The Closing by Stella K

First Published: 08 May 2012
Publisher: Armida Publications
Pages: 217
Format: Ebook (Paperback is also available)
Finished Date: 07 July 2012

Synopsis

When Bella Nars, a savvy corporate lawyer in her mid-twenties, is summoned to fly to Moscow for the closing of a multi-million dollar transaction fixed on her birthday, she expects to spend her days locked up in Savoy Hotel Moscow embarking on endless negotiations with an army of bankers and lawyers.

An accidental yet intriguing encounter the first evening of her stay in Moscow sends Bella straight to hospital rather than her luxurious hotel room. The person responsible for her injuries is called Dima P, a mysterious figure about whom Bella knows absolutely nothing. The only thing she can be sure of is that he has the most penetrating, indigo-coloured eyes she has ever seen. An incessant source gives her the strength to endure the hardships that turn her world up-side-down.

For how long can Bella continue to flirt with a devious game of Russian roulette in the name of love?

In a time when countries and economies crumble, and human lives have become disgustingly expendable, how much is a person's life worth in the end?

My Rating

My Review

The Closing was a pretty enjoyable read. The premise of the book was intriguing and while it wasn’t what I expected, it still turned out to be an interesting read. Perhaps it may not have been the best read of my life, but it is certainly a book that I don’t regret having read.

The prologue of The Closing instantly grabbed my attention. It threw me straight into the action and kept me wanting to read on. I must admit though, I was a little lost when it went right back to the start. The transition was a little awkward and I was just a bit confused. But it’s really minor.

Dima, as most commonly known in the book, is a Russian metal tycoon. He is a rather shady character and not much is really known about him, which is a point I felt rather lacking. I would have liked to know more bout his background so I would be able to understand and identify better with him. He is someone that I didn’t expect at all. When I first read about him, I thought he would be those kind of cold-hearted jerks and all. But, I guess I really can’t judge. He is a very nice person to the people he loves. Ok, I know he should, but I felt he accepted Bella, the heroine, a little too easily and too quickly. I mean, being in his line, wouldn’t he be a little wary of new people? But he opened up to Bella so easily. It was kind of sweet though, I guess. And well, he’s Russian and he’s hot. What’s not to love?

As for Bella, she’s a rather funny character. She was very real and I think it was rather easy to identify with her. I liked her. At the beginning, I felt she was a little whiny and self-centered. But throughout the course of the book, I could see how she changed bit by bit and that was something I truly enjoyed. I love character development in books and in this area, it didn’t disappoint.

Overall, the plot was good and pretty fast-moving. Several times, it was just a little too fast and left me overwhelmed. Generally speaking though, the pace was good and I loved the interactions between the characters. The way Dima and Bella met were also really good. A little cliché to be sure, but I for one love clichés that are pulled off well and I felt this was good. Also, I felt that it was a very realistic book. At first, after the fight at the end, I thought Bella recovered a little too easily. But later, it was shown that she was undergoing trauma and it was depicted well! I actually liked the kidnapping part too, I felt it made Bella a more real person.

When she started to doubt Dima’s love for her, it just made Bella into a much more real character. It’s hard to hold on to that love especially when she was going through all those times and when she heard about Dima’s actions. But I really do truly admire Dima’s actions. It just proved his love for her in one clean stroke. It was sweet and rather powerful. Their reunion was also rather touching.

I have several complains though. I could never really feel the characters and as such, it made it difficult for me to get absorbed into the book. However, the plot was good enough to keep me hooked and keep on reading. I couldn’t really feel the love between the characters which was a little bit of a disappointment. Once in a while, I did though. Also, some transition points were a little weird. I can’t really remember where but I do know that at several places I was a little confused due to the transitions. The ending was a little abrupt, but it was rather sweet and did round off the story.

The speech did strike me as weird once in a while. I don’t know, maybe I’m a bit too used to colloquial English and am not sure how the Russians speak. But, I felt that it threw the tone off the book a little. Like when ‘don’t’ would be a better option, the words ‘do not’ were used instead. Again, little things. I hardly noticed but when I did, it just got a little on my nerves. But, I’m not the best person to judge, am I?

I enjoyed this book and certainly didn’t regret picking it up. It was interesting and generally, I liked the characters. They were realistic and fun to read about, most of the time.

Disclaimer: An ecopy of this book was provided to me free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation. All views in this review is mine and mine alone.

Wow, so my first review of a full-length book in a very very very long time. School is crazy busy right now, but I'll do my best to post as many reviews as I can! Got a whole backlist of reviews to write!