Category: Monthly update

My 5 Favourite January Reads

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favouriteI don’t know quite what happened in January but I only managed to read eight books last month (although one of them was 500 pages long). Not a good start given my Goodreads Reading Challenge target for 2020 is 120 books. However, on the upside it did make choosing my five favourite a little easier.

Let’s start with the first in a terrific new crime series from husband and wife writing duo R.C. Bridgestock. Payback introduces readers to newly-promoted DI Charley Mann and is a compelling police procedural. You can read my full review here.

Next, we turn to historical fiction and The Lady of the Ravens by Joanna Hickson. It’s a fictionalized account of the life of Joan Vaux, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth, wife of Henry VII. It uses the legend that the nation will be secure so long as ravens inhabit the Tower of London to highlight the political intrigue and turmoil of the time. You can read my full review here.

TBR#7KatherineMore historical fiction but this time a classic of the genre, Katherine by Anya Seton. Telling the story of the love affair between Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, it was the book chosen for me for the latest Classics Club Spin. I loved it and you can find out why here.

We move forward in time now to World War Two and Hitler’s Secret, the latest in Rory Clement’s Tom Wilde historical thriller series. I’ve loved all the previous books in the series and this one didn’t disappoint either. Read my full review here to find out why.

Finally, the latest thriller from the pen of J.S. Monroe. The Other You is a gripping story blending the latest technology with more ancient legends of doppelgangers and changelings. You can read my spoiler-free review here.

What were your favourite books you read in January? Have you read any of my picks?

My 5 Favourite December Reads

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My 5 Favourite December ReadsHere are my five favourite of the eleven books I managed to read in December. Links from the titles will take you to my reviews.

You can find details of all the books I read in 2019 here with links to my reviews.  If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

First up is The Boy With Blue Trousers by Carol Jones. Moving between nineteenth century China and Australia, I really enjoyed its compelling story of love, duty, sacrifice and vengeance, and its wealth of cultural detail.

Cold, Cold HeartNext, we turn to crime with Cold, Cold Heart by Christine Poulson. The setting, an Antarctic research station cut off from the outside world during a time of perpetual darkness and with a killer on the loose, makes for an atmospheric, tense and gripping mystery.

More mystery but this time in America’s Coney Island during the early part of the twentieth century. Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau sees heiress Peggy Batternberg seeking to escape from the constraints of family and social expectations. However, she is seen drawn into the investigation of suspicious deaths.

El HachoFinally, two novellas – Joan Smokes by Angela Meyer and El Hacho by Luis Carrasco – that both demonstrate the art of writing memorable and compelling stories in a limited number of pages.

What were your favourite books you read in December? Have you read any of my picks?