You, Me & Other People – Book Review

You, Me & other People by Fionnuala Kearney

Rating: 4/5

Okay blog friends, I have been READING! I picked up this book in a thrift store for the simple reason that it says “definitely one for fans of Liane Moriarty, Jojo Moyes” on the cover. (lol NO shame, these are my 2 of my fave authors)

This story is about family drama between Beth, Adam(a total dickwad?), daughter Meg, and all Adams women he’s cheated with. The story follows the breakdown of their marriage and drama that unfolds as Beth and Meg come to learn Adam’s lies. The story gradually delves depeer into Adam’s family secrets and it’s revealed that perhaps he is just protecting himself. At the beginning of the book I did not like Adam, and found myself taking sides with Beth and Meg but near the end of the book I understood Adam a bit more and this was the interesting part of the book. The author does a wonderful job at developing the characters. I was worried this book would be predictable but Kearney did a great job filling the book with surprises I didn’t see coming!

This book shows that perhaps you can never really know a person. 

So what do you think?! Would you read this story? Have you read it already? What are YOU reading? 📚 📚 

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Top Books – 2016

Ahhhh 🙂 It’s finally time! Way back I thought I should do a yearly recap of all the best books I read this year to share with all you lovely people. This year I set a goal for myself to read 30 BOOKS!!! I am proud to announce I read 32!!! What was your 2016 reading goal and how did you do?! Not that it particularly matters how many books we read, more importantly that we had a relaxing time doing it, right?

OK lets do this. I’m going to do this simply and share ALL the books that received a 4 or better rating by ME. The order doesn’t matter – it’s just the order that I read them in 🙂

The Golden Son – Somaya Shilpi Gowda

Pretty Girls – Karin Slaugter

Into the Darkest Corner – Elizabeth Haynes

The Stranger – Harlan Coben

The Hypnotists Love Story – Liane Moriarty

The Illegal – Lawrence Hill

The Kind Worth Killing – Peter Swanson

Safe as Houses – Eric Walters

Forgotten Secrets – Robin Perini

My Girl – Jack Jordan

After the Lie – Kerry Fisher

The Vanishing Year – Kate Moretti

Baby Doll – Hollie Overton

ROOM – Emma Donoghue

Me Before You – Jojo Moyes

Primates of Park Avenue – Wednesday Martin

It’s hard to believe I read THIS many wonderful books! Keep in mind these books were not necessarily written in 2016, I just happened to read them this year. NOW what will I read in 2017?! One book I know I want to read is Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I have my copy waiting for me at my public library…I’m about to go pick it up!✌

2016 was a GOOD year for me personally – I went back to school and continued to progress my relationship with my partner. I’ve learned a lot about myself and I even started my first vegetable garden which I’m sure some of you have read about in my prior posts.

Now I want to hear from YOU 🙂 What books did you LOVE or DISLIKE in 2016? Have you read any of my TOP books? I can’t wait to hear about it!!! What should I read in 2017?! I must THANK YOU ALL for being dedicated readers and friends to my blog, I really do love reading your posts and responding to comments😍. It’s the best fun. OH and if you aren’t my friend on Goodreads, BE MY PAL! I also need to thank Netgalley for providing me with so many lovely books this year. TO EVERYONE: HAPPY 2017 – LET’S READ LOTS, GROW VEGGIES AND EAT TONNES OF YUMMY FOOD ❤📚🌱🍅🍷

I See You, Clare Mackintosh – Book Review

Wowzers! I’ve had quite a strange Christmas; surgery and spending 6 days in the hospital! All good now – just thankful for my loved ones. ANYWAY with all that time in a bed I got to read a book I’ve been dying to get my eyes on! 😀

I See You

Rating: 3.7/5 (SORRY I just couldn’t give it a 3.5 or 4…HAHA!)

I See You by Clare Mackintosh is one of those books I got hooked to, it was creepy enough to keep me reading yet had a slice predictably…but don’t let that stop you from giving it a chance!

If you haven’t read  I SeeI found Mackintosh did a wonderful job until  You, it’s about a women named Zoe Walker who finds her photo in the classifieds section of the newspaper and understandably  wants to know why her face is next to a phone numer and website called FindTheOne.com. A website where unsuspecting women’s commute details are posted for men to buy, and then do whatever they want with. Zoe discovers some women are victims of violent crimes, even murder. Zoe becomes paranoid, worried she is the next target. I say no more!

There are many WOAH moments in I See You. I’m not a paranoid person but even I thought whether I could be followed easily or stalked. Until chapter 33 I was hooked and thought Mackintosh’s book deserved a 4/5. In chapter 33 the book became predictable and I started rolling my eyes(Sorry!). Throughout the book I did wonder if Zoe’s character needed more depth – or perhaps I thought the woman was a bit…dim! I DID like this book, I just wanted to LOVE it so I was a tad disappointed with the last few chapters. 😕

I want to know what YOU think! Have you read I See You? Have you read I Let You Go, Mackintosh’s previous book? I don’t have my next book chosen, so let’s hear some suggestions! 📚 I’m in the need of another good mystery or thriller I think! What are YOU reading? I’m eager to hear from all you lovely people. 😙*Stay tuned for my LAST 2016 post…it’s going.to be a good one! All about this year’s BEST books and a few things I’ve learned 😁

Me Before You Series – Jojo Moyes

Boy, people love this series. After seeing hundreds of posts and reviews on it, I knew I had to give it a try. Known for making people weep, Me Before You(#1) kept me hooked until the end. This book is the perfect example of why we should never judge a book by its cover!

Me Before You #1
Rating: 5/5

If you haven’t read it, or heard of it I’ll give you a quick summary without any spoilers. Lou, gets a job as a caretaker for Will Traynor, a quadraplegic man. Will is understandly stubborn to leave the house and is miserable after his accident. Over the course of Moyes story, Lou’s charisma and realness has an affect on Will. She organizes trips and outings for Will and is determined to make him happier. There’s much more to this book but I don’t want to spoil anything!

This book was intensely fantastic. It’s heart warming and heart crushing all at the same time. Oddly I didn’t cry like many readers say they do, but I certainly was close. This story is extremely thought provoking, dealing with assisted suicide among other topics.

Me Before You reminds me of the movie Intouchables(2012) which has a similar story line(a must see!!!)

After You (#2)
Rating: 3.5/5

Coming into this book I already had bias since I didn’t think Moyes needed a second book. Me Before You#1 was so powerful and emotional I thought it would he difficult to proceed with the story.

And for me, it was. I didn’t love this book unfortunately.

Lou is back, and has joined a support group. She’s also sustained a fairly serious injury due to falling off her roof. Her life seems to be somewhat in shambles. If you tell you the rest I’ll ruin it. Basically Lou’s life changes and everything falls into place(which is nice) but unrealistic. Not a bad book – just tough after you’ve read Me Before You.

Now I’m in a reading rut. I have started a few books but just can’t get into any of them. Boo! What are you reading? Have you read these two books? What are your thoughts? 📚📖😄

Book Review Monday

As promised, today I’ll be reviewing two riveting books I read in June. Baby Doll by Hollie Overton and My Husband’s Son by Deborah O’Connor. Happy Independence Day to my neighbors to the south! 🌍📚🍷

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
Rating: 5/5

Lily, abducted as a teenager, now has a child named Sky. Together they are being held captive…until one day their captor leaves the bolt to the room unlocked.

At the beginning of the book I hadn’t a clue what to expect since the kidnapped was back with her family within the first few chapters. Usually this wouldn’t happen until the end, so I had no idea what filled the book ahead of me.

Throughout this book I kept thinking how good it was, but how bad it could be if the author went in a certain direction. The author does a good job at capturing the struggles and joys in the characters lives. I enjoyed that this book wasn’t strictly about Lily’s years in captivity, like all (?) books dealing with situations like this. Instead it’s about life after she’s freed and building a new life for herself and her daughter, Sky. Yes, there are parts that were unrealistic and I was quite skeptical that things would play out like that in real life but hey, it’s fiction right?

Overall I loved this book and finished it in 2 days.

My Husbands Son by Deborah O’Connor

Rating: 4/5

Heidi and Jason…a couple who are brought together by the loss of their children. They met at a conference for parents dealing with this loss. Heidi’s daughter was murdered, Jason’s son was abducted and is still missing. One day Heidi sees a boy that looks just like Jason’s missing son. Interesting plot, right?

My Husbands Son was a good book. Due to the fascinating plot and fast paced nature, the author kept me hooked all the way through. I’ve given it 3 stars stars because I don’t actually LIKE any of the characters in this book; Heidi is strange, Jason is an ass face, Tommy is very creepy, Vicky had no brains…just no depth. I would still recommend reading this one though, because the story line is quite captivating. Until the ending, where I just wanted to hit my head against a wall.

Up next I’m reading Room, which I’ve been excited to read since it came out. I’m very interested to hear from you about these books. Would you read either of them? Have you? What are you reading? Happy reading!