My life was all about rules.
Don’t go in the water.
Don’t eat too much.
Don’t laugh too loud.
Don’t fall in love. With anyone but a three-thumbed man.
This was the most purely delightful story I’ve read in a long time!!
If you love romantic comedies, then Moti on the Water needs to be on your reading list! Honestly, this story would make an absolutely fantastic movie! It’s just sassy, joyful, feel-good story filled with swoony romance and family dynamics set against the backdrop of a summer cruise right before a wedding! Everything about it is the ultimate recipe for a summer romance except this one has several unique twists to it that make it a truly refreshing read!
Leylah Attar is one of the most gifted writers I’ve ever read. I’ve first fell in love with her writing style and incredible unique stories in her debut novel 53 Letters For My Lover (my review), and then again in her second darker gritty romance The Paper Swan (my review). Her third novel Mists of the Serengeti (my review) is one of the single best books I’ve ever read (like seriously, it’s unbelievably good!!!) and one of my only ever 6 star ratings!! Needless to say, she’s one of those authors whose new books I automatically know I want to read even before reading the blurb.
By the end of the first page of this book, I was smiling.
By the end of the second page, I was grinning.
Then I literally highlighted the entire third page, while still smiling.
And from then I was hooked on this strangely heart-warming, quietly sassy, down-to-earth, and unexpectedly hilarious story of a woman whose mother had been told by a mystic that if she ever married anyone other than her soulmate her mother would die in a week and yet on a wedding cruise found love in the least likely of places!
“Anyways. I never bought into the idea of soul mates. The notion that the universe owed me this one perfect person who fit me completely, loved me unconditionally, gave me toe-curling orgasms, retained his hair, teeth and erections, and put up with my shit through every single phase of life, was a huge burden to put on anyone. Hell, I’d run the other way if someone expected all that of me.”
I loved the forbidden twist to the romance, and even more I loved the strong deeper message behind the light-hearted aspect of the story to follow your heart and dare to dream outside the box. Not to mention that the humor was on point!
Some people will tell you that hunger is a sensation. Lies. Hunger is the mother of all emotion. Angry? Check how long it’s been since you last ate. Tired? You probably didn’t have enough to eat. Bored? You’re eating the same thing — same place, same time. Pretty much every disaster in human history can be traced back to the lack of a burrito.
The way the ending of this story came together was just brilliant! I could see that whole scene unfolding in my head like one of those single-shots in a movie where the camera just keeps swirling and swirling around the room… it was amazing!!
If you’re looking for a beautiful love story that’ll keep you smiling, this is definitely it!!!
Rating: 4.5 stars! Standalone Contemporary Romantic Comedy.
Harry says
Moti indeed is another masterpiece of Leylah. Everything fits well, you are directly from page one totally in to the story. Its full of humor. Each book of Leylah is a masterpiece on its own. Just read it and you want to read it again and you will totally agree with Aestas.
Btw…. love this review too but I would have appointed 3 thumbs and 5 stars 😉
Aestas says
Ha! You’re right, 3 thumbs up would be a good rating 🙂