Category: literature
+ abuse, adventure, alcoholism, autism, childhood, crime fiction, dark humour, family, feel-good, fiction, friendship, grief, lies, List, literature, loss, love, Malaya, marriage, mental health, motherhood, murder, obsession, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, secrets, superstition, thriller, writer
My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part One
Here are my favourite eight books of the first quarter of 2023. One of these will definitely make it into my top three books of 2023. While I read a lot of crime novels all these books are other genres, as a crime novel needs to be totally unique and exceptional to make it into my favourites. So Pretty by Ronnie Turner Part way through … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2023 – Part One
+ art, celebrity, fiction, grief, jealousy, lies, literature, loss, love, marriage, relationships, review, thriller
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
‘It was always hard to tell where our marriage ended and my work began. I often dream now that I am drifting in a dark sea, the water around me lukewarm, like blood.’ Novelist JB Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Patrick is older than JB, formerly her professor. He is a film director. A cult … Read More The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop
+ family, fiction, friendship, grief, Historical fiction, Italy, literature, loss, love, murder, review, suffragette movement
Murder Under The Tuscan Sun by Rachel Rhys
An isolated castle, a deadly crime. Is this real or a nightmare? In a remote castle high up in the Tuscan hills secrets are simmering among its glamorous English residents:The ailing gentleman art-dealerHis dazzling nieceHer handsome Fascist husbandTheir neglected young daughterThe housekeeper who knows everythingand Connie, the English widow working for them #MurderUnderTheTuscanSun #RachelRhys #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Every night, Connie hears sinister noises and a terrible … Read More Murder Under The Tuscan Sun by Rachel Rhys
Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin – Cover Reveal
After half a century confined in a psychiatric hospital, Matty has moved to a care home on the Cumbrian coast. Next year, she’ll be a hundred, and she intends to celebrate in style. Yet, before she can make the arrangements, her ‘maid’ goes missing. Irene, a care assistant, aims to surprise Matty with a birthday visit from the child she gave up for adoption … Read More Lyrics for the Loved Ones by Anne Goodwin – Cover Reveal
+ autism, childhood, coming-of-age, family, fiction, literature, love, motherhood, relationships, review
All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
I lived for and loved a bird-heart that summer; I only knew it afterwards. Sunday Forrester lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the house she grew up in. She does things more carefully than most people. On quiet days, she must eat only white foods. Her etiquette handbook guides her through confusing social situations, and to escape, she turns to her treasury of … Read More All The Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
+ brothers, childhood, family, fiction, literature, Malaya, memory, murder, mythology, review, secrets, superstition
Someone Is Coming by TA Morton
Memories come thick and heavy like the rains that fall in the jungle. Dense droplets wash the leaves and soak into the ground, cleansing the acrid smell of rubber, cleansing the jungle of its sins. I hear my mother’s voice. No more secrets, Philip, I promise. Someone is coming, get ready. #SomeoneIsComing @TAMortonWriter #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #blogtour Philip Goundry is 93 and living out his days quietly … Read More Someone Is Coming by TA Morton
+ family, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, fifties, forgiveness, friendship, grief, literature, loss, love, marriage, motherhood, museum, pandemic, relationships, review, World War Two
Dark Enough To See The Stars by Beth Duke
The long-awaited sequel to bestseller and book club favorite It All Comes Back To You has arrived! Violet Glenn. Everybody loved her. In 1946, that included her boyfriend’s best friend, Sam Davidson. Ronni Johnson wrote a book about Violet. It changed her life. Now she’s back working as a registered nurse at Fairfield Springs, loving her patients and her job. She doesn’t have another … Read More Dark Enough To See The Stars by Beth Duke
+ demon, family, fiction, friendship, healing, literature, love, mindfulness, relationships, review, spirituality, therapy
Awakening by Abby Wynne
When Marissa’s fiancé leaves her unexpectedly, she is left trying to put the broken pieces of her life back together again. The magical years of her childhood are now lost or long forgotten and, trapped in a downward spiral of worry and anxiety, nothing seems to be bringing the magic back any time soon. Training to become a therapist, Marissa discovers an unforeseen talent … Read More Awakening by Abby Wynne
My Year in Books 2022
It’s been a successful year for reading. I’ve read some brilliant books. My reading challenge was 130 and I just made it with 132.
+ List, literature
My 6 Most Read Reviews of 2022
This is a new one for me, but I do love a good list. These books were not necessarily published in 2022 – in fact Miss Benson’s Beetle has been top for the last two years. Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel JoyceThere’s hardly a day goes by when someone doesn’t visit this review and I am not sure how or why. It was published … Read More My 6 Most Read Reviews of 2022
+ abuse, alcoholism, brothers, childhood, domestic noir, family, fantasy, feel-good, female friendship, fiction, folklore, forgiveness, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, Gothic mystery, grief, haunting, List, literature, loss, love, music, paranormal, piano, relationships, review, secrets, sisterhood, sisters, slavery, suffragette movement, supernatural, superstition, tradition, whimsical
My Top 4 Books of 2022
It’s approaching the very end of 2022 and it’s time to reflect on my absolute favourite books of the year. Last year it was hard but this year is even harder. There were instant standouts again – about 10 of them but I had to cut it down to four. I have tried to include a mix of genres but failed yet again. I read … Read More My Top 4 Books of 2022
+ abuse, adventure, childhood, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, friendship, Ghost story, gothic horror, grief, Historical fiction, List, literature, London, loss, love, Magical realism, mental health, motherhood, murder, mystery, police drama, religion, revenge, review, secrets, short stories, short story, sisters, supernatural, thriller, twins
My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
Here are my favourite eight books of the final quarter of 2022. One of these will make it into my top four books of 2022 (I just couldn’t cut it down to three this year). The Parlour Game by Jennifer Renshaw This is the book I have been waiting for! A gothic tale of sinister goings-on, mysterious disappearances, hauntings and macabre artefacts with special powers. … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2022 Part Four
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