The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

PUBLISHER:  Riverhead Books

PUBLICATION DATE:  January 13, 2015

PAGES:  336

MY RATING: 4.5/5 

From Goodreads

This book was so good.  I had it on my shelf for quite a while and finally read it!  I know it's been compared to Gone Girl and I can see why.  Though that book was good, I enjoyed this more.  This was a much faster-paced read, more suspenseful and had a creepy-feel to it which I loved!

This book alternates between three women's point-of-views; all who each have their own individual problems and issues.  It took quite awhile for me to like the main character, Rachel.  She is an alcoholic with stalker-ish behavior and I just felt bad for her.  I disliked Anna from the beginning and still do.  Megan, I just plain felt sorry for.  

Rachel travels on the train everyday, admiring the couple she see's from the train that she has "affectionately" named "Jason" and Jess," but things are not always what they seem.  This book is full of secrets, lies and suspense!  It kept me guessing; I highly recommend it. 

I'll be seeing the movie soon and can't wait to see how it compares!

Top Ten Tuesday

This is my first Top Ten Tuesday!  It's a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  This weeks theme is: "Ten Characters I'd name a child/dog/cat/car/etc. after."

10 Characters I'd name a child/pet after:

1.  Feyre - This is literally probably the only name that I've come across in a book that I would actually name a child.  It is so pretty.

This reminded me of another favorite of mine, Freya.

2.  Liv - This name makes me think of Liv Tyler, but I've always liked it because it's unique and simple.  Though, it could be a nickname, I like just like it is.

3.  Kestrel - At first, this one of those names that I wasn't sure if I liked or not.  Not even sure if it's a "real" name or something that was made up for the book.  The more I read The Winner's Curse, the more I grew to like it. 

4.  Winter - I've definitely heard of this name before, but I've always found it pretty.  I think I've only come across one in my life.  I knew of three sisters once when I was younger, that were named Winter, Autumn and Summer.  I used to think that was really cool.

5.  Nora - I remember reading A Doll's House in high school and then again recently to help catch up with my goodreads goal last year.  I still like this name.

6.  Scarlet - I've liked this name since watching Gone with the Wind, but since I've never actually read the book, I'm using Scarlet from the Lunar Chronicles as my example. 

7.  Clary - I know this is a nickname and her real name is Clarissa (which was a name I used to like), but I just like the nickname better. 

8.  Lissa - It was really hard for me to come up with any more names, but I thought this was a decent one.

9.  Hermione - Definitely starting to reach on this one.  I picked it because it's unique and it's kind of nice.

10.  Tris - I can't stand the name Beatrice, but I do like the nickname 'Tris.'

This was pretty difficult for me to come up with 10.  I'm rather picky when it comes to naming a child; I like uncommon, real, non-trendy, not-in-the-top-100-list kind of person.  For pets, doesn't matter.   You're probably wondering why no boy name? LOL, well there hasn't been a boy name that I've come across yet that I've liked.

Review of Ex-mas by Kate Brian

From Goodreads

I was looking for a fun, quick Christmas read so I picked up Ex-mas by Kate Brian.  I'm trying to catch up to my Goodreads goal and figured that shorter books are the best way to make it.  Overall, this book was cute.  The main character, Lila was a bit annoying at the beginning, but she turned out to be okay in the end.  What bothered me about her was that she was a very fake person; completely changing herself to fit in with the popular crowd and to date her College boyfriend Erik.  But, just spending one day with her ex, Beau, makes her realize that maybe she's not really liking her life like she thought she was.  It's pretty predictable, but that didn't take away the fun of reading of it.  I gave this 3/5 stars on Goodreads.  If you're looking for a last minute Christmas book, I recommend this one.  

For other great Christmas/Holiday books, I recommend My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories and Let it Snow.  I read these last year and both are great!  If anyone knows of any other great Holiday reads, let me know!

Let's be friends on Goodreads and/or follow me on Booklikes!

2016 Reading Challenge from Popsugar

Here's the 2016 Reading Challenge from Popsugar.  I didn't complete the 2015 challenge mostly because I didn't read as much as I thought I would.  Hopefully I can for next year!

Thursday Thoughts

I'm linking up with Jen over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Thursday Thoughts.  It's been awhile since I've done one of these, so it's about time.

-  I was looking through my DVR schedule and noticed that Season 3 of "Gypsy Sisters" on TLC, starts tonight!  It's so trashy, yet so entertaining.  What a pleasant surprise!

-  So, my Birthday is coming up (September 1, which is Labor Day) and I'm so excited that I'm able to go out!  We are going to a White Party on August 31st.  I ordered an outfit from Missguided, but I'm afraid it won't get here in time.  I should of paid for Express shipping.  If I don't get it by the Saturday before I need it, I will have to scramble around to find something else.  Plus, I will have to return it and I hate returning things. 

Image Credit: missguidedus.com

-  I signed up to participate in Bout of Books this week, but I've barely read anything at all.  And I thought I could read 3 books...yeah right.  This kind of thing is more suitable for people who have nothing to do or toddlers who let them read!

-  I'm waiting for a couple of subscription boxes to come:  Petit Vour and Bluum.  I still have to post about this month's Ipsy too.  Hopefully, I can get that done today.

Bout of Books 11.0

I typically post about subscription boxes etc, but I decided I wanted to add other things to my blog.  I decided to participate in Bout of Books for the first time ever.  I've really been getting into reading, when I have time.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

As far as goals go, I have decided I want to read at least 3 books total during that week and at least 100 pages each day.  I have never read more than one book in a week so this will be a challenge for me.  It's hard to get a lot of reading done while taking care of my 2 1/2 year old daughter all the time!

Here are the books I plan on reading...

     

I picked a shorter book just in case, but if I finish all of these and still have time, I will add another one to the list.  This list may change anyway, but I will just have to see how it goes...

Are any of you participating, and if so, what are your goals?