The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

This book was, once upon a time, a free Friday nook download.  I had nigh hopes of it being the series of books that I used for my Trilogy for the PopSugar Reading challenge.  Turns out that it will most likely go under my book with bad reviews.  You see, on goodreads, it had many well - written reviews which were less than sparkling.  To be fair, it definitely has it's fans as well.   Since it was free, I thought - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

It's a romance novel - essentially.  While the writing style is good, none of the characters are ever particularly well developed. I never really felt like there was a single character that I could relate to. root for except for, perhaps, Will - the least developed character in the story.

 The plot was absurd, at best.   It was difficult for eve this sci-fi lover to suspend disbelief and that is saying something. There are so many aspects of the plot that completely defy reason but, on the off chance that someone still wants to read this book, I won't give spoilers here.  If you choose to read it, proceed with caution and see for yourself.  I won't be pursuing the remainder of the series.  On to other things.

I Don't Usually Do Short Stories...

but for the PopSugar Reading challenge this was one of the subjects. I think the thing that I usually don't enjoy about them is the disjoint nature of them.  I'm always looking for some commonality - some prevailing theme that each story shares.  That is what I liked about this choice - When it Happens to You by Molly Ringwald - even though each story is independent, they are inter-related.

So Molly Ringwald - you heard that right!  As in the Pretty in Pink girl that everyone wanted to be in the 80's.  I have to say that I chose this book, at least in part, because, being a child of the 80's, I loved her so much.  It turns out that she is an amazing writer and I was more than pleasantly surprised.  I loved that while each story could be read alone, they all had a common link.  In some cases, the link took a little while to discover, but it was always there.  I loved that I could relate to most of the characters, except Phillip.  I could feel what they were feeling and relate to the situations that they found themselves in.  This book is well written and highly enjoyable.  It also makes you think and encourages reflection.  I would recommend it highly - 5/5 stars.  

The Truth Teller's Lie by Sophie Hannah

Just finished my first book of the new year.  It wasn't the book I was intending to read first, but as my Nook was acting up, it just happened that way.  This one has been on my tbr pile for a while now, ever since I read the first in the Waterhouse & Zailer series - Little Face.  I read Little Face about a year ago now, and it was just amazing.  If you love mysteries/ thrillers - don't miss Little Face.

I started this book with high expectations and it did not disappoint.  I love that each of the Waterhouse & Zailer books seem to stand alone.  Although a character from Little Face was briefly mentioned, it was in passing and I didn't feel like I had to have read that story first to follow along with this one.

Sophie Hannah tells amazing thrillers.  The stories twist and turn in ways that can't be predicted, almost right up to the very end.  I would say that I did find the Big Baddie to be a bit predictable, but the way that you get there is a wild ride.  

My one complaint about these books is the heroine, Charlie Zailer.  Although she is very smart and has a lot going for her, she seems to have a low self esteem is appears to be constantly looking for love in all the wrong places.  I believe that she could be a stronger character with all this left out of the story completely and nothing would be missing.

Still if you enjoy a good mystery, I give this one four out of five stars - for reasons stated above.