hello all! i hope everyone had a happy holiday season. since i’ve been home for a few weeks, i’ve had time to get through a ton of books! i think in the first week i was home, i finished 3. i’ve seen and read so many great books lately that i figured it was time to share some of them. one of my new years resolutions has been to read more (even though most people probably think i read enough already, haha). i just love getting caught up in stories that have me enthralled for hours, making it impossible to put the book down, even when i can barely stay awake. anyways, if anyone else has any resolutions to read more in 2017, these will hopefully do the trick to get you in the reading spirit too!
side note: i was also thinking of signing up for book of the month but don’t know much about it, anyone more familiar? please let me know in the comments if so, it seems like it might be a great idea!
all the missing girls–megan miranda
synopsis: “It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.
The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.”
***ps the synopses are from the back of the book because i would ramble on for three decades if i tried to sum up any of these in my own words.
my opinion: LOVED!! i thought it was so creative that the book was told in reverse and it kept me reading late into the night (i seriously finished it at like 3am) because each chapter just gets you closer and closer to finding out what happened! probably my favorite on this list, next to the woman in cabin 10.
behind closed doors–b.a. paris
synopsis: “Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.
Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace’s friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn’t Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?
And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?
The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?”
my opinion: omg this book was creeeeeeeeeeepy! if you like psychological thrillers, this is the one for you! it also really makes you think about the ways people perceive themselves versus what actually goes on “behind closed doors!!” lol sorry the title really just says it all.
the vacationers-emma straub
synopsis: “For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.
This is a story of the sides of ourselves that we choose to show and those we try to conceal, of the ways we tear each other down and build each other up again, and the bonds that ultimately hold us together. With wry humor and tremendous heart, Emma Straub delivers a richly satisfying story of a family in the midst of a maelstrom of change, emerging irrevocably altered yet whole.”
my opinion: whether you have an upcoming tropical trip or simply wish you had an upcoming tropical trip (that sentence right there should apply to 99% of the people that read this) then you need this book! it’s such a feel good read that really puts you in a great mood every time you turn the page, while also allowing you to connect and love the characters. it’s also one of the only on this list that’s available in paperback right now aka CHEAPER wooo!!!
the woman in cabin 10–ruth ware
synopsis: “In this tightly wound story, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…
With surprising twists and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another intense read.”
my opinion: my top favorite on this list, if that says anything at all! ruth ware really knows how to write mystery/suspense novels and this book is no exception. i had several “gasp!” moments throughout this book, i can’t speak highly enough of it!
***also, i recently read her other book, in a dark, dark wood, which came out before this one (and is thus also available in paperback), and loved it all the same. reese witherspoon (who helped adapt gone girl into a movie) is doing the same thing with in a dark, dark wood! maybe for my next post i’ll write more about it. nevertheless, if you read the woman in cabin 10 and love it and ware’s writing like i did, this should be next on your list!
the most dangerous place on earth–lindsey lee johnson
synopsis: “In an idyllic community of wealthy California families, new teacher Molly Nicoll becomes intrigued by the hidden lives of her privileged students. Unknown to Molly, a middle school tragedy in which they were all complicit continues to reverberate for her kids: Nick, the brilliant scam artist; Emma, the gifted dancer and party girl; Dave, the B student who strives to meet his parents expectations; Calista, the hippie outcast who hides her intelligence for reasons of her own. Theirs is a world in which every action may become public postable, shareable, indelible. With the rare talent that transforms teenage dramas into compelling and urgent fiction, Lindsey Lee Johnson makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with the sorrow, passion, and beauty of life in any time, and at any age.”
my opinion: sooooo i actually haven’t read this one yet, because i just got it at barnes and noble the other day (it came out on january 10th). however, i was quite intrigued by the synopsis and it kind of seemed like a modern day gossip girl (even though i just realized gossip girl was actually pretty modern day hahaha) but anyways hopefully it will be good! i’ll let you know in my next book post.
the hopefuls-jennifer close: a guest post by my sister, emma!!!!
synopsis: “When Beth arrives in Washington, D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn’t work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunch, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy’s star rises higher and higher, their friendship–and Beth’s relationship with Matt–is threatened by jealousy, competition and rumors.”
EMMA’S OPINION: Hi everyone! Megan asked me to write a little review about this book and since I love everything that is reading and writing I jumped at the chance. Let me preface this by saying that I’ve had my eye on this book or a few months now but have selfishly been waiting for someone else to buy it for me (does anyone else have a hard time paying $26 for a book?!). But thankfully my lovely mother got it for me for Christmas- thanks mom! Overall, I enjoyed the book since it takes place in Washington D.C. and really delves into the lives of four millennials who are trying to make a name for themselves. Although at times the story dragged on just a little, the character development was incredible, and by the end of the book, I felt as though I was close friends with the four main characters. That being said, I don’t think this book would be everyone’s cup of tea, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the world of politics. The author does a wonderful job of showing how political and personal worlds can intertwine very easily to create some interesting and scandalous situations. I give it 4 stars!
(wow this made all of my reviews look ridiculous, seriously emma you’re the best-megan)
as usual, let me know if you read any of these and (hopefully) love them like i did! and last but not least, upcoming:
books i’m reading now/want to get my hands on right this minute!
don’t you cry–mary kubica
kill the next one-federico axat
into the water-paula hawkins (doesn’t come out till may, ugh! but she also wrote the girl on the train and i loved that so i can’t even imagine how much i’ll love this one!)
pretty girls-karin slaughter
before the fall-noah hawley (seems sort of like lost but as a book!)
the tourist-robert dickinson (one of those that i started and couldn’t get into but am going to force myself to finish gosh darn it megan!!!)
i’ll update you all in a month or two when i get through the next round! and also thanks emma for guest writing this week- i want you to write more! (she’s seriously 10 zillion times better at writing than i ever will be).
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