BOOK REVIEW : YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER

Author: Sarah Hogle
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Romance; Contemporary Romance.
Release Date: April ^7th 2020.

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When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy debut.

Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. They’re preparing for their lavish wedding that’s three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.

Naomi wants out, but there’s a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.

But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they’re finally being themselves–and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.

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Nicholas and Naomi have been in a relationship for almost 2 years now. But lately, she can’t remember what she saw in him in the first place or how they even met. She feels stuck in a relationship with an impending and doomed wedding with a man who she loves only 18% on a good day.

God knows how long I’d been waiting to read the book. While it did not deliver 100%, it also did not disappoint. My favorite thing about the book was the relationship between Nicholas and Naomi. Theirs is a classic example of what a lack of communication does to a relationship. Hogle kept it very realistic – their fights with each other, the relationship issues they have. Even their reasons for not ending the relationship struck a realistic chord with me.

I liked Naomi. Her insecurities, vulnerability and lack of self-confidence made her a relatable character. Nicholas is perfect by the books. But he is a geek from the inside, with his own insecurities and issues. At the beginning, we are only exposed to his flaws, thanks to Naomi’s narration. But slowly, it becomes clear that neither of them are perfect and they stopped making efforts a long time ago. And as Naomi starts to open up about her frustrations, a bridge is also opened between the two to fix their relationship. At first, it’s all about one-upping each other but before they know it, they are making efforts to be there for each other.

I liked the evolution of Naomi and Nicholas’s relationship. I was delighted with their banter and fights. I specially loved it when Nicholas or Naomi lost their cool. It was hilarious how matter-of-fact Naomi was at first, with her predictions of a divorce in the future and Nicholas’s possible adultery or his multiple marriages in the future. The transition from that to her jealousy at a very real possibility of an affair was very satisfactory to read.

Only thing I would have liked better was knowing where Nicholas’s head is at the beginning of the book. Was he also intent on ending the relationship like Naomi was? Also, there is a part at the end where Nicholas does something uncharacteristic towards his parents. That felt a little off-field to me.

But I really enjoyed this book. It’s by no means perfect but still was a highly satisfying read.

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★★★★☆

BOOK REVIEW : The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: February 10^th 2009.

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Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women, mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends, view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

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I was watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver the other day. It was on the subject of climbing Mount Everest. A major point of the discussion was how without the Sherpa – who have little choice but to risk their lives to earn their livelihood – it would be impossible for any climber to achieve this feat.

There was a clip included of a TV presenter who asks a Sherpa whether he thinks it’s wrong what they have to go through for the sake of the climbers. After a moment’s pause, the Sherpa humbly begins to say that they consider the climbers their family during expeditions. Before he can end his answer though, the presenter hugs him as if he got the answer he wanted.

So when at the beginning of The Help, Aibileen is asked by Miss Skeeter, her employer’s friend, whether she wishes things or rather the status quo could change, that clip of the Sherpa and the presenter came to my mind. Skeeter’s intentions are good when asking the question, as probably were that of the presenter’s. But the question sounds so laughably ignorant and naive when seen from the other’s point of view, you can’t help but shake your head.

The Other. Us and them. I learned about these terms and conditioned mentality while studying anthropology in college. We all have this sense of ethnocentrism – how we feel we are the better ones. What I loved most about The Help is how this conditioning is clearly present in both the parties. Even the black characters have a sense of moral superiority over their white employers. For the women working as the help, their white employers are the other. For the white community, the former are the other.

Another admirable aspect of the writing was that not for one moment you feel there is a white savior component, even though it is about a white woman interviewing and writing about the black women working as help. But it’s not the former doing the saving. No, it is about the black women doing their own saving. It is about all these people uniting to serve their own purposes.

There is no glorification here. It does not glorify the black women serving as the help. They are humans just like us. They make mistakes and bad choices too. The employers are not vilified either. They are humans too. And that is what makes this story stand out.

Going into this book, I was afraid of it being too preachy or perhaps boring. But instead, it was engaging to the point that I was glued to the pages and completed it without taking a break. The story and the main characters spoke to me and made me root for them.

I am sure I have not said anything that has not already been said about the book. I’ll just end it by saying that books like this are makes reading worth it at the end of the day.

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★★★★★

ARC REVIEW : THE KISSING GAME

Author: Marie Harte
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Romance; Contemporary; Contemporary Romance.
Release Date: February 4^th 2020.

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“I bet you a kiss you can’t resist me.”

Game on.

Rena Jackson is ready. She’s worked her tail off to open up her own hair salon, and she’s almost ready to quit her job at the dive bar. Rena’s also a diehard romantic, and she’s had her eye on bar regular Axel Heller for a while. He’s got that tall-dark-and-handsome thing going big time. Problem is, he’s got that buttoned-up Germanic ice man thing going as well. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Rena’s about ready to give up on Axel and find her own Mr. Right.

At six foot six, Axel knows he intimidates most people. He’s been crushing on the gorgeous waitress for months. But the muscled mechanic is no romantic, and his heart is buried so deep, he has no idea how to show Rena what he feels. He knows he’s way out of his depth and she’s slipping away. So, he makes one crazy, desperate play…

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If there is anything I hate in a book, it’s when the author tells us what the characters are feeling, instead of showing. And The Kissing Game had that in spades.

This book got negative points right at the beginning, when in the very first page, we find out the the hero has still not recovered from the fresh wound of his mother’s death from six months. Then we go on to find out about his feelings about the heroine through his stream of consciousness, and get introduced to more characters than I care about.

Things only continue to go downhill from there. There is no real connection between the hero and the heroine. Unless you count them thinking to themselves or talking to other characters about what they find in attractive in each other. I do not simply know who was more annoying – the hero or heroine. The hero grated on my nerves right off the bat with his arrogant attitude. The heroine was flimsy with her mind changing every minute. One moment she is dazzled by him, and in the next she wants kids and decides he’s not for her.

One main reason I requested the ARC was because of the diversity and POC element. But I felt that this element was introduced to just tick a box, nothing more. Except her skin color, I did not find a single thing about her life that could throw relevance to her heritage. The hero is German, and the author makes him use German words randomly to show for it. Also, the synopsis calls him ‘tall, DARK and handsome’. But he is in actuality a pale blonde guy. Look at the cover? Yeah.

There were too many characters in the book. The main couple talk to them more than with each other. I found out later that on that this is a companion novel of sorts to the author’s books. Maybe if I had not read this as a standalone, I would have disliked it less… On second thought, maybe not.

I had expected to dislike this book and hoped for it to surprise me. It did not. I hate it when that happens!

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★☆☆☆☆

ARC REVIEW: HOUSE RULES

Author: Ruby Lang
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Carina Press
Genre: Romance; Contemporary; Contemporary Romance.
Release Date: February 10^th 2020.

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Seventeen years ago, different dreams pulled Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kuo apart. But when Lana takes a position as a chef back in Manhattan, her apartment search puts her right in her ex-husband’s path. Music teacher Simon is also hunting for a new place to live, and when Lana proposes they be platonic roomies, well…it’s not the worst idea he’s ever heard.

A sunny uptown two-bedroom sounds far more appealing than the cramped, noisy space where he’s currently struggling to work. Still, Simon has seen firsthand that Lana’s a flight risk, so he agrees on a trial basis.

Three months. With strict boundaries.

Living together again feels wonderfully nostalgic, but when the ex-couple’s lingering feelings rise to the surface, the rules go out the window.

Of course, chemistry was never their problem. But while Simon’s career feels back on solid footing, Lana is still sorting out what she wants. With their trial period soon coming to an end, they’ll have to decide if their living arrangement was merely a sexy trip down memory lane or a reunion meant to last.

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House Rules caught me by surprise. It was a pleasant read, which I honestly had not expected it to be.

I had definitely not expected to like the set-up of how the exes would come to live together. Because, a premise like that is hard to sell. But the author does a stellar job of making the set-up convincing. And she does that in a very effective way of the characters voicing the doubts that the readers might have with the whole arrangement. Of course, the state of the New York real estate helped make it more convincing too.

I had not expected the story to play out the way it did. There were no awkward encounters. That is to say, there was plenty of awkwardness in their interactions, but no silly or used tropes that we usually find in cohabiting romances. I also enjoyed the refreshing absence of any plot-device like jealousy or a third person’s involvement.

The lack of denial was also unexpected. Both Lana and Simon are very conscious of their lingering feelings and attraction towards each other. Simon more than Lana. Both in their forties, they are mature enough to make conscious efforts to not make the arrangement uncomfortable. There is no bitterness or efforts to one-up each other.

I could relate to Lana very much. She quit a career mid-way because she realized her happiness lied elsewhere. She is pragmatic and grounded. Simon, on the other hand, is more ambitious and stubborn. The author does a good job showing us their contrasting personalities through their actions, rather than just telling it to us.

There was no drawn-out angst. The main conflict was also resolved very quickly. A little too quickly if you ask me. It only takes a conversation with an elderly for Simon to realize his mistakes. It felt almost like a cop-out. And while I like that there was not too much focus on their past, I still would have liked a more layered look into their relationship and what led to its derailment in the first place.

Overall, it’s a short and sweet read. The writing is engaging, and the story is believable, aside from the want of a little more depth. I think I’ll definitely read more of this author in the future.

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★★★★☆

BOOK REVIEW : The Shadows Between Us

Author: Tricia Levenseller
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy; Romance
Release Date: February 25^th 2020.

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Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

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Looks like I’m on the minority in this. I expected  to like this one. Because I’d heard really good things about the author and her previous work. But this might end up as her only book that I read.

The author calls this her Slytherin romance. Maybe it is. Because it reminded me of one of those Harry Potter fanfictions I used to read back in school with Slytherin characters at the foreground. (That’s not to say all fanfictions are bad. That would be an unfair generalization. It’s just that I was so indiscriminate in reading whatever I came across, I had the misfortune of having more bad reads than good. Even so, I’ve read some brilliant pieces of writing in my time as a fanfiction reader. But I digress.)

Back to the topic. Brilliant piece of writing isn’t exactly what I would call this book. I found the writing clumsy, even beyond the few typos that I came across. I compared this book to a fanfiction, because while it might be the manifestation of the author’s desire to write a Slytherin romance, there was no depth to it. Here are a few examples:

Little to no world building

The world building was very disappointing. We find out very little about this universe and its making, over the course of the book. Maybe the author thought that the readers would find it dull to read pages and pages of world building or stream of consciousness? That’s why she drops us in the middle of this universe without any warning. But that did not help the book. Rather, her writing lacked conviction and the story still fell flat.

Unsatisfactory delineation of the protagonist

It only takes a couple of pages for us to find that the protagonist is morally compromised. And her goal is to seduce the shadow king into marrying her and then kill him. You will agree with me that this is pretty dark stuff. And I like my dark heroines. But there needs to be conviction in her portrayal. What does the author do to set this up? We are fed a few lines of how something terrible happened to Alessandra to kickstart her descent into darkness.

But to want to kill the king? We are told that she has been ignored by her father forever in favor of a more likeable sister. So Alessandra wants power and attention. That’s her reason. But she could still have that power even if she became a queen without killing the husband. I just found the reasoning very shallow. Not enough time is spent to show us how how she reached this conclusion without ever even having met the king.  I would not have minded a few pages more on her delineation and stream of consciousness. Or perhaps a flashback of that terrible incident that forever changed her.

Laughingly predictable storyline

So how does Alessandra decide to catch the eyes of the king? Wear black to the ball and dance with everyone except the king.  And voila! He is fascinated.

Not only this, everything from the mysterious villain after the king’s life, to the ending – it all screamed predictable to me.

No proper character development

The author not only spends little to no effort in building or setting up the protagonist’s dark character, but she also spends equal amount of effort in delineating her change of mind. Shocking.

Everything was just dull

If you promise us a Slytherin romance, if nothing else, the least you could do is deliver some scintillating conversations. If you promise us a ‘king of shadows’, the least you could do is make him interesting. The author failed on both counts.

I thought the book would turn tenfold interesting when Alessandra entered the castle. But it turned even duller if that’s possible. The conversations between Alessandra and the king were yawn-inducing. No spark. Nothing. There is this part where the king offers a fake courtship to her. It read like a typical New Adult scene.

I was disappointed by everything about the book. The world-building, the storytelling, the characterizations, everything. This is simply a lazy piece of writing. But looking at the hordes of high ratings it received, you should definitely take my opinions with a grain of salt.

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★★☆☆☆

BOOK REVIEW : WILD AT HEART

Author: K. A. Tucker
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Contemporary; Women’s fiction; Chick Lit: Romance
Release Date: January 1^st 2020.

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From the internationally best-selling author of The Simple Wild comes the continuation of a woman’s journey to Alaska and a life she never imagined for herself.

Calla Fletcher returns to Toronto a different person, struggling to find direction and still very much in love with the rugged bush pilot she left behind. When Jonah arrives on her doorstep with a proposition she can’t dismiss, she takes the leap and rushes back to Alaska to begin their exciting future together.

But Calla soon learns that even the best intentions can lead to broken promises, and that compromise comes with a hefty price—a log cabin in interior rural Alaska that feels as isolating as the western tundra.

With Jonah gone more than he’s home, one neighbor who insists on transforming her into a true Alaskan, and another who seems more likely to shoot her than come to her aid, Calla grapples with forging her own path. In a world with roaming wildlife that has her constantly watching over her shoulder and harsh conditions that stretch far beyond the cold, dark, winter months, just stepping outside her front door can be daunting.

This is not the future Calla had in mind, leaving her to fear that perhaps she is doomed to follow in her mother’s fleeing footsteps after all.

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The only problem I had with The Simple Wild was its ending and a lack of closure. So imagine my delight when I found out about a sequel. I literally whooped! Okay? In fact, I was so pleased that I forgot to be worried about it potentially disappointing me. It was only after having finished the book did I realize that I had not even thought of a hugely favorite book being ruined by a crappy sequel. And that realization made me laugh!

Because, the final verdict?

Dun. Dun. Dun…

I LOVED IT!

I think I might have loved it even more than The Simple Wild! Just how great is that? I’m just so happy that my whole journey in regards to this book – from finding out about it, to getting it on my hands to reading it at one go – has been pleasant and oh so satisfying!

If you haven’t read The Simple Wild, it will be hard for you to follow this book, though. It is the continuation of Calla’s journey. To sum it up, She is a city girl who visited her ailing father in Alaska where she rediscovers herself and finds love. This book is about her life after she decides to move with Jonah to Alaska.

Here are the highlights of what I enjoyed about the book –

The story was simple and heartening

It’s not a very plot-heavy book. The story is simple. Calla has decided to follow her heart and move to the small remote town of Anchorage in Alaska with Jonah. This book follows her journey, her relationship with Jonah and how she finds her place in this small town. It’s a poignant story.

Jonah and Calla’s relationship is the BEST

These two are couple goals. Their relationship isn’t perfect. And that’s what made it such a perfect read. The conflicts they go through are very real and relatable – whether to buy or rent a house; readiness on marriage and children; how much to spend or save; what pets to have; what flying gigs to take. Jonah and Calla are as opposite as night and day. He’s laid-back, gruff, direct and a spendthrift. She’s high-maintenance, posh, reticent and has an expensive taste. They call each other Yeti and Barbie. And these differences makes it even more enjoyable because these two always try to find a middle ground.

Odds are stacked against them. Calla has her mother’s legacy working against her. They are both starting over in a new town with no safety nets. But these two are completely committed to their relationship. Both of them make sacrifices and compromises to make it work. It made for a compelling story. I absolutely adore both of them. From the way he teases her to the way they both do things to make each other happy. Everything about them is just perfect!

The author nails the setting

The world building yet again was perfectly done by the author. She does well to set up the remoteness and isolating nature of the Alaskan town. When Calla is unnerved by the strange feelings of being watched, I felt it too. I was just so sucked in by this world! I felt like a part of it.

The secondary characters were just as engaging

The secondary characters added to the strength of the plot. All of them had their own minor arcs. There is this sub-plot of Roy, a loner who is a pain for the neighborhood.  The way he goes from just an irritating neighbor to some sort of father figure for Calla was beautiful to see. Then there’s Muriel, a bossy and imposing neighbor who Calla finds intimidating at first but soon warms up to. Agnes and Mabel, who are like Jonah’s adoptive family, make an appearance too.

No unnecessary angst

I’d been dreading unnecessary angst or separation for Jonah and Calla. And while they do have fights and arguments, none of them feel unnecessary. There are two events which do provide ample tension. But I liked that the author does not stretch them needlessly.

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My only qualm with The Simple Wild was that we did not get a satisfying closure on Calla and Jonah. Wild at Heart gives us that. And even then I was left wanting more of them! I want a Jonah for myself. Pretty please!

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★★★★★

BOOK REVIEW : THE TWO LIVES OF LYDIA BIRD

Author: Josie Silver
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Contemporary; Women’s fiction; Chick Lit: Romance
Release Date: January 1^st 2020.

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Lydia Bird is living a happy, normal little life–she has a good job, a wonderful fiancé, Freddie, and the usual daily dramas of buying groceries and being in a relationship. And then everything stops: Freddie is killed in a car crash on his way to pick up his best friend, Jonas. Her world bottoms out.

Lydia retreats from the company of her sister, her mother, and from Jonas, the only other person who understands her loss. Alone and adrift, she seeks a small amount of solace in the sleeping pills her doctor prescribes for her, which give her relief in the form of abnormally deep sleep. But they also come with an increasingly complicated gift: Whenever she takes a pill, she emerges in another world. A world in which Freddie is still alive.

And so Lydia returns again and again to the doorway of her past, living two lives, impossibly, at once. In one, her relationship with Freddie and her friendship with Jonas move along as scheduled, and in the other, that same friendship begins to become something else, something very unexpected and yet thrillingly familiar.

Written with Josie Silver’s trademark warmth and wit, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird is a powerful love story, by turns joyous and devastating, about the questions of fate and chance that we find at life’s crossroads, and what happens when one woman is given the painful, miraculous chance to answer them.

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Josie Silver remains a frustrating author just as she was in her debut One Day in December. That does not mean I did not like The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. Rather, I liked it very much so. But it suffers from the same problems as her first novel, if not more. Here’s my two cents the book.

 

The beginning is slow and sluggish

I struggled a lot when going through the beginning of the book. I was very close to DNF-ing. So I skimmed through much of it until a part came that did manage to grab my interest. The writing could have been better at first. I’ve read books where tragedy strikes very early in the book, and even then it is no less impactful. Maybe if we had seen a sweet scene between Freddie and Lydia right at the start, things would have been different. But here the death of Freddie wasn’t impactful. It did not keep me glued to the pages. Instead, the pacing suffered even more. Nothing happens for a long time.

Did Lydia really need an alternate life arc?

Although it does not start in a promising note, Lydia’s journey was beautiful to read. It was stirring to see her find her way through grief. But when she starts to take prescription medicine for sleeping during which she lives an alternate life with Freddie in it, one question kept recurring in my head – ‘Why? Why is this happening?’ I kept wondering what the purpose of this whole alternate life arc was. Is this for her healing? Couldn’t she heal all by herself without it? And as the story progresses, I could see events in this alternate life did affect her feelings and actions in the present tense.

By the end I still could not understand why this ‘alternate life arc’ was introduced. Sure, it did accelerate her healing process, but couldn’t she have done all this by herself? There is this particular event in the alternate life that is jarring for Lydia because it’s ugly, totally unlike the sweet escape that she expects to experience with the help of sleeping. I felt it was a lazily convenient approach to bring her to an epiphany about. I would have preferred an alternate version of this book without the parallel life arc where Lydia achieves the same things without that crutch, and we get a little more insight into the other characters.

Josie Silver sucks at endings and payoffs

Right now, I also want an alternate ending that is not abrupt. Yes, you read that right. Josie Silver yet again delivered an unsatisfying and abrupt ending to her book. Okay, not completely unsatisfying, because the final scene did give me butterflies. But the butterflies died a fast death at the abrupt ending. What would it take for her to give us an epilogue?

Romance? What romance?

The romance or what little there was of it was not satisfying. It was poignant and beautiful. But not satisfactory. I wouldn’t even call it a romance. It’s a love story between two friends and is more about them coming to terms with an unimaginable loss individually and together. I don’t want to give a spoiler even though it’s clear from the very beginning who’s the love interest. But we don’t see enough of him in my opinion. I loved him and longed for a deeper insight into his character. His point of view would have done wonders for me! Yet, I understand that this was Lydia’s journey. I rooted for her. I cheered for her. And I deserved a better payoff!

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★★★☆☆

BOOK REVIEW : YES NO MAYBE SO

Author: Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: Young Adult ; Contemporary; Romance.
Release Date: February 4^th 2020.

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New York Times bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed have crafted a resonant, funny, and memorable story about the power of love and resistance.

YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.

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This is my first read of a book by both the authors. 3 things exciting me about the book are:

1. Becky Albertalli, an author I’ve been meaning to read for some time now
2. The cover
3. A Muslim protagonist and the backdrop of Ramadan!

I was pleased to discover within the first few pages that the hero is Jewish. And the ethnicity of the both the characters play a large role in how the story plays out.

It’s a very political story. And it has to be because the story hinges on how politics affects the characters. There is a important message here too. That politics is everywhere around us, and everyone has a role to play.

Let’s talk about what what I liked about the book first :

Character evolution
I read a review about how expectations keep being subverted in the book. That couldn’t be truer. In more than one instance, both Jamie and Maya offend each other with their insensitivity and unawareness about the other’s life. James keeps making assumptions about Maya’s fasting in Ramadan, and she makes ill-judgements about his campaign.  There’s also the struggle they go through as minorities which is undermined by others, being nonchalantly told to ‘let it go’. It was beautiful to see both Jamie and Maya grow sensible about how everything they do carry bigger implications.

Realistic themes
Maya starts off political canvassing for selfish reasons after her mother promises her a car in return for this. But when she slowly learns about the intricacies and implications of the policy mandates of each of the candidates, and how it could personally affect her.  How relatable is that? People don’t simply care until they’re directly affected. Maya realizes that in politics it’s always about the lesser of two evils. Then there is the frustration and helplessness they feel because they are not of age to vote; while there are people around them who feel that voting is wasteful because no candidate is perfect. Little things like this rang so true to real life!

Now, on to things I disliked :

Romance
The personal equation between Jamie and Maya is perfectly reflected in that cover image. Their relationship slowly evolves from wary and shy acquaintances to close friends. Jamie is quiet and shy, with stage fright, even though he wants to join politics. Maya is outspoken and bolder, going through a personal crisis when her parents announce separation. While I liked their friendship, I could not grow fond of them as individual characters and the romance. A huge part of me wanted them to remain platonic friends. I don’t know why that is honestly.

Characters
I thought I’d be able to relate to Maya. But the book subverted my expectations with that too. She was a little too much of a teenager for my tolerance level. There was a some serious immaturity and self-righteousness going on there. I know where that is coming from. She’s a teenager, with family crisis. But tried as I might, I could not connect to her.  While I liked Jamie, I could not love him.

Writing
While the story deals with important themes, it could do with a stronger plot. The pacing was sluggish. I particularly struggled through the beginning. With a little better execution, this book could have been one of my favorite reads of the year. But it somehow misses the mark. I think I could not connect to the writing process.

This is honestly an otherwise 3-star read for me. But I am giving it an extra star because of the important message it carries.

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★★★★☆

 

BOOK REVIEW : TWEET CUTE

Author: Emma Lord
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Young Adult; Contemporary; High School; Romance.
Release Date: January 21^st 2020.

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A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

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Tweet Cute is a one of those books that you read and go ‘That was cute’. I didn’t really have anything to say about it except that I like it. But that’s not how reviews work, do they? So, here goes nothing.

Story

This is a very cute and modern take on “You’ve got mail” (a movie I love) where the main characters Jack and Pepper exchange texts in an anonymous messaging app for their school. They also feud on twitter through their family business accounts.  Both Pepper and Jack’s families own food joints. Except, Pepper’s mother has turned it into a corporate franchise while Jack’s family has still kept the foodplace his grandparents started a small family affair. Ring a bell? There is a lot of cuteness, with misunderstandings, angst and family drama.

There were many layers to the story.  Both Pepper and Jack have their own demons to fight. At a young age, Pepper has not only had to deal with her parent’s divorce but also uprooting her life when her mother decided to move from Nashville with her to New York to expand the family business. As a result, Pepper is somewhat serious and upright. She has no friends to speak for. Jack, on the other hand, appears cheerful and cocksure. But even he has issues of his own, with a twin brother Ethan who’s much more popular and ambitious than he. They both have low opinions of each other.

Characters

Almost every character had some part to play. Pepper and Jack are likeable characters. Their problems are relatable. Pepper is non-confrontational. She is a worrier and the peace-keeper in the family, especially since her college-going elder sister is not on good terms with their mother. So Pepper takes everything upon herself and wants to keep her mother proud and happy. Even if her mother’s decisions go against her judgements.

Jack on the other hand, is overshadowed by his brother at everything. While he has great app developing skills – having himself created the app where he anonymously exchanges texts with Pepper – he keeps it hidden. His parents expect him to stay back and continue the family legacy while Ethan can go do whatever he wants. So he keeps his dreams on the down-low.

I really liked the realistic portrayal of both sets of parents. While we don’t see much of Pepper’s father but the mother plays a huge role. She’s sort of the unintended villain for much of the book, with her over-the-top competitiveness – the reason for which is later explained. Neither she nor Jack’s parents are perfect parents. And that makes them more believable.

I also loved the sibling equations in the book. Particularly he competitiveness and insecurities between Ethan and Jack appealed to me a lot. It was very realistic and sort of hilarious in hindsight.

Writing

Emma Lord has done an exemplary job on her debut. The writing is engaging and effortless. It’s really difficult to keep a conflict interesting while keeping characters realistic in fiction. I think what she did well was not make any of the characters stereotypical, and yet kept them believable. I felt like these were real people. The plot is also tight. Every little action is given a reason. There are no loopholes.

The only complaint I have with the writing is that I was not very invested on the romance. I liked the characters individually and together as friends. But the romance part of it felt slightly lackluster. I would have liked a little more time spent on introspection from the characters after  they find the other’s identity. And this is the only reason I am subtracting one star.

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Altogether, a strong debut from the author. We need more YAs like this. And when you are invested so much on the characters’ personal growth, a less than satisfactory romance doesn’t really leave that big of a hole in your overall satisfaction with the book.

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★★★★☆

ARC REVIEW: WHERE THE LOST WANDER

Author: Amy Harmon
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository .
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Historical; Romance.
Release Date: April 28^th 2020.

In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.

The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.

But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.

When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.

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Amy Harmon keeps astounding me with the amount of research and effort she puts into every book. From the Irish history to now the wild west, she makes sure to leave no stone unturned in making her stories authentic. There’s also a tone of sincerity all her writing.

At the very beginning on her author’s note, she makes it clear that the characters in this story are real, and people she has a real connection with. But it was the prologue that kind of drew me in immediately. And even though the pacing of the first half was a little slower than my liking, the anticipation of what was to come kept me keen.

Naomi May is a young widow traveling with her big family through the Overland trail. John Lowry is a man that has never felt like he belonged anywhere because of his half-pawnee roots. But when he meets Naomi, he finally feels that sense of belonging. Their courtship starts off as measured because of his reluctance. But there are external challenges too – danger, diseases death and loss. But these things only work to bring them closer.

It was the second half, the point onward after the prologue that made the story for me. Amy Harmon has a way of writing tragedy in a way that it does not turn into melodrama. Her writing has a thoughtful way of focusing more on the courage of the characters with which they deal with tragedy. In this book also, Naomi’s courage wrenched my heart in a way that perhaps her breaking down wouldn’t. The characters are all put in an impossible situation in the end and the resolution also seems impossible

Almost all the books by this author have magical realism to it. And while that may turn some readers off, I feel that it helps me understand the people in her books better.

It’s almost surreal in this day and age to read about the struggle people went through in traveling from one state to another in search for better lives. Then there is the struggle of the man who is half-pawnee and has a hard time being in peace with himself. It’s surreal that even though the times have changed, the world has not. There are still refugees who risk their lives every day for a better life. There are still minorities who live their lives feeling that they don’t belong fully.

And this right here – the ability of this book to make me think so deeply – makes me rate it 5 stars.

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★★★★★