Happy Tuesday, friends!
Guess what?!
It’s time for BOOK CLUB #10!
I always love the 22nd because that means WE CHAT BOOKS!!
Okay, just to recap, so far this year, our book club has read and reviewed…
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Before we get to today’s book, let’s revisit the “rules” of Shay’s Book Club:
Here are the details:
1: On the 22nd of each month, I will share a BONUS blog post that is only about the book we read together that month. So, if it falls on a weekend, look for it that day, if it falls on a Tuesday, expect a food post, a normal lifestyle post AND third post just for the book review discussion.
2: I picked the 22nd because I want this post to come out BEFORE our normal monthly BOOK REVIEW POSTS. I will still share my normal monthly book reviews (where I average 4 to 6 books a month) at the end of each month. I will reference said “book of the month”, but I will not be reviewing it on that post, I will be linking back to the BOOK CLUB POST. Why? Because I want all of the content about the one specific book club book in one spot instead of spread out over multiple spots.
3: Each month at the end of the Book Club blog post, I will share what the book will be for the following month. This will give everyone one month to read this one particular book.
4: Let’s be real, I’m going to try to pick new/popular/relevant books every month, but I’m also going to pick books that speak to me. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them with me. I’m going to *try* and make the books different genres each month. I would love for us to read a variety of fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, chick lit, thrillers, etc this year. That’s the *goal*.
5: What are the rules of the book club? I know a lot of book clubs have rules and perhaps I’ll add some as we go, but basically, if you want to read along with us, we’d love to have you and on the 22nd we’ll dive a little deeper in the comment section here about that one particular book. Easy as that! That post is the one place where we’ll discuss the book so that all thoughts/opinions/questions/etc can be in one location.
6: In this blog post and in the comment section, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING SPOILERS. If you are interested in reading this book, you might not want to read below this line. In OCTOBER’S BOOK REVIEW later this month, I will give a quick recap and let you know if I recommend the book or not, so if you haven’t read it, you might want to wait until that official BOOK REVIEW because there will be no spoilers and based on that, you can decide whether or not to read the book. Anything below this though will include spoilers as everyone commenting here has already read the book.
Make sense?
Here we go!
This month’s novel was…
…Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker.
Okay, this book was a THREE in my opinion until the last chapter, and then all of a sudden, it moved up to a FOUR. The best way I can describe it is remember back when I watched Game of Thrones because it was my anniversary gift to Andrew? I hated every second of it and complained often to you guys here about how much I detested it until the second to last episode and then BAM, it became my second favorite show EVER to watch. I immediately re-watched it through a whole new lense. That’s what happened here. I need to go back and re-read this book because now, I feel like I would enjoy it more the second time around.
Other thoughts:
1: I had no idea this book was about domestic violence. I am SO SORRY because I know that is a trigger to many, and I would have put a big fat “warning label” on it before suggesting anyone read it. I apologize if you bought the book and couldn’t read it because of the trauma. That was one of my hesitations to having a book club was my inability to preview books before suggesting them to this community.
2: I picked this book to be a thriller for October…but it wasn’t really in that genre. Right?
3: About 80ish% through the book, I figured out Jane was Celine, but I didn’t see it coming for a long time. I thought it was a great twist.
4: I love the viral Instagram ending. It was perfect.
5: I’m still not clear on the polaroid of Celine being dead. Why would Christina have sent that to Clove? Did I miss something? I understand why she would have if she had actually been dead…but knowing she was alive, I was confused about why she would have done it especially knowing what we know at the end (that Celine was actually getting stronger each and every day).
This wasn’t the most remarkable book, but I was very entertained and enjoyed the ending. There were moments when I didn’t understand how it could wrap up, so I was delighted when it finally did. It’s one of those books where “I saw it coming”…but at the same time, I didn’t. I feel like it’s stronger than a 3 Star but not a glowing 4 Star…it’s somewhere in the middle, and I’m glad I read it.
So what are we reading in November?
…Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout.
I’ve had several of you mention that this book appears to be #5 in a series, but I’ve been assured by my friends who read and suggest books that this one stands alone. This book might mention names that are also mentioned in other books, but the story is not dependent on any of the other books.
That’s it for Book Club #10! I can’t wait to discuss below! Head to the comment section to share your thoughts!
Have the best day! xx
Susan Jeffries says
I started an in person boon club in 2020 with a friend. We have so much fun! We have donated 5 mobile libraries to local nursing homes and a foster home. I always share your book choices with our group too! I added the November book to my list! Reading is soooo much better than watching tv or scrolling social media!
DK says
Excited for Elizabeth Strout, great choice! You influenced me to read Frozen River, great book, and Tell Me Everything is on my list.
Kristen Thompson says
I’d give this book 3 stars. It was okay…just not the best book. I read it quickly as I wanted to see if my predictions were correct but I guessed that Jane was Celine off the bat and I figured it was her that pushed her dad pretty early on too. But man what a tough topic to read about. I also felt like I wanted a little bit more at the end-maybe finding out if Celine ever got her baby and that Clove and her husband did end up making it through everything. I know it eluded to it but I felt like I needed more!
Elspeth says
I always love book club days! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Michelle H says
I give this book 4 stars. I loved it. I finished reading the majority of the book in 1 night. I didn’t see it coming in the end where Jane was really Celine. I loved the twist.
Jennifer Maynard says
If we haven’t read the other 4 books in this series, will this book make sense? Just don’t want to start if I am going to be confused due to not reading the other books first.
Mix and Match Mama says
I just added an update to the blog post, but it’s my understanding that this is completely a stand alone book.
Alyssa J says
I saw that the November book is #5 in the series. Do we need to have read the previous 4 to be able to follow along?
Mix and Match Mama says
Now, I could be very wrong here (again another reason why Book Club is tricky for me), but I was told that it was stand alone. I’m going to call the person who suggested it and confirm once more. Stand by!
Jessica says
Oh my gosh this book….. I don’t know how many items I kept saying out loud of myself “This woman is nuts!” Given her circumstances, how could she not be? I did love the ending with the viral social media post and her husband’s grace. All three women deserved their happy ending.
Laci says
I LOVED the ending!!! It wasn’t really the thriller I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it.
K.K. says
I was one of the biggest YESes to a book club, but I’ve certainly slacked on some of the books. This year has been nuttier than expected, but I’m in on November. 🙂 Can’t wait!
Christina says
I agree that the ending made the book a lot better. I give the book 3 stars. I was having hard time pushing through the earlier chapters because I felt that Clove was trying to hide so much of her life and self from her husband that it was causing her to make potentially dangerous decisions after her mother wrote her. I very much understand that her decisions were based on a terrible childhood, but I had a hard time continuing to live that with her in this book. The ending was a good twist and I’m glad there was resolution that was a positive for her, her family, and Celine.
Ashlie Crowder says
I liked this book and found it easy to read. By the last two chapters I really liked this book, it had a very fun twist and the end!
~B~ says
Perfect timing – I’m set to pick a new book on Audible today for my commute, so I will finally be joining in by reading/listening to the book in the same month as book club! Looking forward to it!
Deb says
I didn’t love the book and like you I figured out who Jane was. But, I could not imagine how it would end! The ending was satisfying! The subject matter was horrific though
Addy Robinson says
Totally aligned with your assessment, Shay! Again, would not have picked this myself but I am glad I read it. I did not see the twist coming!
As a current mom to a young child, I was nodding SO much to a lot of the ‘parenting in this age’ commentary.
And I assumed Celine had someone take the Polaroid and sent it to make her death believable.
Mix and Match Mama says
Ohhhhhh! So Celine sent the photograph and not Christina. I totally missed that/didn’t think about that. THAT makes sense!
Becky says
I was between a 3 and 4. Sometimes I couldn’t put it down. Other parts I was thinking “Really??”in my head.