Recent Reads Wrap Up

It has been a long time since I wrote a wrap up post. I’ve not read a lot in every month to justify spending a lot of time writing about it so it’s coming now when I’m about ten books down the line from the last one.

It also feels like the right thing to post now I’m about to confirm that I am having little bit of a break from blogging until I feel more myself and certain things are under control. There is too much in my brain to work through and I think blogging has to take a back seat until I have the energy, joy and motivation to dedicate to it.

That being said, I’m here now so let’s get into what might be a long wrap-up!

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The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster – a children’s classic I never read as a child and am now glad to have read because it was so much fun! All the wordplay and imagination was escapist and simply brilliant.

Hunted by Meagan Spooner – a re-read of my favourite Beauty and the Beast retelling that never fails to disappoint me. It will always be magical and comforting.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge – a Beauty and the Beast retelling I’ve not read for a few years and I was glad to revisit it again because I’d actually forgotten a lot of the story. It surprised me how much I had forgotten but I didn’t mind because I still really enjoyed it and it is classed as another favourite retelling.

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Rizzoli and Isles books by Tess Gerritsen: The Apprentice (2), The Sinner (3), Body Double (4), Vanish (5), The Mephisto Club (6), and novella John Doe – I do personally re-read thrillers and these are ones I re-read a lot, especially when I am in a reading slump and I’m trying to get out of it. Honestly I mainly read them for Jane and Maura as well as the Rizzoli family drama because I like the growing camaraderie and strength that comes from the recurring main characters as the series progresses.

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1st To Die by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club book 1) – Another re-read but in all honesty, it felt as if I was reading this for the first time because it has been years since I first read it and I’d forgotten most of the story. As these murder/mystery type books go I did find it compelling and I liked the friendship that is built up between the female characters, however at the same time, Inspector Lindsay Boxer’s personal arc really irritated me as part of it was too neatly wrapped up. I haven’t managed to get my library copy of book 2 yet so I don’t know if it will be carried over or not, but if it is the latter, I think I’ll be abandoning what is a rather lengthy series, because I’m not in the mood for a ‘let’s introduce something horrible the character goes through to end it perfectly in the same book’ scenario.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (audiobook read by Nicholas Ralph) – In its original version, this audiobook is one I’ve listened to countless times. The stories are comfort, escapist reads and they’re as familiar to me as my favourite fairytales are. However, this time there is a new narrator and I was pleasantly surprised by how refreshing and rejuvenating it was to hear the stories in a new way. I think Nicholas Ralph does a great job with the narration and I can’t wait to listen to the next bind-up, All Things Bright and Beautiful, as well as watch series 2 of the show which is airing on Channel 5 soon. YAY!

On another point, this audiobook has helped me reach my Goodreads Goal of 30 books and considering I’ve been in such a reading slump for most of the year, I’m really happy with that! Hopefully this is me coming out of it and I’ll be back to my 4-6 books per month average. We’ll see.

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That’s all from me, so as always, thanks for reading and have a brazzle dazzle day!
xx