Book Review: The Silent Wife by Kerry Fisher

Posted in Uncategorized by Namrata Ganti

I received a complementary copy of this book from NetGalley.

About the Book:

The Silent Wife

Would you risk everything for the man you loved? Even if you knew he’d done something terrible?

A heart wrenching and gripping tale. I was hooked from the very first page.’ Write Escape

Lara’s life looks perfect on the surface. Gorgeous doting husband Massimo, sweet little son Sandro and the perfect home. Lara knows something about Massimo. Something she can’t tell anyone else or everything Massimo has worked so hard for will be destroyed: his job, their reputation, their son. This secret is keeping Lara a prisoner in her marriage.

Maggie is married to Massimo’s brother Nico and lives with him and her troubled stepdaughter. She knows all of Nico’s darkest secrets – or so she thinks. The one day she discovers a letter in the attic which reveals a shocking secret about Nico’s first wife Caitlin. Will Maggie set the record straight or keep silent to protect those she loves?

For a family held together by lies, the truth will come at a devastating price.

A heart-wrenching, emotionally gripping read for fans of Amanda Prowse, Liane Moriarty and Diane Chamberlain.

My Thoughts:

A Silent Wife is a well-written novel that brings out the secrets and lies that surround a family and the experiences of being a second wife. It highlights the fact that one can never truly know a person. The perception we may have of someone is sometimes how we want to see them and not a clear reflection of who they truly are.

The author has crafted her story masterfully, bringing it to life from the points of view of two of her key characters, Lara and Maggie. Both of them are second wives and married to brothers, Massimo and Nico. While Maggie is dealing with the new prospect of being a step-mother and trying to forge relationships while also trying to prove that she is not a gold-digger, Lara hides behind a carefully created facade. When Maggie partially discovers a secret related to Nico’s first wife, she is at a cross-roads: keep the secret or open up a can of worms that may make her lose her love and the family they have formed forever.

At times, the story seemed to drag a little and there was some repetition when it came to how the characters felt in various situations. However, in spite of this, she has created characters whom we can relate to in a modern setting. The emotions are deep and easily understood by the reader. I particularly enjoyed how Maggie handled situations and her mother stole the show for me. Her role in this story and her friendly nature serve to bring Lara out of her cocoon, thus changing the course of events slowly.

The story brings out many issues, including the role of a woman in a marriage and the man as the sole earning member of the family, contrasting the various points of views through character perceptions. Through Massimo, we see a competitive streak, the Alpha male, someone who needs to always be above everyone else. He is driven and expects his son to be macho and athletic while the child is more oriented towards the arts. Nico on the other hand is more artistic and understands a child’s need to have fun and be themselves. As the story unfolds, these differences come into prominence, further defining their relationship with their respective wives and children.

Bottomline: Read, enjoy and take away the messages embedded deep within this emotional roller-coaster ride!

3Feb2017

Book Review: Chameleon by Zoe Kalo

Posted in Book Reviews by Namrata Ganti

CHAMELEON

Zoe Kalo

Genre: YA/Gothic/Ghost/Multicultural

Word count: 55,000

Release date: February 2017

Premise:

Kicked out of school, 17-year old Paloma finds herself in an isolated convent in the tropical forests of 1970s Puerto Rico, where she must overcome her psychosis in order to help a spirit and unveil a killer.

Blurb:

An isolated convent, a supernatural presence, a dark secret…

17-year-old Paloma only wanted to hold a séance to contact her dead father. She never thought she would be kicked out of school and end up in an isolated convent. Now, all she wants is to be left alone. But slowly, she develops a bond with a group of girls: kind-hearted Maria, insolent Silvy, pathological liar Adelita, and their charismatic leader Rubia. When, yet again, Paloma holds a séance in the hope of contacting her father, she awakens an entity that has been dormant for years. And then, the body count begins. Someone doesn’t want the secret out…

Are the ghost and Paloma’s suspicions real—or only part of her growing paranoia and delusions?

My Thoughts:

A dark psychological thriller, this story has just the right amount of paranormal and psychosis to spook the reader a little. The story emphasizes on the bonds people form in life and how each one affects the person. Keeping secrets, guarding them at the expense of others’ lives also plays a major role in the plot line. The story is well written and will send chills down your spine at some places. It is easy to relate to some of the characters, their feelings and thoughts.

The author has a unique style of expression which is evident across all her works and is quite pronounced in this story. She has ensured that this book is as different from the others and that the reader will be hooked until the end. There is no stopping once you take the first step into the story.

As Paloma tries to deal with the death of her father, she encounters a group of girls who share strange bonds with each other at an isolated convent. She is sent there by her mother and step-father, with the intent of reform. Little does she know that she will stumble upon some well kept secrets that threaten to come out once she is there. Who knows to what extent a person will go to protect the ones they love and their secrets? The author also highlights the power of suggestion and how trust plays a major role in a persons life. As dark and tragic as this book may be, it has a lot of lessons that are relevant. Though a little slow on the uptake, give the story a chance and pursue it.

A wonderful read, with well developed characters, the right amount of darkness associated with them and the plot, this is worth a read!

30Dec2016

Book Review: The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan

Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized by Namrata Ganti

About the Book:

The Faerie Guardian, Part I

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamor follows her into the Fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the Fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.

My Thoughts:

A truly magical read, this book takes us into a unique world of magic. A world where it is the responsibility of the faeries to protect the human world from dangerous magical creatures. When Violet, on the verge of becoming a guardian is out trying to protect a human boy from a creature, she finds that he can somehow see through her glamour. When she returns to the Fae realm, she finds that he has somehow followed her there. Now it is up to her to return him home and make him forget everything that he has seen or knows.

Even though Violet knows all the rules, she faces some trials on the way and add to the mix the cuteness of the human boy and behold a fantastic read. The author has written this story really well and the magic will tightly envelope the reader and draw them in. What should be but a simple task turns out into one filled with danger and unexpected twists. I loved the concept and plot of this story and recommend this to all magic lovers! This proves to be a truly wonderful read and is quite enjoyable.