Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Wowza! This was a roller coaster of a book! I've been meaning to read "Gone Girl" for awhile but it's always been checked out since they announced there would be a movie. Just watched the trailer, by the way, and it looks good. I love Rosamund Pike; I've always wished she was in more movies and I think she'll be a perfect Amy.

On the morning of their 5th wedding anniversary, Nick comes home to the front door hanging open, signs of a struggle in their living room, and his wife Amy missing. The police investigation goes south and all evidence suggests the husband is a killer, while Nick insists he is innocent.

There are so many plot twists that it's hard to write much of a review without giving away spoilers, but suffice it to say that I was hooked and kept guessing throughout the story. There's quite a bit of language, so much that I had to seriously monitor my normally clean speech because I constantly had the book's tone in my head. In general, I found the story a touch disturbing, but this could be because I read it mostly in the middle of the night while nursing my newborn. I would probably recommend reading this during daylight hours. :)

Overall a very good read!

4 out of 5 stars

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

It's been a few weeks since I read this delightful book so some of the details may be sketchy. This was recommended by my good friend, a recommendation for which I am grateful because otherwise I probably would never have found this story. I love getting good suggestions from people so if any of you readers have a book you loved I want to hear about it!

Bernadette is an eccentric, middle-aged woman living in Seattle with her husband and daughter, Bee. Her husband is a big shot working at Microsoft and their daughter attends a small private school. Bernadette is a famous architect, though she hasn't worked in years, since before they moved to Seattle. She hates Seattle, all the parents of the kids at Bee's school, and her neighbors, and pretty much everything about life at the moment, except for her family. One day, after a confrontation with her husband and a shrink, Bernadette goes missing. This book is a compilation of letter, emails, observations, and journal entries, all put together by Bee in an effort to find her mother.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was different; the characters were all interesting, Bernadette is especially endearing, and the method with which the story is told was refreshing. There were parts that rambled on a bit long and lost my attention, but for the most part this was a very fun read!

4 out of 5 stars

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

This was a very cool book. My husband is obsessed with Brandon Sanderson's work but I've always been a little intimidated by them, mostly because the books are all absolutely gigantic and teeny tiny print. I couldn't imagine really getting into them. But my sister in law recommended this one and she and I have pretty similar tastes in literature so I thought I'd give it a try. Boy am I glad I did because Steelheart is fantastic!!

Sadly, it's the first of (I believe) a trilogy so there are plenty of loose ends at the finish. Typically I won't start a series that isn't already finished because there's nothing worse than cliffhangers when you don't have the next book handy. Thankfully, this one wraps things up enough so you're not out-of-your-mind-crazy for the next one, but still want more.

Brief synopsis: People have been gifted with powers that turn them evil and they become the rulers of the world; they're called Epics. One particularly powerful and evil Epic is Steelheart, who has turned the area previously known as Chicago into his domain. Steelheart is supposed to be impossible to hurt, let alone kill, but David, an 18 year old, is the lone witness in the destruction of a bank where he was wounded. David, convinced he can discover how to kill Steelheart and get revenge for his father's death, seeks out the Reckoners, a group of rebels who kill Epics whenever they can. Together he knows they can fight to end Steelheart's grip on the city.

This was certainly a page-turner, jam packed with action with a healthy dose of humor. Can't wait for the sequel!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

I am currently experiencing an extremely rare moment when my newborn and my toddler are asleep at the same time. Highly unusual because my toddler doesn't nap anymore (man, grocery shopping really wiped her out today!) and my newborn rarely sleeps anywhere but my arms, so this post will be quick.

Just finished this new book by Shannon Hale, my favorite author, this morning. Quite different from anything else she's done but as usual it was very entertaining. Dangerous stars a girl named Maisey Danger Brown, an intelligent home-schooled girl with only one arm who wins a trip to an astronaut camp from a contest off the back of a cereal box. Camp turns out to be something more than the standard, and she and 4 others are gifted with supernatural powers, intended for them to save the world from an alien invasion.

Yes, very different from Hale's typical fairy tale, happily ever after stories. Lots of action and plot twists. I was engaged for the entire ride. Definitely recommend!

4 out of 5 stars

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Well this was an interesting book. The summary on the back describes it as a a love story between two dueling magicians, but I don't think that is an accurate description at all.

There are two timeless magicians, both male, who have enjoyed over the centuries taking on an apprentice each, then having them duel to see who is the greater teacher. They find Celia and Marco while they are children and train them individually to be the best magicians possible. True magicians, not the tricks and illusions usually found in circuses. The Night Circus is the venue in which Celia and Marco are to perform their magic.

It's kind of hard to write a description of this book because it's very artsy and magical and isn't really about any one thing. Celia and Marco do fall in love, but this isn't a love story. There is a diverse array of interesting characters, so it doesn't even feel right to say this is their story. It's more the circus's story than anyone else. The circus is constantly on the move, staying only in one city for a couple of days before moving on, and changes those who encounter it. By the time I was finished reading I wished I could go to the circus. I've never been before; the closest I've come is a carnival or fair, which isn't the same thing.

Overall I definitely liked this book. It was different from anything else I've read and it truly was magical and dreamlike. It was a little slow moving, and I was confused for awhile because it didn't seem to be following what I expected based off the summary I read, but I eventually decided to just go with the flow and try to enjoy wherever the circus took me.

4 out of 5 stars

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

I think I read Blackmoore back in January or so, and details are definitely fuzzy! I have got to stay on top of these book reviews!! I have read exactly one other book by Julianne Donaldson, Edenbrooke, which is spectacular. One of the few books (ever) that I have read back-to-back just because I wanted to savor it a little more. Blackmoore, while definitely a good read, wasn't quite as good.

Our star is Kate, a young Regency woman who knows she will never marry and dreams of escaping to India with her aunt. Her mother, however, has other plans. They strike a bargain in which Kate will be allowed to go to India only after she has received and declined 3 marriage proposals. To help her in this achievement, Kate gets the help of her long-time best friend Henry. However, problems come up when she realizes she just might be in love with him... Now how will she ever get to India??

Blackmoore is a real page-turner; I couldn't put it down and finished within a day or so. I really grew to care about Kate. She has the misfortune of being stuck with a truly horrible family, particularly her mother. She's desperate to go to India and avoid marriage because the only examples of marriage she's seen are from her mother (who is completely unrespectable in every way) and her older sister (who scandalously ran off with some guy). When she realizes she might have feelings for her friend, instead of acting on them, she does what she thinks is best for him and his situation and locks her heart away. I respect her for making hard choices and trying to do what she thinks is right. She was dealt some significant difficulties and, in my opinion, rose to the occasion. She gets a really great happy ending, though it was a little different from what I had expected.

Definitely a great read. Fast, enjoyable, and feel-good. You might need tissues handy as well, if I remember correctly... :)

4 out of 5 stars

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

I read this one back in January so a lot of the details are kind of fuzzy. I heard about Labor Day from a list of books that were being made into movies in 2014. From the synopsis, I thought this sounded like my kind of book: lonely single mom meets a handsome escaped criminal, a bit of romance, add a splash of danger, mix it up with a mother-son family relationship, and you have a potentially great story. Sadly, things didn't play out like I hoped they would.

First off, the whole book is told from the perspective of the 13-year old son, which immediately eliminates any possibility of experiencing the falling-in-love aspect that drew me to the story in the first place. It's not like I'm looking for steamy romance or anything (I'd read cheap romance novels if that's what I was hoping for), but I like to be inside the head of the person falling in love. Hear their thoughts and feel their emotions. Without that, what's the point??

So, given the fact that the entirety of the story is viewed through the male 13-year-old lenses, it wasn't a bad book. The characters were decent; you quickly grow to care for the escaped convict and hope for the happiest of endings for him and the mother, and the son is fairly relatable. I mostly was just disappointed because I had high hopes for a really juicy and satisfying love story and it certainly wasn't that. Ah well...maybe the movie version will spice things up a bit. After all, it does star Kate Winslet and she's amazing.

3 out of 5 stars