Saturday, 10 August 2013

Book Review: Once Upon a Second Chance by Zee Monodee


The Blurb
Leila Hassan Al-Nadir spent ten years in a forced, abusive marriage in the United Arab Emirates, before her husband divorced her...and another man stepped into his place to make her his wife. But before she can look at a future with this new man, he abandons her, dropping her off on the island of Mauritius in the care of his stepmother.

Khalid Al-Nadir wants nothing more than to be with Leila, his wife. But he hides a deep, dark secret—his intentions when he made her his weren’t noble. Despite falling in love with her in the end, he knows she will be better off without him.

Leila craves answers; Khalid desires salvation. Fate, in the form of Khalid’s stepmother, intervenes and sets this estranged couple up for a one night stand date with Madame Eve’s agency.

Can Leila and Khalid have a second chance, once they both face the truth that brought them together?


My Review
The book was short, but wonderful. Ms. Monodee writes with a delightful descriptive flair. I could see every scene in my mind's eye as clearly as if I was there. Mauritius sounds like a beautiful island.

The relationship between Leila and Khalid was intense. I did not expect the depth of emotions that Ms. Monodee was able to bring forth in such a short read, but she was able to portray a myriad of them. I learned quite a few things about the Muslim faith that I didn’t know before and this impressed me.  The words of love were so pleasant to my sight that I wanted to hear them out loud.

I really enjoyed Once Upon a Second Chance and look forward to reading more work by Zee Monodee.

I give Once Upon a Second Chance four out of five chocolate bars.


I purchased this book from Amazon.com.

14 comments:

  1. Another book on my ever-growing TBR pile. Great review, Nana.

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    1. Thanks Kiru. That pile must be as tall as you are by now (even though I don't know your height :)

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  2. Good descriptive review as always, Nana. Zee sounds like a great read!

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    1. Thanks Cathy. I do like to tell people how much I like a book.

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  3. This is a well written and concise review, Nana. Great job! I especially love to read books that describe other cultures, religions, and localities that I might otherwise not have an opportunity to experience first hand.

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    1. Thanks Carol. It was the first Muslim romance I'd ever read, but it won't be the last.

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  4. Great review, Nana. This is the second Zee Monodoe's book you've reviewed and I love them all

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    1. Thanks Celestine. I hope you get the opportunity to read them.

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  5. Thank you, Nana, for this lovely review! xoxo

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