The Runaways & The Kiss Quotient – Book Thoughts

I really need a good book to get me out of the two unsatisfying reads that I read last.

I believe that every book has a reader, and a time and place or state of mind for a reader to read and appreciate that book. If I say I didn’t like a particular book, I don’t mean that the book was bad or the author did a bad job. I just mean that it wasn’t for me, or that I wasn’t ready to read that book at that particular time. So my request to readers reading this post is, don’t take my feedback at face value, these are just my thoughts and I would love it if you still read these books and told me later if you agreed or disagreed with my thoughts 🙂

• The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto

I bought this book on a whim from the only book store in Bhubaneswar. It was available in a brand new hardcover, and the cover looked magnificent. The description on the jacket looked promising too, so I went ahead and bought it. The book started off quite interestingly, with the storylines of the three protagonists, Anita Rose, Sunny and Monty, set in Karachi and Portsmouth. At first I thought the story was going to be about class disparity, but about halfway into the book, the book takes a turn and tells the story of how these three characters become a part of a radical organization in Iraq.

Even then, the plot had a lot of promise, its just that once two of the characters reach Mosul, Iraq, the story started to drag on for me a lot. It was painful to read about the same things going on and on in Sunny and Monty’s head. I wanted to scream and say, enough already!

Also, I just could not care for any of the characters. Anita Rose had so much potential as a character, but I felt all her interactions with her older communist neighbor was a waste towards the end of the book. I just couldn’t understand her or her reasons for what she did and what happened to all her bravado in the end. Sunny’s character seemed the most realistic, I guess. I also couldn’t understand what the author was trying to convey through her book.

Maybe I missed the point?

• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

So, to get over the bleakness of the previous book, I searched my book shelf for a funny, light hearted read and came across this book. I had bought this book a while ago, based on raving reviews and recommendations from fellow readers, so thought, what better than to read a feel good romance to get over a sad, bleak book?

Don’t get me wrong, this book was funny in parts and has a happy ending too. I loved the leading character- Stella (its hard not to fall for her) and the concept of  having a character with Asperger syndrome in a romantic novel. It was really endearing. My only problem with the book was that it was too racy/steamy for my taste. Most people know I’m a bit of a prude and I haven’t read romances in a really long time. But when I do, I like chaste romances, with just kissing or closed door bedroom scenes. But this book had a lot more, wayyyy more for my comfort..(blushing now lol). So, if that’s your scene, then you should absolutely go for this.

The other issue I had was that, for some reason, I just couldn’t seem to like or fall for the lead male character – Michael. He seemed really well put together – good looking, sensitive, a family guy, caring about his family, great in bed, etc etc, but despite all that, I couldn’t fantasize about him. I know it isn’t because of his profession, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe I’m just not in the state of mind for a romance, I don’t know 🙂

Questions to you guys:

Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts? Is there a chaste romance that you have read and think I would like to read?

What are you reading now?