Cassie Bustamante

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Blogger Book Club Review: Dark Places (And September Book Selection)

September 2, 2014 by Cassie 18 Comments

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Hope you all had a fabulous long weekend!  I’m back today with a review of our blogger book club August book, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

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Carmel selected the August book, and she made a great choice!  This murder-mystery was a page turner that left behind no loose ends.  Ms. Flynn thought of every single detail, which quite frankly makes me hope she never commits a murder.  Because she surely would know how to get away with it.  If I ever meet her, I will do my best to stay on her good side.

 

Anyhow, Dark Places follows the story of the Day family in modern day, and in the 80’s when the murder took place.  In rural American in the 80’s, Libby Day is the sole surviving Day sister, when her two sisters and mother are murdered one night.  In court, Libby accuses her older brother Ben of the murders and he is sent to prison.  Years later, Libby is approached by a group that causes Libby to start questioning the truth she pronounced years ago- did Ben really kill his family?

This novel weaves together the pieces of so many stories- Libby’s mother, Ben, and Libby, and brings in so many extra characters, each with their own dark places.  It seemed to me that every person in this book had baggage, bruises, or damage of some sort, and they were all making their way through the world carrying it with them.  I can honestly say that it was not a happy story, and I was disappointed in the character of the characters (if you follow me!), but the story itself was so well told.  So maybe I wasn’t “happy” with the ending, but I was fully satisfied with the novel itself.  Flynn weaves her story so tightly and so well, that there are no gaps, nothing the reader is left to ponder- it’s all answered.

I enjoyed Flynn’s story-telling ability so much that I finally read Gone Girl, another of her titles that I had heard so much about!  It was amazing as well, and a little more humorous in a sadistic way (which is actually one of my favorite types of humor!).

Dark Places gets a big strong recommendation from me- you won’t want to put it down!  Hop on over to read my fellow book clubbers reviews as well!

Carmel at Our Fifth House

Kirby at Kirb Appeal

Katie at On the Banks of Squaw Creek

Now, for September it was my turn to choose.  We’ve read lots of drama, and murder, so I thought it was time for some good strong chick lit, but with a dark humor aspect.  I selected Big Little Lies, which tells the story of 3 very different women with children at the same school.  I’ve never read anything by Moriarty, and I am excited to dive in!  The reviews make her sound like my kind of author.  We shall see!  Feel free to read along and let us know what you think!

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Comments

  1. Julia@Cuckoo4Design says

    September 2, 2014 at 7:31 am

    I still don’t get it how you find the time to read. It’s awesome though.

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:50 am

      i read at night- put the kids to bed at 8 (even if they don’t sleep just in their rooms) and i usually read from 9-10. if it’s really good and i can stay awake, i read a little later. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Krystine @ www.KrystineEdwards.com says

    September 2, 2014 at 10:19 am

    I LOVE that you do this!! I’m always asking friends for book suggestions- cannot wait to get my hands on it!

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:37 pm

      YAY! i am so glad it helps you find some new reads!

      Reply
  3. Anna [Directions Not Included] says

    September 2, 2014 at 12:21 pm

    I devoured Gone Girl when it first came out on a flight and promptly downloaded Dark Places and enjoyed it too. I’d join you on the next selection if I didn’t have 15 books on my list already. Must get some time to read!

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:37 pm

      it was so good! i loved gone girl more than dark places, but both were well written.

      Reply
  4. Jenn @ HomeStyleReport says

    September 2, 2014 at 1:11 pm

    I’ve been wanting to read Gone Girl for almost a year! I’m thinking I should grab both of these for my vacation in a couple of weeks!

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:36 pm

      oh yes, you totally need to read it!!!

      Reply
  5. Megan @ Our Pinteresting Family says

    September 2, 2014 at 1:30 pm

    I love reading. I read at night too. I find myself actually reading on my kindle as I feed the boys..lol. I think i’ve read twenty + books since they were born. They must eat a lot 🙂

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:36 pm

      well there are two of them!

      Reply
  6. Brenda Kula says

    September 2, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    I work on the blog during the day. Don’t even have a TV in here so I can focus. But at night, if I can pull myself away from reading blogs, I read. I went out and got the new book, and shall begin tonight. Sounds good to me!
    Brenda

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:36 pm

      i started it last night and am about to read some more now! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Katja | Shift Ctrl Art says

    September 2, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    You definitely are a super woman or you have a time warp machine 🙂 I am in awe of all that you accomplish. I love a good murder mystery. This sounds really good!!

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:36 pm

      oh i don’t think so, but thank you for your faith in me!

      Reply
  8. Carmel says

    September 2, 2014 at 10:20 pm

    I wish we lived closer so we could go to see both of these movies together! Did you know Charlize Theron is playing Libby?!

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 3, 2014 at 5:08 pm

      that would be AMAZING. can’t you move here? 😉

      Reply
  9. Kim@NewlyWoodwards says

    September 5, 2014 at 10:51 am

    That book was crazy dark. But I couldn’t put it down, either.

    The only thing I don’t Love Love about Flynn is that all of her books end dark. I want a little happiness and closure and you don’t get it with her. But I forgive her because her books are crazy good.

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      September 5, 2014 at 2:28 pm

      totally agree with that, but they so do keep you entertained!!!

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Cassie!

I believe that you don't have to spend a lot of money to live a beautiful life and be your best self.  Here you will find budget friendly ideas to live happily, healthily, sustainably, and most importantly authentically.  We all get one chance at this life, and this ordinary girl plans to make hers extraordinary. How about you? Read more...
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Hi! I'm Cassie.

Mother, wife, shop owner, blogger, writer, incurable diy-er, furniture painter, coffee and wine drinker, friend. Seeking happiness and passing it on. Read More…

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