Book Review - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girls is a thriller novel based around Nick Dunne, a former New-York based writer, and his perfect wife Amy. Portraying the happy blissful marriage to the rest of the world, it comes as a shock to everyone when Amy goes missing on their fifth wedding anniversary. With suspicions rising, it's not long before Nick's unusual behaviour places him as prime suspect in her disappearance. With increasing pressure from the police and the media documenting every step of the case, it seems Nick and Amy's relationship isn't as it seems, and they may not be who they say they are.

Gone Girl was first brought to my attention when I was sat in the hairdressers one Saturday morning. My hairdresser was talking to another client about how good the film was and I was eavesdropping whilst my colour set. It sound interesting, like something I'd enjoy, so I added the book to my Summer reading list. I'm so glad I did!

This book had me from the offset, within the first few pages I was hooked! It's full of twists and turns, you're never quite sure what's coming next. I honestly couldn't put it down.

This book is so well written that you find yourself questioning everything you read. Every little detail becomes significant and you start analysing things as you go. With every turn of the page you'll have a new set of unanswered questions, you just have to keep reading to find out what next, and your opinion on where Amy is and whether Nick is involved will change constantly. It's a gripping read.

I didn't expect the book to progress the way it did. As a thriller book I thought it would be investigating where Amy was and who would want to take her, but it's so much more than that. This book explores the deepest parts of their relationship, Amy's history, the influence of her parents, Nick's guilts and desires. It's much more than just a 'who done it?' book.

I think the only kind of disappointment is the end. Whilst it's still a really good ending, I'd have liked things to work out a little better for Nick, but I can totally understand and appreciate why the author has done what she's done.

I made my Mum read this book while we were away too. I don't think she was keen at first, she complained it was slow to get into, but it wasn't look before she was asking questions wanting to know more and more. I just kept telling her to keep reading and just smiled when I saw her face at the end. I think she enjoyed it nearly as much as me.

Since returning home, I've watched the Gone Girl film. I must admit, I was a little bit let down. There is a lot of twists, turns and detail missing out of the film that you don't get to enjoy. It's a good watch, but the detail in the book makes it so much better. I definitely recommend you try and read the book first!

Gone Girl was my first Gillian Flynn read, I haven't been able to speak to anyone else who's read her other books, but I'll definitely give them a go in the future.

Rating: 9/10

Sarah x

Summer Spends

Although I'm supposed to be saving ready for my new house, there's a few spends I couldn't resist this summer. Here's my highlight summer spends for 2014.

1 - Jack Wills Fullford Tee - £14
I love Jack Wills clothing at the best of times, but even more so when they have a sale on. This tee comes in a wide range of colours and was down to £14 in their summer sale. The one I've got is a lovely lilac colour and is very loose fitting and comfortable. Great for summer! I love the style and comfort so much my Mum and Grandma are buying me two more in different colours for my birthday.

2 - Boots Cucumber 3 Minute Clay Mask - £1
My skin recently has been feeling very greasy and spotty so I decided to invest in a face mask to try and help my skin out. I didn't want to pay a lot of money so I did some research and found this Boots Cucumber 3 Minute Clay Mask which had some rather good reviews. I decided for £1 I couldn't really go wrong so bought it on my lunch break. After one use my skin was feeling much smoother and a horrible spot that had been developing on my chin disappeared straightaway. I was rather impressed. It's not a massive tube that you get, but if you use it twice a week as recommended it should definitely last more than a month. A purchase I will definitely be repeating.

3 - Dorothy Perkins High-Tops - £7
Another of my sale bargains. I wasn't particularly after a new pair of casual trainers but stumbled across these in the DP sale and they caught my eye. When I took a closer look I saw that the only size left in stock was my size, and decided it was fate! They're super comfy and will be great as the weather starts to get a bit cooler and wetter.

4 - Trudi Canavan Thief's Magic Ebook - £6.49
I love a good book and can't wait for my holidays to be able to do some serious non-college related reading. Trudi Canavan is one of my favourite authors, I've read every book she's published and loved them all. This is the first in her new trilogy and I'm really looking forward to getting into the story. It's a bit pricey for an Ebook in my opinion but since it's relatively new and still cheaper than the hard copy I'm not going to complain.

5 - Personal Planner - £17.95
This is by far my favourite summer spend. I love a good diary and this is definitely one of them. I won't write much here as I plan to write a blog post alone on the pros/cons of this purchase but I definitely will be buying another next summer.

6 - Sensationail Gel Glitter Nail Varnish - £15
I bought this to go with my outfit for the Christening I went to a few weeks ago. It's a gorgeous peachy colour with glitter, the only downside was it took quite a few coats to have a good coverage. You need a UV light for the gel to set, but once it is set it looks really good. For me I didn't quite get the two week coverage it claims to give but I'm not the best at applying nail varnish so I'm normally pretty pleased if they last more than a week.

Sarah x