My Top 5 June 2024 Reads @canongatebooks @AllisonandBusby @GallicBooks @TransworldBooks @claidlawauthor

My Top Five June 2024 ReadsWelcome to my wrap-up of the books I read in June. I managed to get through nine despite it being the busiest period of the gardening year. I can read a book in the garden but I can’t stop myself putting it down when I spot something that needs doing!

Links from each title will take you to my full review or the book description on Goodreads. Check out the list of all the books I’ve read so far in 2024. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to Canongate, Allison & Busby, Gallic Books, Transworld Books and Charlie Laidlaw for providing me with digital review copies.


Five StarsThe Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (Canongate) – an enthralling, skilfully crafted combination of love story and adventure set in 19th century Montana

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear (Allison & Busby) – a beautifully balanced blend of heartbreak and hope for the future, and the perfect end to a wonderfully entertaining series

French Windows by Antoine Laurain. trans. by Louise Rogers Lalaurie (Gallic Books) – a wonderfully quirky and entertaining take on the classic film, Rear Window

Alvesdon by James Holland (Transworld Books) – an absorbing family saga set in WW2

The Days Of Our Birth by Charlie Laidlaw – a thoughtful, beautifully written story about the bond between two people

What were the best books you read last month? Have you read any of my picks?

 

My Top 5 May 2024 Reads @WorldEdBooks @HeadlineFiction @AllisonandBusby @SceptreBooks

My Top Five May 2024 ReadsWelcome to my wrap-up of the books I read in May. I read nine books last month, two of which I awarded five stars.

Links from each title will take you to my full review or the book description on Goodreads. Check out the list of all the books I’ve read so far in 2024. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to World Editions, Headline, Allison & Busby and Sceptre for providing me with review copies via NetGalley.


Five StarsAfterlight by Jaap Robben, trans. by David Doherty (World Editions) – A beautifully crafted, moving novel that also reveals a shocking hidden story of injustice.

A Plague of Serpents by K.J. Maitland (Headline) – A suspenseful, intricately plotted historical mystery, the final book in the author’s Daniel Pursglove series.

The Small Museum by Jody Cooksley (Allison & Busby) – A chilling and immersive historical mystery generously infused with elements of Gothic fiction.

Five StarsThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Sceptre) – An inventive and totally absorbing blend of science fiction and romance, with a dash of historical fiction and an element of mystery added for good measure.

The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis (Vintage) – A hard-hitting, dark and thought-provoking novel about one of the twentieth century’s worst atrocities.

What were the best books you read last month? Have you read any of my picks?