It's May!
In the spring, my reading style lightens a little. I choose less of the dense "rip your beating heart from your chest" sorts of books, and lean more towards the "I know I will fly through this book, but it will have a little bit of substance" sort of books.
In honor of the switch from my heavy winter reads, I turned to tried and true Liane Moriarty whose huge sensations "Big Little Lies" and "The Husband's Secret" propelled her into the literary spotlight. I've also read her earlier book "What Alice Forgot" which was my favorite of the three.
For spring travel I picked up two of Moriarty's older books, "The Last Anniversary" and "The Hypnotist's Love Story." Both were readable, sometimes predictable, sometimes lovable, and sometimes put-downable. It wasn't that I struggled to get through either, but the page turning of the three aforementioned books did not occur for me in either of these books. The characters in both were good, but not great. Both of the books had female characters that were a little bit too neurotic for me.
In "The Last Anniversary" Sophie Honeywell stars in an unlikely inheritance tale. Although her ex-boyfriend, Thomas Gordon, did not turn out to be the love of her life, his Aunt Connie was so taken with Sophie that she willed her house on mysterious Scribbly Gum Island to her. Undaunted by the disapproval of Thomas's sister, Sophie can't wait to begin her new life in her new home. Twists and turns ensue including postpartum depression, potential suitors, a Weight Watcher's affair (sorta), a bizarre love interest, anniversary carnival drunkenness, and the unraveling of a family mystery. Sophie is at times likable, and other times annoying, as were the plot twists of this convoluted tale. I read it but was not necessarily satisfied at the end.
In "The Hypnotist's Love Story" Ellen O'Farrell who helps others solve their problems through hypnotherapy can't seem to solve her own problem - finding a relationship that will last. She blames a bit of this on her unconventional upbringing by her stern mom and her mom's two best friends. When Ellen meets single dad Patrick, she thinks she may just have stumbled onto the love of her life. There's only one big problem - Patrick's ex-girlfriend, Saskia, stalks him. Oh, and another problem, he's a widower who might just still be in love with his dead wife, Colleen. At times a bit ridiculous, this book may have annoyed me a little bit more than "The Last Anniversary." Patrick seemed adorable at times, but other times, he was miserable. For all of Ellen's open mindedness and knowledge of the human mind and relationships, she has a hard time showing empathy for others and gets neurotic in her own relationship. She is more concerned with the feelings of the woman stalking her boyfriend (and her), than she is in working through her problems or showing compassion for her fiancé's feelings.
Ultimately, with both of these books, I was mildly entertained while reading them. They were quick, but they weren't very satisfying like an empty calorie snack when you just need a pick me up at 3pm. If you haven't read any of Liane Moriarty's books, I recommend the aforementioned first, then maybe if you need a quick snack turn to these two novels.
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