Last year, when I read a few books by Andaleeb Wajid, like The Nikah, It Waits, They Moved and All Drama No Queen, I wasn’t really intrigued by her work. But as I started reading her romance novels, I was smitten. So, this review (of 5 different books) is a compliment to that. Oh! And, I loved the cover of ‘Will the Oven Explode?’.

BOOK DETAILS

Name: An Evening to Remember/A Night to Cherish/Will the Oven Explode/Forever Yours/The Murder at Lemon Tree Grove
Author: Andaleeb Wajid
Format: Softcopies
Number of pages: 302/272/218/290/217
Availability: Amazon (Check Amazon Kindle Unlimited for her books)
Rating: 4/5

TITLE & SUBTITLES

The titles were apt for their respective storylines.

LANGUAGE

The English language used is simple and can be understood by anyone. The fun new word for today is gobsmacked.

BLURBS

An Evening to Remember – This is a story of Dhruv and Nayantara in Karimbagh. They spend one evening together, as a result of a blind date set up for them by a common friend, and then the Pandemic strikes. With no surname or contact details exchanged, Nayantara makes a few inquiries and takes a step forward to visit Dhruv. Amid misunderstandings, love, siblings, Dhruv’s hotel and her unpublished book, Nayantara is wondering if they were really meant to be.

A Night to Cherish – As a sequel to the above story, Sitara (Dhruv’s twin sister) and Naveen find it difficult to be together despite their desire for each other. With several memories of the past, confusion and secret meet-ups, Naveen is hoping that she will eventually come around and proclaim her love for him.

Will the Oven Explode – This is a cute story of a married couple where the wife, Ayn, transforms from someone who was a kitchen disaster to someone whose recipes are a hit with her followers. But when she receives information that she is nominated for an award, she goes to inform her husband, Ehan, only to find that he is planning to leave her and their house, after 5 years of marriage.

Forever Yours – This book is split into three parts.

• Part 1 – Hatefully Yours – by Alisha Kay – The story revolves around Manan who fights his feelings for Aditi, whom he hates because she is the reason his younger cousin, Mihir, committed suicide a few years ago. Despite their differences, Manan and Aditi organize a bachelor party for Karthik, their best friend, in Goa. Manan is baffled, hurt, upset, confused and feels foolish when Mihir’s older sister, Anju, reveals the truth that her father was trying to hide in order to protect his reputation; the truth that Aditi knew all along. You can also read The Maharaja’s Fake Fiancé by Alisha Kay.
  
• Part 2 – Sinfully Yours – by Shilpa Suraj – This story is about how a rich Bollywood star, Sidharth Singhal, falls in love with a pretty and strong bartender, Dani (who is unaware of his fame), in Goa. He initially pukes on her due to his excessive drinking. They get together soon enough but he is shocked when he finds out who she really is.
  
• Part 3 – Deceitfully Yours – by Andaleeb Wajid – This story is the climax of the bachelor/bachelorette party organized in Part 1. The bachelorette party was hosted by Sid, for his best friend, Sanjana. While Sanjana and Karthik are confused about their feelings for each other, the end is a shock to everyone present at the party.

The Murder at Lemon Tree Grove – This is a story of a housewife, Iqra Ahmed, who shifted base to a new community along with her husband, Saad, due to his work. While settling into her new life, the old lady next door yells at her for creating a ruckus. Iqra makes a few friends and learns that the old lady doesn’t like anyone in the neighbourhood. Though she is upset by her rudeness, Iqra, who is home alone all day, snoops around and feels determined to find the old lady’s killer. This is when she finds out sad truths and secrets that overwhelm her.

REASONS I LIKED THE BOOKS

*All the above-mentioned books were easy to read, fast-paced and had no boring chapter in them. Though I mostly guessed what the romantic ends would be, I was curious to know about the flow of events that would lead to them.
*The books had very few words for which I had to use Google.
*All the books had a unique story, different from one another. Even the lovey-dovey scenes were distinct.
*I loved the perfectly coordinated stories by the three authors in Forever Yours.
* The Murder at Lemon Tree Grove had an unexpected end with good twists and turns. I found the book to be very well written.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

There were very few negligible errors that could have perhaps been edited more efficiently.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Firstly, I was amazed that all the above books, and more, were released in 2022. An Evening to Remember, Will the Oven Explode & A Night to Cherish were released just a month apart from each other.

Secondly, the stories are all so different from one another that I just wanted to read more. It has been years since I’ve read a Mills&Boons novel (despite the several that are present in my library). But here, I noticed that unlike in the Mills&Boons books, these heroes are mostly aware that they must use a condom as a safety measure. I also noticed that the women are more independent than the ones in the previous generation of romance novels. Therefore, I’m quite a fan of this writer and would definitely read more of her books in the coming months.

Have you read her novels yet? What’s your take on them?

I’m participating in the #TBRChallenge by Blogchatter