R J SamuelRezensionen

I really loved the way this one was written. The way the writer describes things is beautiful, vivid and emphasizes passion. The story itself is fairly basic. Normally I roll my eyes at love at first sight stories, but I think the descriptions carry enough emotion to make the concept more believable to a cynic like me.

While I like happy endings, this is a case where I'm not sure if having one was the right decision. On one hand, its unbelievably cute how it ended and I liked the scene itself. On the other hand, the entire time I was thinking 'no way'. It just wasn't believable, but is that a bad thing? I don't know, I still liked the ending.

All in all, a nice story

What a gripping tale! Congrats to Samuel for winning the 2018 Ann Bannon Popular Choice award.

I'm not a fan of books that jump from past to present because I lose focus. However, in An Outsider Inside, the emotional connection between a past tale and the present one kept me glued to my seat til I finished the book—homework be damned. In addition, I like Samuel's pacing from the past to present (or scene to scene). Just about every character have a certain level of complexity that's engaging. The major and minor plots are well-developed and interestingly multidimensional. Samuel kept me guessing about Lana, Jaya, Ishmael, and what Chole would ultimately do. Towards the end, there's a turn of events I totally did not see coming. An Outsider Inside is one of those stories that stays with you.

Great book! I highly recommend it! Read it...like yesterday!

With the sheer volume of lesfic titles coming out, now more than ever, the book summary has to really hook the reader or it will be easily glossed over, forgotten or buried under an ever growing pile of TBRs, especially if it is an indie. This book has one of the vaguest blurbs I’ve ever encountered and I wouldn’t have taken a second look if I hadn’t fallen in love with the author’s writing in [b:A Place Somewhere|21458190|A Place Somewhere|R.J. Samuel|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394749903s/21458190.jpg|40772925].

Falling Colours is a paranormal mystery with a lesbian romance. The premise sounds like something straight out of Twilight Zone. Kiran is a half-Irish, half-Indian woman who quit her budding engineering career in Galway to follow what she feels is her true calling--vision painting. This particular talent is a little more involved than fortune telling though. The vision painter supposedly has the power to realize the clients’ visions or dreams. That is a truly scary power to have. So the rules and regulations that govern vision painting are very stringent.

Kiran has another problem however. Vision painting is as Indian as curry. But she is what the Asians call a banana (yellow outside/white inside--she may look exotic but she’s Irish through and through). Her cursory knowledge of India and its customs means she isn’t very good in marketing herself as such (e.g., dressing up or talking like a guru or swami, lol). She can't even fake an Indian accent. Her very Irish clients don’t really know what to make of her talent or how to pay her back (material compensation is not allowed). So she languishes in her waitressing job and worries about being able to afford winter heating. Neither can she expect much help from home. Women vision painters aren’t allowed in her tradition-bound ‘profession’ back in India, not to mention a lesbian one. So she’s also the family’s dirty little secret.

The author’s prose is a bit different if you’re not used to her style, but it is a good different--very descriptive and emotional. The first few chapters establishing Kiran’s cred are rather confusing. I didn’t really understand how vision painting works until we actually see her in action. And then it hits you in the face. What a whammy! Things start to pick up from there. There is danger, cheating, betrayals, a possible murder or two, kidnapping and other shenanigans.

Out of the blue, the author chose a certain POV that really surprised me. Some people don’t like it, but for me, it’s what elevated the book from another run-of-the-mill paranormal whodunit and earns from me the extra star. I love Marge’s POV. Rich housewife, meddling mother, a one-time unfaithful wife--her actions are horrid. But she’s so human and typical mother-knows-best--well-meaning but totally clueless and off the mark. Her POV is revealing, poignant, ironic and often funny as hell in a black comedy kind of way (well mainly because she’s also very dead!). Her deadpan (pun intended!) declarations and observations are hilarious, again because of her particular situation. I love all the other characters too--Delilah in particular. She’s a delight to read. All the other assorted characters--good guys, bad guys--they’re are all done very well. The author creates such distinctive character voices, except for Ashley, who was a little vague and bland, but mainly, I guess, because she's always trying to conform to others' expectations of her. I love the ending too--cliche-ish but a concession to readers like me who need their HEA, even for the dead.

A caveat for romance lovers. This isn’t equal parts mystery and romance. The subtitle is after all, Misadventures of a Vision Painter. There is a beautiful romance but it is rather understated although the chemistry is there. There is a lot of intrigue and angsty human drama to take up the slack though. If you’re looking for something a little different than the usual lesfic and paranormal tropes, this is a good combo and won’t disappoint.

5 stars

Short and sweet and full of longing. I wonder if this is autobiographical? ;)

Alex Hart is a woman on a personal crusade. After completely uprooting her routine accountant's life to move across the ocean for what she thinks is true love, she finds out that the woman doesn't even exist. Deceived, defrauded and shamed, she is unable to return home to face her family and friends. But instead of useless moping or grieving, she has somehow managed to channel all her pain, anger and desire for vengeance into a semi-productive pursuit--sniffing out similar scams for her clients.

But one client wants her to take it one step further. Not only does she want Alex to investigate her daughter's online lover, she also wants Alex to run interference and break them off.

But of course, things don't go according to plan, and Alex finds herself smack in the middle of an impossibly complicated situation.

The plot sounds pretty simple and straightforward, but this is so much more than a lesfic romance. The author explores so many thought-provoking themes I've lost count: the incomprehensible mindlessness behind devastating deception; the vulnerabilty of even the most logical people; the loss of innocence, faith and trust from betrayal; the hopelessness and desperation of people struck down by personal tragedy and/or a failed economy; the healing power of truth, forgiveness and a community that comes together, and so many others--I haven't read a recent book that managed to do all that and still work a good page-turning mystery through it all.

This is not a light read at all. A depressing mood permeates most of the first half of the book--from the lead character's guilt-ridden initial deception (that can't possibly end well no matter what she does) to the tragic consequences of the Irish property bubble that saddled most of the other characters of the book--I honestly almost gave up reading halfway through. But the exuberance of Sasha, the tenacity of Maggie, the innocence and beauty of Breanna and Cynthia, the gradual (and very well paced) development of the romance (both online and in person) made me hang in there and I'm so glad I did, or I would have missed the incredible twist (totally unexpected but very plausible), the gut-wrenching result, and all that angst that makes the ending worth staying up all night to read.

I musn't forget to mention the very effective and powerful use of Irish settings, beautiful or bleak, lush or barren--they're almost like characters in the book.

When I first finished the book, I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the book's premise that people can be so totally fooled. But a little bit of research on the net showed that what happened to the ladies in the book aren't that farfetched. There's even a name for such schemes: catfishing.

So I'm upgrading my rating to 5 solid stars!

This is both a sequel and a prequel to Falling Colours. In the first book, the background behind Kiran’s vision painting talent was only cursorily touched upon and seemed a little lacking. Its all here though, in all its Indian glory. If you like the first book, definitely dive into this for the backstory and the history of vision painting. It is not as straightforward or as boring as it seems.

Rather than just blabber on about the history, the author weaves a terrifying mystery that Kiran needs to solve and in the process unearth more about her past. The people closest to her heart are struck down and put in grave danger by a seemingly rogue vision painter. Kiran rushes back to the place where it all started--in Kerala, India. But she is up against a 200-year tradition of silence, obedience and prejudice against women.

The story alternates between two timelines: Kiran’s rush to solve the mystery and save her loved ones and her parents’ forbidden love--a fortuitous event that set the whole chain of events in motion over 30 years ago.

In the first book and the start of the second book, Kiran’s father Ji comes off as somewhat of an annoying know-it-all prick who only cares about politics and his own reputation. But he is redeemed in this second book as Kiran discovers what really went downand how much he sacrificed again and again for his love of Elizabeth and for Kiran. Kiran’s parents’ love story is a compelling read. Ji, Kiran’s father, a prominent ‘chosen’ son and anointed successor to the vision painting throne, falls in love with Elizabeth, an illegitimate daughter of a disgraced Irish priest and an Indian woman. Against everyone's advice and order, Ji choses love over duty while other forces conspire to keep him from his place in the council.

Just like in the first book, the author’s prose is again very descriptive and incredibly immersive. I can almost sweat while Kiran rushes about in Kerala as I shivered with her in the first book which was mostly set in Ireland. The intrigue is again, well done and the revelation of the mystery vision painter was a bit of a surprise (didn’t see that coming). A lot of the strange rules about vision painting are cleared up here--such as the ‘men only’ rule (omg!!); how negative painting can happen and how the history we learned is often the uber-sanitized version of things and carefully manipulated to fit a certain 'truth'.

A caveat (again) for romance readers: If you’re expecting more Kiran/Ashley than the first book, prepare to be disappointed. They spend most of the book apart. Quality time rather than quantity time here. If you can take that, and hot Indian afternoons, go for this book!

P.S. I find that I enjoyed the first book more--mainly because of the lighter and somewhat irreverent tone. This is a much more serious read.

Very well written medical mystery. Sometimes the medical terms and info got in the way but not enough to spoil the plot of the story. I look forward to reading Ms. Samuel's next novel, which is already on my Kindle waiting its place in line.