August Reads

A bumper month of reads! I had a week off in a wee farmhouse in Ireland with no TV or internet which was just perfect for a good amount of self-care and reading.

Here are this month’s reads!

The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell

A young woman moves into a house with an interesting history: a baby was found alive and well looked after in their cot, in a house with three dead bodies downstairs who have been there for some time and begins to unravel the mystery of the events that happened. 

OK, so I am now a firm Lisa Jewell fan! I reviewed The Night She Disappeared in July Reads and just had to read more. This is a real slow burner with lots of wee bits to keep track of (very frustratingly so at first!) but it all slowly and surely comes together.

The Family Remains – Lisa Jewell

Yes, I loved The Family Upstairs so much I ran out and bought the sequel which, luckily, had just come out that week! I can’t say too much to avoid spoilers, but this novel picks up right where the last one left off and explores storylines introduced in The Family Upstairs.  This is much less of a slow burner than its prequel but a great read nonetheless.

This is How You Lose the Time War – Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

My favourite quotation sums up the premise of this novel perfectly: “My viney-hivey elfworld, as you say, versus your techy-mechy dystopia.” Two rival warriors, Blue and Red, fight for a better future in a world that is destined to be burned to ashes. They connect with each other through various time strands via letters. 

OK, so I don’t do sci-fi or fantasy. Or don’t I? I was presented with a pile of loveliness by the equal loveliness of VT (part of my inspiration for The Power of Kindness post earlier this month.

I initially felt way too thick to understand this book: I read and re-read the beginning several times to try and work out what was going on before relaxing into it and just letting myself getting emerged in the story. And boy, did I! You don’t really get a full sense of who you’re following or where they are (and you would definitely mash your head trying to work out all the time strands) but you get to know the characters well and the real story’s in the letters they send.   I giggled, wept, felt hopeless and hopeful and re-read my favourite bits so many times.

Urgh, just read it.  It’s as perfect as novels get. Thank you, VT ❤

Heaven – Mieko Kawakami

A heart-breaking tale of two teenagers mercilessly bullied at school connect via writing letters to each other. 

I found this book completely by accident – something about it called me from the bookshelf (this is why bookshops may never die) so I took a leap. This book is honest, raw and devastating.  Have tissues and a human/animal to hug nearby when reading.  Great for fellow fans of miserable books or those who need more reasons to dislike humans.

Death & Fromage – Ian Moore

A disgruntled BnB owner in rural France finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery kicked off with some Highly Controversial cheese (yes, really).

This book is laugh out loud fun and was the perfect holiday read. This is actually the second in the Follet Valley Mystery series but I don’t think I’ve missed out on much by reading the second book first – Death and Croissants is nevertheless another book in the TBR stack!

A Certain Hunger – Chelsea Summers

A cannibalistic food critic and writer shares her memoirs from prison. ‘nuff said.

This book was a recommendation from my sis and is gloriously batshit bonkers (and may just be the ultimate feminist book).  To enjoy it, you will need to have a healthy appreciation/curiosity of at least three of the following:

• Fine dining
• Feminism
• Gore
• The Really Good swear words
• Cannibalism
• Explicit sex scenes

A Certain Hunger is written with a wicked sense of humour, satire and intelligence.  It’s been compared by many reviewers to American Psycho which I feel’s a bit unfair (I’m a huge Bret Easton Ellis fan – his new book’s FINALLY out next year!!) but I suppose there are similarities in gore and satirical winks. If you’re like me, enjoy freaking out your other half/friends by reading random sentences aloud while reading.

The Cottage – Lisa Stone

A woman rents a wee cottage in the middle of nowhere for some R&R after her relationship breaks down and she loses her job but her quest for peace and quiet is ruined when she begins to hear strange taps at the window and happenings in the garden.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware I’m a fan of a thriller.  The story is actually pretty good (despite the premise sounding like a complete cliché) but the storytelling and pace really let it down for me – I figured out the twist around page 20 and was really hoping it’d been planted to put me off the scent or there would be a mega twist coming but this was not the case. 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café – Toshikazu Kawaguchi

This is the sequel to Before The Coffee Gets Cold which I read back in April (review here: April Reads. Visitors come to a small basement café in Japan, curious about rumours that the café can help you travel in time. Travellers must follow rules: You can only meet someone who has been to the cafe (or will be there if travelling to the future); you may not leave your seat; your visit will not change the past or future in any way; and you must finish your coffee before it gets cold.

This book – like the first – is not really about time travel.  It is a collection of stories about loss, grief, unfinished business, curiosity, family: people who despite the rules wish to see someone one last time.  I cried the whole way through.  There is quite a bit of repetition in the book but I think this is due to the short story collection style.  There is real development of characters and fans of book one will be interested to learn a bit more about key characters.

Home Stretch – Graham Norton

This novel follows the fallout of a horrific accident devastating a small Irish community over a period of 32 years.

As the host of Eurovision, Graham Norton is obviously a legend in my eyes.  Turns out he’s a fantastic novelist too! He builds characters you really care about and there’s a real sense of catharsis in his subject choices. This novel made me weep, as did the acknowledgements.

That’s all from me this month! I’m off to finish my First Ever (yes, really) Agatha Christie. It’s so good! See you soon ❤