That Was The Month That Was… April 2021!

Posted on 03/05/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Well, I can’t believe that April is over already! I really don’t know where the time is going these days. April was an okay month here. It was my husband’s birthday so we had a lovely day for that – we had a takeaway from our favourite Indian restaurant (our first takeaway in 14 months!) so that was a fabulous treat!

My weight loss is continuing, which I’m very happy about. I’ve now lost a total of 4 stone 8lb since September last year. It’s been pretty consistent although it’s now closer to 1lb a week rather than the 2lb it was in the first few months but I’m just happy that it’s still coming off. I’m calorie counting and while I never thought I’d be someone who calorie counted, it’s working perfectly for me so I’m sticking with it.

The main thing that happened in April was my reading mojo finally came back! It’s been a bumpy time with my reading ever since the first lockdown happened last year and I really miss books when I can’t read at my normal level. It’s been wonderful to finally get lost in one book after another. I’ve also discovered that having a set TBR seems to be the way to go at the moment, which is bizarre for me having always been a mood reader but I don’t care as long as I’m reading again! My plan at the moment is to read my way through my NetGalley shelf and it’s working. I now have twelve books on there (I got approved for a couple this week so had been down to ten) and my ratio is 98%. All of the books still to be read are published this year so I’m almost up to date!

Here are the books that I read in April:

Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

Dead Head by C.J. Skuse

Truth be Told by Kia Abdullah

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi

The Split by Sharon Bolton

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor

Boy Queen by George Lester

The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

The Weekend by Charlotte Wood

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Mountain Road, Late at Night by Alan Rossi

Space Hopper by Helen Fisher

Five Hundred Miles from You by Jenny Colgan

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins

Hush Little Baby by Jane Isaac

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Home Stretch by Graham Norton

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould

Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves

That Night by Gillian McAllister

West of Jim Crow by Lynn M. Hudson

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

How was your April? I’d love to know what you’ve been reading over the last month or so. 🙂

WWW Wednesdays (28 Apr ’21)! What are you reading at the moment?

Posted on 28/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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!

Well, it’s the second week in a row where I’ve just been reading every chance I’ve got so it really feels like the reading slump might finally be over. I’m still reading my way through my NetGalley shelf and this focused approach is really working for me. I’ve been approved for one book this week but I’ve read and reviewed four books so my shelf now stands at 11 books and my ratio is at 98% (for the first time ever!!).

Current Reads

The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird

I only started this one last night so have only read the first couple of chapters but I’m gripped already! This is set during a pandemic that is killing men. It feels a bit strange to read a pandemic book during a pandemic but I think this is going to be a really good read.

Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill

I’m finding this book really interesting and helpful so far. It’s a good book for women in their early 40s to pick up and it’s set out in easy to follow chapters on different aspects of perimenopause. Some of it is less interesting to me personally but other bits are incredibly helpful.

West of Jim Crow by Lynn M. Hudson

I’ve been reading this one slowly over the past week and am now over a third of the way through and am finding it to be such an eye-opening read. I had no idea that the Jim Crow laws had such an impact on the laws in California well into the 1900s. This is quite an academic book but it’s very accessible and I’d recommend it.

Recent Reads

I’ve already reviewed all of the books that I’ve read this week so you can find out more about what I thought about them by clicking the titles.

That Night by Gillian McAllister

The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten

What I Might Read Next

Madam by Phoebe Wynne

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

One of Them by Musa Okwonga

As I said at the start of this post I’m working on reading my way through my NetGalley shelf and so these three books are the next ones to be published so I hope to get to these this week.

Mini Book Reviews: That Night | The Good Sister | Every Vow You Break | The Ends of the Earth

Posted on 27/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing another selection of mini reviews of books that I’ve recently finished reading. All of these books are from NetGalley via the publisher as I’m still focusing on reading my way through my NetGalley shelf.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

The Good Sister follows twin sisters Fern and Rose – Fern in the present and Rose in the past through her diary entries. The sisters have always been very close – Rose has protected Fern from their aggressive mother as they were growing up and still holds Fern close now in adulthood. Fern has sensory issues and Rose tries to keep her protected from the things that aggravate her. I really enjoyed this book and seeing the way the two women present themselves but also the undercurrent of tension that begins to creep into their relationship was fascinating. Something happened when they were children and Fern lives with the guilt and it stops her being able to form bonds with other people so she relies heavily on Rose. I adored reading Fern’s perspective – she’s so warm and genuine but refuses to do anything she doesn’t want to do. She’s such a brilliant character and when she meets Wally in the library where she works I was rooting for her to see how things might develop with him. This is a gripping novel that has moments of darkness balanced with a lot of light and I loved it. This is the first novel that I’ve read by Sally Hepworth but I now want to seek out everything she has ever written!

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

This novel follows Abigail as she is about to marry her fiance Bruce. They’ve had a whirlwind romance and everything has happened very quickly. At Abigail’s hen party she has a one night stand and when this man contacts her before the wedding she is fearful that her happy ever after might be about to fall apart! This premise drew me in right away and I couldn’t wait to read this book but I’m sorry to say that it just didn’t really work for me. I’ve read and loved the author’s previous novels but this one just lacked something for me. The plot does have twists in store and I didn’t see them coming, which I did like but the suspension of disbelief required was too much for me and I just couldn’t get invested. I also had issues with the way Abigail later describes her one night stand, it felt too obvious to me that this was a male author writing a female character and it really pulled me out of the story. This is a fast-paced read and I did finish it in a couple of sittings but it’s just not my favourite by the author.

The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves

The Silent Treatment was one of my favourite books of last year so this new one by the author was on my highly anticipated list and I’m so happy to say that I very much enjoyed it. The Ends of the Earth follows Mary, who for seven years has stood at a railway station holding a sign saying ‘Come Home Jim’. The novel follows her in the present as we see what her life is like and how desperate she is to find Jim; it alternates with a timeline in the past when Mary and Jim first met and we get to see how they fell in love and made a life together. This is a beautiful novel that really draws you in. There is quite a focus on mental health, men’s mental health in particular, and this was so good to read about in a novel. There needs to be more awareness of this and more encouragement for men to be able to talk and this novel shows this without it ever feeling forced. The novel also follows a young journalist who meets Mary by chance and decides to try and help her find Jim. This novel had me under its spell very quickly and now I’ve finished it I keep wondering how the characters are now, which, for me, is always the sign of an excellent read. I recommend this one!

That Night by Gillian McAllister

I’ve read and very much enjoyed all of Gillian McAllister’s novels but this is her best one yet! I read the whole thing in two sittings and I loved it! That Night follows the three Plant siblings – Joe, Cathy and Frannie. They all live next door to each other, they work at the same vet practice and they own a holiday home in Verona together. One night whilst on holiday Frannie calls Cathy in the early house begging for her help. When she gets there Frannie is distraught, as is Joe who has also arrived, and a man appears to be dead! The novel follows each of the siblings along with Joe’s wife Lydia as we see their perspectives and how they each feel about the others. We also have a timeline in the present day but it’s not clear for a while who exactly this person is. This is such a gripping thriller that has you racing through the pages wanting to know how and why, wanting to make sense of what has happened and wondering what you would do in their shoes. It’s also a brilliant look at sibling relationships and how each relates to the other, and the jealousies and the feeling of being left out that can linger well into adulthood. This was such a brilliant thriller and I highly recommend it!

Mini Book Reviews: The Appeal | Hostage | When I Was Ten | Dead Perfect

Posted on 23/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

I’m sharing another selection of mini reviews today of books that I’ve read and enjoyed recently. These are all books that I got from NetGalley and I can recommend all of them.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

This was such a fun read, different to anything I’ve read for a long while. We follow two law students as they’re given a file of documents relating to a murder and as the reader we get to see everything that they get given – emails, text messages, records of 999 calls and notes and slowly you piece together who everyone is and what it is that’s happened. We know from the start that someone has been murdered, and someone has been convicted of murder but we don’t know who. We also get told that not everyone is as they seem. This was so intriguing to me! When I first started reading I did think it was going to be hard to keep track of who was who as this novel has quite a large cast of characters but I found the voices are very distinct and once I got into the novel it was easy to follow what was happening. I did work out what had happened from the clues throughout but I had so much fun working it out that I would absolutely recommend this novel!

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

I’m a real fan of Clare Mackintosh’s writing so have been keen to read this forthcoming novel of hers. Hostage follows flight attendant Mina as she is about to board a landmark 20 hour non-stop flight from London to Sydney. It also follows her husband Adam in alternating chapters. Once the flight takes off Mina starts seeing items of hers on board that she didn’t bring with her and chillingly it soon becomes apparent that there is someone on board intent on taking control of the plane. The build up to the hijacking was so good, I was really tense as I was reading and wondering what was going to happen and how it was all going to end. The latter part of the novel requires suspension of disbelief, which I was a little disappointed by, but at the same time by this point I was so invested in the characters that I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know how exactly it was going to end. There were some surprises for me in the novel and I love that I didn’t see how it was all going to ultimately end. This was a really gripping and thrilling novel, I recommend it.

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins

This book was unputdownable for me – I read the whole novel in one sitting because I simply had to know how it was going to end! Twenty years ago a married couple were brutally murdered in their own home. One of their two daughters confessed to the crime and was sent to a young offenders unit. Now in the present day one sister is married with a child and the other is all over the news telling her story and looking for her sister. It’s not clear which sister is the murderer and the reveal was a shock but as this comes fairly early in the novel I was desperate to know more and what else was going on with this family. The novel is hard to read at times, especially the sections set in the past but it’s really well written and plotted so you can’t help but keep turning the pages. I found this such an engrossing novel. I’ve enjoyed all of Fiona Cummins’ novels that I’ve read so far but this one is definitely her best one yet! I highly recommend it!

Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten

This is the third novel in the DC Maggie Jamieson series and I’ve enjoyed them all. This book follows Maggie as she investigates a stalker who has escalated to murder and seems to be fixating on her colleague Dr Kate Moloney. The team are in a race against time to stop the killer striking again. We see a lot more of Maggie’s emotional side in this novel as she is very close to Kate and so is trying to be professional at work while being understandably hugely concerned for her friend’s welfare. I did spot who the killer was early on but I didn’t mind that I’d worked it out as it was plausible that the team didn’t spot them sooner so I was just rooting for them to figure it out. The murderer in this book is chilling in what he does when he kidnaps a woman, it really is the stuff of nightmares. I found this another gripping installment in the series and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Maggie and her team!

WWW Wednesdays (21 April ’21)! What are you reading at the moment?

Posted on 21/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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!

Well, I don’t want to jinx myself but it seems like my reading slump may finally be over! I’ve had the best reading week that I’ve had in months and months so I’m really hoping this is me back on track. I’ve been reading through my outstanding NetGalley books in order I downloaded them until I caught up with current and forthcoming titles (and then I’ll start reading in publication order) and this seems to be working for me. I have always been a mood reader and a set TBR has never worked for me before but it seems that right now what my brain needs is a plan so I’m sticking with it. My NetGalley shelf only has 18 books remaining (down from 54 at the start of the year) and my feedback ratio is at 97%. I’m determined to catch up on these books before I request any new ones.

Current Reads

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

This book is so good! It’s a murder investigation but the novel is all the documents the investigators have to work with so you’re reading lots of emails and text messages and notes. At first I thought it was going to be confusing to follow with quite a large cast of characters but the voices are all distinct from each other so once you get into it it’s easy to follow. I can’t wait to read more!

Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten

This is the third in a crime detective series and I’m enjoying catching up with all the characters. This novel is very tense as the murderer is seemingly obsessed with Dr Kate Moloney and so the team is on a race against time to solve the case before anything happens to her.

West of Jim Crow by Lynn M. Hudson

I’ve only read the introduction to this one so far but I’m keen to read more. This is an academic book about how the Jim Crow laws affected people in California. I plan on reading this one chapter at a time and then putting it down to digest what I’ve read before reading the next chapter. I want to be able to absorb what I’m reading.

Recent Reads

The titles in green below are books that I’ve already reviewed so please click on the titles if you’d like to know more. 🙂

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould

Home Stretch by Graham Norton

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Hush Little Baby by Jane Isaac

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins

This was such a disturbing and gripping novel but one that I couldn’t put down – I read it all in one sitting as I simply had to know what was going on! I really enjoyed this one.

Five Hundred Miles From You by Jenny Colgan

Space Hopper by Helen Fisher

Mountain Road, Late at Night by Alan Rossi

This is a stunning novel that explores the grief that comes after a sudden death of a loved one and the repercussions of having to work out where you go from here. It has four sections – each narrated by a different member of the family as we learn what their motivations are and why they are being the way they are. I adored this novel, it’s one that feels like it will really stay with me and I’m sure it will be in my best books of the year!

What I Might Read Next

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

These are the next three books on my NetGalley shelf so as I said at the start of this post I’m reading through a strict TBR now instead of mood reading so I fully expect to pick these books up this week. I still can’t believe that I’m not mood reading at the moment but it’s working so I’m going with it! 🙂

Mini Book Reviews: Home Stretch | Perfect Tunes | Dear Justyce | Hush Little Baby

Posted on 19/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing another selection of mini reviews of books that I’ve read over the last week or so. I got all of these books from NetGalley and am now slowly catching up on my review books. This selection were all great reads and I recommend them!

Home Stretch by Graham Norton

This is such a stunning novel – I read it all in one sitting because I just didn’t want to put it down for a second. Home Stretch follows a small community in rural Ireland who are reeling from an horrific car crash that has killed three young people and seriously injured a fourth. Two young men escaped with no injuries. The ramifications are huge for the town as parents and siblings and friends try to come to terms with what happened. The novel starts in 1987 but goes back and forth in time up to 2019. We mainly follow Connor, a young gay man who was driving the car, and we see how much this has affected him and his family. The snippets we get from the other families affected by the accident are so moving. Norton really captures people’s thoughts in such a real way – there is a moment at one of the funeral’s when one mother is relieved that the wedding didn’t happen when she see’s what the bride’s mother is wearing at her daughter’s funeral and this felt so true to life. We all know these people in our own lives. There are twists and turns, and things that I didn’t see coming, but more than that this is a beautiful novel about finding your way in the world, and about how you find home again when the absolute worst thing has happened to you. I adored this book; it will absolutely be in my top books of this year! I highly recommend it!

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould

This novel follows Laura as she moves to New York at the start of the new millenium. She dreams of making it as a singer/song writer but she is quite shy and always seems to be in her best friend’s shadow. One night she goes to see a band and meets the singer, Dylan, and her life begins to change in so many ways. She is besotted with Dylan, wanting to spend every second with him but life has other plans for her. The novel then moves quickly forward in time as we see Laura trying to navigate life with her teenage daughter. She still yearns to be a song writer but never seems to have time to sit and be creative. She’s not inspired anymore and is instead fully focused on her daughter and making ends meet. This is a novel about falling madly in love when you’re young, of having big dreams and feeling like they really might come true but then the reality of life and how we cope when we end up on a different path. Laura is a very passive character but I couldn’t help but root for her, I know what it is like to let life sweep you along because it’s easier than pushing forward for what you want. The end left me with mixed feelings but at the same time it was a perfect ending to Laura’s story. I really enjoyed this novel and I recommend it.

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

This is the companion novel to Dear Martin, which I read and loved last year. Each can be read as a standalone but I recommend reading them both in order. In Dear Justyce we follow Quan, who is in juvenile detention and we slowly get his back story. He knew Justyce when he was younger but their lives have taken very different roads. Justyce is doing well at college and Quan is imprisoned with no idea when he’ll ever see freedom again. He begins writing letters to Justyce and we gradually see how he ended up here. I found this such a moving novel, it’s really hard hitting at times with just how unjust the criminal justice system is and how rigged it is against non-white people. You can see as you read that Quan is a good person who just wanted better for his siblings but he had such a tough start in life and got caught up in things he couldn’t get out of. I loved how Justyce rallied support for Quan and how his group of friends are determined to make things right for him. This is a book that I know will stay with me. It’s such a powerful and stunning novel, it’s one that everyone should read.

Hush Little Baby by Jane Isaac

This novel follows DC Beth Chamberlain as she investigates the murder of a young baby whose body has been found on a building site. It is believed the baby could be Alicia Owens who has been missing for fifteen years so Beth has to go back through the case and to re-investigate everything. This is a mysterious novel which has you wondering where the baby had been kept for all the intervening years and who could have killed her, and why. Alicia’s mother, Marie, is quite a closed book but has re-married and had another child whereas her ex-husband hasn’t moved on at all and still isn’t coping too well. The wider family all seem like they might have secrets to hide and as the novel goes on things start to unravel. I enjoyed this book, it was the third in a series but the first one I’ve read and it works perfectly well as a standalone. I found the central mystery intriguing and was shocked when the reveal of who and how and why comes. I’d recommend this one if you like British crime fiction!

Mini Book Reviews: Hungry | Space Hopper | The Weekend | Five Hundred Miles From You

Posted on 16/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing another selection of mini reviews of books that I’ve read and enjoyed recently!

Hungry

I completely and utterly adored this book! Hungry is Grace Dent’s memoir and in it she details her life through with real emphasis on food. I’m just a little bit younger than Dent so a lot of her food memories are very similar to mine – the thrill of a Sara Lee Gateau as a very special treat is one such memory. I loved reading about her childhood in Carlisle, a place I know well, and her love for her family. There is so much love that shines out of these pages. Anyone who grew up in the north in the 70s and 80s will identify with this book so much. As Dent gets a little older and starts to move away from her family and to build a career for herself we see how she got into being a food critic and this was every bit as interesting as her childhood. There is sadness and worry along the way too as her dad starts to show signs of dementia and her mum suffers with ill health too but the way Dent and her siblings rally around was wonderful to read about. I can’t put into words just how much I loved this book, I enjoyed every single bit of it and I would recommend it to everyone. This will definitely be one of my top books of 2021, I’m certain of it!

The Weekend

This novel follows three older women who are returning to their friend Sylvie’s home to clear it out after her death. The four women had been friends for many years but there are secrets being kept and also the difficulties of how they’ve all changed over the years that all have to be dealt with over the course of one weekend. Jude is very self-controlled and likes everything to be just so. Wendy is more eccentric and goes with the flow so when she turns up with her elderly, incontinent dog Jude is horrified. Adele is an out of work actress who is on the brink of being homeless and can’t bring herself to tell her oldest friends of her latest plight. I loved the writing in this novel; it’s the first I’ve read by Charlotte Wood and it won’t be the last. I found it hard to warm to any of the characters at first but as the novel goes on and we see the vulnerabilities of the women I couldn’t help but feel sadness at what life had thrown at them. This is a melancholy, reflective novel but it still left me feeling hopeful. I enjoyed this novel and I recommend it!

Space Hopper

This novel follows Faye who is happily married with children but she still misses her mum who died when she was 8. One day she finds her old Space Hopper box in the attic and it transports her back to the 70s in the year or so before her mother died! There is so much I loved about this novel. I really connected with how much Faye was desperate to travel back to her mother as she missed her so much. I think anyone who has lost their parent would find it hard to resist having one more day with them, even when you realise you might sacrifice things in the present. I loved seeing Faye connect with her mum and getting to know her as an adult. It’s a novel where the time travel element doesn’t really make sense, even within the story, so I definitely had to suspend my disbelief but I was so invested in Faye and her desire to have more time with her mum that I was happy to do that. This novel was so soothing to me in the week when it should have been my mum’s 70th birthday and I’m so glad that I picked it up when I did. I recommend it.

Five Hundred Miles From You

This novel follows Lissa and Corman. Lissa lives in London and loves her job as a community nurse but when one day she witnesses a traumatic incident she struggles to cope and is offered a three-month job swap with Cormac. He lives in a remote Scottish village and loves his life as a nurse there. Over time Lissa and Cormac have to swap notes about patients and a bond starts to form. I loved reading about how each of them had to find their feet in a completely new place, and it was fun seeing their friends too and how they coped with the swap. I didn’t enjoy this as much as previous novels by the author but it was still a really fun read and I’m glad I read it. This book is the third in a series but can definitely be read a standalone. An enjoyable summer read!

WWW Wednesdays (14 Apr ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 14/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

Space Hopper by Helen Fisher

Five Hundred Miles from You by Jenny Colgan

Mountain Road, Late at Night by Alan Rossi

The first two are NetGalley books and I’m really enjoying them both. Mountain Road was a gift from my husband recently and I’m finding it utterly engrossing and very moving.

Recent Reads

The Split by Sharon Bolton

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor

The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

It’s been a good reading week this week. My husband was watching golf all weekend and so I sat and read a lot of books. It’s been a long time since I read books back to back and finishing them in one sitting. I’m hoping my reading mojo is properly coming back now as I really miss reading how I used to. The above books are all the ones I finished this week – a couple I started the week before and have now finished and others I’ve read in their entirety. The ones in green have already been reviewed so click if you want to know more. 🙂

What I Might Read Next

Hush Little Baby by Jane Isaac

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould

I’m really focusing on reading my NetGalley books at the moment so the above three books are the ones that are catching my eye as I put this post together and I hope to read and review them this week. 🙂

What are you reading this week? I’d love to know! 🙂

Mini Book Reviews: Her Last Holiday | The Black Kids | Boy Queen | The Gin O’Clock Club

Posted on 12/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing more mini reviews of books that I’ve read and enjoyed recently!

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor

Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on her last holiday – a wellness retreat in Gozo. The retreat was run by Soul Shrink Tom and his wife Kate. Two people died on that retreat and Tom was sent to prison but Jenna’s death was ruled a suicide and her family just don’t believe this is the truth of what happened. Now Fran’s mum has persuaded her to go on Tom’s re-launched retreat so that she can try and find out what happened to Jenna. This novel is really gripping – I read it all in one sitting as I just had to know what had happened to Jenna but also what was going to happen in the present at the new retreat. The novel is told from Fran’s perspective and also Kate and Tom’s, which made for a really interesting narrative. I was fascinated by how the retreats came to be and the power behind them but also by Fran’s determination to find out what happened to Jenna. This novel has twists and turns and just when you think you’ve got a grip of what’s happening, the rug is pulled out from under you again. I loved this novel, it kept me on my toes all the way to the end and I love that it did! I recommend it!

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

I’ve been wanting to read this book for ages so am glad I finally picked it up this week. The Black Kids follows teenager Ashley in the wake of the Rodney King trial and subsequent riots in 1992. In the beginning Ashley has a tight-knit group of friends and they’re typical teenagers but as she sees more of what is happening around her she starts to find her voice and to speak up against the casual racism her friends often use. Ashley’s sister Jo is the character that I found most interesting in this novel – she isn’t afraid to speak out and to fight for what she believes in and I was hoping to see more of this in Ashley. Ashley is a more conflicted character, which is understandable given her age and all the things you go through at her age. She is vocal in some situations but also does some not very nice things to other people at her school. I found this novel to be a much slower read than I was expecting and it didn’t explore Ashley’s feelings as much as I hoped it would but overall it was a really interesting and enjoyable novel, I recommend it.

Boy Queen by George Lester

Boy Queen follows teenager Robin Cooper as he finds his feet in the world. Robin is gay and finds himself in a secret sort of relationship with a boy at school but it’s complicated. I loved Robin’s friends, it was so lovely to read a coming of age story with such wonderful characters and such a strong, supportive friendship group. Robin is left floundering when his plans for the future don’t work out the way he wanted them to but he finds a drag night at a club on his 18th birthday and this opens up a whole new world for him. I loved how Robin found himself through drag, it was really liberating and heartwarming to see how this made him feel. I did find the writing a little flat at times but overall I found this to be a really fun novel, that dealt with serious themes well. I recommend it.

The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake

The Gin O’Clock Club follows Lottie as she tries to balance her hectic work schedule with her relationship, her friendships and supporting her Grandad Teddy after the loss of her Grandma. I felt for Lottie as her life is so busy but I couldn’t warm to her, she is very unlikeable and self-obsessed. However, I adored her Grandad Teddy and loved learning more about his group of friends and the way he threw himself into trying to make Lottie’s life more fulfilled. Teddy’s parts of the novel are told through letters he writes to his late wife and I adored these sections. Teddy agrees to start dating again if Lottie and her boyfriend Luke agree to start going on old-fashioned dates with each other to try and re-connect. Teddy and his friends are very involved in planning the dates and are often part of them and I loved this so much. This is a really lovely read and is perfect escapism. I recommend it!

Mini Book Reviews: Dead Head | Truth Be Told | The Split | Punching the Air

Posted on 09/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Dead Head by C. J. Skuse

This was one of my most anticipated books for this year and it more than lived up to my hopes for it! This is the third instalment in the SweetPea series and I loved this book. In Dead Head we are back with Rhiannon at a book launch and then the novel goes back in time and we find out what she has been up to since the last book. She is now on the run and trying to evade the authorities and she is on form! Her kill lists are absolutely brilliant, and yet again it’s disconcerting to find yourself nodding your head in agreement with some of her hates and then realising she is actually a serial killer and perhaps would kill people for these reasons. This is such a fun series though – it’s dark and at times gory but Rhiannon is one of the best fictional characters I’ve ever read about. I don’t want to say much more about this book as you really need to read the first two books first and I don’t want to risk spoiling anything. I do highly recommend this whole series though, it’s utterly brilliant!

Truth Be Told by Kia Abdullah

Truth Be Told book is an incredible read. In it we follow Kamran, a teenage boy who is the victim of rape by another boy at his boarding school. Kamran goes to see Zara Kaleel at a rape crisis centre and she agrees to help him. This is such a powerful novel that explores so many issues around rape and consent, race and gender, and the impact on the victim, but also the people around the victim when a rape accusation is made. It was very hard to read at times but the issues are handled really sensitively and in a way that is so believable. This is the second novel that features Zara but this novel does work as a standalone. I enjoyed the author’s previous book but this one is even better. I didn’t want to put this one down and now I’ve finished it I keep finding myself thinking about it. I highly recommend this one!

The Split by Sharon Bolton

I’m just finding my way out of a horrible reading slump and this book was exactly what I needed to remind me what it’s like to get completely lost in a great novel. The Split opens with the main character, Felicity, at work in Antarctica. She is on edge about a passenger cruise that is due to arrive and she decides to leave her station for a little while. The novel soon goes back in time to nine months earlier in Cambridge, which was a real jolt but I was soon absorbed in what was going on there. I had my suspicions about elements of what was going on but I didn’t see the whole picture until it was revealed to me. I was completely along for the ride with this one and that was the best way to read it. Felicity is struggling with absences and she finds herself in places without knowing how she got there, and she feels like someone has been in her home. She has to go and see a counsellor, Joe, and we follow his perspective too. My favourite character in the novel is Delilah, a police detective who is Joe’s mother. She does not suffer fools and always says what she thinks. This was a dark read at times but also such a fun novel to read. I definitely recommend it!

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam

This is a really powerful young adult novel told in verse and follows a young black man, Amal, as he is convicted of a brutal assault and sent to prison. Parts of drawings and scribbles are interspersed throughout the narrative, which really added to Amal’s story and to my understanding of who he is and how he expresses himself best. He’s clearly a boy who loves his family and wants to do well at school but he is, understandably and justifiably, angry at his art class teacher’s focus on white artists. One day he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time and while he isn’t entirely innocent, he didn’t do the thing he is convicted of. His anger and confusion is palpable, and I could feel the claustrophobia of the prison as if I was right there too. Over time we see the moments of hope that keep Amal going, and I loved the letters he gets from Zenobia. There are small acts of kindness, that come alongside the really dark moments, and it is those that make this book hopeful. It doesn’t shy away from racism and race issues, or the injustice suffered by the wrongly convicted but there is definitely some hope in there. This is a book that I would recommend to everyone.

WWW Wednesdays (7 Apr ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 07/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

Truth by Told by Kia Abdullah

The Split by Sharon Bolton

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

Recent Reads

Dead Head by C. J. Skuse

Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

Hungry by Grace Dent

What I Might Read Next

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor

The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake

I don’t know what I’m going to read for definite this week but the three above are the ones that most appeal to me at the moment.

Mini Book Reviews: No One is Talking About This | Like A House on Fire | Homecoming | Life in Pieces

Posted on 05/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing another selection of mini book reviews of books I’ve read and enjoyed recently. I’m slowly getting my reading and blogging mojo back but in the meantime I hope you find some books you enjoy from these mini review posts.

Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

I really enjoyed this novel – it’s both light-hearted and a very realistic portrayal of family dynamics! The novel follows a family as they are all about to come together in a murder mystery party organised by the mum. Stella and George and the central characters – they’ve both recently agreed to divorce and are living separately but Stella has yet to tell her parents so persuades George to go to the party with her and to pretend all is fine. Stella is the middle child – her older sister Helen is ‘perfect’. She’s married with two children and always does the right thing. Pete is the youngest and he is very wayward but can do no wrong in his mum’s eyes. I loved the dynamic between the three grown up children – it’s one I know and understand very well and the author captures it perfectly. The murder mystery party begins around halfway through the book and it’s just brilliantly written. I adored how the novel played out and the way the denouement comes about. This is such a fun read and I highly recommend it.

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

I listened to this on audiobook via NetGalley and I really enjoyed it. I finished it a while ago now and have been struggling with how to review it. I don’t really know how to express my thoughts on this one. It follows a woman who is obsessed with the Portal, her posts regularly go viral and she is famous within this social network. She thinks in social media soundbites and her life seems to revolve around what would make a good post and how best to express her thoughts online. She questions this life though and wonders about whether this life online is hell and is it going to be what we’re doing forever. Then one day she gets a text from her mum to say that something is very wrong. All of a sudden she has to confront real life and the potential for tragedy in her own family whilst still feeling very much under the influence of the Portal. The second half of the novel is her dealing with what has happened and the juxtaposition between the portal and the very real situation her family has to confront and cope with. I loved this novel, I found it very thought provoking and it’s one that I keep finding myself musing on. I think I’d like to buy myself a physical copy of the book so that I can read it again in print form as it feels like a book to be experienced in both forms. I definitely recommend this one, particularly if you find yourself obsessively scrolling through social media on a frequent basis!

Homecoming by Luan Goldie

Nightingale Point was one of my favourite books of last year so I was very highly anticipating Luan Goldie’s next book and I’m so happy to say that I very much enjoyed it. This novel follows three characters: Yvonne who has buried her demons and is trying so hard to move on with her life and to ignore her guilt. Kiama who has grown up without his mum and he desperately wants to know more about her. And Lewis, Kiama’s father, who just wants to protect his son and to keep him from the pain of the past. I loved Kiama and Yvonne in this novel and was intrigued at how she had been in his life when he was a young child but then lost touch with him over the last decade. The two end up going back to Kenya to try and resolve what happened in the past. I found this such a beautiful and moving novel. I could understand everyone’s point of view and so felt for all of the characters. The setting of London and Kenya were so vividly written that I felt I was right there along with Yvonne and Kiama. I just adored this novel and keep finding myself thinking about the characters and wondering how they are now. I recommend this one!

Life in Pieces by Dawn O’Porter

I’ve read and loved Dawn O’Porter’s novels so was keen to read her non-fiction book. I got a copy of this one from NetGalley and I read it a little while ago now. This is the author’s diary and blog posts from the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic. I couldn’t read it when I first got it as it all felt too recent but when I finally did pick it up I quite enjoyed it. I like her writing style and could hear her voice in my head as I was reading. There are quite a few sections in the book that I could identify with and found very moving but some of it felt very self-indulgent and unaware of how other people might be feeling as they read her words. It was jarring at times as she complained about being stuck in her big house with her big garden. At the same time I think that the general fears around Covid and grief, and they way our priorities have changed throughout the pandemic and what we want in life has become much more apparent to all of us. These parts of the book I very much enjoyed and could identify with. Ultimately, this was a mixed bag but I did quite enjoy it for the most part.

That Was The Month That Was… March 2021!

Posted on 02/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

March has been an okay month. My husband is back on furlough as his working from home ended in February so we’ve been watching a lot of Netflix. We’ve only just discovered Schitt’s Creek and it’s so good! We’ve also somehow become quite addicted to The Chase!

We’ve been thinking about buying Monopoly recently but when we spotted the David Bowie edition we simply had to get to it right away! It arrived this week and we’ve already played one game – it was a lot of fun.

I’m pleasantly surprised to discover how many books I managed to read (or finish reading as some of these books were started earlier in the year) throughout March. I’m still not picking up books as often as is normal for me but when I do get into a book I am finding my concentration is better than it was so fingers crossed that this horrible reading slump is on its way out. I did listen to quite a lot of audio books and that is really working for me at the moment so I hope to listen to more in April!

The Books I Read in March

Hungry by Grace Dent

Quite by Claudia Winkleman

The Festival by Sarah J. Naughton

The Searcher by Tana French

Just Like The Other Girls by Claire Douglas

The Silent Friend by Diane Jeffrey

Lockdown by Peter May

The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

Homecoming by Luan Goldie

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

The Hidden Girls by Rebecca Whitney

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

Rest and Be Thankful by Emma Glass

Negroland: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson

The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon by M. C. Beaton

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

Beside Myself by Ann Morgan

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean

How was your March? I hope it was okay, it still feels like life is very far from normal so I hope you’re all doing alright. I’d love to know what you’ve been reading over the last month or so. 🙂

Mini Book Reviews: The Girl in the Missing Poster | The Festival | The Castaways | Lockdown #Thrillers

Posted on 01/04/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

It’s time for some more mini reviews today and this time it’s thrillers that I’ve read and enjoyed in recent weeks!

The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite

This is the first novel by Barbara Copperthwaite that I’ve read and I can absolutely say that it won’t be my last. I loved this novel, it had my hooked from the very start and is one of those books that I was picking up every spare few minutes that I had. It follows Stella whose twin sister Leila disappeared after a family party and has never been found. Stella still looks for her sister and is always hiding from herself because she sees her sister every time she looks in the mirror. She agrees to take part in a Netflix documentary about Leila’s disappearance and I loved how transcripts of this programme are interspersed throughout the novel. I was intrigued from the start about this book and I loved that as we get to see viewers’ thoughts on the documentary people had theories that were the same as mine. I didn’t spot whodunnit or why and I loved that the ending when it came was so shocking to me. I’m not often surprised in a thriller so I love it when one gets me. I keep thinking about this novel and am quite envious of people who have yet to read it for the first time. I recommend this one!

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

I love Lucy Clarke’s writing and have enjoyed all of her previous novel so I had very high hopes for this one and I’m so pleased to say that it more than lived up to them! This novel follows sisters Lori and Erin. They went on holiday together and one night had a row which led to Lori getting on a plane and Erin walking away. The plane disappears and Erin is left full of regret and a desperate need to know what happened to her sister. The novel follows Erin in the present and Lori a couple of years earlier and I loved this way of telling the story. It meant the reader was privy to more knowledge than the characters but it was still twisty and gripping. I had my suspicions about what had happened to Lori and while I was partly right there was so much more to this novel than I ever could have seen! I love the fierceness of Erin’s determination to find out what happened, and the single-mindedness she showed in trying to find out. I was rooting for her the whole way through. The love that was there between the sisters shines off the pages in the novel and I found that incredibly moving. I loved that this is a twisty mystery novel with real heart and love at its centre. I highly recommend this one!

The Festival by Sarah J. Naughton

I loved this novel! It follows four almost 40-year-old women who have been friends since school. Life is pulling them in different directions but as Lenny is about to turn 40 they decide to go back to the festival that they first went to together as teenagers 20 years ago. The first part of the novel lets us see who these women are and where they are in life and how they got there, then the second part is all about what happens at the festival. I really enjoyed the way the story unfolded and that I felt I really knew these women before the story got more action-packed. Everyone is carrying baggage and this spills out over the course of the weekend and the consequences of this end up being deadly. I had no idea who it was that would die and I didn’t spot who the killer was either. I found some moments in this book quite chilling and was on the edge of my seat. I very much enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. I got my copy from NetGalley but the book will be available to buy this month.

Lockdown by Peter May

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley a while ago now but was hesitant to read it as as the subject of pandemic flu felt a little bit close to home. However, I finally picked it up recently and I’m really glad that I did. The flu pandemic is the backdrop to the story and it affects the way people behave but it’s not the main story. This is a novel about a horrendous crime that the main character is in a race against time to solve and the pandemic restrictions aren’t helping. I found this a really compelling story and one that I devoured in two sittings. I wasn’t expecting to be so gripped but I didn’t want to put the book down until I knew how it was going to be resolved. I enjoyed following D.I. Jack MacNeil as he tried to track down the killer but my favourite character was Amy. It was great to see some disability representation in this novel that was entirely believable and true to life. This was the first book by Peter May that I’ve read but I’ll definitely look out for more of his work in the future!

WWW Wednesdays (31 Mar ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 31/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

This is a very moving novel told in verse about a young black man who is imprisoned for assault. It’s a short book but I keep having to put it down to take a breath.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

This book is so different to what I thought it was going to be but I’m really enjoying it. I’ve read the first section so far and it made me cry, it really did get to me. I can’t wait to read more.

Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

This is such a fun and believable novel about the breakdown of a marriage, and what you are led to when you don’t tell your parents you’ve separated and now have to attend a big family party/murder mystery evening!

Recent Reads

Quite by Claudia Winkleman

I listened to this one on audiobook and very much enjoyed it. It’s Claudia Winkleman’s musings on life – from the serious to the frivolous and I adored it.

The Festival by Sarah J. Naughton

This book had me gripped all the way through. It follows four almost 40 year old women who decide to go to a festival thy previously attended as teenagers to celebrate a birthday. This novel kept on surprising me and I loved that.

The Searcher by Tana French

I enjoyed this one but it wasn’t my favourite book by this author. I’ve already reviewed this book so you can find my thoughts here if you’d like to know more.

Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas

I found this novel really gripping and read it all in two sittings. My review is here if you want to know more.

The Silent Friend by Diane Jeffrey

This was a really gripping and compelling novel. I found it hard to read in places due to the subject matter but it kept me intrigued and I had to keep reading. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.

What I Might Read Next

The Split by Sharon Bolton

Hungry by Grace Dent

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

I don’t know what I’ll be in the mood to read this week but I’m really trying to read some of my NetGalley books and the above are the three that are the ones that are jumping out to me the most at the moment.

Mini Book Reviews: All the Lonely People | The Things We Left Unsaid | Everything is Beautiful | The Illustrated Child

Posted on 30/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

I’m sharing another selection of mini reviews today of FOUR incredible novels that I’ve finished reading recently.

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

I’ve enjoyed all of the Mike Gayle novels that I’ve read to date but I think I have to say that All the Lonely People is my new favourite novel by him. I was invested in this novel and the characters from the opening pages and I was enthralled by the story from start to finish! This novel is about Hubert Bird, an older gentleman who has lost his wife and has become increasingly isolated. He speaks to his daughter on the phone every week but she lives in Australia. One day a young woman and her daughter knock at Hubert’s door as they’re looking to make friends as they’re new to the area and this sets in motion this beautiful and moving story. The novel goes back and forth in time between when Hubert first came to the UK and the racial abuse that he suffered. We see him meet and fall in love with his wife and how their lives were; and the present day where Hubert is alone and his world has become very small and he doesn’t know how to change it. The novel covers what it is to be a part of the Windrush Generation, grief, love and more than anything hope! I adored this book so much, it’s an incredible read and a book that we all need in our lives at the moment. I highly recommend this one!

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

I adored this book, it’s one of those books that I never wanted to end! The Things We Left Unsaid follows Rachel in the present and her mum Eleanor in the past. The novel opens when Rachel has been jilted by her fiance only six weeks after her father’s death. Rachel is reeling and doesn’t know where to turn. In the alternating chapters we see Eleanor start her first term at Uni and find her independence for the first time. This novel is just so warm and inviting, I didn’t want to put it down once I started reading. I loved Eleanor’s timeline and all the people she met, but I was also invested in seeing what was going to happen to Rachel in the present. This is a beautiful novel and one that I still keep thinking about and it’s a couple of weeks since I finished reading it. I highly recommend it!

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

I received an audiobook of this one from NetGalley and I adored it! The novel follows Amy who is a hoarder, she struggles with the idea of letting go of any part of any of her collections. We find out early on in the story that her boyfriend upped and left her eleven years ago and Amy has never been able to find out where he went or why. Over the course of the novel we learn more about Amy’s past and how that has made her the way she is now. I loved seeing her deal with her new neighbours and having to cope with their inquisitive children. I could really identify with Amy at times, I’ve been someone who after difficult times have found my hoarding tendencies have returned and it took a long time for me to let go of all the stuff. I really felt for Amy and I was rooting for her the whole way through this beautiful novel. This is such a charming read and one that I never wanted to stop listening to. The narrator is Eilidh Beaton and her voice felt perfect for the character of Amy, she really added to my enjoyment of the novel. I recommend it!

The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby

This novel is one that took a while to draw me in but once it did I just didn’t want to stop reading. It follows Romilly, a young child who is living with her father in a ramshackle home. They live quite an isolated existence that Romilly loves, her father makes things magical and encourages Romilly’s imagination. One day he writes a children’s book featuring Romilly and their life and suddenly there is a lot more attention on them and their home. As time goes by and Romilly gets older there starts to be more neglect and clearly there is something going on with her dad but it’s not apparent what for quite a while. The novel does become something different than I was expecting it to but there is something so moving and beautiful in the way this book is written that I just didn’t want to put it down. I recommend it!

Mini Book Reviews: The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer | Just Like The Other Girls | The Searcher | The Hidden Girls

Posted on 29/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

My reading mojo is slowly returning, although still not back to normal, but my blogging mojo is still lagging behind so now I have lots of reviews to catch up with. Today I’m sharing mini reviews of books that I’ve read recently.

The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker

I read and adored The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair when it was published so I had very high hopes for his new one and I’m so happy to say that the novel lived up to them. It’s quite a long book and I read it in just two sittings as I just didn’t ever want to put it down, I wanted to know what was going on in this small town. Back in 1994 four brutal murders happened, and the case was solved by a cop duo who have a 100% success rate. Only now 20 years later a journalist, Stephanie Mailer, has turned up and is certain that the cops missed something obvious at the crime scene. Now the detective from the 1994 murders is on the brink of retirement but can’t bear that he might have missed something so he goes back through the case to see if they did miss anything. The novel follows a large cast of characters and goes back and forth between 1994 and the present day, and we get the backgrounds of the main characters. I just loved everything about this book, I already feel like going back and reading it all again! I recommend this one.

Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas

I’ve read and really enjoyed all of Claire Douglas’ previous novels so was keen to pick her new one up. I found this one every bit as gripping as her previous books and read it all in one day! The novel follows a young woman, Una, as she gets a job in an imposing house as a carer to an older lady, Elspeth. Una soon discovers that the previous two girls who had her job died in strange circumstances and so she is immediately suspicious and wants to know more. As is usually the case with this author’s novels, there are blind alleys and red herrings scattered throughout so it really keeps you on your toes and wondering who on earth the culprit is. The end was a shock to me, I had thought I’d figured it all out but I was wrong and I loved that I was. This is a fast-paced and gripping read, I recommend it!

The Searcher by Tana French

I’m a huge Tana French fan and have loved all of her previous novels so was keen to pick her new one up. The Searcher isn’t my favourite of French’s novels but I honestly think it’s a case of right book, wrong time though so I wanted to still share what it’s about on here. The novel follows Cal, a former Chicago cop who has moved to rural Ireland to start a new life. Once there he sets about renovating the house he has bought and he starts to meet people in the community. The relationship he forms with Trey was my favourite part of the book, their growing trust in each other which starts out with such wariness was lovely to read. There are also beautiful descriptions of the landscape, so much so that I could really visualise the setting and the weather to the point of feeling like I was there. The blurb of the novel reads as though this is a novel about Cal seeking out a missing young man but that isn’t really the focus and I think had I known that I might have had a better reading experience as I was expecting one thing and got another. Ultimately, this is a novel about small towns and the secrets buried there. I think I may try re-reading this another time as I really did want to love it.

The Hidden Girls by Rebecca Whitney

This novels follows Ruth, a new mother who is recovering from post-partum psychosis. She is still struggling and her husband is hesitant to leave her alone with their baby for very long. Ruth starts hearing screams in the night and seeing things happening down the road from her house and she calls the police. It soon becomes clear that Ruth has experienced this before so the reader is then wondering what is real and what is not. The premise of this novel really intrigued me but unfortunately I didn’t really gel with the book. I think it was me and not the book though so if it sounds interesting to you then it’s worth picking up a copy.

WWW Wednesdays (24 Mar ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 24/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Silent Friend by Diane Jeffrey

I only have a few chapters left to read of this one and I’m so keen to see how it will end. I didn’t know much about the novel going into it but I’m glad I picked it up and I will review it once I’ve finished it.

Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

I only picked this one up last night so I haven’t read very much of it but I love the writing style and I’m intrigued by the characters so am looking forward to reading more.

No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox

I haven’t read anymore of this one this week (still due to the small font) but my eyes are feeling a bit better so I’m planning to get back to this one in the coming days.

Recent Reads

Lockdown by Peter May

I was wary of picking this book up with it being set during a pandemic lockdown in the UK but I’m wanting to read all of my outstanding ARCs and this was the next one on my list. I actually found this to be quite a gripping read and the pandemic was the backdrop but wasn’t the main focus os the novel.

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

This novel is such a beautiful read and I enjoyed every single second that I spent reading it. I read it slowly as I just didn’t want it to end.

The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker

I read and loved The Harry Quebert Affair by this author when it was published so have been eagerly anticipating this new book. It’s quite a big book and I pretty much read it all in one day as I just didn’t want to put it down. I miss this novel now I’ve finished it!

Homecoming by Luan Goldie

This is another novel that I read in one day and I loved this one. It’s about race, grief and trauma but also how we have this remarkable resilience after the worst has happened.

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

This is a gorgeous novel with characters that I know will stay with me for a long time to come. Hubert Bird is a wonderful man and I really wanted to climb into the pages of this novel so that I could be his friend.

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

I love Lucy Clarke’s novels and this was every bit as good as I was hoping it would be. I found this so gripping and it was one of those ‘just one more chapter’ novels that you end up finishing way past your bedtime!

What I Might Read Next

Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas

The Searcher by Tana French

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

As is now the norm for me I have no idea what I might read this week but when I was scrolling through my Kindle these three books are the one that jumped out at me the most.

WWW Wednesdays (17 Mar ’21)! What are you reading at the moment?

Posted on 17/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

I’ve read and really enjoyed all of Lucy Clarke’s previous novels so was keen to get to this one and I’m so pleased to say that I’m loving it. It’s really gripping and while I have my suspicions at this stage (I’m halfway through) about where some of the story might be going I have no idea how it’s going to end. I can’t wait to read more and find out!

No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox

Sadly I haven’t managed to read any more of this book this week as I’m struggling to read small type so have only been reading on my Kindle or listening to audio books. I hope to get back to this one very soon though as I am very much enjoying it.

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

This has been my main read this week and I am loving it! The story is engrossing and I really care about the characters and want to see where life takes them.

Recent Reads

Negroland by Margo Jefferson

I’ve had an ebook of this one on my TBR for over three years but I managed to get the audio book on my library app this week so I part-read and part-listened to it. I found this a really interesting read and I got a lot out of it. I recommend it!

The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby

I also part-read and part-listened to this one and I really enjoyed reading it this way. I found this an enchanting and intriguing book that took a direction that I wasn’t expecting. This feels like a novel that will stay on my mind for a long while to come.

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon by M. C. Beaton

I’m still slowly reading my way through this series and still enjoying them. I find them such good escapist reads!

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

This book had been on my TBR for way longer than it should have been and I’m kicking myself now because when I picked it up this week I read it all in one sitting. I was gripped from start to finish and I found it to be such an impactful read.

What I Might Read Next

Mountain Road, Late at Night by Alan Rossi

The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker

The Hidden Girls by Rebecca Whitney

As usual I have no idea what I’ll read next but these three books are the ones that are calling to me the most at the moment.

#BookReview: Bound Vanda Symon | @VandaSymon @OrendaBooks #Bound #SamShephard

Posted on 11/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

About the Book

The passionate, young police officer Sam Shephard returns in
a taut, atmospheric and compelling police procedural, which sees her take matters into her own hands when the official investigation into the murder of a local businessman fails to add up…

The New Zealand city of Dunedin is rocked when a wealthy and apparently respectable businessman is murdered in his luxurious home while his wife is bound and gagged, and forced to watch. But when Detective Sam Shephard and her team start investigating the case, they discover that the victim had links with some dubious characters.

The case seems cut and dried, but Sam has other ideas. Weighed down by her dad’s terminal cancer diagnosis, and by complications in her relationship with Paul, she needs a distraction, and launches her own investigation. And when another murder throws the official case into chaos, it’s up to Sam to prove that the killer is someone no one could ever suspect.

My Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of Vanda Symon’s writing so knew I was going to love this book and I was absolutely right! Bound is the fourth book in the Sam Shephard series and the books just keep getting better and better!

Bound opens with a shocking prologue – a home invasion where a man has been shot dead and his wife is tied up and seriously injured. The novel then follows Sam as she tries to figure out what on earth has led to this seemingly respectable businessman being killed in his own home.

I love Sam Shephard, she’s my favourite fictional detective and I adore following her as she solves crimes. In this novel we see some more of her personal life too, which I appreciated. She is much more vulnerable through parts of this novel and I found what she was going through very moving to read. Sam is good at putting on her work face though and whilst dealing with the things in her private life she continues to be focused on her job and solving this murder.

I had my suspicions about whodunnit and why but I was so wrong! I love when a crime novel wrong-foots me as it so rarely happens but this one got me and the ending was genuinely a shock to me. I’m already so keen to read book five in this series and see what happens next for Sam!

Bound is a brilliant crime novel and one that I keep finding myself thinking about. I highly recommend it (and the rest of the series if you haven’t already read the previous books)!

I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author

Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series has climbed to number one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and has also been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel and for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. She currently lives in Dunedin, with her husband and two sons.

WWW Wednesdays (10 Mar ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 10/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

Recent Reads

Beside Myself by Ann Morgan

People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

What I Might Read Next

The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

The Louder I Will Sing by Lee Lawrence

The Twenty Seven Club by Lucy Nichol | @LucyENichol @RandomTTours

Posted on 09/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

About the Book

It’s 1994. The music industry is mourning Kurt Cobain, Right Said Fred have re-emerged as an ‘ironic’ pop act and John Major is the country’s prime minister. Nothing is as it should be.

Emma, a working-class rock music fan from Hull, with a penchant for a flaming Drambuie and a line of coke with her best mate Dave down The Angel, is troubled.

Trev, her beloved whippet, has doggy IBS, and her job ordering bathroom supplies at the local caravan company is far from challenging. So when her dad, Tel, informs her that Kurt Cobain has killed himself aged 27, Emma is consumed with anxiety.

Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix…why have so many rock musicians died aged 27? And will Emma be next to join The Twenty Seven Club?

My Thoughts

As soon as I read the blurb of The Twenty Seven Club I knew I had to read it, I knew it was going to be a ‘me’ book and I was absolutely right!

This book held so much nostalgia for me, it really captured the mid-90s and what it was like back then. I’m a bit younger than Emma, the main character, as I was 15 in 1994 but I could still identify with her so much. I remember the shock and devastation on finding out that Kurt Cobain had died (I was a huge Nirvana fan), and wondering why so many rock stars seemed to die aged 27.

I didn’t know when I picked the novel up that it was set in Hull and this was a brilliant surprise trip down memory lane for me. I lived in Hull for a while in my 20s and prior to that had grown up fairly near by. The references to Spiders night club brought back so many memories for me. I loved going there, some of the best nights out ended in Spiders and I still miss it now. Also the Adelphi, I loved going to gigs there. Oh and American chip spice – it’s never the same when you try it anywhere other than Hull!

Emma is a great character and I found it so easy to identify with her and the things that happened to her. I actually found myself laughing out loud at some of the moments in this novel and it’s rare for a novel to make me properly laugh like that. Emma is so well-rounded – I could certainly relate to her constant anxiety and over-thinking, her worrying about everything and never feeling quite sure of herself in a situation. I loved her fierce loyalty to her closest friend and her dad, she really cares for them and will do anything to keep them safe and make them happy.

I didn’t see where the novel was ultimately taking me but when I got to the end I was in tears because it all makes sense of why Emma is the way she is. It spoke to me personally as well because I have the similar fears for similar reasons and it made Emma all the more real to me.

The Twenty Seven Club has everything you could want in a novel – nostalgia; humour and warmth mixed with existential angst; and a protagonist who cares a lot and feels things deeply and is just so relatable. I adored this book more than I can say! I finished reading it a couple of weeks ago and I still keep thinking about Emma and wondering how she is now. I know she’s not real but she absolutely feels real when you read this book.

The Twenty Seven Club is my favourite read of 2021 so far and I already want to go back to the start and read it all over again. I’m so happy that I got to read this novel and I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and Anne of Random Things Tours. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author

Lucy is a mental health campaigner and PR consultant, and a former columnist with Sarah Millican’s Standard Issue magazine. She has written for The Independent, The I Paper, NME, Red Magazine, Den of Geek, Men’s Fitness, Metro and Huff Post. Her first book, A Series of Unfortunate Stereotypes, a non-fiction mental health memoir, was published by Trigger in 2018. Lucy has worked with the media in PR and marketing for almost 20 years and has experienced Generalised Anxiety Disorder for even longer.

The Twenty Seven Club is immediately available in paperback from Amazon. You can also sign up to Lucy’s author newsletter.

WWW Wednesdays (3 Mar ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 03/03/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox

My husband bought me this book in hardback as a surprise and I was so thrilled when I opened it. I’m a huge fan of Michael J. Fox and am inspired by the way he has dealt with his Parkinson’s Disease and disability so I’m really enjoying reading this one. I can really identify with a lot of what he says about how you find ways to adapt your life to what your abilities are so I’m keen to read more of this one.

People Like Her by Ellory Lloyd

I’ve only just started this one after buying it in the Kindle sale on Monday but I’ve been eagerly anticipating it and I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s all about how a woman makes out her life as a mother is more messy and hectic that it really is in order to build her social media profile!

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

I’m listening to this one on audiobook from NetGalley and am hooked. It follows a woman who has become isolated and she lives in a house filled with her treasures. I’m only a short way into this one but I feel really connected to this story and I’m really looking forward to getting a chance to listening to more.

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

I’ve shamefully had an ARC of this one on my NetGalley shelf for about a year and to make it worse when I finally picked it up I fell in love with the writing and the story within a few pages so I’m really kicking myself for not picking it up so sooner. Anyway, the main thing is that I am loving this book and have been reading it every chance I get.

Recent Reads

The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean

This is my first Will Dean novel and it definitely won’t be my last! This novel is incredibly hard to read at times but it’s one of those books that you can’t look away from (and nor should you). This is a book that I’m sure will stay with me for a long time to come.

Life in Pieces by Dawn O’Porter

This is the author’s story of what the first few months of the pandemic were like for her and her family. I love O’Porter’s writing, her novels are fabulous, but this was a little hit and miss for me. Some parts of it were very funny and some very moving but then there were sections that just didn’t hold my interest. It was still a good read though and I’m glad I finally picked it up.

The Twenty Seven Club by Lucy Nichol

This book was such a brilliant, nostalgic and moving read. I loved every single minute that I spent reading it! I’ll be reviewing this one next week so look out for my full thoughts then but in the meantime I highly recommend it!

The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite

This was the first book I’ve read by this author but it absolutely won’t be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was kept on my toes all the way through, which doesn’t happen to me very often with thrillers.

What I Might Read Next

The Louder I Will Sing by Lee Lawrence

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

The Hidden Girls by Rebecca Whitney

As is now the norm for me, I have no idea what I’ll read next but the above books are the ones that most appeal to me as I’m writing this post. 🙂

WWW Wednesdays (24 Feb ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 24/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Last thing to Burn by Will Dean

I bought this book on a whim the other day after reading some amazing reviews and I started reading it right away. I’m really gripped by this at the moment and can’t wait to sit and read more.

The Twenty Seven Club by Lucy Nichol

This book is so good! I’m enjoying it more than I can say. This is such a fun, nostalgic look at Hull in the 90s through the eyes of Emma (an almost 27 year old) in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death. I love this book so far and can’t wait to read more!

Recent Reads

Life’s What You Make It by Phillip Schofield

My husband bought me this book for my birthday last month and I finally read it over the weekend, and I very much enjoyed it. It’s one that fans of Phillip Schofield will love!

Bound by Vanda Symon

I love Sam Shepherd and this book was another fab instalment to the series. I’ll be reviewing this one for the blog tour next month but in the meantime I highly recommend it!

What I Might Read Next

The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite

The Festivals by Sarah Vaughan

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

As is the norm for me these days I don’t know what, or even if, I’ll be reading this week but these three books are the ones that most appeal to me from my TBR as I write this post.

Stacking the Shelves with a brand new Book Haul (20 Feb ’21)!

Posted on 20/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

new sts.png — Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality, which is all about sharing the books that you’ve acquired in the past week!

Review eBooks

Purchased eBooks

Purchased AudioBooks

Have you acquired any new books this week? I’d love to know what you got. Or have you read any of my new books and recommend I get to any of them sooner rather than later? If you’ve shared a book haul post this week then please feel free to share you link below and I’ll make sure to visit your post! 🙂

WWW Wednesdays (17 Feb ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 17/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

Life’s What You Make It by Phillip Schofield

I’ve only just started this book but I’m enjoying it so far. I just got this book for my birthday last month and have been so keen to read it so hopefully it keeps on being a good read!

Bound by Vanda Symon

I’m really enjoying this book. Sam Shepherd is my favourite fictional detective and I always love being back in her world. This book is really gripping and I’m intrigued to see what’s going to happen.

Recent Reads

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

I’d been stalled on this book for a couple of weeks but I picked it back up on Monday night and finished it in one go. I was hooked reading the second part of this book and while I had my theories about what was going to happen, the novel still had surprises in store so I loved that.

The Disappearing Act by Florence de Changy

This is such a well-researched and fascinating look at the disappearance of Flight MH370. I had to read this a chapter at a time and to keep putting it down as it contains a lot of info but I’m really glad I read it and I recommend it.

I Survived by Victoria Cilliers

This is a memoir about a woman who almost died in a sky diving accident, only it turned out it wasn’t an accident but attempted murder. The book explores Victoria’s relationship with her husband and the effects of coercive control. This book was hard to read at times but I definitely recommend it.

What I Might Read Next

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould

Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and its Private Consequences by Catherine Pelonero

The Split by Sharon Bolton

As is usual for me these days I don’t know what I’ll be reading next but these three books are the ones that most appealled when I was looking through my bookcase and Kindle this week!

Mini Book Reviews: The Nothing Man | Fifty Fifty | House of Correction | The Island

Posted on 11/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing some more mini reviews of books that I’ve read in recent months!

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

I love Catherine Ryan Howard’s novels so I was really keen to read this one and I’m so happy to say that I loved it! The Nothing Man follows two characters: Jim – a security guard who appears like an ordinary 60-something man; and Eve who has just published her memoir. Eve is the only surviver of the nothing man and her book is all about this man and how she desperately wants to find out who he is. I loved the cat and mouse element of this novel, and was really tense knowing that the nothing man knew about Eve’s book and was reading it. I also loved all the excerpts from Eve’s book and to see what she had written and uncovered about her attacker. This book was so gripping and I honestly couldn’t put it down. It was chilling at times, especially how much it echoes the Golden State Killer’s attacks. I definitely recommend this book!

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

I’ve read and enjoyed a couple of Steve Cavanagh’s novels so was highly anticipating this one. The novel opens with two phone calls to 911 from two women both in the same house reporting a serious assault on their father. The novel the follows the lawyers representing each of the sisters as they try to work out what happened and how to defend their clients. I found this book really gripping and I just wanted to know how it was going to turn out. I felt I knew how it was going to end and I was right, and I did find that disappointing for many reasons but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of the rest of the novel. I definitely need to go back and catch up on the earlier books in this series!

House of Correction by Nicci French

I got an ARC of this on audiobook from NetGalley and I really enjoyed listening to it. The novel follows Tabitha who is in prison awaiting trial for murder but she can’t remember what happened when the murder occurred so is trying to work it all out. Tabitha is an unreliable narrator, and I always love this in books when you don’t know if you can trust the person telling the story! This was a really gripping read, and I loved that when Tabitha gets to trial she decides to defend herself and the plot becomes much faster paced. I really enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to reading more by Nicci French in the future.

The Island by C. L. Taylor

I listened to this on audiobook which I received from NetGalley. I found this a really engaging audiobook with different narrators for each of the characters which made it easy to follow. The novel follows a group of teens who go to an island for a survival holiday but when they get there unexpected things happen and they soon wonder if they’re really alone and if they’re safe. This isn’t my favourite C. L. Taylor novel but it was a fun read and one that had me listening every time I had a few minutes to spare.

WWW Wednesdays (10 Feb ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 10/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

Bound by Vanda Symon

I just started reading this book last night and I am hooked! I love Vanda Symon’s writing and this book is one that grabs you from the opening chapter and I just want to see what is going to happen next.

The Disappearing Act by Florence de Changy

This is a book about the disappearence of flight MH370 and it’s fascinating. The book is written by a journalist who was in Malaysia during the investigation and it’s a very well-researched book. I’m struggling to read it a bit as it’s a NetGalley ARC and only available to read on the app so it’s harder for me to read much of it in one go but I definitely want to read more as and when I can.

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

I haven’t read anymore of this book and I don’t really know why, I was enjoying it and I’m still really intrigued about what’s going to happen. I think I’m just easily distracted at the moment and books aren’t holding my attention as much as I would like. I will definitely get back to this one soon.

Recent Reads

One by One by Ruth Ware

After having a couple of false starts with this book I ended up devouring the second half in one go! There was a moment that grabbed me and from then on I couldn’t put it down. It was a fun read and one that kept me engaged for a few hours.

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

I’m really glad that I stuck with book after contemplating DNF it last week. Again, like with One by One, there came a point in the novel where I realised I was invested in the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen to them and I very much enjoyed it from that point on.

What I Might Read Next

Space Hopper by Helen Fisher

The Twenty-Seven Club by Lucy Nichol

Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

I don’t really know what I’m going to read next as my reading mood is all over the place at the moment but the above three are the ones that caught my attention when I was scrolling through my kindle before writing this post. I’m looking forward to reading all three and hopefully in the coming week.

Mini Book Reviews: Because of You | The Sight of You | When the Lights Go Out | After the Silence

Posted on 09/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing another selection of mini reviews of books that I’ve read and enjoyed recently. This time the selection is all novels and I thoroughly enjoyed all four of them!

Because of You by Dawn French

This is the first novel that I’ve read by Dawn French but it definitely won’t be the last as I completely and utterly adored it. It follows two women who both give birth on the same day but only one woman gets to take her baby home. The novel then follows each of the two women, and the child as she grows up, and we see what their lives have been like. I found this book so engrossing and I wanted to devour it but also to read it so slowly as I didn’t want it to ever end. I still keep thinking of the characters and wondering how they are. This was an emotional and beautiful novel and one I already want to read again!

The Sight of You by Holly Miller

This is a beautiful and moving novel that follows Callie as she tries to find a way through the grief of losing her best friend, and Joel who can’t allow himself to fall in love. When they meet there is an instant connection but both are wary for their own reasons. It turns out that Joel has premonition dreams and he can’t bear to fall in love with someone and risk dreaming about what might happen to them. I really enjoyed following Joel and Callie and felt invested in their relationship. The novel is a tear jerker but it’s also life-affirming and I recommend it!

When the Lights Go Out by Carys Bray

I’m a huge fan of Carys Bray’s writing so this has been one of my eagerly anticipated reads and I’m so pleased to say that it more than lived up to my hopes for it. This book follows Emma and her husband Chris. Emma wants to live a simple, happy life but Chris is obsessed with climate change and stockpiling for the end of days. Emma tries to be patient but it’s driving her mad, and Chris just can’t see beyond his own fears for what he believes is coming for them. The couple can’t communicate well with each other anymore and the situation becomes more and more tense. There is a sense of foreboding running right through this novel and so I knew something was going to happen but the ending was shocking. This is a brilliant novel that explores what it is to be married to someone with different ideals to yourself, and what happens when the ability to see each other’s point of view is lost. I loved this book and I recommend it!

After the Silence by Louise O’Neill

I was so keen to read this book as I loved Louise’s earlier novel Almost Love and I’m pleased to say that this one was every bit as good. This is billed as a thriller but for me it’s more an exploration of people in small towns, and relationships and what lengths people will go to to hide the truth when something terrible happens. The novel follows a cast of characters as a crime podcast is being made about the murder of a teenage girl ten years earlier. We slowly find out about the possible suspects and how the islanders view each other, and the suspicions that linger. For me, the novel really shows what it is like to be controlled by someone who has more power than you. There is a moment near the end of the novel that sent shivers down my spine as it explained coercive control better than anything I’ve ever read before. This is an excellent novel and I highly recommend it.

Mini Book Reviews: Dear Reader | No Win Race | Invisible Women | Let’s Do It

Posted on 05/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

I’ve got so behind on writing reviews on the books I’ve been reading so I’ve decided to share some mini reviews in an attempt to catch up!

Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink

I really loved this book; it’s such a comforting and relatable read. The author discusses events in her life alongside the books that got her through and it’s a book that everyone will find something in; it’s really a love letter to books. Like Cathy, I’ve always turned to books throughout my life and they rarely let me down – they are my constant. Cathy talks about the awful times in her life through to how she got to where she is now and the part books have played all the way through. This is such a gorgeous book and is one I will not only re-read myself in the future, but will continue to buy copies to give to my friends as gifts. I highly recommend this one!

No Win Race by Derek A. Bardowell

I’m a huge football fan so was very interested in reading this book from that perspective. What I got was a fascinating, and at times heart breaking, memoir about what it is to be black and british in the UK. There is so much to this book and I would recommend it to everyone, you don’t need to be a sports fan to get something out of this book. The author relates how he felt when certain sporting events happened, and how he came to understand that black athletes were treated differently. He takes the reader from the Brixton riots to Brexit and covers so many things that happened in between. Derek is so open and honest in his writing and really brings it home how things have felt to him. I found this book devastating to read at times but I got so much out of it. I recommend this book to everyone.

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

I’ve wanted to read this book for ages and am so glad that I finally picked it up. Invisible Women looks at how the world was designed for male bodies, and so everything is more perilous if you have a female body: medicines have always been tested on men, cars are designed around an average male height and weight so that seatbelts don’t off as good protection for women. It is an anger-inducing read! The chapter that really made my blood boil was the one that discussed how scientists think viagra may help women with severe period pain but they mainly tested it on men and discovered the benefits to men and so that’s as far as it went! I’m still furious about this! This is such an insightful book and one that people need to read though, we need to know these things and I’m so glad I read it.

Let’s Do It by Jasper Rees

I’m a huge fan of Victoria Wood’s work, I remember being allowed to stay up late to watch her TV show back in the 80s when I was still a child. It felt like such a treat to watch it with my mum every week. I was delighted to get an ARC of the audio book of this biography from NetGalley and I very much enjoyed listening to it. Victoria’s friends and co-stars share narrating duties and it really brings the book to life. It’s quite a long biography but it didn’t ever feel slow. I loved hearing about Victoria’s childhood, and how she got into comedy. I particularly loved listening to the stories behind Acorn Antiques as I loved that show. This is a must-read biography for fans of Victoria Wood. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a hardback copy for my mum-in-law for Christmas (along with a DVD of Acorn Antiques)!

WWW Wednesdays (3 Feb ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 03/02/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

I’ve read a couple more chapters of this book this week and I’m still not feeling hooked by it. I think I’m going to give it another few chapters to see if it grabs me by then.

One by One by Ruth Ware

This book got so good! I’m now gripped by this one and can’t wait to see what happens next!

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

I haven’t read any more of this book this week but I was enjoying it so hope to get back to it very soon.

Recent Reads

Really Saying Something by Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward

I got this book for my birthday last week and had to read it right away! I’m so glad I did as I adored it, it was such an interesting and fun read. I loved it!

What I Might Read Next

Life’s What You Make It by Phillip Schofield

I got this book for my birthday and I’m so keen to read it so I plan on picking this one up next.

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

I’ve had an ARC of this one from NetGalley for a while now and I really do want to get to this one soon so hopefully I will get to it this week.

Stacking the Shelves with my Birthday Book Haul (30 Jan ’21)!

Posted on 30/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

It was my birthday this week and I had a really lovely day. We’re in lockdown in the UK so it was a stay at home birthday with just me and my husband but he made it such a nice day. I got some fabulous gifts (including a mix tape that he made for me of songs that were in the charts on the day I was born, which I love), and he cooked me a curry in the evening. We watched Joker and had an evening of music and wine, it couldn’t have been a nicer day.

It was weird having a lockdown birthday but it gave me time to reflect back over the last year. It’s now almost a whole year since I last went in a shop (the first week in February 2020) or anywhere at all in fact. I know it’s been an horrendous year for everyone but I was thinking back over my personal year and realised that I’ve actually achieved a lot over the year and I want to celebrate those achievements. I’ve lost over three stone since September, which I’m really proud about as I’ve been overweight for a long time and it’s nice to finally be doing something about it. I’ve still got weight to lose but I’m more than halfway to where I want to be. I’ve managed to come off some of my medication, it wasn’t easy but it was absolutely worth it and I’m glad I did it. I’ve discovered that between my husband and me we can cut my hair at home and make a decent job of it. He cut five inches off my hair and I cut myself a fringe in and a few layers at the front.

For my birthday I got lots of lovely presents, including some new clothes in my new size which is lovely. I was delighted to be given new books from my husband, my mum-in-law and my best friend and all were total surprises.

I’ve been wanting to get the Bananarama and Phillip Schofield memoirs so was thrilled with those and I think I’ll read one of those next. Push sounds so dark and so good and I’m keen to pick that up when I’ve finished my current reads. The Apollo book is a very heavy coffee table book full of stunning photos of the Apollo missions and I’m excited to sit and look through it. I’ve always been obsessed with space travel and the moon landings so this is a book to treasure. Pause for Thought is from my best friend and I’m looking forward to dipping in and out of this one. Finally I got Barack Obama‘s memoir from my Mum-in-law and I’m very happy to have a copy of this one. It’s a very big and heavy book but one I’m keen to read soon.

WWW Wednesdays (27 Jan ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 27/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

I have a NetGalley ARC of this but I also recently bought the Audible book so I could part listen to it. I’m glad I did as I was finding the book very slow and information heavy but the audio book is helping me stay focused on the story and what is happening. I’m only a few chapters into this one so too early to say if I’m enjoying it but I will definitely read more this week.

One by One by Ruth Ware

I’ve only read a little bit of this one since last week (it’s just been a bit of a week and I haven’t been reading much but I’m hopefully back on track now) but I am intrigued to know more about the group of work colleagues and what is going to happen to each of them whilst they’re trapped in a chalet!

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

I’ve not read much more of this since last week either but I am keen to get back to it as I was enjoying this one. I’m keen to find out what is going to happen next!

Recent Reads

Because of You by Dawn French

I really, really enjoyed this book! I thought I was going to like it but I enjoyed it way more than I was expecting. It had me gripped from the beginning and I felt really invested in all of the characters. I was sad to finish this one as I wanted to stay with them all for a bit longer!

The Sight of You by Holly Miller

I enjoyed this book too, I felt a little more removed from the story than I expected too but I think that was me rather than the book. It’s such a beautiful and emotional read and it’s one that will stay with me. I’m keen to read whatever the author publishes next!

What I Might Read Next

Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill

I got this one from NetGalley recently as it’s something I need to understand more about. I’d really like to read this one as soon as I can and am hoping it will be useful.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

I love this author’s books but this one sounds a bit scary to me so I want to pick it up but I’m also hesitant to do so!

The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite

I got this book from NetGalley recently after reading a post about the author’s journey to writing this book and being intrigued. I hope I can get to this one as it’s been calling to me from my Kindle!

WWW Wednesdays (20 Jan ’21)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 20/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Sight of You by Holly Miller

I have an ARC of this book from NetGalley but I recently bought the audiobook in an Audible sale so I’m part listening and part reading to this one and I’m really enjoying it. I’m intrigued by the premise and am keen to listen to more to find out where this story is going. It feels like it might be a heartbreaker!

One by One by Ruth Ware

I started reading this one last night and I’m hooked! I love mystery books set in an isolated location where the murderer can only be one of the few people staying in the particular place. In this case the location is an isolated ski chalet where the group become trapped following an avalanche. It’s perfect for this time of year and I’m keen to get back to it.

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

I picked this book off my Kindle on a whim and I’m really enjoying it. It’s fast-paced and gripping and I’m interested to see where this is going. The novel opens with a young woman calling her dad for help after she is arrested for murder and then it goes back to four months earlier and we get to see what leads up to the present day.

Because of You by Dawn French

I’ve had an ARC of this on my Kindle for a while now and I’m kicking myself because now I’ve started reading it I’m loving it. It’s one of those books that I want to keep reading to see how it’s going to end but I also don’t want to rush because I don’t want to finish it. This novel follows two women who both give birth on the same day but only one of them gets to take a baby home with her. We then see what happens in the years that follow.

Recent Reads

After the Silence by Louise O’Neill

This book wasn’t the thriller that I was expecting it to be but it was such a brilliant exploration of people and of the insidious way that one person exerts power and control over others. There is a moment towards the end of this book that gave me goosebumps and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Little White Lies by Philippa East

I borrowed the audio book of this one from the Borrowbox app and it was a good book to listen to. I didn’t love it as much as I thought I was going to but it did keep me hooked all the way to the end.

True Story by Kate Reed Petty

I finished this book a few days ago and I still aren’t sure how I feel about it. I think I need to let this one sit with me for a while before I attempt to write about it.

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

This was one of those novels that is really hard to put down. We follow the case of two sisters who each blame the other for the murder of their father. I was racing to the end of this one to find out if I was right about whodunnit! I was a little disappointed with the way this novel ended but I did enjoy the time I spent reading the rest of it.

When the Lights Go Out by Carys Bray

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while as I’m a huge Carys Bray fan and I’m so pleased to say that this absolutely lived up to my expectations. I keep thinking about this one and wondering how the characters are doing now!

The Last Resort by Susi Holliday

This was an enjoyable, fast-paced thriller.

What I Might Read Next

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

The Hidden Girls by Rebecca Whitney

Intimations by Zadie Smith

WWW Wednesdays (13 Jan ’21)! What are you reading at the moment?

Posted on 13/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Last Resort by Susi Holliday

I’ve read and enjoyed Susi Holliday’s previous novel so was keen to get to her new one. This is a really intriguing novel where seven people who have never met before are taken to an island where they think they are on a luxury break but actually a tech company has other ideas. I’m so keen to find out what is going on in this book and so I’ll be reading more of this asap!

Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

This is another intriguing novel! Two sisters each dialled 911 to report their father had been brutally attacked and that the person who’d done it was their sister who had killed him. I’m so keen to know what actually happened and how this novel is going to end!

Recent Reads

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez

This was a fascinating read all about the way the world is designed around men and male bodies. I found it anger-inducing but also very interesting reading about things like how cars are designed around males and how medication is based on trials on male bodies. I knew, or had an idea, of some of the things in this book but it was still eye-opening. I’m really glad I read this one.

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew

I bought this book and read it straight away, which I don’t do often enough these days. I really enjoyed this YA novel about a teenage girl who gets her period during her first sexual encounter and what happens after that. I loved the issues explored through this novel and how it looks at how girls can be made to feel shame about such a natural bodily process. I wish this book had existed when I was a teenager but I still very much enjoyed it as a 40-something!

The Island by C. L. Taylor

I was approved to listen to the audio book of this one via NetGalley and I enjoyed it. I love C. L. Taylor’s writing and this was a thrilling YA mystery set on an island where a group of teens have gone for a survivalist experience but what they get is more than they bargained for.

Your Blue is Not My Blue by Aspen Matis

This is such a different book that I would normally stick with but there was something so compelling about the writing and I just couldn’t put it down. I was intrigued by Matis’ life and to find out what would happen to her and her marriage. I really did enjoy this book and I would recommend it.

What I Might Read Next

After the Silence by Louise O’Neill

I’ve had this on my TBR for a little while now and I keep seeing good reviews for it so I’m really keen to pick it up. Hopefully I will get to it over the coming week.

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

My husband surprised me with this book for Christmas and I’ve really want to read it very soon so hopefully I can also get to this one this week.

Homecoming by Luan Goldie

I’ve got an ARC of this from NetGalley but I recently bought the audio book from Audible so I think I’m going to part listen and part read this one soon!

Stacking the Shelves with a new Book Haul (9 Jan ’21)!

Posted on 09/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Purchased eBooks

Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Chance and Courage by Tori Amos

I’m hoping to read this one in the coming days as it’s calling to me from my Kindle!

Passing by Nella Larsen

This is a book that I’ve been meaning to pick up for a long while so when I spotted it this week I decided to grab it. I’m really keen to get to this one.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

I’ve read and really enjoyed all of Riley Sager’s previous novels so had to buy this one even though the premise (haunted house) sounds utterly terrifying to me!

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew

I’ve already read this one and I thought it was excellent. It’s about a teenage girl and what happens when she gets her period during her first sexual encounter with a boy from school. It’s such a good read and I recommend it!

Review Books

The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves

I was thrilled to be approved for this one on NetGalley as Abbie Greaves previous novel was one of my favourite books of 2020!

Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill

I requested this book on a whim when I spotted it as it’s definitely a book that I need to be reading at the moment.

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

As soon as I read the premise of this one I had to request so I’m very happy to now have a copy on my Kindle.

Dead Head by C. J. Skuse

This is the third novel in the Rhiannon (Sweetpea) series so I was really keen to get my hands on it to find out what happened after the end of the previous book!

Purchased AudioBooks

Quite by Claudia Winkleman

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Another Planet: A Teenager in Suburbia by Tracey Thorn

My 2020 Reading Year in Stats!

Posted on 08/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Over the last few days I’ve shared my Reading Bingo 2020, my favourite novels read in 2020 and my favourite non-fiction read in 2020 posts so today it’s time for my reading statistics post!

2020 was such an awful and strange year and my reading has been very up and down. I did read at my normal pace up until February and then I was too anxious to read. I then started to read again but hit an awful reading slump around September/October and I’m only just starting to feel like reading again now. So I almost didn’t bother doing a reading stats post this year but I do enjoy putting the post together so I decided to go ahead anyway.

My original goal for this year was to read 275 books but I dropped that to 210 in the summer. I did manage to achieve the goal with a total of 215 books read in 2020. Quite a few of my more recent books were very, very short though so if I’d stuck to 300+ page novels I wouldn’t have read anywhere near as many books.

The longest book that I read in 2020 was Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman which is a whopping 1032 pages long. I loved the book and am so pleased that I took the time to read it over the summer. The shortest book I read was A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz at just 32 pages long. My average page count was 317, which is short for me but not too bad. According to Goodreads I read a total of 68,268 pages over the year.

Alongside Goodreads I track my reading and blogging stats on a spreadsheet and I just love seeing all the charts and seeing the patterns in my reading.

Of the 215 books I read in 2020 153 were by women, 54 were by men and three were co-authored by a woman and a man. I don’t seek out books based on the author’s gender but ever since I’ve tracked my reading on a spreadsheet I’ve read far more books by women than men. I am totally fine with this but still find it fascinating how it almost always naturally breaks down to two thirds or even three quarters women.

Usually I read quite steadily throughout the year but this year has been a bit all over the place as you can see from the chart above. I struggled to read in March, mainly before the lockdown happened as my anxiety was through the roof. I then began to feel calmer and stopped watching so much of the news and over the summer when I could spend time out in the garden I read quite a lot. Since the end of September my reading has tailed off a lot. It looks like I read a lot in December but to be honest most of those books were my really short cosy Christmas books that I read most years so the page count was pretty tiny. I’m okay with how my reading has been this year though because 2020 was such an horrendous year.

I read quite a variety of genres this year so I’m happy about that. I’m a bit sad that I didn’t read anywhere near as much nonfiction as I normally do but when I was reading I mainly wanted escapism so I mostly reached for novels.

The above pie chart breaks down where I got the books that I read through 2020. I’m really pleased that 44.8% of the books I read were books I had for review as it means my plan to make a dent in the pile of ARCs has been reasonably successful. I also used the BorrowBox app (my local library app for audiobooks) a lot more so am happy that I’m supporting library services and am trying books I might otherwise not have read too.

This pie chart shows where I acquired my books from in 2020. Almost two thirds of my books are ones that I bought for myself and only a quarter of books were ARCS, I’m really pleased about this. I love getting ARCs but I also want to support authors so want to buy books as much as I can.

I’ve been tracking how much of my TBR from pre- the beginning of 2020 to see how many of those books I’ve read versus how many books I bought and read in 2020. The above chart shows the break down. I’m really pleased with this chart. I love that it shows I’m reading a lot of books in the year I buy them whilst also still reading older books. I do think I need to try to buy fewer books and to read more of my existing TBR but I never stick to this kind of plan! In 2021 I would like to make re-reading some of my favourite books more of a priority. I always mean to go back to old favourites but I have so many unread books on my TBR mountain that I always go to those first. I would, as a minimum, like to re-read Maggie O’Farrell’s After You’d Gone this year. It’s a really special book to me and I haven’t re-read it in a few years now.

The above chart shows the formats of the books I read in 2020. In some ways I was surprised that the percentage of ebooks I read was so much higher than the audio books I listened to but then with my husband being furloughed I didn’t listen to as many books over the year. I wish I had managed to read more hardback and paperback books as my physical book TBR keeps on growing but a lot of the time I struggle to physically hold them and turn the pages so I just read them as and when I can. I would like to read more of my physical books this year if I can.

So that’s it, my 2020 reading year in statistics! I’ve got a spreadsheet started for 2021 so I’m tracking my reading again this year.

WWW Wednesdays (6 Jan 2021)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 06/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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

The Island by C. L. Taylor

I was approved to listen to this audiobook on NetGalley and I’m really enjoying it. I love C. L. Taylor’s writing anyway and this YA thriller is really engaging and exactly what I want to be listening to at the moment. It follows a group of teens who have arrived on an island for a survivalist holiday but very quickly things begin to go wrong leaving them all questioning who could be doing this to them and why!

My Blue is not Your Blue: A Missing Person Memoir by Aspen Matis

I can’t remember where I heard about this book but I found it on Kindle Unlimited this week so downloaded it and immediately started reading it. It’s a memoir of a young woman who meets her future husband while hiking in the wilderness. They fall in love and are happy together but one day he goes to the funeral of a friend and never returns. I’m finding myself gripped by this one even though the writing style isn’t something I’d normally go for. I’m keen to read more!

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

This is a short story collection that I got from NetGalley before Christmas but I only managed to read the first two stories so I would like to pick this back up and finish the collection this week. I really enjoyed the stories I’ve read so far so I’m looking forward to seeing what the others are like.

Recent Reads

Not the Type by Camilla Thurlow

I’ve only ever watched one series of Love Island and it was the one with Camilla. I was fairly indifferent to it but it gripped me enough to keep watching to the end. When I saw this book was out I was drawn to pick it up and I’m really glad I did. It’s about Camilla’s life working in landmine disposal for Halo and also her struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem. I found it to be a really honest book and I enjoyed Camilla’s writing.

The Push by Claire McGowan

I got this book from Kindle Unlimited and I’m so glad I picked it up. It was a case of right book at the right time and I found it really hard to put down. The novel follows six couples who meet at an antenatal group. The novel opens with the aftermath of a get together post the babies being born and someone has fallen to their death from a balcony. The novel then follows the characters and goes back and forth in time. I found it a compulsive read and I really enjoyed it.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

My husband bought me this book for Christmas and I picked it up on New Year’s Day and I read the whole thing in one sitting. It’s a long time since I’ve done that so it shows how much I enjoyed the book. This novel follows a group of people in a retirement village and they try to solve unsolved murders at their club. Then one day someone they know is murdered and they are on the case. I loved everything about this book and can’t wait for the sequel to be out later this year!

What I Might Read Next

The Last Resort by Susi Holliday

I downloaded this book from Kindle Unlimited this week and am really keen to get to it so hopefully I can pick it up this week. I love Susi Holliday’s writing so I feel sure that I’m going to love this one!

Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change and Courage by Tori Amos

I treated myself to this book recently as I’m a real fan of Tori Amos’ music and so as soon as I heard about this book I had to get it! It seems like it might be a good read for right now and I can’t wait to get to this one!

One by One by Ruth Ware

I was approved to read this from NetGalley a few months ago now but due to my dreaded reading slump I haven’t managed to start it as yet. Given that it’s set in wintery weather it seems like it might be a perfect January read so I hope to get to it this week!

My Favourite Non-Fiction Books 2020!

Posted on 05/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Yesterday I shared my favourite novels that I read in 2020 so today it’s time to share my favourite non-fiction books that I read last year. I didn’t read as much non-fiction in 2020 as I normally do but then I didn’t read as much in general either.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are my favourite non-fiction books read in 2020!

Wham, George Michael and Me by Andrew Ridgeley

Truth, Lies and O-Rings by Allan J. McDonald

Notes to Self by Emilie Pine

Gone Fishing by Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garratt M. Graff

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper

A Year of Living Simply by Kate Humble

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink

In Black and White by Alexandra Wilson

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Let’s Do It by Jasper Rees

So there we have it, my top non-fiction reads of last year! I didn’t read as much non-fiction as I normally do but of the ones I read there were some incredible books.

What was you favourite non-fiction book that you read last year? I’d love to know! 🙂

My Favourite Novels of 2020!

Posted on 04/01/2021 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing my favourite novels that I read in 2020! This has been such a strange year and books have at times given me solace and escape but then at other times (such as the last three months) I’ve barely been able to read anything at all. It means my favourite books of the year really are stand out books that have kept me sane this year. In the end I read 215 books over the course of 2020 and these are my standouts from the year!

So, in no particular order, here goes..

It’s a Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans

Wild Spinning Girls by Carol Lovekin

The Secrets of Strangers by Charity Norman

One Split Second by Caroline Bond

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

The Day We Met by Roxie Cooper

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Heatstroke by Hazel Barkworth

Evening Primrose my Kopana Matlwa

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves

Be Careful What You Swipe For by Jemma Forte

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

The Mating Habits of Stags by Ray Robinson

The Confession by Jessie Burton

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

The Life We Almost Had by Amelia Henley

The Lost Love Song by Minnie Darke

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

Once Again by Catherine Wallace Hope

Keeper by Jessica Moor

So there you have it… my favourite novels of 2020! I will also be doing my top non-fiction books of 2020 soon too but that will be a shorter list as I’ve read fewer non-fiction books over the last year.

What was your best book of 2020? I’d love to know. 🙂

Reading Bingo 2020!

Posted on 31/12/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

It’s Reading Bingo time again! Every year I join in with this I don’t look at the board until the very end of the year and I fill in the squares based on what I’ve read so I don’t plan my reading in order to complete it. This year has been a very up and down year of reading so I didn’t have much hope of getting a full house on my bingo board. Read on to find out how I did…

A book with more than 500 pages

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman (with a whopping 1032 pages)!

A forgotten classic

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (which I know is a total cheat as it’s not a forgotten book but this is one of only two classics that I read this year and this one is the less well-known of the two).

A book that became a movie

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House by M. C. Beaton. It became a TV series, which is the best I can do!

A book that was published this year

The Life We almost Had by Amelia Henley

A book with a number in the title

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi

A book written by someone under 30

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

A book with non-human characters

Picky Eaters by S. J. Higbee

A funny book

Gone Fishing: Life, Death and the Thrill of the Catch by Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse

A book by a female author

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

A book with a mystery

The Holdout by Graham Moore

A book with a one-word title

Mine by Clare Empson

A book of short stories

Christmas with Dull People by Saki

Free square

The Mating Habits of Stags by Ray Robinson

A book set on a different continent

Evening Primrose by Kopano Matlwa

A book of non-fiction

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham

The first book by a favourite author

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy

A book you heard about online

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

A best-selling book

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

A book based on a true story

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell (it’s very loosely based on the author’s own experience when she was a teenager)

A book at the bottom of your to be read pile

You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell (it was on my TBR for five years!)

A book your friend loves

How To Disappear by Gillian McAllister

A book that scares you

The Murders at White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee

A book that is more than 10 years old

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The second book in a series

Dead Wrong by Noelle Holten

A book with a blue cover

Strangers by C. L. Taylor

Well, if you’ll allow me the couple of cheats then I got a full house but really I know I cheated a bit so I think I probably failed this year but that’s okay! This has been such a strange year and my reading has been affected all the way through so I’m just happy to have read some really enjoyable books throughout the year!

Festive Mini Book Reviews! #Christmas

Posted on 29/12/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Today I’m sharing some mini book reviews of books that I’ve managed to read over the last few weeks. These ones are all quite festive or set at Christmas!

All About Us by Tom Ellen

This book is stunning and I very much enjoyed this one. I had an ARC from NetGalley but I bought the Audio book from Audible so I could listen to it. The novel is a retelling of A Christmas Carol and it really is a brilliant story. Ben is unhappy in his marriage and as Christmas is approaching he’s thinking about an old flame and what could have been. The novel then follows Ben as he gets thrown back to the past numerous times and discovers that his memories of how things happened were perhaps skewed or even inaccurate and while what he learns won’t change the future he can change himself and his approach to life. I adored this book, it kept me engrossed at a time when reading has been a struggle and I’m sure I’ll revisit it again in the future. I definitely recommend this one!

If Every Day Was Christmas by Donna Ashcroft

This is a lovely, warm-hearted novel that follows Meg who runs a Christmas shop in the Scottish village of Lockton and she loves the festive period. This year things begin to go awry as she deals with family dramas, and she finds herself drawn to a new man. I loved that there was a focus on a budding romance but also on the friendships between women in the village. I also really liked that no one knew who Tom was or what he had done for a living before he arrived in Lockton. It made for a fun read wondering when people would find out and how they would react! I did enjoy this novel, it was really cute and romantic and I would recommend it.

Tinsel by Sibeal Pounder

This is a really sweet middle grade novel about Blanche Claus and the idea that the story we all know about Santa is wrong! I found this such a lovely, escapist read and really enjoyed it. I would have adored this book when I was younger, it’s always fun to read an alternative origin story for Father Christmas and this one has lots of magic, adventures and twists and I would recommend it to anyone who has young children.

A Surprise Christmas Wedding by Phillipa Ashley

I got an audio version of this book from NetGalley and I really enjoyed listening to it. It follows Lottie who is working at Firholme, her dream job in the Lake District. One day she finds she has a last minute Christmas wedding to organise and the groom turns out to be the man who broke her heart! This is a lovely, feel-good read that I really enjoyed listening to over a couple of weeks. The setting is beautiful and the characters are well-rounded and believable. The audio narration by Laura Kirman really added to my enjoyment and I will look out for more books narrated by her in the future. I definitely recommend this one!

Christmas at Fireside Cabins by Jenny Hale

I’ve read and enjoyed other festive novels by this author so I was delighted when I was approved to read this one on NetGalley a few weeks ago. This novel follows Lila who struggles with Christmas ever since her Dad died but she has made a new family in her group of friends and every year they celebrate the festive season together. This year might be the last time as they’re all moving on with careers or relationships so it needs to be a good one. They end up at Fireside Cabins which is more dilapidated than advertised but they decide to stay as the owner is such a lovely lady. Lila finds herself attracted to the sullen coffee shop owner but he’s clearly troubled. I loved seeing how this group of friends got on and seeing how things developed. I really cared about Eleanor, the owner of the Cabins and was rooting for her to be okay. I recommend this one too!

Christmas 2020 Book Haul!

Posted on 28/12/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

Gosh, it’s been a little while since I last blogged! My reading slump has really lingered and I’ve barely been reading anything so I’ve not felt I had anything to blog about. I did get some lovely new books and bookish things for Christmas though and I’m already read one of those books and have started another so it feels like I might be starting to come out of this horrible slump at long last (fingers crossed)!

Book Haul

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

How to be Safe by Tom McAllister

Pages and Co: Tilly and the Map of Stories by Anna James

Bookish Gifts

A gorgeous Yoshi handbag, which I love!

And this fabulous Yoshi purse, which is in my favourite colour and has my favourite book on it (Fahrenheit 451)!

My husband also surprised me with an iPad Mini!

My iPad bit the dust a few months ago but I couldn’t justify buying a new one so it was amazing to be surprised with a new one at Christmas. I mostly read on my Kindle but I sometimes read in iBooks so it’s good to have the bigger screen than on my phone, plus the NetGalley app works with this iPad (my old one was too old) and I can read blogs on it too.

How was your Christmas? I hope you and your family are safe and well. My husband and I had Christmas at home on our own having taken the decision that with me being vulnerable that it wasn’t worth the risk of seeing anyone. We had a lovely relaxing day filled with music (I bought him quite a few new records for Christmas) and books. He also had Boxing day off, which is the first time ever so that made it special that we had more than one day together over the festive season.

WWW Wednesdays (21 Oct 20)! What are you reading?

Posted on 21/10/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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’m still in my reading slump so I’m not really reading much of anything. We watched the Netflix series based on Vulgar Favours: The Assassination of Gianni Versace over the weekend so I thought I’d pick the book up now. I hope I can get into it. I’m still reading If I Can’t Have You from last week. I’m enjoying it but just aren’t very motivated to read in general at the moment.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace by Maureen Orth

If I Can’t Have You by Charlotte Levin

Recent Reads

This is a blog tour book for next week so given how slow my reading is at the moment I thought I better start it right away. I ended up getting gripped and read it in two sittings. It’s such a different and stunning read and I really enjoyed it. I recommend it! I hoped this might break my reading slump if it hasn’t. At least I know if I find the exact right book for my mood I can still concentrate to read.

Once Again by Catherine Wallace Hope

What I Might Read Next

I don’t know what I’ll read next, I’m going to see whatever grabs my attention in the coming days. I’m thinking I might start on some festive reads as they tend to be more cosy and easy to get into.

WWW Wednesdays (7 Oct 20)! What are you reading this week!

Posted on 07/10/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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’m still feeling really lacklustre with reading but I have found these two non-fiction books that are holding my attention. The New Jim Crow is an audiobook that I’ve borrowed from BorrowBox and I’m finding it so eye-opening. Just Eat it is about intuitive eating – it caught my attention recently given that I’m in the middle of trying to eat in a much more healthy way. It’s interesting so far and I’m keen to read more.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Just Eat It by Laura Thomas

Recent Reads

I haven’t read much at all this week. Gravity Well is a short poetry collection which I enjoyed. I’m on the blog tour for it today if you’d like to read my thoughts on it. House of Correction was a gripping audiobook that I really enjoyed. The Phone Box at the Edge of the World was ultimately a life-affirming read and I’m glad I picked it up.

The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina

Gravity Well by Marc Rahe

House of Correction by Nicci French

What I Might Read Next

To be honest I have no idea what I might read next so I’m not even going to pretend about what I might pick up. I hope I pick up something that gets my reading mojo back in full swing. If you have any recommendations I’d appreciate them. 🙂

What are you reading this week? I’d love to know! 🙂

That Was The Month That Was… September 2020!

Posted on 02/10/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

I can’t believe it’s already October! Time has been so strange this year as it’s been both very slow and yet has flown by.

My reading mojo is still not really there. I have read quite a few books this month but a lot of them were either books that I’d part read the month before or they were audio books. I enjoy books when I’m reading but I don’t feel inclined to pick books up, even when it’s something I’ve started and was enjoying.

My blogging mojo is flagging a bit too at the moment. I’m struggling with typing and it’s harder to use my dictation software with the new WordPress so that’s not helping. I must apologise for not replying to all of your lovely comments in anything like a timely manner. Also, for not commenting on your blogs. I hope I can get back into the groove of it very soon.

September was a good month in other ways though. My healthy eating is going well and I’m definitely forming much better habits. I’m even eating breakfast every day (for the first time in my adult life!). Over the last few weeks I’ve lost over a stone and given that I can’t really exercise due to the nature of my disability I’m feeling quite proud of myself.

My husband is now off furlough and is working from home for the time being. It’s meant we’ve finally found a proper purpose for our spare room and it’s looking really good as an office. Today the picture frames we ordered arrived so we’ll finally be able to frame our music posters from various Isle of Wight festivals we’ve been to and when we saw Kate Bush. It’s only taken us 6 or 7 years to get around to this but better late than never!

The Books I Read

My September Blog Posts

That Was The Month That Was… August 2020!

WWW Wednesdays (2 Sep)

My 20 Books of Summer Wrap-Up

Book Haul (5 Sep)

WWW Wednesdays (9 Sep)

Mini Book Reviews of Three by D. A Mishani, Dead To Her by Sarah Pinborough, The Storm by Amanda Jennings, and Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

WWW Wednesdays (16 Sep)

Review of A Year of Living Simply by Kate Humble

WWW Wednesdays (23 Sep)

Review of In Black and White by Alexandra Wilson

Review of The Stolen Sisters by Louise Jensen

WWW Wednesdays (30 Sep)

How was September for you? I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well and that the month has been okay. What was your favourite book from September? I’d love to know what you’ve been reading so please comment below.

In Black and White by Alexandra Wilson | @RandomTTours

Posted on 25/09/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

About the Book

Alexandra Wilson was a teenager when her dear family friend Ayo was stabbed on his way home from football. Ayo’s death changed Alexandra. She felt compelled to enter the legal profession in search of answers.

As a junior criminal and family law barrister, Alexandra finds herself navigating a world and a set of rules designed by a privileged few. A world in which fellow barristers sigh with relief when a racist judge retires: ‘I’ve got a black kid today and he would have had no hope’.

In her debut book, In Black and White, Alexandra re-creates the tense courtroom scenes, the heart-breaking meetings with teenage clients, and the moments of frustration and triumph that make up a young barrister’s life.

Alexandra shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin, or someone you suspect is guilty. We see what it is like for children coerced into county line drug deals and the damage that can be caused when we criminalise teenagers.

Alexandra’s account of what she has witnessed as a young mixed-race barrister is in equal parts shocking, compelling, confounding and powerful.

My Thoughts

In Black and White is such a brilliant and eye-opening read. Alexandra Wilson is a young mixed race woman from Essex who trained as a barrister. She worked very hard and is incredibly motivated and this book is her story as she navigated the system facing racism and misogyny all along the way.

When Alexandra Wilson was a teenager her cousin Ayo was murdered in an unprovoked attack when he was not far from his home. This had a profound effect on her and it compelled her to get her law degree to try and seek out answers and to make a difference.

This book is part memoir and part an introduction to the law and how it works. We learn about how you train to become a barrister, and how hard it is to not only get on the course but to find a job too. There are examples of the people Alexandra has defended, which give such an eye-opening look at how people end up in court and the wide-ranging cases that barristers work on.

It was sad to read how often people, particularly young people, end up in court and criminalised when perhaps they could have been dealt with before it got to this stage. It’s hard to read of people who have made a relatively minor mistake, or have genuine extenuating circumstances, are then hampered by a conviction from that point on.

Along the way we see the awful ways that Alexandra was judged for being black, at times being assumed to be the defendant rather than the barrister. She’s also in the minority being a woman in the profession so has that battle too. I really appreciated the way that some defendants felt more able to be open with Alexandra as they felt she was more like them. It really highlights Alexandra’s point that the Bar needs to be much more diverse than it is now.

I found In Black and White to be such an engaging, powerful and fascinating read and I’m so glad I picked it up. This is a very timely and must-read book – one I would recommend to everyone. It’s one of my favourite non-fiction books that I’ve read this year and it’s one that will stay with me.

Many thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours and Octopus Books for my copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

In Black and White is out now and available here.

A Year of Living Simply by Kate Humble | @RandomTTours

Posted on 18/09/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

About the Book

If there is one thing that most of us aspire to, it is, simply, to be happy. And yet attaining happiness has become, it appears, anything but simple. Having stuff – The Latest, The Newest, The Best Yet – is all too often peddled as the sure fire route to happiness. So why then, in our consumer-driven society, is depression, stress and anxiety ever more common, affecting every strata of society and every age, even, worryingly, the very young? Why is it, when we have so much, that many of us still feel we are missing something and the rush of pleasure when we buy something new turns so quickly into a feeling of emptiness, or purposelessness, or guilt?

So what is the route to real, deep, long lasting happiness? Could it be that our lives have just become overly crowded, that we’ve lost sight of the things – the simple things – that give a sense of achievement, a feeling of joy or excitement? That make us happy. Do we need to take a step back, reprioritise? Do we need to make our lives more simple?

Kate Humble’s fresh and frank exploration of a stripped-back approach to life is uplifting, engaging and inspiring – and will help us all find balance and happiness every day.

My Thoughts

A Year of Living Simply opens with Kate writing about the bereavements that she suffered quite close together and the realisation that she just need to re-connect with nature and to live a much simpler life. We follow her over a year as she meets with various people who are all living more simply and she takes inspiration and ideas from all of them.

I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw the title as it just feels with all the anxiety around world events at the moment that making life as simple as it can be is the way to go. A Year of Living Simply was written before the pandemic so isn’t about that but so much of what Kate writes about could be written about what a lot of us have learnt in recent months, about the things that really matter to us.

I knew I was going to love this book when I realised that what set Kate off on her journey was the loss of her father. I immediately identified with the urge to make changes in your life when you lost a parent, I was the same when my mum died. Kate starts by attempting to declutter cupboards in her house and I loved reading about that. As you may know I finally decluttered my house a couple of years ago and it has changed my life, it’s so much easier when you have less stuff.

Through the book Kate meets with people who build and live in self-sustaining eco homes, which was fascinating. The homes sound so beautiful and I could really imagine what they must be like to live in. She also meets a woman who set up a cafe that combines grabbing a coffee with having household items repaired, or being taught to repair your own belongings. This really was interesting and I wish there were more of these cafes around the country (and the world). I hate how much we throw away simply because we don’t know how to repair things or because it’s cheaper to buy a new one.

I loved reading about Kate’s attempts to start her own vegetable garden. I really appreciated that she shared her failures as well as successes, it made this book very down to earth. I have only attempted to grow vegetables once and it was a disaster as I had no real idea what I was doing. Kate has made me see that with a bit of research and persistence that I could get there if I tried again.

The book is written in such a way that feels so inclusive – it’s one woman’s journey to discover a simpler life but she absolutely brings you along with her. I loved that about it – Kate’s writing is really lovely.

A Year of Living Simply is a gorgeous book. It’s both soothing to read and also a book that will inspire you to think about how to make your own life simpler and to focus on the things that really matter to you. This book is perfect for anyone and I will definitely be buying copies for Christmas gifts this year! I highly recommend this one!

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book and to Anne Cater for my blog tour invitation.

A Year of Living Simply is out now and available here.

WWW Wednesdays (16 Sep 20)! What are you reading this week?

Posted on 16/09/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

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’m still struggling with my reading so am sticking to one ebook and one audiobook at a time. I’m really enjoying both of these books and am hoping they might break me out of this slump I’m in.

In Black and White by Alexandra Wilson

Writers and Lovers by Lily King

Recent Reads

I found Liar to be such an intriguing book and really enjoyed it. It was a book that made me think, I recommend it. Fallen Angel wasn’t a great read, it was predictable and full of stereotypical characters so didn’t really help with my reading slump. Dead to Her was an okay read – I’ve already reviewed it so you can find my full thoughts here.

The Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

Fallen Angel by Chris Brookmyre

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough

What I Might Read Next

I’m still reading by whim and hoping to find a way through this reading slump. These three books are the one that most appeal to me at the moment so I hope I can read them in the coming days.

Summer by Ali Smith

The Stolen Sisters by Louise Jensen

Life in Pieces by Dawn O’Porter

What are you reading at the moment? I’d love to chat about your current read in the comments. If you’ve posted a WWW Wednesdays post please feel free to share your link before and I’ll read your post. 🙂

My 20 Books of Summer Wrap-Up!

Posted on 03/09/2020 by Hayley at RatherTooFondofBooks

I can’t believe the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge (run by Cathy at 746 Books) is over already! This summer seems to have flown by even though I’ve spent the entirety of it in my home.

So I set myself a very rigid list of 20 physical books that I wanted to read this summer. (The rules for this challenge are very flexible but I wanted to make myself read a particular set of books). Unfortunately my disability flared up and I’m back to struggling to hold physical books so my 20 books of summer plan stalled a few weeks ago now. I did manage to read 12 of the books on my list before then (and I’m halfway through a 13th) and I’m really happy with what I managed to read. Also, one of the 12 that I read was the humongous Ducks, Newburyport (which at over a thousand pages could count as three novels!).

I did also read a lot of books on my Kindle and I listened to quite a few audiobooks so I did plenty of reading over the summer, I just didn’t manage to read what I planned on.

Here are the books that I managed to read this summer (from my original list).

I enjoyed all twelve of the books that I read but I think my favourite has to be Ducks, Newburyport. Once I got to grips with the way it’s written I just wanted to devour it, it really is an incredible novel and one I keep finding myself thinking about.

Did you take part in the 20 Books of Summer challenge? How did you get on? I hope you enjoyed all that you read over the summer, and here’s to an autumn full of fabulous books! 🙂

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Here are the books that I read in April:

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The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves

That Night by Gillian McAllister

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The Appeal by Janice Hallett

Hostage by Clare Mackintosh

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins

Dead Perfect by Noelle Holten

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Home Stretch by Graham Norton

Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Hush Little Baby by Jane Isaac

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Hungry

The Weekend

Space Hopper

Five Hundred Miles From You

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Her Last Holiday by C. L. Taylor

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed

Boy Queen by George Lester

The Gin O’Clock Club by Rosie Blake

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Dead Head by C. J. Skuse

Truth Be Told by Kia Abdullah

The Split by Sharon Bolton

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam

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Like a House on Fire by Caroline Hulse

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Homecoming by Luan Goldie

Life in Pieces by Dawn O’Porter

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The Books I Read in March

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The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite

The Castaways by Lucy Clarke

The Festival by Sarah J. Naughton

Lockdown by Peter May

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All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

The Things We Left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy

Everything is Beautiful by Eleanor Ray

The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby

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The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer by Joel Dicker

Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas

The Searcher by Tana French

The Hidden Girls by Rebecca Whitney

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