Project Read || February Wrap-Up

I am proud to announce I am still right on track for Project Read!  Seriously...I am right on track...I doubt that I will be squeezing in too many extra books any time soon, although, I do expect my reading to pick up a bit this summer...hopefully, I will CRUSH this 35-book goal!  :)

Okay, so here's what was on the list this month:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – I love a good psychological thriller every now and then.  One of my favorite authors is Gillian Flynn and this book by Paula Hawkins reminds me a lot of Flynn’s novels.  It was dark, depressing and none of the characters were likable – but it was still fantastic.  This book is told from three different women’s perspectives.  However, most of the book centers around Rachel.  Rachel rides the train every day and often sees a “happy” couple – “Jess and Jason” - while on her ride.  She creates a whole life for them in her mind.  One day she sees “Jess” kissing another man and the next day “Jess” goes missing.  Rachel becomes quickly involved in the story just because of the knowledge she has gathered from her train rides and the fact that she was in “Jess’s” neighborhood the night she went missing.  Rachel is considered both an unreliable source and a possible suspect because she spends most of her life in a drunken stupor. The rest of the book is told from the perspectives of Megan (“Jess’s” real name) and Anna (Megan’s neighbor and the wife of Rachel’s ex-husband).  I couldn’t put it down and actually ended up reading it in a day.  The ending was a bit of a surprise – I figured it out a few chapters before the big reveal, but Hawkins tied it all together so nicely.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good thriller.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – I have had this book sitting on my bookshelf since 2013.  Eric sent it to me when I was on my 7-month long work trip out of the country.  I’ve really been putting off reading it.  I have always heard such great things about it, but it’s also described as “heartbreaking.”  The book cover even describes it as “heartbreaking.”  I don’t know about you, but I really have to be in the right frame of mind for a “heartbreaking” book.  However, I finally took the plunge and read it…it was quite good…and heartbreaking.  This book tells the story of Louisa and Will.  Louisa is a 20-something year old girl who has never strayed far from home and must work in order to support her little family.  Will is a former high profile business man who finds himself wheelchair bound after an accident.  Louisa takes a job as Will’s caregiver and shortly later finds out that Will has plans to schedule an assisted suicide at Dignitas in Switzerland.  Louisa must try to change his mind before it’s too late.  Such a great, emotional book.  I recommend it…but have tissues handy!

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Lianne Moriarty – This is the second Moriarty book that I’ve read this year.  As I mentioned last month, I really do love her books.  This book is about Ellen, a hypnotist, who is informed by her new boyfriend, Patrick, that he is being stalked by his ex-girlfriend.  His stalker, Saskia, never gives him a moment of peace.  Ellen doesn’t realize it, but Saskia is actually one of her hypnotism patients!  At the same time they are being stalked, Ellen and Patrick are going through some big life changes and Saskia is there to witness them all.  The story is told from two perspectives – Ellen’s and Saskia’s.  It’s an entertaining story for sure, but I would recommend Moriarty’s other books over this one.  This novel is a bit slow in places and I didn’t feel like all the characters motives were completely explained at the book’s end.

As always, I will gladly take suggestions for future reads!  I'm willing to try anything and have already added Bossypants to my to-read list since Laurie recommended it.