I'm back again with another book round-up!
I am really enjoying getting back into reading again. You can catch up with my past round-ups here: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30. Come add me as a friend on Goodreads too!
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary - 5/5
Blurb:
"Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met...
Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they're crazy, but it's the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy's at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.
But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven't met yet, they're about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window..."
Review:
This has been on my to-read list for ages after seeing all the hype surrounding it on Quercus Books Instagram account.
The story follows Tiffy who has just broken up with her cheating boyfriend and needs a new place to live. Leon is subletting his flat. He works nights and stays with his girlfriend Kay at the weekend, Tiffy works 9-5 Monday to Friday so it would be perfect for them. They communicate only through Post-It notes.
It's such a deep story and I love every single character. We find out that Leon's brother is in prison, he says he's innocent and not all was as it seemed in Tiffy's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Justin. I finished the whole thing in less than a day - loved it!
Unfollow Me by Charlotte Duckworth - 5/5
Blurb:
"You can't stop watching her.
Violet Young is a hugely popular journalist-turned-mummy influencer, with three children, a successful husband and a million subscribers on YouTube who tune in daily to watch her everyday life unfold.
Until the day she's no longer there.
But one day she disappears from the online world - her entire social media presence deleted overnight, with no explanation. Has she simply decided that baring her life to all online is no longer a good idea, or has something more sinister happened to Violet?
But do you really know who Violet is?
Her fans are obsessed with finding out the truth, but their search quickly reveals a web of lies, betrayal and shocking consequences..."
Review:
This book is amazing!
Violet, mum of 3 and married to Henry, is a mummy vlogger with over 1 million subscribers on YouTube. One day, all of her social media accounts are deleted with no explanation as to why. Everyone on mummy forums are discussing it and wondering what has happened to her.
The story flits between the points of view of Lily, a single mum of one who obsessively watches Violet's channel, wishing that her life was like hers; Yvonne, a lady who is struggling to conceive a child with her partner. She is also a viewer of Violet's channel and she used to work with Henry 20 years prior; Henry and the Violet, herself.
The plot of this book is absolutely brilliant, with information being peppered in to really make you think. I don't want to give too much away but all the lines come together and you can tell it's been very well thought out. The last paragraph before the epilogue almost made me scream. I cannot recommend this enough!
Hard Pushed: A Midwife's Story by Leah Hazard - 5/5
Blurb:
"No sleep for twenty hours. No food for ten. And a ward full of soon-to-be mothers...
Welcome to the life of a midwife. Life on the NHS front line, working within a system at breaking point, is more extreme than you could every imagine.
From the bloody to the beautiful, from moments of utter vulnerability to remarkable displays of strength, from camaraderie to raw desperation, from heart-wrenching grief to the pure, perfect joy of a new-born baby, midwife Leah Hazard has seen it all.
Through her eyes, we meet Eleanor, whose wife is a walking miracle of modern medicine, their baby a feat of reproductive science; Crystal, pregnant at just fifteen, the precarious, flickering life within her threatening to come far too soon; Star, birthing in a room heady with essential oils and love until an enemy intrudes and Pei Hsuan, who has carried her tale of exploitation and endurance thousands of miles to somehow find herself at the open door of Leah's ward.
Moving, compassionate and intensely candid, Hard Pushed is a love letter to new mothers and to Leah's fellow midwives - there for us at some of the most challenging, empowering and defining moments of our lives."
Review:
A brilliant insight into the work of an NHS midwife. The beginning reels you in as she explains doing an episiotomy, which honestly made my stomach contort.
It's packed full of stories about patients, from a seventeen year old Chinese girl who is a victim of human trafficking to a lady who has experienced female genital mutilation and everything in between.
An eye opening read about the struggles of working long, gruelling hours, trying not to make any mistakes in a hospital that is oversubscribed and understaffed.
The Girl Who Came Out Of The Woods by Emily Barr - 4/5
Blurb:
"Arty has always lived in the Clearing, a commune hidden in the forests of South India. But her happy life, separate from the rest of the world, is shattered after a terrible event.
For the first time, Arty must leave her home, and head into the intriguing but frightening outside world. On the streets of India, a chance encounter leads to her becoming an unwilling overnight celebrity.
As she embarks on her journey, she discovers she is being followed by thousands of strangers, who seem to know her every move...
Forced to fight against mysterious hashtags and being constantly photographed, how can she find the help she desperately needs?
Everything is changing too fast for the girl who came out of the woods. Could she be running into a trap?"
Review:
This is the second book that I've read recently that I was putting off because of low ratings but it is absolutely brilliant.
Arty, who is 16, lives in 'the Clearing' which is situated in the woods in India. It is a small community made up of eleven people. She knows nothing of the outside world, except for what her mother told her and what she's read in books. When lots of members of the Clearing fall ill, some dying, she and her younger brother Zeus must venture out into the real world (or "the Wasteland", as they call it) to find medical help.
She is soon thrown into a whole new world of electricity and social media and money which is "the root of all evil". The story is told in two parts, Artemis' (Arty's) point of view and an unknown point of view but both unwind and tangle together. It's such a lovely story which really makes you think.
Favourite Daughter by Kaira Rouda - 5/5
Blurb:
"One of them lied. One of them died.
Jane's life has become a haze of antidepressants since the tragic death of her daughter, Mary. The accident, which happened over a year ago, destroyed their perfect family life forever.
The trouble is, the more Jane thinks about that night, the more she realises that something doesn't seem right. Does her youngest daughter know more than she's letting on? What secrets is her husband still hiding from her? And why does no one trust her to be on her own?
Even if it's the last thing she does, she'll find out the truth..."
Review:
Oh wow! When I first start a book, all I want are characters that I will like. I didn't like a single character in this book but I've still given it 5 stars.
Jane Harris is a self absored, delusional, manipulative narcissist and you just love to hate her. I love how the story is written, as though Jane is speaking to the reader. It's like you are inside her brain and you are brought along with each lie she tells and her true inner thoughts.
Jane is mother to Betsy and Mary, who has died after accidentally falling off a cliff, and wife to David. Betsy doesn't have a great relationship with her, David is cheating on her and she spies on them through apps and trackers. She makes it seem like everyone is against her, she's the victim. The pace is great and Jane is waiting for the culmination of events, the truth coming out (well, her version of the truth), so it makes you want to quickly read on to see what will happen.
Have you read anything good lately?
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