Forget Me Not & Nine Perfect Strangers-- Adult Book Mini-Reviews

I've been reading more Adult books lately (I'm still primarily a YA girl, but you gotta mix it up sometimes!), and I wanted to share some thoughts on 2 that I've recently read.



1.  Forget Me Not by A.M. Taylor

Goodreads Synopsis:

WHAT HAPPENED TO NORA?

When Maddie met Nora, their friendship felt as easy as breathing. And when Nora disappeared, all the air went with her. Without her best friend, Maddie’s life became impossible.

Ten years later, Nora is still missing and Maddie is still searching. People have been questioned. People have even been accused. But no one has managed to find Nora.

Then, in the same spot where Nora went missing, the murdered body of Nora’s little sister is found. Convinced this is no coincidence, Maddie resolves to uncover the killer and find Nora – dead or alive.

But will she be able to cope, when we learn what really happened to Nora…?




My Thoughts:

This was a small-town murder mystery that came to me just when I was in the mood to read a mystery.

Maddie is this 20-something girl who's never really grown up.  She's psychologically stilted because of the disappearance of her best friend when they were 17.  During the 10 year anniversary of the disappearance, Nora (the best friend)'s sister is found dead.  It's more than a little coincidental and has to be connected.  Maddie is determined not to leave town again until she figures out what happened 10 years ago and now.

I think my mood made me like this more than I usually would've.  It's beautifully written (although clearly the author is British because some of the slang wasn't adding up to the Wisconsin setting), but it wasn't the GRIPPING mystery that I usually go for.  This book was slllloooooowwwww going.  At times it was thrilling, but other times the book seemed intent on endlessly going over the main characters's feelings.  Maddie's mental state and feelings are such a large part of the book, but they're not really a part of the mystery, so slogging through all of that was a bit boring at times.  The emotional parts of this book were well thought out and I appreciated the attention to it at times, but I think it was touched on just a little too much.

I really enjoyed the tiny town that this book was set in and all the different kinds of people that we met along the way.  There are 2 generations of mourners and suspects, and I thought many of them were interesting to get to know.

I was disappointed that I knew who "did it".  That's just no fun.  I read a lot of books, so it may not have been obvious to the casual reader, but I had a theory right away... and it wasn't wrong :(

OVERALL: A good enough mystery, but didn't quite hit the bar for me.  I thought it was nice that the author touched on the mental health and feelings of the main character, but I thought it was touched on just a tad too much and slowed the book down quite a bit.  I would recommend if you want a book that's a little lighter on the mystery and heavier on the character development.

My Rating 3/5:

2.  Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Goodreads Synopsis:

Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, nine perfect strangers are about to find out...

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

Combining all of the hallmarks that have made her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft. 


My Thoughts:

This one is hard for me to put into words.  You see, I really really enjoyed Liane Moriarty's other books and I had come to expect a certain type of story from her, and this..... wasn't that.

I'm just going to say it: This book was weird.

I know the book is called NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, but it's really about 11 people-- 11 people that we get to know in-depth.  ALL 11.  They were very well-developed, and honestly at the end I felt like I read a character study instead of a novel.

The thing is-- I kind of wanted to hate this book, but I couldn't because of how freaking developed these characters were.  It was like I knew them, and because of that I couldn't hate them or the story they were in.

The twist-- well, there's always a twist in Liane's books, but it wasn't as twisty as I wanted it to be.  It was pretty straight forward and I kept expecting that 2nd twist to get me (it never came).

I don't know what I would've felt if I didn't already love this author.  Would I have liked it better because I wasn't expecting it to be more like her other works??  Would I have hated it because I didn't have a reading relationship and a soft spot for this author's books??  I really don't know.

OVERALL: Underwhelmed.  I was so excited for this book to be out in the world, but then it was nothing like what I thought it would be.  It was weird.  I liked getting to know all the characters and I thought the author did a fab job developing all of them into real people-- but I didn't like the twist and I kept waiting for that WOW moment that never came.

My Rating: 3/5

Have you read either of these books??  Thoughts??  Share with me!!