: convince their male counterparts that they too are assets to the Indian Army – rather than merely those with assets. When the 23-year-olds are transferred to a remote army unit, several hilarious situations follow, thanks to the stark novelty of a feminine presence in the traditionally male army. However, with each passing day, the differences in their personalities begin to emerge. Deepa is more ‘officer’: she insists on being called ‘Sahab’ and even takes to swearing like the troops. Anju is more ‘lady’: she can’t give up her make-up and Mills & Boon romances. Or resist the charms of a certain dashing young officer, despite her friend’s warnings to stay away. The girls frequently fall out and get back together, but face the same dilemma: is any man worth more than their uniform?
Dark Things
by Sukanya VenkatraghavanSomewhere on Prithvi, a mortal survives a supernatural attack. In the dark realm of Atala, an evil goddess prepares to do the unspeakable. And a Yakshi finds herself at the heart of an other-worldly storm. Ardra has only known life as a Yakshi, designed to seduce and kill men after drawing out their deepest, darkest secrets for her evil mistress Hera, queen of the forsaken realm of Atala. Then, on one strange blood moon night, her chosen victim, Dwai, survives, and her world spins out of control. Now Ardra must escape the wrath of Hera, who is plotting to throw the universe into chaos. To stop her, Ardra needs to find answers to questions she hasn’t dared to ask before. What power does the blood moon hold? Is the sky city of Aakasha as much a myth as its inhabitants – the ethereal and seductive Gandharvas and Apsaras? Who is Dara, the mysterious monster-slayer, and what makes Dwai impervious to her powers? A heady concoction of fantasy and romance, Dark Things conjures up a unique world wrought of love and sacrifice, of shadows and secrets, of evil and those who battle it.
It Must've Been Something He Wrote
by Nikita DeshpandeWhen obsessive book-lover (ahem, book snob) Amruta – Ruta – Adarkar arrives in Delhi to work as a marketing executive for Parker-Hailey's Publishing, she learns that the world of books is not as cozy as she’d imagined. Her eccentric taskmaster of a boss expects marketing miracles to happen on shoestring budgets and in record time, and surviving the job (and the city) means she’ll have to master the local art of jugaad really fast. Worst of all, she’s stuck being a publicist for Jishnu Guha, protein-shake lover, serial selfie-taker, and bestselling author of seven cheesy romance novels, the kind she wouldn’t be caught dead reading. As Ruta struggles between work and life in a new city, she finds, much to her annoyance, that she needs Jishnu’s help more than she cares to admit. But with her own parents getting a divorce, can Ruta dare to fall in love, especially with someone who’s so impossibly different?
Grand Masti - Fun Never Ends (Mills And Boon Ser.)
by Neha PuntambekarJoin Amar, Meet and Prem on their many adventures and their many goof ups as they form friendships, find love, and navigate the highs and lows of married life in this set of fun filled and naughty stories.
His Captive Indian Princess
by Tanu JainBanished from her dynastic family home by her grandmother, Gauri Rao has lived under the weight of scandal. But now her past has come back to find her in the shape of deliciously handsome and dangerously powerful Vikram Singh.
Punar Milan
by Penny JordanJab ek vivah samaroh mein Bel ne apne purva pati Luke ko pass bethe dekha, toh woh samaj gayi ki ab dhamaka hona tay hai. Use ab bhi is baat par yakin tha ki wahi uske jeevan ka ekmatra sachcha prem hai- aur yah unke purva bhavavesh ki chingari ko dobara sulgaane ke liye bilkul upyukt mauka tha...
Doctorin Kaadhali
by Betty NeelsDoctorin kathali Doctor Andrew stellavai than niruvanathil tharkaliga receptionistaga niyamikirar. Velai kidaitha magizhchiyil irukum stella mella mella Andrewing meethu kathal vayapadugiral velaiyai polavea vazhkaiyilum aval nilai tharkaligamanathaga aagividuma? Bonus Story: Chaniyin jathagam
Monsoon Memories
by Renita D’SilvaEnglish rain smelt and tasted of nothing at all. It had none of the fury, the passion of the monsoons. Instead, it was weak; half-hearted.
Total Siyapaa
by Neha Sharma"Sum of Two Wholes TOTAL SIYAPAA" Aasha Singh, fiery and confident, can't wait to get her hands dirty with hard news, and uncover scandals and controversies. A Punjabi desi in London, from India. Aman Ali, smart-aleck and suave, a promising musician, has left the security of a career in finance to follow his passion in music.
Kingdom Come
by Aarti V RamanKrivi lyer is an embittered former spy and bomb defusal expert with only one regret. That he couldn't catch The Woodpecker, a dangerous, mentally unstable bomber who ended his partner's family.
Daddy
by Tuhin SinhaWith gender dynamics changing the world over, parenting is a key area where this change is most perceptible. Modern dads today have no inhibitions in changing their baby’s diapers, spending sleepless nights catering to their newborn or looking after the baby while the mother is at work.
Fashionably Yours
by Swati Sharma“Maya Kapoor swaps the snowy mountains for the glittering ocean.” Maya Kapoor arrived in Mumbai with a glamorous dream, quite literally. Maya wants to be a serious fashion writer for the high-end fashion magazine, Glamorous, but luck is not in her favor.
The Crunch Factor
by Andaleeb WajidLove comes in all tastes and spices! Twenty-six-year-old Aliya loves almost everything to do with food – eating it, styling it, photographing it. But while her career as a food photographer is on track, her personal life is entirely derailed. Determined to move out of her parents’ house, she agrees to marry Kamaal, the hot owner of the trendy new restaurant in town. But why does she feel like she’s waded into a bowl of bland khichri? Where’s the papad, dammit? Where’s the crunch factor? Then, on the day of her engagement, she finds out that the celebrated chef at Kamaal’s restaurant is none other than Sameer, an old crush from her younger days. Aliya cannot believe that, even a decade later, he’s still as hot as jalapeno poppers and as charming as cheesecake, and that she’s as attracted to him as she was all those years ago. What is Aliya to do now? Should she go ahead with the wedding and settle for a Milky Bar-like relationship with Kamaal, or should she choose rocky road pie and explore her possibilities with Sameer?
Vow of Parvati
by Aditi BanerjeeA love story for the ages…Drawn to beauty, sweetness, and the softer things in life, the young devi Sati is about to choose her vahana, the vehicle that would be the symbol of her identity. But before she can, her world is shaken by the arrival of Rudra, the snake-wearing intoxicated Adi Yogi, who haunts cremation grounds and consorts with wild ganas. When they meet, sparks fly. He is her opposite in every way but all she feels is a strong attraction even as their personalities clash. When family pressure compels Sati to choose her husband, she has to decide whether she can accept the darker, fiercer aspects of herself that Rudra brings out. However, a cataclysmic tragedy forever alters Devaloka, tearing the lovers apart. From the ashes of the aftermath the young devi emerges once more-this time as Parvati. Given a new chance at life, at determining her fate, Parvati makes a fateful vow to win the heart of Rudra. Can she succeed once again?
The Way We Were: A hilarious and swoon-worthy second-chance, workplace romance
by Prajwal Hegde"Bitter rivals.Reluctant colleagues. Tormented ex-lovers. Myra Rai is living her best life. At twenty-eight, she is a prominent journalist at the precipice of dreamy success and her dating life is the envy of the town. After all, jealous heads stir to probe her almost engagement to Ravi Rao, the gentleman heir to a roaring political legacy! Myra is well on her course. Until comes knocking the broad-shouldered, chiselled-face ghost from her past... Andrew Brown is a headstrong political activist, unexpectedly back in the city after a winning stint in the US. Set to take over as the executive editor of Morning Herald, he is determined to revisit his past and reconnect with that one feisty journalist at work who hates his guts, hates that he is back, and hates that he never called... Both Myra and Andrew have lost a lot over the years, including each other. But in the fierce race to best one another while pretending not to seethe in the hellfire of jealousy and suppressed passion, can they keep their barbs (and hands) to themselves? Right from the centre of a smouldering passion-fest, Prajwal Hegde tugs compellingly at the heartstrings and delivers a stormy rom-com that is all love (AND a whole lot of lust)! "
Half of What I Say
by Anil Menon Himanjali SankarConflicted over his sinister duties with the Lokshakti, Vyas writes a confessional love-letter to his wife. But how did the letter end up with the scholar-politician, Durga Dhasal? And when the Lokshakti murders Dhasal, Vyas has to find the incriminating letter before it's too late. The trail leads Vyas to various people, including: the passionate scientist torn between exit and loyalty; the businessman who collects ruins; the beguiling actress who was once Shahzadi Jahanara; the eunuch poet fond of Jewish jokes. It leads him to a powerful, subversive new myth. The lost letter leads Vyas to himself.
Mornings After
by Tharun James JimaniOn the morning India woke up to the news of the gruesome assault on Nirbhaya, Sonya lay awake coming to terms with a nightmare of her own: if you place your safety in the hands of another, who is to blame for its consequences?Incited by the media post mortem of Nirbhaya that followed, Sonya gives up the security of corporate life and starts a feminist webzine instead.When a Bollywood matinee idol –'Bhai' to his devotees, and simply 'The Torso' to the media – expresses interest in promoting the launch of Sonya's publication in exchange for a little whitewashing of his latest misogynist transgression, she is faced with the age-old question of just how far can one go till the end stops justifying the means? Thomas, her lover of a mere couple of months, suddenly burdened with contributing to food and lodging, and Sonya, unable to apply her political stand to their abusive relationship, negotiate the fluidity and chaos of contemporary urban relationships in ways both familiar and unique!
Blueprint for Love
by Chatura RaoHaunted by memories of her dead sister and childhood home, Reva meets her sister's then-boyfriend, Suveer, every year for a day in a friendship that seems to offer each of them a way to come to terms with the past. Suveer is reporting an election story of 'dishousing' on a bungalow belonging to a Muslim businessman in a Hindu-dominated area of Gandhinagar. Unable to remain objective when the mob turns on Mahnoor, a young Muslim woman, he is beaten up and hospitalised. Without a second thought Reva leaves her husband and goes to him. Suveer and Reva seek shelter with Mahnoor and her husband Zahyan, who find the life they'd painstakingly constructed is slowly unravelling.This gripping story asks the question: where is home? Reva and Suveer, Zahyan and Mahnoor, be it in circumstances of love or loss, ever seek a path to return by.
Half Boyfriend
by Judy Balan Kishore ManoharIn Half Boyfriend a feudal rich boy from a village courts a gorgeous city brat who has a weakness for lost causes. They go through a series of pointless events and unbelievable coincidences in a dead-end plot that has to end with the chuavinist sleeping with the girl.
Maidless in Mumbai
by Payal KapadiaI am on top of things. I have a seriously stuck baby inside me, and a queue of people between my legs. But I am on top of things.Career-driven reporter Anu Narain has a plan for everything till motherhood comes along. The baby poops/cries/pisses/ feeds round the clock. Anu loses her mind/ the plot/ the maid. And cabin fever strikes when her mother-in-law and her mother come over to help …How does Anu become a working mom when her husband is happy playing the shirking dad? And when her house is a railway station where every maid is a passing train? Will Anu use wile and guile to make the maids stay and The Moms leave? Or will she succumb to that strange Indian malaise called maidomania?Hysterically funny, unapologetically honest, and charming all the way, this is the diary of a maidless Mumbai mom who dreams of only one thing-the perfect maid to live happily forever with.
That Thing We Call a Heart
by Sheba KarimShabnam Qureshi is a funny, imaginative Pakistani-American teen attending a tony private school in suburban New Jersey. When her feisty best friend, Farah, starts wearing the headscarf without even consulting her, it begins to unravel their friendship. After hooking up with the most racist boy in school and telling a huge lie about a tragedy that happened to her family during the Partition of India in 1947, Shabnam is ready for high school to end. She faces a summer of boredom and regret, but she has a plan: Get through the summer. Get to college. Don't look back. Begin anew.Everything changes when she meets Jamie, who scores her a job at his aunt's pie shack, and meets her there every afternoon. Shabnam begins to see Jamie and herself like the rose and the nightingale of classic Urdu poetry, which, according to her father, is the ultimate language of desire. Jamie finds Shabnam fascinating-her curls, her culture, her awkwardness. Shabnam finds herself falling in love, but Farah finds Jamie worrying. With Farah's help, Shabnam uncovers the truth about Jamie, about herself, and what really happened during Partition. As she rebuilds her friendship with Farah and grows closer to her parents, Shabnam learns powerful lessons about the importance of love, in all of its forms.Featuring complex, Muslim-American characters who defy conventional stereotypes and set against a backdrop of Radiohead's music and the evocative metaphors of Urdu poetry, THAT THING WE CALL A HEART is an honest, moving story of a young woman's explorations of first love, sexuality, desire, self-worth, her relationship with her parents, the value of friendship, and what it means to be true.