My Best Friend's Boyfriend- Story by Kajal N Lalwani in Crush 2 published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

A triangular story of crush! This is the last story but not the least than anyone. A sea of emotions of two best friends; Riya and Soumya who die for the same boy Rohan. To solve the puzzle, unlock the eighteenth box and find the answer contained into it.

Merits:
As the whole book revolves around the teenage-crush, so as this story. Facebook friendship changing into crush and the crush changes into the love so naturally that the reader identifies with the story instantly. Whatever happens, happens in sheer innocence without designs or malicious intentions. And that's the strength of this story.

Lines I liked:
"In the war of friendship and crush, it's always friendship that wins over crush."
Incidentally this is the tagline of the story which says more than what meets the eye--the sacrifice in friendship.

Demerits:
Kajal has to work upon sentence formation as right now it's too mechanical in nature. Moreover, stories should have some turns and twists which are missing. Yes, there're stories like this- linear and straight, they do not arouse much interest in the reader to read more. The subplot of assignment submission is unnecessarily long and creates disinterest.
Hence, I would like to suggest--Try to say more in less words.

Ratings: 3/5

There's no doubt that Kajal has tried her best in bringing out this story. Certainly, she's talented and has great potential to be an accomplished writer in future. Moreover, one can not please all the readers and reviewers, so keep going honing your craft to excellence.

Rajeev Pundir

Love? Story by Zeenath Zaveri in Crush 2 Published by Authors' Ink Publications

REVIEW:

What happens when all of a sudden you find that the person you love has actually played a game with you? This story is about three characters-Kiara, Karan and Sid. To know who tricked whom, read this story by Zeenath Zaveri.

Merits:
It is a simple story straight out of school life. It flows like a river--serene with a slow pace initially which suddenly changes its course flooding and damaging the nearby fields. The opening of the story is unique and quite catchy. Good efforts have been put by the writer in developing the characters of the story.

Lines I liked:
"Before life gets boring and hair starts greying, I need to date. I should find some excitement. How about having a boyfriend?"

Demerits:
The plot of the story is not new and  has been oft repeated in a couple of films. So it seems not more than an old wine in new bottle. Paragraphs are longer and the narration and conversation are off balance. A crispy and shorter version with powerful dialogues in between should have made it more interesting.
Yet, I can understand the compulsion of the writer--being the story of  teenagers and what more you can expect from these characters when they don't have much experience of life except having innocent crush and falling for the guys inadvertently.

Ratings: 3/5

I have noticed a unique style of writing in the story. Congratulations! Keep inventing. I'm sure about the story-telling ability of Zeenath Zaveri and wish her all the best in life and reading more mind- blowing stories from her.

Rajeev Pundir