Good morning everyone and happy Friday. I took part in the 2024 Audiobook Challenge to try and listen to more audiobooks. I managed the 12 books featured which I’m a little bit disappointed with tbh as I was hoping to get through more. I did read some books part listening and part reading too which I enjoyed as I thought it helped bring the story to life.

I am hoping to listen to more books this year and hopefully beat this amount. I’m planing on doing more walking again and trying to keep up with the housework more which are ideal situations to listen to audiobooks.

Out of the books featured above my favourite was The Glassmaker as I loved hearing the author pronounce the Italian properly. I also loved Under Your Spell as it was a really gripping, easy read.

Huge thanks to Librofm for providing me with bookseller ALC’s and Bookbeat for providing me with even more choices.

Do you listen to audiobooks? Any recommendations for me?

It’s Camilla’s first day back at work, her daughter’s first day at nursery.
But husband Luke is nowhere to be seen. The only trace of him is an unfinished note. Camilla tries to put it out of her mind; there must be a rational explanation.
At work, there are welcomes back, and too many distractions.

Then it starts.

Breaking news: there’s a hostage situation developing in London.
The police arrive: Luke is caught up in it.

But he isn’t a hostage. Luke – doting father, successful writer, enthusiastic runner and eternal optimist – is the gunman.

What Camilla does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind says, and the clues it might hold . . .

Famous Last Words is published on the 31st January 2025.

My Review:

Wow! What an amazing thriller this was. I sped through this in a couple of days as I was so enjoying it and couldn’t put it down.

The story is told from the point of view of Luke’s wife Camilla, Niall the hostage negotiator and later one of a pair of mysterious brothers who are watching Cam. I actually liked both of these points of view as it was fun to see events from both sides. Camilla’s tended to be more emotional as it followed her trying to cope in the aftermath of events while Niall’s followed the police investigation into everything that happened.

I quickly found myself drawn into the story and into the horrendous situation Cam and Niall find themselves in. Luke had no criminal past and this hostage situation is very out of character for him. I enjoyed finding out more about the unique situation and discovering what had actually happened. I had lots of ideas about what had been going on and I actually thought I’d guessed it quite early in the book but they all proved to be wrong. The story had lots of twists and sudden reveals to it which kept me guessing which I always love, with the story getting more complex as the book goes on. I couldn’t put the book down and found myself trying to sneak away from the kids so I could read a few more pages.

The ending was brilliant and seemed realistic as if it could actually happen. I especially liked that the author keeps the story going for a little bit after the resolution so the reader can find out what happens next.

Huge thanks to Phoebe our Penguin rep and Michael J Books for sending me a copy of this book. If you are after a fantastic, tense and gripping thriller then I highly recommend this one. It was honestly one of the best thrillers I’ve read!

About The Author:

Gillian McAllister is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Wrong Place Wrong Time, Just Another Missing Person, Everything but the Truth, The Choice, The Good Sister, The Evidence Against You, How to Disappear, and the Richard & Judy Book Club pick That Night. She graduated with an English degree before working as a lawyer. She lives in Birmingham, England, where she now writes full-time. She is also the creator and co-host of the popular Honest Authors podcast.

Good morning everyone and Happy New Year! It’s that time of year to make resolutions so I thought I’d share some of my bookish resolutions with you.

🥰 Reading What I Feel Like

I’ve really enjoyed just reading what I fancy this year and want to continue feeling unrestricted next year. I’m going to continue not doing any blog tours and I’m going to try and not be restrained by publishing dates too as it can sometimes stress me out.

🎧More Audiobooks

2024 was the year I discovered audiobooks and I’ve loved listening to stories whilst walking or doing the housework. I haven’t got to as many as I hoped as sometimes I like just walking with my thoughts. I’m hoping to get out and exercise more next year so I’ll hopefully have more opportunities to listen. My favourite audiobook was The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier as I loved hearing the Italian as it’s meant to be pronounced.

✍🏻 Attending More Events

I’ve been lucky enough to attend some fabulous events last year and I’m hoping to continue this year. Rossiter Books have some amazing events coming up and I’ve booked to see Natalie Haynes in March too. I’m hoping to make it to Hay On Wye and Cheltenham festivals this year too – I’ll be brave and go on my own if needed!

📚 Bookclub

I’ve had a wonderful year attending the bookclub I run for Rossiter Books this year. Not only have we read some great books together but I feel like I’ve made some lovely friends as well. We’ve even gone to the theatre together which was really nice as we got to know each other better. Here’s to more bookish fun next year!

📔Book Journal

I was lucky enough to get this fabulous book journal from my sister for Christmas and I’m determined to fill all of it in this time. It only has 32 entries so I’ll probably need another one for my birthday but they come in lots of pretty colours so it’s a great excuse to get another one.

🛍️More Bookseller Fun

I’ve had a great year working as a bookseller last year and I was lucky enough to be involved in lots of fun events. I’m looking forward to another year of bookish fun next year.

What are your bookish resolutions?