Review: 24 Hours in Italy

Traveling the world through a book will never get old and I loved experiencing Italy while reading Romi Moondi’s latest book, 24 Hours in Italy. It picks up just about where 24 Hours in Paris left off (review here) and I really enjoyed getting back together with Mira and Jake and seeing if their romance could finally stick this time around.

Here’s the book’s description:

Two years have passed since Mira and Jake missed their flight and spent a magical 24 hours together in Paris. Sparks flew. Romance bloomed. But life got in the way. When they’re reunited for another whirlwind adventure, will they connect in the same way?
Mira’s living her best life, having started a new chapter by taking a leave from her high pressure corporate position to spend time in Italy. Surrounded by amazing scenery, fantastic food and wine, and endearing locals, her life is nearly perfect—except for the thoughts of what might've been with Jake.
While Jake’s career has never been better, the move to California has been less than perfect. Still, he’s got high hopes that seeing Mira at their friends’ destination wedding can right past wrongs. Except travel has never been his strong suit, and his reunion with Mira is punctuated by another, more recent heartbreak.
When the pair collide again on the gorgeous Amalfi coast, the spark they felt in Paris is reignited, but their quest for a happy ending will surely be as rocky as the Italian coastline.

I don’t know if it’s because I, like Mira, am an elder millennial, but Jake is a pretty great book boyfriend. *fans self* I’ll get into it more below but Mira was the one who destroyed their relationship so any less-than-ideal behaviour on Jake’s part while they were together in Italy was, in my opinion, totally justified. I really loved how much you could tell that he did care for her. He was also just trying to protect himself and you can’t blame the guy. On the flipside, you can also tell that Mira is just as head over heels for Jake as he is for her. Their relationship isn’t perfect but there’s an ease there than most couples can only dream of. The everyday experiences (though I’m not sure you could call their 24 hour escapades “everyday”) the pair have are just as magical and impactful as the Big Moments can be. Not to mention the sexual chemistry between the two! It’s impossible not to root for them (a double negative Mira would be proud of and Jake would be exasperated about) and that’s part of what makes this rom com so delightful.

All that said…I know it would have been difficult for Mira and Jake to have stayed together doing the long distance thing after just 24 hours together in Paris. But the way they fell apart? I couldn’t buy it. I can understand to a point that Mira was dealing with a lot but she was acting more like a mid-twentysomething than a mid-thirtysomething and I guess I just expected more from her. Which I admit is kind of ridiculous and unfair because, hello, I quit a job during a global pandemic to go back to school at the age of 34. But I had a plan. (And I’m happy to say it’s worked out remarkably well.) Maybe I just wanted her to figure out what she wanted and stop blaming outside forces because I knew she was smart and driven, just a bit…aimless. I wanted her to stop being scared and just freaking talk to Jake. He wasn’t blameless either - he could have tried a bit harder - but Mira was definitely the one blowing up the relationship and I wasn’t sure how they’d come back from that. (But don’t worry - this is a romance!)

The other thing that kind of nagged at me was the side story of Eloise and Dembe. They’re the reason Mira and Jake have been thrown together once more as the pair was having their second wedding on the Amalfi coast. There was some sort of drama there and I found it took away from the overall story. I like the couple, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t need Eloise being an idiotic drama queen and not trusting her husband (to be) and worrying so much about the “perfect” day.

But boy was I glad Eloise and Dembe decided to have their second wedding along the coast - somewhere I’ve neve been and don’t know if I’ll ever get to. It really felt like Moondi knew the area and loved it. Experiencing the area alongside Jake and Mira was so lovely. And had me craving sunshine and everything lemon! I could perfectly picture everything and that’s a credit to Moondi’s talent and care for the country.

24 Hours in Italy is stronger than Romi Moondi’s last novel and I can’t wait to see her grow even more as an author. She writes rom coms that have an equal balance of romance and comedy with a heap of reality tossed in - nothing seems fake or manufactured just for the sake of the storyline, it’s so refreshing. Just as refreshing as traveling through Italy while reading. Check out this book if you’re in the mood to “see” Italy while rooting for a couple you can’t help but love.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Wattpad, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: 24 Hours in Paris

Full disclosure before we get rolling: I’ve known Romi Moondi/her work for over a decade, having read her indie books and helped plan an event that she was a featured author at back in 2013. I was so thrilled that she was finally being traditionally published because I knew she deserved it. Therefore, I was pretty pumped to read 24 Hours in Paris. I say this to explain there was a bit of bias and a whole lot of really high expectations going into reading this new rom com. While I can’t say that I loooved 24 Hours in Paris, I can say that it was funny, entertaining, and enjoyable.

Here’s the book’s description:

All bets are off in the City of Light . . . where life and love can change in less than a day
After calling off her engagement, Mira escapes on an all-expense paid business trip to Paris. Despite the delicious food and flowing wine, she can’t forget the ache of leaving her fiancé behind or the fact that she’s just blown up her personal life. And messing up simply isn’t Mira.
She’s used to being in control. Meticulously planning. But now she’s at the mercy of the travel gods, and they are not acting in her favor. Subways are missed. Trains don’t run. Flights are overbooked. And by the time she arrives at the airport to go home, there are no new flights to NYC until the next day. The worst part? She’s now stuck in Paris for twenty-four hours with her arrogant and insufferable co-worker Jake whose constant flirting and annoying optimism is more than she can handle.
But as they spend the next twenty-four hours in Paris, exploring the city in all its beauty, Mira realizes that she and Jake have more in common than they thought, and he may turn out to be the best thing she discovers in the City of Love.

One thing you must know about Moondi is that she is funny. I found myself laughing throughout this story and I just love how clever Moondi is and that, by extension, her characters are whip smart too. That was probably my favourite thing about both Mira and this book. Too many rom coms these days are light on the “com” – but not Moondi’s novel. (In fact, you might even argue it’s light on the “rom”.) I wish I had noted some of the particularly humorous quotes but, alas, I was enjoying my reading experience too much to stop and write anything down or take pictures! You’ll just have to read it to see what I mean!

A few other reviewers have noted something that I think bothered me but I wasn’t able to put my finger on exactly what it was. Mira had never been to Paris and yet moved around the city extremely effectively. Would it really have been that easy for her? It’s not a small city but I can’t recall a single moment where she was even remotely lost or struggling with the city. Other than, of course, the initial hullaballoo that led her to being “stuck” in the city for an extra day. And I know a lot of people in Paris speak English but Mira didn’t seem to have many language barrier issues at all either. It just didn’t ring very true to me and must have stuck with me more than I realized.

What 24 Hours in Paris does really well is inspire strong wanderlust. My goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to travel to Paris more than when I was reading Moondi’s novel. There were a few places I recognized as I read the book (recognized based almost entirely on other books and a few movies that I’ve watched based in the city) as well as several new spots that I’d love to visit someday. This part of the story was a balm during a time where travel has been really limited.

24 Hours in Paris isn’t just a romantic comedy. Romi Moondi’s novel is also a love letter to Paris. This is a book to read if you enjoy armchair traveling and characters who are funny and smart and may or may not fall in love by the time you get to the last page.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Wattpad, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Favourites with Romi Moondi

I started this "favourites" feature because I wanted a way for readers to get to know the authors attending BookBuzz Toronto, an event I'm helping with. I hope you enjoy learning a little more about these amazing women and I hope you can attend the event! Learn more about BookBuzz Toronto here.

Romi Moondi is one of the funniest authors I've read. Her novels are always hilarious and the story is so good. Her series includes Year of the Chick (free!), Last-Minute Love, and, the latest, Never or Forever. I still haven't read her newest one but I can't wait to see what it's all about.

About Romi...

Romi Moondi is a Canadian author who converted her 2008 blog “Year of the Chick” into novel form, and published it in 2011. Since then she’s added two more books to the “Year of the Chick” series, the most recent of which is “Never or Forever.” The latest book takes place in Paris, which is where Romi lived for six months this past year, after trading in her corporate job for an inspiration-seeking mission.

The books can be described as edgy romantic comedies, where happy endings are not a guarantee, but where real and embarrassing moments are in good supply. 

Romi also writes screenplays in her spare time, and her screenplay “Best Before” made it to the semi-finals or better in eight international screenplay competitions in 2011.

She’d like to see her books adapted into films one day, with the crown jewel of Canada a.k.a. Ryan Gosling as one of the male leads. Naturally.

Favourites...

Movie - It’s so hard to pick one, so here’s a few I love: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 500 Days of Summer, and Before Sunset

Chick flick - Again, it’s hard to narrow it down so I’ll say: Love Actually, Bridget Jones’s Diary, You’ve Got Mail and Serendipity (Blogger Note: I love all these too. Romi, can we have a movie date?)

Alcoholic beverage - After living in Paris...it’s gotta be champagne!

Warm beverage - hot chocolate, particularly viennois hot chocolate in Paris

Junk food - Doritos

TV show - there’s no way I can narrow this down, so: Seinfeld, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation

Travel destination - from what I’ve seen so far, Switzerland, and also New York, forever New York!

Ice cream flavour - Rocky Road

Sports team -Toronto Maple Leafs, of course!

Actor - Ryan Gosling, and Leonardo Dicaprio

Book boyfriend - Mark Darcy all the way!

Connect with Romi...
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

Guest Post: Romi Moondi

I'm so excited to welcome author Romi Moondi to Books Etc. today. I reviewed her hilarious and awesome novel Last-Minute Love earlier this week (review is here) as part of a CLP Blog Tour and today she is here with a guest post. Since I knew a little bit about her publishing journey I was curious to find out how it turned out compared to the vision she had in her head. Thanks to Romi for this awesome post!

Hi Kaley, thanks for letting me guest-post here, and I have to say, I love your question!

I guess the best measure of how I thought it would turn out goes back to early 2010, when I’d scored a literary agent in New York for “Year of the Chick.” After sending out all those query letters, dealing with the rejections, and finally securing representation, I could picture the next several years of my author life, and I imagined it going like this:

-Most publishers reject me, but one really loves my book and offers me a deal. The book takes off with the right publisher-aided marketing (ha!), I go to book signings in different cities, my agent sells foreign right in several countries, and I use my riches to write full-time…hooray!

And this is how it actually turned out:

-Publishers liked, or enjoyed, or “insert positive adjective” my book, but they didn’t love it.

-My agent didn’t like my second book, which was a humorous essay parody.

-I liked my essay book anyway, and I’d been hearing so much about Amazon self-publishing that I left my agent. I self-published “The Book of Awful” in spring of 2011.

-I realized how obscure you are as an author if you don’t do any advertising or promotions (crikey). So I started doing some advertising and promotions, by learning about various websites from author message boards.

-In November of 2011, I dusted off “Year of the Chick,” and after another minor re-write (owing to my “fresh writer eyes”), I went ahead and self-published it too.

-After doing a couple of free promotions for “Year of the Chick” and getting some great reviews, I realized there was an audience out there for my book, even if it’s not for everyone.

-In early 2012, I took a week off work (yes, my own vacation since I still have a full-time job!) and wrote the entire first draft for the sequel to “Year of the Chick.” That’s fifty-eight thousand words in six days, and I almost went insane doing it.

-After a gruelling re-write and stressful final edits, the sequel “Last-Minute Love” was released, and it’s been out for three months now. I’ve sold almost 2,000 copies of this book, and almost 4,000 copies across all my titles.

-I still have a full-time job, and I will self-publish another book in my series in 2013 (unless of course a publisher discovers my book on their own, and offers me a wonderful author-friendly contract I can’t pass up).

Okay…whoa, that is NOT how I thought my journey would turn out!

The real-life version has been anything but glamourous, but it’s been the most satisfying journey of my life. Every time a reader emails me to tell me how much they loved the series, or to even “thank me for writing,” (you’re thanking ME for writing? That’s insane!), it reminds me how this ONE special part of the journey I always imagined, the part where I would reach random strangers with my words…that part actually came true.

As for the rest? Well screw it! It’s a brave new world of publishing, one in which, granted, I fully support every writer who gets a literary agent and finds a publisher (let’s make that clear), but also one in which I’m fully independent as an author.

And it feels good :-)

(Thank you Amazon, Kobo, iTunes and Barnes &  Noble for the ability to self-publish!)

Romi

Author Bio:

I am Canadian, and here are some strange personal facts:

-I wore denim-top-to-bottom in high school (there is a direct inverse relationship between how much denim I wore and how few tongues were launched down my throat at school dances...or anywhere in high school at all).
-A homeless lady in New York once told me "You're just a bitch on vacation with no money!"
-I always hated those insufferable couples who would cuddle and make out on the subway...until I became half of one. But now I'm back to being none of one so I hate them again.

The thing I love most in the world is writing. When I first started publishing on Amazon it was my "crazy" humour side ("The Book of Awful," and "NOT Love Poems For Real Life"). Since then, everything has focused on my "Year of the Chick" series, because it's the most important thing to me in the world right now. I guess that would tend to happen, when your writing is inspired by real life, including all the satisfaction and risks that come from that.

My "Year of the Chick" series can be described as "edgy rom-com," which helps me account for the blunt conversations and mortifying family moments in the book ;-).

Book 3 in the "Year of the Chick" series will be written and released in 2013; until then I have some adventures to go on! 

Connect with Romi:

Facebook Author Page

Twitter
Blog

CLP Blog Tour: Last-Minute Love

I was incredibly excited when I learned that Romi Moondi was going on tour with Last-Minute Love, the sequel to her novel Year of the Chick (which I reviewed earlier this year). I eagerly signed up for this CLP Blog Tour and I'm so glad I did. I loved this book!

Here's the synopsis:

What's a girl to do when she meets the Internet man of her dreams, he's better than she expected, but he lives an ocean away? And let's not forget her parents,who are trying to lock her up in arranged-marriage doom... 

In this fast-paced story of culture clash and romantic pursuits, there's a big fat Indian wedding, the struggle to keep a long-distance flame alive, and an unexpected mystery man who could set a new course in motion. 

All the while, our heroine abandons what was once an all-consuming man-search, which helps her remember the person she used to be, and the person she hopes to become; the history-loving nerd, the hopeless romantic, and the emerging author with dreams of ditching the corporate rat race. 

This is the book of living in the moment, making the grand gesture, and putting it all on the line. This is when Romi Narindra comes alive...

In my review of Year of the Chick I noted that it took me awhile to get into the story. That was not the case with the sequel. I was immediately reminded of how funny Romi is and how much I adore her sense of humour. I started reading this at the gym and I'm sure I got some strange looks as I was literally laughing out loud. I just couldn't help it! The humour carries on throughout the entire novel, even when things get a little more serious and confusing for our heroine.

I realized after I finished the book that I think I connected with it so much because I felt like I was actually with Romi (the character) through all of her adventures. Romi (the author) did a great job of writing this book to really make sure her readers were fully immersed in her character's life. It was descriptive and really well done.

Even though I loved the book for the humour, there were some more serious moments in the story. I don't want to give much away but I actually found myself tearing up when Romi was discovering that what...er, who...she wanted just wasn't going to work out for her. I was both sad and angry for Romi. I hated that she got treated in such a crappy way.

Last-Minute Love isn't going to be for everyone. Romi has a particular sense of humour (one which includes multiple f-bombs) that isn't going to appeal to all readers. If you don't have delicate sensibilities and if you love a feisty heroine then I definitely recommend Romi Moondi's novels. You don't necessarily have to read Year of the Chick first but it's probably best. I'm so excited that Romi is planning on writing a third novel in this series and will eagerly await more information about the book.

A slight aside: last week I wrote a post about the ten bookish people I'd like to meet in real life. I think I need to add Romi (the real person, not the character, obviously) to that list. If she's as awesome as her fictional alter ego, I definitely want to meet her. Bonus: she's in Toronto (yay Canadian authors!) so it's not totally unreasonable. :)

Overall, I loved Last-Minute Love and I think others would love it as well. It's an amazing book that would be great for any twenty-something female. There's so much more I could say about this book but I think you should buy a copy and make up your own mind :) Make sure you check back on Wednesday when Romi stops by Books Etc. with an awesome guest post!

Author Guest Post: Romi Moondi

A big thank you to Romi Moondi for stopping by to chat about what she's up to this year. If you missed it, I reviewed her novel Year of the Chick on Tuesday as part of a CLP Blog Tour (you can read my review here). I hope you enjoy this guest post as much as I did!

"Sequel-ing" in 2012

Hi Kaley, thanks for giving me a chance to talk about what "writing life" will be in 2012!


Well…


…In 2009, writing my "Year of the Chick" blog into an edgy chick-lit novel was THE most exciting concept ever.


As 2012 begins, the thrill of writing the sequel trumps the first.


Perhaps it's because like in "Year of the Chick," an "inspired by real life" story continues, with a plot for book two that means the world to me.


It could also be the fact that I already wrote the sequel.


Last year.


As a screenplay.


I know that sounds like a topsy-turvy thing, since you only ever hear of books written first then adapted into screenplays after. Besides which, I'd never even written a screenplay in my whole frickin' life!


Needless to say, in March 2011, it was not in my plans to write a screenplay.


But I didn't really have a choice.


Now let me be clear, I was not chained to a typewriter by some over-zealous director who was forcing me to pump out the word count. Instead it was little ol' me, this freshly broken-hearted girl, who thought to herself "the last six months felt exactly like a movie…so why not write one?"


And then it began…the books I bought on how to write screenplays, the reading of free screenplays that were available online…I was obsessed. Two months, many late nights, and several writing sessions at Starbucks later, I had done it.


A fictional screenplay called "Best Before," somewhat inspired by real life.


Once I was finished, I had no idea what to do with it. I just knew that I'd obeyed the muse, so I was happy. So happy in fact, that I forked over some cash to enter international screenplay competitions.


Just for fun.


To my surprise, I advanced in seven screenplay contests in 2011. From finalist showings, to semi-finals, to top 5%, to top 15, I was overjoyed. The results made it clear that my sequel to "Year of the Chick" had just been written without my knowing.


And it all began on a whim in March 2011.


Huh.


So here I am, ready to roll up my sleeves, and turn a screenplay that means so much to me into the sequel of "Year of the Chick." I am proud to add a second installment to the "Year of the Chick" series, since that very first novel was the first full-length thing that meant the world to me.


I hope this series will mean something to a lot of readers too.


Thanks,


Romi

Chick Lit Plus Blog Tour: Year of the Chick

Thanks for stopping by on another stop on the CLP Blog Tour for Romi Moondi's novel Year of the Chick! Thanks to both Samantha and Romi for allowing me to take part in the tour :)

Let's cut to the chase - here's what this book is all about:

An awkward family homecoming at Christmas.
A humiliating public weigh-in, with two judging parents as the audience.
The announcement of a deadline for arranged marriage doom.
And that's just the first two chapters.
In "Year of the Chick," Romi Narindra must find love before her parents find her a husband. This is a difficult task in a world where self-consciousness is at an all-time high, and dating experience at an all-time low.
Severely lacking in seductive skills and uninspired by her corporate job, Romi turns to what she loves, by writing about her quest to find love on her brand new blog.
From whiskey-breath scum bags to uni-brow creeps and everything in between, Romi and her wingmen come up empty time after time. Just when giving up seems like the thing to do, she meets a fellow writer unexpectedly.
On the Internet.
So will it be arranged marriage doom, or an Internet affair that's not as creepy as "To Catch a Predator"?
Time will tell in the "year of the chick," a twelve-month quest to find love.
Tick-tock.

It took me a while before I really started to enjoy this book. I don't know if it had to do with the actual story or if I wasn't in the mood for this particular book. I'm thinking it had more to do with my frame of mind when I started it as I thoroughly enjoyed the second half of the novel. What seemed to turn it around for me was when the whole James situation (the Internet writer mentioned in the synopsis) blew up. (Sorry - that's a mild spoiler) At one point James told Romi that she plays the victim well by complaining all the time and I think that might be what turned me off Romi in the beginning. I could totally see her point (especially as I've been playing the "poor me" card lately myself. Sorry to my friends...) but it was sometimes hard to really connect with her and feel any real empathy. Once she had to face what had happened with James I felt more invested in Romi and her difficulties. Then the real fun began.

Romi is faced with some ridiculous situations. She's living with her sister and they have an unspoken rule that they don't discuss anything with each other nor do they reveal what the other is up to to their Indian parents. Who, by the way, just happen to want to marry off both their daughters to nice Indian boys as soon as possible. I don't want to give much else away but her parents seemed to have a knack of getting in the way of their daughters' lives and the results are both amusing and sad at the same time. I can't even imagine the craziness Romi would have been dealing with. That all being said - the insane parental situations provided some amusing moments. This book was funny! Though it would not be enjoyable to everyone, I found Romi's sense of humour to be refreshing and hilarious. For example, she's discussing chick flicks, You've Got Mail in particular, with a friend and says "Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are more destructive than crack cocaine." I absolutely loved that and any other female who's watched those classic chick flicks will understand what she means. There are plenty of other gems like that line that kept me giggling throughout the book.

I always appreciate when the main character in a novel has some great friends. We get to meet quite a few of Romi's friends throughout the course of the story and they all help reveal certain aspects of Romi's personality. One friend is her wing woman and they go out all the time to hunt for available men. Another is her best friend and seems to know exactly what to do and what to say to help Romi through her messy life. We also get to see Romi at a party being thrown for an Indian friend who just got married to an Australian. Romi's parents would have heart attacks at the thought of their daughter marrying a non-Indian so she talks to her friend about the culture and how it's more appealing when it's not all you are surrounded by. Very interesting stuff. What I'm trying to get at is that Romi's friends are great supporting characters. Sometimes you want to know more about the friends but I didn't feel that with this book. Moodi did a great job of figuring out just how much information to give out about the friends without comprimising Romi and the story that she needs to tell.

This book is very much for the twenty-something girl so it was right up my alley and I enjoyed reading it. I'm also super excited that there's going to be a sequel. Woohoo! After the ending in Year of the Chick I am really looking forward to finding out what else is in store for Romi. Check back on Thursday when Romi stops by Books Etc. to talk about the aforementioned sequel and what her writing life will be like in 2012.

Happy reading :)