Tag Archives: Carol Ann Lee

Reading Bingo 2020!

Posted on by

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 noelle holten

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!

WWW Wednesdays! What are you reading this week?

Posted on by

WWW pic

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! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

A similar meme is run by Lipsyy Lost and Found where bloggers share This Week in Books #TWiB.

What I’m reading now: 

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

I really enjoyed the first two books in the Cormoran Strike series so when I spotted this book in my Audible library I decided to make it my next listen. I’m only about three hours in but I’m definitely gripped and am keen to see there this novel is going.

What She Saw Last Night by Mason Cross

I’ve had a couple of days where I couldn’t read print this week so I had to put this down but I’m back reading it now and I’m super intrigued about what is going to happen.

Only Fools and Stories by David Jason

I haven’t read any more of this book this week as I got engrossed in another non-fiction book but I will definitely pick this back up in the coming days as I’m very much enjoyed David Jason’s stories.

 

What I recently finished reading:

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

This book is stunning! I deliberately made myself read this slowly as it’s such a beautiful novel and I didn’t want it to end. I loved this story and how it was told. I will review this one once I’ve got my thoughts together.

The Murders at White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee

This is such an interesting book and I’m really glad I read it. It gives background to the Bamber family, and it explores the murders and the investigation. It did feel like the author was standing back and really assessing what happened whilst also giving space for the reader to have their own thoughts about it.

Dare Me by Megan Abbott

I enjoyed some parts of this book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as other books by the author. I’ve already reviewed this one so you can find more of my thoughts here.

 

What I plan on reading next:

The Mothers by Sarah Naughton

I’ve had an ARC of this on my TBR for a few weeks now but have read some great reviews of it over the last week or so and I can’t wait to read it so I hope to get to it this week.

Who Did You Tell? by Lesley Kara

This is another ARC that I’ve had for a while and now I’m so keen to read it so hopefully I’ll also manage to read this one this week.

The Day We Met by Roxie Cooper

I’ve been trying to focus on mostly reading my unread review books in recent weeks and I was mortified to spot this on my NetGalley shelf and to see how long it has been there as it is a book I still really want to read. So I’m going to try and get to it this week.

 

What have you been reading this week? I’d love to hear. And if you take part in WWW Wednesdays or This Week in Books please feel free to leave your link below and I’ll make sure to visit and comment on your post. 🙂

Weekly Wrap-Up!

Posted on by

Cream and Blue Brush Strokes Graduation Twitter Post

This week has been another quiet week as I’m still not doing so well. It has meant that I’ve been doing lots of reading though so I’m very happy to have lovely books to escape into!

25686362._SY475_

 

Just yesterday I finished reading The Murders at White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee, which was such a fascinating and in-depth book. I wanted to read more about this case after seeing the adverts for the new ITV drama based on the case and I’m so glad that this was the book I picked.

 

cover175725-medium

 

As usual I have a few books on the go at the moment but the one I’m focusing on is What She Saw Last Night by Mason Cross. It’s such an intriguing book that had me gripped from the opening pages and I can’t wait to find out what happened on this train!

 

 

TV wise this week I’ve been really enjoying Richard Osman’s House of Games, which is my absolute favourite game show ever! If you’ve never seen it it’s on BBC2 on weeknights at 6pm. I love that it involves a brain work out but you don’t need to know loads of stuff. I recommend it!

 

It’s been a busy week on the blog this week as I’ve had a new post up every day.

I posted a weekly wrap-up last Sunday and I’m hoping to keep this up as I do enjoy putting together a post of what’s been happening in the week.

On Monday I shared my review of The Choice by Claire Wade, a novel that I found both gripping and thought-provoking so I recommend it!

On Tuesday I posted my review of The Fallout by Rebecca Thornton, another book that I enjoyed. It’s all about toxic friendships plus secrets and lies, which I’m always drawn to in fiction!

On Wednesday I posted my WWW Wednesday post where I share all the books that I’m currently reading, the books I’ve read over the course of the week and what I plan to read over the next week.

On Thursday I shared a mini review posts and wrote about The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale and It’s A Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans. I adored both of these books, they made me happy and I now want to read everything that both authors have written!

On Friday I shared my review of The Home by Sarah Stovell. This book was stunning and I already feel like it’s going to be one of my favourite books of 2020!

Yesterday I posted another book haul! Ooops! I do want to read more of the books that I already own this year but I always find January such a hard month so I’m giving myself a pass until February!

 

How has your week been? I hope you’ve had a lovely week and had time to do some reading. If you’ve shared a wrap-up post please feel free to leave your link before and I’ll make sure to visit your post. 🙂

It’s new Book Haul day as I’m Stacking the Shelves again!

Posted on by

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!

Books and eBooks

42373438._SY475_

Notes to Self by Emilie Pine

I literally read a review of this book yesterday morning and thought it sounded interesting and then saw the kindle book was on a daily deal on Amazon so I snapped it up. I’d like to read more essay collections and some of the themes explored in this book sound really interesting to me so I’m looking forward to dipping in and out of this one.

 

 

25686362._SY475_The Murders at White House Farm by Carol Ann Lee

I bought this book mid-week as I was anticipating the new ITV drama exploring this case. I started reading it immediately and have almost finished it. It’s a really in-depth look at the case, and all the people involved. There is a lot about the lives of the family well before the murders happened, which I appreciated.

 

IMG_1119

Date with Death, Date With Malice and Date with Mystery (Books 1, 2 & 3 in (The Dales Detective series) by Julia Chapman

I had read some reviews of this series over Christmas and immediately added these books to my wish list as they sound like something I would really enjoyed. So it was serendipitous that just a few days later I was offered the first three in the series by a fellow blogger in a swap. I’m so keen to pick these up so I don’t think they’ll be on my TBR for long!

 

Review Books

46265807

The Sight of You by Holly Miller

I requested this book from NetGalley on a total whim as I loved the sound of the blurb. It does sound like it could be a weepy so I’ll have to be in the right mood to read it but I’m really happy to have a copy of this on my TBR.

45895040._SY475_

 

Strangers by C. L. Taylor

I’ve loved all of C. L. Taylor’s novels so far so when I heard she had a new novel coming out this year I immediately opened NetGalley and requested it. I can’t wait to get to this one!

 

48733180.jpg

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

I downloaded this one from NetGalley this week as I really enjoyed Lucy Foley’s previous novel and I just can’t resist books where people are all trapped in one location when something terrible happens.

46775337

 

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

I read and loved The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel so I absolutely had to read her forthcoming new novel. This definitely won’t be on my TBR for very long!

 

 

 

 

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! 🙂

Stacking the Shelves with my new Book Haul!

Posted on by

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!

 

Books and eBooks

Born Lippy: How to do Female by Jo Brand

A lovely blogger friend very kindly sent me her copy of this book this week. It’s a book that I’m really keen to read so I’m going to try and get to it this month while it’s Non-Fiction November!

Christmas With Dull People by Saki

I spotted this book online this week and bought it purely based on the title as I was really intrigued by it. It’s a tiny book with a couple of short stories in so I’m looking forward to reading this one next month.

A Fabulous Creation: How LPs Saved Our Lives by David Hepworth

I’ve previously read one of David Hepworth’s books and very much enjoyed it so when I spotted this one on sale on kindle this week I immediately downloaded it. I can never resist books about music and records!

The Corset by Laura Purcell

This was another impulse buy when I saw this was on a kindle daily deal this week. It sounds like my kind of novel and it’s one I think will be good to read as the nights draw in so I don’t think this will be on my TBR for very long.

What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

And another impulse buy from the kindle daily deal! I grabbed this one as I noticed that if I bought this I could download the audio version for £2.99 so I think I’ll do that and listen to this one. It sounds like an interesting book!

One Christmas Star by Mandy Baggot

I read and loved a Christmas book by this author a couple of years ago so I couldn’t resist adding this one to my TBR this week! It sounds like a really lovely festive romance!

 

Audio Books

43618595._SY475_

Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly by Jim DeRogartis

I downloaded this book from my library audio book app this week on a whim. I’ve already started listening to this one and it’s really interesting – I’m about 90 mins into the book and I’ve already found out things that I didn’t know before so I’m keen to get back to this one.

 

 

Audible had a 2 for 1 book sale on last weekend and I had a couple of credits so I bought these four audio books!

Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher

I chose this book on a whim as it sounded like a really engrossing family saga set around Christmas and I thought it would make a good listen throughout December.

One of Your Own: The Life and Death of Myra Hindley by Carol Ann Lee

I spotted this book and decided to get it as I’m always intrigued to know more about the backgrounds and psychology of people like Myra Hindley.

You Left Early by Louisa Young

I’ve had this book on my wish list for ages so I snapped this up when I saw it in the offer.

Look What You Made Me Do by Helena Walmsley-Johnson

I also got this book off my wish list as I’ve been wanting to read it ever since it was first published.

 

ARCs

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

I’ve been so keen to read this book so when I saw it on NetGalley this week I immediately requested it and was delighted to be approved. If I love this as much as I think I’m going to I will definitely be buying it in hardback to have on my bookcase.

When Stars Will Shine edited by Emma Mitchell

This book should have been in last week’s book haul but I somehow managed to miss adding it so I’m sharing it now. This is a Christmas short story collection that is raising money for charity to Help the Heroes. I’m really looking forward to starting this one!

 

Have you bought any new books over the last week? Please tell me below. 🙂 If you join in with Stacking the Shelves please feel free to leave your link and I’ll make sure to read and comment on your post.