Monday, June 22, 2015

Book Review: More for the Heart by Ekta R. Garg


More For the Heart, by Ekta R. Garg
2015, 65p, Clean Contemporary Fiction
My Rating=3.5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



Two more stories about the power of love. Two more stories about the characters you remember. Two more stories for the heart.

“Making The Proposal”: Readers learned in Two for the Heart about the end of Pooja and Akshay’s unique arrangement—get married and then prepare their divorce papers—but did you wonder how it began? Just how did Pooja and Akshay make this crazy deal in the first place? Find out in this first story in More for the Heart.

“Reminiscence”: In Two for the Heart, sisters Rose and Helen reconnect with great reluctance after an 11-year estrangement. These two women have spent more than a decade apart. What convinces Rose to stay this time around? Sit at the table with Rose and watch her internal transformation in the second story in More for the Heart.


A few months ago, I reviewed the companion book to this, titled Two For the Heart. You can learn more about that and read my review on it here

The teaser for the first story was that we would find out the reasons Pooja and Akshay agreed to get married. "Making the Proposal" is the "rest of the story" for Pooja and Akshay. I think we got enough clues in the first book that I felt like I already knew the reasons so this story seemed a bit redundant to me. However, I do like Pooja and Akshay and they were fun to read about. I enjoyed learning how they met and reading about their courtship and their early interactions with each other's families. I wouldn't mind reading even more about them in the future.

I felt like I got a little more out of Rose's story, "Reminiscence." She wanted to become someone and left those she loved behind as she struck out to fulfill her dream. She does some reflecting in this story and is trying to determine if it was all worth it. We also get a glimpse into the thoughts of the man she left behind and the decisions he made. I didn't feel like there was closure to this story but rather we got each sister's perspective of what happened between them to get them where they are.

While I do find this concept interesting, I think I would personally enjoy one book rather than two. I tend to forget details so sometimes it takes me a while to get involved with characters again. Or, I just need to read them back to back so the stories will flow more easily for me. I think the author does a great job of giving just enough information to make a satisfying read but with enough questions to make you want more. I didn't feel that this second book answered every single question, and I thought it worked well for these stories. I'm not yet ready to give a final verdict on these so I'm looking forward to reading more!



Since the start of her publishing career in 2005 Ekta has edited and written about everything from health care to home improvement to Hindi films. She has worked for: The Portland Physician Scribe, Portland, Oregon's premier medical newspaper; show magazines for home tours organized by the Portland Home Builders Association; ABCDlady.com; The Bollywood Ticket; The International Indian; and the annual anthologies published by the Avondale Inkslingers, based in Avondale, Arizona.

In 2011 Ekta stepped off the ledge and became a freelancer. She edits short stories and novels for other writers, contributing to their writing dreams. She is also a part-time editor for aois21, and she reviews books for her own book review blog as well as NetGalley, TypeReel, and Bookpleasures.com.

Prairie Sky Publishing serves as the publishing arm of Ekta's professional writing blog, The Write Edge (thewriteedge.wordpress.com). When she's not writing, Ekta is a domestic engineer--known in the vernacular as "a housewife." She's married, has two energetic daughters who keep her running, and she divides her time between keeping house and fulfilling her writing dreams.

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