Tag Archives: past reads

Time Travel Thursday

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – Yes, No, Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

Book Description From Goodreads:

“New York Times bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed have crafted a resonant, funny, and memorable story about the power of love and resistance.

YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now her parents are separating. Why her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing—with some awkward dude she hardly knows—is beyond her.

MAYBE SO
Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer—and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural romance of the century is another thing entirely.”

Book Review – The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Book Description From Goodreads:

“When the department store she works in closes for good, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. She doesn’t want to move in with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered Edinburgh life.

Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want Carmen there either. Her sister has always been sarcastic and difficult. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs a retail assistant for his ailing bookshop, so welcoming Carmen might still have some benefits for everyone.

At Sofia’s behest, Carmen is thrown into the daily workings of old Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the streets of the old dark city. Can she use her design skills to revamp the store and bring it back to popularity in time to benefit from Christmas shopping traffic? Can she choose between bad boy literary rock star Blair and quiet Quaker student Oke? And will she heal the rift with the most important people of all: her family?”

What were you reading this time last year?

#bibliophile #igreads #currentlyreading #bookreview #instaread #lovetoread #booksarelife #readingisfundamental #whatimreading #bookreviewer #bookaddicts #bookpost #tbrpile #justread #bookishphotography #whattoreadnext #readallday #bookworms #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #bookpic #newreads #booknerd #timetravelthursday #pastreads #winterreading #christmas #romance

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”, “christmas”, “romance”

Time Travel Thursday

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It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – The Threat Below by J S Latshaw

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Three hundred years ago, something terrifying arose and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, a small remnant – the descendants of the few survivors who were able to escape the massacre below – lives above the clouds, on the top of a Mountain.

When they discover that their water supply is being poisoned Down Below, an expedition, including seventeen year-old girl Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the monsters, the Threat Below, that wiped out civilization centuries ago.

Icelyn quickly learns that all is not what it seems as she uncovers secrets hundreds of years old and struggles to stay alive in a world where no human is fit to survive.”

Fast Forward To Today:

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer,” who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways…But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.”

The People Before by Charlotte Northedge (click for link to Goodreads)

I am on the Blog Tour for this book on 18 November so keep your eyes peeled for my reviews on here, Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Book Description From Goodreads:

“What if your dream house became your worst nightmare?

Jess and her husband need a new start. So when the chance to buy a rambling old house in the Suffolk countryside comes up, they leap at it.

But not everyone in Suffolk is welcoming. The locals know a secret about the Maple House, and soon, Jess realises they’ve made a huge mistake.

Something bad happened in that house. Something nobody wants to talk about.”

Comparison:

From Fantasy to Gothic Fiction and Thriller. It couldn’t be more different!

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”,”gothic fiction”,

Time Travel Thursday

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It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

Book Review – Chasing the Darkness by Cassie Sanchez

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Pain is inescapable. Suffering is a choice.

Azrael, the Angel of Death, knows pain. The deaths of his mother and sister, as well as his harsh experiences in the Watch Guard at age twelve, have brutally shaped him into the most feared assassin in all of Pandaren. Azrael’s role as a Hunter requires him to search for those with magic, called Spectrals, which he is happy to do. Hunting allows him to pursue his true goal—exacting revenge on the Fire Spectral who altered the course of his life.

Azrael’s obsession with revenge and power leads him to undergo an experimental procedure that gives him magic, but when this procedure has unexpected and dangerous side effects, he becomes a liability to the Hunters and the Watch Guard. Rescued by the people he has sworn to eliminate, Azrael finds himself questioning everything he once believed as years of secrets and lies are exposed. His very nature is challenged as he battles unfamiliar emotions and navigates relationships that contradict the heart of a killer.

Can the Angel of Death have a conscience? Can Azrael?

Chasing the Darkness is an escape to a land of magic, sword fights, and love, with memorable characters who must face the darkness within and journey down a path of destruction or redemption.”

Book Description From Goodreads:

“The Lottery, one of the most terrifying stories written in this century, created a sensation when it was first published in The New Yorker. “Power and haunting,” and “nights of unrest” were typical reader responses. This collection, the only one to appear during Shirley Jackson’s lifetime, unites “The Lottery:” with twenty-four equally unusual stories. Together they demonstrate Jackson’s remarkable range–from the hilarious to the truly horrible–and power as a storyteller.”

Book Review – The Lottery by Shirley Jackson – DID NOT FINISH

Fast Forward To Today:

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

A Moment On The Lips At Christmas by J Taylor (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“A Moment on the Lips Christmas may not be a perfect Christmas, but it’s definitely one you do not want to miss.
From: Pamela Wilson

Date: 20 Dec 2021 04:43

Subject: Very exciting news! Prompt response required!

Dear Family and Friends,

You are cordially invited to join us at Midwinter Cottage from 30 December to 2 January, situated in the glorious wilderness of the Scottish Highlands, for a Christmas and New Year break to remember.

Midwinter is an extremely luxurious thatched cottage that sleeps 18 comfortably and was featured in 2020 Your Home magazine. Facilities include gym, cinema, indoor heated pool, sauna, Aga and manicured grounds with fire pit. Small dogs are allowed in the house. Outdoor shoes are not. This break is a gift from us to you. NO financial contribution is required. RSVP WITHIN 24 HOURS as we need the final numbers for the Ocado shop. Transport via executive coach is included. We look forward to hosting you! Let’s make some memories!

Festive love and peace

Pamela and Gillian”

Havana Fever by Leonardo Padura (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Mario Conde has retired from the police force and makes a living trading in antique books. Havana is now flooded with dollars, populated by pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, and other hunters of the night. In the book collection of a rich Cuban who fled after the fall of Batista, Conde discovers an article about Violeta del Rio, a beautiful bolero singer of the 1950s who disappeared mysteriously. A murder soon follows. This is a crime story set in today’s darker Cuba, but it is also an evocation of the Havana of Batista, the city of a hundred night clubs where the paths of Marlon Brando and Meyer Lansky crossed.”

Comparison:

From Fantasy/Romance and Dark short stories to Gothic Fiction, Christmas and Mystery. I am still keeping to the darker themes as with last year, but with the addition of a lighter Christmas themed book this year!

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”,”gothic fiction”, “halloween”, “halloween books”, “christmas”

Time Travel Thursday

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It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – Dear Fatty by Dawn French

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Dawn French is one of the greatest comedy actresses of our time, with a career spanning nearly three decades and encompassing a vast and brilliant array of characters that would eventually establish her as a national treasure.

She first appeared on the British entertainment scene as part of the groundbreaking alternative comedy group, the Comic Strip, which marked a radical departure from the more traditional comedy acts of the time. Later came the all-female Girls on Top with Jennifer Saunders, Ruby Wax and Tracy Ullman. Then, as part of the wildly successful duo, French and Saunders, Dawn helped create a repertoire of brilliantly observed recurring characters parodying popular culture and impersonating everything from Madonna and Harry Potter to The Exorcist. Dawn’s more recent role in The Vicar of Dibley again has showcased not only her talent but also her ability to take a controversial issue and make it mainstream and funny. From her early years as an RAF child to her flat-sharing antics with Jennifer Saunders, from her outspoken views on sizeism to her marriage to Lenny Henry, Dear Fatty will chronicle the fascinating and hilarious rise of a complex, dynamic and unstoppable woman.”

Fast Forward to Today:

The Witches From Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais (click for link to Goodreads)

I am on the Blog Tour for this book on 30 September so keep an eye out for my review on here, Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

Book Description From Goodreads:

“A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat.

Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation.

But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems.

The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies.”

The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson (click for link to Goodreads)

This is my current library book

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Welcome to Castle Cove — a town cursed with missing girls,
bad boyfriends, family secrets,
and some very steep cliffs.

Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend, Steve, dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. Where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or at least it was. Because now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex-best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back …

Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s family is offering. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.

Luckily, Alice has exactly what they need to crack the case — the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone who can teach the girls how to solve a mystery, it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they’re about to walk into …”

Comparison:

As you can see the books couldn’t be more different, from non-fiction last year to Fantasy and Mystery this year. I have to say that I don’t read a lot of non-fiction and Dear Fatty didn’t do anything to make me change my mind and want to read more.

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”

Time Travel Thursday

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It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Fast Forward To Today:

If It Looks Like A Duck by Frank Malley

Book Description From Amazon:

“A dead body. A suicide note. A man called Crime. Enter a stubborn reporter who’s certain not all’s what it seems.

“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, well …”

When the body of landlord Roger Mansell is found in the River Lex, and a note uncovered on his boat, police say suicide.

Jaz Sharkey, a tenacious reporter on a failing newspaper, thinks murder. Her suspicions fence a bunch of regulars from the charming village pub. Identical twins, the psychotic ex of Jaz’s bold sidekick, Trish Parker, and a man called Crime.

As Jaz and Trish look for clues and editor Dan Armitage fights to keep his paper afloat, things turn sinister.

Quirky and funny, but with all the pace, twists, and adventure of a mystery. Join the hunt.”

American Royals by Katharine McGee (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“What if America had a royal family?

When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne.

As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America’s first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling.

Nobody cares about the spare except when she’s breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn’t care much about anything, either . . . except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her.

And then there’s Samantha’s twin, Prince Jefferson. If he’d been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.”

Comparison:

I am still reading mysteries, but just different settings and age range! Last year it was a YA mystery whereas this year it is general mysteries plus a romance.

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “mystery”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”

Time Travel Thursday – #pastreads #fantasy #chicklit

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*I am currently away on holiday so I will catch up on comments on my return*

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – The Bookshop on the Corner by Rebecca Raisin

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Set in a quiet town where everybody knows one another, a young, single woman who owns a bookshop and mainly reads romance novels, wonders if she will ever find a man just like the ones she reads about. Her bookshop is her life and her books are her family. One day a handsome stranger comes to town and seems to be like someone from one of her romance novels, but is it too good to be true?”

Fast Forward To Today:

The Heron Kings’ Flight by Eric Lewis

Book Description:

“The Heron Kings have been betrayed.

A century after their formation from a gang of desperate peasant insurgents, the shadowy band of forest rangers suffers a rare defeat when a skirmish turns into a bloody ambush.

Their shaky truce with the crown is tested as young members Linet and Aerrus work to track down their enemies.

When reluctant peacetime soldier Eyvind reveals a conspiracy to welcome the charismatic invader Phynagoras, the trio must convince a weak king and pitifully few allies to stand against the storm.

Their only hope lies in the forgotten tactics of their own guerrilla past, and a terrifying new alchemical weapon the likes of which the world had never imagined. The only question is which side will be destroyed by it first…”

As you can see very different books and genres! I haven’t read a fantasy in a while so it is nice to get back to that.

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “what should I read next”

Time Travel Thursday – #pastreads #fantasy #chicklit

2 Replies

*I am currently away on holiday so I will catch up on comments on my return*

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership.

Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake.

But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?”

Fast Forward To Today:

I am currently on holiday (on my way to Wales!) so this is what I plan to read:

The Heron Kings’ Flight by Eric Lewis

Book Description:

“The Heron Kings have been betrayed.

A century after their formation from a gang of desperate peasant insurgents, the shadowy band of forest rangers suffers a rare defeat when a skirmish turns into a bloody ambush.

Their shaky truce with the crown is tested as young members Linet and Aerrus work to track down their enemies.

When reluctant peacetime soldier Eyvind reveals a conspiracy to welcome the charismatic invader Phynagoras, the trio must convince a weak king and pitifully few allies to stand against the storm.

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “entertaining”, “what should I read next”

Time Travel Thursday

4 Replies

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2021 I was reading:

Book Review – Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Book Description From Goodreads:

“A wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story, Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen’s “Gothic parody.” Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist.

The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.

Executed with high-spirited gusto, Northanger Abbey is a lighthearted, yet unsentimental commentary on love and marriage.”

Fast Forward To Today:

Last Time We Met by Emily Houghton (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“ONE PROMISE
Aged thirteen, best friends Eleanor and Fin are inseparable. Convinced it will always be this way they make a pact – to go to university together, always live near each other, and if they’re both single at 35 they’ll get married.

TWO DECADES
Eleanor and Fin haven’t spoken in fifteen years. Life has run away from them and they’re both far from where they’d dreamt of being all those years ago.

CAN THEY STILL KEEP THEIR WORD?
It takes tragic circumstances for Fin to come back into Eleanor’s life, but everything has changed since the last time they met. Is it too late to mend their friendship? Or is there a chance they can keep some of the promises they made?”

Paris For One by Jojo Moyes (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She’s never even been on a romantic weekend away–to anywhere–before. Traveling abroad isn’t really her thing. But when Nell’s boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone–including herself–wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, Paris for One is quintessential Jojo Moyes–as are the other stories that round out the collection.”

The Little Paris Patisserie by Julie Caplin (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“In a cosy corner of Paris, a delicious little patisserie is just waiting to be discovered. And romance might just be on the menu…

As the youngest of four, Nina Hadley has always had her big brothers telling her what to do. So, when she’s given the chance to move to Paris and help run a patisserie course, she can’t say au revoir quick enough!

There’s just one problem: high-flying chef Sebastian Finlay is the owner of the patisserie. He’s also her brother Nick’s best friend – and the man she has secretly been in love with since forever.

Amongst the mouth-wateringly delicious eclairs and delicate macaroons, Nina’s culinary creations aren’t the only tempting thing she’s working with…”

Comparison:

Back in 2021 I was going through a classics phase and decided that I needed to read this book. I never finished it back at school so I decided to rectify this. Today I am reading a Romance Blog Tour book and a couple of books set in Paris for Paris in July. So still on the Romance genre, just different eras!

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)? Add your links in the comments below!

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “recommended”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “romance”, “library”, “past reads”,”entertaining”, “what should I read next”, “library”

Time Travel Thursday

1 Reply

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2020 I was reading:

Book Review – Mother Knows Best by Serena Valentino (click for my review)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful. And always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the old witch, Mother Gothel? Where does she come from? And how does she come across the magical golden flower? Here is one account that recounts a version of the story that has remained untold for centuries . . . until now. It is a tale of mothers and daughters, of youth and dark magic. It is a tale of the old witch.”

I got the set of Disney inspired books for Mother’s Day in 2020 and started making my way through them.

Fast Forward To Today:

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“Finlay Donovan is killing it…except, she’s really not. A stressed-out single mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: The new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written; her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her; and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet. She soon discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning Elle Cosimano.”

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas (click for link to Goodreads)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“A wedding. A trip to Spain. The most infuriating man. And three days of pretending. Or in other words, a plan that will never work.

Catalina Martín, finally, not single. Her family is happy to announce that she will bring her American boyfriend to her sister’s wedding. Everyone is invited to come and witness the most magical event of the year.

That would certainly be tomorrow’s headline in the local newspaper of the small Spanish town I came from. Or the epitaph on my tombstone, seeing the turn my life had taken in the span of a phone call.

Four weeks wasn’t a lot of time to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic–from NYC and all the way to Spain–for a wedding. Let alone, someone eager to play along my charade. But that didn’t mean I was desperate enough to bring the 6’4 blue eyed pain in my ass standing before me.

Aaron Blackford. The man whose main occupation was making my blood boil had just offered himself to be my date. Right after inserting his nose in my business, calling me delusional, and calling himself my best option. See? Outrageous. Aggravating. Blood boiling. And much to my total despair, also right. Which left me with a surly and extra large dilemma in my hands. Was it worth the suffering to bring my colleague and bane of my existence as my fake boyfriend to my sister’s wedding? Or was I better off coming clean and facing the consequences of my panic induced lie?

Like my abuela would say, que dios nos pille confesados.

The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating romantic comedy. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn romance with the sweetest Happily Ever After.“

As you can see two very different genres, from fantasy/fairytale to mystery and rom com. I wasn’t as in to rom com then as I am now. I think that the rom com genre has evolved and become more interesting. I used to find rom coms a bit boring, but now much more seems to be happening in them these days!

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)?

“book”, “read”, “book blog”, “easy read”, “don’t miss out”, “fiction”, “popular books of 2022”, “entertaining”, “what should I read next”

Time Travel Thursday

1 Reply

It’s Time Travel Thursday! This is where I take a look back at what I was reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what I am reading now.

This day in 2020 I was reading:

Book Review – The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (click for my review)

Book Description From Goodreads:

“A great modern classic and the prelude to The Lord of the Rings.

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an adventure. They have launched a plot to raid the treasure hoard guarded by Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.

Bilbo reluctantly joins their quest, unaware that on his journey to the Lonely Mountain he will encounter both a magic ring and a frightening creature known as Gollum.”

Fast Forward To Today:

The Maid by Nita Prose (click for link to Goodreads)

Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter by Lizzie Pook (click for link to Goodreads)

As you can see very different genres! I am on the Blog Tour for Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter on 16 March so keep your eyes peeled for my review on here, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads and Twitter!

The Maid I have seen all over Instagram and am steadily making my way through it.

Both my current books are mysteries and I am enjoying them both so far. The Hobbit is a classic fantasy and one that I had on my bookshelf for years. I started it a few times, but over the pandemic I finally got to finish it!

What were you reading this time last year or the year before (or the year before!)?

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