What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Synopsis:

Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.

So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.

Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.

I read the synopsis of this book and was highly intrigued. It seemed like a pretty unique concept, so I jumped right in.

And, let me tell you, this book did not let me go until I turned the very last page.

I was absorbed. When I had to take a break from reading, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

This book broke my heart, it made me cry, it made me laugh, and it made me question life. THAT is what I like from a novel. I like when it challenges me just by telling its story. I didn’t want it to end, but I feel like the ending came at the perfect time, and it was a good one.

The characters were all interesting. They all played a role, and the inner monologue of Alice was fantastic.

My favorite books center around characters that could be REAL, that could be your next-door neighbor or could be YOU. And this book gives you that.

I will always recommend this book to anyone who is ready to invest the time into it. It is pretty long, but it is worth the ride.

5/5 stars

Memorable Quotes: "Who cared if hundreds of strange people turned up on her doorstep tonight? Her life was a nightmare and she may as well let it continue on its nightmarish way."

"Your mind resists death with all its might."

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Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – PART ONE

Synopsis:

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I say this is part one because I am nearly halfway through the book.

Why am I publishing a review then? Because it is boring me to tears.

I hate leaving books unfinished because I take the time to read them when I could be reading and reviewing other books. But, I can just not make myself finish this one right now.

I loved the first book in this series, Anna and the French Kiss. It was fun, it was cute, and it was easy to read. The characters were likeable and the story was sweet.

Lola and the Boy Next Door has the MOST obnoxious protagonist. I feel like the author put may too much effort into making her quirky but it just comes off as pretentious and annoying.

This book has put me in a reading slump because I would rather do pretty much anything else than read through Lola’s perspective.

Im not even starring this. I will if I come back to it.

Lifeguard by James Patterson

Synopsis:

Working as a lifeguard at a luxurious Florida resort, Ned Kelly meets the woman of his dreams. It feels perfect in every way-except that she's used to caviar and Manolo Blahniks, and he's used to burgers and flip-flops. So when Ned's cousin offers to cut him in on a fast break-and-enter job, Ned can't turn it down. The risk is high, and the reward is even greater-$5 million. But the robbery goes devastatingly wrong. Forced to run away from his town and the woman he's fallen in love with, Ned knows that only distance and secrecy can save his life. But who is pursuing him? The FBI? Whoever sabotaged the heist? Or is it all somehow tied in to his new love-and his oldest enemies?

Lifeguard fits into multiple categories. It is a romance novel, a crime novel, a suspense novel and no much more.

For being a fugitive, Ned was an extremely likable character. I wouldn’t mind a series made about him alone. But, the series would have to be prequels to this book, as I believe this novel had a satisfying ending to his story.

Ellie was also a fun character.

This book was more character driven than story driven, and that is what made it fun to read. All of the character had very different personalities and it was fun getting to know them.

That doesn’t mean that the story was lacking at all, it just wasn’t exceptionally unique. A mediocre story line was made up for by the fun and interesting characters.

Lifeguard reminded me a little of the TV show White Collar which made it even better as I enjoy that show a lot.

4/5 Stars I really enjoyed it, but those who aren’t fans of Patterson may not.

I would call it a nice summer thriller. 

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