Steph Reads: The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

        It's Summertime in the city and I wanted to start the Summer off by reading a fun chick-lit! The book 'The Hypnotist's Love Story' takes place in Australia at Ellen O'Ferrell's beachfront home. Ellen is a successful hypnotherapist who has found a promising bachelor to spend her life with until the day he tells her 'we need to talk.' Turns out, Ellen's perfect suitor Patrick is perfect enough that his last relationship ended with his ex stalking him.  Rather than being scared off, Ellen is intrigued that this gentleman is worthy of a stalker and, in fact, she would like to meet this stalker of his--little does Ellen know that she already has.
        This book was overall a fun read and had a slew of likable and relatable characters. Ellen is incredibly realistic as the seemingly earthly and spiritual hypnotist that has a running train of thought revealing her imperfections. The narration shifts between Ellen and Patrick's stalker which was a nice touch to be able to understand what is going through the stalker's mind during her most outrageous acts of desperation. I actually felt sympathy toward the stalker by the end of the book because I felt I achieved a certain level of understanding of her actions which was unbelievable given I had written her off as a loon at the beginning of this story.  The ending of this story wasn't necessarily unpredictable, but it was incredibly satisfying and light-hearted giving me peace when I set it down for the last time. I will say that this book got incredibly slow in the middle 150 pages or so. I felt like that whole chunk of the book could have been removed and I wouldn't have missed it all! Other than that slow area, I would recommend this book if you have enjoyed Moriarty's previous work. It's fun, realistic, a little sexy, and entertaining!

What's on your Summer reading list?
xxSJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Bossy Pants by Tina Fey
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler