Books I Read in October (And Whether or Not You Should Read Them).
The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle c/o Netgalley
Plot: Iris and Will’s marriage is as close to perfect as it can be: a large house in a nice Atlanta neighborhood, rewarding careers and the excitement of trying for their first baby. But on the morning Will leaves for a business trip to Orlando, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt. Another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board, and according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers on this plane.
Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. But as time passes and there is still no sign of Will, she reluctantly accepts that he is gone. Still, Iris needs answers. Why did Will lie about where he was going? What is in Seattle? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to find out what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she receives will shock her to her very core. –Via Goodreads
My thoughts: I read this book in a day. Not because it was amazing, though I did want to find out what was happening. It was more that it was an easy read to lose track of time with…it didn’t take too much thought to follow the story, and I curled up in bed and finished it in a few hours.
It was an interesting plot that made me wonder what I would do in a similar situation-I mean, if you find out your husband is a pretty big liar, what exactly does one do? I thought the main character was very relatable and I liked trying to guess what choices she would make.
It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read…it was a little cliche and predictable at parts, and it didn’t really stick with me after I’d read it…but I will say this: The very last paragraph of the whole book made me want to stand up and applaud, and I’d throw in an extra star just for that. I love a good ending.
Should you read it? If you’re in a reading rut and have some extra time, sure! It’s a good read. But you’re not missing anything life-changing if you skip it.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Plot: In this tightly wound story, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…
With surprising twists and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another intense read. –via Goodreads
Favorite quote: “We all have demons inside us, voices that whisper we’re no good, that if we don’t make this promotion or ace that exam we’ll reveal to the world exactly what kind of worthless sacks of skin and sinew we really are. Maybe that’s true. Maybe mine just have louder voices.”
My thoughts: I started this book off a little worried because the main character reminded me of Rachel from The Girl on The Train. Spoiler alert: I did not like Rachel. But a few chapters in, this book sucked me in.
I didn’t guess the twist (love when that happens) and I was bummed that I had to stop reading it to get some sleep…both signs of a great mystery. I try to read a good thriller every October and this one definitely fit the bill!
Should you read it? Yes!
First, Kill All the Marriage Counselors by Laura Doyle
Plot: Laura Doyle’s marriage was in trouble. Marriage counseling made their problems worse—each session seemed to reinforce the feeling that she and her husband were just too far apart.
Desperate to avoid divorcing the man she loved, Laura tried something different: she started talking to happily married women, some for more than 15 years. What she discovered shocked her.
Everything she had heard in marriage counseling was wrong. Laura realized there are basic truths that can help women maintain loving, intimate marriages.
After seeing her own marriage transform, Laura set out to help other women do the same. In First, Kill All the Marriage Counselors, you’ll learn Laura’s “Six Intimacy Skills,” which have been used by over 150,000 women who have turned their unhappy marriages into blissful unions.–via Goodreads
My thoughts: First things first: I am a huge proponent of counseling. The author had a bad experience with one and got a catchy book title out of it. In no way does a book take the place of therapy.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way…I enjoyed this one! I appreciated that it came from the stance of, “You probably love your husband and he probably loves you, so let’s make your marriage even better!” Instead of, “Your marriage is probably falling apart and you probably suck and so does he so let’s change everything about you.”
However…this book is one of those where you’ve got to take everything and sift through it. There was some stuff that was so good…and some stuff (especially towards the end) that made me think. “Um…say what now?” The things I took away from the book were incredibly valuable, and I was able to just disagree with the things I didn’t like.
Should you read it? If you can take things with a grain of salt, yes. If you’re the kind of person who likes to read self-help books and take them as complete truth, skip this one.
What did you read this month?
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