Month: July 2021

Recent Reads: Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka

Posted on by Pam

My review:???

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka is a manga comic book, in black and white.  It’s a romance story, with 2 friends, Yuna and Akari, who are complete opposites.  This is a story aimed at teenage girls, so YA.

As it is YA in genre, this means there’s lots of strong emotions and is sweet.

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 was published on 10th April 2020 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find where you could follow Io Sakisaka.

I was given access to this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Viz.

Recent Reads: Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn looks at all the different types of love, through interviews with people who have been thinking about that particular type, including female friendship, romantic love, desire to have children, mourning the loss of a loved one.

It is a touching book, full of interesting thoughts and feelings, and throughout it all, Natasha Lunn talks about her own types of love, and her struggles to get pregnant. 

This is a lovely book, and one that covers so much more than you think it’s going to.

Conversations on Love was published on 15th July 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Natasha Lunn on Instagram and Twitter.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.

Recent Reads: Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear has DC Cat Kinsella and her partner Luigi Parnell looking into the death of a young Australian woman after a party at the home of her boss, Kirstie.

There’s evidence pointing to Joseph, who is married to the sister of Kirstie’s husband, but there’s something more going on.

Cat is also in a relationship with the brother of the murdered girl from the first book, and Cat’s father is somehow involved there, which makes it awkward for Cat all round.  

I haven’t read the first book in this series, which made it harder for me to understand some of what was going on, but it was an enjoyable read, with secrets and twists I didn’t see coming.

Stone Cold Heart was published on 27th June 2019 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Caz Frear on Twitter and Instagram.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bonnier Books.

Recent Reads: The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan starts in 1692, when Bridget Bishop is killed for being a witch, and her two daughters inherit powers from her.  One daughter is about helping other people, and the other daughter is about helping herself.  Their children follow in these footsteps, and 200 years later, Annis is a descendant of the helping sister, and her step mother, Frances, is a descendant of the other sister.  And Frances has a plan to use Annis to establish her social standing in New York.

Harriet, Annis’s great aunt, and also descended from the good sister, sees what is happening, and helps Annis. 

This is an enjoyable historic fantasy read, set in 1890s New York and England.  The character motivations ring true, and I was interested in what was going to happen next!

The Age of Witches was published on 23rd April 2020, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Louisa Morgan on Twitter and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown.

Recent Reads: Executed by R.R. Haywood (Extracted Trilogy 2)

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

Executed by R.R. Haywood (Extracted Trilogy 2) carries on the story of our time travelling heroes!  At the end of the first book, someone turned up to take charge, Miri.  And she’s here to make sure operations go well.

But there’s another group who are after the time travel machine, and they attacked at the end of the last book, which we see with a little more information in this book.

I enjoyed this science fiction adventure, with a base set in time of dinosaurs, and people saved moments from death to save the world.

Executed was published on 6th June 2017 and is available from Amazon and Waterstones.

You can follow RR Haywood on Twitter, Facebook and his website.

You can read my review for Extracted (book 1) here.

Recent Reads: 11th Hour by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Women’s Murder Club 11)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

11th Hour by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Women’s Murder Club 11) has a killer who has access to the police department’s evidence locker, and uses a gun to kill a man at his daughter’s music recital.  

Meanwhile there’s two heads found in the garden of a world famous actor, and then more are unearthed!  

Lindsay is pregnant, and in the last book, Rich and Cindy got engaged, and Yuki is happy with Brady, Lindsay’s new lieutenant from the last book.

There are twists and turns, all of which keep you on your toes as a reader.  It’s an enjoyable book with good pacing.

11th Hour was published on 7th May 2012 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow James Patterson on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and his website.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find any links for Maxine Paetro for you to follow.

Women’s Murder Club books:

1st to Die   – book 1 

2nd Chance – book 2

3rd Degree – book 3

4th of July – book 4

The 5th Horseman – book 5

The 6th Target – book 6

7th Heaven – book 7

The 8th Confession – book 8;

The 9th Judgement – book 9

10th Anniversary – book 10

Recent Reads: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses 4)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas is the first book from another perspective in this series!  It’s mostly from the point of view of Nesta, Feyre’s sister, who is prickly, angry, and Feyre is not sure how to help her any more.

This is an epic fantasy series, set in a world where human and fae are separated by a wall, for the good of humanity.  Sarah J Maas writes fantasy with a raunchy romance edge.

I’ve been enjoying reading this series, and the next book is due next year!

A Court of Silver Flames was published on 16th February 2021, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Sarah J Maas on her website or on Instagram.

You can read my reviews for the previous books in the series here:

A Court of Thorns and Roses (book 1)

A Court of Mist and Fury (book 2)

A Court of Wings and Ruin (book 3)

A Court of Frost and Starlight (book 3.1)

Recent Reads: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller is the tale of Elle, looking back on her life, the day after having sex with her best friend for the first time.  She has a husband, children, and Jonas has a wife, but still she’s not sure what she should do.

This is a heartbreaking, but has beautiful moments in it.  I was swept along by the story, the tales of the family, and how it had gotten to this point.  

The Paper Palace has been chosen by Reese Witherspoon’s bookclub, and is a great and moving read.

The Paper Palace was published on 8th July 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Miranda Cowley Heller on Instagram.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Viking.

Recent Reads: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry is the story of Poppy and Alex, who have gone on holiday for every year for 11 years, except two years ago, when something happened.  Poppy wants to get back to the way things were with her best friend, and so invites Alex on holiday again this summer.

This is full of awkward pauses, uncomfortable moments, and a lot of heat, but the last one is to be expected from Palm Springs in the height of summer!  Reading about how Poppy and Alex try to work out what they are now was really good.  The tension and awkwardness was really apparent!

If you would like to get away with Poppy and Alex, you’ll enjoy the flashbacks to the years of their friendships and the other holidays they’ve been together, and partake in the mystery that is: what happened two years ago to mess with this friendship? 

You and Me on Vacation was published on 8th July 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Emily Henry on Instagram and on her website.

I have also read Beach Read by Emily Henry, and loved it!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.

Recent Reads: Meet the Georgians; Epic Tales from Britain’s Wildest Century by Robert Peal

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Meet the Georgians; Epic Tales from Britain’s Wildest Century by Robert Peal is an entertaining read, with stories of Georgian individuals such as the two women pirates.  

This is a good book for setting the scene of the Georgian period, explaining why these characters are larger than life, and giving context for why the strait laced Victorian period follows the larger than life Georgian period!

Meet the Georgians was published on 8th July 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Robert Peal on Twitter and his website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to William Collins.