Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Nine Perfect Strangers
by Liane Moriarty
narrated by Caroline Lee

Published: 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Genre: Chick-lit, Australia
Hardback: 464 pages
Rating: 4
Goodreads
Website

First sentence(s):
"I'm fine," said the woman.

Zombie sighting:
Masha's left arm rose stiff and zombie-like above her head.
chapter 1

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

My two-bits:

This started off with unlikable characters for me, but as the story unfolded each one transformed into likable (despite flaws) individuals.

Got me thinking of wellness related resorts and retreats.

~*~
* weekly theme: Australia - contemporary

Books and Burgers

My foodie self is in search for the top three best burgers in San Francisco.

Based on my taste buds of an overall burger bite, my basic criteria includes:

beef patty
cheddar cheese
1000 island dressing (optional)

Note: descriptions are primarily from the venue menu

Rating scale:
yay - most definitely a win
kay - in a pinch will satisfy the craving
nay - don't bother

Location: Ella's American Kitchen (Presidio)
Description: Ella's Burger
ground brisket, lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheddar, tomato aioli, potato bun
comes with fries
Rating: kay
On the side: The Years by Annie Ernaux

Location: WesBurger 'N' More (Mission)
Description: The All-American
6oz patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, special sauce and cheddar cheese
side order: tots available (instead of fries)
Rating: kay
On the side: American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

Location: 1428 HAIGHT Patio Cafe & Crepery (Haight)
Description: Lovin Haight
wisconsin sharp cheddar, crispy lettuce, sliced tomatoes & red onions
comes with fries
Rating: kay
On the side: Molokai by Alan Brent

Location: Eat Americana (Outer Richmond)
Description: Burger Time! All Beef Patty
cheddar cheese, 1000 island, lettuce, shaved red onion, brioche bun
comes with fries
Rating: nay
The flavor of the meat was off as it seemed to soak up juices from the grill cooking nearby - like bacon. Also, the bun did not work for me in regards to flavor as well.
On the side: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

the search continues…

~*~
*image source: books and burger

Waiting on Wednesday - 3.16.16

Waiting on Wednesday
sponsored by Jill at Breaking the Spine (details)
~*~
I'm waiting for...

Truly Madly Guilty
by Liane Moriarty
-Women's Fiction
Release date: July 26, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
IF ONLY THEY’D SAID NO…

What if they hadn’t gone? That’s the question Clementine can’t stop asking herself. It was just a backyard barbeque. They didn’t know their hosts that well. They were friends of friends. They could so easily have said no.

But she and her husband Sam said yes, and now they can never change what they did and didn’t do that beautiful winter’s day.

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One yapping dog. It’s a normal weekend in the suburbs. What could possibly go wrong?

Once again Liane Moriarty uses her unique, razor-sharp observational skills to sift through the emerging fault lines of seemingly happy families.

It was just an ordinary Sunday afternoon…


=====> LOVE this author's writing style. Her character development start off mysterious and gradually develop with a thriller vibe.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
Blog
Facebook

Published: 2014
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Genre: Chick-lit, Mystery, Thriller
Hardback: 460 pages
Rating: 5

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

My two-bits:

The subject matter is serious, but the story is told in a kind of black comedy manner.

Loved how this mystery of whodunnit and whogotkilled reveals itself via interviews and perspectives of the three main characters.

Also loved the character growth of characters. The Madeline character was a hoot.

The location description and setting made me want to put Australia on my future travel spot list. Kept me guessing to the end.

~*~
* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Pink Cover - as close to pink as I can get ;-)

Bookish Bingo Challenge: Winter

Bookish Bingo Challenge
Winter: January to March 2015
hosted by Great Imaginations (details)
Decided to join this bingo challenge again - third one.

It feels so satisfying being able to check off a square after completing a book.

The Rules:

Sign-ups close on January 15 here

Read read read!

-You may include one DNF.
-Remember, one square per book.
-Books do not have to be reviewed

~*~

~*~
Books read:

Square - Pink Cover
The Vagabond Vicar by Charlotte Brentwood -my review

Square - Middle Grade
A Sudden Light by Garth Stein -my review

Square - Pink Cover
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty -my review

Square - LGBT QIA
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley -my review

Square - Romance
Granted Wishes by Tanya Vought -my review

Square - White Cover
Funny Girl by Nick Hornby -my review

Square - Over 400 pages
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber -my review

Square - 2015 Debut
The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen -my review

Square - 2014 Release I Missed
The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg -my review

Square - Pretty Dress Cover
New Uses for Old Boyfriends by Beth Kendrick -my review

Square - Blue Cover
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr -my review

Square - Super Powers
Miss Stoker - vampire hunter
The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason -my review

Square - Epistolary
The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock -my review

Square - Graphic Novel
Kill My Mother by Jules Feiffer -dnf

Square - Based on Mythology
Touch by Natalia Jaster -my review

Square - Fairy Tale Re-telling
Never by Shay Lynam -my review

Square - Start a Series
Tortured Souls (The Orion Circle #1) by Kimber Leigh Wheaton -my review

Square - Mental Illness
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven -my review

Square - Magical Realism
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami -my review

Square - Mystery or Thriller
Descent: A Novel by Tim Johnston -my review

Square - Gold Lettering
What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey -my review

Square - PoC MC
The Borzoi Killings by Paul Batista -my review

Square - Male POV
Soul Meaning by A.D. Starling -my review

Stacking the Shelves - 9.6.14

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~
For Review:

Moral Order:
The Rise of Luca C. Mariner
by Phil Pauley
-sci-fi, YA
courtesy of book tour
Thanks !
Amazon | Goodreads

Mating for Life
by Marissa Stapley
-chick-lit
courtesy of BookSparks Fall Reading Challenge 2014
Thanks Janay!
Amazon | Goodreads
Library:

Underground:
The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche
by Haruki Murakami
-history, Japan, non-fiction
Amazon | Goodreads
In March of 1995, agents of a Japanese religious cult attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin, a gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from the survivors to the perpetrators to the relatives of those who died, and Underground is their story in their own voices. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere. This is an enthralling and unique work of nonfiction that is timely and vital and as wonderfully executed as Murakami’s brilliant novels.

-----> wanted to start reading more from Murakami's body of work

Dreaming about getting soon:

Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
-mystery, chick-lit
Amazon | Goodreads
Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .

A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

-----> curious about this one. and, i really liked her previous, The Husband's Secret.

~*~
* some of these may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers