Top Ten Books I Resolve to Read in 2018
Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I’m Looking Forward to In 2018 (These could be new releases, or books you resolve to read, ten debuts we are looking forward to, etc.)
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Now that the end of the year is upon us, it’s time to start thinking about those New Year’s resolutions. Normally I don’t make many because I almost always fail at them, but I’m thinking I might actually have a good chance of succeeding at a bookish-themed resolution.
In that spirit, I’ve come up with a list of Top 10 Books I Resolve to Read in 2018. These are all books that I have heard nothing but wonderful things about but somehow still have not managed to make the time to read them. It’s actually embarrassing how long some of them have been on my TBR and how long I’ve talked about how much I’m dying to read them but then never following through. So now it’s time to make a real effort to do something about it.
TOP 10 BOOKS I RESOLVE TO READ IN 2018
1. SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo
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2. EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng
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3. NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff
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4. A FEAST FOR CROWS by George R.R. Martin
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5. REBEL OF THE SANDS by Alwyn Hamilton
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6. DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch
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7. INK AND BONE by Rachel Caine
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8. THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater
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9. SALT TO THE SEA by Ruth Sepetys
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10. TO THE BRIGHT EDGE OF THE WORLD by Eowyn Ivey
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Question: Do you have any books that you are determined to get off your TBR list in 2018?
Top 10 Books I Hope Santa Brings Me This Year
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Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings (If you celebrate a different Winter holiday, adapt this topic to fit it!). This wee’s topics was pretty easy to complete since I seem to always have an endless list of books that I would love to own but haven’t gotten around to buying for myself yet. Here are some that I would love to wake up Christmas morning and find under my tree.
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Top 10 Books I Hope Santa Brings Me This Year
HUNTING PRINCE DRACULA by Kerri Maniscalco
THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS: MIDNIGHT TALES & DANGEROUS MAGIC by Leigh Bardugo
SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo
THE FIREMAN by Joe Hill
THE CHILD FINDER by Rene Denfeld
GEMINA by Amie Kaugman, Jay Kristoff, and Marie Lu
GODSGRAVE by Jay Kristoff
BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate
WONDER by R.J. Palacio
HALF A YELLOW SUN by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Question: What books would you like for Santa to bring you this year? Happy Holidays, everyone!
Book Review: The Wife Between Us
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen Also by this author: An Anonymous Girl, You Are Not Alone
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 9th 2018
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
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MY REVIEW:
Okay, so I have to admit I was a little nervous when I started seeing my fellow reviewers compare The Wife Between Us to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Even though I loved Gone Girl, not many of the novels that have been compared to it since its rise to popularity have lived up to the hype. And boy have there been a lot of them. I’m thrilled to say that not only does The Wife Between Us live up to the comparison, but I enjoyed The Wife Between Us even more than I enjoyed Gone Girl. I think we’re looking at what is going to be one of the must-read books of 2018. I also recently read that there is already a deal in place to make it into a film and I’m really excited about that.
I know this is the part of my review where I would typically describe the book without giving away spoilers. In the case of The Wife Between Us, however, I can’t really do that. To write any kind of description of even the basic plot points and characters would just spoil it. So all I’m going to say is just know based on those Gone Girl comparisons that you’re diving into an addictive psychological thriller filled with twists and turns and complex characters, and that there are also questions regarding narrator reliability. Most importantly, as the synopsis indicates, assume nothing!
My favorite part of The Wife Between Us is that it really did keep me guessing from beginning to end. I read the synopsis, which told me to ‘assume nothing’ because everything I assumed would be wrong. And then I proceeded to jump right in and start making assumptions anyway. The book just lends itself to that and no matter how hard I tried to keep an open mind, I continued to make snap judgments about characters and situations, and yes, as the synopsis warned, I was dead wrong every time. And that may sound like it should have been a frustrating reading experience, but I LOVED every page of it. Nothing about the story was predictable and that was just fabulous and refreshing.
There is one plot twist about halfway through that was such a shock to me that it made my head spin. I actually had to backtrack a few pages to make sure I had read what I thought I had read. It was truly mind blowing!
The characters in The Wife Between Us are also so well drawn. They’re complex, flawed, and utterly human, and unlike in many of the Gone Girl-style books, they are actually quite sympathetic in spite of the unreliable narrator issue. I won’t go so far as to say that I liked any of them, but I did feel tremendous sympathy for what at least one of them was going through.
The book also weeds into some dark territory as we navigate the various plot twists — mental illness, addiction, abuse, jealousy, the struggle to let go and move on after a failed relationship, etc. All of this dark subject matter weaves together seamlessly into an enthralling tale that you won’t be able to walk away from until you know the whole truth behind ‘the wife between us.’
The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was that the pacing felt a little inconsistent before that huge plot twist vs. after it. There wasn’t a huge difference but just enough that it was noticeable in terms of how quickly I moved through each half of the book.
I also can’t say that I was 100% satisfied with the book’s resolution either. I liked it for the most part, but I’ll be curious to see if that is tweaked at all when it is made into a film.
The Wife Between Us is a mesmerizing thrill ride that will keep you guessing from beginning to end. I would definitely say to go into it knowing as little as possible for the most suspenseful reading experience possible. As the synopsis says, ‘Assume Nothing.’
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and of course, authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen for allowing me to read and review this book on my blog in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacts my review.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
A novel of suspense that explores the complexities of marriage and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.
When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement.
You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.
You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.
You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.
Assume nothing.Discover the next blockbuster novel of suspense, and get ready for the read of your life.
About Greer Hendricks
GREER HENDRICKS spent over two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Prior to her tenure in publishing, she worked at Allure Magazine and obtained her Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and two children, The Wife Between Us is her first novel.
Follow Greer Hendricks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
About Sarah Pekkanen
Internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen’s newest book is THE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. She is also the co-author of the upcoming THE WIFE BETWEEN US (out in January 2018).
Her prior novels are: THINGS YOU WON’T SAY, CATCHING AIR, THE BEST OF US, THE OPPOSITE OF ME, SKIPPING A BEAT, and THESE GIRLS.
Sarah’s linked free short estories, published by Simon&Schuster exclusively for ereaders, are titled “All is Bright,” and “Love, Accidentally.”
Sarah is the mother of three young boys, which explains why she writes part of her novels at Chuck E. Cheese. Sarah penned her first book, Miscellaneous Tales and Poems, at the age of 10. When publishers failed to jump upon this literary masterpiece (hey, all the poems rhymed!) Sarah followed up by sending them a sternly-worded letter on Raggedy Ann stationery. Sarah still has that letter, and carries it to New York every time she has meetings with her publisher, as a reminder that dreams do come true.
Her website is www.sarahpekkanen.com and please find her on Facebook Instagram and Twitter @sarahpekkanen!