Sidney Sheldon's "The Sands of Time"

Sidney Sheldon's "The Sands of Time" is an action adventure novel that revolves around four nuns who escape a military assault on a Christian convent and are forced to face the challenges of the outside world which they had once renounced. 

The four nuns Megan, Lucia, Graciela and Teresa are being chased by the military after their escape and they are forced to travel with the rebels who are branded terrorists by the Spanish government. Jaime Miro, the most wanted rebel known for his exploits to keep the military and police at bay is burdened with the responsibility of escorting the nuns to a safe place. The nuns reinvent themselves on this journey through the hills and forests with the tension of military closing in on them - a journey where they have to adapt and survive. 

Each one of the nuns have a terrible past and they cocoon themselves into the church as their last resort and escape from the harsh reality of their present lives. With that environment changed now, they fight back their inner fears and their nightmares of the past to adapt to the changed world. The backstories of the nuns are slightly disturbing which justifies their actions but at times obscene which could have been avoided with no impact to the storyline. 

The political situation in Spain where Basques were fighting against Spanish nationalists for self-governance or complete independence to preserve their identity forms the backdrop of this novel and is convincingly interwoven into the storyline. But, the lives of rebels and them giving in to personal desires and urges depicted here is questionable. The lives of nuns inside the Christian institutions and how they are asked to suppress their desires and feelings in the name of service to God depicted here is close to reality.

The novel builds up a tale of bravery, betrayal and survival in a steady pace to keep the readers engaged. There is enough drama to propel the novel to a climactic end. The closure Sidney gives to the characters stay true to the storyline and the character sketches instead of pulling off an unprecedented end just to pique the reader’s interest.

Barring the obscenity and some unnecessary romantic sequences, the novel still is a good read. 

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Lowen, a writer, who is almost broke, lands up with the best offer in her lifetime - to finish the series of best-selling author Verity. Lowen stumbles upon a draft of Verity’s autobiography during the research for the novel and it unearths more mysteries surrounding Verity’s medical condition and the death of Verity’s daughters. As these mysteries unfold, the suspense builds up and the novel keeps us engrossed.

Verity, the protagonist’s character arc is well written and the story depends heavily on this character to move forward. Jeremy, Verity’s husband is a weakly written character despite being the character that is linked to all high points in the novel and travels throughout the length of the novel. Lowen, as a writer who has a secret past and her fear for public / social appearances is a better written character. 

The climactic ending to the novel is great but the novel has its share of shortcomings in the build up to the climax where a lot of unnecessary scenes disturb the flow. The negative shade of Verity is brilliantly written and propels the narration forward. But the wrongdoings of Jeremy and Lowen are silenced at most parts and end up being justified and we wonder whether that was intentional or inadvertent.

Despite the shortcomings, this served just as the satisfactory read to come out of the reading slump. 

A Prisoner of Birth - Jeffrey Archer

A taut thriller that keeps you engaging throughout. Though some of the happenings in the novel question the believable quotient, there are consistent high points in the novel that compensate them and the courtroom drama at the end with a crisp climax makes it a delight to read.