Always You Tour ~Spotlight and Review ~ Shilpa Mudiganti

 

Welcome to my stop at the Always You Blog Tour! I want to thank InkSpell Publishing  and author Shilpa Mudiganti for organizing this event. My stop includes a book spotlight and review. The tour runs from February 6th – March 6th.

There's also a Release Day Party on March 6th, there will be a link to a giveaway spread over all the participating blogs, so all visitors from all the blogs are eligible to participate. You will have a chance to win a copy Always You. The contest would also be open internationally.

Book Title: Always You
Author: Shilpa Mudiganti
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing
Publication Date: March 6th 2012
Format: eBook, Paperback, Kindle

Lyla has to move on. She’s been stuck in a rut since her heart was broken five years ago. Trying to decide about life with her fiancé, Nick, she resolves to finish one last project before moving to Spain and starting a new life. That is until she is face to face with the one man who broke her heart all those years ago, Alexander Knight.

Five years ago, when Alex and Lyla meet at his friend, Andrew’s grave, they fall deeply in love. But, Alex is hiding a secret that will destroy his relationship with Lyla and does. What Lyla doesn’t realize is that Alex has changed since their break-up, because of her love, only she still has hate in her heart towards him.

But now, fate has brought them together in such a way that they have no option but to remain dangerously close – dangerous enough for Lyla to fall in love with him again. How can she? Not after what she knows about Alex and what he did to Andrew.

It’s true that love can change people for the better. But is it enough? What will happen when two broken people with a past come together? Can they forgive and heal?

Book Excerpt

After the hour-long meeting, Alex sat alone in the conference room... It had been five years, two months, and sixteen days since he last saw her. In her white blouse with puffy sleeves and that black skirt hugging her figure intimately, she looked lovely and vulnerable. He didn’t miss the grimace on her face the moment she laid eyes on him, but the look of recognition in her deep green eyes made him alive in a way he felt nowhere else.

What he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her soft, velvety lips, but he knew how impossible that would have been. Neither the surroundings nor their past would allow that.

He had lost her five years ago and failed to win her back. None of his calls and letters were ever answered. After a year of relentless pursuit, he gave up and quietly acknowledged that Lyla would be the one woman he could never have.

It was not his nature to share how difficult it was to lose her. No one expected him to ever lose. After all, he was Alexander Knights, the man who could have any woman he wanted. But he terribly missed her each day and his body ached for her closeness each night. Yet she wouldn’t come back to him because of one mistake, the guilt of which he could never forget.

He knew it was a huge mistake, but first she had to forgive him. He didn’t think it would take so long. However, he tried to move ahead and thought he had safely tucked her into a hidden corner of his heart. Seeing her today proved that wouldn’t work, not when she stood across the room from him, her dark lush hair brushing her soft cheeks?

His stomach muscles clenched as he replayed the image of her shaking hands with everyone in the room, and how hesitantly she had shook his. As their hands connected, he had felt a tremor pass through her. Had she felt it too? Was it longing, pain, or love? Maybe she had. Maybe there was a chance for them yet.

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My Review: 

The summary of the book sounded very promising, the beginning started slow and then picked up in the middle of the book. The author kept me in suspense until mid way, that is when I found out what Alex did that destroyed their relationship.

I have to be honest, I had a tough time liking Lyla. She first came across as the victim, her heart broken over a deception of her former boyfriend, Alex; she has since moved on and now engaged to Nick. But that all changes for me once Alex is introduced, as the author gave us more insight to Alex, I soon discovered that he is actually the victim, he has been carrying around guilt of the death of his friend, Andrew. Lyla skedaddled the minute she heard from a third party that Alex may have played a role in Andrew's death. Never giving him a chance to tell her his side of the events. That was one strike against her.

The author did little to develop the character of Lyla's fiance, Nick, we weren't given to much of a background on how they met or any depth to their relationship. I did learn that Nick was a man in love and he is also a patient man, giving Lyla all the time she needed.  I don't typically like characters who use other people, it makes the character appear weak to me. To me, Lyla was doing the same thing to Nick that she accused Alex of doing to her, not being truthful. She knew she didn't love Nick but she kept leading him on, caring little for his feelings. She had an opportunity to break off the engagement but what did she do, she took his ring "hastily" and put it on her finger, right then and there. This act confused me, she is upset that Alex wasn't honest with her and then she isn't truthful with Nick, she let him believe they had a future together.

There were parts of the book I really liked, I like the unraveling of what actually happened in the accident, I like the hero Alex and there was great chemistry between the characters. This is a quick read, but still brings you a good romance.

I suggest you read it, it might be just the right book for you!

Rating:     3 Hearts

             

About the Author

Shilpa Mudiganti Mirza grew up making up 

stories in her head. Starting with innocent babbling, genre of her stories changed with lessons growing up teaches us all. She thought life would be all about her stories until she completed her technical degree. Security of an IT job lured her leaving her stories to continue brew up in her head. Yet soon she had to fall in step with what fate had planned for her and she penned her first romance novella, Always You to be published by Inkspell Publishing. There has been no looking back since then. Juggling her day job as an IT geek, she has penned down her pet project, an exciting fantasy story of lions and wolves which, to her utter delight, is going to see the light of the day early next year. She says you would fall in love with her wonderful hero and heroine.

When she has time to breathe, she spends time blogging, connecting with her readers and spending time with her loving husband. She lives at Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.

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