As the summer continues, I feel that I’m getting a better balance between catching up with my rapidly rising book backlog and reading books for review. Reading simply for pleasure, something I feel I need to do more and more for my own health. A family crisis this month making me realise I need to take a step back occasionally from reading to a deadline.
So here are the wonderful books I read in July 2022.
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell.
I purchased this book in 2019, so it was high time I read it. Glad to say I loved it, even though it was deliciously creepy.
How To Survive Family Holidays by Jack Whitehall
Another book from my personal stash of books, though a more recent purchase. I loved the series of travel documentaries Jack Whitehall did with his father and so bought this as a result. It is brilliant, funny and charming.
The White Hare by Jane Johnson
Read as part of a blog review tour, it’s a passionately wrought tale of family secrets, of how the past leaks into the future. Of how the places we live, carry within their DNA, the history of those that came before us. The land the story is set within, is as much a character as Magda and I loved how Jane Johnson brought the west of Cornwall alive within The White Hare. Anyone who has spent time in Cornwall, will know how the landscape feels imbued with the secrets of the past, of how when the mist drifts in from the sea, it can feel like there is an aura of enchantment wrapping itself around you.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins -Reid.
Plucked off my to be read pile, I delved into this book having loved Malibu Rising. This was a fascinating story of falling in love with the wrong person in pressure cooker of Hollywood fame. It is simply a splendid read and this is one of my very favourite authors.
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh.
Read as a review book, this first in DC Morgan Mystery series is a superb thriller. Exciting, full of a wealth of intriguing characters and a story of murder as well as betrayal. I can’t wait to share my full review soon.
Cabin Fever by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin
Read for review it is a remarkably honest account and a very moving one. But it is the honestly of the account, the tribute paid to all those that helped those stuck on the ship that makes it a very rewarding read. Many that ran the cruise company didn’t cover themselves with glory and the book is rightly honest about this and that made me feel angry. That was then tempered with the bravery of the passangers, of the crew, of the pilots who boarded the ship to guide them through the Suez Canal, that was the beating heart of this book.I
Night Shadows by Eva Bjorg Aegisdottir
Night Shadows is the third thrilling instalment in the Forbidden Iceland Series; returning the reader to the town of Akranes and Detective Elma. The story revolves around the death of a young man and the mystery of a young girl who seems to have disappeared, provoking a multi angled investigation. It is superb and one of the best thrillers I have read this year.
Well that was my reading month for July! I was very lucky to enjoy every single book I read. Not quite got the balance right between review books and my own books, but I feel I’m getting there. I’m probably fooling myself, but I’m enjoying what I’m reading and that for me is a win.
booksaremycwtches 