This is a light week for the Roundup, since I chose to do full review for two books, and I wasn’t feeling well over the weekend, so didn’t do as much reading. But don’t worry! I’m feeling better this week and looking forward to sharing more fun titles with you next time.
The Satapur Moonstone (“Perveen Mistry” #2) by Sujata Massey: I am officially a fan of this series. I mean, I know I loved the first one, but sequels sometimes don’t live up to the original. And maybe The Satapur Moonstone isn’t quite as “good” as The Widows of Malabar Hill – the storytelling is less complex and the world feels a little less rich, as we’re mostly in one place here instead of traveling around as we did in the first book – but it’s still a worthy follow-up, building on Perveen’s earlier adventures and setting us up nicely for things to come. Book three comes out this June, and I am ready!
Too Good to Be Real by Melonie Johnson: Sadly, this book was not for me. The characters are interesting and often charming, but they are unfortunately held back by a contrived plot and an unconvincing central conflict. At times, it feels like they’re being forced to act in ways that don’t make sense for who they are in order to fit into a specified rom-com blueprint. Fans of romantic comedies will enjoy the many nods to the genre and its beloved tropes, but a gimmick will only get you so far, and Too Good to Be Real lets the tropes use it instead of it using the tropes to create something original and fresh. On the plus side, there is some enjoyable banter between the leads and several humorous encounters with seagulls. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
–b
Book It With Becca 