January, so far…

January 2022 has been a great time for me to catch up with some of the books I’ve been wanting to read for a while. The end of 2021 wasn’t a great time (for anyone really) but I’ve managed to get back to it and wanted to share the books I’ve been reading over the...

Common Ground by Naomi Ishiguro

Stan is 13 and struggling at a new school when he meets Charlie. Complete opposites, they click and become good friends despite their differences. Stan is struggling with bullies whereas Charlie knows exactly how to stand up for himself and helps to show Stan how to gain confidence. Both know what it means to be...

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Being an adult is hard work when you stop to think about all the things we have to deal with just to keep the family ticking over. It only takes one bad decision to turn it around. Anxious people is about that one bad decision; A bank robbery gone wrong, a hostage situation, a leap...

The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel

The Glass Hotel follows Paul and Vincent, brother and half sister, from their time as teenagers through to adulthood. Vincent and Paul didn’t have the easiest teenage years. Vincent lost her mother, and suffered from years of resentment from Paul for the collapse of his parent’s marriage. Both find themselves back living and working together...

Tennis Lessons by Susannah Dickey

Tennis Lessons is a coming of age story. A young woman recounts short clips from her childhood through to her adult life. There are no filters on this, no rose tinted recollections or awkward parts removed, but the story is told in such an endearing style that you somehow need to be a witness to...

The Confession by Jessie Burton

The Confession follows the story of Elise, Constance, and Rosie over more than 30 years and two generations. They are three very different women with a strong connection between them. Set in the 1980’s Elise and Constance meet for the first time and start to build an unbreakable bond. Thirty years later and we are...

Expectation by Anna Hope @Anna_Hope

Hannah, Cate, and Lissa share a house in London together. At 29, they are great friends and doing their best to make their way in life. Expectation follows their journeys together, and apart, until they are in their 40’s with frequent flashbacks to earlier days to give depth to their stories. Anna Hope packs in...

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman @backmanland

Us Against You is the sequel to Beartown. Often you see bloggers suggesting that sequels may be read as a standalone, but this is far from true in this case. The scandal from the previous book is summarised within the first few chapters, and Beartown is certainly not a book to be missed. This review...

Whistle In The Dark by Emma Healey @ECHealey @VikingBooksUK

Whistle in the Dark begins with Jen and her 15 year old daughter, Lana, in an ambulance. Lana has been found after being missing for four days, and she either doesn’t know, or won’t tell anyone where she was. Lana was already a troubled young woman before she went on holiday with her mum to...

Don’t Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon @HollySeddon @AtlanticBooks

Robin and Sarah are twins, and both are in a very dark stage in their lives for different reasons. They both hold onto secrets and regret after years of no contact with each other. Those secrets are gradually revealed through the book as the reader understands the love and loss they shared. The chapters are...