Goodreads: My December To-Read List

Goodreads: My December To-Read List

Wednesday, 14 December 2016

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My December to-read pile is a pretty ambitious one for two reasons. Firstly, because it’s already the 14^th of the month and I’ve read a grand total of about 50 pages of one book, and secondly, because I work 56 hour weeks at the moment and barely have time to sleep let alone get lost in a gem of a book. I also happen to have chosen 5 books which have a remarkable amount of pages between them. However, God loves a trier so I’m going to give it a go and see if I can exceed my own incredibly low expectations.

The first book from my monthly TBR is one I’ve actually already started reading and I’m enjoying so far, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I love my war fiction (have a read of my post all about it, if you so wish!) and this one falls nicely into that category. It’s a pretty short one, but it’s quite complex and uses some incredibly intricate prose. It’s a book that’s been on my TBR for a good few years so it’s nice to finally get around to reading it.

The next book on my list is an ARC sent to me by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books; My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood. This one is right up my street and has been described as being a compelling and intriguing psychological thriller. Exactly what the doctor ordered and something I’ve had on my pile for a few months now. It’s publishing date is 9^th February but you can download it on kindle now, if you want to give it a go.

I absolutely love Jodi Picoult and have read a fair few of her books over the last few years. I picked up this one whilst perusing the shelves in Sainsbury’s and it sounds absolutely amazing, as always. I think the cover is absolutely beautiful as well, which definitely aided in my choosing of it. I love the way that Jodi writes and how she approaches difficult, important topics in her tales. I’m sure that this one will not disappoint me.

At the end of January I’m going to be part of a Penguin Books blog tour for the book Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent, so obviously I’m dying to get that one read this month. I’m really thrilled to be part of this tour; I absolutely love Penguin and hold their name in high esteem so I’m certain I’m going to find it to my taste. It’s also a psychological thriller, I believe, and we ALL know how I feel about those…

My final book is also an ARC, this time from Pan Macmillan, The House of New Beginnings by Lucy Diamond. I don’t really know all that much about this one, other than the fact that the review copy cover is beautiful, so it’ll be nice to go into it with a clear mind and absolutely no expectations. I HAVE  read books by Lucy before so I know to expect good things!

What are you planning on reading this month? Let me know! 

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Blog Tour: Be My Baby by A. L. Michael

Blog Tour: Be My Baby by A. L. Michael

Saturday, 3 December 2016

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I’ve never read anything by A. L. Michael before and I must admit when I got an email off Jenny about being part of the blog tour for this book, I was a bit sceptical. It’s not one of the books I normally choose to read but I thought I’d take a bit of a risk and read something outside of my comfort zone for once. I’m led to believe that Be My Baby is the third book in a trilogy that follows a small group of friends: Be My Baby focuses its attention on Mollie and her young daughter, Esme.

I’m going to be truthful: I got off to a bit of a rough start with this book. It seemed way too happy go lucky for my liking and there were a few phrases and choice words that made me feel a bit weird. I put it down for a few days, read something a little more psychological and then picked it back up again with an open mind and a lot more perseverance.

I am very glad I did. The book IS incredibly cutesy but in an almost charming way. It’s not a very long book and that most definitely works in its favour. Mollie is an ambitious, single mother forced to bring up her daughter after the love of her (teenage) life pulled a fast one on her whilst she was pregnant with their child. Or, so she thinks. Jamie, aforementioned love of her life, is back on the scene and blissfully unaware of the child he left behind. The relationship between Mollie and her daughter is an envious one and definitely leads the book in the right direction. With her daughter, her multiple friendships and her up and coming business venture, it raises the question of whether she has time to invest time in a man who is, needless to say, just as handsome as he was when she met him. She finds herself having to fight the feelings she has for this man who she cannot bear to forgive.

As I’ve not read any of the previous books in the series, I have a pretty unbiased perspective of the characters. I absolutely loved the friendship between Mollie, Evie and Chelsie and their respective partners. I found myself disliking Ruby and her legacy, in spite of the positive things she had clearly brought to the trio’s lives. I love the way the story ends and how everything comes together and makes sense to a new audience.

It’s fair to say that I’m really glad that I put aside my initial thoughts and got stuck into reading it. I actually ended up finishing it in one sitting which is a rare occurrence these days in my incredibly hectic, work filled life. Thanks very much to Jenny for the opportunity to be a part of this little tour! 

4/5

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Goodreads: November Wrap Up

Goodreads: November Wrap Up

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November has flown by (is it just me, or do the months go quicker as we get older?!) and I’m back again with another round up of all the things I’ve read this month. I’ve done pretty well again, all things considered and got myself through a grand total of 5 books over the course of this month.

The first book I read in November was Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Tulley. I’ve actually already reviewed that book here, if you want to check it out. If you haven’t already got on the hype and bought yourself a copy of this book, then please for the love of all things holy, go and do it right now. It’s absolutely fantastic and worth every single penny. It lives up to all expectations and is a really compelling tale.

The Stranger in My Home by Adele Parks is another book that I’ve been eyeing up for quite a while now, so I was chuffed to finally get to it on my ever growing pile of books to be read. This book was probably one of the best I’ve read this year and it really satisfied my craving for a good old fashioned thriller. I didn’t expect the book to end the way it did, it was definitely unexpected and incredibly enjoyable. I’ll likely post up a full review of this at some point this month so keep checking back if you want to hear more of my thoughts.

I received a copy of Witness by Caroline Mitchell for review in the month of November. I’ve read one of Caroline’s books before now and really enjoyed it so I was chuffed to get the opportunity to have early access to her most recent contribution to the word of psychological fiction. Again, this is one that I’ll be writing a full review for so I don’t want to say too much. I will say, however, that it was a bloody good read and I definitely wasn’t disappointed!

Arguably the best book I’ve read this month, and perhaps one of the best I’ve read this year, was one that came to me as a bit of a surprise. The lovely Jess Duffy at Pan Macmillan posted me out a couple of books she thought I’d enjoy, last month, and I picked up Before You Go by Clare Swatman this week. I probably chose the wrong time to start reading it, considering the theme of the book and recent events in my life, but my oh my, what an absolutely breath-taking and thoughtful tale. Contemporary fiction is a genre I tend to overlook when I’m picking books out, mostly because I’m instantaneously drawn to thrillers and YA but I think I’ll have to delve into the genre a little more if works like this are hiding on in there. Clare Swatman has an absolutely amazing way with words and the story flowed in a such a way it was pretty difficult to put it down. Again, I’ll be reviewing this one in full so check back for more information soon!

The final book on my November wrap up list is Be My Baby by A. L. Michael. The review for the blog tour for this one is going live tomorrow so I’ll leave my thoughts on it for that review, but rest assured that this was another book that I really enjoyed reading. I don’t know if it’s me, getting soft in my old age, or whether I am just genuinely enjoying everything I read at the moment but I really do hope that this positive stretch of reading continues on into 2017!

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