The Husband's Secret

By: Liane Moriarty
Pubsliher: G.P Putnam's Sons
Published Year: 2013
Pages: 396

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

                                                            First Impressions

This book was on my radar for a while because it was really popular about a year or so ago. Last summer, we had the choice between reading this and What Alice Forgot for book club and went with What Alice Forgot. I was interested by the summary, but not as much as her other books. I love the cover and would definitely pick it up based just on that.

                                                             What I thought

I enjoyed this and finished it in about two days, but in comparison I would say her other book are better.

The Husband’s Secret is about a woman who finds a letter from her husband with the instructions to open it after his death, but he is still very much alive. Similarly to Moriarty’s other book, Big Little Lies (review), the book follows multiple characters with multiple story lines but that al intertwine. So not only are you following, Carissa, but you are following Tess and Rachel. While Carissa’s story line is the one that gets everything moving, Rachel really helps to move the story along.

I really enjoyed all of the characters and all of the stories. Thinking back on it, I don’t really know that Tess had much of a purpose, but I think she might have been my favorite story. She has a unique and unhealthy relationship with her cousin (they are practically twins and do everything together), that causes the breakup of her marriage. I loved reading about all of the complexities of each of her relationships as well as her inner battles.

Unfortunately, this book is a bit predictable. My husband was sitting next to me while I was reading and he said “The Husband’s secret? That could only be three things. He murdered someone, he had an affair, or both.” It was hilarious but it was spot on and in that moment (when I was max a quarter into the book), I figured out exactly what had happened and what the secret was going to be.

Now, even though it is predictable, it is still enjoyable. Moriarty does a great job of tying all the stories together in subtle ways and making the reader really care about each of the characters. I think because of that, this story became a bit long for me. I was surprised when I was close to the end to realize that this book essentially takes place over a week of time. The way that it’s written and the amount of detail there is makes it seem like the events of this book occur over a month.

There are a lot of moral complexities within this novel and I can see it making a great book club book. Would you read a letter that your husband told you not to? Once you did, what would you do with the secret? What do you think about Rachel and her grief? There are just so many layers to this story and it is really interesting. 
 

While I did enjoy this book, I would recommend What Alice Forgot and Big Little Lies before I would recommend this one. I think that Moriarty is a solid author and I will continue to read her books in the future. If you enjoy psychological mysteries, I would recommend checking this out. It was a very enjoyable read, and while a little long at times, was always interesting. I can’t see myself re-reading this and therefore can’t see myself purchasing it for my collection. 
 

Winter Stroll

By: Elin Hilderbrand
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Pages: 272

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Another Christmas on Nantucket finds Winter Street Inn owner Kelley Quinn reflecting on the past year as he writes a holiday letter to friends and family. Though the year has had its share of misfortune and worry, the Quinns have much to celebrate. Kelley, now single, at least is on better terms with his first wife Margaret, who is using her celebrity to lure customers to the inn in record numbers. Their son Kevin has a beautiful new baby, Genevieve, with the Inn's French housekeeper, Isabelle; and their daughter, Ava, is finally dating a nice guy--her devoted colleague, Scott. 

Now the Quinns are looking forward to celebrating Genevieve's baptism, welcoming Isabelle to the family, and enjoying the cheer of Nantucket's traditional Christmas Stroll. But just when a peaceful family gathering seems within reach, Kelley's estranged second wife, Mitzi, shows up on the island after souring on her relationship with the inn's former Santa Claus. Soon Kelley isn't the only Quinn entertaining a surprise guest from Christmases past as lovers old and new gather beneath the mistletoe. With jealousy, passion, and eggnog consumption at an all-time high, it's going to take a whole lot more than a Christmas miracle to get the Quinns--and the inn--through the holidays intact. 
        
                                                               First Impressions

Honestly, this book did not catch my eye at first. I didn’t know that it was coming out and if I did see it, it didn’t register until one of my friends told me that there was a sequel to Winter Street (review here). Once I found out that it was out there, I decided to check it out. The cover is pretty, but not nearly as eye catching as the one for Winter Street. Maybe if I had been looking for Christmas books, like I was last year, it would’ve caught my attention, but it didn’t.

                                                                What I thought

I loved the story and I loved being able to catch up with the characters I met in the previous book, but I was so mad at the ending that it almost ruined it for me!

Winter stroll picks up almost a year after Winter Street left off. Mitzi has been living with George, Ava has been dating Scott, Patrick is still in jail, Kevin and Isabelle have had a daughter, Margarete is still dating Drake, Kelley is happily running the inn, and Bart is still missing.

As with the previous novel, the story is told in alternating points of view. You get to see the story from almost everybody’s point of view at least once, with the exception of Scott and Isabelle. I would have liked to have seen the story told from their points of view at least once during critical moments in the story.

The interesting thing about these characters is that they’re not exactly likable but somehow I enjoy them anyway. I think that it’s because they are all very real people. They all have flaws, they all make mistakes and I connect to a lot of that. The only one who I still couldn’t stand was Mitzi. I mean, that woman had an affair one weekend a year for 12 years and now that she left her husband for that man, after a year she wants to come back? Come on! And the fact that Kelley seems to accept her so quickly and the rest of the family just goes along with it definitely annoyed me. In that aspect, his children are unrealistically mature.

While I did enjoy being able to see everybody’s perspective and get insight into their own stories and their own worlds, I think it was a bit too much. There was a lot that was left undeveloped. For example, Ava’s story seemed like it was going to play a really big part, but in reality it was barely touched upon. This time it was more focused on Kelley and Mitzi and how they were missing Bart.

The ending made me so mad because everything was left so unresolved! I know that in the last book, Bart was announced missing and then the book ended, but this was so much worse. In Winter Street, it still seemed like an ending to the story. The rest of the stories had been resolved (for the most part) with the exception of this news. I was ok with that. This time it seems a though Hildebrand was purposely thinking of big cliffhanger events that she could create in the last 5 pages of the story to leave the reader guessing/wanting more. I felt very manipulated and it was very frustrating.
 

The story was very enjoyable and an easy read. It isn’t all happy Christmas spirit, but neither was Winter Street. If you read and enjoyed Winter Street I would definitely recommend checking out Winter Stroll. It was fun to get to check up with the characters again and I hope that the story continues next Christmas. I can’t see myself re-reading or purchasing this book. I would recommend it if you like family stories, but not necessarily looking for a Christmas story. This is more of a story that just happens to occur around Christmas than a story where Christmas is a character.
 

Book Club December 2015

This month the book club pick was made by me. I picked All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer. I have been wanting to read this book for a while (since it was one of the best books of 2014) and I decided it would make for a great book club read. 
 

Publisher: Scribner
Published Year: 2014
Pages: 530

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

                                                       First Impressions

I will admit that while I was drawn to the cover (it reminded me of Light Between Oceans) I was not initially super interested in the summary. However, I kept hearing great things about the book and it continued to get amazing reviews throughout all of 2014.

                                                       What I thought

This was a beautifully written book and was captivating. I can completely understand why it received so many rave reviews.

All the Light We Cannot See occurs during the late 1930s-mid 1940s during World War 2. It occurs in across France, Germany, and Russia and follows two main storylines. The two main characters are Marie-Laure, a young girl living in France, and Werner, a teenage boy who is a Nazi soldier. The chapters pretty much alternate between their two viewpoints, but there are other characters who have chapters as well. The timeline also alternates between the “current” time of 1944 and the past (starting in the 1930s).

The alternating timeline took me a little while to get used to. The beginning of the book starts right in the middle of the action before you know who anyone is or where anyone is so it’s a bit confusing. I was a little worried that the whole book was going to be like that and that I wouldn’t enjoy the story. However, it quickly goes back to the beginning of the story and begins to make a lot more sense from that point on.

As I said, the writing is beautiful. Marie-Laure is blind and the descriptions during her parts of the story are wonderful. Since she is blind, the author does not use the visual descriptions as heavily with her. He uses a lot of smells and textures and sounds to describe her surroundings and it’s really interesting. I also loved Werner. I loved reading about him exploring his mind and electronics and aspiring to work ith some of the best scientists of his age. It was heart breaking to see he world he was pulled into, but made his story that much more fascinating.

Even though the book is long, I was unable to put it down. I was consistently interested and wanted to know what was going to happen next.  At times is did seem a little too long, even though I wouldn’t ever say I was bored. It isn’t a quick read by any means and I think that this was the only downside. Once I got through about ¾ of the book I started to become restless about what was going to happen with these characters and finding out how they were going to end up where they were at the beginning of the book.

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys books that occur during World War 2. Because of the length, I can’t see this being a story that I would re-read and therefore wouldn’t buy it for my shelves.

                                                     What Book Club Thought

Everyone loved it! The only issue that some people had was the switching back and forth of the points of views with such short chapters. One of our discussion points was that while the short chapters were great because it made the book feel like it was moving quickly, it made switching between characters a little more difficult. As soon as you were adjusted and within a particular character, it would switch and take a little while to get into the swing of the new character. While it didn’t bother me personally, I can see how this could throw off the flow of the story.

We tried to come up with actors that we would want to play the characters in a movie version but couldn’t think of anyone that fit. None of us had someone that we pictured while we read.

Book Club for January

The Bitch-Proof Suit By: De-ann Black

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Book Club Date: January 16th
 

No. 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream Normal/Dry

Over the summer I ran out of my face moisturizer and decided I wanted to try something new. I tried (and enjoyed) my friend’s FRESH moisturizer, but it did not have any SPF in it. I will admit, I am lazy in the mornings. I prefer that my moisturizers have SPF in them so that I don’t have to add another step to my morning routine. At the same time, I wasn’t looking to purchase anything super expensive. I ended up looking around Ulta and found this.

I had previously heard of the No. 7 brand, but only through Blogs and Youtube videos. I had never personally used their products before. However, this was only $14.99 and Ulta has a pretty decent return policy. I figured if I didn’t like it or if it broke me out, I could always return it and try something else. 

The reason that I am writing about this product 4 months later is that I’ve finally finished it and wanted to write a review. It’s not the most luxurious product (it’s only $15) but it’s really great at what it does. It comes in a nice heavy plastic tub and is 1.6 oz so it’s a really good deal. The cream itself is a thick white cream, about the consistency of a body lotion, maybe slightly thicker. It has a bit of a scent but it’s a fresh, clean scent that doesn’t linger.

The cream also sets very nicely. It isn’t greasy and makeup goes on smoothly over it. I also found that it absorbed quickly into the skin without leaving any residue or white sheen.

Like I said, it isn’t the most luxurious product but it really does its job. It doesn’t have any fancy ingredients that are claiming to do a million things to your skin, but my skin looked great while I used this. The amount of breakouts that I had went down and it didn’t irritate my psoriasis at all. In fact, since I’ve stopped using it and started using another cream, I’ve noticed I’ve started to break out a little again.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive day cream with SPF that will do its job, I highly recommend checking this out. The only negative with this product is that I did find I had to occasionally supplement it with a heavier night cream/mask. It wasn’t something I had to do often, but if your skin is severely dry this might not be the product for you. I’m curious to try other products by this brand to see if they work as well! I know that it’s a British product, so I might have to pick up some more when I’m in London.

November 2015 Favorites

Books

Career of Evil By: Robert Galbrith (Review)

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Ten Thousand Skies Above You By: Claudia Gray (Review)

Winter Stroll By: Elin HIlderbrand

November 9 By: Colleen Hoover

Christmas Cravings By: Emma Hamilton (Review)
 

Favorite Book I Read This Month: I think this month I have to go with Ten Thousand Skies Above You. While Career of Evil is a close second, I think Ten Thousand Skies stands out just a bit more. I was really looking forward to this sequel, and in a year where not many books have impressed me, this one definitely did. If you haven’t checked out the Firebird series, I highly recommend it.

Beauty

LOC One & Done Eyeshadow stick in Impress Me

I received this in my November Birchbox and I have really fallen in love with it. It’s a beautiful color and goes on smoothly. It may not have the greatest staying power I’ve ever seen, but it holds its own. Plus, it’s not ridiculously expensive (only $10). I hope to receive more of their products in future Birchbox’s!

Buys

Bath and Body Works Candles

I love fall and winter just because of these candles! I am a big candle person, and I get super excited every time their fall and winter scents come out. It’s especially worth it during Black Friday, but they have 2 for $24 pretty often.

Fleece Leggings/Tights

I bought a pair of fleece leggings at TJ Maxx last year and immediately regretting not buying more than one pair. This year I bought three different pairs and I am loving them. While they seem to be a bit thinner than the ones I bought last year (more like tights than leggings) they are still great for layering. I know they’re going to come in helpful when we go to Iceland!


Columbia Hexbreaker Mid Jacket

Speaking of Iceland, I purchased a new winter coat! I live in the Chicago land area and winters here are brutal. I have had a down coat for the past 3 winters and it’s been great, but it’s on the short side. I was on the lookout for a down jacket that would cover my butt, keep me warm, and still let me move. I have 100% found that in this jacket. The length that I wanted was difficult to find, as I didn’t want something that went to my knees. This jacket also is very light but is amazingly warm. It also has a detachable hood. The only thing that would make this jacket better is thumb holes! It is a bit pricey ($250), but if you live in Chiberia or an area that has polar vortexes, it's worth the investment.

Miscellaneous

Hallmark Christmas Movies

The season of Christmas Movies is upon us! I absolutely love Hallmark Christmas movies. They are fun, light hearted, and just so warming and comforting. They are cheesy for sure, and totally predictable, but that is what makes them so wonderful. I think my two favorites so far have been Ice Sculpture Christmas (don’t judge it by its name!) and Crown for Christmas. There have been some other good ones too and I can’t wait for the rest of them.

Quantico

I am so enjoying this show! I know some people don’t like it and they say it’s not good, but I am really enjoying it. Yes it’s a little melodramatic, but that’s what makes it so good! I love all of the characters and the twists are really keeping me on my toes.

Christmas Cravings

By: Emma Hamilton
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Bastei Entertainment
Pages: 80

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*I received this book in exchange for my honest review

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): How could everything that seemed so right suddenly have gone so wrong for Mia? Snow is on the ground and Christmas lights twinkle in the German Christmas market. The warm, spiced wine is just right, but there's still one key ingredient missing from her romantic dream. Will Mia's Christmas turn out to be sugar and spice and all things nice - or a deflated soufflé of loneliness and regret? 




                                                       First Impressions

I saw the cover and summary and thought it sounded like a cute little Christmas story. I love reading Christmas stories around this time of year, so I was happy to review this book.

                                                       What I thought

I had no idea that this was a novella that was a part of a series. That definitely threw me off a little, but I figured I would be able to enjoy it anyway.

Being completely honest, this is one of the poorest written stories I have ever read. The characters have no depth, the plot lines are unoriginal and poorly executed, and there is nothing Christmassy about this so called Christmas story.

This is a short story that follows Mia and Tom during the Christmas time. The story starts with the two characters not talking to each other. Mia is in Germany with her friend Lizzie because she was so upset about things going wrong with Tom.

The first part of the book is flashbacks of the early parts of Mia and Tom’s relationship and why they are not currently speaking. The flashbacks are so poorly executed that I can’t believe this was published. It literally works like “Lizzie was talking to Mia and Mia’s eyes glazed over *flashback*” and then “Lizzie called to Mia. ‘Mia! Where did you go? I lost you there for a minute.’ And Mia pulled herself back into the moment.” No one in real life stars off into the distance in the middle of a conversation to have a flashback.

Also, the reason that they aren’t talking is so ridiculous and immature that I can’t have any sympathy for either of the characters. It then is resolved so simply that I just wanted to shake them and say “SEE????? YOU’RE SO STUPID!” In addition to that, they move on as if nothing happened. The only Christmas part of this book is that they happen to get together with their family at Christmas. Otherwise this could have happened over any other time of year.

Everything about this book is predictable and has already been done. And he gives her a puppy for Christmas! A puppy!! Everyone knows you don’t surprise someone with a puppy! Especially since she lives in the city. Seriously! When is she going to do with a puppy that she has no room or time for?

This story is not only poorly written, but it’s 100% unnecessary. The only good thing about this story is that it has recipes in the back. I’m excited to look through them and see if there’s anything that I would want to make. Even though I have never read the books in this series, I have no desire to every pick one up. Even if I was a fan, I can’t see how this would benefit any story. I’m just glad this was a short story and I didn’t waste more than an hour of my time on it.
 

Ten Thousand Skies Above You

By: Claudia Gray
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published Year: 2015
Pages: 424

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

                                                        First Impressions

I absolutely LOVED A Thousand Pieces of You (Review here) and couldn’t wait for the second book to come out. Once I saw the cover I was even more excited. These books have the most beautiful, eye catching covers.

                                                         What I thought

This second book did not disappoint! I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it as much as the first one (second book syndrome) but I definitely did!

This book picks up a few months after the last one left off. If you haven’t read the first one and plan to, stop reading my review now, there will be some spoilers. Paul and Marguerite are in a relationship and Theo is still jealous. Marguerite’s mom, dad, Paul and Theo are all still working on the Firebird technology, trying to improve it so that nothing like what happened in the previous novel would happen again. Unfortunately, Theo is feeling the side effects of having had the other dimension’s Theo within him for so long. In order to help him, Paul goes to find him and ends up getting himself in trouble. Wyatt Conley splinters Paul’s soul into 4 different dimensions in order to blackmail Marguerite into working for him.

As with the previous books, it was fascinating seeing Marguerite and Theo move through the different dimensions. I love the idea that there are different dimensions based on different decisions that were made so it is always fun to me to see how different worlds have developed. Some of them are developed a little more than others, but each one is fun to visit. I wish there had been a little bit more time in the Home Office, but I understand why it was short.

During the last book, I fell in love with Paul in th Russiaverse. This book made it a little bit hard to stay connected to Paul in that way. Unlike Theo, he was not a constant and his personality kept changing from dimension to dimension. He also was only in it for brief periods of time and never in a relationship capacity with Marguerite. It was a little difficult to remember why Marguerite loves Paulwhich made her quest to save him difficult to sympathize with. She was a little bit irritating at times with all of her “Paul is my destiny!” but it was interesting to see how it developed as the story went on.

There were some twists in the story that I didn’t expect and a development that makes the third book sound like it will be very interesting. I am curious to see how everything that was set up works out. The ending is a definite cliff hanger and I wish I had the third book right now!

I also wish that the CW would turn this into a TV series. It would be so amazing to see these characters in these different universes, and I don’t think a movie would do as much justice as a TV show would. They could explore so many different dimensions so in depth and it would be captivating.

This series is slowly becoming a favorite. Between the beautiful cover and the even more beautiful story, I can see myself re-reading these many times and adding them to my shelves. I can’t wait until the third book comes out! If you like dystopian novels or science fiction I would highly recommend these. They’re unique and stand out from other books in similar genres. Definitely a breath of fresh air in a genre that became a little bit stale. 
 

The Affinities

By: Robert Charles Wilson
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 300

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In our rapidly changing world of social media, everyday people are more and more able to sort themselves into social groups based on finer and finer criteria. In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson's The Affinities, this process is supercharged by new analytic technologies: genetic, brain-mapping, behavioral. To join one of the twenty-two Affinities is to change one's life. It's like family, and more than family. Your fellow members aren't just like you, and they aren't just people who are likely to like you. They're also the people with whom you can best cooperate in all areas of life, creative, interpersonal, even financial.

At loose ends both professional and personal, young Adam Fisk takes the suite of tests to see whether he qualifies for any of the Affinities and finds that he's a match for one of the largest, the one called Tau. It's utopian--at first. His problems resolve themselves as he becomes part of a global network of people dedicated to helping one another, to helping him, but as the differing Affinities put their new powers to the test, they begin to rapidly chip away at the power of governments, of global corporations, and of all the institutions of the old world; then, with dreadful inevitability, the different Affinities begin to go to war with one another.

                                                           First Impressions

I was stuck in a book rut and decided to go inside the library and walk around to pick out books. Oddly enough, this is not something that I have done for a long time. Lately I have been putting books on hold and the picking them up at my library’s drive through. While looking around in the New Releases/Hot Releases section the cover of The Affinitiess caught my eye. When I read the summary it caught my attention. I thought that I was burned out on dystopian novels but something about this sparked my interest during a time where no other book was.

                                                             What I thought

This book was really interesting and definitely helped to get me out of my rut. It wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be but it was really interesting and enjoyable.

The Affinities occurs in Canada and The US during what seems like the present. A scientist has discovered a way to analyze human minds and DNA to determine what Affinity (if any) they fit into. The purpose of an Affinity is to put you together with people like you who you immediately understand and trust and therefore cooperate with easily. There are 22 Affinities and not everybody who is tested qualifies for an Affinity. There are 5 that are the biggest or most common Affinities. Adam, the main character, qualifies for one of the Big 5, Tau.

The Affinities (while reminiscent of the factions from Divergent) are not something that everyone has to (or even can be) a part of. The purpose of the Affinities is to create a more cooperative society. It’s a little bit difficult to explain but it’s different from other dystopian societies in that the Affinities don’t teach or even encourage everyone to act a certain way, but are built to put you together with people who are already similar to you. However, there is always conflict when groups like these are created. The different Affinities don’t agree with one another and there is animosity from those who did not qualify.

The negative side to Affinities is that they feel as though they are your one and only family. Anyone who is not a part of your Affinity does not matter. They actually refer to people who you are connected to outside of your Affinity a “tether.” It’s an interesting concept and does create a lot of struggle for Adam.

One downside to this book is that there isn’t as much world building or character building as I would have liked. It is split into three sections that easily could have been made into three separate books. The first section occurs when Adam first decides to be tested for an Affinity. The second section occurs 7 years later, and the third a few years after that. It is frustrating because one section ends and then the next one immediately picks up years later. You have no idea what has happened in between and it makes it harder to connect to the other characters. I would have loved more detail and interactions with the characters. I feel like this style made it more difficult to follow along as well as more difficult to get behind the causes the characters were behind.

Finally, the ending really frustrated me. It was the type of ending that makes you feel as though you wasted your time reading the story. If the ending was different I would have liked this book so much more. I really liked the concept and the ideas and in general what happened. I think that if this story was more detailed and made into something a lot longer it could’ve gone from being a good story to being an amazing story.

If you enjoy dystopian novels or psychology in general, I would definitely recommend this book. It is really interesting and has a lot of topics that make you think. I also think this could make for a very interesting book club choice. There would definitely be a lot to discuss. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fall in love with this book because I didn’t feel like I could fully connect with the story. If it had been longer and more detailed story, I definitely could’ve loved it. I can’t see myself re-reading this story and therefore can’t see myself purchasing it for my shelves. However, I would recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting to you.