Book Review: Tribute by Nora Roberts

It has been a long time since i have read a Nora Robert's book! I had almost forgotten Ms. Robert's writing style but when i started with Tribute, i was so enthralled by the depth of her story and depiction style that i was not able to put it down till i finished it. Ms Robert writes romance novels with a strong storyline, not the 'falling in love at first sight' romance but 'falling in love with time by knowing each other' romance.
Tribute is exactly such a novel about people, their pasts and relationships. The book is a romantic-suspense with keeping a perfect balance between romance and suspense, neither high-intensity suspense or highly-emotional romance.

Book Summary from goodreads:

Cilla McGowan, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life restoring homes. So she comes to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to save the dilapidated farmhouse that once belonged to her grandmother, a legendary actress who died of an overdose more than thirty years ago.

Plunging into the project with gusto, Cilla’s almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, though she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.

But it’s reality that holds its share of dangers for Cilla. A cache of unsigned letters found in the attic points to a mysterious romance in her grandmother’s life and may be the catalyst for a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life.

I love Nora Robert's books about how efficiently she describes both nature and people. You will get a real look and feel of the situations. When you read the below lines, you will understand, its so sweet!. This is one of the thing that is best about this book...lot of beautiful descriptions of nature and house renovations.

Quotes from Tribute:

Cilla describes about her litte farm:

"SHE SAT on the lovely patio with the view full of the pretty pond and the green hills that rolled back to the blue mountains. Roses and lilies stunned the air with perfume that had the bees buzzing drunkenly and a hummingbird, bold as an emerald, darting for nectar. The sun poured strong and bright out of cloudless skies to wash everything in the golden light of fairy tales. Birds sang their hearts out in Disneyesque harmony."

Ford is describing about Cilla:

"She was a ride on a dragon, a flight through space, a dive into the deep waters of an enchanted sea."

Cilla McGowan is on a journey to find herself, who she is and what she exactly wants in life. Coming from a long line of actors, she was a child actor for a TV series, then did lot of commercials but was never happy with her work. Thirty-five years later after her grandmother's death, Cilla  has just purchased her grandmother's beloved little farm in Virginia from her difficult mother, Janet Hardy's daughter. Cilla seems drawn to the farm and decides to take the terribly neglected farm and make it once more into a home of beauty and charm as in its past as a tribute to her grandmother. 

Cilla is determined to do the all the hard-work needed to repair and renovate the little farm house but, she also has a vulnerable side which craves for love and care, which she has never got from anyone in her life. She shares a close relation only with her ex-husband , forever best friend, Steve. When she comes to little farm, her father and his new family tries connecting with her but, as she has never received any affection till now, she is confused about her feelings. But, she is unable to resist the affection and care shown by her neighbor,Ford and his ugly but charming dog, Spock  at her good or bad moments.

Ford is a graphic novelist, a geek, charming, funny, irresistible, easy-going and caring ..wow...i loved him! He is full of positive attitude towards life. At times, he is little bit dominating but only when Cilla was being stubborn not wanting anyone's help when she needed it. But i loved his character, as Cilla is saying that Ford is someone who cared enough to get pushy and bossy about her welfare and she is happy to be flexible or accommodating sometimes. For Cilla, Ford is always a stable guy and she wonders how she has connected with someone so blessedly stable!

Ford is very protective towards Cilla and he is not afraid to let her know how much he loves her, and he makes certain that she knows he will keep her safe and never leave her alone. He is sometimes so sweet and endearing, like when he says about construction work "Tools and I have a long-standing agreement. We stay away from each other, for the good of mankind." He is happy to observe while watching Cilla work with power tools on her house renovations and he is always ready to provide her moral support. When Ford's pictures comes in tabloid with Cilla after an attack on Cilla, and she is described as reincarnation of Janet Hardy and Ford as seduced by the lonely, trapped spirit of Janet , he reacts so unexpectedly, he takes it as funny, not at all bothered by it, just explains his unique thought process. Excellent work with Ford's character...he is my favorite hero! He is a perfect guy for Cilla who needs someone like him in her life to help her "find" herself.

Cilla and Ford are attracted to each other from the first but more than the way they find each other attractive on the outside, they are attracted to each other's smartness, intelligence and strength. When they develop a romantic relation, it is sweet and tender. I loved Ford and Cilla's relationship, the affection and understanding between each other they were having from the first and slowly how it develops into true love. The conversations between Ford and Cilla were really sweet and funny. Even though both of them fall in love with each other, Cilla is not convinced to take the next step as she is scared due to her past history of Hardy women but, eventually Cilla falls for Ford's persuasiveness once she realizes that Ford has seen her true self and loves her unconditionally.

The suspense part of the story is fairly good as we keep guessing from the first who is the mysterious lover from Cilla's grandmother's past who has written the letters she has found in the attic. It was obvious by the first half of the story that someone hates Cilla and her family and is causing harm to her and her property. And Ms. Roberts did a superb job of throwing suspicion around and kept me guessing throughout nearly the entire story as to who the antagonist was. At the end, Cilla decides to find the 35 year old truth which she thinks she owes to her grandmother as a tribute, with Ford's help and that is when the suspense unravels.

One of the odd things about the book which i did not like much was the dreams Cilla use to have where she is conversing with her late grandmother. I was little bit unsure about it but one thing was clear as Cilla was living and rehabbing her grandmother's favorite farm, she is closer to her than ever and she was trying to connect to Janet through her dreams.

All in all, Tribute was an entertaining read. The most part of the book is about the rehabbing of the farm by Cilla, her construction and landscaping crew.  There are lot of jargon and dialogues based on house renovations and Minute details about sinks, tiles, shower blocks, paint, and trim.

A quote from Tribute where Cilla is thinking about Ford and her love relation:

"They could take some time, couldn’t they, to build on that? To restructure, to decide on tones and trim? They could take a good look at the foundation, evaluate. Because hers was so uneven. Lots of cracks there, she mused, but maybe they could be shored up, supported and repaired. Since his were so solid, so sturdy, there had to be a chance to make the whole thing stand. To make it last. She so badly wanted to make things last."

There is one quote Cilla describes about Ford, it is really a fabulous one....

  "A slow leak, unchecked, eventually eats through just about anything. Stone, metal, wood. It doesn’t make much noise, and it’s a long way from the big gushing flood. But it gets the job done."

It is interesting  right? But,for someone who doesn’t like home renovations, it might be a bit boring. As i love reading about home stuffs, i loved it...each and every dialogues!! And there is also Ms. Roberts way of describing each and every small thing beautifully, you just can't resist getting interested!

One of my favorite quote from the novel:

Ford's dialogue to Cilla's dad

“She needs me. She needs someone who understands and appreciates who she is, and who she’s decided to be. And I need her, because who she is, and who she’s decided to be are—big surprise to me—what I’ve been waiting for all my life.”

Tribute was just a great, enjoyable read and i enjoyed reviewing it!!

Chocolate Mania: Choco Butter Cream Cake

I just love chocolates, in any form, cookies, biscuits, cakes, ice creams, WOW....just can't describe the feeling!! Is there anyone who don't love chocolate, i don't think so?
When i came from office today, i was thinking of preparing a cake so that my mom-in-law can take it home as she was leaving to Kerala . As i had to prepare the cake really fast, i decided i will make my favorite chocolate cake which is awesome. Even though i use to make different types of cake, chocolate cakes always comes perfect, may be because i like it the most. The whole ingredients collecting and preparation will take only max 30 minutes,  as i use to make it in microwave. 
So, here is the recipe for Choco butter cream cake:

Ingredients needed:

2 cups Plain Flour
500 gms butter (melted)
1.5 cups Sugar (powdered)
.5 cup Cocoa Powder
2 tbsps Milk
1 Egg
1 tspn Vanilla essence


Preparation:

Sieve and mix Flour, sugar and cocoa powder together.
Add butter, milk, Egg and little water to a mixer jar and blend it smoothly.
To the flour mixture, add the butter -egg mixture slowly and blend it together in a bowl.
Now, the cake batter is ready for baking. 
Take a cake oven pan, grease and flour it and pour the cake batter into it.
Microwave the cake for 2 to 3 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 
Allow the chocolate cake to cool completely before decorating it with icing.

For Choco Butter Icing:

250 gms butter
.5 cup powdered Sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Heat butter in a pan until it melts . 
Add cocoa powder and sugar to the melted butter and stir the mixture for 2 minutes. 
Allow it to cool off.

Once both the cake and the choco butter icing is cooled off, decorate the choco butter icing on top of the cake as you like. Enjoy the yummy cake!
Note: Just be careful when you microwave the cake so that the baking will be perfect, not more, not less.

Hmmm...you know the best thing is.... you can prepare a wonderful chocolate cake in less than 5 minutes!!

 

Book Review - Cordina's Crown Jewel by Nora Roberts

Who does not like fairy tales! i love it! I'm a sucker for sweet, romantic novels. This last week of 2012, iam reading lot and lots of romantic stories.
So the first read was the Cordina Royal family series by Nora Roberts. The one thing about Nora Roberts  novels are they are very easy to read, also she writes beautiful love stories. 

Cordina Royal Family series includes the love stories of the heirs to the fictional European island kingdom of Cordina. The series has each book dealing with love life of Prince Armand's only daughter, Gabriella - the princess (Affaire Royale), sons, Alexander - heir to the Cordina kingdom (Command Performance) and Bennett - youngest, known as playboy prince (The Playboy Prince). The first three stories of heirs are connected, it is better to read it in order to get the whole picture. But, the fourth book you can read it independently. The fourth book in the series - Cordina's Crown Jewel is the one i loved best! It is the fun-filled, romantic story of Camilla (daughter of princess Gabriella) and Delaney, an archeologist. The idea, the setting and the love story was perfect.

Princess Camilla of Cordina is a tireless fundraiser and gracious representative of her country. Following a nasty run-in with the press after a charity function, however, Camilla realizes that her devoted life to official duties has left her drained and on the verge of nervous breakdown. She decides to get away for some time to live her own life before she falls over the edge, so she cuts her hair, borrows a friend’s rented car, and asks her assistant to give her a few hours’ head start before telling her parents she’s gone. Ten days into her impromptu road trip, and already feeling like a new woman, Camilla goes off the road in a storm when a deer jumps in front of her car. Fortunately, a few minutes later, a battered truck pulls up and the owner begrudgingly offers her a lift. She’s a bit miffed that he won’t help with her luggage, until she realizes that his arm is in a sling. Delaney Caine is an archaeologist, home recovering from injuries he sustained in a car accident. It’s a good opportunity to catch up on paperwork, but he’s frustrated by pain and incapacity, and hates being away from the site of his latest dig. Del takes Camilla to his cabin where they find that the storm has knocked out the power and the phone. He’d like to get rid of her, but there’s no way to do it until the weather improves. Camilla makes several really rude remarks about her rescuer’s housekeeping, but she redeems herself by rolling up her sleeves and getting to work. She can cook, too, and always makes herself useful. While they’re waiting for her car to be fixed, she also helps Del to organize and type his research notes. She finds herself fascinated by his work and oddly attracted to this obviously intelligent man. Del knows she’s hiding something, but one thing is perfectly clear, both are attracted to each other. But Del is sure that she is trouble and since she’s not exactly hiding her attraction to him, it’s up to him to make sure that nothing happens. But, as more and more Camilla and Del spent time together, they get close to each other. Eventually they fall in love but, before they can understand it themselves or confess it to each other, Del has to know Camilla's true identity.

The best thing i like about the book was its fun-filled conversations and easy flow. One thing about Nora Roberts books is that in her stories, the people fall in love not only with the external beauty but also with each other's intelligence/brain. Ms. Robert's characterizations of Camilla and Del were good, with Camilla being a sweet,classy dame who leaves her wealth and starts on a journey of soul-searching and when she finds real interest in archaeology, she tries to learn everything she could about it. Delaney is a boneheaded, always crabby guy who is an intelligent archaeologist, never realizes about love until he lose it. There were also some negative points in the story like lot of conflict conversations between Camilla and Del in the end where they meet in Cordina. But, overall i loved the book. It is a simply sweet, fun-filled book whenever you are free to have an entertainment read!

Book Review: The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen

This is the second YA romance book i loved reading after Easy by Tammara Webber.

After reading Easy, i was searching for similar kind of YA books when i came across the author Sarah Dessen. I read some of her book summaries and i liked it. So i started reading with the book Just Listen by Sarah Dressen. It was a good book to read and i became an instant fan of Sarah Dessen
but i dont know, i just can't say it was my favorite. The next book i read was The Truth about Forever and wow, i just loved it. It was sweet and funny in a simply narrated way. It is on one of my top favorite list. So, today i thought i will encourage you all for reading 'The Truth about Forever' by writing a fantastic review on the book

To sum up the novel: 

The Truth About Forever is about Macy Queen, who is still coping with life when her dad died in front of her before two years.
Macy tried to hold it together for the sake of her family, hiding her grief and seeking perfection, thinking that this would help her mother who seeks perfection in everything she does, her own way of dealing with loss. She strives to be  have a perfect life with Perfect grades, perfect behavior, perfect boyfriend. When Macy's boyfriend,Jason leaves on a summer brain camp, Macy is alone with her strict study schedule and library job, which she is filling for Jason on his absence. After spending her day job in library with snotty girls, she is not at all happy with her job and informs the same to Jason through emails which he does not care much and asks her to concentrate on the job. But then she meets Wish catering crew who were catering for one of her mother's real estate party and she gets a taste of real chaos, where nothing is perfect.When in one of her emails, disappointed with her library job, Macy confesses her love to Jason as they are in a relationship for almost two years, he responds that they need to take a break from each other till summer ends. After the bad email, she joines Wish, makes new friends and meets Wes - an artist, sculptor, almost perfect guy with his own not-so-clean past and believes in people can have flaws, no one is flawless. With her catering friends, she learns how to make life better by understanding her grief and be happy again by trying to overcome her unhappiness. Macy and Wes develops a friendship and they indulge in lot of funny and truth-sharing conversations and she realizes that Wes is the one person with whom she can be her own self without any false pretense. Finally, Macy and Wes understands their feelings for each other and confronts it. She regains confidence to live her life the way she wants and helps her mother to start overcoming the grief over her father's death.

I loved the book. Sarah Dessen has turned a simple plot to a deep, emotional and heartwarming story!! 

I liked Macy's character a lot, how finally she understands the truth about forever that forever always changes, it is a self created one. Macy is afraid to live her own life, mainly she stops her early morning runs which she use to do with her father, and tries to live a
life for perfection just like her mother wants as she does not want to worry her mother more after Macy's father's death.
Wes's character is fabulous. Wes is an upcoming sculpture artist who is having similar situations as Macy as he has also suffered his mother's death leaving his younger brother to his care but has made his life almost perfect with his family catering business and his artist work.
The truth sharing conversations between Macy and Wes are so cute...you will love it! The way they connect to each other through the truth game and share their life secrets are nicely depicted by Ms.Dessen. I liked the character of Kristy also, Macy's catering crew friend, she is smart and funny who helps Macy realize the truth about her life.

It is a great read for teenagers who will love it and also it has a great message!! Hope you enjoy it!!

Book Review: Easy by Tammara Webber

You know, IAM crazy about romance novels. Nowadays, my main spare time hobby is to search for good books. Last week when i was just browsing  through goodreads since it has become my favorite book site, i came across this novel by Tammara Webber. If it were not for this wonderful social, book-reading site I would have never even heard of these incredible books that I've been reading! And "Easy by Tammara Webber" is a perfect example. When i read the summary, i was impressed so much that i got the book same day and started reading immediately. The novel is of young adult romance genre which is entirely new for me, but i loved it. Here is a review of the Tammara Webber's Easy.

A short Review of Easy By Tammara Webber

Easy is an easy read, easy to like, easy to absorb into and easy to remember always.

The story is written as self-narrative by the main protagonist, Jacqueline Wallace. Jacqueline has followed her high school boyfriend, Kennedy of last 3 years to the college he has chosen to acquire a law degree. Being a talented musician herself, Jacqueline could have gone to any musical college she desired, but she decides to follow her heart's decision which gets shattered soon when her boyfriend breaks with her so that he can date other people. Jacqueline is devastated and misses her classes, econ class common with Kennedy, for two weeks. After two weeks, She agrees to be her roommate and best friend Erin's designated driver while Erin gets drunk in a party. Once it is obvious that Erin is staying with her boyfriend and will not need a ride, Jacqueline leaves the party alone, walks to her truck and is nearly raped, but is saved by a handsome savior whom she discovers later as Lucas who sits on the back row of her econ class always sketching in a notebook. She is attracted to Lucas who does lot of odd jobs around campus and stares at her but tries to fight it off as she has still not got over her ex's heart-break. After two weeks of absence from her econ class, her professor asks her to get private tutoring from a senior, Landon, the class tutor. Landon shows her that she’s still the same intelligent girl she’s always been. Soon, Jacqueline comes to know and trust Lucas and realizes his talent for sketching including portraits of herself. She is intrigued as is he and their relationship slowly develops into much more serious. 

As the story continues, Jacqueline realizes that there is a deep connection between her always supportive tutor and attractive savior, Lucas who is also
hiding his past secrets from her. Her ex tries to get back with her and her stalker/attacker spreads rumor around campus about them. Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back but still she is not sure of one thing that knowing whom to trust is anything but easy.

Now, my review on Easy: It was a fantastic read, sweet, loving and funny. First of all, this is the first young adult romance i have read so i was surprised the way the story has been told by Ms. Webber and i loved it. It is really a good read for all ages, not specifically to college-age people. Next, normally i do not like self-narrative novels, i like the books which has the point of views of both the main characters. But, this one even though it has been told through Jacqueline's point of view, i really liked the depiction of the story.
 
Jacqueline's character was great, how she decides to follow her heart first, then when the same heart is broken how she try to cop up with the situation
and makes her life better by attending self-defense classes and rebuilds her trust and confidence. I really loved how she gets attracted to every aspect of Lucas, both his intelligent, brainy self and his attractive, intriguing self once she starts knowing everything about him.

Lucas's character is intriguing. He fills the suspense part of the story. The characterization of Lucas is mysterious which intrigues Jacqueline and also the readers which made me turn the pages of the book eagerly to know his story. He is a handsome senior doing lot of odd jobs around the campus and also is attracted to Jacqueline from a long time. He has secretly watched Jacqueline be a dutiful girlfriend to a guy that does not see her worth. Once both Lucas and Jacqueline gets to know each other, I loved how Lucas was always gentle and caring with Jacqueline because of his horrible past.

The other character i loved in Easy was Erin, Jacqueline's roommate is her very good and loyal friend who supports her best friend throughout the book
even if it results in her fall-out with her boyfriend.

At the end, Jacqueline realizes that life is about living your life and dreams independently with confidence. You can be always with your loved ones without losing yourself and your self-respect.

Best quote from Easy:

In the last part, Lucas says to Jacqueline:
 
“Choosing to be with you, isn't a difficult decision, Jacqueline...It's easy. Incredibly easy.” 
 
I encourage everyone to read the book and send me your comments. Enjoy reading Easy!!