When did summer become so busy?! In all fairness, I did make it this busy for myself – plenty of public transport which does mean plenty of uninterrupted reading time!
If you missed last month’s list…click here!
The Books
Independent Authors
Wednesday Riders
Tudor Robins
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Length: 239 pages
First Published: 2019
Synopsis:
Book two of the island series, the story of Meg continues. Meg can’t wait to get back. She’s excited to see her new mare kick up her heels in Salem’s old paddock. She’s impatient to run on country roads between breeze-blown hayfields. Mostly, Meg longs to be back with Jared again. It’s going to be the perfect summer. But there is trouble in her relationship with Jared…
Review:
See the full review here for the first book of the series!
The second book of the series follows the same themes of young love and equestrian, but in my opinion, it is not as strong as the first. Still an enjoyable read for sure and interesting to see how things unfold.
Rating:
The Others
The Twyford Code
Janice Hallet
Genre: Mystery
Length: 384 pages
First Published: 2022
Synopsis:
The murder of the century, a series of children’s books and a mysterious disappearance of a teacher. 40 years later, Steven Smith renews his interest in the disappearance of his former teacher and the confiscation of a book by Edith Twyford…
Review:
I bought this book back in January when it came out and it has taken me this long to get back into and finish it. It is difficult to adjust to as it is a written interpretation of audio files. It is such a fantastic premise for a mystery book, giving so much for the reader to decipher. I recommend it for people looking for a challenge and who love to annotate their books.
Rating:
The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Romance
Length: 356 pages
First Published: 2021
Synopsis:
Third yeard Ph.D candidate Olive is not one for romantic relationships. Her best friend on the other hand is all over that and that’s the reason she is in this highly awkward situation with the most-hated professor on campus…
Review:
I admit, TikTok made me read this! I am not one to reach for the romance books and now I am converted. Fun, flirty, awkward but overall devourable. Fake dating is not my favourite romance trope, hence the rating, and also I always find teacher-student awkward, regardless if they are both adults.
Rating:
It Ends With Us
Colleen Hoover
Genre: Romance
Length: 385 pages
First Published: 2016
Synopsis:
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. (from goodreads)
Review:
Another one of TikTok made me buy it. And TikTok should make you buy it too! It covers some very difficult topics in regards to relationships in a delicate manner, as well as being typically CoHo in writing and romance.
Rating:
Layla
Colleen Hoover
Genre: Romance
Length: 301 pages
First Published: 2020
Synopsis:
When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences. (from goodreads)
Review:
Twisty turny romance. It is and is not what you expect.
Rating:
The Ocean at The End of The Lane
Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 181 pages
First Published: 2013
Synopsis:
Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn’t thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she’d claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. (from goodreads)
Review:
This is very typical Neil Gaiman. It’s fun, it’s fantastical and it has some beautiful ideas. It made me realise how much I’ve lost of my childhood, but at the same time revitalised my inner youth so it is kind of bittersweet in that way.
“Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are very much more complicated than that.”
Rating:
The Last Thing He Told Me: A Novel
Laura Dave
Genre: Mystery
Length: 320 pages
First Published: 2021
Synopsis:
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he manages to smuggle a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers: Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. (from goodreads)
Review:
Not really a mystery, more of a badly written domestic drama. The premise starts off very strong but it loses traction and intrigue quick.
Rating:
Please keep the suggestions coming in!
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