Layla by Colleen Hoover Book Review

My Reasons For Reading This Book

As I have mentioned in past book reviews, I follow The Readheads Book Club. This is a podcast book club where a different book is chosen each month. At the time of writing this we are reading book 14 of the year. The chosen book was Layla by Colleen Hoover. Like most of the hosts of the book club I had not read any of Colleen Hoover's books. With this being the first time I am reading one of her books, I set no expectations and went into it with an open mind. Before I started reading the book I only knew the title and a brief description that was given in the podcast.

Content of the Book

This book follows the intriguing story of Leeds and Layla's life after their meeting at her sister's wedding. Layla and Leeds' lives are forever changed after an unexpected attack. The attack leaves Layla with mental and emotions scarring, she is not the same woman Leeds fell in love with months before. In an effort to mend their relationship, Leeds takes Layla back to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once there Layla begins acting even more out of character and unexplainable things being happening. Willow, another guest at the bed-and-breakfast, and Leeds form a connection. Leeds becomes insistent on finding answers for Willow at the expense of Layla's well-being. Leeds is then faced with the choice of having to choose between Layla and Willow. A wrong choice and it could all come crashing down.

What I Liked About this Book

One of the best qualities of this book is that I was entertained and engrossed in the book from start to finish. The progression of the plot was consistent throughout and kept you wanting more. There was just the right amount of character development from the beginning that you were able to anticipate some of the things that would happen. On the contrary, the book also included a number of plot twists and unexpected events that left you surprised and wanting answers. The writing style of this book was effortless and easy to read. All descriptions and explanations were clear and never required rereading in order to understand what was being said. For most of the book it was broken into two types of chapters. One was the interview chapters. This section of the book took place in real time, but also included explanations of past events. The numbered chapters were retellings of the past events that led up to the interview. Once the interview was complete then the rest of the numbered chapters took place in present time. I loved how the author wrapped up the story and all parts of the plot in a concise yet informative way. Yes, I was left with wanting more, but most questions were answered. One thing that I especially liked about this book is that it made me think about people's mannerisms and how they can determine how a person is feeling. As someone who has never read a book with this type of activity (trying not to spoil anything) I really enjoyed it and it was a great first experience. Seeing the two different relationships that Leeds had with Willow and Layla made me reflect on how the different relationships I have and how they meet different needs.

What I Disliked About this Book

This is one of the more sexually graphic books I remember reading. Even though that is not something that bothers everyone it could be a factor that makes or breaks a book for someone so I thought I would mention is here. For this book the sexual scenes contributed to the plot and challenges faced by the characters. Even though I am mentioning this in the dislike section I would like to point out that the book is not littered with sexual scenes and there are just a few incidents here and there. Personally I was not bothered by the sexual nature of the book, but that might not be the same for everyone.

Would I Recommend This Book?

I would most definitely recommend this book. I actually plan on asking my friends and family if they would like to read it since I had to buy a physical copy of the book and want to get the most use out of it that I can. For reference on the time required to read this book I read it in less than 10 days. I read 30 minutes a day and I am a slow reader. If one of your goals or New Year's Resolutions is to read more books I would recommend this book to start with.

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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Book Review

Reasons For Reading This Book: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was Jackie's choice for the month of October. Jackie is the host of The Readheads Podcast Book Club. This is a monthly podcast book club that I have been apart of since it was established in 2020. I love getting to hear the thoughts of the hosts each month. Content of the Book: Elizabeth Zott is a chemist but is much more than meets the eye. She is not only beautiful but also extremely smart, confident, strong, and not afraid to beat to her own drum. Elizabeth is one of the only female chemists working at Hastings Research Institute. She is viewed as different by everyone there. It's there that she meet Nobel-Prize nominated chemist Calvin Evans. Calvin who falls in love with Elizabeth is described as a loner, grudge holder, and extremely brilliant. Fast forward a few years and Elizabeth is now a single-mother working as the host of the most watched cooking show, Supper at Six . With Elizabeth's ways of

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