Thank you so much for this Helen 😘 how perfect is this card! 😍 I stacked the book after the post by @BarbaraBB so thankful that you bought it for me 🤍 I‘ll have to check out the bookshop next time I‘m in Leeds it sounds fab.

I love a quiet, small town, character driven novel to get lost in and this was really nicely written. I liked the way the past/back story unfolded, the ending, the different points of view and the relationship between Clara and Liam. Will definitely read more Lawson at some point 💕

It‘s not that often I read a crime thriller but if I‘m just wanting a page turner it‘s generally my go to, always feels like a #guiltypleasure.

I was 7 when the Spice Girls came out and I was obsessed with them (I had a fancy dress Spice Girls party - included pictures of the cake and me as Baby Spice 😆) pure nostalgia and an absolute guilty pleasure 🤩 #titlesandtunes

Adding to the chorus in loving this. Very readable with a brilliant protagonist- how could you not admire Elizabeth Zott! I‘m reading a couple of books at the moment that make me think although we‘ve come a long way from this era, not far enough.

I love that this book brought up questions but didn‘t provide answers; it‘s been a while since I‘ve read a book that allows a lot of room for interpretation and it had me thinking even long after I‘d finished it. I liked the writing, the characters, the atmosphere - glad to have finally read it! #titlesandtunes #islandvibe

Not my typical genre so probably a me problem over the book but I drifted too much while listening to this. There were times I almost bailed but some chapters ended in a way I had to keep on which I‘m glad I did as it was a good listen overall - it just took me a while to get past the first person narrative; I felt like I was being taught which sometimes took me out of the story. I loved Rocky and the ending was really good.

Rosie becomes pregnant with her second child not long after having her first and starts to suffer with depression; she discovers the gallery at Kew Gardens by Marianne North (a Victorian botanical artist) and from there finds a new love of plants. Through horticultural therapy, visiting parks & gardens in London & growing plants she finds a way through. I‘m simplifying it here but it was a really lovely, inspiring read. #tbrtarot #magnificentmay

Memorable? Probably not. A decent thriller that keeps you turning the pages? Definitely. I really liked the setting of Oxford, the cast of characters and the way it went back and forth between before/after. I feel like the author did try a bit too hard to make one of the characters a red herring (which I 100% fell for so…😂) but without giving too much away it seemed like they had a personality change near the end of the book.

My partner is glad I‘m finished this so I‘m not constantly telling him things about dinosaurs 😂 five star read for me - so readable, engaging and fascinating! It‘s a linear narrative from when the dinosaurs first arrived to their extinction. I learned a lot. #nonfiction2023 (bad reputation) #magnificentmay

I read this a few weeks ago but the characters are still vivid in my mind. It‘s a very character driven book which I like. Cleo and Frank stay in a relationship that isn‘t healthy for either of them; it reminded me of the song Foundations by Kate Nash but more grown up and darker 😆 It felt like every word was written with precision and intent, and there‘s humour in it too. Really enjoyed it.

Goals for #magnificentmay

🌱 Finish The Ballast Seed
🦕 Finish The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
🛸 Listen to 4 chapters of Project Hail Mary
👮‍♀️ Read The Memory Police

The reader is privy to things the characters aren‘t so most of this book I spent willing the characters to do or see things differently. I liked Antonia but Pere annoyed me for the most part and Valerie was awful! The setting and the magical realism part of it I liked but overall not for me.

This was really hard to read at times, not just the brutal scenes but the overall tone of it - I want to say ‘sad‘ tone but that doesn‘t do it justice. A pick because I liked the writing and the philosophical aspect of it but I found it unsettling to read. #tbrtarot

My picks for #titlesandtunes. Book and song are opposite vibes ha but I‘ve loved this song since I was a teen (it was on the Smallville soundtrack which I listened to on repeat) and the book is on my shelves so looking forward to reading it! #islandvibe

I‘m not much of series reader but I do like this one for when I want to read something that I can just get lost in, where I don‘t have to think too much. Always a good plot, writing and characters. Definitely read more of it when I‘m in the mood for this sort of read.

Did a little detour to Grasmere on our way home and popped into the bookshop. I liked the cover and title of this one and it sounds intriguing.

No holiday is complete without a visit to a bookshop. I picked this one after all the great reviews on here.

Probably my least favourite Kingsolver I‘ve read but I still enjoyed it & the more I think on it the more I want to recommend it. I liked the characters, past and present, and the parallels between them. When there‘s duel timelines sometimes I‘m more invested in one than the other but in this I liked them both equally - there‘s a good balance and I appreciated the themes and debates that ran through them.

On our way to the Lake District 💚 hoping the kids have a decent nap so I can read this most of the way 😆

I understand why the title is what it is but I feel a bit misled - would have liked a bit more on the trauma cleaning. However, Sandra is quite a complex person who has been through a lot of trauma herself and it made for a difficult but interesting listen. I admired her resilience. The author really idolises Sandra so it‘s quite a biased picture of her life I think! #nonfiction2023 - Toxic

The most accessible book on raising kids I‘ve read. Child development and psychology is all in here but very easy to understand and to take from. I like how she sometimes used adult relationships to put some of her points across about how to talk to children when they‘re upset etc. If I was asked to recommend a book on parenting it would definitely be this one. #nonfiction2023 - Good as Hell

So many amazing sounding books, so hard to choose! I‘ve added loads to the tbr. I couldn‘t join in with most of #camplitsy last year as I had Naomi in the June (can‘t believe she‘s going to be 1 soon 😭) but hoping to read all or most of the selections this time ❤️

I wasn‘t expecting to enjoy this as much as I am after reading mixed reviews on here but I‘m finding it hard to put down. #authoramonth

A really raw book about how the author experienced postpartum psychosis; the first signs, how she kept it hidden, how it was first thought to be postpartum depression, how the symptoms worsened, her two week stay in a psych ward & how she came out the other end with support from family & health professionals. She doesn‘t shy away from detailing what it was like to be in her head & it sounds so awful to go through. #nonfiction2023 - I Will Survive

I want to re-read it already ❤️

So visceral, dark, poetic and I loved the repetition throughout the stories - definitely the most whole set of short stories I‘ve read and a new favourite book of mine. Glad #tbrtarot prompted me to read it as it‘s been on my shelves for ages!

I loved this from the first sentence. A dysfunctional family, each with their own distinct personalities, misunderstanding each other. It was funny, dark at times, relatable in some ways and the characters were really well written. Brilliant! 💛

Sparse but effective writing; a small sentence or paragraph conveys a mood or emotion. You really get a feel of what it‘s like to be the adolescent Jody living on a ranch, & it brings back childhood memories of things like boredom, pure happiness & disappointment. It‘s not something I would gravitate towards reading as the subject matter wouldn‘t appeal to me but it was a pleasant surprise. Might try more of his books in the future! #authoramonth

Friday night 🍷 feel like this book would pair better with red wine but this 19 crimes white is lovely! The book is good too - one to read slowly as the writing is quite poetic.

Nowhere near as good as My Sister, the Serial Killer but still a good quick read. I flew through it in one night. Set during the pandemic Bambi goes to live with two women who both claim the baby in the house is theirs. One review says it‘s ‘domestic noir‘ and I love that description! It fits it well.

A bit late in finishing for last months #tbrtarot. Absolutely brilliant on audio, all of the narrators did an amazing job. I can see why this is a bestseller as it‘s just really good storytelling in terms of plot and characters! It did drag on a tiny bit for me, I felt like it could have been shorter. Loved Celia! Lots of funny and touching moments. Not a must-read sort of book but a really enjoyable one.

Enjoyed the chance to read just as much as having my hair done…probably more 😂

I‘m liking this book but I‘ve been reading it in dribs and drabs so don‘t feel like I‘m doing it justice.

This was a random pick at the library and I‘m so glad I stumbled across it. It was a lovely uplifting read about people/communities/Kate herself trying to live more sustainably, consciously and consume less. Love the idea of repair cafés. It made me want to do something with these raised beds previous owners put in the garden (even though I have no clue when it comes to planting anything ?)
#nonfiction2023 - imagine

I didn‘t really like this which is a shame as I loved the other two books I‘ve read by her. It was a bit too cheesy, cliche and lacking in real substance for me. It‘s drama filled but I found it dull plot and character wise. So-so because she definitely knows how to write to keep you reading on. #authoramonth

A rarity these days - time for coffee and reading in a cafe.

A hard book to review because I see some faults in it (it‘s repetitive & sometimes contradictory) but I admire Gabor Mate and agree with everything he says regarding attachment and parenting. I love that he says ‘don‘t parent from a book - not even this one‘. He argues that we‘ve lost some of our natural instincts and because of this, & the way society is, kids have stronger attachments to their peers rather than adults which causes problems.

I think this is a love or hate type of book and I LOVED it! First five star read of the year. The audio was amazing 🙌 the amount of time the author spent with these women shows - you get brutal honesty, desire and insight.

#tbrtarot #nonfiction2023 (strange fruit)

There‘s no denying Erdrich writes well but there‘s something about her books where I always feel like I‘m distant; I never feel fully immersed in them. There were elements I really liked in this; the characters, the development, the setting and all the book talk. I enjoyed it but can‘t say I loved it so a low pick. I preferred The Night Watchman. #authoramonth

Absolutely love Zadie Smith, she‘s one of my favourite writers, but this won‘t leave a lasting impression on me. I enjoyed the writing and the way it made me think while reading the essays; I connected with the writing, but having sat with it for a few days there‘s not much that has stuck with me. An enjoyable, thoughtful quick read but not really memorable. #nonfiction2023

I never skim read but I did with this. I appreciated the research and data (or lack of), the way she broke it down and the explanations into what types of research actually provide real data but most of it just boiled down to ‘there‘s not enough data, so go with your own decision‘. That‘s probably the main point of the book. I just got really bored with it. #nonfiction2023 - big yellow taxi (the cover is yellow 💛)

What a read to start the year with. Brilliant writing as always with Boyne; quite a dark novel but I loved the humour within it, the way each section focused on a different character viewpoint all in relation to Maurice, the ending…there wasn‘t much about it I didn‘t like. A rollercoaster read of a book with a despicable main character. Couldn‘t put it down.

Tagged book my favourite of the year! Although I did read the majority of it in the December I finished it in January.

Lonesome Dove I never expected to love as much as I did. I rated it four stars at the time but looking back on it I‘ve bumped it up to 5 stars.

Anne Tyler was a new author to me and I‘ll definitely read more of her this year. And for some reason I finished nothing in October 🤷‍♀️ #readingbracket2022

Happy New Year 🥂💖

I‘ve got 2 hours left of Hidden Valley Road (brilliant book!) which I‘ll finish before the year is through but I don‘t think I‘ll have time for any more non-fiction reads this year so posting this now. Thanks for a fab challenge @Riveted_Reader_Melissa looking forward to the 2023 one! ❤️ #nonfiction2022

One of the best character driven novels I‘ve read in a while. I love the way Hamilton depicts Miss Roach & her thought process, so transparent & relatable in some ways - you could call her naive but I also think a lot of people have had a Vicki in their lives; someone who makes you question if it‘s you reading the person wrong of if they are just not nice! I was just willing Miss Roach to stand up for herself. Five star read for me.

An emotional read. It brought up questions of deportation, what it‘s like to live away from your family, living in a country where you are undocumented etc all through interesting characters and vivid scenery. I loved it. I enjoyed the chapters from the point of view of the children growing up in America too - would have liked to hear more from their perspective.

Thanks so much for this one Helen 💕

Been looking forward to this all day 😆

York do a big city read where the library give away copies of a certain book for people to read and they have events going on related to it and reading group discussions in all the different libraries. This is the perfect choice seeing as it‘s set in York! I‘m loving it. The main characters live in my area so I know the streets mentioned, makes it a vivid read.

@rockpools posts about this one made me want to read it and I‘m so glad I did. Such an enjoyable listen. It‘s basically a list of the top 10 things people find restful (reading being no.1) & why. The author looks at research and statistics as to why the things chosen might be considered restful but she doesn‘t just blindly accept the studies done. Brilliantly done. If felt like such an easygoing listen although there‘s a lot of information in it.

It took a while to warm up to this but I loved the latter parts where she details how she started to take risks in life. Tanya has a near death experience after becoming a mother & I thought it was to be a book on motherhood but it was the opposite-she barely writes about being a parent, but about her life away from that; her creative, artistic life. Poetically written but this made me feel disconnected from it at times. An inspiring read though.

I‘ve definitely found a new favourite in Anne Tyler.
Loved the family dynamics in this, the way the characters are succinctly written and the idea that family members don‘t always like each other/get along and put up pretences. I really liked Mercy. It‘s got that slow, not a lot happening feel which I like in books anyway but it kept me turning the pages because of the characters, the dynamics & the writing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just a shout out to local libraries 💕 I went to pick up this book I‘d reserved & it wouldn‘t let me check it out - I asked the librarian & it was because I had fines (I‘m usually pretty good at taking books back etc but having a newborn I‘ve not really kept on top of it) but she waivered them for me as she knows I‘m a regular & she saw me with the kids & said she knows what it‘s like. Just thought that was really kind of her 🤍

Just me and Naomi today so I can read while she sleeps 💕

I‘m liking this book but at the same time it feels like it‘s taking a while to get going. I do sometimes find that with memoirs though.