Book Review: The Block Party

If you love a summer drama then you will love The Block Party by Jamie Day. This story is packed full with drama and ends with a murder. Well, technically, it starts with a murder, but you don’t find out anything about the murder until the end. The whole book has you enthralled with all of the drama, but also leaves you guessing the whole time about who could have been murdered and why?

Alton Road is an exclusive cul-de-sac where the residents really only interact with each other. Every year they have an annual summer block party, but this years block party ends with someone murdered. In order to figure out who and why, the story needs to go back to last years block party and start from there. From there you will see just how many secret each resident on Alton Road is hiding.

I loved that right away you knew someone was murdered, but did not find out who until the very end of the book. It kept me engaged throughout the whole novel. I kept having ideas about who it could have been or who maybe did it, but in the end I was still a little shocked at who it was and how it played out. Every character was dealing with their own problems and it was interesting to watch how it all played out.

I gave this book 3.5/5 stars. I thought it was a good read, but it just wasn’t the best book I ever read. I did really enjoy it though and found it to be a good September read. It was a good book to end the summer with. If you like mysteries and thrillers and just a good summer read, I would definitely recommend this book!

September Reading Wrap-Up

Now that it is officially October, this post is dedicated to my September reads! I read a lot of great books in September. It was honestly my best month of the whole year. I read multiple five star books. Here are the 8 books I read in September:

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
The Block Party by Jamie Day
The Starfish Sisters by Barbara O’Neal
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Of these eight books it is really hard to choose a favorite. To me, The Turn of the Key, Adelaide, The Starfish Sisters, and The Lost Apothecary were all five star books. I loved everything about them. From the plot through to the characters. I would recommend any of those books in a second. If you like thrillers, I would recommend either The Turn of the Key or The Lost Apothecary. If you like contemporary fiction, I would recommend Adelaide or The Starfish Sisters. You really cannot go wrong with any of those books though.

My least favorite read of the month was We’ll Always Have Summer. I am glad I read it, especially since I read the first two books in the series, but it just wasn’t my favorite book I ever read. If you are reading the series I do think it is worth reading. If you like YA novels than I do think you would enjoy the series.

Overall, this was a fantastic month for reading! I read some of the best books I ever read. I was in a bit of a reading slump, but these books pulled me out of it and made me want to keep reading more and more. I am looking forward to seeing how many books I get through in October!

Book Review: The Five Star Weekend

The Five star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand was such a good read. I believe it is my favorite book by her so far. Usually, I find her books can get a little boring in the middle, but I did not feel that way with this book. I felt that there was more mystery added to this novel than her others. It was one of those books where I was trying to figure out how it was going to end, because it was getting really close to the end of the book, and there were so many things not yet resolved.

Hollis Shaw decides to gather four friends from different phases in her life to spend a weekend with her on Nantucket. Hollis seems to have the perfect life and is the envy of many others. She runs a popular blog, has a daughter in college, and is married to a heart surgeon. One day Hollis and her husband, Matthew, get into a heated argument. It is a snowy morning and Matthew leaves for the airport with things unresolved. On his way to the airport Matthew gets in an accident and dies instantly. After her husbands death, Hollis is really struggling. She decides to gather four friends and host something called a “Five Star Weekend”. This novel is a story of friendship, hardship, life, and love. Hollis hopes this weekend will be able to pull her back to life and give her the strength she desperately needs to enjoy life once again.

I loved this book from the moment I started it. I instantly like Hollis. I found her to be extremely relatable and likeable. I also found all of the other characters to be well written. They seemed so real and this group reminded me of a real group of friends. All the different personalities coming together reminded me so much of actual friend groups I have been involved in. Also, the twist in this book was so well written.

I gave this book 4/5 stars. It was by far my favorite Elin Hilderbrand book I have read, so far. This book made me excited to read even more books by her. I would highly recommend this book. Especially if you have previously read books by this author and enjoyed them. I honestly was sad to get to the end of Hollis’s story. I wanted to keep following her along on her journey.

Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

I recently read one of the most talked about books turned tv series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, I read the whole series actually. I actually remember reading this book many years ago. I did not even remember it until it became a television series. I decided to go back and reread it to see if I would like it as much as I did when I first read it. Obviously, I am not the same person I was in high school. Especially, early high school. I still enjoyed it though. It is a sweet read and entertaining. This week I am going to be reviewing all three books, starting today with, The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Every summer, Belly, spends June-August, at a beach house in Cousins. Belly, her mom, her brother Steven, her mom’s best friend, Susannah, and her two sons, Jeremiah, and Conrad stay at their summer house there. Summer has always been Belly’s favorite time. This summer everything changes though. It seems Belly’s school girl crushes on Jeremiah and Conrad, may actually be reciprocated and this summer is the beginning may be the beginning of a whole new life.

This book contains lots of young love, family drama, and just regular drama of being a teenager. I found it to be a fun story and an easy read. I enjoyed all of the characters and felt the plot moved at a perfect pace. It was kind of a typical young adult novel. I really did enjoy it though. I found Belly to be likeable and believable.

I gave this book 3.5/5 stars. It was well written, the characters had depth to them, and I thought the plot was intriguing and well thought out. I feel it is a really good book for kids in middle school and high school. When I read it in high school I remember really enjoying it. It is really a sweet read and I think most girls will be able to relate to Belly. I also cried at times throughout the novel. There were some really heavy moments sprinkled throughout. Overall, I did enjoy it. I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone who enjoys young adult novels.

Book Review: When the Stars Go Dark

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain was an absolutely beautiful book. First of all, the title immediately draws you in. Second, the writing in this book was stunning. The writing was poetic and I kept going back and rereading lines just to appreciate how beautiful the writing was.

This book tells the story of Anna Hart who is a missing persons detective. A terrible tragedy sends Anna back to her hometown so she can try to process and grieve. Shortly after arriving to her hometown she discovers there is a fifteen year old girl missing and Anna quickly joins in on the case. While investigating this crime it starts to remind Anna of one of her friends who went missing years before when they were both fifteen.

I loved this book. I thought the plot was good, Anna was a sympathetic character, plus this book actually dove deeper and used actual missing persons cases and trauma theory as well. The book even touched on what makes some people more susceptible to predators than others. That approach could have easily turned into victim blaming, but it never did, it was done tactfully and I was able to relate to it in some ways and also learn from it as well.

To me, a book isn’t complete unless I am able to take something away from it. Whether that be a lesson, or an understanding of others more, etc. I was able to take a lot from this book and even able to understand my own traumas more.

I highly recommend this book. It was well-written, fast paced, there were a lot of good characters, and it kept me guessing the whole time. In the end I was kind of able to figure it out, but there were still plot twists that I did not see coming and I always appreciate an extra surprise element. Overall, I give this book 5/5 stars. This is a book that I am going to carry with me for a while and I cannot recommend it enough.

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