Good morning everyone it’s been a while since I’ve done a reading update so I thought I’d show you what I m currently reading and hoping to read soon.

What are you currently reading?

Last: Things They Lost by Okwiri Oduor

I’ve just finished Things They Lost by Okwiri Oduor and posted my review on my blog yesterday.

Book Synopsis:

They had not lost anyone that year, or the ones they had lost were not worth remembering…

Set in the fictional Kenyan town of Mapeli, Things They Lost tells the story of four generations of women, each haunted by the mysterious curse that hangs over the Brown family. At the heart of the novel is Ayosa Ataraxis Brown, twelve years old and the loneliest girl in the world. 

Okwiri Oduor’s stunningly original debut novel sings with Kenyan folklore and myth as it traces Ayosa’s fragile, toxic relationship with Nabumbo Promise, her mysterious and beguiling mother who comes and goes like tumbleweed: lost, but not quite gone.

Now: The Left-handed Booksellers Of London by Garth Nix

I’m currently reading and really enjoying this fabulous book. I’m hoping to finish it today while the kids are in school.

Book Synopsis:

A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of fantasy, Garth Nix.

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.

Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

Now: Frederica by Georgette Heyer

This is my first Georgette Heyer book and I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m reading it as part of a bookclub and have a few more pages to read before our half way chat tomorrow.

Book Synopsis:

Vernon Alverstoke sees no reason to put himself out for anyone.

But when a distant connection asks for help, he is quickly plunged into one drama after another by the disorderly Merriville family.

Surprisingly, he finds himself far from bored – especially when he encounters their strong-minded daughter, Frederica.

However, she seems far more concerned with her family’s welfare than his romantic advances…

Next: The Last Song by Sarah Steele

I can’t wait to read this book! I’m a huge fan of this author and dual timeline books set in WW2 so this book is completely up my street!

Book Synopsis:

‘For a moment she closed her eyes and imagined she was perched on the diving board at the Piscine Molitor, the sun beating down on her bare shoulders and the sound of Parisians at play beneath her. All she had to do was jump.’

1941. Darkness descends over London as the sirens begin to howl and the bombs rain down. Devastation seeps from every crack of the city. In the midst of all the chaos is a woman gripping a window ledge on the first floor of a Baker Street hotel. She is perched, ready to jump. And as flames rise around her, she is forced to take her chances.

1997. Amy Novak has lost the two great loves in her life: her husband, Michael, and her first love, music. With the first anniversary of Michael’s death approaching, Amy buries herself in her job as an archivist. And when a newly declassified file lands on her desk, she is astonished to uncover proof that ‘Agent Colette’ existed – a name spoken only in whispers; an identity so secret that it has never been verified.

Her discovery leads her to MI6 ‘godmother’ Verity Cooper – a woman with secrets of her own – and on to the streets of Paris where she will uncover a story of unimaginable choices, extraordinary courage and a love that will defy even the darkest days of World War Two . . .

It’s been a bit of a rubbish week here so I thought I’d share a jolly yellow book stack to match my lovely daffodils. To me daffodils are always a sign spring is coming and with it, hopefully, new beginnings. I’ve only read My (Extra) Ordinary Life out if this pile but hoping to get to the rest soon.

⭐ Whisper Of The Seals by Roxanne Bouchard

⭐My (Extra) Ordinary Life by Rebecca Ryan

⭐We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

⭐Bad Fruit by Ella King

⭐ I’m Glad My Mum Died by Jennette McCurdy

⭐What July Knew by Emily Koch

⭐One Good Thing by Alexander Potter

We’ve got a quiet weekend planned apart from one of the kids having a birthday party tomorrow. We recently had new carpets so will be putting all our furniture back after that. I’m looking forward to having all my books back on my bookshelves again!

What are your weekend plans?

Book Synopsis:

One hidden painting. Two women born centuries apart. A secret uncovered.

In 2019, Rachel is stuck in a rut when she discovers what appears to be a Canaletto painting in her grandmother’s loft along with a note addressed to Philippa in 1782. With help from Jake at the local art gallery, Rachel endeavours to find out if the painting is an original and uncovers a secret from the past.

In 1780, governess at Chipford Hall, Philippa is offered the role of mistress by Earl Rupert. She escapes to Venice as companion to bluestocking, Lady Cordelia who reveals a secret that changes both their lives. They do their best to keep the secret from Lady Cordelia’s social circle, but their nemesis is determined to reveal all and ruin them.

My Review:

The Venice Secret is a beautifully written, intriguing dual timeline story that is hard to believe is a debut novel.

The story is told from the point of view of Rachel in the present day and Philippa in the 18th Century. I really liked Philippa and enjoyed following her as she tries no negotiate her new life after the death of her father. It was interesting learning more about the governess role which must have been quite a lonely job at times. I loved the support network she has to help her and the wonderful housekeeper who takes her under her wing. I wasn’t so sure about Rachel though and it took me a while to warm to her. She’s obviously been through a rough time and I had a lot of sympathy for her as it was heartbreaking to see her doubt herself. However she frustrated me with some of the decisions she made which only seemed to make life harder for her.

The author does a fantastic job of describing Venice so that I felt like I was actually there, experiencing everything alongside the characters. I especially loved the fabulous details about the grand tour and what happened on one as I’d heard it mentioned in other books but not in great detail. Venice is a place I’d love to go visit one day and this book has made me even more determined to get there.

I felt immediately drawn into the story and into the lives of the characters. The two timelines were easy to differentiate between and I loved the subtle ways they complimented each other, gradually drawing out the answers to the painting mystery to the very satisfying ending. This is the author’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Anita Chapman enjoyed writing stories from a young age, and won a local writing competition when she was nine years old. Encouraged by this, she typed up a series of stories about a mouse on her mum’s typewriter and sent them to Ladybird. She received a polite rejection letter, her first.

Many of Anita’s summers growing up were spent with her family driving to Italy, and she went on to study French and Italian at university. As part of her degree, Anita lived in Siena for several months where she studied and au paired, and she spent a lot of time travelling around Italy in her twenties.

Anita likes to read journals and diaries from the past, and one of her favourite pastimes is visiting art galleries and country houses. Her first published novel, The Venice Secret is inspired by her mother taking her to see the Canalettos at The National Gallery in London as a child.

Since 2015, Anita has worked as a social media manager, training authors on social media, and helping to promote their books. She’s run several courses in London and York, and has worked as a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College.

Eek I was so excited to receive a copy of this book that I might have squealed loudly,much to my kids amusement! This book sounds so good and I’ve already bumped it to the top of my tbr list. Booksellers, magic and set in Bath? Yes please!

Huge thanks to Ellen, Jenna & Gollancz for my copy of this book.

Is this book on your radar?

Out 23rd March 2023

Book Synopsis:

There is often trouble of a mythical sort in Bath. The booksellers who police the Old World keep a careful watch there, particularly on the entity who inhabits the ancient hot spring. Yet this time it is not from Sulis Minerva that trouble starts. It comes from the discovery of a sorcerous map, leading left-handed bookseller Merlin into great danger. A desperate rescue is attempted by his sister the right-handed bookseller Vivien and their friend, art student Susan Arkshaw, who is still struggling to deal with her own recently discovered magical heritage.

The map takes the trio to a place separated from this world, maintained by deadly sorcery performed by an Ancient Sovereign and guarded by monstrous living statues of Purbeck marble. But this is only the beginning, as the booksellers investigate centuries of disappearances and deaths and try to unravel the secrets of the murderous Lady of Stone, a serial killer of awesome powers.

If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal.

A wintry return to the somewhat alternate 1980s England of The Left-Handed Booksellers of London.

About The Author:

Garth Richard Nix is an Australian writer who specialises in children’s and young adult fantasy novels, notably the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower and Keys to the Kingdom series. Before becoming a fantasy writer, he worked his way through the publishing industry, as a bookseller, sales rep, publicist, editor and then literary agent. He is a multiple bestselling author, and winner – twice – of the Aurealis Award.
He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Learn more by visiting http://www.garthnix.com or by following @garthnix.

Good morning everyone. Today is International Women’s Day and I was tagged by the love Kelly from Lovedreadingthis to show which six literary women I’d invite to my dinner party.

Elodie Harper and Helen Russell I think would be fascinating to have at a dinner party. I’d love to find out more about ancient Rome from Elodie as I’m now really interested in that era after reading her book. I think Helen would be interesting to talk to as I’d love to find out more about her travels to Denmark. I would definitely like to live in another country for a little bit again.

Colleen Hoover and Liz Nugent are two of my favourite authors. I’d love to meet them and talk to them about their books. I think Liz would be especially interesting as I’d love to know where she got the inspiration for her unusual characters.

Finally I would invite Ruth Jones as I think she’d be hilarious and I might try to sneakily find out more about life behind the scenes on Gavin and Stacey as I was a huge fan of that show. I think Rebecca Ryan would also be really fun to hang out as we could trade kid stories and commiserate about parenthood over a few glasses of wine.

Who would you invite to your dinner party?

Book Synopsis:

At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together.

But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.

It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.

And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.

My Review:

The Close is another compelling and gripping addition to one of my favourite crime series.

It was great to be back with Kerrington and Derwent, solving another case with them. I especially liked that we get to learn more about the people behind the detective’s as they go undercover together to try and solve their case. I loved watching them relax and grow closer as the sexual tension between them slowly increases. This also causes some absolutely hilarious moments which had me laughing out loud as I read.

The residents of Jellicoe Close were an interesting bunch who I’m very glad I don’t live next too (well to my knowledge anyway). There were some very creepy people and some typical alpha males which I was fascinated to learn more about. All of them seemed to be hiding something which made it hard to whittle down the suspects.

This book actually follows three cases at once which I found very intriguing. As expected the author does a great job of weaving these together and keeping the reader on their toes with lots of red herrings. Just when I thought I’d figured it all out something would happen to prove I was wrong. The introduction of some fabulous new characters like Georgia along with the brilliant character development of Kerrington and Derwent means I’m hopeful there are more books to come in this series.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper Collins for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Jane Casey is a bestselling crime writer who was born and brought up in Dublin. A former editor, she has written twelve crime novels for adults (including ten in the Maeve Kerrigan series) and three for teenagers (the Jess Tennant series). Her books have been international bestsellers, critically acclaimed for their realism and accuracy. The Maeve Kerrigan series has been nominated for many awards: in 2015 Jane won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for The Stranger You Know and Irish Crime Novel of the Year for After the Fire. In 2019, Cruel Acts was chosen as Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the Irish Book Awards. It was a Sunday Times bestseller. Stand-alone novel The Killing Kind was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick in 2021, and is currently being filmed for television. Jane lives in southwest London with her husband, who is a criminal barrister, and their two children.

Book Synopsis:

The dark, atmospheric, feminist offspring of Squid Game, The Hunting Party and Misery

A book deal to die for.

Five attendees are selected for a month-long writing retreat at the remote estate of Roza Vallo, the controversial high priestess of feminist horror. Alex, a struggling writer, is thrilled.

Upon arrival, they discover they must complete an entire novel from scratch, and the best one will receive a seven-figure publishing deal. Alex’s long-extinguished dream now seems within reach.

But then the women begin to die.

Trapped, terrified yet still desperately writing, it is clear there is more than a publishing deal at stake at Blackbriar Estate. Alex must confront her own demons – and finish her novel – to save herself.

This unhinged, propulsive, claustrophobic closed-door thriller will pull you in and spit you out…

My Review:

The Writing Retreat is an atmospheric, gripping read that I really enjoyed.

Firstly I absolutely loved the vivid descriptions of the house which I was envisioning as a cross between the house from Rebecca and The Rocky Horror show with the wonderfully quirky staff employed there. It’s a house I’d love to explore (when there’s not a murderer lurking obviously) as there seemed to be lots of interesting items on display there. It’s also a house with a history which I always love and I was very intrigued how this would be woven into the story.

Alex was an interesting main character and one that took me a while to warm to. She obviously been hurt in the past which makes her a sympathetic character but she seemed a bit overly sensitive at times and perhaps a bit paranoid that grated on me a little bit. Her fall out with her former best friend was very intriguing and I wanted to keep reading to find out what really happened there. I also wasn’t sure what to make of Rosa who scared me a little bit with her sudden mood swings and interesting stories.

I thought this story was fairly fast paced and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me turning the pages. I liked the gradual shift in atmosphere as the story continues and the slow reveal of clues as to what was actually happening. I did have an inkling about what was going on but I enjoyed following the story to see if I was right and must admit that a few of the twists had me doubting my theories which I always love. The ending was perhaps a bit mad but very entertaining and I will definitely look forward to reading more from this author in future.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Julia Bartz is a Brooklyn-based writer and practicing therapist. She is the author of the popular Psychology Today blog ‘My Pleasure: The New Science of Sex, Dating, and Self-Care’ and previously ran the Brooklyn literary blog ‘BookStalker’. Her fiction has been published in the South Dakota Review, FictionDaily and InDigest Magazine and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The Writing Retreat is her first novel.

Book Synopsis:

A gripping, darkly comic tale of searing loss, coercive control and the consequences of taking the wrong path.

Every morning Janet Brown goes to work cleaning offices. It calms her, cleanliness, neatness. All the things she’s unable to do with her soul can be achieved with a damp cloth and a splash of bleach. However, the guilt she still carries about a devastating loss that happened eleven years ago, cannot be erased.

Then, Janet finds herself involved in a train crash and, recognising the chance to do what she couldn’t all those years ago, she makes a decision. As news spreads of Janet’s actions, her story inspires everyone around her, and for the first time her life has purpose and the future is filled with hope.

But Janet’s story isn’t quite what it seems, and as events spiral out of control, she soon discovers that coming clean isn’t an option. Because if Janet washes away the lies, what long-buried truths will she finally have to face.

If I Let You Go by Charlotte Levin is a deeply moving and gripping portrayal of a woman coming to terms with loss.

My Review:

If I Let You Go is a gripping, absorbing but heartbreaking read that will stay with me for a long time.

Firstly I absolutely loved Janet who was a very sympathetic character. The reader quickly becomes aware of Janet’s situation so I was completely on her side hoping she manages to find a way out of it. It was heartbreaking to discover how much guilt Janet has regarding her daughter and worse how it is used against her by her despicable husband Colin who I absolutely hated. I often wished I could have a strong word with him and found myself getting frustrated with Janet at times as she falls for his rubbish, often making excuses for his behaviour.

I thought this book was very fast paced and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading. The chapters are fairly short which makes the book very moreish and my concern for Janet made me want to keep reading to check she was ok but with a degree of trepidation as I wasn’t sure how things would work out for her.

Overall I really enjoyed this book which I will be recommending to everyone. The story is told from Janet’s point of view with a few flashbacks to Janet’s past. There are a few trigger scenes that some people might find hard to read about and some truly heartbreaking moments but I didn’t feel it was an especially sad book as there were some heartwarming moments too. The ending was brilliant and made me realise how far Janet has come.

Huge thanks to Chloe from Pan Macmillan for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book.

About The Author:

Charlotte Levin has been shortlisted for the Andrea Badenoch Award, part of the New Writers North Awards, and for the Mslexia Short Story Competition. IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU is her debut novel, and IF I LET YOU GO is out in March 2023. Charlotte lives in Manchester with her cat Opal Moon and kittens Leonard and Walter.

I’m a huge fan of this author so I was incredibly excited to be offered the chance to get a proof of her latest book. Huge thanks to Ellie Hudson and Penguin UK for my copy I’m so excited to read this soon. There was chocolate with it too but it might not have survived to make it into the picture…. 😅

Out 22nd June 2023

What new books have you received recently?

Book Synopsis:

You can run away from your life.
But you can’t run away from murder.

---

When her family tragedy is splashed across the newspapers, Nancy decides to disappear. Her grandmother’s beautiful Regency house in a quiet seaside village seems like the safest place to hide. But the old house has its own secrets and a chilling wartime legacy . . .

Now someone knows the truth about the night Nancy’s mother and stepfather were murdered. Someone knows where to find her. And they have nothing to lose . . .

So what really happened that night? And how far will she go to keep it hidden?

DON’T MISS THE CAPTIVATING NEW BOOK FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JANE CORRY

About The Author:

Jane Corry is a writer and journalist (Daily Telegraph and women’s magazines) who worked for three years as the writer in residence of a high security male prison. This experience helped inspire her Sunday Times Penguin bestsellers ‘My Husband’s Wife’, ‘Blood Sisters’, ‘The Dead Ex’, ‘I Looked Away’, ‘I Made A Mistake’, ‘To Tell The Truth’ and ‘We All Have Our Secrets’. She has now sold over a million copies of her books world-wide.

Jane worked as an RLF Fellow at Exeter University and is a former creative writing tutor at Oxford University. She also writes short stories as well as a weekly digital column about being a granny for My Weekly. In addition, she is a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph and speaks at literary festivals all over the world. Many of her ideas strike during morning dog-jogs along the beach followed by a dip in the sea – no matter how cold it is!

Jane’s latest novel ‘We All Have Our Secrets’ is available from bookshops, supermarkets and online. http://linktr.ee/janecorry. Her next novel ‘COMING TO FIND YOU’ is being published by Penguin in June 2023. You can find Jane on Twitter at @JaneCorryAuthor and on Facebook at JaneCorryAuthor as well as Instagram. See her website for details of events and to sign up to her newsletter. http://www.janecorryauthor.com.