Life has certainly taken a series of unexpected twists and turns this year, as I welcome the 3rd anniversary of MBR’s Realm of Romance. I would have never ever thought this to be possible, but let me tell you, yes, life sure can throw you curve balls when you least expect it to.

The title itself for this blog post would raise a multitude of questions for those who are not aware of what I am talking about. Well, I will explain the reason why such an eyebrow raising term as ‘coup d’état’ has been used in a context such as this one. For one thing, I wouldn’t want anyone to forget for a minute that the democracy that we all talk about, that the whole world supports and wishes it were part of their own country and culture has been hijacked from my beloved country, the Maldives. Democracy is no more, it has been torn to shreds, stepped and trodden upon by money hungry politicians, who couldn’t digest the fact that power indeed begins from the common man. Yes, it is the coup d’état that took place on the 7th of February 2012 here at the sunny side of life that I am talking about.

That was the day that forever changed my outlook of life. I never thought it would be possible to fall into such a deep depression, the mere thought of how the Police and the Military raped our votes, cast our say aside and made a decision for the 300,000+ people of this country by toppling the FIRST democratically elected President from power sending my thoughts in so many directions that it nearly drove me nuts. It was a sad day for the majority of the people who said no to the ousted dictator who ruled for 30 long years with an iron fist, the atrocities committed under his power one that would always remain a part of Maldivian history – if the people have the perseverance to stay on the course of what is right and not stray onto the other side at the mere whiff of a wad of cash.

So all in all, this year has not been a good year on the home front. I wish things were different, I wish for it with my whole heart. I wish for so many things right now that it would be impossible to list them down in a blog post of this nature. I wish peace and prosperity for the beautiful country of ours that has been seized and paralyzed by the very people that should protect and love her like there is no tomorrow. I wish for the ‘President’ who is supposedly in the driving seat to step down and make way for elections, to work towards undoing the damage that he has done by stabbing his partner, the President in the back that fateful day. I wish for the international community to pressure the Maldives and its ‘government’  to do the right thing by its people, to give the people their voice back, to give back the people what is rightfully theirs to begin with. At this point, my undying gratitude goes out to everyone who contributes towards the call for elections, to restore democracy, who fight day in and day out to give people back the power that belongs rightfully to them alone.

And on that note, I would like to do a little bit of squeeing over here because I have managed to take care of my baby for this long without fumbling it all up, and sniffle a bit because my baby is all but grown up! She is able to stand on her own two feet I would say and I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single one of you who visits, reads and finds something worthy of adding to their TBR mountain from the list of reviews here. And a huge shout out to the authors as well, who give me the opportunity to review their books before they hit the shelves, and for trusting me enough to do right by them. A huge smooch to all of you for the unwavering support through this trying and difficult time of my life!

And that brings me to the giveaway potion of the post! Of course, I wouldn’t even dream of holding a blogoversary celebration without a giveaway now would I?

So, to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of my baby, I’m giving away a Kindle Touch to one lucky commenter on this blog post! All you have to do is wish my baby a happy anniversary and then tell me the best book that you have read so far this year. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a romance. And yes, this giveaway is open internationally! So comment away! 

GIVEAWAY RULES:

1. Giveaway is open internationally.
2. Giveaway will be open from July 30, 2012 till 00:00 hours of August 07, 2012 Maldivian time. (GMT +5)
3. To be eligible for entry, wish my baby a happy anniversary and then tell me the best book you have read so far this year! 
4. Don’t forget to leave a VALID e-mail address behind as a way to contact you. 
5. Help spread the word either via Twitter or Facebook or both and earn 5 extra entries each. And 5 extra entries  for those who like my FB page!

Best of luck everyone!

And happy anniversary smooches to my baby from her momma! xx