I recently had the opportunity to do an exciting book review.  While I have not previously done book reviews, I am and have always been a major reader.  Reading is one of my favorite pastimes, and if I had to choose between watching TV and reading a book, the book will always win.  So now I bring you my very first book review.

About the Book:

The book I was asked to review is called The Dawn of Saudi: In Search for Freedom, by Homa Pourasgari.  With one glance at the cover, I had a feeling this would be my kind of book.  I love reading about other cultures through fictional stories, as they have the power to completely immerse me into a foreign place, almost like a vacation without leaving the house.  I love reading about the mysterious Middle Eastern culture, as it is so completely different from the world we live in here in the United States.

The Dawn of Saudi follows two women, one American (Dawn) and one Saudi (Sahar), living in Saudi Arabia in the present time.  One is stuck in an abusive marriage, and one is set to be married to a much older groom chosen by her grandfather.  Neither of these women are happy, and above all else, they long for freedom.  Plans for escape are set in motion, and while one woman doesn’t live to escape, one manages to flee to the US.  She ends up falling in love with Jason, a rich American businessman, but her past comes back to haunt her, and to hunt her.

You can watch the book trailer for The Dawn of Saudi below:

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Review:

Once I started reading The Dawn of Saudi, I had a hard time putting it down.  The story was a great mystery, always leaving me wanting to find out what would happen next.  The plot twists always took me by surprise, and I was totally drawn into the intricate web of characters.  The book’s theme, freedom, was examined from every angle over the course of the story, and left me asking myself questions about what freedom means to me as well as applying it to the characters.

While the story is fiction, much of the subject matter is not.  The book largely focuses on bringing to light the many human rights issues and injustices faced by women in Saudi Arabia.  In fact, the passion for telling the world about the struggles of Saudi women is what inspired the author to write this book.

The real life scenarios and scenes of life in Saudi Arabia were incredibly interesting to read about.  I can’t help but be horrified and shocked by the way women are owned as property, and the archaic religious laws that are followed and respected.  It’s hard to believe that such a place exists, and that we, as Americans, don’t hear about the negative aspects of the country.  Because our government depends on Saudi Arabia so much economically, they are basically granted free reign over selecting how our media and government portrays them.  Activists living in Saudi Arabia are silenced by the government, even limiting what is published online, thereby preventing other countries from ever seeing firsthand accounts of the atrocities.

The fiction and nonfiction in the book is blended almost seamlessly, with only a few spots where I thought the dialogue felt forced by too much information.  Also affecting the dialogue was the author’s impeccable language and writing style, which made for a very well-written book, but made some of the dialogue seem unrealistic to me.  At times I just couldn’t picture modern-day Americans speaking that way; for example, at one point a shocked Jason exclaims, “Good Heavens!”  Being a reader as I am, I must say I noticed a few typos and errors in grammar, but I have yet to find a book that has none.

Overall, I loved The Dawn of Saudi.  From the first chapter, the action and intrigue kept me happily engrossed, and the characters kept me rooting for them.  I was sad when it was over, and I will definitely read it again in the future.  I recommend this book to anyone, since it could appeal to fans of mysteries, romances, international or foreign culture books, or just anybody who loves a great story.

About the author:

The Dawn of Saudi is Homa Pourasgari’s award-winning second book, following her debut novel, Lemon Curd.  A world traveler from the age of five, Pourasgari has been exposed to many different cultures in her life.  She has also experienced many different career choices; after acquiring a Business degree from Loyola Marymount University, followed by a year in Paris studying literature, she spent time working in various industries such as marketing, retail, banking, accounting and fitness.  She refers to writing as her true love to whom she always comes back to.  Homa Pourasgari currently lives in Los Angeles and is a member of the Association of Iranian American Writers and The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society.

To find out more about the author, you can visit her website, HomaPourasgari.com.

Buy It:

The Dawn of Saudi: In Search for Freedom can be purchased online at Amazon.

Win It:

The author has generously offered to send one Hardly a Housewife reader their own copy of The Dawn of Saudi.  I am super excited to share this book with one of you, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

The giveaway is run through Rafflecopter, with very easy entries.  It will be open until Sunday, April 15th, at 11:59pm EST.  After it ends, a winner will randomly be chosen and emailed by me.  Please add christy@hardlyahousewifeblog.com to your safe sender list so you will be notified if you win.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes, and my opinions are 100% honest and completely my own.