Hi Friends,

So remember on my last Book Review post I said I had picked up Gone Girl and The American Heiress to read next? Well now I have! Here’s what I thought of the two:

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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It’s weird the way I feel about this book. I couldn’t put it down, so that makes it good right? But the way it ends, pretty much the last few pages, angers me! So that makes it bad right? Well I guess that’s the black and white of it all but as for the gray area, it’s an interesting read full of twists and turns. It plays out like a good movie, which is probably why they are making it into one. The story follows married couple Amy and Nick Dunne, two very detailed and intricate characters. They both narrate their own story and their respective voices help paint a clear picture of the type of people they are and the way they feel in the marriage. When Amy suddenly goes missing (she’s the Gone Girl), the story jumps back and forth between the husband and wife. It’s a case of whodunit…except its SO much more than that.

I do recommend the book even though it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. But such is life right? I’ll definitely keep my eye out for the movie.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

I’m having trouble deciding whether this book was good, bad or just eh. I think we’ll go with just eh. After I had put it down for two months because I wasn’t into it, I picked it back up, started from the beginning again and, for whatever reason, it got more interesting after that.  The writing is wonderful in the sense that it gives you just enough details to allow you to visualize the scene without boring you. It follows the story of Cora Cash, a young girl from Newport, Rhode Island in the 1890’s the who has lots of, well, cash. Filthy rich Cora and her overbearing socialite mother travel to England in search of a husband for young Cora and wouldn’t you know it, she has a chance encounter with a man who turns out to be a duke. From here we begin to explore Cora’s relationship with the duke and the people constantly around them, of which there are plenty.  There is jealously, malice, intrigue, duty, love, affair and scandal all set in a castle in England. Sound familiar? It should if you watch Downton Abbey!  This could almost be the story of how Cora met Lord Grantham on DA. Even their names are the same.

As in Gone Girl, I wasn’t crazy about the ending. It was abrupt after a long build up. However, if you like stories of English royalty, dukes and duchesses and things, then this book is for you.

My next two books aren’t novels but instead self-help types books.

Write It Down: Make it Happen: Knowing What You Want and Getting It 

and

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits

Has anyone read any of these Self Help/Business books? I usually stick to novels for the escapism factor but these two were recommended so I thought I’d give them a try because, let’s face it, we could always use a little help expanding our minds.

Happy Reading Friends.