Gosh, it’s been a while since I last blogged! I feel very rusty after my unplanned and unintentional break – I think it’s been about six months now since I last posted anything. I don’t really have a reason… it started with an horrendous reading slump that lasted for the second half of last year. Then my reading came back but I had lost the blogging love a little bit, it was feeling a bit like too much pressure. Plus I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life which has taken up a lot of brain space. I’ve also been working on my physical health, which is so important and has been very worthwhile. Anyway, it has been so long now that I wasn’t sure I would ever come back to my blog but then my subconscious kept nagging at me that it was time to make my 20 Books of Summer list (run by Cathy at 746 Books), and with that I felt the pull to come back. So here I am, and hopefully I’m going to be getting back in the swing of things again!

Here is my stack of books that I hope to read over the next three months…

I’ve picked all physical books this time as I seem to be reading more print books than Kindle books at the moment so am keen to keep up with new purchases and trying to read backlist books too. Some of these books are huge so I fully expect to not read them all but these are the books that I’m most excited about reading.

So I’ve chosen one play – Angels in America by Tony Kushner. I’ve had this on my TBR since 2017 and I’m still as keen to read it as when I got it so hopefully this season is the time!

Then I’ve picked six non-fiction books. Friendaholic by Elizabeth Day which I treated myself to in the recent double points offer at Waterstones. Going Deaf for Living by Steve Lamacq, which I bought for my husband and he enjoyed it so much that I’m now really keen to read it. Boyfriends by Michael Pedersen – a birthday present this year so I’d love to get to it very soon. Friends and Enemies by Barbara Amiel, which I bought on the recommendation of a book seller in a book shop recently. Surrender by Bono, which my husband gave me for Christmas last year. And finally Leaving Orbit by Margaret Lazarus Dean, which I’ve also had on my TBR since 2017 even though I love books about space travel so I definitely need to prioritise this one!

And then I have thirteen novels to read my way through! Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait is the book I’m most keen to get to as I love her work and can’t believe that I’ve owned this since the day it was published and haven’t read it yet. I need to stop saving books and actually read them! Becky by Sarah May is another pre-order that I made and yet still haven’t read the book but I’m so keen to. Ruth and Pen by Emilie Pine was a gift from my husband to cheer me up a few weeks ago. I loved the author’s non-fiction book Notes to Self so am keen to read her novel. Weyward by Emilia Hart is a book I bought after hearing so many good things about it – plus it’s such a pretty looking book! Babel by R. F. Kuang is my recent FOMO purchase as I’ve heard so much hype around it that I simply need to know more about this novel! I treated myself to Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus after spotting the Waterstones edition with the gorgeous sprayed edges! Assembly by Natasha Brown was a gift so I really want to read it soon. My husband bought me The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki for my birthday last year and I couldn’t get into it but I feel like it’s a book that I will enjoy if I pick it up at a better time so I want to give it another go. Flamingo by Rachel Elliot, Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E Schwaub and The Promise by Damon Galgut were all recent charity shop finds which I was thrilled to find as all were on my wish list. The final book on my list is the new 30th anniversary edition of The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which was a gift from my husband. This is one of my favourite books – I read it as a young teenager when it was first published and I re-read it about twenty years ago and loved it just as much. So now I’m in my 40s I’m definitely overdue another read and I just hope I still love it.

So there we have it, my 20 Books of Summer reading plans. I hope to manage at least some of these books and I really hope to be blogging more regularly from now on.

Here’s to a great summer of reading! 🙂

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I’ve put Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict on my currently reading, which is a slight cheat as I haven’t started. it yet but I plan to as soon as I schedule this post. I can’t wait for this one, it sounds like such a fun, cozy and festive whodunnit!

I’m also part way through my annual re-read of The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. I adore this book and find comfort and hope in reading it each year.

Recent Reads

The first book I finished in the last week was Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh and I loved this Christmas novel. It’s set over Christmas in different years and I found it so much fun to read.

I also finally finished Why Did You Stay? by Rebecca Humphries, which is a book I’d really looked forward to reading but to be honest it was a disappointment. I just found there was a real lack of self awareness and it grated on me.

Then I listened to the audiobook of A Special Cornish Christmas by Phillipa Ashley. I enjoyed this cosy novel a lot but. it wasn’t really a Christmas novel. There is a bit at the start and a bit at the end but it’s more a year in the life of the characters. I still recommend it though.

My next read was Underneath the Christmas Tree by Heidi Swain and I adored this one. It’s got so much Christmas and romance and snow – it was exactly what I love in a Christmas novel.

Last but not least I finished The Dark by Sharon Bolton. It was so good be back in Lacey Flint’s world and to catch up with her but this book was so dark, and hard to read at times as it deals with incels and the dark web. It was a brilliant read though and I hope there’ll be more books in this series.

What I Might Read Next

One Christmas Morning by Rachel Greenlaw

Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

Gosh, it’s been a while since I last posted anything on here so I feel a bit rusty. My main reason for not blogging is because I’ve been in a horrible reading slump that’s been going on since June. I’ve had a lot going on medically with a new physio regime and dealing with increased pain and symptoms so that’s affected my concentration a lot. Anyway, I have read quite a few books in November so now seemed a good time to come back to my blog to share those books.

Here’s what I read last month…

The first book I finished in November was Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid and I very much enjoyed this one. It’s very tennis-heavy but I loved that as I enjoy watching the Grand Slams throughout the year.

Then I borrowed Lemon by Yeo-Sun Kwon from Kindle Unlimited and I got completely engrossed in this short novel looking at the aftermath of a young woman’s body being found. It’s not a book with a resolution but the answers are all there throughout. I keep thinking about this one and would love to read more by this author.

Next I listened to the audiobook of The Enigma of Room 622 by Joel Dicker and I adored this! You do need to suspend disbelief when reading this author’s work but I don’t mind that, I just love his writing so much and always get swept up in his novels.

After that I picked up Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult from my NetGalley shelf. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’d hoped I would, it just felt like it was a little too long and there was too much going on. It was still a decent read though and I’m sure I’ll be picking up this author’s next book.

Then I read a festive novel – On the First Day of Christmas by Faith Hogan. This wasn’t as Christmassy as I was hoping for but it was still such a page turner and I read it pretty much in one sitting. It’s a sliding doors story, which I always love!

I then found myself in the mood for some non-fiction so picked up You Are Not a Before Picture by Alex Light. I’m torn on how I feel about this book as it’s so positive about all body shapes and sizes, which is good but it also felt very against anyone trying to improve their physical appearance and health so that annoyed me.

Happy New Year by Malin Stehn was my next read and it was a bit of a slog. I enjoyed the idea of the story more than the actual book I read.

Then I read Flight by Lynn Steger Strong, which is a stunning novel looking at three members of a family coming together for their first Christmas since their mother died suddenly a few months previously. I found this so moving and beautiful. It’s a slow novel but it’s so engrossing. I loved it and really want to read more by this author.

Next up was The Prisoner by B. A. Paris which I found unputdownable. It requires so much suspension of disbelief but I didn’t care, I was fully invested in all the twists and turns of this novel and I found it so satisyfing to read!

Then I picked up a Christmas audiobook from NetGalley – A White Christmas on Winter Street by Sue Moorcroft and this was such a gorgeous, festive read and I adored it!

My next Kindle read was The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell and I loved this sequel to The Family Upstairs. I found I was straight into the story and wanting to know what was going to happen to this family.

After that my Borrowbox hold on Christmas at the Little Cottage on the Hill by Emma Davies arrived on my phone so I listened to this and I loved it. This was such a lovely festive read and now I really want to go and stay in this fictional cottage and to spend time with all the characters!

Finally I read The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk and this ended the month on an absolute high. This is a Ground Hog day style novel and I adored it. It was such a fun read with characters that reminded of some of my own family. I loved this novel so much and feel sure I’ll be picking it up again next Christmas!

So that’s my reading month and I’m really happy to have got back to reading more regularly, now I just hope it continues on! I don’t know how often I’ll be blogging but I am going to try and post more frequently in the coming weeks.

About the Book

Living with cerebral palsy is enormously difficult. But what if you never knew you had it?

This is the incredible story of Ilana Estelle.

Born the second of premature twins, an hour apart, from a young age Ilana knew she was different, but for all the wrong reasons. A child of the 60s, Ilana experienced first-hand the way that disability was, at the time, so often brushed under the carpet, not spoken about. Her constant physical and mental struggles made her feel isolated, alone, frustrated, and misunderstood. It took 46 years for her to find out why.

Part memoir, part motivational guide, Cerebral Palsy: My story is Ilana’s open and honest journey from an angry, confused child, knowing something was wrong, not knowing what was wrong, what her disability was, or that there was a diagnosis – to the ‘real’ her – a courageous woman using her experiences and lessons to create inspiring messages about mental and physical health, resilience and change.

My Thoughts

Cerebral Palsy by Ilana Estelle is an incredible story to read. Ilana was born in the 60s and was the second of premature twins to be born – an hour after her sibling. Ilana was always aware that she was different to her siblings, that she struggled more with learning and with mobility but no one ever gave her a diagnosis. It took until she was 46 years old for her to discover that she had Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. This led her to start her blog – The CP Diary where she worked through her feelings and her discoveries about her own medical history. She was also later to be diagnosed with Autism.

This book was such a fascinating read and I’m so glad that I picked it up. I’m drawn to books about people finding their way through a disability as that is also my path in life now. Ilana is very honest about her struggles which I appreciated because it’s not easy but she also offers guidance and advice based on what she has learnt though the last few years.

My disability is something that happened to me as an adult but I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a disability for your whole life and yet never be told about what it is, never to have a discussion about whether anything can be done to help you cope and adapt.

I love Ilana’s attitude to life; she seems similar to me in that you have to try and find the positives and you have to keep going. It was inspiring to read her story of her late diagnosis and to find out all the things she has achieved since then in spite of everything that has happened to her.

Cerebral Palsy is such an interesting, inspiring and thought-provoking book and I would urge everyone to pick up a copy and read it. I definitely recommend it!

About the Author

Ilana was born with a disability she didn’t know she had until the age of 46, when through her medical notes she discovered she had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 2. 

That discovery turned out to be a unique and life-changing experience that has forced Ilana to stand back and look at her life experiences differently. On her late diagnosis, Ilana set up her website The CP Diary and uses her experiences to explore her emotional and physical health, with an inspiring message advocating resilience and change. 

Ilana likes to spend her days writing and blogging about anything that contributes to her health and wellbeing. She is an animal advocate and is passionate about environmental issues. When she is not writing to tending to her blog, Ilana enjoys days out exploring the Yorkshire countryside. 

Ilana lives with her husband and their much-loved cat, in Yorkshire. Her grown up son and daughter both live in London.

Follow her at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecpdiary

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/TheCPDiary/_saved/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCPDiary

Website: https://thecpdiary.tumblr.com/

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I started reading The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki this week and I’m really engrossed in it. It’s going to take a little hwile too read just because it’s a big hardback and hard for my hands to hold but I am very much enjoying it.

I’m also reading Is This Love? by C. E. Riley from my NetGalley shelf which is a tough read at times because of the subject matter but it’s one I can’t stop thinking about when I’m not reading it. It’s about a married couple – one is female and the other never has their gender mentioned and it’s a toxic relationship told from one perspective with the other person’s point of view told via legal letters. It’s fascinating and very prescient.

Recent Reads

I read Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard this week and really enjoyed it. It’s a thriller set during the filming of a small horror film and it’s really gripping.

I also read After You by Jojo Moyes and Still Me by Jojo Moyes (which is the first print book that I’ve finished from my 20 Books of Summer list) and I loved both. I thought Me Before You was perfect without any sequel so it’s taken me a long while to get to these two books but I’m so glad I read them.

What I Might Read Next

I’ve not been in much of a reading mood the last few days as I’m exhausted at the moment from my new physio plan but the books I hope to read are Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant, The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh and The Herd by Emily Henry.

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I started listening to After You by Jojo Moyes and am really enjoying it. The follow-up book Still Me is on my 20 Books of Summer list to I’m glad I’m loving this one as I have the next one to go straight on to.

I’ve been engrossed in When the Dust Settles by Lucy Easthope this week. It’s a fascinating look at disaster planning and I’ve learnt so much that I didn’t know.

Recent Reads

I loved reading The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle over the last few days and now I wish the museum was a real place! Like the main character I struggled with what to do with the things I couldn’t keep when my mum died and I would have loved to discover a place like this. I recommend this one.

I finished reading Raceless by Georgina Lawton this week and I highly recommend this one. It’s the author’s own story of being a mixed race child in a white family who insisted that she was also white. She also looks at wider race issues such as black hair care and othering, and what it’s like to pass as one race over another.

I borrowed the audiobook of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and listened to it in two sittings. I very much enjoyed this one and keep finding myself wondering how the characters are now as if they are real people!

I also borrowed the audiobook of The Hiding Place by Jenny Quintana this week and really enjoyed it.

I finished reading All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage and found this one really engrossing. It felt a little long in places but on the whole I loved this one. It reminded me a bit of Joyce Carol Oates so I recommend it for anyone who loves her work.

I part-read and part-listened to The Coward by Jarred McGinnis this week and this was a definitely a five star read for me. The disability representation was so well done and the wider family story was very readable.

What I Might Read Next

I don’t know what I’ll read next but the two NetGalley books that are calling to me from my Kindle are More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez and One Last Secret by Adele Parks. I’d also like to finally make a start on my 20 Books of Summer TBR so am hoping to get to Still Me by Jojo Moyes.

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I started reading The Trial by S. R. Masters this week and it’s an okay read. I’m finding it a bit long-winded at the moment but I’m hoping it picks up a bit as I get further into it as I’m currently about a third of the way through it.

I haven’t read anymore of Raceless by Georgia Lawton this week as I’ve not been in the mood for nonfiction but I was really enjoying this one and will get back to it very soon.

Recent Reads

I listened to the audiobook of The Wedding Party by Tammy Cohen and really enjoyed it. It was a fun mystery thriller about a wedding party in Greece where there are lots of secrets, lies and resentments about to be uncovered with deadly results. I recommend it.

I also listened to The Imposter by Anna Wharton found it really hard to put down. I was gripped all the way through this one and definitely recommend it.

I read The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager in just a couple of sittings this week and I just had to know what was going on. You definitely need to suspend disbelief as this book goes on but it’s still such an intriguing, addictive and twisty novel!

I also finished reading Blue Hour by Sarah Schmidt and I think this might be my favourite book of the year so far. I was engrossed in this from start to finish and I still keep finding myself thinking of the characters. It was a devastating read and one that really stays with you. I highly recommend it.

What I Might Read Next

I recently bought When the Dust Settles by Lucy Easthope and am so keen to read it as soon as my brain is back in gear for reading non-fiction.

I also bought All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage on Kindle but have found the audio on my library app so have downloaded it and will definitely be getting to this one in the next couple of days.

Next up from my NetGalley shelf is These Streets by Luan Goldie and I’m really looking forward to this one. I loved both of her previous novels so have high hopes for this one.

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I started reading Blue Hour by Sarah Schmidt yesterday and I’m engrossed! I loved Sarah’s previous novel See What You Have Done and this one is every bit as good! It follows a mother and daughter in past and present and their struggles: Kitty in the time around WW2 and Eleanor, her daughter. There is an unnerving feeling to this novel and a sense of it building to something but you don’t know what or why. I can’t wait to find out where it’s going!

I’m also still reading Raceless by Georgina Lawton and am really enjoying this one. It’s giving me a lot to think about as Georgina talks about growing up as a mixed race child in a white family where her race is denied. I’m keen to read more of this one soon.

Recent Reads

I haven’t picked up anything from my 20 Books of Summer TBR as yet but I have read a print book in How to be Safe by Tom McAllister and it was a really good read. It follows Anna, a former teacher, in the wake of a school shooting where she is wrongly implicated. It’s not about the shooting but about the affects of gun violence and also toxic masculinity. I found this book hard to put down!

I finished Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles this week and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting and I felt it was a bit too long but I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next in the series whenever it comes out.

I picked up A Half Baked Idea by Olivia Potts and it is now one of my favourite books of this year so far. I’ve never read a book that so captures what it is to lose your mum when you’re in your 20s. It’s a book that made me cry but it also felt like comfort to know I aren’t the only person who has felt like this. It also follows Olivia as she changes her life completely by learning to cook at Corden Bleu, which is fascinating!

I read a second print book that wasn’t on my TBR this week too – Tilly and the Lost Fairytales by Anna James and loved it. I do love this series, it’s so magical and I wish it was published when I was a child.

I also listened to the audiobook of The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donnelly and this was a shocking read. It’s about Belle Gibson who faked cancer to gain fame and fortune, and it’s about how her con was uncovered. This was an eye-opening read but so well put together and I found it hard to put down.

What I Might Read Next

This week is a busy week as my husband is on holiday from work so we’re aiming to be out and about as much as we can. Reading will take a bit of a backseat so I’m hoping to read some kindle books and the ones that are calling to me at the moment are all on my NetGalley shelf: The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager, The Trial by S. R. Masters and Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard.

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

As I’m writing this it’s 2nd June and the 20 Books of Summer challenge (organised by the lovely Cathy at 746 Books) started yesterday! I wasn’t going to take part this year but I keep seeing posts about it and I feel like I’m missing out on a challenge that I love taking part in. This year I’m on a mission to read all of my unread physical books as they’re becoming more of a struggle to read and I don’t want them unread forever! Right now I think I have around seventy unread books (just don’t ask me about my Kindle or audiobooks as there are way more of them!) so I’ve picked the 20 that are calling to me the most for my summer reading challenge.

So without further ado, here are my 20 Books of Summer…

I’ve picked ten non-fiction books, which are:

Renegades by Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen was a Christmas gift from my lovely mum-in-law last Christmas and I’m really keen to get to this one soon. I think it’s a book based on a podcast or series of interviews they’ve done together and should be a good read.

I’d forgotten I had A Stitch of Time by Lauren Marks on my bookcase but it’s definitely one I want to read now I’ve been reminded of it. It’s the memoir of Lauren who had an aneurysm and details her long and difficult recovery.

I also want to read No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox, which is the next part of his memoir series and is one I’ve been wanting to read for a while now.

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies was a surprise gift from my husband when it was published and I’m annoyed with myself that I haven’t read this memoir before now.

I’ve had Women and Power by Mary Beard on my TBR for far tooo long and I’m still so interested in reading it so am determined to get to it this summer. It’s a small book too so should be easy to hold.

I’m a huge fan of Philip Larkin’s poetry so was thrilled to get Somewhere Becoming Rain by Clive James as a birthday gift a couple of years ago. I think this will be such a good read so am determined to get to it.

More Than Just Coincidence by Julie Wassmer is a book about an adopted child seeking out her past as an adult. I’ve picked this up a few times and never actually read it so I’m looking forward to finally reading it in the coming weeks.

I’ve been putting off reading Walls Come Tumbling Down by Daniel Rachel as it’s quite a chunky book but I’m so keen to read more about Rock Against Racism, Red Wedge and 2 Tone.

I’ve been obsessed with space travel ever since I was a child so it’s not right that Leaving Orbit by Margaret Lazarus Dean has been languishing unread for so long. This is about the final days o f the shuttle missions so I think it will be a sad read but an interesting one.

I’d like to finally get to The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson, which I’ve been wanting to read for ages and somehow still haven’t managed to.

Then I picked ten fiction books, which are mainly novels but there are a couple of short story collections and a play in there.

My husband bought me The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki for my birthday this year and I’m so excited to read it.

I’ve had the play script of Angels in America by Tony Kushner on my TBR for ages and after recently reading another book about the AIDS crisis I would like to finally read this one too.

The Time it Takes to Fall by Margaret Lazarus Dean is a novel about space travel set around the tmime of the Challenger disaster so I’m really keen to read this one.

I believe The Dream Life of Astronauts by Patrick Ryan is a short story collection about space travel so I’m also excited to read this one.

I’m so sad that I haven’t read Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell as yet. She is my favourite author but I just couldn’t read this, for various reasons, before now but as she has a new novel coming out later this year I would like to have got to this one first and I’m sure I’ll love it.

Assembly by Natasha Brown is the most recent addition to my print TBR and was a surprise gift from the wonderful Litalist website.

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan is the book that has been on my TBR the longest – it was the first book I added on Goodreads 12 years ago and I know I’ve owned it longer than that! It’s a short book but the font in small and that is my only reason for not reading it before now. I’m sure I’m going to enjoy it.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin has been on my TBR for as long as the above book and I’m ashamed about that as I love Baldwin’s writing and am so looking forward to reading it.

I won a signed proof of Still Me by Jojo Moyes before publication and I shamefully still haven’t read it. I did enjoy Me Before You so it would be lovely to finish the trilogy and see how it all ends.

And last but not least a short story collection called The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night by Jen Campbell. I don’t read many short story collections but this one intrigues me so I’m looking forward to it.

So there we have it, my 20 books of summer! I’m feeling fairly confident that I can read 20 print books over the next three months but I can’t be sure that they’ll be these books as I’m very much a mood reader these days.

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I started reading Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles this week and I’m really enjoying it. It did take me a few chapters to get into it but now I’m loving it.

I also started reading Raceless by Georgina Lawton. I’ve only read they first couple of chapters but I can tell this is going to be a fascinating and emotional memoir about growing up mixed race in a white family that didn’t acknowledge her race.

Recent Reads

I read and adored Nonfiction by Julie Myerson this week. Myerson wrote one of my favourite books aand this one lives up to that. It’s thought-provoking, emotional and is a book that feels like it’s really going to stay with me.

I finally read A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton, which had been on my TBR since 2014! I’m keen to read the new Lacey Flint so wanted to read this one first. This one wasn’t my favourite in the series but I still really enjoyed it and can’t wait to be able to read for new one soon!

I borrowed the audiobook of Kill Me Again by Rachel Abbott from the library and enjoyed listening to it. It kept me engrossed over a couple of days when I wasn’t feeling well.

Before that I sat and read my paperback copy of The Gifts of the Body by Rebecca Brown and loved it. This is such an emotional novel following a woman who is a home help for AIDS patients in the 1980s. It covers a whole range of subjects relating to terminal illness and death and I thought it was a brilliant novel. It’s one that I know will stay with me.

I also finished reading The Push by Ashley Audrain and loved it! I thought this was such a brilliant novel about motherhood and the harms that can be done from one generation to the next.

What I Might Read Next

I don’t know what I’ll read next but Blue Hour by Sarah Schmidt and Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel are calling to me from my NetGalley Shelf, and the print book I hope to read next is Assembly by Natasha Brown.

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

Current Reads

I got approved Nonfiction by Julie Myerson on NetGalley this week and immediately started reading it as I’m a huge fan of the author. It’s a really engrossing, unnerving read so far and I’m really enjoying it.

I also started reading A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton and I’m loving being back in Lacey Flint’s world again. I can’t believe that this one as been on my TBR for so long but I’m glad I’m finally reading it.

I read and loved the first few chapters of The Push by Ashley Audrain this week but I’m struggling with reading print books at the moment so didn’t get as far into this one as I hoped. I’m planning on reading more asap though.

Recent Reads

I bought The Unreality of Memory by Elisa Gabbert and started reading it straight away. This book was fascinating and I loved every single essay in the collection. I wanted to read it for the essays on pain and insomnia but everything in here was brilliant. I loved the first section on disasters, it was written pre-pandemic but it gave me so much to think about in relation to that.

I borrowed the audiobook of Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler from the library and listened to it this week but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it all that much. It just didn’t live up to what the blurb made out it was going to be.

I read Everyone Versus Racism by Patrick Hutchinson, which was very good. Patrick is the man who lifted a white counter-protester out of the crowd to safety during a Black Lives Matter Protest two years ago. This book is the story of his life addressed in the form of a letter to his children and grandchildren. I recommend it.

I’ve been wanting to read Burn by Herman Pontzer for a while and I’m glad I finally picked it up. It’s a scientific look at the way we burn calories, and the way we lose and gain weight. I found all the science really interesting and the book also reinforced what I thought was right about losing weight and keeping it off. I recommend this one if you’re interested in how the body burns calories.

I finished reading Young Women by Jessica Moor and really enjoyed it. It’s a good read that gives you a lot to think about in terms of abuse of power, and toxic female friendships.

I also finished reading Thrown by Sara Cox and very much enjoyed this one. It had more depth than I was expecting and it kept me engaged all the way through.

What I Might Read Next

I requested Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant from NetGalley this week and got approved soon after. I love this author’s books and am delighted to have another one to read. I hope to get to it this week.

I didn’t manage to start Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles last week so it’s top of the pile for reading this week, I’m so keen to read this one!

The next print book I’d like to read is The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. I got this one for my birthday back in January and it’s calling to me from the bookcase!

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

About the Book

I give you fair warning, if you’re planning on lying to me, don’t look me in the eye.

It’s May’s 17th birthday – making the air tingle with a tension she doesn’t fully understand. But she knows her mother and her aunt are being evasive; secrets are being kept.

Like her grandmother before her, May has her own magic: the bees whisper to her as they hover in the garden … the ghosts chatter in the graveyard. And she can’t be fooled by a lie.

She becomes determined to find out what is being kept from her. But when May starts to uncover her own story, she threatens to bring her mother and aunt’s carefully constructed family to the edge of destruction….

My Thoughts

I have read and loved all of Carol Lovekin’s previous novels so when I saw this new novel I had to get my hands on it as soon as I possibly could and I’m so happy to say that I completely and utterly adored it. In fact, it might even be my new favourite of hers!

Only May follows May, a seventeen year old, who is able to tell when anyone is telling a lie. She is a great character; she’s hard-working and very honest but she really struggles as she starts to question what is being kept from her. This makes her confused and at times frustrated and a little angry but I just felt so sad for her and was willing her on to make her peace with the things she learns about those she loves. I felt an affinity with May as I’ve always been able to spot a liar very quickly, I don’t always let on that I know someone is lying but I can almost always tell. And it’s hard when you realise you know something but you don’t know who to turn to with that knowledge, especially when it can bring pain to others. May is so young to discover the lies she does and to have to process what it all means. I wanted to reach in through the pages of the novel and give her a hug. I did love her friendship with Gwen, who encourages May to have fun but also is sensitive to the fact that May’s life is different to her own.

I really felt for Esme, May’s mum, throughout the novel. She made a promise to wait for Billy as he went off to war, not having any idea that he would come back physically and mentally injured and scarred, and she stood by him. She supports him and cares for him, and she works so hard for her family. And then there’s Ffion, May’s eccentric aunt, who believes in magic and the power of nature. I understand why Esme and her often clashed as they are very different to each other and sisters often struggle with these dynamics but you can see that there is a bond between them and a lot of love.

The portrayal of Billy, May’s dad, is so real and heartbreaking. He went away to war and came back so different – he lost a leg so is now disabled but he’s also suffering with shell shock. I adored the way that you can feel the love he has for his wife and daughter, and the bond with May was so beautiful. The description of May’s perception of his pain made me feel so choked up.

Most of the time, Dad sits in his wheelchair, close to the window watching the birds, miles away, a haunted look on his face. I think miles away must be a truly terrible place.

The ways that May talks to the dead in this novel was so moving, and really touched me. I love that she sits in the graveyard for peace and quiet but can often hear her late Grandmother there. There is a passage in the novel that really made me want to cry as it’s so perfect:

I’m not sure people go to graveyards to remember the detail of their dead. Real memories – good ones and sad – linger in the physical things people leave behind, entwined in the mementoes of their lives: photographs, keepsakes, the notes of a favourite song. Names carved into slabs of stone are little more than a nod at remembrance.

As always in Carol’s novels there is a real sense of magic, and the ethereal swirling throughout this novel. There is a real connection to nature, in particular to bees, which I found gorgeous and really quite moving. Carol is such an incredible author, one that brings her readers into the world she creates and makes you feel like you’ve lived inside the story.

I’ve never been stung in my life, not by a bee at any rate.

Only May is a novel about finding out who you are, it’s about the connection to family and to nature. It’s a novel about friendship but mostly it’s about love. It’s such a beautiful, evocative and moving novel. It’s one that slowly weaves a spell around you and you find yourself unable to put the book down. You find you want to be with May and the bees, you want to go to the woods and pick bluebells and you just want to stay enthralled in this world. I adored this novel, and it sits now with Carol’s Ghostbird as one of my absolute favourite novels (in fact they have a lot in common and when I think of it it’s almost as if the two novels are in something of a conversation with each other). I highly recommend this one!

About the Author

Carol Lovekin has Irish blood and a Welsh heart. She was born in Warwickshire and has lived in mid Wales since 1979. A feminist, she finds fiction the perfect vehicle for telling women’s collective stories. Her books reflect her love of the landscape and mythology of her adopted home.

You can follow the rest of this fabulous tour at the following blogs:

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. It’s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what you’ve been reading!

It seems like ages since I wrote a WWW Wednesdays post but I’m trying to get back in the swing of blogging so hopefully I can start and do these regularly again. My plan at the moment is to focus on reading all my print books as I’ve been diagnosed with arthritis in my hands and that combined with my existing hand problems, not to mention my eyesight means I feel I need to read these books while I still can. I’m also trying to catch up on my NetGalley/review books so I’m reading those too.

Current Reads

I got sent a surprise print review copy of The Murder Game by Rachel Abbott at the start of the first lockdown so I’m very late getting to it. Better late than never though as I’m enjoying this thriller and am keen to get back to it!

I’m also reading Young Women by Jessica Moor from my NetGalley shelf and am gripped by this one. I loved the author’s previous novel and so far this oen absolutely lives up to it.

Then I’m reading Thrown by Sara Cox, which is a lovely novel set around a pottery class at a community centre and I’m really enjoying it.

Recent Reads

In order to get through my print books without causing myself more pain I’m borrowing the audiobooks from the library where I can and Bloody Brilliant Women by Cathy Newman is one of those books. I devoured this book, it was so interesting and so readable. I’m kicking myself for not picking it up sooner and now I want to go and read more about some of the amazing women in this book that I’d not heard of before.

My husband gave me Me by Elton John for Christmas so this is a recent addition to my bookcase but I was very keen to read it and it didn’t disappoint. I loved reading this one.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama was a gift and I part read and part listened to this one (mainly because the hardback is like a doorstop!). I enjoyed having more of an insight into Obama’s presidency and am glad I read it.

I got Out of the Corner by Jennifer Grey with an Audible credit and I listened to it pretty much in just two sittings. I enjoyed this one so much, and I recommend the audio as Jennifer reads it herself, which I always appreciate with memoirs.

What I Might Read Next

In my plan to read all the unread print books on my bookcase I’ve been getting rid of quite a few books. An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma is one I thought I might unhaul but then I read the first few pages and knew it was one I had to keep and read so I hope to start it this week.

The Push by Audrey Audrain was a birthday gift from my husband last year and I still want to read it as much as I did on the day I got it so I hope to also read this one this week.

Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles is the next book that will be published from my NetGalley shelf so I would like to read it before (or at least close to) publication day so that I can review it in a timely fashion. Also I’ve been eagerly anticipation this one as I’m such a fan of Richard Coles!

A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton has been on my TBR since it first came out and now the next book in the series is about to be released! I have the new one on my NetGalley shelf so I’d like to read this one as soon as I can so that I can read and review the next book in the series.

Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler is an audiobook that has been on reserve from my library for so long that I’d forgotten I’d requested it until it appeared on my phone this week. I know I was really keen to read it so I plan to make it my next listen.

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to know 🙂

A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon

I’ve read and adored all of Joanna Cannon’s previous novels so this new one was on my highly anticipated list for this year and I’m so pleased to say that I loved it! It follows Linda who is a bit socially awkward and who tries a bit too hard to be liked. She’s married to Terry who doesn’t show much respect for their home when he tracks dirt through the house after work, or respect for Linda when he spends his time picking his teeth in front of the TV. Linda becomes obsessed with finding out about Rebecca, the woman who lived in the house before them. She imagines what Rebecca’s life is like based on the catalogues that still arrive for her. This is all in the wake of a series of murders that have happened close to Linda and Terry’s street and seems to be a way of distracting Linda from the reality of what is going on. This novel is so good, it’s full of heart but also darkness. It’s funny and sad in equal measures but it’s such a page-turner. I had my suspicions of what was going on and it was brilliant reading to see if I was right and how it would all play out. This book is so good and I highly recommend it.

Idol by Louise O’Neill

Idol is a prescient novel that follows Samantha, a guru who has millions of teenage fans hanging on her every word and social media post. She’s open and frank about her life so one day when she shares an essay about her sexual awakening as a teenager the post goes viral. But then Lisa gets in touch to say she doesn’t remember that night the same way and Samantha’s life begins to unravel. This novel looks at how we create online personas and come to believe what we say on social media. It looks at the way different people can remember the same event completely differently. It also makes us question who has the right to tell a story and who owns what happens. I found this book so difficult to put down. It’s a compulsive novel that keeps you turning the pages whilst at the same time making you stop and pause for thought too. It’s a novel that has really stayed with me since I finished reading it and I highly recommend it.

Companion Piece by Ali Smith

I read and loved Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet so was delighted to discover Companion Piece, which sits alongside those novels. In this one it follows Sandy during the current pandemic when she is contacted, out of the blue, but a woman she hasn’t spoken to since her college days. Martina tells a story that has a conundrum around curfews and curlews. This leads to Sandy’s lockdown being interrupted by first Martina’s daughters, and later Martina herself. At the same time Sandy is coping with the fact that her father is in hospital, not covid-related, but still she can only speak to him via an ipad when the staff have time to help him. The novel captures the current times we’re living through. It looks at politics, gender, climate change; it’s about people and place, love and loneliness (and at times the wish to be alone). I really enjoyed this novel and I recommend it.

Murder in the Neighborhood by Ellen J. Green

I listened to the audiobook of this via NetGalley and I found it fascinating. It’s the story of Howard Unruh who in September 1949 shot thirteen people in twelve minutes on the block where he lived. The book is mainly told through the eyes of Raymond Havens, who was just twelve at the time and who witnessed the murders but who had also previously being something of a friend to Raymond. We also get passages from Howard’s diary, which give us a sense of who he was. I felt like the author gave a lot of information as to why Howard may have done what he did, and it felt like I was being pushed to have sympathy for him. I did feel like I understood more of who he was by the end but I didn’t feel any sympathy because what he did was horrific and there is no justification for that. I did feel for others whose points of view were spread throughout the book though. We hear testimony from the victim’s families, and from Howard’s mother. I found this book really interesting and if you like true crime then I would recommend it.

Hidden Depths by Araminta Hall

I can never resist books set on the Titanic so was thrilled to get my hands on this one! Hidden Depths follows Lily who is pregnant and increasingly unwell. She doesn’t trust her husband but because of feeling so awful and now being trapped on a ship she is limited in what she can do. On board Titanic she meets Lawrence, who is grieving the loss of his wife, and the two start talking. I loved that Lawrence’s late wife had been part of the suffragette movement and that he had eventually learnt the importance of listening to women and understanding their plight. The novel is increasingly tense as we know what is going to happen to the Titanic but we don’t know if Lily will be able to figure out what is happening within her marriage, or who will survive. I found some parts of this book really gripping but other parts I found quite slow; on the whole though I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

The Cove by Alice Clark-Platts

The Cove follows two families who have recently become friendly and decided to have a weekend away together on a remote island resort. We know from the start that something goes wrong during the weekend and so the tension is there from the start. A lot of the characters were either unlikeable or suspicious, and one is clearly mentally unwell following the recent birth of her second baby, so this meant I was never quite sure who, if anyone, could be trusted. The setting becomes claustrophobic very quickly, with the heat and the sense of being cut off from the mainland so I enjoyed that element. At times it made me feel like I was trapped, which compelled me to keep reading so see what happened to this group of people. I did find that some of what happens in this novel predictable and it definitely requires suspension of disbelief but I still really enjoyed this one. It would make a great holiday read.

After Dark by Jane Cowie

After Dark is something different in the mystery/thriller genre and I loved it. It’s set in a dystopian now but there is a curfew and all men are tagged and have to stay at home from 7PM until morning in order to keep women safe. Then one day there a woman is found murdered and the police are sure it can’t have been a male as they’re all tagged, aren’t they? I found this novel so gripping. We follow different characters – a woman, Sarah, who works at a tagging centre and lives in a home for women with her daughter Cass, who we also follow. Sarah had her husband arrested and jailed a little while previously and she’s anxious on hearing of his release from prison. We also follow the police investigation and gradually learn about what has happened to lead to this murder and how it happened. This is a fast-paced thriller but it’s also a book that makes you think. I highly recommend it.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

This book is brilliant, I found it near impossible to put down once I started it. One night Jen and her husband are waiting for their teenage son to get home but something happens outside their home and their son is charged with murder. Jen is reeling and doesn’t know what to do. When she wakes up the following day for her, it’s actually the previous day. And so the novel begins where every day Jen is further and further back in time and has to work out why, and how she can use this to stop her son committing murder in the future. I thought this book might be confusing to follow but it’s not at all, you just get so invested in Jen’s story and the plot that it all flows perfectly. I was riveted all the way through and was so keen to see how it was all going to end. I loved this book, it’s so clever and different. I definitely recommend it!

Into the Dark by Fiona Cummins

I’ve read and enjoyed all of Fiona Cummins’ previous novels but this one is definitely her best yet, I loved it! It follows what happens when a local family is discovered to have disappeared one morning with no clue as to why or where they’ve gone. The only thing to be seen is a message on the teenage daughter’s mirror saying ‘make them stop’! This novel goes back and forth in time as we find out what led up to the family’s disappearance and what has happened to them. We also follow the police as they investigate the missing family. This novel is so dark, with lots of twists and turns that genuinely caught me off guard over and over again. I loved that I didn’t know what was going on and I couldn’t figure out how it would end. This is a brilliant read and I highly recommend it!

Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton

Local Gone Missing is a slow-paced mystery novel that follows Detective Elise King as she gets ready to return to work following illness. She lives in a small town and when two teenagers become ill at a festival she is curious to dig around into what is going on. She’s not yet back at work but she starts to investigate the people in this small town and she uncovers connections she hadn’t known existed between some of the residents and before she knows it she’s fully investigating again. This novel becomes darker as it goes along and whilst the pace is slower it’s none-the-less gripping and I found it hard to put down. I read it in just two sittings because I simply had to know what was going on and who was involved. I recommend this one.

It Ends at Midnight by Harriet Tyce

I read and loved Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce when it came out so I was very keen to get my hands on this book and I’m so pleased to say that I loved it. It opens with a dramatic scene where someone is seriously injured and then we slowly find out who it is and what led up to this moment. The novel follows Sylvie and Tess who were best friends at school but have drifted apart as their lives moved in different directions. Then one day Tess calls Sylvie with awful news and the two meet up again. Sylvie slowly starts to lose control on her life as Tess becomes a bigger part of it and we slowly get to see how these women are friends and what keeps them connected. There are secrets and lies and a very toxic friendship, with history to be uncovered! The novel is building to a big finale and I couldn’t read it quick enough to find out how it was all going to end. I read this whole novel in one sitting because I just didn’t want to put it down. I loved it and I highly recommend it!

The Patient by Jane Shemilt

I devoured this novel in just a couple of sittings! The Patient follows Rachel, a GP, who one day has a new patient, Luc, who is very depressed and needs a refill of his medication. Rachel gives it to him and goes on with her evening but she can’t stop thinking about him, and what she doesn’t know is that not everything is as it seemed to her. There is an attraction there and when she later meets him at a house party the infatuation grows. Then a colleague of hers is found murdered and life begins to unravel for Rachel. This is a novel that went places I wasn’t expecting it to but I was absolutely hooked and so keen to find out what was going to happen next and how Rachel was going to get out of the situations she found herself in. I really enjoyed this novel and definitely recommend it.

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

One Italian Summer really appealed to me as I loved Rebecca Serle’s previous novel and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed it. The novel follows Katy who is lost following the death of her beloved mum Carol. She can’t connect with her fiance and doesn’t know what she wants in life anymore. So when she finds the tickets to Positano, Italy – a trip she and her mum planned together she decides to go on her own. While there she meets her mum, but her mum at thirty years younger when she was Katy’s age! I loved seeing Katy discover what her mum was like as a young woman and it made me long to have that kind of magic in my own life. I could really identify with Katy’s pain, having lost my own mum when I was in my late 20s, and could empathise with how her grief made her sometimes selfish and sometimes lost. I also loved the descriptions of Positano, it really comes alive in this novel and I could visualise it so clearly. I want to go there one day! I recommend this one!

Six Days by Dani Atkins

I always enjoy Dani Atkins’ books so was excited to get a copy of her new one. This book follows Gemma who is in love with her fiance but he seemingly jilts her on their wedding day. Gemma simply cannot believe that Finn would do this to her and is convinced that something has happened to him but there is no evidence. He appears to have disappeared. The novel goes back and forth in time as we learn how they met and we find out more about Finn and his life. I have to say that I didn’t particularly like Finn or how he behaved at times and that made it a bit difficult to care what happened. Having said that I did like Gemma and was really hoping that things would work out for her. I enjoyed this book, not quite as much as the author’s previous novels, but it was still a good read.

How To Live Without You by Sarah Everett

This novel follows seventeen year old Emmy whose sister Rose has disappeared, and Emmy feels like a part of her is also now gone. Rose had lived with their dad and Emmy lives with their mum across the country so Emmy decides to go to stay with her dad and is determined that she will find her sister herself. The novel follows Emmy over the course of the summer as she starts to find clues and unravel the mystery. Along the way she learns that not everything is as she remembered it, and she reconnects with an old friend. I found this a really engrossing novel and one that really made me emotional at times. It made me think of people I’ve lost along the way, and made me feel nostalgic for the summers of my teenage years. I recommend this one.

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh

I read and loved Rosie Walsh’s previous novel so was keen to get my hands on this one and I really enjoyed it. This book follows Emma who loves and adores her husband Leo and their daughter but everything she has ever told them is a lie. It also follows Leo, an obituary writer, who when Emma is taken seriously ill he starts looking at her life just in case he has to write hers, and this leads him to learn some things about his wife. I found this book engrossing and was so keen to keep turning the pages to find out who Emma really is and why she lied for all those years. I also wanted to know if Leo was going to find everything out and if their marriage would survive. This is a really good read with lots of twists and turns to keep you gripped. I recommend it!

I read and enjoyed Nicki from Secret Library Book Blog’s 12 in 12 post and decided to have a go at it myself! It seems like such a fun way to look at some of the books I read and enjoyed in 2021!

Twelve Authors New To You

Twelve Authors You’ve Read Before

Twelve Books From Authors I know Will Never Let Me down

Twelve Audio Books I’ve Enjoyed

Twelve Books That Surprised Me… In A Good Way

Twelve Books That Took Me By The Hand And Led Me Into The Past

Twelve Books That Took Me Into A World of Crime and Psychological Suspense

Twelve Books I Bought For Myself

Twelve Feel-Good Novels

Twelve Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading and Reviewing in 2022

That was a harder post to put together than I thought it would be, it’s really made me think back over my reading in 2021. I enjoyed it though and it was fun to look through my books again.