Two for the Road (Stories in Pairs, Set 3) By Ekta Garg

The First Story, “Excess Baggage”: Allison has just come home from a grueling business trip. All she wants to do is spend a quiet weekend at home parked in front of the TV or maybe curled up with a blanket. When a friend calls to ask her for a favor, though, all of Allison’s plans hit rough air.The Second Story, “Wrong Way”: With one daughter married and another in college, Rachel and Jim should be enjoying their time as a couple again. But Jim’s worries about his widowed mother force Rachel into a spur-of-the-moment road trip to check on the old bat. When Jim catches Rachel complaining to a friend, tension will ride with them in the car. Can Rachel make an apology stick?- Goodreads

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I don't really know how to start this review but I've been following this series since the beginning of the year when Ekta approached me with the first book. From then on, I've been following the series and reading each book as it's come out.

This book was different from the first two because the characters were different and it was generally more on the American side instead of the Asian side that Ekta was pushing in her first two books. I didn't mind that too much except for the fact that I was rather enjoying her bold take. I think it takes courage to write about Asians considering that the world is predominately Western and most books are written with a Western context. So I did miss that.

Each of her stories ended rather abruptly in my opinion and I would have very much liked to hear more of the stories though I have a feeling like the fourth book might have more elaboration. I don't know. Just a feeling.

Otherwise, it was a very lovey and short read. I read it in one sitting actually. I absolutely adore this series and I can't wait to read more.

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My Rating: 4/5 Stars
*A copy of this book was provided to me by the author to read and review*

More For The Heart By Ekta Garg

“Making The Proposal”: Readers learned in Two for the Heart about the end of Pooja and Akshay’s unique arrangement—get married and then prepare their divorce papers—but did you wonder how it began? Just how did Pooja and Akshay make this crazy deal in the first place? Find out in this first story in More for the Heart.“Reminiscence”: In Two for the Heart, sisters Rose and Helen reconnect with great reluctance after an 11-year estrangement. These two women have spent more than a decade apart. What convinces Rose to stay this time around? Sit at the table with Rose and watch her internal transformation in the second story in More for the Heart. -Goodreads

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When Ekta emailed me to tell me that her next book in her Stories In Paris set was out, I was super excited. I throughly enjoyed her first book in this set and I couldn't wait to see how she proceeded with the storyline.

I was thankfully not disappointed. 

The second instalment of the series went backwards in time. It explored the beginning of Pooja and Akshay's 'marriage' and it goes into the reasons why Rose decided to stay and take care of her injured and grieving sister. 

I truly enjoyed going deeper into the psyche of these characters. In my review of Ekta's first book in the series, I mentioned that I thought the stories would do well as full novels. I think with this second book, I understood what Ekta has been trying to do here. She's been trying to create a full novel but in bits and pieces. It's such a unique idea that I haven't really seen much of before. 

I had a few issues with the the way Ekta wrote in some parts. I found some parts to be repetitive and staggered and while that did impact the flow of the story at some parts, it wasn't too much of an issue. I actually had a lovely discussion with Ekta regarding her writing style. By the way, she is so so nice. One of the nicest authors I've come across. 

Overall this was an extremely lovely read. I enjoyed it a lot and I think it's something that anyone would love. 

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My Rating: 3/5
*This book was given to me by the author to read and review*
Purchase the books at The Book Depositary using my special link Here. 

Two For The Heart By Ekta R. Garg

Two stories about relationships and the power of love. 

“The Proposal”: Pooja and Akshay don’t want to bother with relationships, but they get cornered into marriage. The two devise a fool-proof plan: get married, then get their divorce papers ready. But will they have the guts to go through with the break up?
“Remembrance”: Helen wakes up in the hospital, but she has no idea how she got there. Everyone dodges the question…and then the sister she hasn't spoken to in 11 years arrives. Why is she here? And will Helen ever remember what happened?- Goodreads

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This book was a nice short read. I finished it in one sitting and I have to say that they were both very enjoyable. 

I loved how Ekta developed each character so throughly. Even though the stories were short, the author was able to bring across their personalities and their fears very well. She made the characters relatable and loveable for the most part.

I really loved how the author overlapped the stories by bringing in one character from one story into the other. It just made the first story seem that much lovelier and complete. It was almost like an epilogue of sorts with Pooja's involvement in the second story.

I think Ekta exhibited very good control with her stories and it's a pity because I think both stories would do very well as full novels. That said, I liked that Ekta was able to bring both stories full circle even with the limited word count.

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My Rating: 4/5
*This book was given to me to read and review by the author*