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 :)