Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

A good friend of mine and fellow book lover recommended Sarah's Key to me.  I freaking loved this book! Ever since I went to the Holocaust museum in DC I have been somewhat obsessed with stories involving it.

Here is a synopsis:

A New York Times bestseller. Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

I read this book in less than 24 hours. I loved seeing Sarah’s story unfold and following Julia through her discoveries of Sarah’s story and the connection it had to her own life. I highly recommend this book!

I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

It’s also going to be a movie coming out July 22. Here’s a preview:

A Slaying in the Suburbs

This was my first true crime book! When I became so obsessed with that Brad Cooper trial I thought hmmm maybe I should read a true crime book because all I could think about during the trial is how awesome a book would be based on that story. I picked this one because it had good reviews and an interesting plot.

Tara Grant was a successful woman earning a six figure salary and getting to travel the world. Until the day she came home from a business trip and her husband killed her and cut up her body.

There were a lot of similarities to the Brad Cooper case. A wealthy family with two kids. An affair- only this one was with the nanny. Tara started out as a missing person case. She was strangled to death. Her sister got custody of the kids and hated the husband. The prosecution even wrapped up their closing argument very similarly to the prosecution in the Brad Cooper trial.

It was a really interesting story and at least with this one you know he did it. I definitely think I’ll read some more true crime books in the future.

I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.

Heart of the Matter by Emily Griffin

I loved Emily Griffin’s first 3 books- Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof.  I also liked Love the One You’re With.  But Heart of the Matter quite frankly sucked.  It was so slow.  I did not like the storyline and I did not connect with any of the characters.

It is basically the story of Valerie, a single mom, whose son falls in to a fire at a friend’s birthday party while roasting marshmallows.  He gets badly burned on his face and hands.  Valerie starts falling for her son’s doctor who happens to be Tessa’s husband.  Tessa is the other main character of the book and a large portion of the book is spent exploring Tessa and Nick’s marriage.

The only interesting aspect of the book was the cameos by Rachel and Dex (Tessa is Dex’s sister.)

I didn’t want to give up on the book and was just curious enough to see how things ended to finish the book, but I would not recommend wasting your time with this one.  It is a controversial subject with the affair aspect and all, but not worth reading it for that.

I give this one 2 out of 5 stars simply because I was at least able to finish it.