25 September, 2015

#BookReview :: The First Life of Vikram Roy (Ruby Iyer #1.5) by Laxmi Hariharan

His family is being held to ransom by a deadly mastermind.

Vikram never should have left his family, but when Vikram's father bring his half-brother Vishal home, life will never be the same.

Vikram thinks things will be better now that he's gone. He's met the love of his life, his future looks bright and then everything is shattered.

Now, his family's life is hanging in the balance, and only Vikram can do what needs to be done to save them.

From the bestselling dystopian fiction author with over 200 reviews and ratings of her dystopia books across Goodreads, Amazon and other retailers.



After Ruby Iyer Diaries and The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer comes this novella, that can be read as a standalone, to take us further into the Ruby Iyer series.

Vikram had made an impression on anyone who had picked up The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer. He is not just an eye candy, or just a man in uniform, or just someone to put Ruby Iyer into contrast [or make her pulse race faster ;)]. He had this persona that demanded to be felt and seasoned readers had also picked up on the fact that he knew more than he let on… In short, he demands attention and affection from his readers. So, I was pretty excited when I had first heard that Laxmi Hariharan is coming up with a novella about Vikram.

The First Life of Vikram Roy is very similar to Ruby Iyer Diaries in the respect that it chronicles the life of Vikram before he meets Ruby and The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer happens. We get to see Vikram – the kid and his family life.  Growing up Vikram did not really have an easy life but his confident choices in most cases shaped him up as the person he finally becomes. As a result it was fascinating to see his background and see him grow into the man we were introduced to earlier. I have to admit that initially I was a bit disappointed as since the moment I heard about this book being in works, I had been expecting to hear some cop stories filled with action and adventure. I wasn’t expecting the author to go so far back in Vikram’s life or this to be a diary of sort touching upon the important moments of his life. But I got over that disappointment as easily as I realized that though this book doesn’t have as much action as I expected, it offers something else that is equally interesting. The book certainly opens up new avenues as it brings a lot of questions about the series into focus. It makes the reader wonder why did ‘this’ happen and why did that character do ‘that’ and what was the motive for ‘this’… Yes, I know the last sentence didn’t make much sense, but then I am trying real hard not to give out spoilers here. At the same time I want you to know that there is another level in the plot that will really make you wonder.

The author maintains her style of narration and if anything, it feels crisper in this instalment. And OMG the ending… That ending!! She just keeps getting better – both at narrating stories and leaving us hankering for more.


Review Copy received from the Author


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