Book Review / Sundial by Catriona Ward

 

You can't escape the desert. You can't escape Sundial.

Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.

Callie is afraid of her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely. To tell her secrets about her past that both disturb and excite her. And Callie is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive...

From the bestselling author of The Last House on Needless Street comes a stunning thriller exploring the toxicity of the mother-daughter bond, and the power of the past to twist the present.

Published:  1st January 2022
Publisher:  Viper
Goodreads :  Click Here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought
Genres:     Horror, Thriller and Mystery
Pages:  352 pages, Hardcover 

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  It has to be the suspense and mystery in the plot for me that sucked me into the story from the beginning and kept me going all the way through.   Honestly, the daughter (Callie) gave me the creeps and when Annie takes her daughter Callie away from home back to her childhood home that's when the real story starts.  From that moment on I couldn't stop reading.  I needed to know what was going to happen next and with all the twists and turns it was certainly a rollercoaster ride. 

What I didn't like about this story...  Although I did enjoy this story a lot, it was very predictable for me.  I would have loved to have been surprised a bit more.

Would I recommend...  A very wierd horror that I feel may be a bit of a like it or hate it type of story.  I am certainly in the camp of like it! 

Book Review / The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore

 

Sunday Times bestseller Rachel Hore’s captivating new novel of secrets, loss and betrayal - set on the beautiful Cornish coast during World War Two and the heady days of the 1960s.

When talented musician Gray Robinson persuades Belle to abandon her university studies and follow him to Silverwood, home to an artistic community on the Cornish coast, Belle happily agrees even though they’ve only just met. She knows she is falling in love, and the thought of spending a carefree summer with Gray is all she can think about.
 
But being with Gray isn’t the only reason Belle agrees to accompany him to Silverwood.
 
Why does the name Silverwood sound so familiar?
What is its connection to a photo of her as a baby, taken on a nearby beach?
And who is Imogen Lockhart, a wartime nurse who lived at Silverwood many years ago?
 
As the summer months unfold, Belle begins to learn the truth – about secrets from the past that have been kept hidden, but also about the person she wants to be.

Published:  14th September 2023
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Goodreads : Click Here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought
Genres:     Historical Fiction
Pages:  493 pages, Kindle 

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  I love a good historical fiction story and Rachel Hore has, in recent years, become one of my most favourite historical fiction writers of all time.  What made this story great for me was the mystery of the past and Silverwood.   I love a good mystery and one that happened in the past coming back to the surface.  I was completely hooked with this story and had it not been for the fact that it was nearly 500 pages long I would have read this in one sitting.

Would I recommend...  If you a fan of Kate Morton and haven't tried this author yet, this book is a really good place to start.  Loved this.  

Waiting on Wednesday / Natural Selection by Elin Hilderbrand

 

Waiting on Wednesday was a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog that I really enjoyed blogging about in the post, so I thought I would bring it back!  Below is this week's pick!

 

 

 

 When her boyfriend bails at the last minute, a New York woman embarks on their couples’ cruise alone to find that maybe the person she was supposed to fall in love with was herself.

After a string of bad dates and no prospects, Sophia Othonos has finally hit the jackpot: an actual nice guy. When he suggests a romantic getaway, she’s sure they’re about to take the next step toward their future. A rustic cruise to the Galápagos Islands isn’t exactly her idea of a vacation, but Sophia is ready for anything…until her boyfriend has to cancel.

Now she’s all alone on a trip that was meant for two. Sophia finds herself at a crossroads about who she is, what she wants, and whether her relationship is really everything she thought. But if she’s going to suffer an identity crisis, at least she gets to do it amid the unexpected majesty of nature.

Eight days of wild, unobstructed beauty are enough to make anyone reevaluate their life. These islands are all about adapting to your surroundings—and change just might be what Sophia needs most of all.

Expected Publication:  1st September 2024

Publisher:   Amazon Original

Goodreads Link:   Click here

Series or Stand Alone:   Stand Alone

Genres:   Romance 

Book Review / The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

 

An award-winning and inspiring novel.  When Jessica's dreams are shattered, she puts herself back together—and learns to dream bigger than ever before.

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?

As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.

Published:  11th January 2011  

Publisher:  Knopf

Goodreads :   Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Sports, Contemporary

Pages:  339 pages

MY REVIEW 

What I loved about this story...  This book has been on my TBR for absolute years and I can't believe it has taken me this long to read it!  An emotional rollercoaster of a story following Jessica who loses her leg in an accident and learning to accept that and move on from that with the use of a prosthetic leg.  Such a beautiful story that literally made me cry...

Would I recommend...  Yes, but this does touch on hard hitting subjects such as loss of limbs, cerebral palsy and other aspects so bear in that in mind when picking this up in case this is not for you. 

Book Review / Pet Sematary by Stephen King

 Stephen King’s #1 New York Times bestseller Pet Sematary, a classic about evil that exists far beyond the grave—among King’s most iconic and beloved novels.

When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Despite Ludlow’s tranquility, an undercurrent of danger exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing…as is evidenced by the makeshift graveyard in the nearby woods where generations of children have buried their beloved pets. Then there are the warnings to Louis both real and from the depths of his nightmares that he should not venture beyond the borders of this little graveyard where another burial ground lures with seductive promises and ungodly temptations. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—one more terrifying than death itself, and hideously more powerful. As Louis is about to discover for himself sometimes, dead is better…

Published:  14th November 1983

Publisher:  Scribner

Goodreads :  Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Horror, Thriller, Fantasy and Paranormal

Pages:  395 pages, Paperback

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  Classic Stephen King horror.  I loved every moment of it.  Very creepy.  This is one of those 'things are not as they seem' type of horrors which I love to read.  Not only do you have the pet sematary and having Dr Creed's own pet come back to life, you have what I perceive to be a slow descent into madness for Dr Creed especially when there's an accident with a member of his family...  How can a story be heartbreaking and horrific in the same way!

Would I recommend...  Absolutely.  If you haven't read a Stephen King novel before this is a great place to start.  Also, if you are fan of classic horror and you haven't read this yet you need to!

Book Review / Beach Read by Emily Henry

 

A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no-one will fall in love. Really.

Published:  19th May 2020
Publisher:  Berkley
Goodreads :   Click Here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought
Genres:     Romance and Contemporary
Pages:  361 pages

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  There's something about an Emily Henry novel that sucks me in every time.  Easy to read with a great romance, more often than not with two characters who come together in some way and are complete opposites.  This is one of those and I loved every minute of reading this.  

Would I recommend...  Definately!  A great summer (or any time of year) romance.

Book Review / Book Lovers by Emily Henry

 

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Published:  3rd May 2022  

Publisher:  Berkley

Goodreads : Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Romance and Contemporary

Pages:  377 pages, Hardcover

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  First off, a book about books.  In addition, there's romance.  What more do you want for a summer romance!  I loved this story.  Watching Nora, who seems to me to be a bit of a introvert, meet Charlie, who seems to be the compelte opposite, and watching how they interact as the story goes on was so much fun to follow.  A classic read it one sitting story for me and I loved ever bit of it.

Would I recommend...  100%  A great easy read romance.

Book Review / Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

 

1957, south-east suburbs of London.
Jean Swinney is a feature writer on a local paper, disappointed in love and — on the brink of forty — living a limited existence with her truculent mother: a small life from which there is no likelihood of escape.

When a young Swiss woman, Gretchen Tilbury, contacts the paper to claim that her daughter is the result of a virgin birth, it is down to Jean to discover whether she is a miracle or a fraud. But the more Jean investigates, the more her life becomes strangely (and not unpleasantly) intertwined with that of the Tilburys: Gretchen is now a friend, and her quirky and charming daughter Margaret a sort of surrogate child. And Jean doesn't mean to fall in love with Gretchen's husband, Howard, but Howard surprises her with his dry wit, his intelligence and his kindness — and when she does fall, she falls hard.

But he is married, and to her friend — who is also the subject of the story she is researching for the newspaper, a story that increasingly seems to be causing dark ripples across all their lives. And yet Jean cannot bring herself to discard the chance of finally having a taste of happiness...

But there will be a price to pay, and it will be unbearable.

Published:  12th October 2021  

Publisher:  Orion Publishing

Goodreads : Click here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     HIstorical Fiction, Romance and Literary Fiction

Pages:  368 pages

MY REVIEW

What I liked about this story...  A very interesting story, indeed.  Set in the 1950s, which is a time period that I haven't read much of, we follow Jean Swinney who is a journalist following the story of a virgin birth.  There's more to the story, of course.  I really enjoyed the writing style of this author and will definately be looking into more from this author if there's a backlist.  It was very easy to read and the plot was so intriguing I struggled to put this down, wanting to know what was going to happen next and where the story would take me.  

What I didn't like about this story...  This story was a bit slow for me in the middle so my interest did waiver a bit but I am glad that I stuck with it.

Would I recommend...  An intriguing novel and one you should pick up, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction.  

Book Review / The Exchange by John Grisham

 

What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of America’s favorite storyteller. It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.

Published:  17th October 2023 

Publisher:  Hodder and Stoughton

Goodreads : Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2, The Firm

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Thriller, Mystery, Legal Thriller and Suspense

Pages:  352 pages, Hardcover 

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  John Grisham is a firm favourite author of mine and has been right from when I started to read in my teens (admittedly it is a while ago now lol!).  I was so excited to hear that there was going to be a follow on to The Firm as its a story that I really enjoyed back in the day (and the movie's not bad too!).  I was concerned that the 'tone' of the story would be similar to that of The Firm but happily its not.  The Firm is one of those novels that, for me, when I read it back in the day it was amazing but reading it in present day the views in that novel (especially against women) are not the best in my opinion.   I could not put this down and read it in one sitting (which is a common theme of mine when a book is that good!).  If I had to choose one thing that I loved the most it would be the suspense.  It hooked me in and held me right until the very last page.  I love that about this author's writing.  Gets me every time!

Would I recommend...  Absolutely!  Although I would recommend reading The Firm first you can just pick this up and read it as a stand alone also.  

Book Review / Weyward by Emilia Hart

KATE, 2019
Kate flees London – abandoning everything – for Cumbria and Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great-aunt. There, a secret lurks in the bones of the house, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

VIOLET, 1942
Violet is more interested in collecting insects and climbing trees than in becoming a proper young lady. Until a chain of shocking events changes her life forever.

ALTHA, 1619
Altha is on trial for witchcraft, accused of killing a local man. Known for her uncanny connection with nature and animals, she is a threat that must be eliminated.

But Weyward women belong to the wild. And they cannot be tamed…

Published:  2nd February 2023

Publisher:  The Borough Press

Goodreads :  Click Here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Magical Realism

Pages:  374 pages, Hardcover

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  I love a good historical romance, especially when it has a split narrative and this one has three different narratives!  I am going to be honest and say that the main reason I picked up this story was because of the cover!  I mean, look at it.  Its beautiful.  But I am so glad that I did pick it up, because this story is good.  I love a good witch story and its been a while since I picked one up it was due.  Yes, each of the stories were very good but, for me, the best part was following each of the characters and seeing how they dealt with the different challenges that they faced.  

What I didn't like about this story...  For me, there were no surprises in this story or hooks that would keep me reading.  I appreciate that this is one of those stories that is about the characters (and I really did enjoy that part of it) but I would have loved a few surprises.  

Would I recommend...   Do pick this up.   If you love a good witch story, don't miss  out on not reading.  

 

Waiting on Wednesday / Here one Moment by Liane Moriarty

 Waiting on Wednesday was a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog that I really enjoyed blogging about in the post, so I thought I would bring it back!  Below is this week's pick!

If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.

Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.

How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as “The Death Lady.”

Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.

A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is a brilliantly constructed tale that looks at free will and destiny, grief and love, and the endless struggle to maintain certainty and control in an uncertain world. A modern-day Jane Austen who humorously skewers social mores while spinning a web of mystery, Moriarty asks profound questions in her newest I-can’t-wait-to-find-out-what-happens novel.

Expected Publication:  10th September 2024

Publisher:   Penguin

Goodreads Link:   Click here

Series or Stand Alone:   Stand Alone

Genres:   Mystery, Thriller and Suspense

Book Review / You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry (also known as People We Meet on Vacation)

 

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

Published:  11th May 2021

Publisher:  Penguin

Goodreads : Click here

Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone

Source:  Bought

Genres:     Romance and Contemporary

Pages:  364 pages, paperback

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  What I look for when I pick up a romance for the summer is basically what it says on the tin, easy read and full of romance but not spicy (just my personal preference).  This book ticked all the boxes for me.  I read this in one sitting and loved it.  A great love story between two complete opposite people throughout many years.   

Would I recommend...  100%  Pick it up now!

Book Review / Firestarter by Stephen King

'You're a firestarter honey....just one big zippo lighter'

A year ago, he was an upstanding instructor of English at Harrison State College. Now Andy is on the run with his daughter. A pigtailed girl named Charlie. A girl with an unimaginably terrifying gift.

A gift which could be useful to corrupt authorities. Soon Charlie will be caught up in the menace of a fateful drug experiment and a sinister government ploy . . .

Let the reader beware: FIRESTARTER is Stephen King at his most mesmerising . . . and menacing.

Published:  29th September 1980  
Publisher:  Hodder
Goodreads : Click Here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Stand-Alone
Source:  Bought
Genres:     Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction and Fantasy
Pages:  576 pages, paperback

MY REVIEW

What I loved about this story...  This was such a wild ride.  You have the father and daughter (Andy and Charlie) who are on the run.  Not only did his wife (deceased) have special abilities but so does Andy and Charlie.  The best part, for me, was following Charlie as she discovers her powers and learns to use them.  Not only does she seem to be good but she seems to be better than most.    The drug experimental part of the story was really only a small part of what interested me.  For me, it was all about the characters and how they developed throughout the story (especially Charlie) that made this great.

Would I recommend...   Definately!  I don't think this is necessarily horror, but more thriller and science fiction mixed up together as one.  

 

Waiting on Wednesday / My Good Bright Wolf by Sarah Moss

 Waiting on Wednesday was a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog that I really enjoyed blogging about in the post, so I thought I would bring it back!  Below is this week's pick!

An unflinching memoir about childhood, food, books, and our ability to see, become, and protect ourselves.

My Good Bright Wolf is a memoir about thinking and reading, eating and not eating, privilege and scarcity, the relationships that form us and the long tentacles of childhood.

Pushing at the boundaries of memoir writing, Sarah Moss investigates contested memories of a girlhood with embattled, distracted parents, loving grandparents, and teachers who said she would never learn to read. Then, by the time she was a teenager, Moss developed a dangerous and controlling relationship with food, an illness that continued to affect her as an adult, despite her professional and personal success.

In My Good Bright Wolf, this bright light of contemporary literature explores the trap of postwar puritanism and second-wave feminism, the narratives of women and food that we absorb through our childhoods and adulthoods, and the ways in which our health-care system continues to discount the experiences of women, minorities, and anyone suffering from mental illness. With her characteristic commitment to finding the truths in stories, Moss examines what she thought and still thinks, what she read and still reads, and what she did—and still does—with her hardworking body and her furiously turning mind.

Expected Publication:  29th August 2024

Publisher:   Picador

Goodreads Link:   Click Here

Series or Stand Alone:   Stand Alone

Genres:   Non Fiction, Memoir