Book Review - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Why did I read this book?
I had listened to Sharp Objects on audio and really enjoyed it (although it was much darker that I expected).  Everyone had been talking about Gone Girl and I was curious.  I found out my local library would lend out books for 7 days to my kindle.  It's a pretty tough task for me to read a book in 7 days and the waiting list for this book was pretty long. My first attempt I got about one third of the way though before my lending period expired, I then had to wait three weeks on the waiting list again.  When I got it again I made sure to spend all my free time finishing it

First Lines:
"When I think of my wife, I always think of her head." (Flynn 3)

What is it about?
The story begins with Nick realizing his wife, Amy, is missing.  A neighbor tips him off to the fact that the door has been left open for quite a while and he heads home from work to investigate.  Coming home to what appears to be a crime scene the police are called in to this strange disappearance.  The more and more we learn about Nick and Amy the weirder things get and more questions arise.

Why you should read it!
I will try really hard to not include any spoilers here but if you haven't read this book and don't want it ruined for you it might be a good idea to stop reading now.  I really liked how uncertain things were the whole time in this book.  The twists and turns kept coming but there weren't too many and they weren't too ridiculous that I wanted to stop reading.  For the whole first half of the book I just knew there had to be more to the story and I real liked finally hearing both sides.  Although as soon as I started feeling like I was identifying with one character they would do something to make me angry and I would feel sorry for their spouse.  I know there has been a lot of talk about the ending and I hated it.  I have no clue what I wanted but the ending left me feeling blah.  With that being said I still loved the book, which I guess says a lot about the majority of the book and the writing since I despised the ending (seriously I was thinking that my kindle version got cut off a few chapters early).  Luckily, this book wasn't as dark as Sharp Objects but there were still some very twisted parts, but again it wasn't overkill and I think almost anyone would enjoy this book!

Reviews from around the blogosphere:

S. Krishna's Books
Book Jingle Blog
Book Club Classics

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Audio Book Review - Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Why did I read this book?
I got this on audiobook from the Lexington public library.  I had heard of the author because of her most recent book, Gone Girl, which was receiving a lot of praise.  I figured another book by her would be a good listen, so I borrowed it!

What is it about?
Camille is a crime reporter, and some recent disappearances and murders in her very small hometown have given her current employer reason to send her back there and investigate.  She is thrown back into her life there with a strained relationship with her mom and her half sister.  Seeing old friends who have gotten married and started families, and trying to piece together these weird crimes.

Why you should read it!
This is a great book.  The mystery surrounding the plot keeps you very interested.  While discovering little bits here and there about Camille's past keep adding twists and turns.  This was a very dark book, so be ready for that.  I did think it kept getting darker as you learned more about each and every character.  But somehow you just had to know what was happening in this messed up town, and who was behind the murders.  Although I couldn't personally relate to any of the characters, I still found most of them fascinating. I would highly recommend this book!

Reviews from around the blogosphere:
The Readventurer
BookedinChico
The Book Geek
Book Hooked Blog
An Unexpected Book Blog
Literate Housewife

Did you read this book and review it on your blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll add your link!

Book Review - Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

How did I come into possession of this book?

I bought this at a local used book store, The Thrifty Bookworm.  RoB had bought a book there earlier in the week and they gave him a coupon celebrating an anniversary (I think), so I took that and went by to see what sort of books I could find.  This book store is primarily a romance book store but they do have some small sections for other genres, and since I don’t really read a lot of romance I made a bee-line for the non romance sections.

First Lines:

“I never used to keep track of the phases of the moon.”  (Butcher 1)

What is it about?

This is technically the second book in the Dresden Files series, but it seems like it’s one of those series you don’t really need to read in order, but I did.  Harry Dresden is called in for help when Chicago police suspect a werewolf is killing people.  They hope that he can explain what happened and that it’s all a misunderstanding, but with all the weird things that tend to happen and all the weird creatures that show up when Dresden is around it ends up being much more involved than just a werewolf.

What did I think?

This was the second book I read of his, and the second in the series.  These books are great, a typical thriller with a fantasy twist on it.  My only complaint is I wish he would give us a better background on each character, for example tell us what happened in the end of the previous book.  I would like to follow all the characters through this series but since most people will just pick up one or two of these somewhere in the middle of the series I guess it’s not really necessary.  I felt like there were a few more plot lines in this one than the previous book, which was good, but if he keeps adding more every book it will definitely be too much for me.  I also get really frustrated with Dresden at times, he makes stupid decisions and I feel like yelling at him, but I guess that’s probably a sign of good writing from the author.

Who would I recommend it to?

Anyone who is a fan of thrillers and/or sci-fi, fantasy.  The nice thing about these is they are quick, not an epic, and they still have just enough of a fantasy element to keep things interesting.  I don’t know of many other series or even books that fall into this category so I like mixing in his books to my reading pile every now and then.  They are also fantastic airplane/traveling reads!

Book Review - In Dreams by Robert Logan

How did I come into possession of this book?

Another book from Jagged Edge reviews.  Sounded like a book I would enjoy, so I requested it!

First Lines:

“A tourist might have called Magnolia Creek, “quaint,” he supposed.  But Jack Corbitt knew the little town just a few miles west of Boulder, Colorado, was a good place with good people.”  (Logan 1)

What is it about?

Jack has been battling cancer all his life, and when it makes reappearance after being gone for many years he is willing to do anything to get rid of it.  There is a new medical procedure that sends him into crazy dreams that he is sure are affecting current events.  When he tries to alter the outcomes he realizes he is having quite the impact on current events as well.

What did I think?

I read this book very quickly and it was a great book for that.  It kept me interested throughout but when I was done with it I felt a bit unfulfilled.  I don’t think there was a single twist in the plot and you knew exactly how the story would play out from very early on.  I’m always waiting for that great twist and I was even making up ones in my head before the book ended, but nothing like that ever happened.  I’m not sure if it was too much foreshadowing or just too much of a straight forward story, but it disappointed me.

Who would I recommend it to?

Again, it was a good quick read, with some interesting ideas and things that happen.  The main plot idea of going to the past in dreams is something I haven’t seen before in a book so it’s new in that aspect to me and probably to others reading it.  If you like thrillers this one is a good pick, especially for its uniqueness.  But if you’re like me and need some big plot twists this might not be the book for you!