Real Honest Book Reviews, Part 1

*This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.*

Alright, let's get a few things straight before we dive into these book reviews!

1. I will always give you my honest opinion! No sugar coating here!

2. All facts about the book and quotes or synopsis have been pulled from their Amazon listing, which you can find by clicking on the cover of the book.

The Guest List

By Lucy Foley

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Synopsis provided by Amazon

"The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body. On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed. But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast. And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?"

My Review

3 to 3.5 Stars

Here's the thing, the story starts off kind of weird and it took me a while to really get into the book. Then it jumps around a bunch of different narrators and their individual stories. I feel like they could have stuck to 2 or 3 and still gotten the story across just fine. That being said, I was hooked the entire book because I JUST NEEDED ANSWERS. I kept reading just to figure out what the hell was going on. When I finally did find out who died, I was not at all surprised, but the ending does have a twist that I wasn't expecting. All pleasant things. Expect I wish the book would have ended differently. They could have either abruptly ended it, leaving you in shock. OR they could have expanded more into what happened after you find out who and what and why. The ending just felt a little too rushed in my opinion. All-in-all, I am glad I read this book because it is out of the norm for me!

The Scent Keeper

By Erica Bauermeister

Literature & Fiction

Synopsis provided by Amazon

"Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in glass bottles that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world--a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination."

My Review

4 Stars

I like to "read" my books with the Audible app

Once you get past the first couple of chapters, this book really picks up! The beginning is needed because it explains a lot about where she comes from, but man it is NOT a page-turner... But yes, I still gave it 4 stars because I thought the rest of her story was very compelling and interesting. One thing about this book, it is very detailed! Now, I have to admit, I am a sucker for love stories, and I wish this would have gone deeper into the love story here, but alas it did not. It did end kind of abruptly, but I feel like if it didn't, the story would have dragged on forever.

The Storyteller

By Jodi Picoult

Literature & Fiction

Synopsis provided by Amazon

"Some stories live forever... Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t. Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shame­ful secret and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths to which we will go in order to keep the past from dictating the future."

My Review

5 Stars

But you gotta hear me out on this one! There are 3 different stories being told in this book. In all reality, each story could have stood on its own and would have been great! They play off of each other very well though. Each story leans on the other and in the end, is all intertwined beautifully. The whole book is very heartbreaking from start to finish, but you are so enthralled in the stories that you feel all of the emotions that the characters are feeling. It definitely is a thought-provoking book and makes you consider your own morals and ethics. You definitely need to be prepared to feel very complex feelings, and it will push you out of your comfort zone. That being said, this book, its background, even while being a fictional book, is a must-read for everyone! I also feel like I should note, that I would love to see this book become a movie.

That's it! I hope you enjoy this, and if you do, let me know so I can bring you even more Real Honest Book Reviews!

Now some follow-up questions

1. If you've read any of these books, please start up a conversation in the comments, I'd love to hear what your opinions are! (Just no spoilers!) Do you agree with my review? Disagree? Why?

2. If you have not read any of them, which one are you going to try first?