Recent Reads

I have a few book posts in the writing as I read quite a few books over the last few months, especially whilst on holiday, so if books or holiday posts aren’t your thing, I apologise for the posts right now…..


First up we’ll start with The Ice Twins. This was my January book club read. I don’t remember who picked it but we had a really good debate about the book and it split the group in half as to whether they liked it. The story follows the lives the Sarah and Angus Moorcraft and their remaining twin daughter, Kirsty, move to a small Scottish Island Angus inherited from his grandmother to rebuild what is left of their shattered lives after Kirsty’s twin sister, Lydia is killed in a tragic accident.  


But as they arrive on the island in the middle of winter, the family is thrown into turmoil again when surviving daughter Kirstie, claims she isn’t Kirstie, she is Lydia, but is she? Who is hiding what? What secrets have been hidden and which daughter really died that fateful day?


I really liked the premise of the book and it had me gripped and trying to figure out what was going on. I did feel a bit lost at points trying to figure out what was going on but I think that added to the sense of mystery. I kept asking myself which twin is alive and who died? There is a tense climax at the end of the book, and I did not see the ending coming.


How I lost you – I picked this book on a whim, based on the blurb on my kindle shop. The story is centred around Susan Webster, who was convicted of killing her twelve week old son, Dylan due to post-natal depression. After serving three years in a psychiatric hospital she is let out on parole and has assumed a new identity – Emma Cartwright – to protect her. Susan lives in a small town near her prison friend, Cass, also a convicted murderer.


At the start of the book Susan receives a picture of a little 3 year old boy called Dylan and she starts to wonder if her son is still alive. The book follows the journey of Susan and Cass trying to figure out where the picture came from and who else knows where Susan is!
I thought parts were good, other were a little over the top and a little far fetched, and in some parts I became a little lost as there were so many characters. But it was an easy enough read language wise, it kept me reading, even if I did find myself thing ‘as if that would happen’ and the ending did throw me completely. Although maybe this added to the ‘as if’ nature of the book? Basically. Ok but not my favourite!


Bricking It – I downloaded this as I knew it would be a light hearted read and I wasn’t wrong. It actually had me laughing out loud at some points. The story follows Dan and Hayley Daley fixing up an old Victorian farmhouse their deceased grandmother’s has left in the hope that once it is renovated they will be able to sell for a lot of profit.


We’re met with siblings who generally need a bit of a kick up the bum in their lives and it seems that the house, along with the misfit crew of people who are helping them renovate it is here to do just that! Alongside Dan and Haley we have an eccentric architect, a haphazard crew of builders, a TV crew filming the renovation and a resident cow. Yup, a cow!


Yes the book is a clichéd chick lit novel but it was funny and it kept me well entertained during my jetlag induced early mornings.


The Book of You – I am just going to start by saying I read this because of the hype. Because people told me to. And if you enjoyed it, good for you – but it really wasn’t the book for me and as a result it took me aggggggggges to read as I kept switching to something else. I did consider giving up on it I was on a plane, Magic Mike XXL had finished, I’d run out of books and I didn’t have wifi to get any more . Bad times.
The book follows Clarrissa as she navigates being stalked by her colleague, Rafe Clarrissa is picked for Jury duty which gives her an escape from the stalking, for a brief time, and opens up her world to some new people. But it’s not long before Rafe is back in her life! 


So, why didn’t I like this book? For starters I could not abide the main character, Clarrissa. She just seemed so wet and a bit useless and I think this dislike of her made it hard for me to get into the book from the start. The choices she made on dealing with the stalker also seemed ridiculous. And I had a hope that if you were being stalked, the police might be more help with it too, but maybe not. Plus I didn’t like the switch from the first to the third person in the book either.But maybe that just annoyed me because 


Crooked Heart – This is another book club book and I wasn’t sure about it to start with. It was a bit of a slow burner at the start, but once I found some time to sit down and read it some more I got really into it, and in its own way, this book was really funny. 


The book starts at the breakout of the Second World War and socially awkward ten-year-old Noel Bostock is living in London, with his godmother Mattie. When Mattie dies, Noel is sent to live with his aunt and uncle who eventually evacuate him. After being paraded round the village he eventually ends up being taken in by Vee Sedge in the hope that the money that comes with Noel will help pay their rent on the cramped little flat she shares with her mute mother and deceptive son.


Vee is a not all together competent con artist who quickly realises that she can use Noel to help with her ‘work’, but she completely underestimates the role that Noel can play in her duplicity and the two misfits become a formidable little team. As we follow the duo round London we see the extent of damage the war has done on London and society. 


I don’t want to say much more as it’ll give away the story and then you might not need to read the book. 


So, here are some of my recent reads – what have you been reading lately? I’m running low on reading material so I need your recommendation. Hit me up!

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