Hello everyone,
I am not going to lie, I almost forgot to write a post for today. It literally slipped my mind until the other night where I suddenly remembered that I had not written anything, so this rather rushed glance over my birthday book haul is the outcome of that!
In the interest of variety, I usually only ask for two books at each Christmas and birthday. My parents obliged, with two rather impressive hardbacks.
I discussed Hostage by Clare Mackintosh in a recent post as one of the books that I intend to read very soon. Her crime thrillers have set a very impressive benchmark ever since I read her debut I Let You Go, containing disarming twists, well developed characters, and endless amounts of suspense, so I am really looking forward to it.
However, first I shall be buddy reading Mrs England by Stacey Halls with Noly @ The Artsy Reader. I am very confident of liking this book too, as Halls has such a beautifully engaging writing style and tells affecting stories against an immersive historical backdrop. It is coming with me when I go on holiday next week.
Along with the two books I was gifted on my birthday, I also went and bought myself three more, all for very good prices! As I am (most of the time) very selective about the books I buy, I opted for books that were either on my Goodreads TBR, or by an author whom I read something from before.
I actually finished reading Kill Joy by Holly Jackson last night. It is a short prequel to A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder – one of my favourite series – released for World Book Day, and it is absolute perfection. I will not be writing a full review, but every page was a total joy to read and I loved every second I spent reading it.
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell has constantly caught my eye. I enjoy most things that are historical, and to be honest everything I have heard about this book is positive. Therefore, when I saw a copy of it in perfect condition in a charity shop, I was not leaving without it!
That particular charity shop had a buy one, get one free policy for its books, so of course I was obliged to leave with another! At first I could not find one that I wanted, but then I noticed The Friend by Teresa Driscoll and decided to get that. In 2019 I read her previous book I Am Watching You, which was a gripping read, so I thought it was worth getting this one too.
What do you think of my haul? Have you read any of those books and if so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments!
Happy reading :)
Stephen Reads Books 