The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

Pages: 512 

Publisher: Titan Books 

Released: 13th of June 2023 

This Hindu philosophy-inspired debut science fantasy follows a husband and wife racing to save their living city—and their troubled marriage—high above a jungle world besieged by cataclysmic storms.

High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.

Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change.

Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.

What I Have to Say 

This book was fascinating. The setting of this book and how it embraced the Hindu themes of reincarnation was fantastic, the philosophy and themes of the book left me with much to think about, but the main thing that had me interesting in this book was Iravan and Ahilya's marriage and how each one viewed the other so differently. 

Iravan and Ahilya have problems, big problems. They aren't communicating properly and it's having an impact. This book really leaned into the the biases that people can have and how they can affect the way they see one another. Actions that are understandable for Ahilya to make from her perspective, are completely different for Iravan and vice versa. It gave me so much to think about! 

The only problem with this is that when being introduced to Iravan it was through the lense of Ahilya's pain and anger. He made a huge mistake and it came across as controlling and manipulative. So I just didn't warm to him. I'm honestly still not sure what to feel about his actions at the start of the book. I wasn't rooting for this couple at all. 

That was only a minor thing to me, but if you need a really strong romance to get behind this isn't the book for you. 

4 star 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Titan books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Asha and the Spirit Bird by Jasbinder Bilan

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Publisher: Chicken House Books 

Released: 7th of February 2019 

Asha lives on the family farm with her mother in rural India.

Her father is away working in the city, and when the money he sends stops suddenly, a wicked aunt arrives. She’s determined to seize the property – and the treasure rumoured to be hidden on the land. Guided by a majestic bird which Asha believes to be the spirit of her grandmother, she and her best friend Jeevan embark on a journey to the city, across the Himalayas, to find her father and save her home …

What I Have to Say 

This was a beautiful story of faith, adventure and family. I loved how determined Asha was, running away from home and fighting so many dangers in order to find her father and save her family. I also loved how deeply religion was woven into the story with Diwali and , showing the rich, vibrant spirituality of Asha's family and so many other hindu families in India.

The idea of ancestors and spirits were also very central to the book, as you can tell from the title, Asha's story revolves around a spirit bird, specifically the spirit of her grandmother returned in the form of a bird. The spirit bird brings magic to the story as well as reinforcing the feeling of family, even when Asha is out on her journey with only Jeevan for company, her grandmother is watching over her and keeping her safe. 

This is just a really, really gorgeous book filled with so much heart. I'm so happy I got the chance to read it. 

My thanks go to Chicken House for providing me with a free copy of this book for review. 

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Released: 13th of July 2017 

The arranged-marriage YA romcom you didn't know you wanted or needed... 

Meet Dimple.

Her main aim in life is to escape her traditional parents, get to university and begin her plan for tech world domination.

Meet Rishi.

He's rich, good-looking and a hopeless romantic. His parents think Dimple is the perfect match for him, but she's got other plans...

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

What I Have to Say 

This was such a cute book. I loved the concept other it. Even though it's an awful idea that Dimple's parents just sent this boy to meet her without telling her anything about it, it was just funny, the way it all played out and the way it was written. It showed a lot about both of the characters and I think definitely qualifies as a nice "meet cute" story to tell, even if it was rather upsetting for them when it was actually happening. 

I think they showed the culture very well in this book. I had to google a lot of things, especially the clothing that was referenced so that I had an idea of what they were talking about. There were just small references in so much of it, which showed how much culture was involved in both Dimple and Rishi's lives. 

The feelings that Dimple had were so real as well. Rishi was easy to empathise with as well, but Dimple's struggle between what she wants out of life and what her parents seem to want for her, how she can't see the middle ground because she's so sure that she wants to focus on her career rather than marrying or even dating boys, was just so real and interesting. 

This book was funny, cute and really showed a wonderful snapshot of India culture in America. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with this copy for review.