BLURB:
A man who comes
home from battle to find that his wife has deserted him...
A woman who thinks her husband pretended to be dead and never cared enough to
return home…
Maj. Tejveer Singh is an ex-serviceman from the Indian Army, decorated for his
exemplary courage. After resigning from service with near-fatal wounds, he
returns home to the life-altering news that his wife, Megha, has disappeared. A
devastated Tej comes to the painful conclusion that she has deserted him for
good.
Megha has a different story to tell. The news about Tej’s ‘death’ at the hands
of the enemy breaks down her emotional equilibrium. She escapes to London, far
away from everything that would remind her of Tej.
Three years later, Megha, now a gourmet writer, returns to India. Life grinds
to a halt again, when she comes face-to-face with Tej at a party in Mussourie.
Fired by rage and betrayal they confront each other even as unresolved issues,
an unequal power equation, buried suspicions and angst from their troubled
marriage hover like phantoms once more.
Both want to know the truth about the other. Pride and mistrust prevents both
of them from revealing it first!
Cut off from the world for a week, they become engrossed in a utopia where
neither of them talks about the past or the future. However, time is ticking
by…and the potent secret between them is waiting to explode.
Will they be able to resolve the deadlock without tearing away from each other?
MY TAKE ON IT:
I downloaded a copy
of this book from Amazon when it was available for free. This review has been
long due and for this I apologise to the author.
I have read A Silver Dawn
by Leena Varghese and found the book unputdownable.
I started reading A Bittersweet Reprieve and had to finish
it in one sitting as the story of Tej and Megha pulled me in. Leena has turned
indie with this book and she can feel absolutely proud of it.
Tej is a hero to
die for, his character with its flaws making him a perfect protagonist. The reader
can see Megha’s growth as a character between the present and the flashbacks
from the past. The love scenes are hot and steamy and peppered throughout the
story, a joy for all romance readers.
I so enjoyed the
scenes from Mussoorie, the author’s words painting vivid pictures of the snow
and the apple trees, making me want to visit the place.
What totally
impressed me was the author’s language. It’s excellent and a joy to read in its
flawlessness that is truly commendable.
The ending was what
made the story delicious with all the little bits tied off to perfection. An
out-and-out romance.
A couple of things
could have worked better for me: one is the cover and another is that the story
lags slightly in the middle. But I am going with 5 stars despite that since
otherwise I might have had to give the book 7 stars out of5. Oh yeah, it’s that
good.
