THE DINNER | Herman Koch’s “European Gone Girl”

With a review from Gillian Flynn (the author of Gone Girl, if for some reason you have been living under a rock and didn’t already know that) on the cover saying “Chilling, nasty, smart, shocking, and unputdownable”, I knew I had to read The Dinner by Herman Koch!

How far would you go for someone you love? Is blood really thicker than water? And would you allow your own flesh and blood to be turned over to the police, or would you try to save them?

This book gets you thinking about the extreme… hence the multiple Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups I consumed while reading this book :) Hey, I needed some brain fuel with all those tough questions to answer!

This book contained violence (a whole bunch), plot twists, family feuds, psychopaths, murder, and a plethora of backstabbing, but sadly only gets a 3 out of 5 star rating in my book (pun intended).

Why, you may ask? It was called the “European Gone Girl”! How could the “European Gone Girl” only get 3 stars?

*Caution: This review alludes to spoilers!*

HIDDEN TREASURE | The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

If you’re tired of the trendy “must-read” books that are 200 pages with similar story lines and are all compared to Gone Girl (not bashing Gone Girl… I loved it), then pick up this book!

The other day I posted about my top 5 reads of 2015 (so far) and my blogger friend, Jamie, recommended The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón since it was her favorite book of all time (that’s a pretty big award to give a book if you ask me). I’d never even heard of it before, so I did some research!

Even though my “must-read” list was already way too long, I added it anyways because it sounded so good. Then, when I found out it got a 4.2 on Goodreads and a 4.5 on Barnes & Noble, I bumped it up to the top of the list so I could start reading it right that second!

DANIEL SILVA | The book that took me 3 years to read

You may think since this book took me three years to finally finish that it wasn’t very good… turns out, it’s quite the opposite. Portrait of a Spy kept more more intrigued than the last four books I’ve read. Hands down.

My father reads Daniel Silva books like it’s his job and hands me down his favorites! This book was one of them and FINALLY I understand why.

BEACH READ | In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

The last time I came across Judy Blume I was about 14 years old, binge reading every book I could get my hands on during a summer of playdates and ice-pops.

Now at the ripe old age of 25, I was compelled to relive my childhood and picked up her new adult novel!

BOOK REVIEW | Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

This book was recently mentioned on theSkimm, so instantly it was added to my must read list… and then bumped it up to the first position :) If you’ve seen my most recent Instagram, you’ll know I’m obsessed with theSkimm (If you don’t know what theSkimm is, click here and sign up for it IMMEDIATELY! You can thank me later).

Anyways, back to the book… I finished Luckiest Girl Alive in 3 days flat. Not because I loved it, because I just wanted to know how it would end, and end it. Anyways… here it goes! Warning, my review contains spoilers.

MUST READ | The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

This book was on my summer must-read list and was the first one I tackled :) It was pretty much the opposite of a light beach read, in the best possible way!

Yes, this is a long book but I promise you it’s worth it! I fell in love with the two main characters, Isabel and Vianne, and I devoured the book.

Maybe it was because I find WWII so interesting, maybe it was because I have an older sister and can relate to sister-sister relationship, or maybe (most likely) it was because it was so beautifully written!

BOOK CLUB | Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This month’s Beltway Book Club book was Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

When this book was nominated at last month’s book club as the “June read”, everyone jumped at it! The winner of the Pulitzer Price in 2009 AND now an HBO Miniseries?? Ding ding ding, I think we have a winner!

Don’t worry, this review doesn’t contain any spoilers… because sadly, there are really no spoilers to give away…

BEACH READ | The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman

Adelle Waldman sets Nathaniel P. up to be hated. And I hated him indeed!

Every thought that ran through his head made me cringe. Then it made me feel sad for the poor girl that crossed his path. And then it made me just want to throw a drink in the man’s face.

BOOKWORM LIFESTYLE | Five reasons I love to read

I’ve been a bookworm all my life, obnoxiously reading under the table at restaurants or getting car sick as I tried to finish one last chapter on a family road trip. At first it was Goodnight Moon, then Nancy Drew, now Gillian Flynn and Sheryl Sandberg.

There are many reasons people read. Some read to find out celebrities’ dirty life secrets, some read to learn more about SEO, and some read to lose themselves in an amazing mystery novel and stay up all night with the lights on because they’re scared (holla!).

BOOK CLUB | We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Finally, after a year of book club, my book recommendation was selected! I was on cloud nine… but then the fear set in. What if no one likes it??

I nominated We Were Liars by E. Lockhart mainly because it seemed mysterious (and got pretty good reviews). All of the summaries of the book were short and to the point. Lies lies lies! And don’t read anything about the ending because it will spoil it. Just read the book instead.

That summary drew me in, and clearly the other book club girls, for it was selected!