#womderouswedneaday @Eggs sliding in late with this but … 1) we decorate inside tree and nativity 2) we try and buy a decoration when we visit somewhere new so our tree is the story of our lives together - my favourite is probably a star we bought in a German market 20 years ago this year 3) I love Christmas music my absolute favourite will be niche and is the Christmas alphabet sung by dickie valentine!

There was much here that I thought I would love. The scene setting in the cold, isolated alps is excellent and the build up to a closed house mystery is good and it‘s a great closed house / hotel.. but then it gets messy! Overly complicated back story of the lead feels distracting and the actual who dun it didn‘t really capture my attention. #pantone2023 and will be my mountains #booked2023 which i want to finish regardless

If ever there was a niche post! I don‘t think I have ever felt so seen in actual published words. I have spent the last 10 plus years feeling like I have to justify where I came from, ‘cos someone thinks I didn‘t sound like it. Lot of ‘I am actually, yes I know it doesn‘t sound like it‘ etc etc (until I have a drink, am tired, or spend a weekend with the family!) all jokes aside though ⬇️

Uggh what a confusing book. Half way in I thought Keys had managed to write a book full of well fleshed out but awful people m, two thirds of the way in I thought I might dnf but my curiosity as to what happened to them all won through. Then before I know it I have almost finished and am cheering them on. All of which h to say it‘s a rich, detailed book full of well written people you probably wouldn‘t want to be friends with !

Written in poetry this is a beautiful, haunting story of the wars fought in Cuba to gain independence from Spain. The main character is Rosa a slave turned nurse who hides in the countryside helping all who cross her path regardless of allegiance. At the moment though it was Silvia a young girl escaped from the (first) ‘re concentration ‘ camps after all her family died of starvation or disease who might stay with me longest

Love starting the month with a positive @Eggs . I am good at, 1. Cooking a great curry 2. Remembering peoples names 3. Planning road trips 4. Procrastinating 5. Party planning 6. Putting together an exceptional cheeseboard 7. Getting friends together 8. Helping in a crisis 9. Being calm and still 10. Swimming a slow and steady breaststroke… aim for 2024 be able to add photography to this list! #wonderouswednesday

This was really sweet - arguably almost cozy and I enjoyed immensely! Set in the 1840s in a world whweee magic exists but is reducing the world building was really fun. Merritt, the protagonist inherits a haunted / magical house and sets out to learn the mystery of it with the help of his fab housekeeper. Along the way he learns his own and indeed her secrets to boot. fun and easy also don‘t match for a #pantone2023 I don‘t have yet

Exactly my kind of historical fiction. Rich plot, well drawn characters and things I didn‘t know. In this case both how tough it was to track down many who committed war crimes and also more about the fascinating women only pilot squadrons in Russia. You always know where this is going to end but the journey to get there has me begging for five more minutes reading last night like I was 7 again.

My husband and I have been listening to this book on audio for what feels like forever but have really finished the bulk of it on our roadtrip. It‘s little like 2 books - the first two thirds a historical and sometimes philosophical ref election on the development of liberalism - this part I would give 5 out of 5 to. The latter third is a reflection on the threads to liberalism with a real focus on growing nationalism. This section is also ⬇️

I‘d forgotten how much I liked this author and this was a cracker. Fast paced with multiple voices and threads there but still good characterisation and strong plot with more than a few twists along the way. A perfect read but for a sense of the ending being a little bit rushed.

I have no idea why I bought this in 2015 or why it took my 8 years to read but gosh this was not a book for me. It felt computer generated, all the right parts - sexy CEO, troubled protagonist, super cute kid and yet it didn‘t gel for me at all - badly edited and felt like a male author writing women, badly!

So torn! I found the writing here compelling but for the first half of the book was just epically frustrated by Jess and Malcolm - a married couple who didn‘t seem to communicate at all - then I realised despite myself I had been drawn in and raced to the end ! Book 4 for #outstandingoctober @Andrew65

This has been on my kindle for almost 2 years and I thought this October was the one but it took me a really long time to get into it - well written it felt a little cold until half way in. Undoubtedly great historical fiction of the witch finder general and the women he aimed to find

I am not a self help book kind of a person but gosh I really loved and needed this. The author is a therapist and I found her insights really helpful. The idea of care tasks as morally neutral and the need for the equal rest time in a partnership will stay the most - the actual cleaning stuff I was less into! I am also claiming to my nonfiction prompt for imagine as if implemented this is life changing to me

I am on annual leave and travelling so not sure how much reading I will get in but would like to finish my current read (hopefully done on the plane) and then maybe pick up a couple of other mid read options. We‘re also hoping to do an audio book on our driving but will see how that goes as it usually takes half the trip to agree what to listen to! @Andrew65

Went for a covid booster, treated myself at the local independent bookstore. Inadvertently only bought orange books

By the skin of my teeeth I have finished Q3 of #booked23 with this captivating story of a non binary teen living with their autistic father and grappling with a mother who walked out years earlier. Morgan is a fab protagonist and N all too believable teenager full of hope and self destructive traits. A special book

Public service announcement - British library has a really interesting line up live and also on web on 4th November as part of their Festival of the Accused - non fiction and fiction writers on witchcraft. I am planning to attend the 1 pm!

There‘s a lot packed into this short novella. Anger. Family. Love. Rage. And I was so impressed by the authors writing that kept me with this one . What I struggled with more was the lack of plot, narrative timeline and the mystical elements. Impressive for sure but also left me wanting a bit more of Ella and Kevin‘s story #booked2023

Cross generational female friendships are something I love in a book and so I was really hopeful about this story of a grief stricken 30 something starting again and opening a vintage clothes shop in her home town and the friendships she creates. I loved the main story line but found the multiple voices distracting and could have done without some of the US set parts. Still a solid pick

This should have been better. Translates (slightly stiltedly I felt) from Turkish this is the story of a handful@of brave Turkish diplomats and their efforts to move Jewish Turks out of occupied France, going as far as issuing passports to non Turkish Jews additionally. What the booked missed was a really strong protagonist and a parallel sorry about the sister of one of the travellers added little #bookedintime #pantone2023 a soft pick

Joining in late on the day here in the Uk for #wondrouswednesday @Eggs 1.for me autumn is about grabbing as much time outside before winter, which here mostly means damp and miserable 2. Frazzled 3. The last train to Istanbul

In Istanbul for a few days and picked up the tagged book in a local bookshop - loved this bookish fountain in a garden spotted at the beginning of the trip (currently in a very big queue)

Gosh this was all kinds of beautiful. So cleverly wittten from multiple voices and managing time skips to cover most of a lifetime of experience I really enjoyed this. The characters in this story - 2 immigrant cops who end up as neighbours;their children‘s lives and the outcome of a tragedy are well drawn and incredibly human. A reflection on mental health, trauma and also the power of love this is hopping up my top reads of the year

Perfect lazy Saturday morning. Really enjoyed this split narrative story of two ambitious young black women in the late 40s and the exploration of adoption houses in the US. A really strong read up until the final few chapters which felt a bit rushed and didn‘t do either Ruby or Eleanor‘s story what I think they deserved

#idiominsight @Eggs apparently this means very common and not very valuable. A few years ago I volunteered in a Local charity shop and this was the most donated book we would get! Lots of them and not worth much 😄

What a skill this author has. She writes one of the genuinely unlikeable and self destructive characters I have ever come across, has her hurt people closest to and yet I was still rooting for her. Wonderful writing and important things to say about grief, self worth and more. Loved it #pantone2023

August has been a great reading month for me - in part #rushathon in part hols and some long travels this twisty, dark mystery was a good one to finish on. Forgotten how much I used to enjoy this author and whilst heavily unbelievable outcome it was a well crafted and compelling story!

Best thing about a bank holiday is not feeling guilty staying up til 1 to finish an odd little book. And this was odd bit well written. The story of Beatrice the librarian in an Italian convent who finds herself in possession of a special book that challenges the church. A powerful and feminist tale about women, their role in the church it was a bit too fantastical for me

I was very lucky with my #staycationintime swap thank you so much Julia. I have jaded down to South America to give my reading the americas a kick. I am very lucky and appreciated all the little extra you added into my box ! Thanks for arranging

Thought I would hop in on this one @dabbe #tlt. 1. it (the original - watched far too young and showered with a washcloth over the plug hole for longer than I‘d like to admit) 2. The exorcist (given the above absolutely no idea why I watched this). 3. The Others - literally watched this as a dare from my now husband !

I really enjoyed this after the hostage which I did not love. It‘s for strong characters, a great community with secondary characters a go go and a twisty anyone could have done it murder mystery. Really enjoyed !

At times a little too much on language this is mostly the right side of lyrical and is a damning tale about the impact of poverty, casual racism and more set against the backdrop of a challenging colonial history in Trinidad. I understand why people say this is an important book and even a great one but I am not sure I would reread !

Gosh this book had a lot of tennis in it! Compellingly written the vast amount of tennis helps set the scene for the single mindedness of Carrie - a retired tennis great determined to renter the game for one last season to regain her most grand slam title but does drown out some of the arguably more interesting relationship building. Loved Gwen the agent and would have loved to see more of her.

This was a confusing one - the social history and family history (which is my I picked it- 3 generations for #booked2023) is almost one story in its own right before you throw on top a ton of magical realism and Mayan mythology! I enjoyed both components but felt they came with the sad side effect on only getting to see some of both rather than investing fully in one. A fun read none the less. Double dipping for Mexico for #readingtheamericas

There are 2 things I didn‘t love about this book 1) a slightly dismissive lgbtq storyline and 2) no speech punctuation. Despite this I asked and am calling it a 5 star. The writing is lush and melancholy and unlike many second plus type of romance novels the characters of Will and Rosie really seemed fully fleshed out and real - no silly reasons for the ebbs and flows of their relationship just a real richness of their story

This was not quite what I expected… a dark story about obsession set against a backdrop of a mega successful treasure hunting book. I didn‘t really care for any of the characters except posssibly Billie and would@loved to have heard how she really saw it all go down. Nevertheless it was creepy and twisty and an interesting perspective on family secrets

This has been on my kindle for forever and I feel foolish about that. A funny yet darkly sad story about mothers and daughters. Dido narrates her life as a bookish child looking for what she needed from life in the pages of her books and her deeply unusual upbringing with her mum. I loved this although found time picking up at the end a bit challenging to follow #pantone2023 claiming for iced mango but does have some blueing in there too!

I picked this for my wierd book choice for #booked2023 after reading @5feet.of.fury describe it as “unhinged” in her review. And boy was she right! Absolutely bonkers twists, a deeply psychological undertone, feminist and queer feminist exploration, locked house mystery not at all like Agatha Christie and a hint of the occult. And do you know I really enjoyed it!! Double dipping for #pantone2023 with the Uk cover

I haven‘t been reading crime thrillers other than police procedurals in a while so I really liked this. The main character is a podcaster on a cold cases pod cast exploring a 20 year old unsolved case. I liked the structure and the inclusion of the podcast transcripts.

Many thoughts - really didn‘t care for the main character Henrietta who felt like a bit of an elinor oliphant type and was in many ways super frustrating… esp her dog ownership! but did enjoy the main plot. A terminally I‘ll older lady sits to write her life story with Henrietta who pulls to undercover lost family secrets

And another one! This was sweet but not I thought as good as her first. Fern returns to her home resort after her mothers death trying to come to terms with whether what she thought she wanted out do life is true. I thought there was opportunity for this to be a bit more ‘real‘ but instead read a bit hallmark movie. I read that Meghan markle had optioned this for Netflix - not at all what I thought she‘d pick! I am claiming this for #pantone3023

In case my fourth book in two days isn‘t hint enough I have come away on my own to try and decompress from a tough year. My current reading isn‘t very challenging but it is charming and therapeutic. Every time I read one of these unusual family in their second home on Long Island books it makes me want to go !#pantone2023

Not an easy‘ ‘easy read‘ this was none the less as solid pick for me. Friends who all@met working together during / post uni struggle to redefine friendships was more interesting to me than the love story in here.

I‘ve binged this trilogy through a lazy Sunday evening and a day of travel and am claiming this as my #booked2022 option. Truthfully these were not great reads, slightly sloppy writing, mad plot on mad plot line but also compelling like eating sour fizzy sweets

Bought this thanks to it appearing on a readers digest list explaining what ‘sunshine noir‘ is for #booked2023— I‘m a third in and there is snow on the ground which feels at odds with what I assumed?!

Got this as a gift and finding the mix of poems, quotes and reflection in this very much more beautiful than I thought I might

Well this is #blameitonlitsty - I only came across it playing #maymontage! This is glee / HSM becomes TV show that culminates in a disastrous live episode….then we pick up with those teen stars some years later as they begin to film a one off revival show (live). so full of twists it tangles. Also so, so OTT & yet it also a powerful comment on fame and the treatment of young would be stars. Sort of soapy but kind of loved! ⬇️

Picked this one for the #pantone2023 challenge but was actually just the palette cleanser I needed after a v long week. Recently divorced screen writer mom lets a film crew shoot at her home and inevitably the lead sees something he likes. Fun and easy way to spend an afternoon!

A tough one - Freda leaves her toddler alone for a few hours and ends up in a dystopian 1 year programme to retrain her and others into good motherhood. Some of this was really captivating and there is clearly a social commentary that I enjoyed BUT didn‘t feel the world was well built, how did they get there? Why was no one interested in where these women were? Does mean I hit my #jubilentjuly goal of daily reading !