June Roundup

That was June – not quite the flamin’ one of last year but still, one hopes we have some more summer to come or at least some non wet days and blue sky will do me.

As for the reading, the lists are getting a bit out of hand I need to make a dent in the netgalley requests and the books on the shelves, but I have a list of books that I want to buy, thanks to the lovely Between the Covers BBC programme and books that have been popping up all over the internet!

But what have I read?

From the shelves, that have been hanging around a while was Christine Lee – The Midwife’s Sister a perfect for fans of Call The Midwife. Gives a very different side to life in the fifties and sixties and explains a lot perhaps about the relationship that we saw of Jennifer Lee portrayed on the television. It captured me and had me hooked, as I simply was fascinated by their life.

Then another book which captured me was Jean E. Pendziwol – The Lightkeeper’s Daughter a book which I picked up on a whim in a bookshop and had yet to get to. I think it might be about the third or fourth book this year to feature a lighthouse! They do fascinate me and this one took me across the sea to Canada, the only thing I would have liked to have seen in the book was a map of Lake Superior so I could get a sense of the place. Nonetheless a book that was worth the wait and one I would recommend.

Cressida McLaughlin – The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding was a book which was not on my shelf for very long. One of those impulse supermarket book purchases to cheer the soul and knowing how I have been following the story of the Cornish Cream Tea Bus, it was great to return and catch up.

Then you go and discover a series of books that you have not read when you come to the latest with Jenny Colgan – Sunrise by the Sea which features another lighthouse and is the fourth based on a setting the author has used before, so that is now added to my list. I think they will be great for those comfort reads when you just want to read.

Another author I can always rely on to just take me away is Katie Fforde – Saving the Day and this one is no different. Even better if you are pushed for time because it is one of the short stories featured from the Quick Reads series books which aims to get people reading. I really don’t know where I would be if it was not for the escape that reading gives me.

Some authors give you familiarity and some authors give you great books but you just don’t know what you are going to get when you start those first few pages. Liz Fenwick – The River Between Us is the latest from the author and all of her books get better and better as they go along and all so different. I loved this one, probably because of the historical elements to it but the modern elements of the story was as important as well, sometimes one dominates the other but here they are given equal importance. Perfection.

Not knowing what I was going to get from this one, as her previous two were so different, it was great to be transported away with Libby Page – The Island Home. A book that dealt with some tough issues and how you can be lonely amongst many and content amongst few. But so you really know everyone’s true story and is it only the one you choose to see.

Of course you can stick to what you know, but I do try and challenge myself with new authors and did so with Beth Cowan-Erskine – Loch Down Abbey a tongue in cheek look at the big house mystery with a few too many characters and whilst a passable diversion, not sure I would recommend.

Dare we say the word Christmas in June, but having received a second book in a series through netgalley and seeing that the first was a mere 99p on Amazon I thought it fair to start at the beginning. Which is why I read Cathy Lake – The Country Village Christmas Show although not overtly full of Christmas it is mentioned and was a nice introduction to this author who I have never heard of before. That said, I don’t think I needed to have read it before her latest. Whoops!

So that was June, half way through the year. For followers of my blog, Six in Six is returning so get working on those lists, and please link back to me so I can capture your links and share the lots of lovely books out there that some of us definitely will not have read!

How was your June reading? Meeting your challenges? Or just seeing how it all goes?