aimee molloy

Book Review of Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

320 pages

Publication date: 10/13/20 by Harper

ISBN: 9780062881922

Genre: Psychological Thriller

“Newlyweds Sam Statler and Annie Potter are head over heels, and excited to say good-bye to New York and start a life together in Sam’s sleepy hometown in upstate New York. Or, it turns out, a life where Annie spends most of her time alone while Sam, her therapist husband, works long hours in his downstairs office, tending to the egos of his (mostly female) clientele.

Little does Sam know that through a vent in his ceiling, every word of his sessions can be heard from the room upstairs. The pharmacist’s wife, contemplating a divorce. The well-known painter whose boyfriend doesn’t satisfy her in bed. Who could resist listening? Everything is fine until the French girl in the green mini Cooper shows up, and Sam decides to go to work and not come home, throwing a wrench into Sam and Annie’s happily ever after.”

Thank you to Harper / Harper Audio for the early digital copy / early audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated novels of 2020, and I’m sad to announce that I’m disappointed. I’ve looked at reviews on Goodreads, and I seem to be in the minority. I’ve never read the book by Stephen King that this resembles, but I can tell you that the plot seems to be quite similar. It’s even mentioned and read by characters in the story. I read Molloy’s other thriller, The Perfect Mother, and I really enjoyed it. It had so much commentary, and this one does too, but this felt forced.

I try not to be a Negative Nancy when it comes to books that don’t work for me, but this story line just felt botched. There’s clearly so much potential; The building blocks for an amazing psychological thriller. But it honestly feels like a ripoff of a Stephen King novel, which I’m tired of seeing. I want originality, crave it.

The characters were empty shells, checking off the boxes to requirements for a thriller. There was no growth, no personality. Half the time I couldn’t even tell who was speaking. The only plus was that I was listening to the audiobook. There are three different voices narrating the three different perspectives. I think it would be a spoiler if I told you who each character is. Also, that ending was one of the most unsatisfying endings to exist. What even happened? It reminded me of the epilogue of a romance novel. Maybe I’m just being salty.

I will say, the beginning did throw me off a bit. It did have a twist that I didn’t expect. Maybe that’s why I gave it a two-star rating.

I had such high hopes for this, and I don’t want to give up on this author. I’ll probably continue reading from this author unless the next book is like this one (if she decides to write another). I’m going to be honest and tell you that I don’t recommend this.

Aimee Molloy is the author of the New York Times instant bestseller, The Perfect Mother. Aimee is also the author of However Long the Night and the co-author of several works of non-fiction, including Jantsen’s Gift, with Pam Cope. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two daughters.

Let me know what you thought about this if you’ve read it!

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Top Ten Inspirational & Thought Provoking Quotes from Books (4/30/19)

Go check out the host of TTT: That Artsy Reader Girl. The rules are also on her blog in case you don’t know what Top Ten Tuesday is.

These quotes were just what I could find on my phone or tabbed in some of my books. I read a lot of library books that I wasn’t able to tab and I never saved the quotes. Please enjoy!

“So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?” All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

“It may be the luckiest and purest thing of all to see time sharpen to a single point. To feel the world rise up and shake you hard, insisting that you rise, too, somehow. Someway. That you come awake and stretch, painfully. That you change, completely and irrevocably-with whatever means are at your disposal-into the person you were always meant to be.” Love and Ruin by Paula McLain

“For thousands of years, human beings had screwed up and trashed and crapped on this planet, and now history expected me to clean up after everyone. I have to wash out and flatten my soup cans. And account for every drop of motor oil.” Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

“Some want it to happen. Some wish it would happen. Some make it happen.” The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

“It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.” The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

“Great danger is always associated with great power. The difference between the great and the mediocre is that the great are willing to take that risk.” The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

“Within the team there was no gender. We were all equal in everything. We had a strict code of ethics and discipline. At that time, the most important goal was the spirit of being together as a team, and overcoming the distance.” Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar

“I think given the choice between loving Mare-betrayal included-and never knowing her, I’d choose love. I risked, and I lost, but the risk was worth it. It’s the same with my friends. Suspicion is healthy in our profession-but only to an extent. I’d rather trust my men than worry about what will happen if they turn on me.” The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

“We must not cower in the dark because we’re afraid of the spark within us. The answer is not to put out the spark, but learn to control it.” Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

“Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas.” Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

If you enjoyed this, then give it a like and follow my blog. Be respectful and happy reading!

Book Review: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

The Perfect Mother

Author: Aimee Molloy

Page count: 317

ISBN: 9780062696793

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads

This novel is quite sad and terrifying, especially for new mothers. I have never read anything quite like this book.

Synopsis:

If you’re not familiar, this novel is about a group of women called the May Mothers that all meet online. They were all pregnant, and had their babies in the same month (*hint* May *hint hint*). They all decided that they were going to finally meet at a park every couple of weeks. There are quite a few mothers involved but throughout the story it really focuses on Nell, Collette, Francie, and Winnie. Winnie is the least of the four that’s mentioned after a while. On July 4th, the hottest day of the year, they all want to get a break from their new bundles of joy, and go drink a little bit at a bar. Unfortunately, Winnie, the one mother that is single is struck with tragedy. Her son ends up missing from her home, and chaos ensues.

“Bad things happen in heat like this.”

Review:

I have been reading very average books lately, and this one was a step up. I read it in about two days and couldn’t get enough of it. I also forgot to tab it, and I regret it because now I’m writing this review frantically searching for parts I want to talk about in detail. Anyway, I will admit that there are some parts of the story that drag, but they usually don’t last very long. I do recommend this book, because it really isn’t just about a kidnapping. It’s about the effects that society can have on a person when it comes to a problem like the one in the story. It really takes a toll on the ones affected, especially if all the stories are questionable.

I kind of just want to touch on some of the deeper issues in the story.

When trying to find the suspect, they end up accusing a couple of people who wind up being dead ends. The easiest to accuse was obviously a man of middle eastern descent. I loved this part of the book. I love interviews, especially when they are hard-hitting. There is a civil rights attorney that takes over the mans case, and basically tells CNN where to shove it.

“This is a textbook case of racial profiling. What is the evidence against him? He was seen around Winnie Ross’s building, and he’s of Middle Eastern descent. That’s it.”

I knew exactly where the story was going when they mentioned this man. It’s sad that this happens more often than not in the world today. I know and I am glad that there are people out there that care about sticking up for what is right!

The novel also touches base on the lack of paid maternity leave in the U.S. I have heard a lot about this lately, even at my own job. I really hope that sometime in the future it changes, because I do want a baby someday. I don’t want to struggle trying to take care of a newborn and worry about money. It’s not ideal. To all the mothers that have dealt with this, you all are such troopers.
“Modern Motherhood” is a term for mothers that go out and party a few weeks after their baby is born. I see a lot of this happening too. I have gone to high school with teenage girls that have a baby and immediately go to bar a couple of weeks later. I understand that you need a break every once in a while, but I don’t find that acceptable. Obviously you are your own person and can do what you want, but I wish people were more responsible. (Please do not fight me about this. It is my personal opinion.)
The last point I want to touch base on is immigration. Alma, the woman who was supposed to be taking care of baby Midas, was not from the United States. There were stories about her and “baby selling rings.” (I have no idea what that is or if it’s even a thing). Nell sticks up for Alma while talking to a detective, and like I said before I love it when people stick up for others. It’s sad that immigration is so frowned upon. There are circumstances where other people are here for ALL the wrong reasons, but most of the time they just want to start a new life. (Again, just my opinion.)

“She may be an immigrant, but she’s still human.”

There are a lot of things that happen in this book, and I promise it isn’t just a cliché mystery (it kind of is though in a way lol). There is a little more to chew on when you read this mystery. I recommend it if you have been interested in picking it up.

Disclaimer: This novel deals with a little bit of everything. There is racism, religion, sexual harassment, kidnapping (obviously). It doesn’t take over the story but it touches on these so beware of that.

If you have read this story, let me know what you thought about it in the comments (no spoilers). If you enjoyed this then give it a like and follow me for future book reviews! Be respectful and happy reading.