The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5/5 stars

Finally got around to re-reading this amazing novel, in time for the film to hit movie theaters! So if you're still undecided about seeing the film version of this classic novel, maybe you can read the book first and see how you like it. =)

I remember reading this book in high school, but remembered next to nothing about it. The one plot point from the end that I thought I remembered must have been from a different book because it never happened! However, once I began reading this amazing novel again, I couldn't believe that I hadn't fallen in love with it when I first read it years ago.

The story is narrated by Nick, who just moved into a modest house situated next to a mysterious Mr. Gatsby's mansion. He has a few friends in the area, namely Tom and Daisy Buchanan, but they are unhappily married, as Tom as a mistress. Eventually, Nick is invited to one of Gatsby's lavish parties, and becomes involved in a crazy, drama-filled summer once he befriends the millionaire. It turns out that Gatsby has a past even more interesting than Nick imagined, and that he lives this over-the-top lifestyle in order to try to impress the one woman who got away. The drama intensifies as all of the characters' lives become intertwined and all of their feelings come to light.

This novel is a short read: only 180 pages! The language is dated since the book's original publication was in 1925, but it's not very difficult, so it's a good classic to read if you don't normally read them. I loved the book; I thought it was fast-paced and a great classic that was still easy enough reading. I'm now super excited to see what Hollywood has done with the film and if it does the book justice! If you're undecided about this story, save yourself the $12 movie ticket, and borrow the book from your library first, and I hope you'll fall in love with it like I did. Happy reading =)

Guilty Wives

Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Ellis
5/5 stars

Wow, it's been an embarrassing amount of time since I've blogged. But I've still been reading! I absolutely ate this book up, and I wanted to share it with everyone because it's a great read for summer, which will be upon us soon!; it's a quick read, fast-paced, and perfect for the beach. It can be hard to navigate James Patterson's books, since he has about a bazillion of them. However, this is a standalone novel (not part of a series), and fairly new (2012), and definitely worth a read.


This novel starts out with a prologue that will make you wonder what the heck has happened, as it takes place with the narrator in a French prison, which is a living hell, and it seems as though her best friend, who is also there, is in major trouble. It then jumps back and tells the story of four women, wives and mothers, who went on what was supposed to be a relaxing, exciting girls vacation in Monte Carlo. However, they wake up after a wild night on a yacht to find the police everywhere, and the women are arrested! There are piles of evidence against them for a crime they did not commit, and the vacation of a lifetime definitely becomes a memorable one.

This was something different for Patterson, as he and his co-author formed a novel that is different from Patterson's usual stories of serial killers and detectives. Those are also great, but this was a breath of fresh air, as the novel focused on these women who claim to have been framed, and are helpless victims to the laws of France. The usual short chapters featured in Patterson's novels create a super quick read that is impossible to put down. The European setting was also different for Patterson, and really interesting to read about, especially when it came to dealings with the French government. There is enough ambiguity to make the reader wonder the whole time whether the narrator and her friends are truly innocent, and the stakes are sky high.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and it really is a great beach (or anytime!) read. If you read this and enjoy it, I would suggest Patterson's Alex Cross series, which is awesome!

What I'm reading now...

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald