Mystery

This was a quick read. I’m surprised the publisher didn’t get it out sooner for beach reading. Good twist at the end. ( )

Sometimes I choose to read a book just by the cover alone. This book was one of those times. I was a little nervous after reading the first chapter, I thought i wasn't going to get into the story. But I really liked this book.It turned out to be very intriguing I like how the book went from present day to 24 years ago almost every other chapter. What a fantastic way to keep the story interesting. The story about a women who turned 40 and threw herself a birthday party. And then she would remember her past, that's when the book would go back 24 years.. Chapter by chapter you learned more about her and how she grew up and how she got to where she was. I don't want to write any spoilers so I'm keeping it vague. There is so much more to this story. I didn't want this book to end. I wished it would have been longer. There are some stories and characters that I think about long after I finish a book and this is one of those stories. ( )

Ellie is celebrating her 40th birthday with a party that has her close family and friends. The appearance of an old acquaintance reminds her of the 16th birthday she wishes she could forget.

Normally I would not read a story like this but I am a fan of Melissa De La Cruz and people keep offering me books with this storyline. Last year I read The Dinner by Herman Koch and The Party by Robyn Harding all with the storyline of a party or dinner that has gone bad because the people are bad people. Every one of these books tries to give the story a twist at the end you are not supposed to see coming. Frankly, I don’t like stories that end so dark or twisted. I know not every story can end in happily ever after and I don’t want them to...it is just these stories depress me. There is enough in the world going on to depress me right now.

The story was okay. I was able to follow and it was well written. I prefer Melissa De La Cruz’s fantasies rather than this contemporary fiction. ( )

3.5 stars.

The Birthday Girl by Melissa de la Cruz is an intriguing mystery set during a lavish birthday party.

Ellie de Florent-Stintson is throwing herself an elaborate, swanky party to celebrate her fortieth birthday. Although the details of her glamorous celebration are picture perfect, her personal and business lives are in a mess. Todd, her husband of ten years, is unemployed and may be having an affair. Her eighteen year stepdaughter Samantha is suddenly home from Stanford and refuses to tell Ellie why. Her ten year old daughter Imogen is being bullied at school. And her six year old twins Elijah and Otis are a handful. Having successfully built a fashion line, Ellie is on the verge of bankruptcy as she impatiently waits for a business deal to go through. As her party gets underway, Ellie is distracted as she fears her distant past and present are about to collide while she nervously waits for her mystery guests to arrive.

Ellie completely reinvented herself after escaping from her desperately poor childhood. Now a one percenter, she is shallow, self-absorbed and greedy. She is keeping plenty of information from Todd about important matters in the present. Ellie has also not revealed much about her past and she is desperately afraid everything she has carefully concealed is about to be divulged.

Flashbacks to her teenage years paint a very bleak picture twenty-four years earlier. A sixteenth birthday celebration comes to a shocking end and Ellie has worked hard to separate herself from that period in her life. But after issuing an impulsive invitation, Ellie is on tenterhooks throughout her party as she dreads her past catching up with her.

Seamlessly moving back and forth in time, The Birthday Girl is a well-written but somewhat slow-paced novel. The chapters about Ellie's childhood are much more compelling than the vapid party in the present. It is much easier to become invested in the events playing out in the past instead Ellie's present day problems. After building quite a bit of suspense, Melissa de la Cruz brings the novel to a twist-filled conclusion. ( )