Mini-Comments

Ruthless. That was what they said about Damien Rosier. Handsome. Wealthy. Powerful. Merciless. No one messed with his family, because to do so they would have to get through him. No one thought he had a heart. Not even the woman he gave his to.
Cynical. That was what they said about Jasmin Bianchi. A top perfumer of her generation, Jess had achieved commercial success by growing a protective shell over a tender heart. The one time she cracked it open to let Damien in, he crushed it—after a night of unbelievable passion.
Lovers. That one magical night couldn’t survive the harsh light of dawn. When Jess woke up to discover the man in bed beside her had stolen her company, she fled.
Enemies. Now she’s come to the south of France with a threat to his family heritage. If he wants to reclaim both it and the woman who walked away from him, he’s going to have to fight as dirty as only Damien can.
But Jess knows how to fight dirty, too. And these days, she has nothing left to lose.
Certainly not her heart.

In his acclaimed novels Hunting Midnight and The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Richard Zimler has spun luminous historical fiction from the experience of the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula. Spanning decades and continents, his new novel is set in the lush world of colonial India during the age of the Inquisition. Here is the astonishing story of Tiago Zarco, a young man whose family fled forced conversions in Portugal and now lives in a twilight between local Hindus and the ruling Portuguese Catholics. As Tiago comes of age in Goa, the capital of the spice trade, he struggles to keep the far-reaching powers of the Inquisition from destroying his family and pulling him apart from the Hindu girl he loves. When an act of betrayal puts his beloved father in prison, Tiago is forced to hunt down the traitor and make an unimaginable choice…and for him, a harrowing journey begins–one that will show him the depths of human depravity, and the dark, poisonous salvation of revenge….
At once a grand historical adventure and a riveting tale of love and mystery, Guardian of the Dawn brilliantly illuminates a world that has rarely been described–in a novel that blazes with passion, fury, and hope.

Comment: I've been quite swift in finishing some books lately, so here I left two more small comments on books by authors I also read last month. These two new additions weren't that different from the previous ones, and I feel I don't have to spend a lot writing about them, as any information would be repetitive.

A Wish Upon Jasmine is the second installment in the La Vie en Roses series by author Laura Florand. As it happened with the previous installment, this was one was also a little boring. Again, we have this introspective style, int he same mental process we have when we think stuff to ourselves. This feels like not even thinking at all when it's something we do, but to read about it won't feel the same and it's repetitive and the plot doesn't seem to move forward. It's a pity, actually because the story is sweet. 

Damien and Jasmine met one night, they felt magical with one another but a misjudgment caused Jasmine to run and now that they are together in the same place over a sudden inheritance, they reconnect and the words they exchange are amazing, their love scenes very special. This is very cute overall, the reasons why we should like and care for the characters is very clear, but the story is also without much action, therefore boring at times. 

I loved this style in the first 3 or four books by the author. Then it became repetitive and lately, only too boring. I think this might be it for me when it comes to Laura Florand...

Grade: 6/10

Guardian of the Dawn is the third installment in the loosely connected Sephardic Cycle books centered in Portuguese-Jewish descendants of a certain family throughout the centuries. In this third story, the action takes place in the Portuguese colony of Goa, in India.

As expected, the story is well written, fascinating and filled with gray-shaped situations, which means the reader can decide what to defend and what to condemn. Some scenes feel very strong, emotionally, while others make everything easier but this is the author's talent, to make one think about things. 

As it happened with the previous books, the central story is rich and detailed, the author investigated the time period and that feels very well presented and allows for the readers to learn things too. I like how this author's books seem so well balanced, even if his views on this and that can also look too obvious. However, just the experience of reading about complex characters who see themselves in complicated situations and can't always control what happens not only is quite realistic but a status we still live with nowadays. 

An engrossing reading for certain, but the style is very similar among his work but unlike the previous book, this felt easier to read. One can also say the author's voice is easily recognizable.

Grade: 7/10