{"id":11807,"date":"2018-07-09T12:12:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T06:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.wordpress.com\/?p=11807"},"modified":"2018-07-09T12:12:49","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T06:42:49","slug":"rafina-by-shandana-minhas-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/09\/rafina-by-shandana-minhas-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafina by Shandana Minhas (Book Review)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/images.gr-assets.com\/books\/1529998716l\/40647485.jpg\" alt=\"Rafina: A Novella Hardcover by Shandana Minhas\" width=\"266\" height=\"408\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/40647485-rafina\">Add the book on Goodreads<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.in\/gp\/product\/9386215381\/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=x_gr_w_bb_in-21&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=3626&amp;creative=24790\">Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Genre:<\/strong>\u00a0Contemporary Fiction<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Pan Macmillan India<\/li>\n<li><strong>Format:<\/strong>\u00a0Hardcover<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 280<\/li>\n<li><strong>Publication Date:<\/strong> 23 May 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong>Source:<\/strong>\u00a0Review Copy<\/li>\n<li><strong>My Rating:\u00a0<\/strong>2<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>stars<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000080;\"><strong>Goodreads Synopsis<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Rafina looks at the glamorous girl on the billboard outside her window in Karachi and thinks, It won\u2019t be long before I&#8217;m up there. Too poor for college and dismissive of marriage, the clear-eyed young woman cajoles her mother&#8217;s friend and Radiance beauty parlour masseuse, Rosie Khala, into taking her on as an apprentice. Thus begin her brave misadventures \u2013 from clumsy parlour assistant, to mostly dependable tea girl, till in a stroke of serendipity, she is \u2018discovered\u2019. Poised to have everything she thought she wanted, the only thing standing between Rafina and that billboard are the people who think she should still be using the service entrance.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#333399;\"><strong>My Thoughts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Reading the blurb of this book makes one expect a unique and refreshing story. Perhaps the journey and struggles of a strong woman. It was a huge disappointment when I discovered that this book is nothing like that.<\/p>\n<p>I liked the author&#8217;s writing style. She had a good way of providing vivid descriptions. The problem is that I didn&#8217;t like the things she was describing and they went on and on.<\/p>\n<p>The story follows Rafina as she starts working at a salon and eventually gets &#8220;discovered&#8221;. It shows the shady ways of the modeling business. Most of the characters were unlikeable and that made it hard to read about them. Rafina had it in her mind that she was destined for great and better things. I like characters who are confident and ambitious but I kept wondering while reading if she has any talents that will take her to stardom. I found her delusional and her character didn&#8217;t improve at all throughout the book.<\/p>\n<p>I can&#8217;t say this book was enjoyable for me. The ending was abrupt and I wish it was better. It is possible that the main point of the story was Rafina&#8217;s hardships but it was delivered in such a way that I couldn&#8217;t appreciate the story at all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\">Find me on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tavleen_words\/\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tavleensoni\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/user\/show\/32793447-tavleen-kaur\">Goodreads<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add the book on Goodreads Buy on Amazon Genre:\u00a0Contemporary Fiction Publisher: Pan Macmillan India Format:\u00a0Hardcover Pages: 280 Publication Date: 23 May 2018 Source:\u00a0Review Copy My Rating:\u00a02\u00a0stars<\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/09\/rafina-by-shandana-minhas-book-review\/#more-11807\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading &#10142; <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Rafina by Shandana Minhas (Book Review)<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[99,187,340,373,376,385],"class_list":["post-11807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","tag-books","tag-fiction","tag-pan-macmillan","tag-rafina","tag-reading","tag-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11779,"url":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/05\/rafina-by-shandana-minhas\/","url_meta":{"origin":11807,"position":0},"title":"Rafina by Shandana Minhas (Cover Reveal)","date":"June 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi everyone! Today, I have the opportunity to do the cover reveal of a book I'm very excited about - Rafina by Shandana Minhas! Below is everything you need to know. \u00a0 Brilliantly observed, delightful and heartbreaking, this is the story of seventeen-year-old\u00a0Rafina\u00a0and her big dreams and misadventures. \u00a0 Genre:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Miscellaneous&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/panmacmillan.co.in\/Images\/books\/LargeImage\/9789386215383.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11823,"url":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/29\/stacking-the-shelves-4-first-2018-book-haul-may-july\/","url_meta":{"origin":11807,"position":1},"title":"Stacking the Shelves #4 ||May-July Book Haul","date":"July 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi everyone! How are you all? First of all, I'd like to apologize for not actively posting here. I didn't plan on falling into a blogging slump especially at a time when I do have time to write and post. Anyways, the reason is that I have just started college\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Lists&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Underrated Books","src":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/07\/underrated-books1.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11867,"url":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/13\/july-and-august-2018-wrap-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":11807,"position":2},"title":"July and August 2018 Wrap-Up","date":"September 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey everyone!\u00a0How are you all? This is one very late wrap-up. I just started college a month ago (I'm studying Literature!) and it has kept me incredibly busy. I'm hoping to find a balance as soon as possible so I can post in a proper schedule. Here's my combined wrap-up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Miscellaneous&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/images.gr-assets.com\/books\/1532922640l\/40984908.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11848,"url":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/21\/floored-a-ya-novel-by-7-authors-book-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":11807,"position":3},"title":"Floored- A YA Novel by 7 Authors (Book Review)","date":"September 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Add the book on Goodreads Buy on Amazon Format:\u00a0Paperback Pages:\u00a0320 Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books Publication Date: 12 July 2018 Source:\u00a0Advanced Reader's Copy My Rating:\u00a04 stars Blurb The Breakfast Club\u00a0meets\u00a0One Day\u00a0in\u00a0Floored,\u00a0a unique collaborative novel by seven bestselling and award-winning YA authors: Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/images.gr-assets.com\/books\/1521813110l\/34372905.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11554,"url":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/15\/tell-tale-by-jeffrey-archer-book-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":11807,"position":4},"title":"Tell Tale by Jeffrey Archer (Book Review)","date":"December 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Add this book on Goodreads Buy this book on Amazon Genre:\u00a0Short Stories Release Date: November 2nd 2017 Publisher:\u00a0Macmillan Pages:\u00a0288 Format:\u00a0Paperback My Rating:\u00a04 stars Tell Tale by Jeffrey Archer is a collection of stories inspired by the people the author has met throughout his travels. 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It is her newest release\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book Reviews&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travellingthroughwords.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}