Tag: Monthly update

I read eight books in July, the same as last month and close to my customary reading rate. Here are the three I enjoyed the most. Links from each title will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads (mostly the latter as I’m behind with reviews).

Check out all the books I’ve read so far in 2025 here. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to Swift Press for my copy of Green Ink and Mantle for The Art of a Lie via NetGalley.

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There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak (Viking) – the brilliantly realised tale of three characters living alongside two rivers, centuries apart, who are linked by a single drop of water and an epic poem

Green Ink by Stephen May (Swift Press) – the story of Victor Grayson, the real life firebrand socialist MP turned secret-service informant who vanished without trace one night in late September 1920

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Mantle) – an enthralling historical mystery set in Georgian London

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

I read eight books in June, a few more than I managed in May and closer to my customary reading rate. Here are the three I enjoyed the most. Links from each title will take you to my full review or the book description on Goodreads.

Check out all the books I’ve read so far in 2025 here. If we’re not already friends on Goodreads, send me a friend request or follow my reviews.

My thanks to Head of Zeus for my review copy of Kane via NetGalley.

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The Mare by Angharad Hampshire (Northodox Press) – Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, the incredibly powerful and unflinching story, told in fictional form, of Hermine Braunsteiner who worked as a concentration camp guard at Ravensbrück and was the first person to be extradited from the Unites States for Nazi war crimes

Kane by Graham Hurley (Head of Zeus) – An action-packed story combining the drama of real historical events – in this case, the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbour – with the excitement and intrigue of a thriller

Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid (Polygon) – A blend of historical fact about Gruoch, the woman known as Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play, and her imagined life afterwards

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