Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

October 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Now that Dimple Shah has graduated, she’s ready for a break from her family – especially from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the Ideal Indian Husband. Ugh. But Dimple knows that her mother must respect that she isn’t interested in doing that right now – otherwise, she wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers, right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic, so when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him – during which he’ll have to woo her – he’s totally onboard. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself. Although their parents hadn’t planned suggesting the arrangement so soon, when their kids signed up for the same summer program, they figured why not?

My Thoughts:

I kept hearing about this book in the summer and people said it was a great light summer read. I tend to agree that it is a nice light book that could be read in the summer or between really heavy books that require your brain a rest.  That said, I am not suggesting the book is fluff. It is a nice story with cute characters and of course a little romance thrown in. It also touched on commonly believed cultural expectations marriage. Often when I read books that feature characters from a different culture from my own, I seek more insight to the culture and history. That said, this is a young adult book and this may be new to them.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this book even though I have the physical book and found it very enjoyable to listen to. So if you are looking for something sweet and light, this might be a great read for you. For the reasons mentioned above, I give this book 3 butterflies.

Belinda

Title: When Dimple Met Rishi
Author: Sandhya Menon
Copyright: May 30, 2017
Genre: YA fiction
Format: hardcover book and audiobook Narrated: Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam Pages: 380

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Belinda’s Book Nook Review: A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate by Susanna Calkins

March 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Title: A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate
Author: Susanna Calkins
Copyright: April 23, 2013
Genre: historical fiction, mystery, romance
Format: book Pages: 352

Why did I pick this book up in the first place? I enjoy historical fictions. I especially enjoy historical fiction series with female sleuths. I like using Amazon’s features especially when it comes to books. If you search for a book that you like, they will recommend similar authors.  I saw Susanna Calkins’ name and clicked on it to see what books she has written. I found this series and this searched for the first book and it sounded like a book I would enjoy. And let’s not kid ourselves, the cover was stunning.  So I switched to Bookoutlet.com where you can find deep discounted on used books and I ordered a few of them, taking the leap of faith that I would enjoy them.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

For Lucy Campion, a seventeenth-century English chambermaid serving in the household of the local magistrate, life is an endless repetition of polishing pewter, emptying chamber pots, and dealing with other household chores until a fellow servant is ruthlessly killed, and someone close to Lucy falls under suspicion. Lucy can’t believe it, but in a time where the accused are presumed guilty until proven innocent, lawyers aren’t permitted to defend their clients, and—if the plague doesn’t kill the suspect first—public executions draw a large crowd of spectators, Lucy knows she may never find out what really happened. Unless, that is, she can uncover the truth herself.

My Thoughts:

 I read a bit about the author and it said that she has become fascinated with 17th-century England and she uses that in her stories. This story is about Lucy Campion who is the 17th-century English chambermaid serving in the household of the local magistrate. I won’t lie a little bit of me thought of Downton Abbey when I read the this so it also prompted me to give it a try. It says the book is a historical fiction mystery with romance. I would say if you enjoy historical romance this one only had a touch of romance. A bit of a slow burn romance and very G-rated. The beginning of the story gives you a sense of Lucy and the people she works for as well as the people she works with to maintain the house. Not too far in the book, the murder takes place and so begins the mystery to figure out what happened.

The author does a good job of giving a sense of what was going on during this time period in England in terms of social relations, social stations, and the political atmosphere. Religious fears at the time were also included in this book, particularly of the Quakers. The story also gives you a real sense of what it was like during the period of the plague in London. So while you’re experiencing the main story, she created an environment that allowed you to see what people did during that time and how people reacted and responded to the plague. I was curious about both irrational and rational responses to the fears of becoming sick and dying during a plague. This is where I find historical fiction’s lovely because it gives you an opportunity to learn a bit about different time periods and often inspires further research.

I think the author did a good job of the character development in the story I really was rooting for Lucy and I was very curious about the members of the household. Lucy was a strong heroine and sometimes got herself into situations that were definitely moments of nail-biting to read. I would find myself saying, “Oh no. No no no no.”

Being that this was Susanna Calkin’s debut novel might explain why I felt in the middle of the book the pacing really slowed down a bit much. Not to the point of discouragement but it picked up and the last I would say 100 pages the pacing picked up and I could not put the book down. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I also looking to the evolution of this author’s writing. I am glad I bought a few books in the series. I would definitely recommend this book for the reasons mentioned and if you enjoy historical fiction. I would give it 3 1/2 butterflies.

Happy reading!!

Belinda

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Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

March 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment

anemberintheashes

Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Copyright: April 28, 2015
Genre:  fantasy, fiction
Format: book  Pages: 464

I remember last year when the hype from this book was so over the top. It had a big display at our local Barnes and Noble and some sort of survey thing going on and I kind of got turned off. So although I was curious, I didn’t buy into they hype.  Since then, I have heard only great things about this book and recently it was selected as a book club read. So I started looking for it on Overdrive because forking over $19 wasn’t in my plans.

Much to my surprise, while on a girl’s weekend a few weeks ago, I stopped into a used bookstore and scored a hardcover, new copy of the book for a dollar!! Yes, the book goddess was blessing me for sure. I couldn’t believe it.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

My Thoughts:

Wow. I loved it. I was drawn in from the start. Which has been hard lately so it was a pleasant surprise. Let me start by saying I love ancient feeling movies set in exotic places where the cast have elaborate costumes with Roman Legions like the movie Rome or fantasy films like Thor.  So this book was filled with rich detailed settings that captured my attention to the vary last page. I could see this book easily turned into a film and one of my bookclub friends told me the rights have already been bought so it won’t be long.

I think this debut author did a fantastic job of character development. I liked how strong Laia, the main character was throughout the story.  Of course there was a love triangle but it didn’t overpower the story with sappiness. It was woven in nicely.  I think I’m definitely a team Elias.

I am really happy that I didn’t read this book when it was first released in April of 2015 because I would have a long wait for book #2 (A Torch Against the Night) which is slated to be released in August of 2016 so I don’t have too long to wait.

I enjoyed this book so much I even recommended it to Leao to read after I finished it. Highly recommend it but must warn you there is some violence in the book. You can get it from Amazon in paperback now for less than $7!

I gave this book 5 butterflies!

Happy reading!

Belinda

5rating

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