The Expats by Chris Pavone

Kate Moore is a mom with two young boys. She's working full-time and caring for her kids when her husband is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg. Within weeks, she quits her job and they relocate to Luxembourg. However, Kate brings with her secrets about her past and finds that even in Europe, she can't get away from her past.

I was semi-engrossed in this story. I also found it to be quite clunky and in need of some editing.

Skip this one. Thanks.

Bebe Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

The other day, I was telling Boomer about some friends of ours who are sleep-training their six-month old son. I told him that they just realized that just because the boy shifts or whimpers, it doesn't mean that they need to rush in and feed him every single time.

Boomer's reaction: "Does no one read Bringing Up Bebe???" Hahaha. Yes, Boomer has read Bringing Up Bebe and understands that babies move around in their sleep and make noises, and this doesn't necessarily mean that they are awake or in need of feeding or soothing.

Anyway, if you haven't read Bringing Up Bebe, I highly recommend it. It's funny, informative, and even if you don't agree with everything Druckerman writes, it's nice to have a different way of looking at parenting.

Bebe Day by Day is a very short book that summarizes the concepts in Bringing Up Bebe in 100 key statements with brief descriptions. It was written so that babysitters or relatives could quickly read about the ideas instead of having to read Bringing Up Bebe which includes a lot of Druckerman's own story. And it's effective in this sense. However, I still think that if you have the time, pick up Bringing Up Bebe.

The Betrayal Bond: Breaking Free of Exploitative Relationships by Patrick J. Carnes

A mentor recommended this book to me with the warning: "This book is not easy to read." He was right. This is not a fun or easy book to read. Even the author in the introduction writes, " Sometimes I have been accused of writing books that are painful to read at some points...I believe this book on the betrayal bond may also present similar challenges to some readers. "

This book is about trauma bonds, or the connections we have with a person/people who have been abusive or toxic in some way to us: "Exploitative relationships create betrayal bonds. These occur when a victim bonds with someone who is destructive to him or her."

The first half of the book is about trauma, the bonds that are formed, and the cycles of betrayal. The second half is about how to break free from the bonds. There are exercises and questions included that really get to the heart of healing.

Intense, thoughtful, very clear and direct. Helpful for anyone in relationship with someone in an abusive relationship, or if you're in one yourself. This is material best covered with the support of a community and a therapist.

The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg

Erica returns to her hometown of Fjallbacka after her own parents have died. When she's back in town, her childhood friend, Alex, is found dead in her bathtub with her wrists cut. It looks like a suicide, but is it?

I was engrossed in this book. I carried it around wherever I went just in case I had time to read a page or two. It's a twisty, readable, suspenseful book with a surprising end. Recommended if you're looking for a fast, light, fun read.

Thanks to Mia for this recommendation!

Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde: A True Story by Rebecca Dana

Rebecca Dana always dreamed of living in New York City and having the perfect New York City life. She lives this life for awhile with a great job, nice apartment, and a seemingly perfect boyfriend. Then, her and the boyfriend break up, and she needs to find a place to live. She rents a room from Cosmo, an ex-rabbi learning jujitsu.

This book was just okay for me, so I'm not gonna go into more detail. I just never really clicked with Rebecca, and she doesn't seem to change so much over the course of the book. It was a meandering story about this and that with no real direction.

Check this out!

Posted by a librarian at my local public library: 

A sculpture made of 25,000 Dr. Seuss books by the New York public library was funded by Target, then all the books were donated to local schools and libraries.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

This is the third book by Gillian Flynn that I've read (I think she only has three out). It was the darkest, and my favorite one.

Libby Day is seven years old when her mother and two sisters are murdered. Libby escapes, and her then 15-year-old brother, Ben, is blamed for the murders and put in prison for the rest of his life.

We catch up with Libby Day as an adult in the present day. To earn some money, she gets involved with the Kill Club, a club with members obsessed with various murders. She starts investigating the murders herself.

The book goes back and forth between the present day and the day of the murders.

Dark, creepy, twisty....and yet very enjoyable.

One word of warning: I knew that it wasn't a good idea to read this book before I went to bed. So I would just read one page or two...and then quietly push the book over onto my husband's side of the headboard shelf. It just made me feel better having that dark book further away from me at night.