Goodreads: A (slightly belated) November To Read List

Goodreads: A (slightly belated) November To Read List

Sunday, 13 November 2016

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Operation get back into reading commenced in October and I’m pretty chuffed with my scheduling and time-making skills at the moment! Granted, I’m a bit late in posting this one, and I’ve actually already finished a few of the books I’ve chosen to read over the course of this month. Nonetheless, I’m excited to get stuck into these books and share my feelings about them with you guys.

One of the books I’ve had on my kindle TBR for quite a while is the acclaimed The Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley. I bought this one a few months back whilst it was part of a kindle book deal and for whatever reason, hadn’t got around to reading it until now. It follows the life of a young black girl in the late 1950s after she, along with a few of her classmates, is integrated into an entirely white school. It tackles the enormous topic of racism and segregation in the US in the most beautiful of ways and I’m incredibly happy to have finally read this book.

Another book that recently fell onto my radar was The Stranger In My Home by Adele Parks. I’ve never read a book by Adele before, but I know her writing is becoming increasingly popular at the moment. This one appealed to me for a few reasons, principally because the plot sounded incredibly interesting and something that’d be right up my street.

I’ve also chosen to read Caroline Mitchell’s latest contribution, Witness. This is a review copy, with the book itself being published in December. As we all know, I love my psychological thrillers more than the average person so I know I’ll love this one. Keeping with my thrillers theme, I’ve added The Secret by Katerina Diamond and The Girls Next Door by Mel Sherratt to my list as well. Again, these are review copies although I believe that their publication day has passed already so you can go ahead and pick these books up if you so wish!

Finishing up with these books will take me to my yearly reading target of 52 books a month ahead of schedule, which of course I’m over the moon with considering the fact I’ve got an incredibly busy personal and professional life in line with my blogging commitments. Hopefully November will be an incredibly productive reading month!

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Book Review: The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

Book Review: The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

Saturday, 5 November 2016

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For my birthday, my work colleagues treated me to a book called The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin. I’d never heard of it before, but the colleague who chose it for me bought it under the recommendation of Jodi Picoult, an author we both enjoy.

I am pleased to say that The Forgetting Time was exactly what I wanted to read but for ways I definitely didn’t expect. I am very much a lover of psychological thrillers and crime fiction, coupled with the odd YA and contemporary fiction. I couldn’t seem to fit this book into any particular genre, but arguably that made it all the more approachable. I was a bit sceptical about the book having read a few reviews before getting stuck into it, but it was thoughtful and intriguing and definitely kept me hooked until the very end. I read it over the course of a return train journey to where my parents live- a five-hour return stint which normally would have found me staring into space and tapping away on twitter. This book entertained me for the entire five hours.

Firstly, we are introduced to Janie. We are told of her taking a trip abroad, to get away from everything and everyone. Whilst there, she meets a man and they divulge in a one-night affair. The result of this affair is her son, Noah, an intriguing little boy who has more than enough mystique about him for a four-year-old. Noah repeats, time after time, that he wants to go home. Janie cannot understand this, as he IS home. She is his home. She is his mother. Not this other woman, her identity unbeknownst to her, that Noah cries out for night after night.

We are also introduced to Jerry, an old psychiatrist who has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative disease. His research falls in the supernatural, for lack of a better word, and the cases of children who believe themselves to be “reborn” in the bodies of passed beings. After discussing with Janie, Jerry comes to the conclusion that the same phenomenon has happened to Noah and the couple set off to discover who exactly Noah used to be.

The story was beautifully warming and very, very intriguing. I didn’t expect it to progress in the direction it did, but once you knew what was coming then it was pretty easy to guess the whole “point” of the tale.  This isn’t to say it’s predictable but I definitely didn’t think that at any point through reading but it was nice to follow the story and have a general idea over what was happening and why. I absolutely loved the little character relationship that formed between Janie and Jerry throughout the story and I definitely think that having likeable, approachable characters helps a plot on its way and makes it all the more successful and enjoyable. I’d definitely recommend this one to someone who’s looking for a light, easy going read to get themselves stuck back into reading.

4/5

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Goodreads: September and October Wrap Up

Goodreads: September and October Wrap Up

Tuesday, 1 November 2016

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I’m back with a vengeance! It’s been a busy few months for me and unfortunately, my reading has suffered a little bit. I get home from university and work these days and fall straight into bed, prop myself up and get myself stuck into a favourite episode of the Gilmore Girls, book completely abandoned. I decided, since I’ve been so rubbish with my reading, to combine the books I’ve read over the last two months into one little wrap up, rather than my usual monthly wrap up. I’ll definitely be MUCH better starting this week, as uni’s getting knocked on the head until February as I go full time teaching in a little school. Woohoo!

I managed four books over the last two months, which is incredibly disappointing but I’m still glad I managed to read something “fun” amongst the piles of journals and lesson plans I’ve been working around. I started off with The Secret by Kathryn Hughes back in early September. I’ve reviewed this one in full here if you want to know a bit more about the book. I quite enjoyed this one and got through it relatively quickly, all things considered. I’ll more than likely be picking up more of Kathryn’s novels in the future (after I’ve gotten through my enormous TBR pile!) I also read and reviewed Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody as part of a blog tour. This was another book that I really enjoyed, although it was completely contrary to the kinds of books I usually pick up. It was unusual and well-written and I would definitely recommend it.

I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of the anticipated debut fiction novel by Graham Norton, entitled Holding. I absolutely LOVED this book and I honestly didn’t expect to. The characters were loveable and I’ve definitely found myself a new fave detective in PJ Collins. You can read my full review here.

For my birthday, my colleagues treated me to a copy of The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin. Again, this wasn’t one that I’d personally have picked up myself as it’s a bit more supernatural than psychological but I’m incredibly glad to have read it as the story was particularly good. I enjoyed the different characters and the stories that were interlinked with one another. I loved the ending and how everything came together. I’m going to be putting a full review up in the next few days, so check back for that.

Finally, I finished off another review copy, this time a FANTASTIC psychological thriller. I don’t need to spout the usual drivel of how I love thrillers and psychological fiction and how everything about them makes me squeal in delight. This book, Before I Let You In by Jenny Blackhurst, was the epitome of all of these feelings and emotions and I am very glad to have read it. Again, I’ll be posting a full review up pretty soon but in the meantime, I recommend that you give it a go and buy it on amazon. It’s more than worth the investment and it’s currently only 99p on the kindle store.

I’m excited to get stuck back into my reading over the next few weeks, I feel so bizarre without an evening with my book so I’ll definitely have to make some lifestyle changes!

What’ve you been reading recently? Let me know!

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