Finished reading this book over the weekend.Picked this one up solely because it claimed to have the same intensity as Gone Girl.And NO,I didnt judge it by its cover.Onto the story....
Ani FaNelli (full name TifAni FaNelli)is our status-conscious,fashion-conscious heroine who has worked so hard to achieve the 'perfect life ' she is living.She has a glamorous job,an expensive wardrobe and a handsome blue blood fiance.But beneath this carefully constructed perfect exterior lies a murky past which if exposed is capable of destroying everything.Ani is broken inside,all because of something terrible in her past which refuses to leave her.A series of traumatic events of the fall of her freshman year in high school has played a major role in shaping the kind of person she is today.
With her dream wedding only a few months away,she is finally given a chance to make peace with her past.She is afraid to face it but knows that only the truth can set her free.But will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for?
My Views:
Ok.....if you are going to pick this book up like I did solely because you liked reading Gone Girl,you should probably think again.This book is nowhere close to it but if you go with no prior expectation ,then you will probably like it.Im not saying I didnt.I just kept comparing the two heroines and that didnt quite work for me.
When I started reading this book,I took an immediate dislike to the heroine.I thought she was just too fake and over-analytical but as I read on I had to change my opinion.This story is narrated through flashback chapters which alternate with how things are in the present.However we are told only later about what really happens to Ani to change her forever and the way in which it creeps on you is horrific.In Gone Girl,you really like the heroine and then go on to realise how diabolical she can get but in this book you begin by not liking Ani so much and then feel sympathetic towards her.
I could understand totally what it meant to try to fit in High School and how important that is to a teenager.I also believe that who we are and what we become is influenced largely by the events that occur in our lives.How being accepted was all that mattered when you are a certain age and how sometimes some things are just too unforgettable and painful to truly be able to let go.I liked the way all this was dealt with in the book.
However somehow I couldnt connect to the heroine the way I would have liked to and probably that was because the way she was introduced in the beginning,so i felt a disconnect somewhere while reading this story.The narrative also got a bit boring in parts.I felt that there were things left unresolved in the end,but then nothing gets really resolved in life too sometimes and we just make the best of what we get.
But the book dealt with some serious issues.I cannot even begin to imagine what it means to be able to live a lie everyday.So even though the book was not un-putdownable,it was a fairly decent read.
And for the movie buffs,Reese Witherspoon has bought the movie rights for this one.
I rate it a 3 out of 5.
I hadn't read anything by Nora Roberts before this.I know she has a huge fan following and people love her books and I really wanted to read them.I follow the bestseller list like a hound and when I got to know that THE LIAR featured on it for a couple of weeks,I knew that I just had to read it.
This book is about Shelby Foxworth who is recently widowed and finds that her husband wasn't who she thought he was at all.He has left her in crippling debt and is a swindler,a thief and an adulterer.Shelby takes her three year old daughter Callie and moves to Tennessee where she is originally from,to seek comfort in her hometown surrounded by her family.However just as she is trying to build a new life for herself ,it seems someone is out there too watching her every move. Danger has followed her there and is closer than she knows.
My Views: Ho Hum ..is what this story was to me.The same pathetic rehash.What could be over in a hundered pages went on and on until I just couldnt bear it anymore.It didnt take me too long to realise that the story wasnt going anywhere but I continued with it just because I dont believe in leaving books half read.It just got too repetitive.Besides I couldnt connect to the main character Shelby.I thought she was too gullible to be true and she irritated me to such an extent that I did not like her at all.I did not feel sorry for her.
Griff the new man in her life was just about ok though I couldnt understand what the 'word of the day' deal was all about.Anyway he was the typical knight in shining armor waiting and ready to help a damsel in distress.He tried too hard.I found their chemistry completely physical and totally weird.This wasn't a love story and I didnt expect so much graphic romance here.Needless to say that made it worse.As though someones trying to make up for a lame plot.
I regret spending my time on this story.I just couldnt understand how Shelby behaves the way she does.Even when she is planning to do something on her own she asks everyone for their opinion and I had to read the same thing over and over again and then she goes on to get irked if someone just says that he is looking out for her!
There was a huge cast of supporting characters which included her family and old high school friends.Everyone comes from a small-town where everyone is connected and related somehow and they all just gossip about everyone else.I cannot believe I spent so much time on this story.
However maybe this one is not her best.I still think I could try liking Nora Roberts but im not going to pick up another book by her until the memory of this one fades.
I rate it a 2 out of 5.
I live in a small coastal state,a place known for its pristine beauty and sun-bleached beaches,bordered with abundant swaying coconut trees.Needless to say,one of the main ingredients in our cuisine is coconut,in almost all its forms,grated,shredded,bite sized pieces,toasted shavings...you name it and we can make a full course meal out of it.I adore all things coconut,just like the protagonist in this book and believe me, Coconut Cake is as close to Nirvana as it can get.I managed to wolf down almost three quarters of it the last time it was baked and faced nasty blood work results ,but thats a story for another day.
So why am I raving about coconut cake?:)Coz when I spotted this cover and this book,I knew I just had to read it and thanks a ton to Net Galley and the publishers,Gallery,Threshold,Pocket Books for giving me a chance to do that.
This story is about Lou,a talented Milwaukee chef and how an incident with her cheating fiance,costs her,her beloved restaurant 'Luella's'.
A Britisher with a stiff-upper lip, Al,who is not too fond of Wisconsin is keeping himself employed by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym.However,little does he know that he has arrived on the worst day of the chefs (Lou's) life.Who would have thought that her heartbreak would coincide with an anonymous visit from the exacting critic and one scathing review is all it takes to see her promising business suddenly facing closure.
However,as the cities most infamous restaurant critic,Al prefers to keep his professional identity a secret.Coincidentally he runs into Lou as shes drowning her sorrows in a pub and playfully challenges her to show him the best of Milwaukee and she's game but only if they never discuss work,which Al readily agrees to.As Al and Lou explore the sights and sounds of her hometown,they begin to fall for each other-until Al realizes that it was his review that put the future of Luella's in jeopardy.When the truth comes out,the two star-crossed foodies must find a way to overlook the past in order to forge a new future together.
My Views:This book was exactly as I had anticipated it would be.A light,fun read,not too demanding,something I could just pick up at whatever time of the day or night and continue from where I had left off.It was like one of those holiday movies,where you know everything is going to sort itself out eventually but you still want to watch them and believe in all the goodness in people and the world.
I cant help but talk about the food first.I loved the mouth-watering food descriptions.Most of the food was new to me and I had a blast reading about the Milwaukee food scene.I was fascinated with fried cheese curds,frozen custard and the Wisconsin butterburger.It was fun to read about a totally different place with a totally different culture,the summerfests,the music scene.So much to absorb for one who comes from the other side of the world.Full marks for weaving that effortlessly into the story.Do not read this on an empty stomach.You have been warned!
The characters were well-developed and their different personalities did come through clearly.I thought Devlin was a total douche.I liked Al and Lou.Lou is really so passionate about her work and easy going and fun loving at the same time.I liked Al better later in the book when he started to loosen up,when he was less cynical,when he realised that what really mattered in life is contentedness.
The cast of secondary characters made it even more enjoyable.I loved John,the fashionista in disguise.Harley was really all mush inside.Gertrude and Ottos parallel story was awesome.You could pick up nuggets of wisdom from the way they live life.
However the part in which Lou and Al know so little of each other and yet manage to fall head-over-heels in love was a bit tough to digest.But all's fair in love and books ;)
Also...
'The helpful thought for which you look is written somehere in a book' :)
When I finished reading this book and pondered a bit about it,I realised that this simple fun read had its own message at the end.To live life and be content with what you have.That ultimately its your attitude towards life that changes it for better or for worse.Resilience is ultimately what matters in the face of adversity.That sometimes,its ok to give second chances,a person probably does deserve forgiveness as long as his or her intentions are good.And most importantly never to judge a new business from one bad review.A lot of hardwork goes into a new venture and it is important to give everyone a fair chance to prove themselves,especially in the age of online reviews,where anything can happen at the click of a mouse.
There was once sentence in the book which I reread -One reckless evening he (Al) even drank tap water in a small Indian village an hour outside Mumbai.I really laughed at this.Oh come on we are not that bad!
I wonder if the author ever imagined that a small-town Indian would perhaps be reading her book :))
This was a breezy read and I did finish reading it fast.Surely recommended for foodie romance lovers.This book is slated for release on July 21st 2015.There's even a recipe of Coconut Cake at the end.
I rate it a three and a half out of five.
