December 2024 Books #AmReading

Okay, now who went and pressed fast forward on the year? Come on, own up. How is it the end of December already?

Tis the season to be jolly and all that, and what is more festive than the lead-up to Christmas in a school, especially with the younger children? We’ve been making all sorts of Christmas crafts, had a Festive Fayre, performed a nativity, and juggled plenty of absences as the lurgy hit, and staff have scheduled days off, too. And then, school finishes in time for the craziness of the holidays. I’m just glad we aren’t back into school until the 6th Jan!

The big question is, what did I read, and did I manage to write anything?

This month, I realised I really cannot say no! I have numerous book tours in January, so there was a bit of reading for them, as well as everything else. (Hence the lack of actual reviews on here as I am saving them for the tour posts!

Writing – I thought I would end this month saying no new words, but I would be lying… I have written a tentative beginning for what could be book 4 in the Rishtay Series, as well as started a plan for a separate project that would be a two-book venture… Just hoping my publisher is loving the ideas, too!

I read man books… it totals 116 this year!

Blog tour review on 12th January

Blog Tour Review coming 18th January

Blog tour review in A Book & a Brew coming 19th January – Five star, by the way!

So This Is Christmas by Kay Bratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book 11 in the Hart’s Ridge Series by Kay Bratt, and it’s another page-turner!
This story is just as good, if a little different, than the rest of the series.
We are still focussing on the Grey family; however, this time, Taylor, our usual police officer, is still incapacitated after an incident in the previous book.
The crime in question is under Deputy Shane Weaver, though he still feels he needs Taylor’s support. A quadruple homicide is the case this book is dealing with, along with Taylor and her own family’s issues.
Sensitively told and page turning, as is standard for a Hart’s Ridge novel.

Another 24th January Blog Tour one!

Another 24th January Blog tour one!

The Storyteller’s Daughter by Victoria Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always loved Victoria Scott’s books, and she’s 100% done it again with this one, the Storyteller’s Daughter!
A dual timeline story told from the points of view of Nita Bineham in the 1940s and of her great niece Beth in the present age.
Nita was a bit of an enigma during her time. She does not have the figure and looks preferred in those times, but she comes from a family of means. Her mother laments that the war has not given her daughter a chance to be presented to society, meaning less chance of a suitable match. On top of it all, fewer men are around, as they are all being called up.
Her father arranges for Nita to escape the house for a few days here and there, helping at the local paper. What was meant to be a brief break becomes a massive part of her life as she embarks on a junior reporter career.
On her deathbed, Nita requests that her great-niece, Beth, find a box in the attic with secrets for her to unfold.
This strange task comes at the perfect time for Beth, though she doesn’t realise it. Suffering the news that her marriage is about to end and that her job in the family business may not be there for her, she embarks upon an adventure. She mourns her great aunt and tries to piece clues together to solve the cryptic puzzle that Nita has left her.
Pages were turned quicker and quicker as I became absorbed in this story.
I’ve always loved dual timelines done well and throwing the war years into it, and I am hooked! The way Nita and Beth’s lives and connections come full circle kept me reading.
Fantastic story!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC.

This One Life by Amanda Prowse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anything by Amanda Prowse is an automatic buy/read for me, and though This One Life has a different feel, it was by no means anything less than a brilliant read.
A dual timeline provides us with the current story and the background as we meet Edith-Madelaine, a young child living in the East End of London. Although she has little in her home, love surrounds her.
Fast forward to now, we meet Madelaine, the exquisitely put-together interior designer with a career to dream of, wealth, respect, and suitors she can pick, as well as a new chapter about to begin in her work and life abroad.
We are then taken back to eight years before, when Madelaine, as she now likes to be known, is facing a significant decision in her life.
Madelaine comes from a small, loving family, but expectations and disappointments remain regardless of how much her parents care for her.
It’s hard to be a woman who has it all. Amanda Prowse has sensitively explored this topic, and the lesson I learned from this story is that it is possible, but a life like that will always involve compromises.
I read it in a day, and the ending did leave me all warm and fuzzy.

Releasing 7th January 2024