I know this is a bit of a departure from my usual book review style, but I did finish both these books this week, and didn’t want to wait to post a review on both. Luckily, they are both short and very easy reads/listens and I loved both the books! Just what I was looking for, after the last book I read:) I can now, get on to reading one or two serious books without any stress..hehe
So Audiobook review first:
My Rating: 5 Stars
Audiobook Name and Narrator: Dream More/ Written and narrated by Dolly Parton
Genre: Humorous, inspirational, personal anecdotes
I can’t believe I did not know Dolly Parton, until I read or rather listened to her talk in this book! She is just so entertaining and adorable and herself and has become such an inspiration overnight to me! You have a new fan, Dolly Parton! I have literally started scouring social media for all her music, her life, her interviews and everything I can get my hands on to know more about her. I picked up the audible version of the book and since it is narrated by Dolly Parton herself, it could not have been more enjoyable. She is so funny and cheeky and full of wise advice that seem valid even now, that I absolutely loved it, and would probably listen to it, every time I’m feeling a little low or need some motivation, or just need to smile! Totally recommend it to anyone and everyone!
Book Review now:
My Rating: 4 Stars!
Book & Author: This could change everything by Jill Mansell
Genre: Romance
So before I start, I have to mention that I rate my books on a scale of 1-5 (many people rate from 1-10), so I don’t want people to think that when I’ve rated a book 4, it means its a low rating 😀 You can check out my rating criteria on my previous post (How I rate my books) if you like, although sometimes I rate a book a 5 star just on entertainment criteria as well! hehe
So, I had got my library membership, and was itching to rent a book to read, since I didn’t want to pick up my kindle yet, and didn’t want to buy another book either. So I went to the library with the intention of renting something easy and light hearted to read and spent an hour going through the book shelves, but could not find any of the books I had on my mind (long waitlist apparently, sigh). So I checked out the ‘Hot List’ section of the library and found this book. When I picked it up, I wasn’t aware this was a romance novel, since I had been having a very bad experience with romance novels in a while, and they all seemed like porn novels to me. I just thought this would be like a chick lit sort of a book or a drama maybe. But as I started reading it, I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this book, loved all the characters and was happy that all the pairs I was rooting for, got their happy ending and that there was no steamy content in the book! That was the absolute clincher for me! Also, since I’ve just recently moved to England for work, and it could be for a few more months only, it was nice reading about some of the places I was aware of, and being able to add Isle of Skye to my travel destinations , while I’m here (if we can manage it). There were so many stories that it doesn’t get you bored and I just adored Zillah’s character! So imagine, I found two spkuny, inspiring ladies – one fictional and one non-fictional in my reading this week! What are the odds!?
There were two topics that I did wondered about in the book though- thoughts on how we can make our realities in a book, but realities in the world we live in, may not be that great. For example, in the book, one of the characters is an alcoholic , but they are able to recover and make it work. I have someone very close to me who is an alcoholic and many members of the family who have died because of this, and I know how difficult it can be for both the person having the addiction and the families and friends associated to that person. And it is very difficult to even give it up- I know the person I am talking about has been trying since 20 years and been unsuccessful. It is very different sometimes in real life. I wish I could pray for a happy ending for my family member too.
Similarly, the other thing I wondered about was how nicely everyone eventually ends up with the person of their choice, and no one really gets hurt and no one is the villain and no one has to settle with someone they don’t love, or have to learn to make it work:) It always works out in the end in the books, if only life were actually like that..sigh! But at least one can dream while reading such books and forget about reality once in a while:)
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone wanting to read a nice romance novel which does not have any fifty shades of gray stuff…lol! Also, do men read romance? I always wonder about that..lol!
Starry Eyed Enigma 