What I Read this Weekend- 2/20/23

This weekend was a wonderfully cozy one filled with so much reading. Friday night I wound up finishing two books which was great, this meant Saturday and Sunday could be allocated to new books (and of course some Netflix).

I finally finished up Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I throughly enjoyed this one. It’s one that is very well read and surprisingly I had never gotten around to reading this very popular classic personal development book. I enjoyed all the easy to follow exercises throughout and for the most part it felt immensely practical.

SYNOPSIS | Think and Grow Rich is a guide to success by Napoleon Hill, which was first published in 1937 following the Great Depression. It was immediately welcomed as an antidote to hard times and remained a bestseller for decades. Many people still find its philosophy of positive thinking and its specific steps for achieving wealth both relevant and life-changing. Hill contends that our thoughts become our reality, and offers a plan and principles for transforming thoughts into riches, including visualization, affirmation, creating a Master Mind group, defining a goal, and planning.

I give this one 4/5 stars

My second choice for Friday evening was a young adult thriller by Sara Shepherd- The Perfectionists. As someone that loved Pretty Little Liars (the books AND the show) I assumed that this series would have a similar vibe to it. The thing about YA books is they are super easy to read but can either be a hit or a miss. This one was very fast paced and had some teenage drama. It had a very similar feeling to PLL.

SYNOPSIS | Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker are all driven to be perfect—no matter the cost. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they discover that they all hate the same person: handsome womanizer Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done things to hurt each of them.

They come up with the perfect plan to murder Nolan—jokingly, of course. They’d never actually go through with it. But when Nolan turns up dead in the exact way they’d discussed, the girls suddenly become prime suspects in his murder.

Only, they didn’t do it.

So who did? Unless they find the real killer, and soon, any one of them may be the next to die….

I give this one 4/5 stars

Next up on Saturday, I had to finish the second book in The Perfectionists series – The Good Girls. This one was just as fast paced as book one! It kept me hooked to unravel who the killer was. The plot twists were ones I never saw coming.

SYNOPSIS | Mackenzie, Ava, Caitlin, Julie, and Parker have done some not-so-perfect things. But even though they all talked about killing rich bully Nolan Hotchkiss, they didn’t actually go through with it. It’s just a coincidence that Nolan died in exactly the way they planned . . . right? Except Nolan wasn’t the only one they fantasized about killing. When someone else they named dies, the girls wonder if they’re being framed. Or are they about to become the killer’s next targets?

I give this one 3/5 stars

Next I read another Kristin Hannah books- Summer Island. I’ve had this one on my TBR since the beginning of the year. It was a very intense story of a mother and daughter reunion. I enjoyed it but I wouldn’t say I loved it as much as the Firefly Land series.

SYNOPSIS| Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind. Now she is a famous talk show host. Her daughter Ruby is a struggling comedienne. The two haven’t spoken in more than a decade. Then a scandal from Nora’s past is exposed, and Ruby is offered a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother. Reluctantly, she returns to the family house on Summer Island, a home filled with frayed memories of joy and heartache. Confronting a past that includes a never-forgotten love, a sick best friend, and a mother who has harbored terrible family secrets, Ruby finally begins to understand the complex ties that bind a mother and daughter—and the healing that comes with forgiveness.