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I think this will be the last of these updates for a little while, as it’s the last stack of books I read pre-lockdown. The only time I get a chance to read is on the commute and I have no idea how I’ll manage to fit it in while working from home with a four year old! If you’ve now found yourself stuck at home with nothing to do, you could do a lot worse than picking up one of these books.
The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary
This was talked about so much last year and I avoided it because I (wrongly) assumed it would be predictable chick lit. The Hels Project harped on about it so much that, when I spotted it half price in WH Smiths, I knew I had to give it a go. And I loved it.
Sure, the premise is a bit weird: Tiffy and Leon share a flat but have never met… It’s more plausible than you’d think though. Tiffy needs to move out of her ex’s place but can’t really afford it. Leon needs to make some quick money and works nights, so rents out his flat when he’s not there. Simple! Or not… The ‘meet-cute’ happens over a series of post-it notes and both protagonists are more lost and damaged than either of them care to admit. It’s so much deeper (and darker and hopeful) than I initially gave it credit for. I can’t recommend it enough and I can’t wait to read Beth O’Leary’s next book.
The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne
I’ve been a massive Holly Bourne fan since I read and loved her debut novel, Soulmates, after winning it in a giveaway. I don’t know why but I’m always surprised by how much her books consume me and I’ve got her next ‘grown up’ book pre-ordered. The Places I’ve Cried in Public is her latest young adult novel and I had to pre-order it when I spotted these sprayed edges at Waterstones.
While I usually love Bourne’s novels, in particular the important messages for younger readers regarding safe sex, healthy relationships, and feminism (The Spinster Trilogy is fantastic), I found this one a bit disappointing. Mini spoiler coming… The book is about a girl coming to terms with the end of her relationship, revisiting the places she cried over her ex. It recounts their relationship, revealing that he was very much an asshole, but it felt a bit ‘tick boxy’. I think the story could have been just as effective if it was ‘just’ about gaslighting, or ‘just’ about healthy sexual relationships. It felt a bit much for one girl to be the victim of an emotionally abusive relationship and, what is essentially, anal rape. It felt like Bourne was focusing too much on the extremes and the shock factor rather than the smaller details which can eventually wear away at a young person in a controlling relationship.
EDIT: Since writing this review, I’ve listened to Bourne on a couple of podcasts and started reading Pretending. I’ve been reminded of her charity work and the statistics regarding sexual assault and remembered how important it is that stories like this are told.
One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus
I re-read One of Us is Lying before reading One of Us is Next as I knew there would be details that would be picked up again.
Set a year after the end of the its predecessor, One of Us is Next reunites The Bayview Four, along with a supporting cast of characters made up of siblings and their friends. It shines a light on life after graduation in a bit of a ‘where are they now’, as well as setting the scene for a new murder mystery, this time centred on a truth or dare app. But when one the players ends up dead, everyone wants to know who the mastermind is – and who’s next.
Earlier this year I read The Hunting Party and was disappointed to guess the murderer and their motive about a third of the way through, and I was pleased to be kept guessing with this one. It was a bit hard to keep up with all of the new characters at first but I found them all really interesting in their own right. And my jaw was om the ground as I finished the last page – par for the course with a Karen M. McManus book. Bring on the next one!
Buy One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next on Amazon
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This one popped up on my feed quite a bit last year too – and I had no idea how shiny it was until it arrived. Such a stunner.
This beautiful book (in more ways than one) centres on a cafe where visitors can travel back in time – but they must return to the present before their coffee gets cold. There are a couple of other rules too: you have to remain in a specific seat and the person you’re visiting must have visited the cafe before, i.e. you can return to a memory. Oh, and you can’t actually change anything.
The story focuses on four time travelers: a woman looking to confront the man who left her, a woman hoping to receive a letter from her dementia-stricken husband, a woman who wishes to see her sister one last time, and another who wants to meet the daughter she never got the chance to know. It begs the question: if you could travel back in time, who would you want to meet and what would you say, especially while knowing nothing would actually change?
It’s a short but incredibly moving book and I was left thinking about it for days after finishing it.
Pine by Francine Toon
I treated myself to this one when I spotted it in a Waterstones newsletter – a signed edition with sprayed edges and beautiful endpapers. I totally judged it by its cover and, whilst it’s not normally the kind of thing I’d pick up, it made for an interesting read.
An atmospheric, gothic thriller set in the highlands, Pine is equal parts eerie and enthralling. Lauren’s mother disappeared a decade ago and the villagers are still asking questions. One night, when driving home, Lauren and her father spot a woman stumbling out of the woods and into the road. They take her home and she’s gone by sunrise. Then a local teenage girl goes missing and the villagers start pointing fingers. Too many strange things are going on for them to be a coincidence.
I liked the idea of the story more than its execution, as supernatural themes aren’t really my thing, but it’s always interesting to step outside of my comfort zone.
Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on Wordery
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Yep, I’m still making my way through the Harry Potter series. There aren’t that many surprises as I’ve seen all of the films (multiple times) but it’s fun reading them for the first time as an adult, with 20 years of history behind them. I won’t bore you with a synopsis as I’m sure I’m the last person on the planet to read The Goblet of Fire, but I love any opportunity to share these beautiful editions. I’ve already got the next one pre-ordered – I haven’t excitedly pre-ordered a series like this since Ms Marvel.
Buy it on Amazon
Buy it on Wordery
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club picks are always intriguing. There have been some I haven’t loved as much as others (Where the Crawdads Sing vs Little Fires Everywhere) but they’ve all offered something different. When I saw Such a Fun Age as a recent selection, along with a brief summary, I knew I had to add it to The List.
It was a bit of a strange one as it appears to be about a young black woman accused by a white cop of kidnapping the white girl she is actually babysitting, which it is, but that part is over in a few pages and barely touched on again. While I appreciate that it’s the catalyst for the rest of the story, it felt a lot more subtle than I was anticipating – much like when I saw Catfish in the cinema.
Stephanie Hayes’ review for The Atlantic described it as satirizing ‘the white pursuit of wokeness’, which I think sums it up really well. Kiley Reid’s debut is understated yet impactful, addressing issues of race, privilege, class, and political correctness, as well as touching on the influencer industry, millennial anxiety, and working mum guilt. Definitely a conversation starter but I found that the likes of An American Marriage and A Place For Us had more of a lasting effect on me.
What have you been reading lately?