I have wondered how the sisters in Practical magic turned out to be. Love just don't want to let you be great sometimes.

Shelby is a prime example of "you being your worse critic." Shelby story from beginning to end is a reminder to live, forgive, and move on with your life. Alice Hoffman is a brilliant writer! I am enjoying her books.

Manuscript found in Accra

Here are my favorite quotes in the book
True love seduces and will never allow itself to be seduced
Sometimes love lays deadly traps and ends up destroying the person who decided to surround itself completely
People who love and expects to be loved in return are wasting their time
Life is too short to keep words like “I love you” locked in our hearts
Love is only a word until someone arrives to give it meaning
Loneliness is a lie because the universe is there to keep me company
See sex as a gift… a ritual.. ecstasy will be the goal at the end
Fearlessly open the box of your fantasy
Avoid those who believe they are stronger than you because they are concealing their fragility
Stay close to those who are around you when you are happy
Stay close to those who only cares about open the door to your heart
Stay close to those who tells stories
Logic finds explanations for the mistakes made
No matter how you are feeling get up every morning and prepare to see the light

This books screams and whispers to me at the same time. Coelho spoke about living, how to live your life, and how a schedule is a sure way to die.

To have so many things thrown at you and to still survive... Wow! What a testament! The #metoo movement needs more testimonies from people who are assaulted mentally and physically. What I like most about Rose book is that she not only talked about Hollywood. She spoke about society's unattainable standards of how men and women should look or behave. She urges readers to call out inequality and to be brave!

I felt carried away with this book. The feminist and individual that I am today wanted to get Maxim a stern talking to. Who proposes to a person at the dinner table in a casual manner? Who can’t get rid of their OWN tea bag? I assumed Maxim was able-bodied.... I could not comprehend how a grown able-bodied man needed help with disposing of a tea bag.

I felt that Mrs. De Winter and Maxim relationship was strange. He treated her like a disregarded toy and spoke to her in an arrogant manner. However, she seemed smart, knowledgeable, and naive. I WAS CONSTANTLY CURIOUS ABOUT Mrs. Danvers and Mrs. De Winter relationship. Mrs. Danvers seemed rude, angry, and in mourning of Maxim’s first wife.

Mrs. De Winter suffered at the hands of being second best to Rebecca.

When Mrs. De Winter met Maxim’s grandmother and she demanded to see Rebecca, I was cringing. How awful? I would have been outraged. Mrs. De Winter's character is most intriguing. Her compliance and bending to every need of Maxim is enraging. Although I am appalled by her behaviors, I am intrigued of how her character will build and how she will react to constantly being reminded by the ghost of Rebecca. I would have definitely asked for a divorce day one and said: “I ain’t got time for this ish.”

Mrs. Danvers is the definition of a word that I can not say here on Goodreads. What I will say, the way she tried to coerce Mrs. De Winter to commute suicide was the worst part of this book.

… I am just shocked! Mrs. De Winter did not care about the crime that Mr. De Winter admitted to her, all she cared about was that he did not love Rebecca. Mrs. De Winter reviled in Mr. De Winter hatred for Rebecca. I do not understand, maybe they both are mad.

I wish the book explored the relationship between Mrs. De Winter and Mrs. Danvers unhealthy obsession with Rebecca. The end of this killed me… I wonder who did it?

The character development and twists in this books were perfectly timed. However, I was not expecting the end and I wanted more to happen. I felt there were a lot of loose ends not tied up.

I like the plot and the characters development. I felt it took too long for certain aspects of this book to get to the point. I have a hard time with books that start fast, then slow, then fast, then slow, then fast...

Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine, 1921-1933 should be a mandatory reading for all diplomats in Ukraine and Peace Corps volunteers. There is something to be said about reading a book about Ukraine while living in Ukraine. Seeing the remnants of the USSR and the Soviet Union still apparent in the culture and language is heartbreaking. Stalin's paranoia (he thought Ukrainians were trying to start a revolution and was not loyal to him) of Ukrainian peasants caused him to go to extreme lengths with unimaginable degrees that lead to millions of Ukrainians deaths due to enforced famine.

This book describes the pain that Ukrainians has suffered by nations that wished and still wish to own Ukraine, instead of recognizing Ukraine as an independent country. There is so much to say about this book but I rather not ruin the book for you. What I will say is that the last chapter and the chapter about cannibalism caused me to so physically distraught that I need to take a break from the book.

I am confused now! I like this book and how fast she spoke. I felt like I was reading a book from Lorelai Gilmore. I thought the ending of the Netflix version of the Gilmore Girls was also a cliffhanger. I want more of Gilmore girls but I will wait.