M is for Zee Monodee: Light My World- Review and Mauritius #atozchallenge #newrelease #romance

I’m excited to talk about this gorgeous African island.  I only heard of it last year when my fabulous editor for Midwife To Destiny, Zee Monodee, proudly proclaimed it as her homeland.

Image from Bing.com

Not only is she one of the best editors in the world, but she writes fabulous novels. Her latest book in the Ubuntu line, Light My World, has just been released. I loved this book. Check out my review below.

The Blurb

So what if a girl has to kiss a few frogs to find her prince?

Tired of her Indian-origin mother’s relentless matchmaking, Diya Hemant is determined to find her Prince Charming on her terms. Armed with a definitive list of requirements, she is sure she’ll know her man when she meets him…

But looking and finding are two different things, especially on the tiny island of Mauritius…

When her path crosses surly British widower Trent Garrison’s, it’s hate at first sight. And though fate keeps pitting her against him, she’s certain he can’t be turned into a frog let alone a prince.

Can this modern-day princess overcome her own expectations and see beyond the ogre to the man beneath?

 Buy Links: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Decadent Publishing ~ AllRomance Ebooks

My Review

Ms. Monodee has done it again by creating a captivating, engaging, passion filled romance. I rated the first book in the Island Girls series, The Other Side, as fantastic, but the second one supersedes the first. Not that it's not necessary to read book one before delving into Light My World.

Set on the African island of Mauritius, the setting is gorgeous with beaches, gorgeous sunsets and towns with lovely sounding French names. What impressed me most was the heat between Diya and Trent from the onset. Initially flamed by anger and annoyance, it transitioned into a huge ball of red hot passion. The two moving from enemies of a sort, to friends, then progressing to lovers set the story on a realistic keel.

Diya is a woman after my own heart - Strong, sassy, independent , compassionate, and a gets anything she sets her mind onto done. Trent, is delicious and full of love, if not a little spooked by the past. Best of all he has no fear of Diya. These two had me laughing at their antics, and sighing at their romantic interaction.

A wonderful book that I recommend to romance lovers all over the world.

I give this book 5 out of 5 SUV shaped chocolate bars.

Note: I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

Here is the first book in the series, but you don't need to have read the first to enjoy the second. See my review here.

Blurb:

Divorce paints a scarlet letter on her back when she returns to the culture-driven society of Mauritius. This same spotlight shines as a beacon of hope for the man who never stopped loving her. Can the second time around be the right one for these former teenage sweethearts?

Indian-origin Lara Reddy left London after her husband dumps her for a more accommodating uterus—at least, that’s what his desertion feels like. Bumping into him and his pregnant new missus doesn’t help matters any, and she thus jumps on a prestigious job offer. The kicker? The job is in Mauritius, the homeland of her parents, and a society she ran away from over a decade earlier.

But once there, Lara has no escape. Not from the gossip, the contempt, the harassing matchmaking...and certainly not from the man she hoped never to meet again. The boy she’d loved and lost—white Mauritian native, Eric Marivaux.

Back when they were teens, Eric left her, and Lara vowed she’d never let herself be hurt again. Today, they are both adults, and facing the same crossroads they’d stood at so many years earlier.

Lara now stands on the other side of Mauritian society. Will this be the impetus she needs to take a chance on Eric and love again?

Buy links: 
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon CA  ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords ~ Kobo ~AllRomance Ebooks ~ Decadent ~ ~ Kalahari (Paperback)

This is a gigantic blog hop so click here to see what other bloggers are discussing for this letter. Have fun.

Review: The Other Side by Zee Monodee #romance

Blurb:

Divorce paints a scarlet letter on her back when she returns to the culture-driven society of Mauritius. This same spotlight shines as a beacon of hope for the man who never stopped loving her. Can the second time around be the right one for these former teenage sweethearts?

Indian-origin Lara Reddy left London after her husband dumps her for a more accommodating uterus—at least, that’s what his desertion feels like. Bumping into him and his pregnant new missus doesn’t help matters any, and she thus jumps on a prestigious job offer. The kicker? The job is in Mauritius, the homeland of her parents, and a society she ran away from over a decade earlier.

But once there, Lara has no escape. Not from the gossip, the contempt, the harassing matchmaking...and certainly not from the man she hoped never to meet again. The boy she’d loved and lost—white Mauritian native, Eric Marivaux.

Back when they were teens, Eric left her, and Lara vowed she’d never let herself be hurt again. Today, they are both adults, and facing the same crossroads they’d stood at so many years earlier.

Lara now stands on the other side of Mauritian society. Will this be the impetus she needs to take a chance on Eric and love again?

My Review

 

Ms. Monodee certainly knows how to make the reader step into the character's shoes. After one scene I actually desired a cigarette, and I don’t even smoke, so if you have recently quite smoking you may want to skip that scene.  I learned a great French swear word which I will not share with you here, but it begins with M.

It's only recently that I learned about the island of Mauritius, and through this novel I feel as if I’ve been there and experienced it. Both the glorious beauty of the land and the peculiar behaviours of some of the people and culture as a whole. Some of the things that were said really surprised me. I don’t do spoilers so I won’t mention them but the story had me thinking, which tells a lot about the intensity of the book.

At the heart of the tale is true love. A love that cannot be separated by culture, family, time, marriage, or self preservation. Lara is an interesting character. Not as strong as I like heroines to be, but she grows in strength as the book moves along and this made me really like her. Eric was so patient, understanding, and hot that I loved him from beginning to end. The deep passion they shared made me wonder how things in life can go so badly that they missed out on so much.

A fantastic romance that I highly recommend. I can’t wait for book two which is coming out this month. 

I give this book five out five king size chocolate bars.

I purchased this novel from Amazon.