Branche Olive: Reviews
Reviews have appeared on a variety of websites such as Amazon and Goodreads as well as directly to the Branche Olive mailbox.
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button on the right. All comments are most welcome.
| ***** | Amazon | Apr 25 2014 |
| Review by Nadine Bach | Fleur de Lis | |
| What an enjoyable read; a modern romance with a twist! Ms. Leung's characters are well thought out and come across with vibrancy. I highly recommend. | ||
| ***** | Amazon | Feb 22 2014 |
| Review by Maureen Kelly-Leon | Fleur de Lis | |
| I wasn't sure what to expect, but this book is beautifully written and unique in many ways. This story of relationships and love is much more realistic than other novels. It left me wanting more, the sign of any great book- I can't wait to read Ms. Leung's second book!! | ||
| ***** | Website | Aug 29 2013 |
| Review by George | Fleur de Lis | |
| It's an amazing book. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what's next with these characters. Tracy's vivid descriptions of the different locations painted a true picture of the cities involved. Desperately awaiting the next adventures from Tracy Leung! | ||
| **** | Barnes & Noble | Jul 20 2013 |
| Review by Anonymous | Martin | |
| This is a good book. It was written well and the words just flowed. I liked it very much. J... :-@ | ||
| ***** | Amazon | Jul 4 2013 |
| Great read by Kara425 | Martin | |
| First book to captivate me in a long time (I read a lot). I never put it down! Can't wait for Fleur de Lis; I'm starting immediately! This author is great! | ||
| ***** | Amazon | Mar 26 2013 |
| Amazing by Anne | Fleur de Lis | |
| Beautifully and passionately written, I couldn't put the book down. I simply fell in love with all the characters in this book. Wanting to read more and more into their lives, finding pieces of myself in each of them and relating to their journeys. I didn't want it to end. Fleur de Lis is a brilliant, fun and exciting journey. recommend. | ||
| **** | Goodreads | Oct 21 2012 |
| Review by Diana Almeida Pinho | Fleur de Lis | |
| I received the book Branche Olive: Fleur de Lis by winning a Goodreads giveaway and recently finished reading it. I have to say that I will read the other ones as well. When I first started reading it, I thought the story would be about "perfect happy love" but it turns out this book has a good balance of events. It's definitely a good read! | ||
| *** | Amazon | Oct 17 2012 |
| Hemingway does Romance by KT Hicks | Fleur de Lis | |
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Imagine if you will, what Ernest Hemmingway would have written if he'd put it into his mind to write an erotic romance. That's Fleur de Lis. The sentences are concise and sparse on detail, and yet each paragraph is vivid and evocative. The characters more read like Great Gatsby to me, wounded and vulnerable, prone to making terrible decisions in the name of love... My biggest problem with the book was my tendency to want to shove things in boxes; the story didn't have quite enough steamy details to count as an erotic novel, but waaaay too much sex for a straight-up romance; there are multiple relationships in play here, including a gay romance. There were many tragedies - abortions, miscarriages, deaths, broken relationships, screwed up family life - so it might count as lit-fic, except that all the people who had sex mostly enjoyed it, so, you know... maybe not. I spent quite a while reading it trying to decide what genre Ms. Leung was going for. I never did really come to a conclusion about that. I admit to spending some time, while reading it, to quoting bits and pieces of it to a friend of mine while chatting online. The constantly shifting time-line - there were a lot of flashbacks - confused me a bit, and I had to read a little more carefully than I tend to want to. I read really quickly, but sometimes I don't absorb everything, so if the plot is at all complex, I sometimes miss subtle clues. I give it 3.5 stars. |
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| ***** | Amazon | Jul 25 2012 |
| I want more, I love these stories!! by Shawn | Martin | |
| Ms. Leung's writing is amazing. I have a much greater understanding of the relationship between Olivia and Martin since reading "Martin". Ms. Leung has a knack for taking a character to another level! I once hated Martin but now... | ||
| ***** | Website | Jul 10 2012 |
| Review of your book by Norma Hernandez | Fleur de Lis | |
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Your writing created the "hook" on me as a reader.
The book was very entertaining, I can identify myself while reading, and helps to develop imagination. And that's Great! At the beginning, I would get lost until I got used to your style. It is not vulgar. I'm not an expert on reviews but the writings on the sexual descriptions were very sensual and with good taste. This is one proof that you're an excellent writer! |
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| **** | Amazon & Goodreads | Jul 6 2012 |
| A superb modern romance by Cadiva | Fleur de Lis | |
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With her debut book, new author Tracy Leung has delivered a powerhouse of a novel with just the right amount of bite to stop it being a saccharine sweet tale of love.
Fleur de Lis, the first book in the Branche Olive series, centres around Olivia, a damaged young Frenchwoman who is still reeling from a tragic loss when she bumps into Simon, who appears on the surface to be a wealthy playboy, however he also carries his own demons. Simon is in love with Rajesh, he loves Simon but, for propriety's sake, and to keep his family's wealth firmly in his pocket, must put on the traditional appearance of marriage with the beautiful Ayati to appease his strict Indian parents. This complex tale sweeps the reader through emotional highs and lows as Olivia seeks to find a new place without Henry, opening the flower shop he had bought her in London while employing Nanette to look after things in the Parisian store where she first met her lover. With excellent narrative the story moves from Paris to London, onto New York and across to the more far flung corners of the world as this foursome seek to establish the boundaries in their complicated relationships. The sex scenes are exceptionally well done, nothing too graphic but still delivering on emotional connection between the characters, both gay and straight, and the reader can feel the pain of both Simon and Olivia as they try to find a pathway in a marriage which started as a means to an end. Olivia is a seriously damaged character and Ms Leung does well to prevent her becoming one-dimensional. She creates a heroine who is as complex as she is frustrating, one the reader alternatively wants to shake and then give a big hug to. The rest of the characters are equally well rounded, there is no-one who appears simply as a means to drive forward the plot, each person has a place which gives an insight into the world of Olivia, Simon, Rajesh and Ayati. And it is a beautiful and fascinating world to journey in. |
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| ***** | Amazon | Jul 2 2012 |
| I hate Martin ... by Alex | Martin | |
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That is... I hate the character Martin, not the story that bears this bastard's name... This is a short prequel to Fleur de Lis and gives some background information and insight in Martin's character and details how he originally met Olivia. I started this review saying that I hate Martin... and I did, with a passion. Tracy Leung has a knack for making her characters feel real... they're flawed people that struggle with the choices they face, and sometimes I just wanted to shake Martin. Leung's writing always manages to get under my skin. If you like this, definitely read Fleur de Lis! |
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| ***** | Amazon | Jun 21 2012 |
| Fleur de Lis, a truly wonderful story!! by Shawn | Fleur de Lis | |
| This is a fabulous book! This story reaches beyond all races, gender and sexual orientation and is simply a beautiful and different kind of love story. The author has created characters with such depth. I have grown attached to them and cant wait to see what happens in the next 2 books! | ||
| ***** | Amazon & Goodreads | Jun 1 2012 |
| A great start to the trilogy by Paul | Fleur de Lis | |
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This book pleasantly surprised me on a number of levels. As a man, the idea of Women's Fiction' didn't immediately appeal to me, but upon reading, it didn't take long for me to become drawn to the characters as their personalities and situations developed.
A sign of a good actor is that they can elicit an emotional reaction from you when playing a part. You laugh with them, hurt for them and even if you totally dislike the character they play, you are involved with them.
Tracy Leung does the same with the 'actors' in her novel. I found myself growing more attached to certain characters whilst being wary of others. As with all good stories though, first impressions are not always correct and you, as the reader, find yourself being manipulated along with the characters themselves. Although the book deals in depth with the sexual side of relationships, both straight and gay, the narrative never descends to being crude or graphic. The intimacies encountered throughout the book are an integral part of the development of the players, serving to illustrate their respective strengths, frailties and changing status. The descriptions used - of people and places - is always enough to allow you to see the story in your mind's eye, without being so overwhelming as to take away the readers imagination. Sometimes less is more and my image of Olivia will not be the same as yours, but in all cases she will be the Olivia that Ms Leung wanted her to be. I found the plot development in the story to be intriguing and felt a sense of accomplishment as I began to tie the threads together. This is not a 'mystery' tale, but still requires the reader to be alert and look for clues as events and characters become entwined. This is book one of a trilogy. I look forward to continuing my journey in the world Ms Leung has created. In the interest of full disclosure I must point out that I am the husband of the author. HOWEVER, I did not read, either in total or in part, any of this novel until it had reached it's final edits. This review is based solely on my personal impression of the story. |
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It's an amazing book. I couldn't put it down.
I can't wait to see what's next with these
characters.
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