Reviews

Following are the reviews for Is This Love & Autumn - The Last Leaf  that I received in mail and on Facebook. Additional reviews that are posted at reader's blogs are linked on this page



The first one didn't strike much of a note for me, since it had sort of a predictable ending ( but it confirmed that you a have a gift to create a written picture).
The last leaf ...Oh yeah!
I obviously read the second part one after reading the first story , so I suppose, I had made up my mind for the kind a ending it would have, all pretty ... so the end against my obvious idea, was just exciting!
I began to guess towards the last chapters that the last leaf would be Neha's doing ... !!!! but in the last page you just manage to uproot the entire tree ... Brilliant! I just couldn't have guessed that! 
~ Nikhil Kunder




I loved your book. The stories were brilliant! I was completely hooked on them and couldn't put the book down till I finished it. First story, though a little bit predictable, perfectly depicted emotions a best-friend-in-love feels and all the awkwardness that comes along with it. I also loved the characters painted in it. The strong girl (Sheetal) supporting a friend (Vishal), who cares for her at every step and is there for her whenever she needs him - it was a little bit different from usual stereotypes - and brilliantly portrayed.

The second story was something which I wasnt quite prepared for. The love, break up and then deals to try to get back together, and climax brought in the end with all connected by visions, it was seriously a different take on the issue.

Interestingly, the lead characters in both the stories had same names. It was intriguing when I noticed it.

In the end, I loved the stories! Great job!

~ Jayesh Mhatre







Is this Love -
Should I start with, I read this story and the next one in just one sitting. Without putting the book down!
Is This Love was a pleasant surprise and I very specifically loved the end.
Without revealing too much about the book, I must say that I warmed up to all the characters and wanted to think about them exactly how who had portrayed them. Though I have never been in a situation anywhere close to Sheetal, at every point I could feel her dilemma. Take a bow Arti, it is a very difficult task to achieve especially in less than 100 pages (74 to be precise!)

Autumn - The Last Leaf -
When I started reading this one, I really expected it to be a major thriller. Within a few pages I thought, well is this going to be a mushy love story. Well, I was in for a pleasant surprise. The story moved really fast and the best thing was it was quite unpredictable too.
It was a great reading experience.
Both the stories had one thing in common, they were well edited. There was no unnecessary side tracks and it therefore made a very interesting read!

This is the first time I am writing a review for a book and I am not sure if I did justice to the task in hand. I do have a suggestion for you. If possible try using different names for your characters because they easily make their mark on the reader and it is kind of weird to associate that name with a totally different character. (Again, this could be because I was reading the stories back to back :))

Vidya 




My favorite of the two stories was Is This Love. I thought it was well written. Very good love story!! After reading the first few pages of Autumn-The Last Leaf, I thought it was going to be gruesome. What a surprise! The ending was a real shocker! Very well done. I like the changes made to the back cover. The only change I would suggest is to not have the same names in each story. Good job!!!! Thank you for the opportunity to read the book!

~ Nancy Plutz



About the author
Some people are simply blessed! Blessed with a god given gift- an ability to dive deep into the human mind, and discover the treasures of priceless emotions. Only a few people protect and nurture this gift in an envelope of modesty and stay rooted. Arti, without doubt, is one such person. She has mastered the art of bringing out the most complex and abstract emotions in the simplest of words. All her stories are simple with characters pulled out of real life that appeal to the reader. The reader flows with the words, finds himself in the characters, feels their feeling and cries their tears. Her stories are indeed a great reading experience.


Is this love? A review.
The story is a flavorful mixture of a love story, sprinkled with the magic of friendship and garnished with the joy of a happy ending after great turmoil. The casual tone gives the story flow and readability for almost any age; it’s a treat for young teenagers as well as adults! The story unfolds as Vishaal and Sheetal, thick friends who secretly love each other fail to express their feelings until Sheetal gets married. The marriage fails and much to her surprise Sheetal gets an unconditional support from Vishaal. Their true love triumphs as they come together in the end. The story leaves you with a thought- All well that ends well. As the protagonist himself says, ‘It is never too late to mend things!’


The last leaf. A review.
Autumn-The Last Leaf is a story fraught with surprises. Want to be delighted with them? Then you must grab a copy… The book keeps you intrigued till the last word. The scenes of the story are beautifully scattered through the story and then, quite unexpectedly, the parts fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle! Spiced up with love, jealousy and suspense, the story keeps the reader glued to it till the end. About the plot, I won’t write much to spoil your surprise. Dear reader, the book is all yours to relish!


~ Ketki Yennemadi





‘Is This Love’ tells the story of true friendship and platonic love of Sheetal and Vishal who share a flat in Mumbai. They promise to be friends forever but gradually they start to feel differently for each other yet unable to express their feeling. It is a story of struggling with one’s feelings, heartbreak, misunderstanding, sacrifice and above all, true friendship and love.
I’ve read some creations of Arti Honrao on her blog 'Straight From The Heart, and liked them as she has a neat style of writing and this one is also well-written. I liked the character of Vishal.

Autumn: The last leaf is an eccentric story blended with love, friendship, a murder and mystery. Neha often sees dreams that come true. She gradually starts to love her best friend Vishal and before she plans to confess, he is married to Sheetal. Then something happens that completely upends the story. The end of the story is totally unpredictable and gripping.
This story is also nicely written but I did not like the idea of keeping the same names of the characters. Initially, I presumed it the sequel to 'Is This Love'.
It bothered me immensely that the publisher has wasted so many pages. Also improper punctuation marks disrupt the flow of the story. But I liked the cover and title of the stories especially ‘Autumn – The last leaf.’
Overall for me, it was a simple, quick and really nice read.

~ Tarang Sinha






I have read Arti Honrao's book: "Is This Love" and "Autumn - The Last Leaf", and I was intrigued by both stories and the Author's way of telling them.
In "Is This Love", we encounter a deep friendship that has to overcome much difficulty. This includes several wrong decisions along the way, with surprising twists and turns... Vishaal and Sheetal's friendship is severely tested many times throughout the story, especially with the entrance of Aman. This keeps the reader in suspense to the very end of the story.


In "Autumn - The last Leaf", most of Neha and Vishaal's friends think they are well suited for one another, as they both are close during college days, but they are shortly separated following graduation. Life takes them both on different paths, as the author so clearly points out. Soon Sheetal enters the picture, and from there the story becomes exciting as we (as readers) are already making up our minds of who should capture Vishaal's heart. Again, many twists and turns, with an ending that leaves the reader really admiring the authors way of drawing him/her in to the story.
I love this author's style of writing, and so proud that she chose to dedicate this book to me, since all I did to earn it was to tell her what everyone else knew: she is an excellent writer.
~ Gloria J Blier






I read both stories...the first one "is this love" was a superb piece of writing, it made me hold breath till the last page. Well the second story was of kind where every page was unleashing the unexpected.
Both were spell bounding and a portray of human reactions to situations.

~ Sarwat Firoz





I absolutely loved your book! Not to specially mention the second story which took me by surprise. You should write more of such stories. The simplicity and the reality in your stories is what I loved the most. Both the stories were just on and they never stopped for me! Actually I kinda was thinking from Sheetal's perspective all the time during the first story and found she couldn't have done anything better than what she did.
Thank you so very much for making me read such beautiful and straight from the heart stories and yeah, I am looking forward for more.


~ Rachit Gupta






I recently read a book ‘Is this love’ by Arti Honrao. It’s a set of two stories: Is this love and Autumn: The last leaf.

The first story ‘Is this love’ is a love story as the title suggests. Vishal and Sheetal are best friends. They live together and share a very healthy relationship. Gradually, Vishal realizes that he loves Sheetal but Sheetal is ready to marry Aman. What’s the destination of this love triangle? 'Is this love' tells all about it. A beautiful story!

Autumn: The last leaf is a different story. It has many flavors like love, murder and mystery. I found it very engrossing.

I would say, two nicely written, interesting stories are enclosed in a beautiful cover!



~ Sanjeev Sinha