August marked the first month for me being a member of the Book of the Month (BOTM) Book Club. Since I am a new member of the club, I was allowed to get an extra book for free, which was awesome. The books I chose were The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle and Goodbye Paris by Antsley Harris.
The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle:
Synopsis: Everyone has done this at least once in their lives — pick five people who you would like to go to dinner with, dead or alive. However, how many of us have actually had the opportunity to actually do so?
Sabrina walks into her 30th birthday party thinking that it’s just going to be another dinner with her best friend, Jessica. However, when Audrey Hepburn, her old college professor, her ex-boyfriend, and her long lost father show up, that’s when she knows that she is in for a weird evening. What unfolds is a tragically beautiful love story, told in the midst of an awkward dinner.
Review: Okay, so I am going to be honest here. I chose this book because I love Audrey Hepburn. However, this book was absolutely amazing and extremely well-written. It also is, if you’re looking for a book to read, an easy and fun read.
What I liked most about the book was how realistic it was. Sure, it’s a bit of a fantasy when you have dead people in the mix. However, the emotions of the characters were really realistic. For instance, you can see the strain in Sabrina’s relationship with Jessica over the years — their frustrations due to Toby (Sabrina’s ex) and how they drifted apart. I thought that this realistically showed the transformation of female friendships throughout the different stages of life.
And, while the story was really well-written, the ending was absolutely beautiful. In fact, it is one of the only books to have the ability to make me cry. That is an extraordinary feat within itself.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book (and highly recommend it).
Goodbye Paris by Antsley Harris:
Synopsis: Since the traumatic end of her music career, Grace has found comfort in both fixing instruments and her affair with partner, David. But, here is the kicker, David is married. The two have been together for over eight years, until one incident at a train station unravels all of his secrets — one that they can never return from.
Suddenly, Grace is forced to rebuild her life — one of which that doesn’t involve David. This becomes a success with the help of an unlikely combination of an elderly man and a teenage girl.
Review: Okay, so I had a problem with this book on a number of levels for the first half. The first is that Grace was so stupid. I mean after eight years, chances are the relationship is going anywhere if he hasn’t left his wife already. Furthermore, she was blind to so much. The relationship that she shared with David was built on nothing but pure fantasy — that one day that they will have their own child and get married.
Guess what?
It never happened.
However, I did enjoy reading the other half of the book. I liked reading about Grace pushed through her sadness and worked through her anxiety. And, I did think her reaction to the end of her relationship with David was perfectly normal. I mean, if a guy that I was seeing for eight years betrayed me, I would be a little distraught.
With that being said, this was a fifty-fifty for me. While I liked the second half, the first half was pretty slow. But, I still recommend it.
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