Sex and The City and Us

 

Title:                Sex and The City and Us
Author:           Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Genre:             Non-Fiction / Pop Culture
Source:            Netgalley e-arc
Publisher:       Simon Schuster
Pub Date:        June 5, 2018
Rating:             5/5 stars
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I LOVED every single page in this book! If you are a Sex and the City (“SATC”) fan, interested in how iconic shows like this one get made or even if you enjoyed the show half as much as I did—this is the book for you!

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (author of Seinfeldia and writer of several pop culture publications) brings us a well-written in depth look behind-the-scenes of a popular tv cultural phenomenon that was and is Sex and the City.

The HBO show, created by Darren Star, co-produced by Michael Patrick King, and inspired by Candace Bushnell’s column and persona- Carrie Bradshaw, broke new ground in television by focusing on a main cast of four single thirty-something women. The show grew and matured overtime, but stayed true to its themes of female equality, empowerment and friendship.

This book is part-history lesson on New York, the creation of the show, and the feminism movement, and part-nostalgic tribute to such an amazing show. It is also quick to point out some of the show’s shortcomings. I found this book to be both informative and delightful. While reading the book and reminiscing about the beloved show, I couldn’t help but wonder which iconic character I relate to best. I think I am a mixture of Carrie and Miranda, but I always adored Charlotte! Which SATC character do you most relate to? 🍸

There were several instances where the book discussed the choices made for specific scenes, both in terms of plot and style, where I found myself wishing I had the show playing in front of me for reference. I made several electronic highlights to these references where I intend to go back and watch these scenes again, armed this time with the information I have learned in this book.

I simply cannot say enough good things about this book and The author’s writing style. This is definitely a must read and I hope you will!

Note: I read and reviewed an electronic advanced reader’s copy of this book, but I have later come to find out the physical book includes a few photographs that my review copy did not include. I am not sure whether they are included in the current e-book or not.

*** Thanks to Simon and Schuster for gifting me an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. ***

-thegreeneyedreader

Girls’ Night Out

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Book Title:    Girls’ Night Out
Author(s):     Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Genre:            Thriller
Pub Date:       7/24/2018
Rating:            4/5 stars

I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Overall I thought this book was a suspenseful, easy-read. It is perfect for readers craving a fairly light, fast-paced, suspenseful thriller. It caught my attention early-on, and I loved the premise. It is focused on the intricacies of female friendship and the disappearance of one woman after a girls night out. 

Three best friends, Natalie, Ashley, and Lauren, embark on a relaxing vacation to Mexico in hopes of reconnecting and healing old wounds. But almost immediately upon arriving at the resort it becomes clear a beautiful getaway isn’t going to be enough to solve the issues that plague this group of women. Financial concerns are weighing heavily on Natalie and she desperately needs to convince her friend and business partner, Ashley, to accept Revlon’s recent offer to purchase the company. Ashley does not want to sell the company she has devoted her life to and which she believes has kept her friendship with Natalie alive. Ashley’s husband, Jason, thinks she is being selfish as usual. Ashley and Jason have some other marital issues too. Meanwhile Lauren has her own resentment for Ashley stemming from the death of her husband a year prior. With all of this going on, Ashley meets Marco Smith, a local, whom seems too good to be true. Several red flags pop up throughout the week that the three seem to ignore until it is too late. After a girls night out, Natalie wakes up alone on the beach with no memory of the night before. When she gets back to their hotel, she finds Lauren there, but Ashley is missing. Lauren and Natalie must work together to find out where Ashley is and what happened. The story is told in alternating views all told in third person, jumping back and forth between two timelines: before and after Ashley disappeared, until the final chapters when the events of the girls night out are revealed and we finally learn what happened.

I found Ashley and even Natalie to be fairly naïve and all three women somewhat annoying. A few chapters in the middle of the book were a bit slow for me, but the storyline picked up pretty quickly, and once it did I couldn’t put it down. I had to stay up and find out what happened. This isn’t a book where the twists will leave your mouth gaping open in shock, but it is suspenseful. While I found Ashley’s character to be very selfish at times and some of her personality to be a tad unbelievable (given her status as a loving mother), I did find the ending realistic and the conclusion satisfying.

As I read this one I kept thinking this would be a good read for fans of Abigail Haas, but I would note the women in this book are much older than the YA characters in Haas’ book and the plot is quite a bit different. Overall it was very enjoyable and entertaining. It made my heart race while I stayed up late to find out what really happened to Ashley after the Girls Night Out. Anyone who enjoys thrillers and suspenseful books should pick this one up.

Trigger Warnings: I do not think this warrants any trigger warnings per se, because although domestic abuse is discussed, the subject matter is not explored in great detail and the discussion appears almost exclusively in the context of one character reflecting on the abuse previously endured. None of the reflections on past abuse is particularly graphic.

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting my new blog. I am happy and nervous to begin this exciting bookish adventure with you! I am thegreeneyedreader, aka Jess7 on Litsy. I am an avid reader and bookstagramer. I have two adorable photogenic schnauzers that I love to feature on Litsy, instagram, and twitter. Links to those profiles and my goodreads account can be found on my home page (assuming I have set this up correctly, **fingers crossed**).

I primarily intend to use this blog to post my honest feedback and reviews of books. I prefer to read books on my kindle (including digital library books, ARCs through Netgalley, and Amazon ebooks).  However, I do have an ever-expanding personal library of hardcover and paperback books, as well.

My passion for reading began as a child when I read the Anne of Green Gables series, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird. As an adult my favorite and most recommended book is probably Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove. However, I love to read many different genres, including but not limited to, psychological thriller, mystery/thriller, literary fiction, general adult fiction, historical fiction, memoir, humor, women’s fiction (feminist literature), YA, and political/social policy. Some of my favorite authors include:

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Fredrik Backman
• John Boyne
• Chris Cleave
• Gillian Flynn
• Amy Gentry
• Lauren Graham
• Abigail Haas
• Paula Hawkins
• Gail Honeyman
• Khaled Hosseini
• Mary Kubica
• William Landay
• Lisa Lutz
• Clare Mackintosh
• Gilly Macmillan
• Kimberly McCreight
• Megan Miranda
• Liane Moriarty
• Kate Morton
• Celeste Ng
• Ijeoma Oluo
• B.A. Paris
• Anne Helen Petersen
• Rainbow Rowell
• Peter Swanson
• Ruth Ware
• Malala Yousafzai

“I am a part of everything that I have read.” — Theodore Roosevelt

I will begin posting book reviews in the coming weeks. Thank you for visiting my book blog. Please subscribe to receive future updates.

Thanks,

–thegreeneyedreader