Happy Saturday to you! Hope the world has been treating you well! Things have been pretty peaceful and calm here for most of the week – I’ve even been baking scones this afternoon! I am a true domestic goddess!! Sampling the scones is definitely my favourite part of the process though….
On to books!! There has been lots!! Both in terms of books finished – 6 wahoo – and in adding them to the overstocked shelves! 7 I have bought myself – despite my best efforts to not buy more! – and 1 was kindly sent by the author! July is definitely going to be the month I stick myself on a book buying ban…… didn’t I say that at the start of June?! oops!!
So here’s a quick round up of all that I’ve read these past 7 days – please click on the title for a link to the GoodReads page for more info! I’ve fallen behind on reviews again so that is hopefully what my Sunday will be spent doing!!
BOOKS FINISHED
Whistle In The Dark by Emma Healey – 3 stars
Another fascinating book from this author – I loved Elizabeth is Missing – but this just fell a little flat for me.
The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan – 5 stars
Loved this magical tale of The Good People and the effect they played on the inhabitants of a town in Ireland.
Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman – 5 stars
Wow!! I’m still an emotional mess after finishing this yesterday. If you are worried it won’t be as good as Beartown – as I was – then worry not!! Absolutely blooming amazing and I haven’t stopped thinking about it!! Prepare for a review soon that will gush even more over it! One of my books of 2018!
Arlette’s Story by Angela Barton – 4 stars
A stunning and emotional read about how life was for a French family during the War.
Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively – 4 stars
A wonderful look at the world of gardening from literary links to personal recollections from the author. Really enjoyed it!
One Summer Weekend by Juliet Archer – 4 stars
A wonderful romance!
BOOK HAUL
Was lucky to receive this from the author during the week and it just sounds like my kind of read!
Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham
Can Eleanor follow her heart in troubled times?Eleanor Roy is determined to do her bit for the war effort after being recruited by the War Artist Advisory Committee. When she meets handsome artist Jack Valante, her dreams seem to be finally coming true when Jack promises to help her pursue her ambition of becoming an artist. But after a whirlwind romance, Eleanor is devastated when Jack is posted overseas.When Eleanor receives some unexpected news she desperately tries to find Jack. But with the young couple torn apart by war, will they be reunited and find happiness at last?
Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square by Heidi Swain
Summer at Skylark Farm by Heidi Swain
2 books for £4?! What was I supposed to do?!! Exactly!!
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
More bargains! My niece is looking for Agatha Christie books so I have been searching local charity shops and library sales – have found 2 for her so far but they seem a scarcity! – but that obviously means I tend to end up finding books that have been on my radar for a while!
A book I’ve heard good things about it so had to snap it up secondhand when I found a copy!
Any excuse to add to the Persephone Collection! Found this online on AbeBooks and looking forward to starting it soon!
CURRENTLY READING
Call of the Curlew by Elizabeth Brooks
Virginia Wrathmell has always known she will meet her death on the marsh in reparation for the mistakes of her childhood.
On New Year’s Eve, at the age of eighty-six, Virginia feels the time has finally come.
In 1939, Virginia is ten, an orphan arriving to meet her new adoptive parents, Clem and Lorna Wrathmell, at their mysterious house, Salt Winds. The house sits right on the edge of a vast marsh, a beautiful but dangerous place. It’s the start of a new life for Virginia, but she quickly senses that all is not right between Clem and Lorna – in particular, the presence of their wealthy neighbour Max Deering, who takes an unhealthy interest in the family. When a German fighter plane crashes into the marsh, Clem ventures onto the deadly sands to rescue the airman. And that is when things really begin to go wrong…
The War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells – via the Serial Reader App
With H.G. Wells’ other novels, The War of the Worlds was one of the first and greatest works of science fiction ever to be written. Even long before man had learned to fly, H.G. Wells wrote this story of the Martian attack on England. These unearthly creatures arrive in huge cylinders, from which they escape as soon as the metal is cool. The first falls near Woking and is regarded as a curiosity rather than a danger until the Martians climb out of it and kill many of the gaping crowd with a Heat-Ray. These unearthly creatures have heads four feet in diameter and colossal round bodies, and by manipulating two terrifying machines – the Handling Machine and the Fighting Machine – they are as versatile as humans and at the same time insuperable. They cause boundless destruction. The inhabitants of the Earth are powerless against them, and it looks as if the end of the World has come. But there is one factor which the Martians, in spite of their superior intelligence, have not reckoned on. It is this which brings about a miraculous conclusion to this famous work of the imagination.
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Phew!! I need a lie down after that little lot!
HAPPY READING!!
Books and Me! 