Unfortunately this just wasn't the right book for me. I tried on two separate occasions to read it and had too many issues. I think it was just much different than what I had expected and I couldn't get into it. Thanks for the opportunity!

This was just not for me.
The characters were boring and the subjects bought up in the story line made for heavy reading.
Not at all what I was expecting.
DNF

Declining to review because I did not like the book at all, and did not read more than 20%.

I really wanted to like this book but it took me forever to get through it because it seemed to drag on and on. I would pick it up and then put it aside again. Mary is from the bible belt and meets an Anglo Indian Bollywood director. Things happened fast and then chugged along after that. After one date Mary is now his girlfriend? What the heck? Different cultures and racism are written along with religious themes. Ex-boyfriend shows up after finding out there is another man in Mary's life so she has that to deal with along with the "current boyfriend". Long-distance relationship is another issue. Of course the father is a preacher to boot. Seems that much fluff could have been taken out to make the book flow a bit faster. Thank you to the author and Net-Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

From a chracters standpoint, I can say that the author found the stereotypes she wanted and presented them. But having lived in the South for a good part of my life, I know that those stereotypes are frequently seen as 1 dimensional by outsiders, whereas those that know the pople, know they might act that way, but there is anotehr side to them that doesn't get seen. If the author was trying to present this, then on some characters she succeeded, and others she didn't. Call it a valiant try, ultimately I only was able to get through half the book before I had to give up on it.

So I handed it over to a friend, who having not been raised in the SOuth, thought she might fare better. She did manage to finish the book, but she saw what I was talking about, and had to put it down numerous times from 'rolling my eyes and satying 'REALLY? This isn't 1950 in the South!". She didn enjoy the idea of romance from afar, but overall just felt the story was too contrived. SIGH.

I think this was a great idea that just fell a bit short. For those not from the South, they may enjoy it much more. But for those of us heere, it just seems like an attempt at dumbing the area down again, and that is the last thing we need...so some of you might find it a decent beach read, but just keep in mind, it's FICTION

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.

Angel A’s Mary Poser is set in Nashville in which we follow the protagonist, Mary Poser, a 23 year old daughter of a Pastor falls in love with an Anglo-Indian Bollywood director. It tries to offer a recipe that combines fun, humorous, dramatic romance and bold life choices to make this an entertaining one.

There is not much in the story line to discuss apart from what I mentioned before, and I will continue till we reach the verdict. This book is written in first person narrative with reader being constantly engaged with the main character. The storyline is devoted quite heavily on the religious aspects which at some point can be uninteresting for a reader to be engaged with it. The narrative flow and pace of the plot is addictive and well groomed. 

I appreciate the way Angel A. has injected humorous elements in the plot as well as the endearing moments between the two characters, Mary and the Bollywood director which are the particular highlights of the this book in the particular genre of Romance.

There aren’t much plot issues apart from the religious one. The characters are not that strongly blended as I expected after having a good plot. The theme of outcasting and racism could have been portrayed in a better manner than the way they are reflected, may be then, the love between characters would have been a bit stronger.

The author’s writing is flawless and very up to the mark. Her style does posses a distinct voice in the form of first-person narration. Good blend of cultures, well researched on this point, I have to say and a very diverse approach to the particular genre. I appreciate her work on this behalf.

Nonetheless, if you are fan of romance-fiction genre, you might consider reading this book since it certainly brings a new texture in terms of the plot, a different kind of approach that is trying to break into the American Fiction literature for some time now.

3 out of 5!

Wonderful Interesting read that explored characters that were real and relevant

Mary is from Nashville and a daughter of a pastor. Simha is an Anglo-Indian film director. When their paths cross, there is lots of drama and romance.

The plot of the book is really very simple and straightforward. Girl meets boy. They fall in love over the story that includes A LOT of drama. For most parts the flow of the story was predictable once you get to know the characters. Talking of characters, Mary – the protagonist is not very outstanding thus Simha takes the limelight throughout. She doesn’t really have a personality or outlook that would make the readers like/love her very much; or hate for that matter. What I didn’t like about her was the fact that she never really stands up for her relationship or her boyfriend through the book. Also, Simha’s ‘exotic’ look was really at it took her to fall for him without ‘really’ knowing him. Simha on the other hand comes off as this distinguished person who shines through. Part of it is because of the lack of Mary’s personality and partly because of his charm.

The book talks a lot about religion and racism without actually dealing with it. It was really frustrating to read stereotyped adjectives and comments. I couldn’t decide half the time whether the author herself had this typical view of the world and its people or was she trying (and failing) to break the stereotypes. As a result, it was quite a tedious read overall.

The plot had some potential if it was handled properly.

This book was a frustrating read for the first 3/4 of the book. You have this possibly strong character who lets everyone walk all over her (not only is she being Southern and hospitable, she is being used and abused) and then she finally gets a spine and starts standing up for herself and then the f-bombs start! I did appreciate the ending and glad it wrapped up the way it did but I'm not sure I would read this again.

Mary Poser was a light and fun read. While reading it, I felt like I was watching a nice rom-com (and I think a movie version might be really nice). I really liked the detailed description of all the places in Nashville. And even though Mary was a little too naive at times, she was still a relatable protagonist. I also really liked the idea of having a Christian family on the one side and a love interest with Indian roots on the other side. It was easy to follow the plot and to imagine all the places and situations.

However, it was a little too light at times. Some characters were a little flat and the same jokes were used multiple times. The sex scene was too explicit for my taste. But I still enjoyed reading it very much and had to laugh or smile many times.

I would recommend this book to everybody that enjoys romantic and funny novels.

It was a good book that could have been great. I received digital ARC of this novel courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for a honest and voluntary review

I can read a book a day, more if they're short stories. This book took me a month to read. It was hard to get into even though there were some cute moments. My biggest complaint is it felt forced. It felt the author was trying to bring to the surface the heavy topic of racism but the book is supposed to be a modern day love story. Racism does exist, even today, no doubt about that but it just felt the author was forcing it down our throats and that's fine but don't tout the book as a love story.

All that said the romance portion was quite cute, she's a country girl who loves her steaks living in the bible belt. He's a Hindu, vegetarian, Bollywood Director. In the background you have meddling relatives and ex and a lot of Country music.

While the writing was decent enough, it just felt forced. I'm disappointed because it had such potential, that's why I was so quick to download it.

Mary is the type of girl created to be perfect, the daughter of a Pastor and with a strict and prejudiced mother, she does everything to please Everyone, even if she needs to suffer. She is beautiful, intelligent, has her own home but can not get rid of the stigma that she can not fail.
Simha is the typical enchanted prince, romantic and mysterious, he is enchanted by the sweet Mary and even having just come out of a loving disappointment, he is one more to cast his expectations on Mary and decides that he needs to know her better
The two meet at a Film Festival, Simha is an independent Bollywood film director and decides to film an adaptation of Persuasion in Nashville causing a revolution in the city and Mary's family.
This was a book that made me split because I both liked some points and I hated others. The way the writer presented Mary and her doubts was very good, I myself in some points because I also grew up in the church and I suffered many pressures to always be the Perfect Girl. At several moments, I understood her posture and felt sorry for the girl.
What I did not like about her behavior was the fact that at the crucial time when she had to decide what to do, she just shut up and only expressed her feelings and frustrations to the family because someone else took the lead and also manifested a fact. At this point, I found her very weak and irritating.
Another point I did not like was that the writer stereotyped some characters and attitudes of others in a very pejorative way, but I even understand that she wanted to show that in reality people first judge without knowing or seeking to know others.
The epilogue also did not please me at some points, I do not think Mary's mother would need to behave like her sister to show that she changed her mind, but that was the writer's decision.
I loved too much the scene that generated the cover, the idea that the writer had in how to show Mary the feeling in my point of view was perfect.
3 / 5stars

I have never been so upset with a book. If I had been reading an actual book instead of my Kindle I would have thrown it across the room.

The treatment of Southern people was terrible. I know the author was trying to make a point but it made southerners look stupid. There is enough people that already have that opinion we don’t need a whole book giving people more ammunition against us.

The main character was unbelievable. She acted as if she was in high school instead of a professional woman in the work field. There is no way a graduate from Vanderbilt would have been this backward.

The only redeeming parts of the book where the quotes from Rumi. I did enjoy the quotes at the first of each chapter.

I did not like the book at all, and having a husband who is from Pakistan and having been married to him for 31 years and being a good old country girl myself, th tag line ducked me in and I thought I would LOVED this boook. I DID npt. It was stereotyping and offensive, not at all realistic. Tried to review on amazon but it would not let me

I couldn’t get into this book, which is very unusual for me. I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it either. I was kinda “eh” while reading it. Which mad me a little sad because I really wanted to get into the book. I like most of the characters and thought the storyline was great. It just didn’t hold my attention.

I didn’t like Mary at first. She really was kind of a pushover and there were certain points in the book where I kinda wanted to go into the book, shake her and yell “Why!! Use your brain!!” But, seeing that this is a fiction book, I just settled for humphing grumpily at my Kindle. I think that she could have had a better choice in friends too. Her family, though, she didn’t have a choice and they were all kinds of crazy. Oh, and let’s not forget that she was immature. There were certain scenes where I was like “Really, you could have handled that better”. But by the end of the book, I did like her. She came into her own and I was like “You go girl”

I actually felt bad for Simha. He fell for a girl who was the polar opposite from him and who kept jerking him around the entire book. Honestly, I would have said “See ya” after the scene where she bolted after they had sex. But he still kept on trying. Sending her gifts, texting her all the time, making a Bollywood musical in Nashville so he could be near her. He was too much, even for me.

The secondary characters left a bad taste in my mouth. Mary’s mother was a homophobic, racist Christian. Her brother was the same but on a lesser level. Her father had no backbone and acted like Jerry Lewis to break up arguments. Her best friend was a jealous witch who was all about herself. Her fiancé was self-centered and racist. Actually, the only secondary characters I liked were Alice and Erin. But really, having Alice say “bro” all the time got very tiring to read. Also, having the characters leaving the g’s off of words “Starvin’, such as, was great to create the accent but that too got tiring to read.

I did like the sex scene between Simha and Mary. It showed the full depth of their feelings for each other (even if Mary wasn’t willing to admit it). All I have to say is cosmic sex rocks….lol. That scene is also why I kinda hesitated on slapping a Christian label on this review. But seeing how heavily God was mentioned, I felt that a Christian label was appropriate.

The whole Bollywood angle fascinated me, along with the mentions of the Hindu religion. Believe it or not, but I have never seen a Bollywood movie but after this book, I am going to find one and watch it. I have a feeling that it will be right up my alley. Also, I didn’t know much about the Hindu religion and thought that it was awesome that the author had Simha explain the aspect of the religion to Mary. What I liked were the changes that Mary made in her life. Taking up yoga and going vegetarian was a pretty significant lifestyle change. I just wish that she had the sense to do the other changes earlier in the book.

The end of the book was insane. Everything blew up at once and it was kind of hard to keep track of things. But I liked it, it was very interesting and definitely kept you on your toes reading wise

How many stars will I give Mary Poser: 3

Why: I kinda went back and forth on giving either a 3 star or 4-star rating to this book. While I loved the romance aspect of it, I felt that the other parts of the book brought the book down. I couldn’t get past Mary’s mother and that is what caused me to lower the book down to a 3-star rating. If she had been toned down a tad, then I think I would have given the book 4 stars.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Adult

Why: One intense sex scene. Also, racist comments and homophobic comments

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

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.

Thanks Netgalley. Not so sure about this book to be honest it could be good and it could be bad and think it is best for others to form their own opinion, may be I was just not in the right frame of mind for this 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.