#BookReview: Yakshini by Neil D'Silva

Title: Yakshini 

Author : Neil D'Silva

Publisher: Rupa Publications 

Published on: 1st October 2019

ISBN: 978-9353336745

Halfway to the heavens, in a realm hidden by clouds, a divine beauty—a Yakshini—is facing a
sentence for her folly.
Down on earth, a couple in Maharashtra is expecting their seventh child, and is performing a special
yajna to fulfill their desires.
By a strange quirk of fate, these two distinctly different lives are soon to be intertwined.

BLURB

Fifteen-year-old Meenakshi is no ordinary girl. Blessed with celestial attributes, she has beauty that would rival a goddess’s, a unique communion with nature, and a supernatural being living inside her.

Even so, Meenakshi lives amongst men and eventually, the evil eye falls upon her. That’s when the Yakshini inside her awakens. As the Yakshini takes control, Meenakshi is catapulted into a world of passion and violence that even threatens her husband’s life.

Neil D’Silva’s Yakshini is a toe-curling, spine-tingling tale where mythology comes deliciously alive on the page. A world full of fantastic creatures and unforgettable characters, the book highlights the tussle of the supernatural and the human, sure to enchant readers of all ages.

COVER PAGE

The cover page of the book is very attractive. It has an image of a girl where her half face is that of human with flowers in the background and half of a goddess with moon in the background. It is a very colourful cover page in green, blue, yellow, brown and purple colours. It is a very eye catchy cover and is apt with the story.

REVIEW

Yakshini by Neil D’Silva was one of the most intense read that I’ve read so far this year. After, a long time I was engaged in a book at such a great level. When I got the book, I was not able to get my hands off it and was very much keen on reading it. I had a lot of expectations from this book and I am glad that this book was beyond my expectations. It was an entertainer for me.

Yakshini is a very intense and interesting story about a 15 year old, Meenakshi who lives in Vatgaon with her parents and six sisters. She is blessed with some celestial powers and is one of the most beautiful girls and boys look upon her.  She loves to play and Sal tree in her garden is her companion with whom she spends most of her time. She was growing up very fast which was a major concern for her parents. The book is an amazing journey filled with some very interesting events that took place in her village such as few boys went missing and a remarkable event that took place at the festival of snakes. And, the whole village got to know that whatever is happening around is due to her. And, her life takes a turn when she met Harikumar and her family had to take some tough decisions for her.

The book is penned down in a simple manner with all the events described in a great detail. The narration is very engaging and fast paced and it could be easily be finished in few sittings.  I really liked the fact that how the author has divided the book into four parts: the Sapling, the Blossom, the Seed and the Withering. Throughout the book, I was very well able to visualize the events making my reading experience very eventful. The plot is very interesting and nicely packed with several events and I was not at all able to put down the book. The title of the story is very well justified.

The characterization of the story is very strong. Meenakshi the main protagonist is very interesting and the one inside her is very intense. Her parents, her siblings, Krita, Harikumar are the other characters in the story. I really loved how the author has come up with the relation of Meenakshi and the sal tree and I loved their bond. Even, the mother daughter relation of Meenakshi and her mother stood out very nicely in the story.

Overall, it was a very intriguing, entertaining and a refreshing read. I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.in/Yakshini-Neil-DSilva/dp/9353336740/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=yakshini&qid=1569838571&s=gateway&sr=8-1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neil D’Silva moved into full-time writing after giving up a lucrative coaching institute that he had helmed for 18 years. Influenced by his life’s journey, which initiated him into the works of Poe, Stoker, Shelley and our own Ramsay brothers, he developed a strong penchant for creating new worlds of horror. His debut novel, Maya’s New Husband, is a bestseller and has been acquired for screen adaptation. Neil conducts lectures and workshops on writing for aspiring authors. He is also the founder and Creative Director of an interschool litfest named Lit venture. After winning accolades at the Delhi Literature Festival for a Short Story Competition, the Indian Bloggers’ Award and giving a TEDx talk on the subject of The Art of Writing a Bestseller, Neil has stamped his presence on the Indian literary world. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Anita and their two children, Gilmore and Felicia.

*I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Rupa Publications) in exchange of a review. Thank You.

Follow me at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/taanyaahuja011

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blisspurple.bookworm/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Blisspurple.bookworm/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/25658913-taanya-ahuja

Thank You

Happy Reading!