E Book Review: Under the Mistletoe and other stories

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"Boy,There's no such thing as a tooth fairy. It was just your parents.
Ofcourse, there is! Just like there's Santa."

Name: Under the Mistletoe and other stories

Author: Manali Desai                       

Format: Kindle Edition

Price: 55 INR


        Under the Mistletoe and other stories is a collection of 12 short stories and 6 poems, all based on Christmas and New year's theme. The stories are light and well crafted oozing with festive vibes. Stories differ from each other in plot, character and setting with only thing common being the holiday season. Twelve different people with different stories, their lives takes new turn, this new year; is it for the better or worse? 

     Stories in the book consists of characters from different age group i.e. from a kid waiting for Santa to homeless guy to a soldier. The setting of the stores differ vastly from each other, i.e. ranging from office setup, airport, orphanage, fast food joint to school. I loved how author has shed light on issues like loss, grief, denial, repressed memories, parenting techniques and women safety. I also loved how, each story has the ability to trigger different set of emotions in the readers, I thought there was a common trait in few stories,i.e.one has to go through the darkness to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Poems are also well-written, I loved the way author crafted story even in poems. Something interesting which I found at the end of the book was UTMoS playlist( Playlist is created on Spotify), a song assigned to each  story, I found it a fun way of ending the book. 

    Although stories were well crafted, I wish the author worked bit more on concluding them.Apart from one or two grammatical errors, the writing is lucid and free flowing.It a short, weekend read. Stories that I like most include:
1.  Naught and Nice
2. Elfish Grinch
3. Under the Mistletoe
4. Touch Me Not

I liked the poem "An unwarm Welcome" of all.

Conclusion: I would recommend this book anyone looking for a feelgood weekend and ignite some festive vibes

Rating: Its 3.75/5 for me.

About the Author: Manali Desai is a full time freelance writer and editor cum blogger. She runs a blog and is partner with pachyderm Tales. She has author 4 solo books and co- authored two books.She has been best selling author on Amazon with all her books ranking in the top 10 in multiple categories. Her short story "The walls have ears" bagged the best author: Fiction Award in 2021 for her debut Novel Love(try) Angle. She goes on social media platform by her pen name A Rustic Mind. 

Her other books include: Love (Try) Angle (Available Here), The art of being grateful and other stories (Available Here), A Rustic Mind (Available Here)

This review is powered by "Blogchatter Book Review Program" also I am participating in #TBRchallenge by Blogchatter 

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