A Blonde and 3 Boys

Welcome Back!

Just Finished The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh

This is a tricky book to review because I don’t want to give anything way! I read this review and it puts it perfectly:

We have a small town in Texas (the third least populated county of the country), a memory removing procedure, and a wide cast of criminals or witnesses who ended up there as a kind of witness protection program/alternative to prison. The residents are completely separated from their old lives; they even choose new name upon arrival. Anonymity, a fresh start. Everything is quiet for eight years until two people are shot in different instances.

I haven’t read anything like this before and really enjoyed it! The first half of this book is strong and pulls you right in.  It’s a great premise and I would give this book 5 stars, but when you begin to read  about the “inmates” past lives, suddenly the author decides to use long sentences with large adjectives to describe the crimes/events. This gets a bit drawn out in the middle, but I think the author redeems himself with a good ending.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Welcome!

I just finished the book Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker.

Form Goodreads:

A thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back…

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.

From Me!

“Not knowing, not seeing, being deceived—it makes you question everything you have come to trust. It makes you doubt your own judgment, and the truths you have come to believe in, which sometimes are so deeply embedded, you don’t even know they’re there, shaping your thoughts.”

While reading this book, I questioned everything. The two sisters just disappeared one evening and Cass, the youngest shows back up after three years. She shares quite the story of what happened to the sisters while gone and I kept thinking where is this going?

The mother is extremely narcissistic, which I enjoyed reading traits about narcissistic people. But instead of thinking about the mom, all I could think about was Trump. (ew.)

It does twist, but didn’t twist smoothly. At times I was like “What?” How did she get them to do that from what she just said and ended up rereading. Also, Cass took a lot of careful planning, which she would be only 15 when she disappeared, I considered her a  genius. Sam is 15 and I don’t think he could have made such an extravagant plan.

At one point towards the end of the book, it did have a twist that I really didn’t see coming and enjoyed. That was a nice chapter.

But, maybe I missed something due to reading rave review after rave review of this book. I can see why readers loved this book, it does take you on a ride, but I now feel like I should reread the book, knowing the ending, to put the pieces together in my mind a bit better.

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.