At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen

Thank you to Sara Gruen and Spiegel and Grau Publishing and Netgalley for the Advanced copy of this novel.

In the tradition of "Water for Elephants", Gruen spins a wonderful period tale of wealthy Americans during the war chasing their fortunes in Scotland.  Yes, they are looking for the Loch Ness Monster but don't let that premise detract you from picking up this novel.  There is quite a bit of whimsy threaded through the book but none of it is overbearing or distracting from the underlying story.

The characters are drawn beautifully and remind me vividly of F Scott Fitzgerald in the attitudes and story structure.  Maddie's revelations about her life unfold very realistically and the subplot of romance does not feel forced.  I especially enjoyed the interaction between Maddie and the innkeepers.  It is so lovely to watch women become friends and reminds me of how lucky I am to have the ladies in my life.

This was definitely a "stay up until the last page is turned" kind of novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Goodreads rating: 5 stars

The Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins

A big thanks to my book club for picking The Girl on the Train.  Fair warning dear readers, you are either going to really like this book or you are really not going to like this book, in scrolling through the other goodreads reviews, there is not a whole lot of in between on that one.  While I understand the comparisons to "Gone Girl" Paula Hawkins definitely occupies a different space in the dark and twisty genre than does Gillian Flynn.

I kind of hated how much I identified with the different characters in different ways.  I feel like I have spent time in each of their shoes at some point (feeling stuck, getting dumped, being envious, being controlled) and it makes me grateful for the ending that my life is writing for itself.  This is one of those books that I finished at 1AM and didn't feel bad about it in the morning.

I can't wait for our book club discussion next week.  It should be interesting to see how my fellow bookies felt about this novel.

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars