The Thirteenth Tale: Diane Setterfield

Holy buckets. What a fantastic read! This was one I definitely need to read again, now that everything (mostly) makes sense.

I am quite proud to say that I guessed the "twist" mere seconds (or should I say "words") before it was revealed. I wouldn't call it obvious, but there was only one plausible solution, only one way in which the story made sense.

I did have a very difficult time understanding Margaret as a character. Her suffering was not clear, and Setterfield began to truly lean on her pain towards the end of the novel. I preferred the Margaret at the beginning of the novel, who was fascinated with words and the many lives created by words. But I've never been in her position so relating to her would be difficult.

I definitely would recommend this book. Keep at it when you want to give up; I had a few of those moments myself. It's completely worth it.

Little Fires Everywhere: Celeste Ng

 This was a hard read for me. It was selected for a book club I just joined, and I didn't research too much into the description. However, had I known some of the large themes included infertility, miscarriages, abortions, and other pregnancy things, I would have chosen the other book. Especially considering the relaxed attitude the author portrayed with these subjects, it was very difficult to read those.

However, the book was intriguing. It brought up several difficult points: teenage sex, single-parenting, biological vs. adoptive parentage. 

The characters were well-written. It was easy to hate the "villain" throughout the whole book. It was rather disappointing that Mrs. Richardson never had her comeuppance. One could argue, I suppose that Izzy was her comeuppance, but I disagree. The author wants us to have sympathy for her at the end, but I find that impossible. She just isn't driving enough to convince me that she was a victim. Sorry, but she brought it all upon herself. 

I also am a huge fan of happy endings, so this ending was fairly unsatisfying. There needs to be so much more content so that I can get some resolution. This, however, is more of a personal preference complaint, so it isn't fair for me to take away from the rating because of that. I think that's just how this type of story ends, so I shouldn't have expected otherwise. 

The Devil in the White City: Erik Larson

They say don't judge a book by its cover: I need to stop judging books by the descriptions on the back. I started this book expecting something very different. The description on the back cover lead me to believe it was about murder happening in the White City. I expected a connection between Holmes and the fair, but there wasn't really. Holmes came to Chicago and then the fair's construction work began. These two stories were told independently in the same book which was a disappointment to me. 

Expectations aside, however, this was a well-written and exciting read, for about 50%. The parts about the construction of the fair were not exciting. It seemed that the author really wanted to write a book about Holmes but felt the need to tamper the excitement with construction work. I mostly skimmed those sections because I don't care how much steel was used in the construction of the first Ferris Wheel. 

But. The chapters on Holmes. Wow. What a sick, twisted man. It was so hard to remind myself continually that this was true. It read so much like a fiction, and because of the horror, I desperately wanted to believe it was a fiction. Larson had a way of introducing each murder that was twisted in itself. The murders often felt like an afterthought. At the end of the chapter, he would say, "Oh yeah, and she was never heard from again." Or "The next time any of her family saw her, she would be unrecognizable because it would only be a skeleton used for education purposes." WHAT. Thus, imagine my disappointment when I would then have to read 20 pages on someone's sore tooth and the damage caused by water and wind to half built buildings. 

When the fair finally kicked off, it was much more exciting: reading everything about the fair, the exhibits, the people who came, that was fun and exciting. I just wish less was spent on the pre-fair and more time was spent on the fair, especially considering that was what the cover described.

I do plan to read more on Holmes, and I might read more about the fair: just hopefully no more on the construction.

Into the Water: Paula Hawkins

This was a great read! I enjoy Hawkins' writing style immensely. She's a captivating writer. and she weaves thrilling tales. Her characters invoke so much emotions, both hatred and love. She is quite talented.

I appreciated many things about this book. First, I enjoyed the way Hawkins broke up the story by using several different narrators, several different time periods, and even different narration types. In this way, I was never tired of a narrator, and I ended each chapter wanting more from that person, causing me to read on.

Hawkins makes a fantastic villain, and even better, she makes several villains. There are many horrid, hateful characters; as I read, I kept longing for their downfalls, and even by the end, I'm uncertain as to who is truly the villains of the book.

As is the case with many thrillers, I was kept guessing through the book. This was even better because at the end, I was left with three guesses, and it wasn't until the very last paragraph that I had my answer, and it wasn't who I thought it would be. That was surprising, and I always like a surprise!

You Are Not Alone: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Another great thrill by Hendricks and Pekkanen. This was a page turner that I had to finish in one sitting because I could not stop reading.

These two are just a great team that can weave stories of such intrigue.

It sucks, but I think we can all imagine falling for the same things the main character here did. Shay was a pretty every-day character. She was like me, and I'm guessing she was kinda like you. She wants desperately to have good friends, so it doesn't take much to create deep friendships (on her part). It's easy to pick out reasons why they shouldn't be your friend, but you can't help falling for it regardless.

I expect this from Hendricks and Pekkanen by now, but that twist at the end still got me. I know that things are never as they appear with these two, and yet I was still thrown. I had to reread a few chapters to catch up/figure out exactly what was happening.

I'm ashamed to say that I totally fell for the false ending, but I love that in book. Fool me as many times as you can!

I can't wait to see what these two come up with next.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Stieg Larsson

I've been meaning to read this book for years, and finally, I put all other books away and made myself focus on this book. I'm glad I did, I think.

24 hours after finishing, and I'm still not sure how to feel about this book. Larsson is a fantastic writer, I think we can all agree. This was thrilling and riveting. I had to keep reading even though there were several points where I wanted to stop.

There was suspense, sure. I didn't know who was the "bad guy," and I wasn't sure what happened to Harriet. I had my suspicions, some of which turned out correct, but I was mostly left in the dark. That definitely kept me going, but the suspense wasn't the driving force for me. I kept reading because I enjoyed the writing, and I enjoyed the characters. I wanted more of the characters, more of their background, more of their dialogue, more of their action. The suspense was just a bonus.

Another reason I kept reading was because Larsson kept the two main characters separate for so long. They had minor crossovers, but it wasn't until about halfway through when they started working together. I knew they would make a good team, so I had to continue to see when they would become a team.

I also wanted to know (and still want to know) why Larsson chose to name the book after Salander. It doesn't seem like she's the main theme in the book, so it confused me a bit, and I kept reading to see if she would play a larger role in the book. I'm still curious, and I'm wondering if it's about the next books in the series.

This book handled some seriously dark topics, and that was rather difficult for me. This was why I wanted to stop. It was hard to read about the violence and the sexual abuse several characters faced. Larsson almost seemed to write about it lightly. Like it wasn't a big deal. I didn't want to keep going after some of those revelations or plot points. I still don't fully understand why Salander's character went through what she did. I'm guessing there's something in future books?

I'm usually excited when a book I read has a movie adaptation, and I can't wait to watch after reading. In this case, I really don't think I want to watch. There's too much horror that I do not want to see on screen. I think I'll leave this one just as a book and forget about the movie. I still haven't decided if I'll read the next two books. It was fantastic writing, but it gave me nightmares, left a pit in my stomach, made me afraid to leave the house, and made me horrible sad to know that while this is fiction, these things really occur in this sinful world.

The Light Between Oceans: M.L. Stedman

This beautifully woven tale left me really questioning the differences of right and wrong. Sometimes the lines are really blurred, making it hard to tell the difference. Even though many times I knew what the right thing was, I understood exactly why the characters made the decisions they made.

Stedman has a beautiful writing technique. This book was captivating and reading through it was easy and smooth. I could put it down and take breaks, but I definitely did not want to. His characters are real and human. Their feelings are relatable. Their pain hurt me.

I enjoyed that this book had no real enemy. Just when you think an enemy has appeared, that character does something to throw them back in your good graces. You might think that a book without a villain is not worth reading, but trust me. It's as if each character is his/her own villain and no true villain is needed. Or is the villain truth?