Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Book Review: A BITTERSWEET REPRIEVE by Leena Varghese


BLURB:

A man who comes home from battle to find that his wife has deserted him...

A woman who thinks her husband pretended to be dead and never cared enough to return home…

Maj. Tejveer Singh is an ex-serviceman from the Indian Army, decorated for his exemplary courage. After resigning from service with near-fatal wounds, he returns home to the life-altering news that his wife, Megha, has disappeared. A devastated Tej comes to the painful conclusion that she has deserted him for good.

Megha has a different story to tell. The news about Tej’s ‘death’ at the hands of the enemy breaks down her emotional equilibrium. She escapes to London, far away from everything that would remind her of Tej.

Three years later, Megha, now a gourmet writer, returns to India. Life grinds to a halt again, when she comes face-to-face with Tej at a party in Mussourie.

Fired by rage and betrayal they confront each other even as unresolved issues, an unequal power equation, buried suspicions and angst from their troubled marriage hover like phantoms once more.

Both want to know the truth about the other. Pride and mistrust prevents both of them from revealing it first!

Cut off from the world for a week, they become engrossed in a utopia where neither of them talks about the past or the future. However, time is ticking by…and the potent secret between them is waiting to explode.

Will they be able to resolve the deadlock without tearing away from each other?

MY TAKE ON IT:

I downloaded a copy of this book from Amazon when it was available for free. This review has been long due and for this I apologise to the author.

I have read A Silver Dawn by Leena Varghese and found the book unputdownable.

I started reading A Bittersweet Reprieve and had to finish it in one sitting as the story of Tej and Megha pulled me in. Leena has turned indie with this book and she can feel absolutely proud of it.

Tej is a hero to die for, his character with its flaws making him a perfect protagonist. The reader can see Megha’s growth as a character between the present and the flashbacks from the past. The love scenes are hot and steamy and peppered throughout the story, a joy for all romance readers.

I so enjoyed the scenes from Mussoorie, the author’s words painting vivid pictures of the snow and the apple trees, making me want to visit the place.

What totally impressed me was the author’s language. It’s excellent and a joy to read in its flawlessness that is truly commendable.

The ending was what made the story delicious with all the little bits tied off to perfection. An out-and-out romance.

A couple of things could have worked better for me: one is the cover and another is that the story lags slightly in the middle. But I am going with 5 stars despite that since otherwise I might have had to give the book 7 stars out of5. Oh yeah, it’s that good.

VERDICT: A must read for romance lovers and those who love to read Indian fiction in English




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