Book Club - Sharp Objects

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart 

Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg 

Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle 

As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

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Thoughts
This book was incredible! So well-written and thought-provoking, no to mention that it totally sucks you in. I feel like I can barely review it without giving something away. I loved the character development as well as the plot development as it got darker and darker. That's one thing - this book is dark. But please don't let that deter you from reading it!
If you've read Gone Girl, I totally recommend it. If you haven't read Gone Girl, I totally recommend both. :)

Book Club - 9.06

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

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Thoughts

I was really excited to finally get to read this book as it's been in my queue pretty much since it came out. I L.O.V.E. Harry Potter, so was more than a little bit curious as to what J.K. Rowling had up her sleeve. I was most certainly not disappointed.

I will admit, it was quite difficult to get into the book - it started off a bit slow and there are so many characters to keep track of! But once it picked up & I was able to keep everyone straight, it was a very good read. The development of the characters and story from beginning to end was really well done & I simply loved the ending.

I have yet to talk to anyone who's read it but I definitely recommend it - and not just because I want to have someone to talk to about it!

goodreads members also rated it:

Book Club! - 8.16

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.
Full description here

Thoughts
Evanovich's #14 was awesome! The whole description was just too long & ruins the mystery in my opinion. If you're not reading the Plum books because you think it's too long and will get stale - you're so wrong. I can't believe how good this book was considering how deep into the series I am. It took me two days to read. 'Nuff said!

Book Club - 8.08

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

Jen Lancaster hates to burst your happy little bubble, but life in the big city isn't all it's cracked up to be. Contrary to what you see on TV and in the movies, most urbanites aren't party-hopping in slinky dresses and strappy stilettos. But lucky for us, Lancaster knows how to make the life of the lower crust mercilessly funny and infinitely entertaining.

Whether she's reporting rude neighbors to Homeland Security, harboring a crush on her grocery store clerk, or fighting-and losing-the Battle of the Stairmaster- Lancaster explores how silly, strange, and not-so-fabulous real city living can be. And if anyone doesn't like it, they can kiss her big, fat, pink, puffy down parka.
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Thoughts

As if I could wait very long before I read another Jen Lancaster book! This woman makes me feel like my neurotic and wacky ways are totally normal. Well maybe not totally normal, but at a socially-acceptable level. This book was possible even better than Bitter since it got right into the life and humour of it without the back story that we already know.

What stands out the most for me are Jen's stories about her temp jobs. I would love to be able to just temp. I'd still do a good job, but not be so invested to the point of having work dreams nightmares! Plus, I'm always looking for a change of scenery! One can dream...

In the meantime, read Bitter then pick this up!

Book Club - 7.26

It's time for Book Club with Heather & Katie!

This week I'm reviewing:

At 320 pages, Janet Evanovich's novel is not exactly lean, but it is tightly wound. Stephanie Plum fans will rejoice as their heroine picks her way through a motley cast of deadbeats and lowlifes to solve sordid (and assorted) crimes. On hand, too, are Steph's raucous entourage of friends, relatives, and heartthrobs; past, present, and future.

New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet!
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Thoughts:
I'm back to the Plum series! This book was actually fantastic - it was definitely a page-turner and you'd never think this was Evanovich's thirteenth book in the series, meaning it didn't seem like she had a hard time bringing the story together. If you're reading and feel like the series is getting too slow, or much, or anything for you, don't stop! Keep reading! You'll be rewarded :)

Book Club - 7.19

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

This is the story of how a haughty former sorority girl went from having a household income of almost a quarter-million dollars to being evicted from a ghetto apartment... It's a modern Greek tragedy, as defined by Roger Dunkle in The Classical Origins of Western Culture: a story in which "the central character, called a tragic protagonist or hero, suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected."

In other words? The bitch had it coming.

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Thoughts:

This book was really great and I think part of it is because it was all true, more or less. I believe Lancaster made small changes to the facts but it's all based on her life. Truly hilarious. But also a bit scary how things transpired. Really makes you think about what you have in your life.

I may or may not also have seen a bit of me in Jen and her relationship with her boyfriend-then-husband. Overly-dramatic, competitive to a fault, know-it-all (at work & outside of) with a great guy who somehow tolerates it all...or brushes it off, whatever the case may be.

I can't wait to read some of her books, hopefully they're just as great!

Book Club - 6.28

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

A summer's evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse - the banality of work, the triviality of holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.
Each couple has a fifteen year old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children, and as civility and friendship disintegrates, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.
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Thoughts:

As usual, I had no idea what the premise of the book was before I started reading it. I later heard about comparisons to Gone Girl and I can see where people are coming from but I think that a twisted plot is really their own similarity. I enjoyed the mystery but I found it a bit anti-climactic. How does an author write a book that takes place all during one dinner? With a lot of boring, dry, mostly-irrelevant fluff in the middle. Seriously bored. But I got through it. But I really enjoyed the European style of writing overall (which you can definitely pick up on if you've read translated novels before) and that's a large part of why I'd recommend it!

Book Club - 6.21

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic sea, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory-a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election. To verify the authenticity of the find, the White house calls upon the skills of intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery-a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. But before she can warn the President, Rachel and Michael are ambushed by a team of assassins. Fleeing for their lives across a desolate and lethal landscape, their only hope for survival is to discover who is begin this masterful plot. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.

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Thoughts:
If I say 'typical Dan Brown' it will sound like this yet another one of his novels and not worth reading. Well it is worth reading and I mean that it is in line with his thought-provoking, twisted, well-thought out style. It always amazes me just how much research Brown must do in order to write his novels and that he goes through that for a fictional novel. Incredible. I always find I learn so much while thoroughly enjoying his page-turners. Now I definitely can't wait to read his newest, Inferno.

Book Club - 6.07

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

A breakthrough novel that pits young kingpins against a Mexican drug cartel, Savages is a provocative, sexy, and sharply funny thrill ride through the dark side of the war on drugs and beyond. Part-time environmentalist and philanthropist Ben and his ex-mercenary buddy Chon run a Laguna Beach–based marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from their loyal clientele. In the past when their turf was challenged, Chon took care of eliminating the threat. But now they may have come up against something that they can’t handle—the Mexican Baja Cartel wants in, and sends them the message that a "no" is unacceptable.

When they refuse to back down, the cartel escalates its threat, kidnapping Ophelia, the boys’ playmate and confidante. O’s abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate readers eager to learn the costs of freedom and the price of one amazing high.

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Thoughts

Less than thrilling. I really thought I would like but it just didn't work for me, though it wasn't any single thing; just the combination of the characters, plot and writing style. I also found it to be unnecessarily sexual. I watched the movie to see if that would change my perspective but alas, it was [as usual] even worse. I've heard good reviews for this from others so mine is just one bad one, but in my opinion, don't waste your time.

Book Club - 5.24

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

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Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, where bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life is about to implode in Janet Evanovich's wildest, hottest novel yet!

FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS
While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her.
THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS
The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso …street name, Ranger.
NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES
The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer.
SOON, THE CHASE IS ON
Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in.

Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve, or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum…forever? Filled with Janet Evanovich's trademark action, nonstop adventure, and sharp humor, Twelve Sharp shows why her novels have been called "hot stuff" (The New York Times), and Evanovich herself "the master" (San Francisco Examiner)

Thoughts:

Probably the most intense one yet! I can't believe that 12 books in, Evanovich can pull this stuff out. There was also character and character relationship development that I think will help the upcoming books. Honestly, the ending was so intense that I couldn't bring myself to start #13 right after... Plus, do I have to remind you how much I love Ranger? Didn't think so ;)

Book Club - 5.17

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

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Marriage can be a real killer.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet? With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.
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  Thoughts:

Obviously I had to read this after hearing about all the rave reviews and getting a high recommendation from my dear cuz! And this book did not disappoint. The entire time I was up and down with the book - on one side, on the other side - where is this going?! It's so well-written and so well-thought out that no book review can really do it justice. I was fairly disappointed with the ending (like the very end, the very last page end) since it wasn't the outcome I wanted and not really what I expected but the rest was incredible! I am TOTALLY looking forward to reading Gillian Flynn's other book, Sharp Objects, soon!

I'd love love love to discuss if you've read it so please do comment!

Also, join me on goodreads!

Book Club - 5.10

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

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Stephanie Plum, Trenton's favorite bondswoman, is having a career crisis, which gives Janet Evanovich plenty of opportunities to showcase her series heroine in a variety of alternative vocations, from dry cleaner to factory worker. Most of them don't last a full working day, which is good for the reader, since it plunges Stephanie back into the always seedy, often dangerous, and always colorful world of fugitives who'd rather flee than face their day in court. She may be tired of having her life threatened, her cars torched or blown up, and her apartment broken into, but one thing she can say about her job is that it's never boring... and neither is she. Despite her intentions of going straight at a job with a little more security and a bit less excitement, an old client won't let her--he keeps leaving her threatening notes, stalking and scaring her, and making sure she needs the protection of the two men in her life--Joe Morelli, the sexy cop who's been bedding her since high school, and Ranger, the even sexier tough guy who can take down the meanest fugitive around but has a tender spot in his heart for the plucky Ms. Plum.
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Thoughts
I loved this one! The possibility of Stephanie getting out of the bounty hunger business was great - I know that's the point of all these books but I think there's a legitimate following now & Evanovich could afford to change things up. Especially when the new job is working for Ranger! I would pay money to work for Ranger. And other things, you know. But seriously, this was one of my faves - great plot, interesting twists & all that good stuff!

Book Club! - 5.03

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

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Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

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Thoughts

This book was fantastic. I didn't even read what it was about before I started so everything about it was unexpected. And lovely. I love Charlie's character - the innocent young boy who still manages to be charming in his own way. The first person journal entries really add character to the story. The book was just so good at describing what high school was, and unfortunately, no longer is. Kids growing up and trying to find themselves, making mistakes, being kids without having to deal with the craziness that social media and internet bullying. It was just a really great read & I highly recommend it.

I obviously downloaded and watched the movie after, you know me! It was also quite well done; better than most adaptations I've watched lately. A few parts that were interesting were missing, but none that took away from the overall story. The actors were also quite well picked out. I highly recommend the movie as well!

Book Club! - 4.29

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

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Swing off the Jersey Turnpike and you'll be in bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's neighborhood. You'll know it because all hell will be breaking loose. Not that she looks for trouble - it just seems to follow her. In Ten Big Ones it explodes at a deli, and when Stephanie pegs a robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang, they peg her as dead. Vice cop Joe Morelli fears she's in way too deep - even with the help of crime-solving, cross-dressing, bus driver Sally Sweet, and Stephanie's friend Lula riding shotgun as backup. With a notorious killer on her tail, Stephanie figures the best hideout is Ranger's secret lair...Original.
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Thoughts
I was getting a bit tired of the storylines with Steph being the one chased instead of her doing the chasing, however...did she find the Batcave?! As if I didn't already want to do awesome terrible things to Ranger, now I know what shower gel he uses ;)
Book-wise, there's really no going back once you start the series. There's always ups & downs and this one was as good as read as any of the others!

What are you reading?!

Book Club Friday - 04.12

It's time for Book Club with Heather!

This week I'm reviewing:

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Stephanie Plum's got rent to pay, people shooting at her, and psychos wanting her dead every day of the week (much to the dismay of her mother, her family, the men in her life, the guy who slices meat at the deli...oh, the list goes on). An ordinary person would cave under the pressure. But hey, she's from Jersey.

Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty darn good at turning bad situations her way...and she always gets her man. In To the Nines, her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. But what she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.

In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas Strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life.
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Thoughts:
Maybe my least favourite book so far. Possibly because it seemed more far fetched than the others (yes, some are out there) or because I had it figured out from the beginning and had to read the whole book in order for the others to figure it out. I did enjoy the parts with 'Ranger & his Merry Men' who were pretty much all destroyed by Stephanie. No surprise there!
I still recommend the series but this one was less exciting for me personally.