November Wrap-Up and December TBR

Another month end – and thank goodness! We are one step nearer to Christmas and (more importantly) 2020 being over. This month has lasted approximately 9000 years so I am glad it is done.

I’m posting this a bit early as I have a blog tour lined up for the end of the month.

Affiliate links are provided – I do earn commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you, so thank you for supporting my blog!

What I read in November

Considering that November felt eternal, I only managed to read 9 books! However, this puts me on 109/100 for my Goodreads challenge so that’s fine by me.

I started this month with a NetGalley ARC that I was really looking forward to – Cara Hunter’s ‘The Whole Truth’. This is the fifth instalment in the excellent DI Fawley series of police procedurals and is due for publication on 25th February, 2021. The story starts with a sexual harassment allegation and then gets much darker and more twisty. I don’t think it is the best in the series but it is very engaging – I really like the police team and they are really relatable and real. My review will follow nearer publication.

Then I read ‘The Wrong Sort to Die’ by Paula Harmon for a blog tour. This is a very enjoyable historical mystery featuring a great female lead – Dr Margaret Demeray, a pathologist working in pre-World War I London. You can read my review here.

Next up was ‘How Love Actually Ruined Christmas (or Colourful Narcotics)’ by Gary Raymond for another blog tour. It’s basically a jaunt through – scene-by-scene – the 2003 film ‘Love Actually’ and all the reasons why it is so bad. Fans of the film won’t appreciate it all, but I loved it! This book made me laugh so much – my review is here.

Then I read ‘The Cousins’ by Karen M McManus for yet another blog tour – this one is up Monday. I don’t read a lot of YA books but I did enjoy this story of family secrets in a wealthy tourist spot in America. Check out my blog on Monday for my full review.

Then another blog tour book – ‘The Watchful Neighbour’ by Debbie Viggiano. This is a psychological thriller about a woman who worries that her Neighbourhood Watch man is just a little too watchful. It is tense and surprising – my review will follow in December.

It does seem that I’ve read a lot of blog tour books this month – the next was ‘Banking on Murder’ by J D Whitelaw, a cosy crime novel with a trio of sisters as investigators. I really loved the interaction between the three women – the review will follow in December.

After all the blog tour books, I returned to my huge NetGalley backlog and read ‘The Split’ by Laura Kay. This is a lovely, uplifting and funny read about how Ally puts her life back together after she is dumped by her girlfriend. Family, friends and running prove her salvation, even though she has a similar feeling about running as me (clue: not positive)! This is due to be published in March 2021 and my full review will appear nearer this date.

Another NetGalley read was ‘The Shape of Darkness’ by Laura Purcell. I was really looking forward to this historical Gothic novel which promised spookiness, murder and spiritualism – and absolutely delivered. This is due to be published in January 2021 so my review will be up then, but if you loved Purcell’s previous books then there is plenty to love here too.

Finally, the lovely people at The Write Reads and I finally finished our readalong of ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier. Having given up on this book on at least two previous occasions, I’m really glad I stuck with it – turns out it gets really good! Who knew?! I’ve loved reading with these lovely bloggers and their wild speculation, hilarious observations and brilliant (and sometimes odd!) ideas have been an absolute joy. My review will be up next week.

---

December TBR

After a month or two of being totally overwhelmed by the amount of books I have in the pile to read, I’ve narrowed it down to ones I want to read soon:

1. ‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge – a NetGalley ARC and the latest in the DCI Jonah Sheens series.
2. ‘Madam’ by Phoebe Wynne – a proof from the lovely people at Quercus (thank you!) This one looks like a brilliant historical tale in the Gothic vein about a remote boarding school.
3. ‘Dangerous Women’ by Hope Adams – another NetGalley ARC and due to be published in March 2021. I love the early Victorian setting of this one, doubly so as it is on board a ship sailing for the colonies, and it promises to be an engrossing crime story.
4. ‘Hyde’ by Craig Russell – set in Victorian Edinburgh and by an author I really rate. This is another NetGalley ARC and is due for publication in February 2021.
5. ‘The Last House on Needless Street’ by Catriona Ward – I’ve seen some brilliant advance reviews for this one, a serial killer thriller, and cannot wait!

Who knows what I’ll actually end up reading, but that’s my best guess right now!

Hope you had a fabulous reading month in November and I look forward to reading your wrap-up posts and TBRs.

---

Header photo with thanks to Sincerely Media for sharing their work on Unsplash.