What keeps you hooked to a good story? Is it the characters, the plot or the narrative style? We believe that a gripping story is created when you have a perfect blend of the three.

So this week on NP Recommends our editors have handpicked a few of our Indie Published Authors who have mastered the art of story-telling. You can use our Read Instantly platform to begin reading these books online even as your physical copy makes its way to your doorstep. Here is a list of books you cannot miss.

The American Dream

Rajeshwari Nukala

Sonam is super excited! Her husband Raj, an IT professional, has been posted in the US of A on a project for his company. Together with their 2-year-old son, Rahul, they relocate to the States. Sonam has starry-eyed dreams and ambitions about her new life in the US.  An A-list designer wardrobe, a massive mansion with a pool, Instagramming her life in the coolest and most spectacular parts of America and most of all becoming a hotshot banker downtown, number-crunching effortlessly on the phone, cracking complex financial deals while looking Gucci cool! But it isn’t happening. And in her heart, Sonam yearns for India. However, Raj loves his work and their new life in the US. Return to India? No way! Meanwhile, little Rahul just wants his parents to be together, happy like they used to be. Then, through an unexpected turn of events, suddenly all of Sonam’s dreams are poised to come true. Investor meetings,  downtown office, a designer wardrobe – all of it can be hers – if she wants it. Now, Sonam is faced with some pretty tough decisions – and no, not which flavour of latte or mocha to order from Starbucks. The American Dream offers a hilarious, sometimes poignant look at the emotional roller coaster when one immigrates from their motherland to settle abroad. Click here to read instantly.

The Diary of a Snake Charmer

Sandeep Saxena 

“‘Utthisht Bharat,’ he said, and in that magical moment I felt that the river, the trees, and the sky…were saying, ‘Utthisht Bharat.’ I got up, never to look back or have doubts again.”

Just as the Bharata of yore responded to the Lord’s call to rise-up from dejection, to fulfil his glorious destiny, this modern-day Bharat too rises up from the pits of despair and defeat, to set out steadily on his appointed path of duty. Bharat, an IITian, with a management degree from IIM, had a ‘successful’ innings in the corporate world, with overseas postings too. Having acquired a substantial bank balance, he has the urge to set up a business in rural India, which will bring greater profits to the farmers. Predictably, he is ruthlessly pushed out and systematically ruined by the vested interests that feel threatened. Deep in despair, he gets help from a most unexpected quarter, a poor tribal snake charmer, known as Nagbaba… A gripping tale of how he comes out from the mires of debt and ruin to rise-up again, wiser but undeterred from his chosen path… A story of modern India, the two Indias of the cities and the villages… the urban, educated, elite youth with modern knowledge from science and technology, and the illiterate people of the forests, who have the wealth of wisdom passed down from centuries… the development of cities, which takes place at the cost of the proliferation of slums… the two different cultures that coexist in mutual wariness and mistrust… Click here to read instantly.

Music Men Volume 1

Pankaj Saini

Sartaj, an amateur boxer and a regular engineer from Haryana, is a conflicted man trying to navigate a gentler and more modern version of himself down south in India’s Silicon Valley. His 20s are riddled with sex, money, liquor and even love. From terrifying nightmares to weird voices in his head, his bizarre experiences make him question his religious and empirical beliefs. At 30, in his search for something meaningful, he surprises himself when he jumps at a strange opportunity to become a vigilante and proudly brands himself a superhero: Badoga. But does he even have a cause? Or is his vanity getting the better of him? Is he the good guy within this new world of the Music Men? Who defines what is moral and whose game is he playing? Has his past left him susceptible to a hero complex? Are the Music Men taking advantage of this? Can he just walk away from the mess he finds himself in or does he continue to spiral further down into the web of Music Men? Join Sartaj as he narrates his adventures with the powerful and mystifying Music Men. Click here to read instantly.

Jim Ozy & The Perils of Algebra

Nathan Pratyksh Khanna

A writer travels to a faraway land to meet his hero. The journey takes him on a trail of suspense and adventure, across uncertain terrains. When the writer finally meets Jim, the subject of his proposed book, he is amazed in many ways, for Jim’s tale is no ordinary one. It is closely intertwined with many complex situations and incredible characters, both good and evil.  

Within the larger tale unfolds many a story—stories of a mysterious cult, serious combat for restitution of order and eventual fortuitous disclosure. 

In a resplendent land that has seen no summer heat, where darkness lurks here and there, something strange has been fomenting for long. Will someone rise to the occasion to safeguard his homeland, even if it means the end of his life?  Click here to read instantly.

The Shero

Ashmita Reddy 

This story revolves around Sachi Ved Agnihotri. She is a very ambitious and determined girl. She has a suppressing past and a glowing future. She chooses to fight for her future, but life has destined her to fight for a social issue. She is very successful in her field. Her life teaches people that money is not life and there is something more beyond it (passion and love) to complete life. She could be an inspiration to anyone. Her husband taught her how to allow her past to flow freely within her. Her mission is to make every girl child independent and make them fly high. She is our Shero. Click here to read instantly.

We hope you enjoyed the list! Catch you next Monday to explore more books!