MY Book Review: “Casablanca: My Heart” by Hannah Warren
Author Hannah Warren has written more than just a boy meets girl romance in this novel. If you want simplistic writing with improbable situations then this is not for you ... this novel goes deeper and explores emotions further than that.
Casablanca My Heart doesn’t follow traditional clichéd
storytelling, and that is a large part of its charm.
The author uses 1st person narrative to wonderful
advantage here, giving insights into what motivates her characters on a deeply
personal level.
Meet Heather Simpson, a well know romance writer who
cherishes her privacy and is known better under her pen-name of Femmy
Lovecraft.
Heather has suffered the loss of her beloved father, and her
husband lay in a coma as a result of a car accident for which Heather blames
herself. Her guilt is unrelenting. At the insistence of her dear friend the
very likeable and straight forward Rita, Heather takes a cruise, a short trip
to give her cheeks back their glow and her writing back its meaning.
She travels under her pen-name.
Enter Ghalib Tourniquet. A prince no less. His fascination
with her is clear. The fact that he appears to know so much about her,
including her real name, unsettles her more than a little, as does his
masculine good looks and his appearance of warmth intermingled with sublime
sophistication. Their attraction is immediate and intense.
The Prince takes her to his beautiful home in Casablanca. The author has wonderful descriptive talent
and she utilizes it so well that the reader is transported to Casablanca, we
walk through the beauty of the place and can clearly visualize his beautiful
home.
The sexual tension between them is palpable and the ultimate release of
that tension is well written in an erotic, sensual, and moving episode in the
steam bath of his home.
This is not a jarring note, it captures the tension
beautifully.
A sudden brush with ill health, and the tragic death of her
husband have Heather returning home suddenly and with no further contact with
Ghalib.
We are given deep insights into Ghalib’s lifestyle and his
growth as a man in the period of years they are parted.
Heather, has a child, Lucy, as a result of her one passionate
interlude with Ghalib. He knows nothing about the child.
His life has taken a different turn. We see into his recent
past, and share his love for his beautiful child Cassia, by his first wife.
We come to an understanding of the man further as we are permitted to see the misery he has
created for himself and others by his lifestyle. Two marriages and two divorces
leave him a changed and damaged man.
I have no wish to spoil this book for the reader.
Suffice it to say that the story is woven with a talented
hand, the characters are crafted so well that they become important to the
reader, we care what happens to them.
The resultant ending is…ahh…that would be telling!
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone
that enjoys a well written story.
It travels beyond the romance genre, to become a memory of a book that will stay in the hearts and minds of its readers.
Purchase on Amazon
Purchase on Amazon
I first read this book some years ago, but it keeps its attraction for me, and I go back to it regularly. I love it! Great review of a great book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gerry. Appreciate your comment.
DeleteEverything about this novel comes from the author's heart. I know the book very well. I love it and it is very dear to my own heart. I also love your review of it, Soooz. An excellent review which accurately captures the essence of the novel. I recommend it to everyone who loves a romantic novel - it is far more than a 'romance' - and to readers of both sexes who appreciate a real well-written book.
ReplyDeleteOh, Soooz, my dear friend, thank you so much for this review. I will print it and frame it and hang it on my wall and whenever I doubt my capacities as a writer I will return to it. Thank you also Gerry and Sheila for the kind comments. xxx
ReplyDeleteHannah, you are so very talented my dear friend. We all have doubts about our own talents as authors, it surprises the hell out of me sometimes, that the most talented amongst us seem to be the ones who doubt the most. I loved this novel, and will move on eagerly to read more of your work. xo Soooz
DeleteGerry and Sheila thank you both so much for making the time to read and comment. Hannah is a multi-talented author and I am delighted to have had the joy of reading her work. xo Soooz
ReplyDelete