Hey, remember when I used to do these mini book reviews many years ago?!
After years of reading like my life depended on it, that is one area of my life that fell to the wayside. First when Emmy was born – my last set of mini book reviews was in February 2019 and she was born in March, so that says a lot! According to my Goodreads, in 2019 I managed to read only 25 books of my 55 book goal; compare this to the 70 I read in 2018, that’s a big difference! I actually remember the last books I read around the time Emmy was born as a very strange experience. There was one I was reading in hospital while in labour and shortly after giving birth (I was in hospital for 4 days and it got pretty boring with a newborn that slept all the tim!). Then there were the couple I read in the early months while sleep deprived. I remember reading words and sentences over and over not able to grasp any meaning from them. One was a zombie book, so that’s an interesting comparison to make at that point!
In 2020, I didn’t even set a reading goal – that’s all we need to say about that year! I believe I didn’t read anything for about 10 months at one point!
In 2021, I tried again and managed to read a paltry 11 out of my 15 reading goal.
Then in 2022, I discovered audiobooks and how I could listen to them at 1.5x speed while walking Archie around in a sling – literally where he lived for at least 8 months! I was on maternity leave, so even though I had two children to look after, my brain needed occupying elsewhere. I also started writing again which opened my eyes to more new worlds. I did a short online creative writing course which was pretty awesome, especially as the course leader had a vast list of recommendations and exercises which involved reading things I would never have thought to pick up. I discovered non-fiction, poems, short stories and even some graphic novel work!
2023 shot me down hard again as I went back to work at the end of 2022, then also took on another part time job which had me working 6 days a week. Even though this was all at home (aside from 1 office day), it meant I was doing this work on evenings and weekends. So once again, reading fell to the wayside and I slumped into not reading anything for months at a time.
But right at the end of 2023, I discovered my favourite author had published a new book, I got a few books for free during a Kindle sale day thing and I remembered that books are actually awesome.
Of course, during all this time I have in fact read countless books. Like truly, countless. Emmy is an absolutely voracious reader which I am exceptionally proud of – her positive relationship with books was one of things that was highlighted in her school report. Not only does she have literally hundreds of her own (so many that her bookshelves are completely stuffed full as is huge plastic box in the garage), but we also tend to get between 10 and 15 books for her from the library every couple of weeks. She’s now into “big girl books” which is just the best – we’ve read some Roald Dahl, all the Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton (at least twice!), The Naughtiest Girl in the School, and we’re now just starting Narnia (which somehow I have never read, so it’s very exciting to experience it for the first time with her!).
So we’re into 2024, and I think it’s time to start my book reviews again! Where I’d normally do my mini book reviews from the month before, I’ve got 4 years to catch up on! So here are 80 book reviews to catch up on!
No, I’m kidding! Who has time for that?!
I’ve already published a quick one from books I read earlier this year, but there were a few from the years missed that I wanted to mention. Instead I’ve picked out a few of the books I’ve read in the past few years to highlight here – ones that have struck a chord or stuck with me enough that I can still tell you a bit about them. These are likely not going to be as long as my usual and I’m not going to go in hard on the plots, but they’re ones I wanted to recommend for anyone who shares a similar reading vibe to me.
Enjoy, and please let me know any recommendations of anything you think I’d like! The TBR pile is big, but there’s always space for more!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This was one of those books that I kept seeing everywhere and was recommended by everyone, but for some reason, I never actually thought about picking it up. After reading Malibu Rising by the same author and enjoying it well enough, I spotted this one and gave it a go – I’m so glad I did! It truly is one of those stories that sticks with you. For me, it wasn’t a page turner, as even though it had a plenty of secrets hidden in the pages, there was nothing that felt like it would be a big reveal that you were desperately trying to uncover – the beauty of it is more in the journey. It was a lovely insight into the world of showbusiness in the Hollywood glam era that I know very little about, and I loved how real it felt.
The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow
Not my usual type of read, but it was available for free on “Stuff Your Kindle Day” (which I happened across by accident) so I thought I’d try it. It was fast-paced and fun, easy to read for someone who’d been out of reading for a while. I’d compare it most closely to Gossip Girl but set in Vegas, with a rags to riches type of story. It would make a nice poolside read on holiday!
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
Okay, so this is a new “genre” for me, or at least a new way of discovering books – the “TikTok made me buy it” shelf! Who am I to resist a book with Pumpkin Spice in the title?! And as others have pointed out, with such a blatant link to Gilmore Girls in the author’s penname? (As a side note, I suspected it was a pen name but have just Googled to check – apparently the author is actually Melissa McTernan and she usually writes fantasy romance, a real genre I have just discovered – more on that another day!). Anyway, this small town romance, with obvious cosy autumn vibes, was another easy read. I’m not going to go around proclaiming that it’s the best book I’ve read, but it certainly made for a fun read and I’d definitely pick up more by the author, as well as time seasonal books to seasons in future!
The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman
If you’ve read a few of my book reviews, you’ll know by now that Carol Goodman is my favourite author of all time, partially thanks to our shared Latin teaching and classical mythology backgrounds that crop up in her works. The Bones of the Story was exactly on genre for a Carol Goodman novel, so I of course loved it. This is another book set on a college campus, there is a current and an old mystery to solve, and I swear, she pulls the wool over my eyes every time despite the same tropes! It’s one I couldn’t put down, and has probably made it into my top 3 Carol Goodman books.
I’m currently (not so) patiently awaiting her new book Return To Wyldcliffe Heights coming on 30th July – you can bet I’ll be reading that imminently!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
This was an unexpected obsession for me, and a book I recommend to everyone with complete disregard to whatever they usually read. If I hadn’t seen it recommended, I probably would have read the blurb and moved on with my life without bothering – two people who are video game designers who are never quite together, but love each other. As someone who couldn’t really care less about video games before, this book had me confronting the beauty and sheer magnificence of this other world that I really know very little about – and made me feel ashamed to have looked down on it! Because really how different are readers to gamers? And those who write and design? So to make me fall in love not only with their story but this world was incredible. I was enthralled from beginning to end.
The Wild Places by Robert McFarlane
This was a recommendation on the reading list from the writing course I took in the summer of 2022, and is something I would never have picked up before – a non-fictional journey by the author to seek out the places of Britain that are still “wild”. I’ve never been a non-fiction girly before, but this opened my eyes. The writing was stunning. For the first time, I bought a notebook and wrote down sentences and phrases simply because of the beauty of them. It made me reconsider what writing can be. Not only that, but the subject matter was fascinating. I honestly found it quite an overwhelming read because of the beautiful (some might say flowery) language, so I had to read it slowly alongside other fictional books as it wasn’t something I wanted to gorge on. I’ve since received several of his other books as gifts and need to make my way through them.
Breathless by Jennifer Niven
Where some of these books have been away little removed from my usual reading genre, this is one I knew I would enjoy. This was a random selection off the shelf at the library recently – yes, I do choose books based on their covers at least half of the time, and yes, it works out for me 99% of the time! I absolutely adored this story of coming of age first love. It’s one that will resonate with a lot of people, whether it reminds us of some shared experience or it’s of longing for that experience. It was beautifully written, very realistic and easy to dive headfirst into and get lost in. Controversially, I enjoyed it more than her more popular All The Bright Places which others believe she was trying to recreate the buzz of with this book.
The Accidental Impostor by Amber Eve
This was such a fun read! I loved the personality that had gone into building every character in the story, plus the situations they found themselves in time and again – particularly Emerald. I found myself having to force myself to slow down reading because I wanted to find out how she was going to get herself out of each sticky situation! I can imagine this as a hilarious rom com on the big screen, sort of like a Scottish version of Bridget Jones. It was a lovely easy read that was fast paced and hilarious, perfect for a summer holiday. I should also add that I read this as I’ve read Amber’s blog Forever Amber for years and adore her writing style so I knew I would love it, and she did NOT disappoint! And if you do enjoy, it’s been followed up by another 4 books in the series now – highly recommend diving in!
