May Roundup

And all of a sudden spring and summer arrived into May. With almost gay abandonment, I shed all the extra layers keeping me warm, the heavy shoes and the winter blankets and found the shorts, the pasty legs and the thinner clothes.

The reading has just continued at a gentle pace. Only a little twitch now and again, that I am way behind if I want to hit 100 by the 31st December. All of the reads for this month are kindle and actual netgalley reads. The physical books I am reading is huge and fabulous, but I am savouring it almost too much, to speed through it.

I did speed through Christie Barlow – A Summer Surprise at the Little Blue Boathouse, the latest in her series, because I am always so delighted to be back with friends in a place I have grown to know over the previous books and want to visit. (Although I do realise it isn’t a real place) Trouble is when you zoom through the latest, you have so long to wait until the next.

The only other latest book in a series read in May was Merryn Allingham – Murder at Abbeymead Farm which is always a delightful piece of escapist writing and even more exciting I worked out whodunnit! As with any series, each book is individual but there is a plot thread running through it all and that is what makes me keep reading, as I want to know what happens there.

Sticking with murder I found myself with Deanna Raybourn – Killers of a Certain Age which was a modern murder mystery novel from this American author. The premise was interesting, but it did lack some aspects which I found rather disappointing from an author whose historical books I have enjoyed in the past.

I then went abroad and back in history with Rachel Rhys – Murder under the Tuscan Sun a book which built tension and had bucket loads of intrigue and was a joy to read. The delightful backdrop of Tuscany was fascinating and felt like I had been transported away for a holiday. And as for the murder – well was it?

Staying in the historical period led me Liz Fenwick – The Secret Shore where she took me through a fascinating journey of maps, missing mothers with the determined and forthright Merry. I was cheering her on from the outset as she navigated war and love. Yet again brilliant writing from this author.

I admit to not understanding why some authors write books under pseudonyms, no doubt it has to do with publisher’s, the type of books they read, etc but I was delighted to discover that Annabel French – Summer at the Chateau was by an author I had read previously and whilst this book was a change from what she has normally written it was not that much of a handbrake turn in writing. However it was a wonderful read which transported me away on another trip abroad and for that I was grateful. I look forward to doing so again.

And finally Sharon Gosling – The Forgotten Garden where we are not in Scotland, but the North coast of England, in a rather rundown town which has been forgotten. Can a garden grow the place and the characters? If this author has anything to do with it then yes! Sharon’s books are an absolute pleasure to read, so layered and well written. I recommend them.

I have signed up for 20 Books of Summer again this year, in a bid to get the TBR piles down! (Ha!) And for regular followers who are wondering, I am bringing back Six in Six for 2023. We are still a small select group but growing every year, so please join in and spread the word if you can. Details to follow in the coming days.

March Roundup

Here we are again, another month gone and another round up post. A quarter of the way through 2023 which in terms of reading is way behind where I have been in previous years, but I have loved the books I have been reading, so do you know what – who cares!

What I am most pleased about is reading actual books and making a dent in the actual bookshelves instead of the virtual ones. Some of have been hanging around for a while but it was time for Liz Fenwick – A Cornish Affair to take it’s turn. This was a wonderful foray into Cornwall and I so wanted to be delving into the history of the house and the speculation of the jewels that were lost. I only have one of the back catalogue to read and can also look forward to her new one out this year as well. If you follow Liz n social media, she has been researching on the Orient Express for her next novel. That sounds really exciting.

A Cornish Affair featured a big house and so did Godmersham Park – Gill Hornby which is another delve into the world of Austen’s and the more secondary people that are not regularly featured when it comes to talking about Jane Austen. This book takes you back to another time, where life is so different for women. It is a good example of historical fiction and I really felt the language of the time which must be a very difficult thing to emulate.

Talking of big houses, M.H. Eccleston – The Trust is a delightful quirky cosy mystery book which pokes fun at the National Trust and English Heritage properties around the country. A body in an Ice House, poisonous mushrooms, fake paintings and an art conservator running away from a marriage makes a jolly good read. I am going to seek out the next.

Always waiting for the next book to be published (and also written) and so pleased when it is, Sarah Bennett – Where We Belong the beginning of a new series by this author. Again there is a big house in the novel too, but transformed into a hotel, with a distillery, camping, some ruins and romance packed within the pages it is a hit with me and certainly should be with anyone who picks it up. I get so invested in Sarah’s stories I want to transport myself to wherever they are set.

Of course being transported back in time is always a good way to get me interested in reading and in the last few books from Katie Fforde, that is what I have done. Her latest Katie Fforde – One Enchanted Evening is no exception. We are continuing to follow these young women in the 1920s as they find their feet with their lives and their loves. Added to this was big dollop of cooking and delicious sounding food at a hotel in the country which needs reinventing, and Meg and her mum knows just what to do. I don’t know how Katie keeps these novels so fresh but I am forever grateful for her writing.

From cooking to gardening with Lorna Cook – The Hidden Letters. War is being talked about across Europe and also in the big house in Cornwall. The occupants don’t think such things will affect them. But they do and for Cordelia the affects are most life changing. a book perfect for fans of historical fictions and Lorna Cook knows how to take a different aspect of war and use that as a basis for her plots.

How to plot a novel must be a complex thing and a murder plot even harder, throw in some cryptic crossword clues and you have a fine web to weave. None more so than Robert Thorogood – Death Comes to Marlow where we are back trying to work out how a man died in a locked room, with the key in the door and all key suspects with watertight alibis. One of my greatest wishes is to be able to do a cryptic crossword – I clearly need more practice!

That was March and by some sheer coincidence, ‘big houses’ were a feature in all of the books in some form or other! Just goes to show you want you can do with such a concept when it comes to fiction.

How was your March, how is your 2023 reading going? Do share any books which feature big houses that you think I might like.

I wonder what April’s theme will be ?

Parish Notices

It has been nearly a year since there has been some Parish Notices around this parish. Where has that year gone? In fact where is this year going? Reading has taken a slow start and everything seems to have taken a different pace at the moment, not just reading but work, blogging and crafting and everything really. Perhaps that is just the way it should be.

Anyway, I thought I would drop by with a few of the books I have read recently that might have passed you by.

The new series from Sarah Bennett is out with Where We Belong

 Full of family dynamics and friendship tests as well as broaching tough topics with alcoholism, class difference, overbearing fathers or non existent ones. So much is contained within the pages. With skill, Sarah Bennett has drawn me into a wonderful place full of rich and interesting people and I cannot wait to find out more about them, their secrets and their dreams.

Libby Page’s The Vintage Shop of Second Chances made me wish I was good at dressmaking!

This wonderful gentle novel from Libby Page shows emotions and depth to the characters as well as the plot. It is great to see friendships across generations, something that I myself wholeheartedly embrace. There is much to learn from all your friends whether they be old or new and this book reflects that in abundance. Added in is the wonder and joy that clothing can bring people, how colour can bring much into your life and cheer even the most greyest of situations.

Georgina Moore’s debut novel was fantastic, clearly her experience in publishing stood her in good stead. The Garnett Girls is an excellent book and one of my favourites for the year.

Who exactly are The Garnett Girls, do they know themselves and will we ever find out by the end of this mesmerising debut novel from Georgina Moore.……A fantastic debut novel which was something a step above being simply women’s fiction it is on a much deeper level than that. For anyone who wants to peep into family life and be completely absorbed.

And I am going to go back a few months to The Bletchley Girls by Anna Stuart as I have the next novel to read on my kindle taking me back to Bletchley and I cannot wait.

Three unlikely women meet at train station, Stefania, Ailsa and Fran. They only currently have one thing in common, they have signed the Official Secrets Act and they are heading for the same place Bletchley Park……..Historical fiction at it’s best when you learn so much about the past from an author that has thoroughly researched and used real stories to bring a narrative to life.

Hopefully that has piqued your interest and that you are reading some cracking good reads and looking forward to even more in 2023.

It may well be another year before there is a Parish Notices who knows, perhaps next time I might feature some crafting?

Hope things are blossoming well in your parish?

January Roundup

I think this is possibly going to be the shortest roundup post I have ever written as it seems that longest month of the year with around 864 days means I have only read 4 books!

I have simply stuck to reading one book at a time, I generally have two on the go, but found that with the brain filling up with work I had not the capacity for this. As the month draws to a close, I am back to the two book scenario. One actual book, one from my ever growing netgalley list. It is that which needs tackling and I am trying not to be so frenzied in requesting books that take my fancy. I am being a bit more select and sticking authors who I know will deliver.

Perhaps 2023 is the year of slowing the pace. Slowing the pace was definitely the way I felt reading Diane Setterfield – Once Upon a River a book that has been on my shelf, having been donated from a friend a while back. The meandering tale was fascinating and reminded me of Diane Setterfield’s debut novel all those years ago which I thoroughly enjoyed and was before I took to book blogging.

Going back to author I haven’t read for a while, took me to this author’s latest Jill Mansell – Promise Me. It has been around seven years since I have ready anything by her, I have no idea why as she hasn’t stopped writing and I follow her on twitter. If she ever reads this blog, I can only apologise and perhaps will look to rectify it in 2023.

Ironically the last two books of the month feature the strong relationships and friendships of girls and both written by a Georgina. First up is Georgina Clarke – The Dazzle of the Light a fascinating historical fiction novel that took me to the Forty Thieves, to the lure of the diamond and the beginnings of women making their own way in life. I do love the rich detail in this novel and this would be an excellent companion book to Kate Atkinson’s latest Shrines of Gaiety.

Then I moved more modern to the debut novel Georgina Moore – The Garnett Girls. I have followed Georgina on twitter for a long time and she has enabled me to read some fantastic novels. And now she has written a fantastic novel of her own. What makes it that little bit more special for me is that it is set on the Isle of Wight, somewhere I can see from where I live. Do look out for my review nearer the publication date of this novel.

So a simple January you could say, a simple start to the year, at this rate I will not hit 100 books but who knows what tomorrow will bring let alone the next 11 months. So on with more reading.

Books in 2022

Again, I seem to have waited for 2023 to start and settle before I got round to looking at what I read in 2023. This must be the last roundup post to be published.

So first off, I did not reach that magic number 100: 2 short. Who knows why but do you know what I haven’t let it stress me out, I think I have read a decent amount of books and learnt not to read books just to keep the numbers up if I am not enjoying them.

The Shortest Book was Holly Hepburn – The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures at 100 pages

The Longest Book was Robert Galbraith – Troubled Blood at 944 pages

Of the 98 books read that is the equivalent of 30,476 pages! Of course this is all dependent on which version I save to my Goodreads list and I am not particularly fussed about ensuring it is the correct one, as I read quite a lot of advanced review copies.

As for the kindle it was 79 books and these would have been thanks to the wonder that is netgalley which is also a curse as it means I am not reading books from my shelves as much as I should.

To stick with common themes in my look back of the year we will start with:

Multiple Books by the same Author

Top spot for 2022 was Helena Dixon with 4 books. 2020 was the last year with 4 books.

3 books: Merryn Allingham, Christie Barlow, Cathy Bramley, Holly Martin, Cressida McLaughlin, Jo Thomas. Authors in bold featured in this category in 2021.

2 books: Phillipa Ashley, Vicki Beeby, Sarah Bennett, Liz Eeles, Sharon Gosling, Molly Green, Stacey Halls, Tracy Rees, Helen Rolfe, Jennifer Ryan, Heidi Swain, Tilly Tennant. Authors in bold featured in this category in 2021.

As you can see I go back to the authors I know and love, who will give me a great read and also comfort as well. Of course as tastes change and books are written and discovered, there are more authors added into the mix.

No Agatha Christie (well not really) in this list but there is one reread. P.G.Wodehouse – Carry on Jeeves, I really wish I had not given away my Wodehouse books I had collected years ago. These are such a great joy. For 2023, I want more rereads, I want more Agatha Christie.

What about my favourite, I really can’t say I have one. There have been some cracking good reads and I am pleased to have delved a bit back into the historical fiction/saga area which has always been of great interest to me. So here is a snapshot of those books that stand out in 2022, a mix of many genres.

I think it is good that I haven’t got a stand out book of the year and haven’t had for many. I always think that leaves a lot to live up to with all the other books out there waiting to be read. So as for 2023, expect to see more of the same I think and more of reading what I want at a gentle leisurely pace or fast and furious depending on the book and the timing.

Finally thanks must go to my readers, book blogging has changed a lot of the years and a lot more is done on social media rather than specific blogs and also with a lot more visual content, especially videos. I am grateful to everyone who pops by and reads my wittering, for the time being I will continue to read and post.

August Roundup

And with a blink of an eye and a lot of sunshine, August is done! A bumper month of reading as always thanks to three weeks off work. The hot weather where the only thing to do is lie in the shade and read probably helped as well.

Let’s get the crime out the way first with Robert Galbraith – Troubled Blood. I waited until the paperback came out before reading this as it is a hefty tome and I am frightened of doing myself a mischief when reading it. As good as always and had me completely hooked. Now with the latest out, I am not sure if I can wait for that in paperback or just bite the bullet and order the hardback? It is so great to be completely lost within a story.

The next in line and in the series of Hawthorne and Horowitz was Anthony Horowitz – The Twist of the Knife. As clever as all the previous ones with plenty of twists and the inclusion of the author as a character and main protagonist makes for interesting reading, even if it might make for difficult writing.

Series of crime books can be a blessing and a curse, you could say they all turn out to be very much the same, but sometimes that formula is what you need. So I think this is where I would put the book Merryn Allingham – Murder at the Priory. The latest in the Flora Steele series of books and where the idyllic village set in Fifties Britain makes you convinced that Miss Marple might pop up at any moment.

In fact she did in Various – Marple. Twelve new short stories featuring the aforementioned and all penned by current authors who keep to the mystery style and also an element of their own but with plenty of Christie to make you think you are reading some forgotten Christie works. As short stores they were perfect diversions and well written. Not sure I could pick a favourite.

The mystery of a miracle features in Anne Booth – Small Miracles as I was immersed in a convent with only three nuns remaining. Is it really a miracle or faith that these three nuns need? A joyful, peaceful escapist novel.

Peaceful is always what you might want from a holiday and even if you have to do a bit of work as well. In Jo Thomas – Retreat to the Spanish Sun, I did retreat and learnt about the food of Spain and of the warmth and sometimes coldness of the characters as I escaped. I am just discovering Jo’s novels and I am looking forward to escaping again and again.

We all know Cornwall is a popular destination for holidays in the UK and therefore it was a delight to revisit this summer myself. Well via a book or two. First up was Cressida McLaughlin – The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday, the series has flourished as we get to visit other parts of the area and find other characters to love as everyone finds their happy ever after. With a dollop of clotted cream of course!

Then I was more weather obsessed in Cornwall with Ali McNamara – Cornish Clouds and Silver Lining Skies. A beautiful book full of sun, rain, myth and mystery as well on the Cornish coast. Vibrantly brought to life by the author I could taste the salt of the sea on my skin as I read.

Weather is always a good plot device in a book as it can create atmosphere and also prove to be a challenge for some of its main characters. In the first I think of my Christmas ‘type’ reads for 2022 (there is many more to follow) then the latest Heartcross book fills that spot. Christie Barlow – New Beginnings at the Old Bakehouse is full of snow and chocolate and would be the perfect book to read by the fire. Which seemed completely om contrast to when I was reading it in 30 degree heat!

I am always trying new authors, but sometimes it looks like I tend to stick similar authors or the same ones. Even if the previous book has disappointed or not hit the mark, I have gone back time and time again. I think I need to stop doing this. I felt this way about Helen Rolfe – Finding Happiness at Heritage View, part of a series which I did not know about until I had finished (think this was book five). It was nice and an okay read but I wasn’t blown away by it. I always feel bad when books I read make me feel like this. Feeling bad again when I finished reading Tilly Tennant – A Home at Cornflower Cottage has made me think about whether I will pick up something from these authors again. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with these books, it is just I have grown in my reading and grown away from them. Perhaps one day I will return.

But you do have to keep trying authors sometimes and that was why I found myself back with this book Faith Hogan – The GIN Sisters’ Promise. A book for fans of family sagas and all that sibling rivalry with the backdrop of a wild Irish landscape and a double gin! I might return to this author.

Second books are notoriously difficult so they say. I don’t think this applies to Freya Sampson – The Girl on the 88 Bus whose delightful novel which includes the cross generational friendships and the possibility of finding something you have lost. I think Freya Sampson is becoming an author to look out for.

Going back to an author can be easy as it is difficult. But it was easy with Cathy Bramley – My Kind of Happy which absorbed me from page one and had me right to the end, with the book read in less than 24 hours. Something just appeals with the writing, the characters, the depth of plot and in this case all the flowers. It is funny how some books hit the spot and others just don’t.

As well as returning to authors when a new book arrives, there is also the joy in rereading some. I very rarely do, because of so many books to read I suppose but I did treat myself to P.G.Wodehouse – Carry on Jeeves which was a sheer joy. I did have all the books and gave them away years ago which I regret. These are a delight to keep going back to and might get another one to indulge in soon.

So that was August, 15 books apparently giving me a good place to be going into autumn and the final stretch of 2022 and the goal of 100 books. Do tell me what you have been reading, anything I have missed? And also do share about how you feel about books from authors you have previously enjoyed but are just not hitting the spot now?

In the meantime, let’s get cracking with the Christmas books (yes it is coming!)

20 Books of Summer

Go big or go home they often say and in a first for this blog and me I am going to take part in Cathy at 746 Books 20 Books of Summer. I could have started with 10 or 15 and lets be honest I might only reach one of those but why not aim high.

It all starts on the 1 June and goes through to 1 September so I am going to make an attempt to clear a number on my netgalley list and also plenty off my shelves too.

Here is my initial 20 and we can change our minds along the way but this is the original starting point.

1. Lucinda Riley – The Missing Sister
2. Sara Sheridan – The Fair Botanists
3. Sara Cox – Thrown Angela Thirkell – High Rising
4. Richard Coles – Murder Before Evensong
5. Jennifer Ryan – The Wedding Dress Circle
6. Gervase Phinn – At The Captains Table
7. Ann Cleeves – The Rising Tide
8. Celia Rees – Miss Graham’s War
9. Fern Britton – The Good Servant
10. Mick Herron – Slow Horses
11. Gill Hornby – Miss Austen
12. Anne Booth – Small Miracles
13. P.G.Wodehouse – Jeeves & Wooster unknown title yet!
14. Stacy Halls – The Foundling
15. Robert Galbraith – Troubled Blood
16. Jennifer Saint – Ariadne
17. Cathy Bramley – My Kind of Happy
18. Sue Tedder – Annie Stanley All At Sea
19. Dawn French – Because of You
20. Freya Sampson – The Girl on the 88 Bus

Let the reading commences and I will have to see how I get on- hopefully a mix of genres there to keep my interest piqued!

January Roundup

For a reading month, this has been quite a slow one, getting back into routine after two weeks off work meant that reading took a little bit of a back seat as all I seemed to want to do is sleep! Even more so now that I end the month with a cold. However the books I have read have been excellent so without further ado……

In a push to beat the backlog that has been trending on Twitter I thought I would start with Stacy Halls – Mrs England sat on my shelf for a while and therefore crying out to be read. Why did I wait so long, it was a wonderful read and I have another on my shelf to read so I can go back to this wonderful writing.

#BeatingBeatTheBacklog will feature on many peoples blogs and twitter feeds no doubt and I have sorted made a headway in some more of my backlog on my netgalley list and picked Cathy Hayward – The Girl in the Maze which had been languishing for a bit longer than it should have been. This was an immensely powerful book which if you pick up you will need a strong stomach for. Still now it comes back to me.

But then I go and buy books which sort of defeats beating the backlog which is how I ended up reading Jo Bartlett – The Cornish Midwife. I would like to read more of this series and wanted to start with book one, though it seems it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t overly impressed with the ‘physical’ copy book version, seemed a bit too cheap. It was a delightful story full of humour and cheer and just what you need sometimes.

Delving into a book full of possibility as well as a shop of the same is how I felt about Holly Hepburn – The Little Shop of Hidden Treasures. Previously released in four parts, this is the whole story and the way I prefer to read. Full of promise, history and love it filled my soul like the perfect balm.

Amongst all the ‘nice’ books sometimes it is good to test yourself or delve into the murkier bits of the past or of life. What better way than combining it with some historical fiction and go back to 1926 with Nina de Gramont – The Christie Affair. A possible reason for why Agatha Christie went missing for those eleven days. Of course we will never know which I think is part of the added mystery to the whole thing.

Some more crime in Nita Prose – The Maid which is a book you will see a lot of in the coming weeks I am sure. It has been optioned for film as well. A book set in a hotel, no time, no place but a maid who becomes involved in some unpleasantness and then finds a dead body. Is she guilty of anything other than innocence? If you enjoyed The Rosie Project/Eleanor Oliphant you will certainly like this book.

Still with the crime, but this time on the high seas as the month comes to a end with Tom Hindle – A Fatal Crossing. What could be more of a locked room mystery than one on a liner in the middle of a ocean. Rare pieces of art and the class system at it’s best, it is a race to find out the truth before the ship docks.

Not a bad start to the year, some real excellent reads and there is plenty more to come. I need to beat that backlog somehow whether it be on my shelf or on my kindle.

Bring on February!

Books in 2021

So I am probably one of the last people with a book blog to actually witter on about what my favourite books were last year and it seems to have taken me an age to get to this point where I have put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard to consolidate the reading of 2021.

Some facts and figures for those geeks that like that sort of thing!

The Shortest Book was Katie Fforde – Saving the Day at 92 pages

The Longest Book was Kate Quinn – The Rose Code at 624 pages

I read 109 books which was 31,042 pages!

87 were on my Kindle – that is rather shocking when I think of the amount of books on my shelves. I solely blame netgalley which feeds this habit, but I have had the opportunity to read so many wonderful stories because of it and discover new authors that I can perhaps only be a little bit cross with myself!

It is quite clear I come back to the same authors time and time again, for comfort but also because you know you are going to get a cracking good read! So again, I look back on those I have read more than 1 of and this year it seems that 3 is the magic number!

Multiple Books by the same Author

I have marked in bold those who fell into the same category last year too.

3 Books: Christie Barlow, Sarah Bennett, Helena Dixon, Holly Martin, Cressida McLaughlin, Tracy Rees.

2 Books: Merryn Allingham, Phillipa Ashley, Cathy Bramley, Alex Brown, Rachel Burton, Julie Caplin, Liz Eeles, Katie Fforde, Kate Forster, Katie Ginger, Cathy Lake, Shelia Norton, Gervase Phinn, Nancy Revell, Helen Rolfe, Heidi Swain.

Of course all of these colourful covers just make reading even more joyful as to the story insdie.

I read no Agatha Christie! I could have sworn I had, but that probably shows you how much the stories stay with you, or I have watched far too many on the TV! Perhaps this year I will read more. Then again, I have no plans for this blog which is probably why it has taken so long to write this round up post for last year!

I don’t think I have a favourite book, there are too many I read that I enjoy and I just simply love reading. But these are the standout books for that are not featured above just in case you want some more to add to your list.

This is a powerful and emotional book and I was caught out by one particular plot thread, so swept away was I with the story and the characters, it felt that I was suffering my own loss. The comfort was the familiarity of books, the comfort that they can give and the way they help and heal. The message which this debut novel has conveyed with sensitivity, across cultures, across ages and across book shelves.

This is a fascinating book which gives a real insight into life under German occupation on the island and shows the conflicts and battles that the islanders had to face as well as the occupying German forces as well. The book certainly pushed your expectations to make you think of both sides during the war and for that I commend it.

I adored this book, it reminds me of my great love of historical fiction and was an part of history which I knew little about and also even less about the great Champagne houses. How wonderful to discover that a woman was behind one of the greatest much to the chagrin of most. Historical fiction is of course just that but what it does and this book does it in abundance is open your eyes and the world up to reading much more about these fabulous women who have shaped history, who have made an impact and should be recognised much more. It reminded me why I love history. 

I did wonder where and how this book was going to culminate and I was so intrigued by the characters that were created. I was completely surprised by the fact that whilst this story was fiction – every person and experience was based on real people and real events. The information and research given at the end of the book is fascinating and brought more to the story than if it had been pure fiction.

This is a long novel but so worth it, to get so involved with everything, whether it be the light hearted moments, or the thrill of the chase when it came to cracking a code or experiencing life as a debutante in war torn London. 

A real thoughtful book which concentrates on the simplicity of family and friendship, with some difficult moments that leaving you thinking, even if it seems that all works out alright on the surface.

I feel I have been all over the world with Lucina Riley and the Seven Sister series and I have learnt so much from all of the places I have been. The fact that real life events, real people are simply weaved into the fictional tale is a testament to the skill of Riley’s writing and means that for me she is without a doubt one of my most favourite authors.

Sadly the world lost Lucinda Riley in 2021, a great loss and I am thrilled but saddened in equal measure that I still have some of books left to read on my shelf. It will be with poignancy when I do get round to reading these.

So that is the flavour of 2021. I hope you will excuse the time it has taken me to get to this post. And I once again I thank all my blog readers who stop by and read, comment or simply like a post. I feel over the last few years, the book blogging world has changed, but this for me has always been about my little place, my little jotter where I share what I love.

Who knows where this blog will go in 2022, but so far the books and the reading continue.

November Roundup

Where has this year gone? In a blink of eye we have one month to go. As the new from the world of the pandemic seems worrying, we have to hunker down and forge through.

And that is what I have done in terms of my November reading and I have to say might have reached peak Christmas reading! However I have reached 100 books ahead of schedule, so now it is a case of how many books will I read in 2021!

But that is a mere 31 days away so what about the November books I hear you ask, so without further ado……

Full of Christmas in all it’s forms and with plenty to make you hungry especially with Alex Brown – A Cosy Christmas at Bridget’s Bicycle Bakery the thought of freshly baked sourdough had my mouth watering and having it delivered by the welcoming and wonderful Bridget would make anyone’s Christmas complete.

A cream tea is one of my most favourite things to and without putting on an ounce of weight I managed to delight in Cressida McLaughlin – Christmas Carols and a Cornish Cream Tea. And with the descriptions of the hampers, made me want to splurge this festive season from my favourite hamper place!

Another about Christmas is all the crafts you can partake in and I am partial to one or two of them which is why Helen Rolfe – Christmas at the Village Sewing Shop appealed to me and was a real heart warming novel of how crafts can bring family and community together.

I think most Christmastimes I normally pick up a Phillipa Ashley and this year was no different and for this year I was back in Cornwall, rock and rolling by way through Phillipa Ashley – A Special Cornish Christmas which was full of delicious food, crafts and some nifty footwork. A great way to spend a Christmas.

With all the Christmas there is always time to look at times gone by and as this saga draws o its natural conclusion, I find myself looking for a new series to get my teeth into. In the meantime I was delighted to finally see the end of the war in sight in Nancy Revell – Shipyard Girls under the Mistletoe. There is still some bad apples to sort out, but the future look like it will throw up some wonderful happy endings.

With no Christmas but plenty of history I was thrust into the 1880s with Claire Evans – The Fourteenth Letter a book that had been hanging around on my shelf for a while. A strange novel that had me hooked because I wanted to know what was going on and not because it was good. I am not sure as I reached the end that I did know what was happening?

I definitely didn’t know what was going at Bletchley Park and I am not sure I would have been a good code breaker during the warm but it is a place that fascinates and I think I would have enjoyed my time there. As did Kathleen McGurl – The Girl from Bletchley Park who with a dual timeline novel takes us back and looks at where secrets are all around us.

No more secrets for November’s reading that’s for sure. So on with December, there is plenty to be reading on my kindle thanks to netgalley, but I think only a few more Christmas/Winter themed novels will slip through at this point.

In the meantime, on with advent, the decorations and the festivities!