After finishing The Lake House by Kate Morton, this felt like reading a short story in comparison. Yet in a welcome manner, as I was ready for a good chaser of light, fluffy and entertaining. Hilderbrand definitely sticks to formulas, especially ones that involve people not seeing the perfect love for them that happen to be right under their noses. But, she writes them well and with great humor and heart. I enjoyed getting to know the Quinn family and hope to get around to reading Winter Stroll, the follow up, before the end of the holidays.

The Lake House did not disappoint! At first, I thought I might not be able to keep all the story lines and characters straight. She throws a lot of information at you in the beginning: there are many important players at various points in time. As with The Forgotten Garden, the story vacillates between the past and the present. (I LOVE this method of storytelling and would also suggest Beautiful Ruins, The House Girl, The Girl You Left Behind, or The Last Letter From Your Lover). After some initial stumbling, I was up to speed in no time, as Morton breathes so much life into every aspect of the worlds she creates.

Her books are of the Gothic, atmospheric variety and usually lengthy - The Lake House clocks in at 512 pages. Oh, but it goes FAST. It's one of those books I was glad was long and one I could really sink my teeth into. I felt completely immersed in the story and turned the pages furiously. There are so many layers to the mysteries (yes, there are multiple mysteries to be solved in this book), and once you think you have one figured out, a new one reveals itself. Calling this novel expertly and 'intricately plotted' is a colossal understatement. I would love to be a fly on the wall as Morton outlines her stories. In addition to all the meticulous plot twists, this story is full of so much heart. I went through every emotion reading this book, and ultimately, was so very happy by the end. It's just a truly satisfying read. Two thumbs WAY up.

This was SO worth the hype! I'm glad I got it in before the end of the year, because I'm pretty sure it's going on my best of 2015 list. Much like Cinder (on my 2014 list), this book is reminiscent of so many great stories - yet wholly original. If I had to pin it down, it's like Game of Thrones with Harry Potter, Romeo & Juliet and The Hunger Games thrown in. That narrows it down, right? The world building (complete with a map in the opening pages, which I love) is so vivid, as are the unforgettable (and bad-ass) characters. Following the story of Elias (a graduating soldier from Blackcliff Academy) and Laia (a scholar who's family has been killed by said soldiers) is complex, intense, romantic, engrossing and exhilarating. I CAN'T WAIT for the next book.

A Window Opens, by Elisabeth Egan, is the story of Alice: a middle aged mom of three, who is forced to begin working full time after her husband quits his job as an attorney. This was a very familiar feeling story, with nuances of Where'd You Go Bernadette and a little bit of every Liane Moriarty book I've read. Maybe it was also familiar because of the myriad similarities to my own life. This quote cracked me up, when her company 'Scroll' was talking about their target customer as a female who is 25-45, has pets, shops at Anthro, splurges on face cream, averages 3 books a month, etc:

"I felt like I was watching a nature program about myself. 'She dwells in that gray area between family obligation and a desire to satisfy her own sense of adventure. Here she is now, coming in for the kill. Watch as the mom sinks her unmanicured claws into the dad's neck. He has failed in his mission to gather food for their young, so she must feed them tacos instead...'"

Not only does Alice have kids the same ages as mine, but she's a total bibliophile. Novels that include books as another main character are always compelling to me (see also: The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore). The job she takes at a big box retail conglomerate aiming to put small bookstores out of business gives Alice a great deal of angst, and the corporate culture satire was HILARIOUS. I'm not a working mom, but I certainly remember those corporate days and the ridiculousness of such phrases as: deep dive, shift gears, and (new to me) pivot. In addition to her crazy stressful job, she's also worrying about her husband's downward spiral, a beloved nanny who is moving on with her career, and a parent going through cancer (another life similarity).

This book is very fast paced, and I blew through it in just over a day. With all of the heartrending chaos in Alice's life, I wanted desperately to see her get back on track. Most of the narrative was predictable, but nonetheless enjoyable. I'd categorize it in the 'grown up chick-lit, with some heft' category, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my mommy contemporaries. Outside of that audience, I'm not entirely sure how it would go over, but I'd say the commentary on corporate culture, books and media would make it worth checking out.

I think I could just copy/paste my reviews for every Hilderbrand book, they are all very much the same to me - and still very enjoyable. Her fallible characters are people you'd love to know and be friends with, the island of Nantucket is another prominent and fully realized character, and she tells her stories with great humor and heart. This one ended on a BIG cliffhanger, and I'm looking forward to next Christmas' fluffy read about the Quinn family.

Oh man, I have a love/hate relationship with WWII novels, and try to read no more than one a year. Or in some cases, like after reading Sarah's Key, I needed a few years to recover. Having read All the Light We Cannot See back in January, I was able to squeak this one in before the end of the year. I'm having a hard time deciding if I like one better than the other (they were both outstanding) - and if one, or both, should be on my favorites for the year. This story of French sisters Vianne and Isabelle is heartbreaking, obviously in terms of their struggles during the war, but also in terms of their struggles as sisters. At the heart of the novel is a beautiful story about family, and what we do for love. Another book worthy of the hype.

This book was EXCELLENT! It reminded me so much of one of my all time favorite books, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I also LOVE The Poisonwood Bible, so maybe there's something about missionaries, scientists, anthropologists in far flung lands trying to communicate and interact with natives that intrigues me. Probably because anything can happen, and usually does. And, of course, the drama of the stories revolve not around those being studied, but those doing the studying. As with the aforementioned novels, this book is equal parts disturbing and enlightening. The tension wrought between this love triangle of anthropologists studying tribes in New Guinea just builds and builds until the inevitable gut-punch conclusion.

After just having read I Was Here, this was slightly depressing with a similar theme of a mystery revolving around a girl's suicide. BUT, Ng's was so much more deftly realized. I felt like I understood completely the psyche of each character and my heart ached for all of them. Riveting. Engrossing. Indelible. One of my favorites of the year so far.

I'm always impressed with how Meyer incorporates fabled characters into these stories, and to end the series she wove another great tale. It was, however, a little long in the tooth - clocking in at 832 pages. I suppose she didn't want to make it seem like an easy battle for Cinder and her counterparts, but she could've edited out one or two skirmishes. That being said, I did like that she took a few twists and turns to get to a satisfying, and not cookie-cutter, ending.