Mary Poser

This was the first book I have read by this author and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This was more than just another romance book with a love triangle. It delved deep into friendships, family, bigotry, religion, and multi-cultural beliefs.

Living in Nashville, Tennessee her entire life, Mary Poser is the daughter of a Baptist minister and lives her life the way she is expected to behave, jumping through hoops by her family, friends and her boss.... until she catches a glimpse of the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her life. When their eyes meet, chemistry explodes! But this man is from India, and is Hindu and is only in Nashville for the Film Festival. How can this relationship possibly have a chance?

After driving off a bridge and having a near death experience, life continues to get complicated for Mary. But her Aunt Sara has more insight than you can imagine as she explains why a butterfly shouldn't be helped out of a cocoon (chrysalis). She explains that "a butterfly needs to struggle within it to develop its wings, and then it needs to break out of the chrysalis by itself to get even stronger. If you open the chrysalis too early, the butterfly won't be ready. It won't be able to fly." This also seems to be true in Mary's life.

And struggle she does! Continuing to follow what her family expects of her, she is totally miserable. When she finally finds the strength within her to live her life as she chooses, many secrets are revealed.

Angel A. did a remarkable job explaining customs and beliefs in the Indian culture. I was fascinated reading every time Simha explained his culture to Mary. Very descriptive and the characters were very well developed.

The middle of the book dragged just a bit, but all in all, it was an awesome book!

Mary Poser by Angel A was the most interesting novel I have read in awhile. The culture and religious content Mad me even more curious. The entire story was entertaining. The main character, is in a sticky situation. Her parents want her to do what they want yet she's not happy...and what makes her happy is something they wouldn't want for her. However, she has to,learn for herself whether she wants to break free and be happy or live forever within the hold of her parents. Life is messy, complicated, and a major struggle after struggle. Here, Mary Poser has what I call the real life syndrome. Struggles are just a part of life. Mary is at a crossroads...and when she finally finds the courage to make a decision it will be beautiful. The tale lagged a bit at times but then picked up speed. Angel A created a realistic plot that readers can easily relate to...and feel connected to the characters. Overall, this story was a great read.

Mary Poser is a wonderful insightful book about trying so hard to please everyone. Mary is the perfect minister 's daughter, perfect friend, perfect girlfriend.....why isn't she perfectly happy. When a Bollywood filmmaker comes to her town of Nashville it shakes her life up makes her look at her life and everything around her in new ways. I read this book in exchange for a review and was cheering for Mary the whole time. I hope we will see more from author Angel A. I want to read Mary's siblings' stories too!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Mary Poser, by Angel A. Most people grow up worrying about what others think about them, and Mary, the daughter of a minister, was always expected to be the good girl who did no wrong. But, when the handsome Simha swept her off her feet, she began to question what she wanted out of life. Her friends, her family, and her aunt play important roles in helping her get her life in order. This was an entertaining, as well as a thought-provoking book.

I really enjoyed this story. It's a read that flows and keeps moving. It's full of colorful characters and the storyline is fanciful and fun. It has romance, sex, music, and conflict. Nashville, Tennessee shines in this book. It's a great read for when you want to escape into a story, which is one of the reasons most of us read anyway.

Truly an enjoyable read, I loved how the story progresses from the introduction to the accident, to the hiccups and then to the self-discovery. Also the human values, religion and choices made were so relevant, realistic in current life. Easy to understand and straightforward prose made it easy to grasp and imagine the story itself.

Wonderful Interesting read that explored characters that were real and relevant

The Character of Mary was likable at times but super frustrating at others. I felt that she was a very stubborn person after having to spend most of her life before the book pleasing other people in her town. I can see where the stubborn attitude can come into play after that. I really enjoyed how when she was frustrated or nervous, she would cry out "Oh Lordy". To me it made her more likable. The writers style in this book was smooth and flows well. I also enjoyed reading about Nashville, which is somewhere I've been through, but never actually gotten to spend any time at all there! All the times I've driven through Nashville it's been in the wee hours of the morning on our way to or from Florida from Kansas City, MO. I adored the humorous and at times awkward, yet endearing moments between Mary and Simha, and was particularly fond of the insightful quotes regarding love that were used for each chapter heading.

To be honest, I don’t love the description and I’m not sure I would have picked it up to read had I not received an invitation directly from NetGally, which I had been wanting to join. I’m really glad I got past the sort of silly description and read the book!

I like to read books that speak to reality in an entertaining and enlightening way, and that’s exactly what this book does. Through Mary’s journey of self-discovery and her struggle to be true to herself rather than live the life expected of her, the author examines issues of religion, stereotypes and prejudice, and mental illness.

Some my favorite parts of the book, because they taught me the most, were the parts where the aforementioned Anglo Indian, Simha Das, explains his Hindu beliefs to Mary Poser, the Nashville girl. Knowing virtually nothing about Hinduism, I found a surprising amount of commonalities with Catholic Christianity. Even more interestingly to me, the things I found common to Catholicism were often the things Mary found most unlike her Baptist faith (particularly in the realm of sexuality).

The book is full of references to common stereotypes and prejudices. I’m not sure whether it makes the story more or less believable that Mary’s family manages to deal with all the hot-button issues: race, sexuality, religious beliefs. Mrs. Poser, Mary’s mother, is the character who embodies the majority of the unsavory behavior. She is a stereotype, while believing and perpetuating every stereotype about anyone unlike her. She’s pretty much insufferable, and though she comes around at the end I find her redemption a little too convenient.

Mary’s personal journey forms the basis of the story and is the most compelling part of the book. It has a very powerful metaphor in Mary’s inability to cross a particular bridge, and is full of lots of insights about a young girl trying to figure out who she is and how to find her own way in the world. While the outward issue is that Mary falls in love with an Indian Hindu man in Nashville (the horror!), Mary’s inner dialogue reveals her struggle with mental illness, particularly anxiety and self-harm. She feels she has a role to fulfil in life and struggles to allow herself the freedom to break out of the mold her upbringing has forced her into. The author, I think, does a superb job of illuminating the inner workings of an anxious mind through telling the story from Mary’s point of view. My only grievance is that I’m not satisfied with the resolution. While Mary has moments of clarity, she seems unable to actually recognize her anxiety issues (for example, she chafes at being prescribed medication for anxiety when she sees a doctor for recurring stomach issues); similarly, I feel the self-harm (specifically, cutting) issue is inadequately resolved and not given the weight it deserves.

One thing that sticks with me all these months later (that I didn’t have to reread my Kindle notes to remember) is a discussion Mary and Simha have about using the term “busy” as cover for “unhappy” when asked how one is doing – as in, “How have you been?” “Oh, you know… busy” – because “busy” seems important. I don’t think it’s an expression I’m guilty of using in that context, but it has caused me to reevaluate what it is that I’m “too busy” for, to make sure those things that truly matter don’t get lost.

I found the book entertaining, well-written, and to be an interesting cultural study. Best of all, I learned from it and it made me think.

A very interesting tale that held my attention all the way through. Great plot, twists and turns & the writing kept me hopping! Thanks for the opportunity with this ARC!

Very much enjoyed this book, it was interesting and captivated my time and attention.

I adored the humorous and at times awkward, yet endearing moments between Mary and Simha, and was particularly fond of the insightful quotes regarding love that were used for each chapter heading.

Fabulous read, I couldn’t put it down! Romantic, humorous, insightful and highly entertaining. It touches on some interesting and diverse themes such as multiculturalism, religion, spirituality, mental health, friendship and love. It was written so well and I loved this one a lot.