April 2021 Wrap-Up and May TBR

April has been a great month for my reading – the Easter holidays gave me plenty of time and I have read some absolutely brilliant books this month.

I’ve read 13 books this month and managed to creep my NetGalley percentage up to 77%. I’ve got slightly ahead of my HUGE pile of May blog tours but next month is also looking pretty busy.

Links are provided for books mentioned – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)

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April Wrap-Up

First up, I read ‘The Devil’s Due’ by Bonnie MacBird, the third in the brilliant series featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. MacBird really does write convincing and authentic-feeling novels and I was sad to read this as it means I have read the whole series now (out of order – not that this matters). This instalment – a kind of fiendish ABC murders (for those Christie fans) – is another compelling and page-turning read. You can read my review here.

Next, I had a panic about the number of blog tours I had not read the books for and so I dived in to ‘The Therapist’ by B A Paris, a thriller about a woman who moves into a house in an exclusive gated development without knowing the sinister history of her new home. I thoroughly enjoyed this, the first book I have read by Paris. My review is here.

Another blog tour read, this time for May, was ‘Both of You’ by Adele Parks. This is another one that I raced through as I wanted to find out what happened in this twisty tale of two missing women and the husbands they leave behind. It is surprising, engaging and lively – definitely one you need to clear time to read as you will not want to put it down.

I followed this with ‘The Bone Code’ by Kathy Reichs, another blog tour book for May and another writer that was new to me. I loved the forensic anthropology in this one – so fascinating – and the character of Temperance Brennan was an interesting central figure. Another one I’d recommend – the dual settings of Charleston and Quebec made this enjoyably exotic for me sitting in the grey of the nothern UK!

Then I read ‘Insatiable’ by Daisy Buchanan, a story about a young woman exploring her sexuality in modern-day London as she also seeks to find a foothold in a job in the art industry. This was funny and a bit shocking in places, and I loved the main character whose voice was at times knowing, at others naive. An interesting read with a higher orgy count than pretty much anything else I’ve ever read!

Another blog tour read was ‘The Glorious Guinness Girls’ by Emily Hourican. This is a fictionalised account of the lives of the famed Guinness sisters, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh. I’ll admit that I was expecting a more traditional biography, but this is an engaging piece of historical fiction that is set against the political unrest in Ireland in the 1920s. I really loved the glamorous parties in 1920s London and spotting the famous historical figures! A blog tour review will follow in May.

I read ‘A Bad Bad Thing’ by Elena Forbes for another May blog tour – I did say I had signed up to rather too many! This was an engaging crime story about a disgraced police officer who agrees to take on an investigation for a jailed criminal as she awaits her employment tribunal. This is – I think – intended as the first in a new series so it will be interesting to see where it goes next.

The book I read this month with the Tsundoku Squad on Twitter was ‘Circus of Wonders’ by Elizabeth Macneal. I absolutely loved this tale of the Victorian circus, especially the way that the narrative shifted between the new star turn of the show (Nell, sold to the circus by her father) and the two brothers who own the circus. It is gorgeously atmospheric and the characters are subtle and believable – my review will follow nearer publication in May and thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

I also read ‘The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls’ by Mona Eltahawy. This was for a blog tour and I was so grateful to be introduced to the writing of this important feminist – lots of food for thought and a great opportunity for me to be educated on feminist issues and perspectives beyond my little corner of the UK. I cannot recommend this highly enough – my review is here.

I also finished ‘Blue Night’ from the Chastity Riley series of books by Simone Buchholz. I loved this gritty portrayal of Hamburg and the sassy investigator at the book’s heart. It is very dark – kind of German Noir (if that’s a thing) – but also witty, which I really liked. A review will follow shortly.

I then read ‘The Road Trip’ by Beth O’Leary (a NetGalley read) – I loved her other books and enjoyed this one, although I wish it had been a bit more multi-generational (like ‘The Switch’, my favourite of her previous books). My review is here.

Another lighter read was ‘The Summer Job’ by Lizzy Dent, a funny and cheery story about a young women who seizes the opportunity to take a job as a sommelier in a posh Scottish restaurant – except the job is not hers and she knows nothing about wine! This did make me laugh and I found myself caught up in the tricky romance as she found herself falling in love while impersonating someone else! Thanks to NetGalley for this one and a review will follow.

I finished the month on a huge reading high with ‘Ariadne’ by Jennifer Saint. I absolutely loved this myth retelling and the way that Saint has breathed life into the characters, particularly Ariadne and her sister, Phaedra. This is a beautifully written book and I found myself immersed in the Ancient Greek/Cypriot setting and rooting for Ariadne in a world dominated by some awful men! A blog tour review will follow.

So there we go! 13 books – all of which were a minimum of 4 stars! I gave five stars to ‘Ariadne’, ‘The Seven Necessary Sins of Women and Girls’, ‘The Devil’s Due’ and ‘Circus of Wonders’.

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May TBR

I still have quite a few May blog tour books to read!

First up will be ‘The Assistant’ by Kjell Ola Dahl, published by Orenda Books and on a blog tour for Random Things Tours. I was intrigued about the setting of this crime novel in prohibition-era Norway.

Towards the end of the month, I have blog tours for ‘Stealing the Spanish Princess’ by Bea Green, ‘Mrs Narwhal’s Diary’ by S J Norbury, ‘The Distant Dead’ by Lesley Thomson and ‘A Public Murder’ by Antoinette Moses. All of these look brilliant and are the reason I have so many blog tours – I just couldn’t say no!

I am so excited to have been granted access to the new Ambrose Parry book, ‘A Corruption of Blood’, on NetGalley. Although I’m finding digital reading a bit problematic at the moment, I really want to read this one – I’ve loved this historical crime series so far and cannot wait to return to Victorian Edinburgh for the next instalment.

‘Dangerous Women’ by Hope Adams is another book that seems to be calling to me from my TBR. I am a huge fan of historical fiction, doubly so if it is crime fiction – so this one really appeals.

I’ve also been sent a copy of ‘Murder: The Biography’ by Kate Morgan and it looks just my thing – engaging and high-quality non-fiction, in this case about the history of murder as a crime. Morgan is a lawyer so I look forward to reading her take on it all.

I also have a copy of ‘Nighthawking’ by Russ Thomas which I cannot wait to read – this looks like crime fiction of the first order!

Finally, the Tsundoku Squad choice for next month is ‘Lace’ by Shirley Conran. It is a HUGE book but one I’ve heard a lot about – it will be a fun book club read.

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Many thanks to NetGalley, blog tour hosts, publishers and authors for books in exchange for an honest review.