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Friday 25 December 2015

Sweet Little Thing by Renee Carlino

My Review: 2/5

There are hard times, don't get me wrong, but I haven't forgotten what I learned so brutally a few years back he and I met. I learned that you can't predict your future, there's no crystal ball or formula for happiness. You can't control the weather just like you can't control the way others behave, but what you can control is how much love you give. Surrendering to this crazy thing called life is hard, but we don't have to be the soulless sheets of paper tarrying along in the wind. We can find our people, love, respect them, and then hang on for dear life because it's not where you go on this journey but who you're with that matters the most. 

Thursday 24 December 2015

Sidney Sheldon's After the Darkness by Tilly Bagshawe

My Review: 4/5


In another life, a different dream, She could have loved him. But that chance had passed, blown away like a feather in the wind. She knew she would never go back. 
    Would she really go abroad? Probably, Or perhaps she would simply fade away here, as she had before, disappear into the comforting anonymity of the city. 
    Turning the corner, she walked toward the subway. The crowds on the sidewalk opened up to let her in, then closed around her like a womb.
    She was gone. 

When I decided to read this book, I had no idea it would turn out to be this interesting. I had read her 'Mistress of the Game' and I told myself, 'Sister, I am never reading your book again!'. Now, its Christmas time, end of the year and I had to complete my goodreads challenge, and I didn't have any other book with me. I thought 'Oh well, everyone gets a second chance, isn't it?'.

Synopsis:
The striking story about love, betrayal, power and vengeance of the King of Wall Street, Lenny Brookstein and his beautiful wife, Grace Brookstein, who is actually young enough to be his daughter. Well, as someone said, when you fall in love, you just fall in love in any circumstance. So this couple is madly in love with each other. However, things don't go on as a fairy tale. Lenny is an ambitious man. He loves being in power and in control of money. On the other hand, Grace is very vulnerable and innocent. She trusts Lenny blindly but Lenny trusts no one but his business partner John Merrivale, together with who he started an investment company, Quorum. 

It was during the financial crisis time, Lenny Brookstein suddenly disappears in the coast with his boat and on the other side, about 70 billion dollar is missing from the Quorum account. Things get worse when all the fingers are pointed to Grace. That is when she becomes the 'lady character' we always know from Sidney Sheldon's book. Grace believing that someone has framed her and Lenny, and stole the money, she is determined to find that culprit. 

To the author:
So, Frau. Bagshawe, I must say, I really liked this book. It had Sidney Sheldon written all over it. The plot is great, characters are lovable and multiple twists and turn that you kind of find your mind racing here and there. And I was loving it. I am definitely going to read your other books. 

By the way, why do you have to put Sidney Sheldon's name on your cover? It actually doesn't make sense to me. I get it that you are inspired by him and want to write like him but you can put his name down somewhere in acknowledgement. I am sure you are getting lots of publicity with this but to us, when his name is there, we are judging your book. In some cases, it's actually not good and this is exactly what happened with your first book I read. I think it's the time you make your own identity and you are good enough for that. 

Sunday 20 December 2015

Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino


My Review: 3/5


"You know when someone just seems so put-together and kind, even their speaking voice has a nice sound to it and you want to hate them or find a flaw but you can't, so you have to like them, as painful as it is?"

This is exactly how I felt about this book. It's definitely sweet but extremely sweet that you kind of want to hate it. Let me start with Mia Kelly, our main character. She is beautiful (ok every main character is beautiful, as far as I know nobody has started his/her book saying oh, she was one of the worse looking girls and then she met this Prince). Anyway, after Mia's father dies, her life is changed completely. She moves to New York and takes over his cafe but she is still trying to figure out her life. That is where she meets 'everyone's dream guy' (probably mine too if he didn't have Tatoos), Will Ryan. If there was one thing I have to consider sweet in this book, then it would be this guy. Man, seriously, where can I find these kinds of guys? (and I have said the same line before). 

"You have to teach your heart and mind how to sing together...then you'll hear the sound of your soul."

Once they meet each other, Will is madly in love with Mia but Mia is very confused because she wants good career in her man but Will is a struggling artist. Now the thing that got into my nerve: At some point they both are in love with each other. They realise how common they are. They play music together, sing together and in fact, they both live in the same apartment as housemates but still they don't confess their love but date other people, hurt each other and become jealous at the same time. God! that hurt me too. I remember myself screaming- 'for God's sake, you belong together', but who would listen to me? So, until 50% of the book, nothing was happening. Will was forever there waiting for Mia to come to him. As much as I was loving him, I was hating her. 

Well wait, I haven't finished yet. Finally, they confess each other's love (My God! that was a long wait, even I was annoyed). Then Mia does something that breaks his heart. Hence, Will completely disappears from her life. 

“He looked so pathetic standing there, rejected. He corrected himself a couple of times when his body made involuntary movements to reach out and touch me. He was fighting the urge just to simply take my hand or kiss my cheek. I didn’t know why I was being so harsh… The charade and the constant touching created so much confusion. I couldn’t tell anymore what we were to each other.”

Now, Mia realises her mistake and tries to win him back. At the end, there is this beautiful song written by Mia. This kind of summaries the whole story. 

Been looking for a way to get home,
it seems there's no directions left for me.
I'll follow the trail on my own,
and hope that something sets me free.
The darkness falls fast without warning,
just left with my soul to captain me.
But there is someone waiting for me in the morning,
pulling me into the light so I can see.
He knows my face in the darkness,
he knows my hopes, my reverie. 
But he's waiting for me to find him,
so that I can set him free.
So I let go and let him in.
Everything dissipates into feeling,
we allow our souls to meet.
We're the static in the chaos,


the one thing..... the something so sweet.

And here is my final summary, I don't want to like this book but I liked it just because everyone liked it and that is because I don't want to be the odd one out. Yes sister, if everyone jumped off a clip, I would too.