Tag Archives: The home

Weekly Wrap-Up!

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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!

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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.

 

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As usual I have a few books on the go at the moment but the oneĀ 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. šŸ™‚

#BookReview: The Home by Sarah Stovell | @Sarahlovescrime @OrendaBooks @annecater

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When the body of a pregnant fifteen-year-old is discovered in a churchyard on Christmas morning, the community is shocked, but unsurprised. For Hope lived in The Home, the residence of three young girls, whose violent and disturbing pasts have seen them cloistered awayā€¦

As a police investigation gets underway, the lives of Hope, Lara and Annie are examined, and the staff who work at the home are interviewed, leading to shocking and distressing revelations ā€¦ and clear evidence that someone is seeking revenge.

A gritty, dark and devastating psychological thriller,Ā The HomeĀ is also an emotive drama and a piercing look at the underbelly of society, where children learn what they live ā€¦ if they are allowed to live at all.

I read and loved Sarah Stovell’s previous novel Exquisite so when I heard she had a new book coming out it was one of my most anticipated books for 2020 and I’m so happy to say that it more than delivers on my expectations!

I must mention the cover of this book, which is absolute perfection. At first I thought it was a face with a butterfly over the eye, which makes sense given a storyline in the book. It was only as I was putting the book down having finished it that I realised it’s not a butterfly but a stone angel. This gave me chills as I genuinely couldn’t see it there before and it really fits the whole premise of the book.

The Home is a very powerful and emotional read set in a children’s home in the Lake District. One of the teenage girls is found murdered on Christmas day with another girl sat beside her. The novel then goes back and forth in time, and between multiple perspectives as we find out more about the girls’ backgrounds and what happened to lead to one of them being dead.

The mystery in this novel is so well done. I was convinced I knew what had really happened to the girl from part-way through the book but there was something nagging at the back of my mind that I just couldn’t tease out. The reveals when they come are utterly shocking and disturbing!

There is so much more to the book than the mystery around the murder though. It’s a really eye-opening look at the effect that poverty has, and what lengths people are driven to in order to survive. It also looks at the way the damage done to one generation of a family can perpetuate to the next because sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be a way out of all you’ve ever known.

I found it devastating to be able to stand back as a reader and see who the bad guys were in this novel, whilst at the same time seeing exactly how Annie thought the bad guys were the saviours. It really hits home how grooming works and how young people can end up trapped in the same life as their parents before them even as they desperately seek a better life.

There are good guys in this novel too but even they come with a sense of heartbreak and futility. Helen who runs the home where Hope, Annie and Lara are staying has her hands tied by the lack of funding and therefore staff, and the knowledge that this home is on the verge of closure. She really works hard to help the girls in her care but she know she’s fighting a losing battle. It must be incredibly hard to work in this situation, trying to build stability and hope into children’s lives where there has been none before and yet knowing that things beyond you mean you’re ultimately not going to be able to do for them what you wish to.

The Home broke my heart; it’s one of those really brilliant novels that has so many levels to it and all of them have an impact on you. I am in awe of the writing in this book – these characters have left a mark on me and I don’t think I’ll ever forget them. I know it’s only the 10th January but I already feel like this is going to be one of my books of the year, it’s such a stunning read!

The Home is out now in ebook and and can be pre-ordered in paperback.

Many thanks to Anne and Orenda Books for my ecopy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

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

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WWW Wednesdays (8 Jan 20)! What are you reading this week?

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WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atĀ Taking on a World of Words. Itā€™s open for anyone to join in and is a great way to share what youā€™ve been reading! All you have to do is answer three questions and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Samā€™s blog.

The three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think youā€™ll read next?

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

What Iā€™m reading now:Ā 

What She Saw Last Night by Mason Cross

I saw so many great reviews of this one the blog tour and I kept thinking of the premise and wondering about the storyline so I finally picked this up yesterday. I’m only a few chapters in but I’m gripped!

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

This book is so good! I’ve had a review copy from NetGalley for a while now and finally picked it up this week and am enjoying it so much. It’s a really emotional novel about a boy who is the sole survivor of an air crash and it’s such a good read.

Only Fools and Stories by David Jason

I read David Jason’s autobiography last year and enjoyed it so was keen to pick up the follow on book. This is more stories about the characters he’s played and some behind the scenes stuff. It’s a really fun read and I’m enjoying it.

What I recently finished reading:

The Home by Sarah Stovell

This book left me heartbroken! It’s a stunning psychological thriller about a teenage girl who is found dead and then it goes back and forth as we find out what happened. It’s a really raw and emotional book and one I think will stay with me for a long time to come. I’ll be reviewing this one on Friday so please check back then for my full thoughts.

17 Church Row by James Carol

I’d seen great reviews for this one on the blog tour so snapped it up on Kindle. I then saw the audio book available on BorrowBox so I part read and part listened to this one. I really enjoyed the first half of the novel but it lost me a little after that. It was a gripping read though and I’m glad I read it.

One Little Mistake by Emma Curtis

I’ve had a copy of this book ever since it was published but I finally picked it up at the end of December and finished it this week. It was such a gripping thriller about a woman who makes one mistake and ends up paying a heavy price for it.

The Choice by Claire Wade

This novel is set in a dystopian future where sugar is banned. It’s such a gripping and thought-provoking read, I really enjoyed it. I’ve already reviewed this one so you can find there here if you’d like to know more.

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

This is a gorgeous book that I’ve been wanting to read for quite a while. I started it in December and finished it a few days ago. I part read and part listened to it and it’s just such a fab story. It reminded me of how I used to love stories as a child and I now want to read anything and everything by this author!

It’s A Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans

This is another book that I partly read at the end of 2019 and finished it at the beginning of this year. I loved this novel – it’s got such a lovely cast of characters and such a great message in it. I definitely want to read more by this author in the future.

Wham! George and Me by Andrew Ridgeley

My husband bought me this for Christmas and I knew it had to be my first read of 2020 as I was sure it would get my reading year off to a fabulous start and it absolutely did. I read this all in one sitting on New Year’s Day and I adored it. I recommend it if you’re a Wham fan!

What I plan on reading next:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

This is one of my most eagerly anticipated books of 2020 and I don’t think I can resist picking up my review copy any longer!

I Want You Gone by Miranda Rijks

This has been on my NetGalley shelf for longer than it should have so I want to try and make it a priority for this week. Hopefully I can get to it as it does sound really intriguing.

Look What You Made Me Do by Helen Walmsley-Johnson

This is another book that I got for Christmas and I’ve read really good reviews of it so would like to make this my next nonfiction read of 2020.

 

What have you been reading this week? Iā€™d love to hear. And if you take part in WWW Wednesdays orĀ This Week in BooksĀ please feel free to leave your link below and Iā€™ll make sure to visit and comment on your post.Ā šŸ™‚