A Review!

I heart reviews. I really, really do. I don’t have a heart emoticon on my Wordpress platform but if I did, you’d be seeing some major heart action.

I also heart Puerto Rico. There are many reasons why I’m feeling very at home here, which I will get into one of these days on this blog, when I’m not under major deadline for a travel article I’m working on (yay!), but for now, suffice to say that Puerto Rico rocks, and not just because everyone is my height and wear their flats with pride.

Back to the review - this is what the lovely Eli Shulenburg of Need More Shelves had to say:

“I’m not sure I’ve read a book that was this much fun in a long time. Things are heading toward summer in my neck of the woods (I say heading, because we’ve had a pretty gray and gloomy week, but I still have hope), and Cutting Loose just FELT like a summer book. It’s set mainly in sunny Miami, and has a light, breezy tone that would make it perfect “sitting in the sun with a tropical drink in your hand” fare.

Dajani’s three main characters take turns narrating the novel, and each voice is distinct and developed. I felt an immediate empathy with both Ranya and Zahra - each was facing issues I could completely relate to, and it made me feel a connection to the characters right away. Rio took a little bit longer to click with me, but I came to appreciate her strength and drive, and by the end of the novel was rooting for her as well.

When I say the novel is fun and light, I don’t want to imply that it is lacking in depth or emotion. All three women have serious obstacles to face - from money and job situations to difficult family and personal relationship issues, each has to face up to their past and decide which path to take, and how to grasp happiness for themselves. It was this honest journey for each of her characters that kept me turning pages, eager to find out what happened next.

I completely enjoyed this novel. It would make a perfect beach or vacation read! It does contain adult language and situations, so if that bothers you, you might want to steer clear of this one. However, if you are looking for a novel that goes deeper than the usual chick-lit fare, but still retains the fun and romance, I would definitely recommend you pick up this book.”

Eli has alos devised one of the most original (and interesting) interview formats I’ve ever come across - based on an idea from the Fahrenheit 451where people “become” books in order to preserve the important ideas they hold, Eli asks you which book you would become, if books were suddenly in danger of being extinct. Eli hosts this interview every Friday (called “451 Fridays) on her blog, and past contributors’ choices are always fascinating and thought provoking.

You can read my interview here.

Happy Friday!