Finally, my mission to reading all of Liane Moriarty’s adult books is complete. It has been my mission ever since I fell in love with the author a year ago. After my disappointment at Three Wishes, I almost put off reading the remaining two books. But The Last Anniversary was awesome and so was The Hypnotist’s Love Story!
When I started reading the book, I had a slight sense of Déjà vu. The whole world of hypnotism and a mention of tarot cards took me back to The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware. A book that I didn’t love, didn’t hate and rush read to finish so I could move on. The Hypnotist’s Love story was a completely different story. Pun intended.
“Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back.
Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk. Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.
Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has.”
Goodreads
Why I Loved It
I was interested in the protagonist and her beautiful home from day one. As someone who loves the ocean, I love to read books that are set on the beach. Which all of Liane Moriarty’s books are, since she lives in Sydney, Australia. Yes, I am incredibly jealous of this lady who has my dream job and lives in my dream climate. I would hate her if I didn’t love her.
Ellen, the hypnotist, is an interesting character who loves her job and isn’t at all the typical hippie cliché. She even eats meat! Even though I have a perfectly average non-controversial job, I found myself sighing on Ellen’s behalf at all the dumb judgmental questions that people asked about her choice of career. She was an easy character to relate to and like.
Then, we find out that Ellen’s new love interest has a stalker! The reader gets to learn about the stalker from her very own perspective. So the book feels very much like a movie, where you are watching the scenes unfold rather than reading them. I’m not even that good at visualizing but I’d be out on a hike picturing Ellen in her quirky old-fashioned sea-side home as if it was a TV show that I had recently paused.
Without revealing too much more, let me just say once more that I loved this book. It was heartwarming and interesting. The story was unique and memorable. Once again I have to shake my head at the 3.7 star review on Goodreads. People are so critical!
My only compliant about this book is language related. Why do Australian’s call sunbathing sunbaking? It makes me picture the said ‘sunbaker’ on a skewer headed for the BBQ! Hannibal Lecter approved, I don’t. Jokes aside, I love this book and can’t wait to see what Liane Moriarty comes up with next!
You can buy The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty on Amazon here.
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Bonus Jewelry!
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I’ve never read Liane Moriarty’s books, but they sound fun!