Sehgal Family and Friends Series by Sapna Bhog

I just wrapped up a six book series called Sehgal Family and Friends by Sapna Bhog. Six love stories: 

1. Take a chance on me - Kabier Sehgal and Keya Karia 

2. Let's start with forever - Sameer Sehgal and Raashi Dewan 

3. Breaking all the rules - Rithwik Bali and Aisha Solanki 

4. Living on the edge - VJ Bellani and Diya Thakur 

5. The long road home - Rishi Sehgal and Mehak Khanna 

6. Every breath you take - Nirvaan Kapur and Rhea Sehgal 

As is the case with series these days, there are common characters running through the books but the books can be read independently most of the time. In fact, I had read the fifth book in the series first and because I got curious about the other characters, I started reading the books in order. 

The books are about a patriarch Janak Sehgal, a wise old man with a liberal outlook, and how he influences the love stories of his grandchildren and their friends. The Sehgal young generation and their friends are a very close-knit circle, all in the age group of 20s to early 30s, who party together but also stand out for each other and confide into each other regarding everything. The books move in chronological order except Books 3 and 4 which take place within the same timeline.

The books follows a common trajectory. The two protagonists, both with a past, get off on a rocky start and hate each other for whatever reason. But irresistable physical attraction brings them together. Just when they start getting along well, some misunderstanding embedded in their past crops up. But eventually love wins and all misunderstandings are cleared out. All characters are similar too. The men are tall, well built and good looking who have lavish lifestyles and are big on no-strings-attached dating and one-night-stands. The women are all stunning and beautiful with firebrand attitudes, fighting spirits but are all virgins. That's the only thing that irks me with this series and most romance novels, especially with billionaire male protagonists - why is it okay for men to sleep around but women need to be virgins to appear as good character girls? Even if it is depicted that the man doesn't care, the authors clearly do. 

Anyway, the books were good time pass reads and managed to keep my attention engaged. Now, when all books are over, I feel I could do with one or two more. I am now curious about how Rohan Bali and Jiya Dewan's chemistry could have panned out. Also, Shauna Sehgal is still single and there was a hint somewhere that Janak Sehgal could have considered Akash Karia as a suitable match. Maybe Sapna Bhog could consider two more books in the series.

P.S. I had revised the yearly books reading target to 24 books and I am already 17 books down. I hope I will be revising the target many more times by a dozen.

#bookreview
#24BooksToRead2022
#recentread
#justfinished
#yearlyresolution

A Love Cookie by Jenny Fox

Off late I have read a few office romance novels most of which included billionaire bosses as male protagonists. This book despite having that commonality of office romance with a billionaire boss, was a refreshing change. Ophelia Valentine is lovable and cute; and I love that she is confident in her own body and chooses to make herself a priority. The billionaire boss too, for a change, is not an egotistical, possessive, spoilt, stalker brat.

The food references are enticing. I used to consider myself a foodie but I doubt I can rival Ophelia's love for food and sweets. It is also interesting how all chapters are named on desserts, drinks and delicacies.

Overall, the story is simple and somewhat relatable as far as toxic relationships are concerned. The toxic relationship between Ophelia and her boyfriend seems all too real because it is all too prevalent between many real-life couples. However, it is heartening to see how Ophelia's friends and colleagues are rooting for her all through. The language used and the interactions between friends are sweet. Ophelia's billionaire boss, despite being socially awkward and blunt, is cute.

I actually read the book in one and a half day in the middle of the week, which I think says much about the happy and endearing the book is. Not just that, I recited the book to my teenage daughter over two nights and am absolutely fine in case she picks it up to read (which I am not so much in case of most of the billionaire romances that I have read so far).

P.S. Surprisingly, I am doing much better than my expectations in this year's 12 books in a year resolution. Since I am picking up most light romances to read, I am already 8 books down. But, I am not posting reviews for all books that I have read as I don't think that all of them deserve me spending time to write a full-fledged reviews.

#bookreview
#12BooksToRead2022
#recentread
#justfinished
#yearlyresolution

Awesome start to the year with Madhuri Tamse's books

I have started the new year with a bang. In the first 11 days itself, I have managed to wrap up three books which has been that most I have read in 10 days in forever. But, it helps when the books are sweet, romantic easy reads. The three books I wrapped up are all by the same author, Madhuri Tamse. The books in question are Royal Vows, No Wedding Bells and Marriage Bubbles; in the order that I read them but the correct order should actually have been reverse. Although they were standalone stories but they had a few common characters.

Royal Vows

The story was sweet and readable but to a lot of extent unrealistic. A painter being hired by a Royal Family to teach the prodigal son painting and then accommodating her within the Royal Palace when her work would probably not stretch beyond an hour every day... If this was unrealistic, imagine the painter volunteering to act as the Nanny for her student's daughter and even travelling on trips and staying in the same suite with the father and daughter. Having said that, the book was leisurely paced and the characters of Ruhi and Raunak were well-etched enough to keep one hooked. I had not heard of the author at all and had been intrigued by the book summary while browsing through Amazon. The fact that the book encouraged me to pick another one, and yet a third one later should say something.

No Wedding Bells

I picked this book when, at the end of the previous book, I read that this was Avni and Aryan's story; Avni being Ruhi's sister who had briefly appeared in the previous book along with Aryan. I was intrigued so I picked it up immediately after. The story was, like the previous one, easy to get hooked to. The only part that irked me was Aryan stalking  Avni.

Marriage Bubbles

This book is Advay and Jiya's story and these characters had appeared off and on in "No Wedding Bells" and again I was intrigued. The book is a standalone part of the "Accidental Marriage" series meaning the characters get married accidentally at the outset itself. Advay is Aryan's cousin and I am not sure why the Bohra brothers consider stalking their women is okay? However, despite the accidental marriage part being stupid (aka the Bollywood movie "Ek Main Aur Ek Tu"), the rest of the story was still believable; much like people falling in love in arranged marriages. On the contrary, the end ruined the experience for me.

The common thing about the books which I enjoyed the most is that all three books are about the journey of couples falling in love. In none of the books, there is one Eureka moment where the character realises that he or she has fallen in love (except in case of Aryan). And that experience makes these books pleasurable.

#bookreview
#12BooksToRead2022
#recentread
#justfinished
#yearlyresolution