A Convenient Marriage by Jeevani CharikaTW: mentions of self harm Chaya and Gimhana both work in London, but they are always under pressure from their Sri Lankan families, who want to see them settled. Chaya still pines for a love she lost and Gimhana knows that his being gay will destroy his parents - and dissuade his law firm from promoting him. Gimhana suggests to Chaya that they enter a marriage of convenience. And it's just what they need... until complications ensue. This is such a beautiful platonic love story. It's quite rare to find that kind of love story in women's fiction and I'm pleased to have happened across it. Chaya and Gimhana have a relationship that enables both of them to grow - we all have many variants of these relationships in our lives, so this felt true to me. The only thing I would have liked to see was a bit more of Gimhana's romantic past, since it was reduced to one violent on-screen incident and some throwaway lines.
0 Comments
Marriage Unarranged by Ritu BhathalAashi should be preparing for the most exciting day of her life, but her wedding dreams are in tatters after she discovers her husband-to-be has cheated. Now she must cancel everything - except, perhaps, the trip she had planned to take to India with her best friend and her brothers. Aashi may find herself there...and she may also find true love. I loved this!! Not only did it provide some desperately-needed armchair travel, it was a delightful read that kept me hooked way past my bedtime. Of course, I enjoyed the romantic pairings, exploring the "sights", the sprinkling of melodrama (never outstaying its welcome) - but mostly I enjoyed reading about Aashi and Arjun together. I desperately need this book to be turned into a movie. Heiress on Fire by Kellie McCourtI received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Heiress Indigo-Daisy-Violet-Amber Hasluck-Royce-Jones-Bombberg (*draws breath*) married a man who was supposed to be her boring, reliable "Bran Muffin". But after her clumsiness inadvertently leads to his death in an explosion, she begins to unravel her Bran Muffin's secrets - and must somehow clear her name by venturing out into a world she has been sheltered from. This was a somewhat amusing romp and I'm rather impressed that McCourt made someone who should have been unlikeable into a main character who I might follow into the sequel. You'll have to suspend disbelief a lot with this book and you really need to be in the mood for a vapid MC in the midst of a vapid plot (there are definitely times for this!). I'm not sure I liked how achingly obvious this book was as a setup for a series. It felt a little unfinished because of that. But I am like a moth to the Heiress on Fire and will probably pick up a sequel if there is one. Flying the Nest by Rachael Johns I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Ashling's world crumbles around her when her husband, Adrian, says he wants to try nest parenting - which is also his way of saying their marriage is over - meaning that each parent spends one week with the children and one week without them. At first Ashling doesn't know what to do with her "off" week, but then she finds herself refurbing an old cottage by the sea at Ragged Point. This newfound freedom might be just what she needs. I found the nest parenting arrangement to be utterly fascinating, both as a concept and as a plot device. It worked really well to contrast both Ashling's new and old lives. I quickly became quite fond of Ashling and also couldn't help but fall in love with Ragged Point and its cast of characters, especially Dan! What a great reminder that it's never too late to start over. A thoroughly enjoyable book that kept me up well past my bedtime. All the Dumb Things by Georgia TingleyI received an ARC in exchange for an honest review - and Georgia very kindly agreed to a Q&A so you get that as well!!!! Her novella from last year, Whistler's Wonderland, had been selected as a RUBY Finalist. Review Juliet has had no luck in her pursuit of marriage and family - too bad the prefect guy doesn't want either of these things. Trey has been one of her "dumb things" before but she just can't help herself. Will this shot at love burn out like all those other times? This is a fun and sexy (very sexy!) contemporary romance that will spice up your evening. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Juliet's "dumb things" because of the tension they brought to the story (flashbacks are so hard to do well). Juliet is a realistic heroine who endears herself to you - she isn't as vapid as some of the protagonists in the genre. What I like most, however, is the fact that Juliet is 40. She's realistically portrayed as someone who found success later in life. Click here to read the Q&A with George Tingley :D We Are Family by Nicola Gill I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Laura and Jess are sisters. They are also polar opposites who have always been divided by their differences and the favour of their mother. Now orphans, Laura and Jess have an opportunity to repair things - or to let their insecurities continue to drive them apart. Gill has created very sympathetic characters who feel very real, like the type of women you'd run into on your way to the shops. This books shows how tangled and complex female relationships can be, no matter if they're with siblings, parents, friends or the mother of a schoolyard bully. Grief is also dealt with every well here and I'd easily have given this five stars without the last couple of chapters. The ending comes across as rushed and the fallout of a large revelation occurs "off-screen". We don't get to see it ourselves (or the various other "events" that we're told about rather rapidly), which is disappointing. |
AboutAlyce Caswell, when she isn't drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, can be found dabbling in multiple genres and writing forms. She has self-published several titles in her space opera family saga, which is divided into two series: The Galactic Pantheon and The Pantheon War. Her most recent book is The Shadow of the Gods. Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|
User-agent: GPTBot Disallow: / |