Synopsis from Goodreads:

The small suburb of Pleasant Court lives up to its name. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows their neighbours, and children play in the street.

Isabelle Heatherington doesn’t fit into this picture of family paradise. Husbandless and childless, she soon catches the attention of three Pleasant Court mothers.

But Ange, Fran and Essie have their own secrets to hide. Like the reason behind Ange’s compulsion to control every aspect of her life. Or why Fran won’t let her sweet, gentle husband near her new baby. Or why, three years ago, Essie took her daughter to the park – and returned home without her.

As their obsession with their new neighbour grows, the secrets of these three women begin to spread – and they’ll soon find out that when you look at something too closely, you see things you never wanted to see.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

4 Stars

This book was on my radar for a very long time and I couldn’t wait for it to finally be released! The first 200 pages were a bit…unexciting. Not “boring” per se…just a whole lot of unexciting storylines, confusing character descriptions, and annoying glimpses of the past where nothing was fully explained. I kept reading with the hopes that it would turn itself around because I really was enjoying the authors laidback writing style. Admittingly, I almost abandoned this book on more than one occasion but knowing I was going to be reviewing it is what eventually pushed me forward. THANK GOODNESS I stuck it out! What began as a bit of a dull novel quickly turned into complicated storylines, cliffhanger chapter endings, and a twist that I never saw coming. Loved it! This book is a perfect example of why sometimes you can’t necessarily judge a book until you are well into it. My only real complaint was that there were just so many storylines and perspectives that at times they got confusing. But that eventual twist…wow.

Bottom Line:

First 200 pages….eh. Last 135 pages….omg.

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Cassandra Bowden is no stranger to hungover mornings. She’s a binge drinker, her job with the airline making it easy to find adventure, and the occasional blackouts seem to be inevitable. She lives with them, and the accompanying self-loathing. When she awakes in a Dubai hotel room, she tries to piece the previous night back together, already counting the minutes until she has to catch her crew shuttle to the airport. She quietly slides out of bed, careful not to aggravate her already pounding head, and looks at the man she spent the night with. She sees his dark hair. His utter stillness. And blood, a slick, still wet pool on the crisp white sheets. Afraid to call the police–she’s a single woman alone in a hotel room far from home–Cassie begins to lie. She lies as she joins the other flight attendants and pilots in the van. She lies on the way to Paris as she works the first class cabin. She lies to the FBI agents in New York who meet her at the gate. Soon it’s too late to come clean-or face the truth about what really happened back in Dubai. Could she have killed him? If not, who did?

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

2 Stars

I waited months for this book to come out…and then felt like it took me months to finish reading it (although I read it in less than 1 week).  This book felt LONG. Everything about this book seemed to drag on…the various storylines, the character developments, the unanswered questions, all of it.  I don’t think I have ever read a book with a more unlikable main character. I kept wanting to root for Cassie throughout the story but as the plot thickened so did my dislike for her.  How is it even possible for 1 person to make so many completely horrible and questionable day to day life decisions??? I wish more could have been written about the short time that she spent with Alex in Dubai (including more of a character development of Alex).  The entire book was spent discussing and referencing that very short amount of time yet the reader was only given a very quick and surface glimpse into what actually happened and the man who he was. A great deal of this book involved topics which are of little interest to me…FBI, CIA, nuclear weapons, spies, etc. If these are topics you enjoy, you will definitely enjoy this book more than I did!  I gave this book 2 stars because of 2 reasons: 1. I found myself enjoying the behind the scenes glimpses of flight attendants and learned some very interesting tidbits about their profession. 2. There were a few interesting twists at the very end which I did not see coming.

Bottom Line:

How in the world is this book only 354 pages?!?  It. Felt. So. LONG.

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Diagnosed with XP, a rare medical condition which makes him lethally sensitive to light, Tyler is a thirteen-year-old who desperately wants just one thing: to be normal. His mother Eve also wants just one thing: to protect her son. As Tyler begins roaming their cul-de-sac at night, cloaked in the safety of the darkness, he peers into the lives of the other families on the street-looking in on the things they most want hidden. Then, the young daughter of a neighbor suddenly vanishes, and Tyler may be the only one who can make sense of her disappearance…but what will happen when everyone’s secrets are exposed to the light?

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

Wow. Just wow. This is an amazing book with such complex characters and storylines. I loved it from page 1 and truly savored all 400 pages. It kept me guessing throughout the book as more twists were introduced. As a bonus, I loved learning about XP and found myself googling it to learn more about this rare condition on more than 1 occasion while reading. I had never heard of this author before reading this novel and I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her work! I loved her writing style, especially her gift of articulating thoughts compared to what was said aloud. I do wish each neighbor’s story was a bit more developed, I found that I was confused at times trying to remember who all of the neighbors were as well as their individual stories. I also will say that Amy was an 11 year old girl…but yet the descriptions of her throughout the book made her seem much younger. Did anyone else feel this way? I loved the overall theme that I took away from this complex story: How far will you go to protect those you love?

Bottom Line:

Best book I’ve read so far in 2018.

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Synopsis From Goodreads:

To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world….

Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience – and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

I read this book 4 years ago and still think of it OFTEN.  It is one of the most powerful and thought provoking books I have ever read.  Admittingly the writing style took a bit to get used to as it’s told from the point of view of a 5 year old boy. However, eventually the style somehow disappeared and the story itself spoke louder than the way it was being told. Everything about this story and these characters completely captivated me and continues to do so years later. Reading this as a mother spoke directly to my heart.  I do not have the words to describe the vivid picture this book painted for me.  It was dark and often disturbing…yet beautiful in many ways.  There was one scene in this book which I truly believe to be the most powerful scene of any book I have ever read (see comment section for the specific spoiler).  This is also one of the very few times that I feel the movie actually lived up to the book!  The movie told the story so well, changing parts yet keeping many the same as the book.  Both the book and the movie told this complicated story in such a way that years later it still remains both in my head and in my heart.

Bottom Line:

Everyone needs to read this.  Today.  And take the story with you in your heart when you are finished.

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Myriam, a mother and brilliant French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work, she and her husband are forced to look for a caretaker for their two young children. They are thrilled to find Louise: the perfect nanny right from the start. Louise sings to the children, cleans the family’s beautiful apartment in Paris’s upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late whenever asked, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on each other, jealousy, resentment, and frustrations mount, shattering the idyllic tableau.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

2 stars

This book made me feel uncomfortable many times throughout its course. I thought this was going to be a lighthearted read of a nanny and her complex relationship with a family. The reality was this was a very dark and disturbing account of child abuse and death. Although the storyline was incredibly difficult to read, I found the actual story to be a quick read and I finished it within a few days. I always say that I hate reading the first 100 pages of any story because of all of the background knowledge which has to be told in order to “catch the reader up”. This story wasn’t like that and although briefly allowing us readers a glimpse of past events, it never fully developed any of the characters. I found this to both be a positive as well as a negative. Without this detailed description, the story was able to truly begin on page 1 and provided a quick read. However, this lack of background and character development also provided a lack of complete understanding into each character’s persona. This never allowed us as the reader to dive into the storyline/characters as deeply and completely as if we were granted more character development. The overall entire style of writing was juvenile. Easy to read sentences, lots of fragments. I hated the way the book ended. I had so many theories of possible endings as I was reading, all of which would have been more interesting than the actual ending. The front cover claims it is a “#1 international bestseller” which confuses me as it lacks so many aspects of what a bestseller should contain??? I think there is a lot that got lost in translation here…

Bottom Line:

Dark and disturbing…but a quick and easy read.

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.

Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

My Thoughts:

(Disclaimer: I will never post spoilers in my reviews HOWEVER the comment section is completely fair game to discuss any and all specifics including spoilers)

5 Stars

As I closed the cover of this book after I had finished, I actually said the word “Wow” aloud. This book was brilliantly written and completely captivating. I had been waiting for months and months to read this book and it did not disappoint! Although I did figure out one of the major twists early on, I was still pleasantly surprised by others that I did not see coming. Everything about this book was interesting and I found learning details of Agoraphobia completely fascinating. I absolutely loved the writing style of this book. This book consists of 100 chapters…yes 100! Some are only one or two pages long. I LOVE books like this. I find that it forces me to read the book more quickly because it’s easy to “just read 1 more chapter…and then 1 more after that”. I appreciated the way that the author allowed us into Anna’s thoughts even as she was speaking to other characters. This book is absolutely begging to become a movie and when it does…I’ll be there with popcorn on opening day.

Bottom Line:

Can one preorder Fandango tickets before a movie is even filmed?

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