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.
READ MOREHappy publication day to ‘The Road Trip’ by Beth O’Leary – published today by Quercus.
I absolutely loved Beth O’Leary’s previous two books – ‘The Flat Share’ and ‘The Switch’ – and so was very happy to be granted an advance copy of this one by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Continue reading ‘The Road Trip’ by Beth O’Leary
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
In the place of my usual WWW Wednesday post, I have my end of my end of month wrap up and a look at what is coming up in my bookish world in April.
Links provided are affiliate links – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.
March Wrap-Up
It’s been a good reading month – I’ve read some great books, including a few outside my comfort zone! This month, I’ve read 13 books. I’ve struggled a bit with digital reading, so these have been mainly physical books – unusual for me and a lovely change.
My NetGalley is at 76% – this will be a focus for me in April as I really want to get back to that elusive 80%!
Continue reading March 2021 Wrap-Up and April TBR
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books mentioned – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
What have you recently finished reading?
With the Tsundoku Squad, I was ‘The Islanders’ by S V Leonard but the lure of the last section was too much and I finished it slightly ahead of schedule – I was finding that I was losing the sense of pace and was keen to race to the denouement. Review to follow but this was an engaging, fun read.
The Write Reads book group chose a graphic novel this month, ‘Bloodlust and Bonnets’ by Emily McGovern. I hadn’t read a graphic novel in ages but I raced through this charming, witty and lively book. I loved the heroine, Lucy, who is sassy and strong (and also a redhead, like me – loved that!) yet also clueless in many ways. The addition of Byron and vampires was a bonus! Review to follow.
What are you reading now?
I have more books on the go than I can keep up with!
I’ve stepped away from too much digital reading for a while because it was not helping my headaches, so most of these books are physical copies – this is a bit of a novelty for me!
I’m still – yes, still – reading the new Katie Fforde book, ‘A Wedding in the Country’ on NetGalley. I’m making slow progress because I put it down for some blog tour books but I am enjoying it.
I’m also still reading ‘How to Live. What to Do’ by Josh Cohen, a psychoanalyst who looks at life through the lens of literature. I really like the literary examples that Cohen is using and analysing – I’ve just read a really interesting exploration of ‘ambition’ using Jay Gatsby and Esther Greenwood from ‘The Bell Jar’ – books I know well and so can easily follow Cohen’s argument. This is a gifted copy from the publisher – a review will follow.
I’ve just started ‘Art in the Blood’ by Bonnie MacBird, the first in her Sherlock Holmes series. I read the 4th book, ‘The Three Locks’, for a forthcoming blog tour and absolutely loved it so I just had to start with the first book. So far, so good!
I’ve also just started ‘Insatiable’ by Daisy Buchanan. I was intrigued about this one after reading some blogger reviews via Twitter but – wow – it is an eye opener and has made me both laugh and blush quite a few times. One I really don’t need my kids picking up!
On a more sober note, I also started reading ‘Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again’ by Katherine Angel. I picked up this book on the recommendation of the lovely Ellie H on Twitter and it is a fascinating look at women, desire and consent. It is really engaging and striking and – sadly, given the seeming relentlessness of events in the news – incredibly timely.
What do you think you will read next?
I have a blog tour for ‘The Shadow in the Glass’ by JJA Harwood. I love the look of this gothic, Victorian story!
I do have quite a NetGalley backlog since I have been struggling to read digitally with post-Covid headaches. In particular, I have my eye on ‘The Road Trip’ by Beth O’Leary and ‘Dangerous Women’ by Hope Adams.
Many thanks to NetGalley, blog tour hosts, publishers and authors for books in exchange for an honest review.
So far, I’ve written my top 10 non-fiction books of 2020, top 10 historical fiction and top 10 crime fiction. That just about covers my favourite genres!
However, it misses out some absolutely fabulous books that don’t really fit those lists, so here are 6 more books I’ve loved in 2020 and wanted to shout about!
This lists features affiliate links – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you).
‘The Great Godden’ by Meg Rosoff
I loved this YA coming-of-age tale which captured a long, hot summer and the obsession of young love.
The story follows an unnamed narrator as they spend a summer with their family by the beach – and the Godden brothers whose arrival changes everything.
It isn’t a book that I’d usually pick up but comparisons to ‘I Capture the Castle’ in the blurb won me over – and I’m so glad I read it.
‘Zeus is a Dick’ by Susie Donkin
This is a hilarious retelling of the Greek myths by one of the writers on the very funny ‘Horrible Histories’ BBC TV programme. Although that show was for kids, this is very much an adults’ book as Donkin points out all the ways in which Zeus was – as the title suggests – a dick. There’s a lot of swearing and irreverence…and I loved it!
You can read my original review here.
‘Longhand’ by Andy Hamilton
This was a book that I read for a blog tour and I was totally caught up in the premise – a man leaving a handwritten letter for his long-term partner explaining why he has to leave. It is totally unexpected, funny in places and also very moving.
I would totally recommend this brilliant, quirky book – you can read my review here.
‘The Switch’ by Beth O’Leary
Another book that is outside of my usual genres, but I loved O’Leary’s ‘The Flat Share’ and knew that I had to read this one.
This is the story of Leena and her grandmother Eileen and their plan to switch lives for two months. Eileen heads for London and a chance to find a man while Leena looks forward to a relaxing time in her grandmother’s home in a tiny Yorkshire village. Of course, nothing works out as expected – but this is a heart-warming gem so you know nothing too bad will happen!
‘Grave Secrets’ by Alice James
This was one of my surprise favourite books of the year – and another one that isn’t one of my usual reads at all.
This is the story of estate agent by day, necromancer by night Lavington Windsor and her encounters with zombies, vampires and the dark side of a small village in Staffordshire! It’s packed with humour of a very British variety – and is brilliant.
You can read my original review here.
‘Cows Can’t Jump’ by Philip Bowne
This was another blog tour read and another surprise hit – this is one of the books that I’ve told everyone I can about!
This is a coming-of-age story that is full of humour and quirks. Billy is a 17 year-old boy who lacks direction – he begins the novel as a trainee gravedigger before embarking on some rather odd schemes to allow him to take a road trip across Europe in pursuit of a girl. The characterisation is fabulous and the reader is totally pulled into Billy’s story.
This is a great debut novel and I hope there is a lot more to come from this writer.
You can read my review here.
This is another book that’s on the shortlist for the Comedy Women in Print 2020 prize. Beth O’Leary’s second novel, ‘The Switch’ is another gem if you liked this one!
Tiffy has broken up with her horrible boyfriend, Justin, and needs somewhere to stay. Her job publishing rather niche crochet books pays a pittance, so she is tempted with an interesting flat-share proposition; for cheap rent, she can inhabit Leon’s flat during the nights and weekends while he is at work at the hospice and staying with his girlfriend, Kay.
So Tiffy and Leon share a bed, but never at the same time. It seems like an ideal solution, but things change and life gets in the way of the best laid plans.
I really enjoyed this. Yes, it’s a bit predictable and there are some amazing coincidences that the plot relies on heavily. However, it’s a cheerful and lively read that will keep you turning the pages as Tiffy and Leon get to know each other without meeting – the trails of notes are really sweet.
There are also lots of likeable characters and some real pantomime villains. It does occasionally get a bit dark in places, but there are some lovely humorous touches too; I especially liked Katherin, the crochet queen, and Rachel, the oversharing work friend.
Overall, there is a lot to enjoy here and it was great to read something light and happy. I’d recommend this and will look for more from this writer in the future.
I received a free copy of the novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Header photo with thanks to Scott Webb for sharing their work on Unsplash.
