Book Review and GIVEAWAY: The Copenhagen Affair, by Amulya Malladi {ends 3/14}

By Yango - March 07, 2018

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

The day after the ambassador’s dinner, Harry came back home early, and he was about to go up the stairs to the apartment when he wondered what was the point. She would be in bed or sitting on the couch watching television and ignoring him. The irony was not lost upon him. He had spent a large part of their marriage ignoring her, and now it was her turn. It didn’t make it any easier to swallow.

Marriage, he had always envisioned as a convenience. Sanya called it a pooling of resources, emotional and financial; it was the bulwark of her life, she used to say. She didn’t say it now. She didn’t say much to him now.


The Copenhagen Affair is one of seven novels by Amulya Malladi. While the books are not a series, they all deal with difficult emotional territory. Malladi did the opposite of Sanya, the main character in The Copenhagen Affair by moving from Copenhagen to Los Angeles. I felt a bit connected with this book while watching the evolution of Harry and Sanya’s marriage, and Sanya’s search for a working definition of love and marriage.

Official synopsis:
Book Review: The Copenhagen Affair, by Amulya Malladi
Sanya was always the perfect wife, but after a breakdown at her office, it’s her husband Harry’s turn to step up. His proposal? A temporary move to Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital city. He needs to be there to close a business deal and figures the change of scenery will do her good. Soon Sanya goes from hiding under her duvet to hiding in plain sight—a dark-skinned Indian American in a city of blondes.

Within Copenhagen’s glamorous high society, one man stands out—not only because of his intriguing scar but because he sees Sanya in a way Harry hasn’t for years. Anders Ravn owns the company Harry wants to acquire, and soon Sanya begins to fall for him. As allegations of white-collar crime arise, she learns of Harry’s infidelity, and having an affair with Anders seems ever more tempting. Surrounded by old money, smoked fish on dark breads, and way too many bicycles, Sanya slowly moves from breakdown to breakthrough, but where will she end up—and with whom?

I really enjoyed Sanya’s story. She suffered what she called an "implosion," or nervous breakdown, after her busy but predictable life as a wife, mother, and career woman of many years. No one had ever questioned her competency at any of her roles, so the implosion surprises everyone, including Sanya. She went from doing everything, to a sudden and complete stop. Her husband Harry is as blindsided as anyone, so when his company wants him to research a company they may takeover in Denmark, he figures moving Sanya there may be just the right change to get her out of her doldrums. They agree to move to an apartment in Copenhagen for one year.

While characters are always my first love, I also enjoyed reading about their life in Copenhagen, and the cultural differences, including their focus on work/life balance. There are several interesting observations and conversations between characters about the way things are dealt with by those who were born there, vs all the others who moved there through work or marriage.

Sometimes a book tries to do too much with several plot lines, but in this case, it worked great. While the company merger seems to be just an excuse for Harry to move Sanya to Copenhagen, by the end of the book, the discoveries about the companies by Harry and his team, Sanya, and some of the other characters change everyone’s lives.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed being involved with the characters, and always wanted to know what was coming next. I felt like I was learning about them right alongside them learning about themselves and the new relationships they were forming.

{click here to purchase this book}

Becki Bayley has been happily married for 12 years and has two delightful children. She’s been blogging in and around SE Michigan for 16 years at SweetlyBSquared.com.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of The Copenhagen Affair!

Enter to win via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, March 14th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified via email the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

The Copenhagen Affair, by Amulya Malladi

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