Vegas to Varanasi

Fortytude Series Book 1

De: Shelly Hickman

Narrado por: Jazmine Ramay

Anna has never been the beautiful one; she's always been the nice one. So when the gorgeous man sitting across the table at a wedding reception remembers her from high school - and quite fondly at that - she's taken off guard.

Formerly overweight and unpopular, Kiran has never forgotten Anna, the one person who was kind to him when no one else could be bothered, and Anna's a bit flustered as she slowly comes to grips with his intense attraction for her.

In what feels like a romantic dream come true, all-grown-up, hunky Kiran invites Anna on a trip to Varanasi. But her troubled, whack-a-do ex-boyfriend starts interfering, creating drama at every turn, which begs the question, can nice girls really finish first?

©2013 Shelly Hickman (P)2017 Shelly Hickman

Cute read!

This is a cute read about finding love in your 40s. It's the perfect beach read to help you escape. It's light, funny, and lovable!

The narration was good, no major complaints.

Enjoyable

It was an interesting plot with good narration, but it was a bit confusing because the story moved from one point in time to another too quickly. I loved the characters, they were well written, especially the relationship between Anna and Kiran and parents with their children. It was full of teasing and humor, as well as cultural background and family relationships.


I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Average girl plus hot guy equals tons of fun!

In the romantic comedy genre, the average girl paired with a hot guy who just adores her, is a pretty common theme. It's a wonderful fantasy many women have, and love to live through relatable characters. Finding a story that stands out is difficult, and there has to be more to it, to make it awesome. Vegas to Varanasi, definitely has something special.

Anna's life is a modern mess. Ex-husband, kids, career, and the struggles of dating in her forties. It seemed as though she had gotten everything settled down, and for a while, things were good. That's usually the time the other shoe falls, and all hell breaks loose. For Anna, that's an understatement.

Kiran has had a rough go of it himself, with a painful past and personal issues that give Anna a run for her money. Still, he's held a candle for her long after they parted ways years ago, and life throwing them back together unexpectedly, made for the perfect storm of drama.

I enjoyed Anna's honesty, and how real she was. The way she dealt with the blows given to her was completely relatable, and uniquely real. She wasn't overly dramatic, and she was truly a nice, kind-hearted person. That trait showed throughout the entire book, even in the little things, and made her easy to root for.

Kiran was also relatable, and in today's culture of the "fitness lifestyle" trends and weight-loss inspirations on every social media platform, his story made this situation a bit more modern. All that mixed perfectly, with his deep family roots in India, and the culture difference to give him far more depth than a lot of "hunky" male characters typically found in this genre. With his good heart and gentleman's personality, he had far more than good looks to fall in love with, and you couldn't help but want to push Anna into his arms.

The side characters were just as agreeable, although several did seem a bit less explored than they could have. I did wonder why Anna didn't do more to be involved with her kid's lives, especially when it came to relationships. Even when she saw them going down bad roads, her hands-off approach seemed a little on the extreme side, opting for more of a friend than parent, and even then, not a close friend. I didn't quite understand the boundaries there, with how close they were all set up to be, although perhaps that was meant to be more of a "modern" portrayal as well.

In the end, I enjoyed the story quite a bit. Every character was flawed, and even David was difficult to truly dislike. He was simply human, and had some issues to work out, same as the rest of them - his just happened to effect others more. They were all painted quite normally though, with their flaws and attributes explored and explained, with growth for most of them.

The narration was pretty good, although I did speed up the pace a few notches, as the pauses and overall flow seemed somewhat slow. Sped up, it was fairly enjoyable. I would imagine the book would flow nicely, and seemed as though it was well written. If there is a sequel, I would definitely be interested, and do recommend this to anyone who enjoys romantic comedy set in the modern world.

*I was given a complimentary audiobook copy of this title, from the author, to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

Exactly what I was looking for!

So, While I spend a lot of time listening to urban fantasy, with my teen son, usually based on friends recs, or my dad's, I also like to travel back to my roots and listen to some fantastic chick-lit. Most of what I listen to is paranormal comedic romance, but this book stood out among the myriad of books at my disposal. Why? Because I just finished a really horrifying dark (romance/spy/thriller) set in the Middle East. I needed something a bit lighter to compensate , and without the culture shock a regular contemporary romance would cause, as I was already immersed in this culture. I really felt for the main character, as I've had an ex follow the guilt-road, when I found someone new. This story was engaging, sort of suspenseful (not in any scary way), and beautifully narrated. I look forward to future books by both the author and the narrator (who, by the way, does a snotty brat voice every narrator should aspire to!)

Romance and life after forty

Vegas to Varanasi has a charm about it right from the start, and I can't say that it's due to any one particular thing. Instead, I think it's a combination of several things that work just work wonderfully together to create a story that’s fun, witty, emotional, and romantic without being too much of any of those.
The characters are likable – well most of them are. We do have one or two stinkers in the bunch, but it wouldn’t be nearly so well-rounded without them. I love that Shelly Hickman gives us a romantic couple that are all grown up. Anna and Kiran are at an age where we would expect them to be settled, but as so often happens in life, things aren’t always how we expect them to be, and these two are handling life the best they know how. Kiran is an absolute sweetheart from his first appearance onward. He’s a little more understanding than most, but I feel like that’s part of his charm. The star of our show, Anna, is a hoot. I love that she’s honest with herself about her insecurities, and she doesn’t make apologies for who she is, even when she is snickering at bathroom humor. Goodness knows, life has thrown her a few curveballs.
The story is fast paced and I’ll be honest, whether it’s because I can relate to that life after forty craziness or because the characters and story are just so much fun, I found it hard to hit that pause button even when I knew I had to. Of course, the story isn’t without some seriousness, and considering what part of that is, I have to say that it was handled quite well. Hickman adds a touch of levity to the situation without making it seem like she’s poking fun at the problem. And I’ll just say here that I have some personal experience with Anna’s side of that problem. It’s a tough thing to deal with, but looking back, I can see the humor in some situations.
Jazmine Ramay narrates this engaging tale, and she injects great emotion with her voice. She also does a brilliant job with Anna’s sarcasm, whether it’s internal or out loud for all the world to hear. I’m a big fan of sarcasm, and the combination of writing and narrating here is terrific. The only drawback for me is that some chapters felt like they ended rather abruptly, but when I went back and listened again to those parts, I feel like it was the way those lines were read as opposed to how they’re written. However, that was a small thing, certainly not a deal-breaker for me.
All in all, Vegas to Varanasi is a great combination of writing and narration. The characters are engaging, the story is entertaining, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys a bit wit with their romance, not just those over forty. This author is new to me, but she’s now firmly on my radar.