26 November 2014

Review #90: Becalmed by Normandie Fischer



My rating:
4 of 5 stars


“You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.”
----Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

Normandie Fischer, an American writer, penning her novel from on board her sailboat or from on shore in coastal NC, has spun another remarkable story in her new book, Becalmed which is not a perfect story yet it is beautiful in a way. Sometimes, falling in love with a match fixed by someone else is quite undeniable.

Synopsis:
When a Southern woman with a broken heart falls for a widower with a broken boat, it's anything but smooth sailing.
Tadie Longworth doesn't mind acting the maiden aunt in Beaufort, North Carolina. She has a gift shop full of her own jewelry designs and a sweet little sailboat to take her mind off the guy who got away. But now he’s back . . . with the fashion-plate wife he picked instead of Tadie . . . and he’s hitting on her again.


When widower Will Merritt limps into town with a broken sailboat and a perky seven-year-old daughter, he offers the perfect distraction — until that distraction turns into fascination when Tadie offers shelter during a hurricane. Over candlelit games of Slap-Jack and Monopoly, Jilly becomes the daughter she could have had and Will the man she always wanted. Only, he’s sworn never to let another woman in his life. Any day now, he’s going to finish those repairs, and that ship's going to sail — straight out of Tadie’s life.



This is really a touching story and the bonus part of this story is seven year old Jilly, who will win your heart right from the very first page and her bright demeanor fades away the charm of other characters. The author has penned down a very heart-rending, simplistic and a believable story! Well apart from the plot, it has got a mesmerizing set-up in a small southern town named, Beaufort and reading the book, will let feel the cool breeze of the bay and hear the sounds of the seagull and smell the sweet taste of the river. Fischer made it all alive with her choice of simple and articulate words. Hence the two things that anyone whoever reads the book will love it are Jilly's spunky and full-of-life characteristic and the small, quiet town of Beaufort.

The only disappointment for me was the love story between Tadie and Will. Well it started off very nicely, but I felt that it lacked pace with the progress of their growing relationship. But the author has described their chemistry with clemency and tenderness. The author has even stressed on the factors, advantages and disadvantages of an arranged marriage and how, despite the fact that Will and Tadie were fixed up by Jilly, their love story unfolded in the midst of confusion, doubts and ex-boyfriend troubles.

The author has tried to write about Tadie and her ex-boyfriend's relationship with a mystery angle, which is quite compelling. Well the characters were not that brilliant but still they managed to leave an impression on our hearts.

Verdict: Die-hard romance fans can't give a miss to this tear-jerking story, but non romance readers may find this book a bit cheesy! Still I'd recommend you to read it for the seven year old girl named, Jilly!

Courtesy: I'm very grateful to the author, Normandie Fischer, for giving me the opportunity to read and review her book. 
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Author's Info:
Normandie Fischer  sails and writes. She also messes about at home and on board their lovely ketch, Sea Venture. Hats--or lack thereof--defines her roles. They also let her hide.
They have big boats and little boats, messing-about boats and living-on boats. Sea Venture  was her on-board writing home, the lovely boat she and Michael sail wherever and whenever they can.


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2 comments:

  1. Aditi, thank you for this lovely review. As Becalmed is women's fiction rather than true romance, I certainly agree with your reservations about the love story between Tadie and Will. I'm glad you liked Jilly--my favorite character--and felt the pull of the landscape in which she lives.

    And I love the idea that you read the book in West Bengal and yet found things from this different culture that spoke to you. I love reading (and writing) about folk who are different from me and who live in different worlds--it brings us closer to understanding one another, doesn't it? Or at least closer to understanding the cultural forces that shape us as individuals.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad that you liked my review! :) Of course, Jill happens to be one of my favorite child characters!

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