June Roundup

I am a bit late with my June Roundup post, normally I have written it just before the month turns into the next one and it is scheduled ready to go but June has been a busy month at the weekends (which is generally when I write posts) so this is why some of you who have been waiting with baited breath have had to wait until this weekend!

A female author dominated month by accident than design or choice.

Short stories are a great way to keep reading when your concentration is not up too much but you still want to read something worthwhile. Fern Britton – The Stolen Weekend reintroduced us to characters who first appeared in Hidden Treasures and also feature in her new novel A Seaside Affair (which I have just picked up for a bargain on Kindle!). I am really looking forward to spending my summer with Fern and these characters.

Short stories but not in kindle form come with a  crime novel and rather an intriguing one too. Catherine Aird – Henrietta Who? Is a book recommended by my mum who remembers reading it a long time ago. You think you know who you are and then a tragic accident means you are grieving for those you have lost but also your lost life as well. This was the only touch of crime that has featured in June.

Although some may say war is a crime of sorts. I picked up Elizabeth Speller – The Return of Captain John Emmett* because it has been on my shelf for a while and also I am going to see Elizabeth Speller talk next weekend. Only right that I should at least have read one of her books. This book has stayed with me and as of yet I have actually not got round to writing the review. It is about the First World War and the return of any soldiers and the effects that the war had on them and returning to a normal existence. However past events seem to take over the mind and perhaps there can never be a normal existence again. I am intrigued as to where she takes her main character in a subsequent novel.

History is always a great background for a book and The White Woman on The Green Bicycle – Monique Roffey* was a book which covered the history of Trinidad and was all very new to me. I knew very little about the country and through George and Sabine Harwood I learnt a lot more. This was the July choice for Book Club and as of this post I am the only one who has finished it. I look forward to seeing if anyone else gets to the end, as they were struggling with the language and dialogue of the characters.

Another kindle read was Undertaking Love – Kat French which I chose on a whim. I was a little disappointed with this book but it satisfied the need of reading something even if it was a bit forgettable. I was also left feeling a bit meh with Abby Clements – Amelia Grey’s Fireside Dream*. Clements is a relatively new author and she is I think still developing her style, I must read her Christmas novel at some point, though middle of July might not necessarily work.

A new author for me and a new concept/idea as well. Harriet Evans – A Place Like Us* is the first of four parts that I have got the opportunity to read and introduces me to Harriet Evans who I have never read before and the Winter family who have secrets and pasts that they all wish to keep hidden. The first part has left me wanting more…..

June was busy for the wonderful idea of #bookaday which was started the lovely people at Borough Press and I challenged myself to this – and actually managed it! I hope you enjoyed the round up posts I did on here if you are not a twitterer. Doubleday is doing it for July, but I think that might be a bit too much for me!

Of course I have mentioned 6 in 6 and will get it posted some time in July. Don’t wait for me if you have already got your post ready to go. All I ask is that you refer back to my blog and let me know as well, so I can come and visit and wave! I am just contemplating mine……

So June was a fun packed month, with hen weekends, literary events and work! I am hoping July will bring a rest but I fear not…..