Blog Tour | The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena Review + Q&A

TITLE: The Beauty of the Moment

AUTHOR: Tanaz Bhathena

Rating: ★★★★☆

PAGES: 354

PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

TARGET AUDIENCE: Young Adult

GENRE(S): Contemporary, Romance

The publisher kindly sent me a physical copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena - The Contented Reader Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.

Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.

Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.

Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.

Review

This is one of the cutest contemporary romance books I’ve read. The writing is fantastic and the story is just super adorable!

The Beauty of the Moment follows Susan, who has recently moved to Canada. She’s struggling to fit in to her new country and school, but soon finds that its the perfect place to be.

First, I have to say that this book was super adorable because it’s based in Ontario! So many of the places mentioned are things that I’m familiar with. It’s so fun being able to read about places that are close by or familiar. I just loved it.

The character in this book are soo soo lovely. They’re relatable and so enjoyable. Susan is just so perfect and I absolutely loved her as a main character. I think Susan’s desperate desire to pursue art instead of following her parents desire for medicine or engineering is something so many teenagers can relate to.

Malcolm is troubled, and understandably so, but his connection with Susan is just so so sweet. I loved the whole ‘bad boy’ vibe and the ‘good girl’ falling for him. It just totally works with these two characters.

The story itself flowed so nicely. I really feel like its a book so many people can relate to, whether they’re in high school or out. This is something that Bhathena does so well. Also, it was such a well-paced book that I found myself flying through. It constantly left me wanting more, which meant I never wanted to put it down!

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It’s the perfect contemporary romance read and one I can definitely see myself re-reading in the future. I am also sure to check out more of Bhathena’s books!

”And, in the split second before she looks away, she gives me a smile that stays with me for the rest of the afternoon.
Favourite Quote

Q&A

What inspired you to write this novel?

My parents and I moved from India to Saudi Arabia when I was pretty young. When I turned sixteen, we immigrated to Canada and THE BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT is inspired by my own journey of immigrating as a teenager from the Middle East to North America. Susan’s struggles to meet with her parents’ expectations also mirror my own. I knew I wanted to write books by the time I was thirteen, but my parents wanted me to follow a more traditional career path and become an accountant.

Without spoilers, what is your favourite part of this book? Is it a character, a specific scene or quote?

Oh, there are many! My absolute favourite part of the book is when Malcolm and his maternal uncle, Mancher, have a conversation about love and romance. Here’s a non-spoilery quote from that scene:

“This is your heart […] It is not made of glass. Your heart is made of muscle, tough and resilient […] It’s strong enough to weather most things, including emotional storms.”

How was the writing process for your second novel compared to your debut?

My debut took 10 years to get published for various reason, so in comparison, the time to get my second novel out was much shorter! However, THE BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT had its own set of challenges. After years of writing dark, realistic fiction, I had a hard time transitioning to a lighter story. I had to remind myself to let the plot unfold organically without adding unnecessary twists or drama—and that there is also beauty in simplicity.

About The Author

Tanaz Bhathena Author Photo - The Contented Reader Tanaz Bhathena was born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia and Canada. Her critically acclaimed novel A Girl Like That was nominated for the 2019 OLA White Pine Award and named a Best Book of 2018 by The Globe and Mail, CBC, Quill & Quire, Seventeen, PopSugar, and The Times of India among others. She is also the author of The Beauty of the Moment releasing on Feb 26 2019 and a fantasy duology called Hunted by the Sky, with the first book coming out in spring 2020. Her short stories have appeared in various journals including Blackbird, Witness and Room.

A wanderer at heart, Tanaz can often be found travelling to different countries, learning bits and pieces of a foreign language, and taking way too many photographs. She loves slapstick comedies and any kind of music that makes her dance. She lives in the Toronto area with her family.

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