Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts

Title: Honest Illusions
Author: Nora Roberts
Series: Stand alone 
Source: Borrowed from friend
Format: Paperback
Pages: 492 Pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Overall Rating:

Synopsis (from author's site):

The daughter of a world-renowned magician, Roxy Nouvelle has inherited her father’s talents—and also his skill in an activity that he thought he managed to keep hidden from her. Into this colorful world comes Luke Callahan, an escape artist who captures Roxy’s heart—and keeps secrets that could shatter all her illusions.

First Paragraph: The Lady Vanishes. It was an old illusion, given a modern twist, and never failed to leave the audience gasping. The glittery crowd at Radio City was as eager to be duped as a group of slack jawed at a dog and pony show. 

My Review: Life is hard for the 12-year-old Luke Callahan. In his attempt to safe himself from the hell he calls home, he is force to be a runaway, live on the street, earning money through pick pocketing. His life takes an unexpected turn one day when he meets Max Nouvelle, a magician, who breathes life into his world: takes him in, loves him like his own son, teaches him to be his apprentice and eventually shares his hidden secret with him. With Max as his father, Lily as his loving mother and Roxy as a lovely yet snarky sister, Luke feels like he has everything he ever wanted.

As he grows older, the feeling Luke has for Roxy grows stronger, making him feels guilty, as Roxy is practically his sister. However, when Roxy makes her sudden moves, the romance buds immediately. Their happiness doesn’t last forever as the ghosts from Luke’s past creeps into his world again; forcing him to vanish in order to protect the family he comes to love. What would Luke do when he realises that he needs to stand up to claim back what he has missed and wins back the woman he loves? Will Roxy ever forgives Luke for leaving her behind at the time she needs him most? What is the real mystery behind Luke’s disappearance?

Reading through Honest Illusions is like munching a bunch of chocolate that you can’t have enough of. Written in a time progression manner, where the story travels from one period of characters’ lives to another, Honest Illusions is definitely one of the best romance novels I’ve ever read. Fluidly written, the author seems to be a master in weaving the events in the past with what happens in the present, leaving readers with no unanswered questions and complete satisfaction. The strength in this book lies in its beautiful prose, along with interesting, multilayered characters and also the structure of the story itself. Huge part of the Honest Illusions consists of what happen in the past, allowing readers to thoroughly understand what really happen to the main characters, what makes them who they are and why they act in certain ways.

The characters created by Roberts in this book are real and well balanced. Luke, for instance, is a good looking, well-behaved, strong and stubborn character, but at the same time, he is actually an extremely vulnerable person. His past shapes him that way and this can’t be shaken off by simply moves on. Roxy, on the other hand, is a delicate, beautiful and soft character but she also has strong traits in her that keeps her standing when she faces difficult situations. All these make Honest Illusions an extremely delightful read.

A story about true love between lovers, true love among family members and about trust and acceptance, Honest Illusions is indeed a kind of book that must be read by those who enjoy contemporary romance. I enjoyed it great and is definitely one of the books that I’ll re-read in the future.

Final Verdict: With its beautiful, lyrical prose, Honest Illusions is a meaningful and beautiful book with its own capability to make you laugh, cry and sigh at one time or another. This is the kind of book that will  captivate and pull you in before you realise it.

Memorable Quote: He [Luke] makes me remember not to forget. If you forget all the pain, the loneliness, the despair, you forget to be grateful for the lack of it - Maximillian "Max" Nouvelle

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Choice
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Series: Stand alone 
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Pages: 317 Pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Overall Rating:

Synopsis (from the book cover):

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life - boating, swimming and barbecues with his close buddies - he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship would only cramp his style. That is until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighbourly, the attractive, red-head seems to have a grudge against him. Still, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbour, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey neither could have foreseen.

First Sentence: Stories are as unique as the people who tell them, and the best stories are those in which the ending is a surprise.

My Review: Some might say that life is not complete without love. Logically, Travis Parker denies that the fact is true but when he sees the life of his friends, complete with family of their own, Travis knows that there is a part in his heart that is still missing. When a little misunderstanding cause his new neighbour, Gabby Holland, crashes into his house, Travis finds himself thoroughly attracted to her. Cute, outspoken, a little too energetic and a little too insecure, Gabby seems to snug nicely into his heart but the only problem now is that Gabby belongs to someone else. Set in a quiet, small town North Carolina, the story unravels the love between Travis and Gabby, the path that brings them together and the tragic occurrence that drifts everything apart.

Like many other books by Sparks, The Choice is pretty much simple, predictable and emotional read. Readers are not really introduced to something apparently different from the author other writing, which after awhile, makes this book a little bit boring. However, as a master in this genre, Sparks knows how to attract his readers, he knows how to pull on his readers’ heartstrings and he definitely knows where to put the twist in the story that keep his readers reading till the end, finding out what is going to happen eventually.

The Choice is written in two parts where the first one comprises of Travis’s reminiscence of his past while the second is more about the present things that are happening. Travis is undoubtedly a very interesting character. He is the kind who knows what he wants, who works hard towards the thing that he wants and never let anything stop him from achieving something. Gabby, on the other hand, is a little bit unsure on just about everything that she does in her life where every single decision she has to make will cause a huge chaos in her head. This difference between these two lovers is definitely the main cause that draws them together.

The way the love story between these two played out in the book is quite interesting, in my opinion. Though, I am a little disappointed to see that, once again, Sparks make it too easy for someone to show love and to fall in love. I’m hoping that he might implement something that is closer to the reality. The Choice is not really the strongest book by Sparks though I doubt that I can resist from reading his other books in near future.

Final Verdict: Another simple, heart-warming and bittersweet book by Sparks. I didn’t really enjoy this book much because I think the pattern of this book is too similar from his other writing. However, I believe that those who haven’t taste any or some other better books by Sparks will still be enthralled by this story.

Memorable Quote: I love you Gabby. And not just for the person you are, but for the way you make me think that we can be - Travis Parker

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Rescue
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Series: Standalone book
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 420 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Overall Rating:

Synopsis (from the book cover):

Volunteer fireman Taylor McAden is driven to take terrifying, heroic risks to save lives. But there's one leap into the unknown he can't bring himself to make: He can't fall in love. A man who likes to rescue troubled women, he inevitably leaves them as soon as they want more from him. Then, one day, a record-breaking storm hits his small Southern town, and Taylor comes across a young single mother named Denise Holton in a crashed car. When she revives, Taylor finds himself looking for her missing son - and involved in a rescue different from all the others. This one will require him to open doors to his past slammed shut by pain. And, with Denise's help, dare him to make the greatest commitment of all: Love someone forever.   

I have been a fan of Nicholas Sparks for quite sometime now and have already read couple of his books. While his other works – like “The Notebook”, “The Wedding” and “A Walk to Remember” – were brilliant, this book didn’t seem to fare as good as the others. It certainly lacking the *umph* factor that its predecessors had: a tear-jerking, warmth and an in-depth love story.

The Rescue chronicled the life of Dennis Holton and Taylor McAden, who were two people that lived in the same town but hardly known each other. Dennis lived a very quiet life with her son, Kyle, who had language-learning disability. Taylor, on the other hand, was a contractor and also a volunteer fireman. Their paths intertwined when Kyle went missing on the night the accident occurred and Taylor was part of the rescue team. From there, the two of them got closer and as they learnt more about each other, one questioned popped in mind – Whose life actually was the one that needed to be saved?

The beginning of this book was rather interesting in which it started off with couple of suspenseful chapters. Nevertheless, after the whole “rescue” bit was done, the story flattened and started to drag quite a bit. It took forever for the romance and characters to develop and from there, everything pretty much moved to the logical, predictable, overly simplified ending. Perhaps I was expecting a bit more from Sparks after reading his excellent books before but sadly, this book certainly didn’t live up to my expectation. Despite of that, I still believe that Sparks deserved a credit for his in depth research on Kyle’s medical condition. He successfully described how difficult life could be for someone when the one they loved was inflicted with such illness or disabilities.

As the final verdict, I would say that this is just an OK read for me as I think the book could be made a lot thinner (It is twice the size of Sparks's typical books and most of its content in the middle are redundant) while the sentimental parts of the book should be kept at a more average level.

Favourite Quote:
Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

Title: Sundays at Tiffany's
Author: James Patterson
Series: Stand alone book
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 307
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Overall Rating:

Synopsis (from the book cover):

Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, a powerful Broadway producer, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewelry at Tiffany's. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He's perfect. But only she can see him. Michael can't stay forever, though. On Jane's birthday he leaves, promising her that she'll soon forget him. Years later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets someone---a handsome, comforting, funny man. He's perfect. His name is Michael...

Being a romantic at heart, I really can't help falling in love with this book. Michael was an imaginary friend who befriended a young girl named Jane. They had this date on every Sundays at St. Regis Hotel where Jane would luxuriate her favourite hot fudge and coffee ice cream sundae while talking with Michael just about everything under the sun. Michael always acted like Jane's personal angel, invisible babysitter and without doubt, the very best kind of friend a person could have.

However, an imaginary friend didn't come to stay, hence someway, somehow, Michael would have to leave Jane. On the night the young girl turned 9 years old, Michael left with a promise that she would not remember even a piece of his existence. Nevertheless, he was wrong as at the age of 32, the image of Michael was still vivid in Jane's eyes. So when out of sudden, they meet again - 23 years later - neither of them could really understand what's happening. To Jane, this was the happiest day of her life, but to Michael, he was confused as to what purpose was he being sent there? Was he supposed to take care of Jane again? Or was there someone else that he needed to keep his keen eyes onto?

I love just about everything in this novel except for its length, which I found too short. I liked both of its main characters very much especially the ways they show how much they care for each other and how heartwarming things to feel like whenever they are together. Michael's affectionate trait towards anyone that he cared about tug at my heartstring and he certainly didn't fail to make me smile throughout the book with his childish jokes and behaviours. To those looking for quick, romantic escape, this surely is a book for you. It may also be enjoyed by the fan of "If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern".

Favourite Quote:
"Love means you can never be apart" - Jane Margaux