Six Years (Harlan Coben)

I always know that I won't be disappointed when I read a Harlan Coben novel.  This one was no exception.

Jake meets Natalie and they fall in love.  All of a sudden, she's marrying another man and informs Jake that he shouldn't try to contact her again and that he needs to move on.  Six years later, when he sees Natalie's husbands obituary, he tries to reach out and offer his condolences.  That's when things start to get a little weird.

Within the first few chapters, you get to know the characters and then all of a sudden you notice that things aren't lining up properly.  As a reader, I felt as much confusion as what Jake felt as he was trying to put together all of the pieces.  Why did Natalie leave him six years ago for another man?  What has happened in her life since then?  Why didn't she want to have anything to do with him anymore?

Without giving anything away (because apparently my new nickname is "Spoiler-Alert-Sarah"), I will say that I loved how many details there were in the book and how they all intertwined and finally make sense near the end of the book.  There were times when I felt confused and scared for the characters.

If you're into the mystery books, you'll be into this one.  I love how Harlan Coben writes books that are full of suspense and mystery, yet don't have all of the gore and terrifying details that some mystery books have.

You should make this book the last one you read during your summer vacation!




I'm a little concerned that I won't have time to finish my 2015 Reading List... But I'm not AS far behind as I look!  I have a couple blogs waiting to be posted!
As some of you know, I will be starting my Master's of Education this fall, so I won't be spending as much time reading novels since I will be spending more time reading textbooks!  I'll try to make these last couple of weeks count - and I'll also be able to finish up some novels during Christmas!

My 2015 Reading List Update

• A popular author's first book
• A book that was originally written in a different language
• A book written by an author with your same initials
• A memoir - Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (Jillian Lauren)
• A funny book
• A book with a colour in the title
• A book you own but have never read - Six Years (Harlan Coben)
• A book with a one-word title
• A book written by someone under 30
• A book you can finish in a day
• A book with non-human characters
• A book set during Christmas

Safe Haven (Nicholas Sparks)

I spent the beginning of my long weekend completely consumed in my most recent read, "Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks.  I'd seen the movie when it came out in theatres, so I was doing this one backwards (with the book before movie or movie before book debate!)  (I'm also a bit late on this post - my apologies!)

Let's start with the book.  It's the story of Katie, a girl who moves to a small town to get away from her past life.  In her old life, she was in an abusive relationship until she finally gathered the strength to leave.  Her husband, also a police officer, is doing everything he can do to find her now that she has disappeared.  In her new life, she meets attractive and friendly Alex, who is a single father to two kids.  They hit it off but she is still reluctant to start anything new because of her past. 

 

Now remember, I'm a sucker for love stories.  I loved the book - it's such a cute love story and the characters are so easy to get attached to.  Going back and forth between Katie's story and her husband's search for her kept the book suspenseful for the readers.  I motored through it, and, like I said, spent my entire sunny Saturday sitting outside with this book. 

 

Now, flash over to the movie.  I saw the movie first in this case and loved it.  Another great Nicholas Sparks book turned movie.  After reading the book, though, I wonder to myself why they had to change some of the things from the book while making the movie.  I know that movies often have to seem more "Hollywood", so they add and change things to make the story more "big screen" friendly and suspenseful.  I did feel like the story in the book would have been equally as good on the big screen.  (But what do I know about film-making, right?!)  All in all, the themes are basically the same and I would have to say that although they are slightly different, I liked both separately and tried not to compare them to each other too much. 

 

If you're the love story type like me, or if you're a fan of Nicholas Sparks, this one won't disappoint.  It's a good summer read and I'm quite happy that my relaxing weekend was spent with this one. 

Caper (Lawrence Sanders)

What a great book to start my 2013 bookstack!

This Lawrence Sanders novels is by no means a new release.  Published in 1980, it's another one of those books that you should judge by the cover when you say, "It looks worn out and old - lots of people must have read this!"

"Caper" is a mystery/suspense novel.  Jannie Shean is a mystery writer who is told that her writing is starting to seem unrealistic.  She's given the advice of getting back into touch with reality and reading about real experiences in the news before starting on her next novel.  Jannie figures she's got an even better idea - Why not plan a whole crime and then pull out at the last minute?  Jannie decides that, along with help from her friend Dick Fleming, they are going to learn what it really involved as they plan a robbery.  They must do everything from figure out how to get hold of firearms and who to recruit as extra bodies in the mission to how to cover up their identities so that once all is said and done, none of this can be traced back to who they really are.

From the very first chapters, this book grabs your attention.  As one of the characters says in the book, we are all set in our routines and we live our lives knowing that we probably have a tomorrow and that we most likely have a good idea of what will happen in our 'tomorrow'.  These two characters show you how their lives transform when they start to live outside of their comfort zone.  This unknown territory that they are "adventuring" is a place that many of us have never been (and will likely never be!).

I don't want to ruin anything at all about the book.  But I really liked it.  I loved the characters (even the bad ones that you're not supposed to like) and I loved how it kept you guessing.

If you're a fan of the mystery genre, I would highly recommend this one.  Even if you're not a fan of the mystery genre, I would recommend it.  It's not a scary one, I promise - it's not the type of mystery that keeps you up at night thinking that something bad is going to happen to you.  (You just think to yourself instead, "I'm glad I'm not in their position...")

The Wild Zone (Joy Fielding)

I recently picked this book to read for one reason - I didn't want to be bringing "Fifty Shades of Grey" with me to school. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't feel it would be very professional. 

Enjoying some sunshine and reading "The Wild Zone"!

I enjoyed "The Wild Zone" by Joy Fielding because it was an easy read, it kept me guessing, and it left me pleasantly surprised at the end. 

As a whole, I found the book was exciting but lacked a little in the suspenseful "I-Need-To-Keep-Reading-Because-It's-So-Crazy-That-I-Need-To-Know-What-Happens-Next" kind of way.  After reading about 80 pages, I remember saying, "It's good, but I feel like something is about to happen."  That feeling kept up for most of the book, with the most exciting parts happening nearer to the end. (I've read Joy Fielding books before, and this was wasn't as exciting as I remember those ones being.)

To clarify, it's not a mystery book where something crazy happens at the beginning (like a murder) and then the rest of the book is spent trying to figure out what happens.  Instead, it's a book where all of the events and information presented throughout the book are useful in determining what the future holds for each of the characters. 

I thought it was a good, easy read and it would be a great summer book for someone.  There's a bit of suspense and mystery, but there isn't the gore and scary stuff to turn those readers off of it.  I enjoyed it and thought it filled my prep and lunch times at school very well during these last couple of weeks of school. 

School is done and it is officially summer vacation - let's get my "read" on and have some much needed "me" time!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)

I don't know why I didn't read this book sooner, when it was at the front of Chapters or when my mom whipped through them.  I still didn't know much about the book when my aunt started talking about the new movie that's now out.  When I told her I hadn't read the book, she just told me, "Oh, you have to.  They were so good."

So, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was the next book I decided to read.  When I started it, I didn't read the back so I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. 

The novel is giant and it's a thriller/mystery/suspense book (with a bit of a love story at parts, I guess).  Without giving much away because most of this is on the back of the book, Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, is hired by Henrik Vanger to solve a mystery.  Henrik's niece disappeared forty years ago and Henrik believes that she was murdered.  He's been stuck on this case for forty years and is desperate to find an answer.  Lisbeth Salander enters the story (she's the one with the dragon tattoo!).  She's a "genius hacker with someone twice her age" and tries to help Mikael with this mystery. 

"You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to see that these events were somehow related.  There had to be a skeleton in one of their cupboards, and Salander loved hunting skeletons.  Besides, she had nothing else on at the moment."  (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, p. 390)

I really liked this book.  It took me a little while to get into for a few reasons.  First, I didn't have a good chunk of time devoted to reading when I started the book, and I think that you really need that to understand what is going on at the start of the book.  The whole novel isn't like the first fifty pages, so if you're having trouble with the beginning (the first hundred or so pages), don't worry - it gets a bit easier to read once the story is set up a bit for you.  Second, it just took some time getting used to the names of people and places (because they're all Swedish).  Once you start reading though, these names become familiar and it's fine.  Don't ask me to pronounce them, but it was easy to understand and recognize the names. 

This really was a "don't want to put it down" book for me.  It was exciting and a little bit crazy.  (That's one messed up family, the Vangers!)  If you haven't read it and are looking for something with a bit of substance, this could be it!  It's big and has a lot of details, but it moves at a steady pace and was very interesting. 

This is the first in the trilogy and I am looking forward to reading the next two!

Play Dead (Harlan Coben)

This book did not disappoint.  I was looking for another good mystery novel and that's exactly what I got.  I have always been impressed with Harlan Coben's novels and his ability to make me a) carry his book around everywhere I go, b) sit down for hours at a time and continuously flip the pages of his novel, and c) stay up late until it's finished. 

After reading those few non fiction books and some light summer reads, I thought it was about time that I got lost in another Harlan Coben novel.  This time, I chose one of the few novels that I haven't read by him, Play Dead.  Like I mentioned, I have loved every book that I've read by him in the past and this one was no exception.  (I may even have to go back and re-read a few that I remember really loving!)

At first I was hesitant to read it.  At the beginning of his book, Harlan Coben writes a short note to his readers.  He tells us, "Okay, if this is the first book of mine you're going to try, stop now.  Return it.  Grab another.  It's okay.  I'll wait."  He wrote this book when he was in his early twenties, and it was released for print in 1990.  He explains that he is not the same writer now as he was back then.  But that's okay - I liked the book anyway and I'm glad I kept reading. (Some other people who have written online reviews were very disappointed... I, however, thought it was still good and it kept me reading.)

Now onto the challenge of reviewing this book without giving too much away!  The book is about a Hollywood couple, Laura Ayars and David Baskin.  They were on their secret honeymoon in Australia when Laura went out for a quick business meeting.  When she returned, she was left with a note from her husband saying he had gone out for a swim.  He never returned.  Despite the coroner reports that say David drowned, Laura suspects some foul play and takes it upon herself to start finding answers.  Some secrets, as much as 30 years old, start to surface and prove that this is all a little deeper than we ever imagined it could be. 

As I was reading this book, I was starting to think that I had many things figured out.  There was a lot of foreshadowing and most people are able to put two and two together.  (I mean, come on, you can read the title of the book and figure out something!)  Half way through the book, I was even wondering why Harlan Coben needed another 200 pages to tie up the ends that I had already figured out.  Oh, how wrong was I.  Despite what I thought was happening, there were new facts that kept arising, changing the story entirely.

I would recommend this novel (as I would any Harlan Coben novel!).  If you're looking for a book that will keep you in suspense until the very last page, consider this one.  And consider his other novels, too!