HMB’s Book Club {June Review & July Voting}

Our {virtual} Summer Book Club is back for the second year in a row, and YOU chose the first book for Summer 2015!  This summer’s highly anticipated read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins took the spot…and we’ve finished reading!  Bre and I will share our thoughts on the book, and you can chime in below or on our Facebook page with your reviews too.

HMB Book Club

>> Warning :: Reviews may contain spoilers! <<

:: Bre ::

I was super excited to read The Girl on the Train because talk of the book has been everywhere.  Great reviews.  All through blog posts and Twitter.  It was supposed to be exciting, the good read of the summer.  I didn’t even really read the summary all the way through before I hit download. So it was hyped up, but I wasn’t exactly sure what my expectations were.

Either way, I was not impressed.

I’m usually okay with books being told from different perspectives.  I’m even okay when you have to pay attention to dates when reading through a book.  But at least keep it consistent and even.  It was a lot of Rachel at first and then suddenly we get Megan months before.  And once you get used to that, then suddenly you get a little of Anna.  Why?!  Yes, I know all points of view are critical to the plot – but they didn’t flow together well.

And not one of the characters had a redeeming quality.  Rachel was waaaaay too whiny and pathetic.  Not to take alcoholism lightly, but after awhile I was like, “Okay, I get it. She drinks.”

The men were absolutely no better.  So when the twist comes and the killer is supposed to be shocking… But I wasn’t too concerned with WHY the murder happened.

That being said, I did breeze through the book.  It was bits of suspense and bits of red herring.  But I still demand people rush out and buy the book.  I just would have liked it more if the characters were at least a little more likeable.

Overall, it’s a 3 out of 5 Sippy Cups for me.

 

:: Heather ::

I genuinely love a good thriller.  I love being drawn in and led on a chase or finding clues to solve a murder mystery.  The Girl on the Train checked off both of those boxes, but ended up being completely different from what I initially expected just from reading the synopsis.

Rachel is a hot mess.  She’s an alcoholic.  She lost her job for returning from a working lunch absolutely trashed.  Yet, she still takes the train to London every day to convince her roommate that she’s still gainfully employed.  At first, I sympathized with her.  I even found it slightly {weirdly} cute that she checked in on Jason and Jess every day.  Then…not so much.

Rachel, along with all of the other characters are completely manipulative and screwed up, so I had a difficult time connecting with any of them.  I also had trouble following the timeline with the dates jumping back and forth between Megan and Rachel {and occasionally Anna, who was totally insane}.  And bottom line – I saw the major twist way before I should have.

All in all, this one gets 3.5 out of 5 Sippy Cups from me.

 

Chime in Houston!  How did you feel about The Girl on the Train?

Once you’ve shared your thoughts on our June book choice, take a minute to vote for July’s book!  As always, you – our fellow readers – get to take control and choose our next book club read.  We’ve left the links below so you can do a little research, then cast your vote!

July Options…

The Day We Met by Rowan Coleman. 304 pages.

Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 384 pages.

** Winner :: In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume. 397 pages. **

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand. 400 pages.

We’re going to leave voting open for a week.  Then, we’ll announce the book and give you about a month to read it!  Don’t worry, we’ll check in from time to time to make sure you’re on track.  Once again, me and Bre will post our feelings and open up the discussion after that!

You can connect with the HMB book club at any time!

Heather :: Twitter | Goodreads

Bre :: Twitter | Goodreads

HMB :: Twitter | Facebook

2 COMMENTS

  1. I agree with both Bre and Heather that I could not connect with any of the characters and actually guessed the “plot twist” before I should have, however I still really enjoyed this book and recommend it to my friends. It’s an easy read that makes you want to keep coming back to find out what’s going on with the really screwed up characters. Having not been in a reading mode much since have my first child…hello two years ago…This book was a great way to remind me how much I love to read and can easily find the time for it when you look. So thank you for that Girl on the Train and HMB Summer Book Club! Can’t wait for the next one.

  2. I totally agree!! I guessed the plot twist earlier than I wanted to. And yet, I found myself coming back to the book quickly. It was easy to read despite the jumping timeline. I was noticing I was kind of addicted even though everyone was screwed up. I just had my first child in mid April and thought my love affair with books might be ending for awhile. This helped me realize that feedings and late nights need a good book! =)

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