The first month of of the year is always filled with such promise and excitement over what is in store for the next 12 months. In the literary world it is a promise of new and wonderful releases and perhaps one or two new authors making their debut, which makes a reader like me very happy. This year I have also joined an online bookclub , The Girly Bookclub, that has members from across the globe which I am sure will make for interesting monthly picks. I have also pledged to read 110 books in 2021 through My Book Pledge, which I have done for the past 8 years, never quite making it to 110. With that said I have a lot of reading to do and I could not be happier! Let's dig in to the list for January ...
The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
As you may have guessed by now I am a big fan of murder mystery series(s). I love to see character development and how they evolve in each installment. This is another first in a series for me, I have read a couple of stand alone books by the author and enjoyed them. This series revolves around a forensic archeologist who gets pulled into helping the police when bones are found on a digging site. As she gets deeper into the mystery we learn more about her character, female of a certain age who has a mysterious past of her own. The book was enjoyable and easy to read with likable characters. I already have the next one on hold.
Rating: 4/5
The Red Book of Primrose House by Marty Wingate
This is the second book in the garden plot series by the author. Although I was intrigued enough by the first book to continue on I don't think I will be going further with this series. The story continues a few months after the first book leaves off and the protagonist is starting her new role as the head gardener for Primrose House. As she is in the midst of transforming the garden to its former glory she is sidelined by a murder mystery on the property. For me the book lacked the fast paced plot that I enjoy and perhaps focused too much and the relationship between the main character and love interest, which would be fine if it was a romance book but I was after a mystery.
Rating: 2.5/5
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
I listened to the audiobook for this selection, although I found it slow at the onset, boy oh boy I was drawn in and held captive in the best kind of way. Based on the true story of the Pack Horse Library Initiative, we follow the stories of these amazing women who believed that everyone should get a chance to enjoy a good book and expand their minds. Given the time period it was not a very popular view and the women faced much controversy on a daily basis. These women however were made of stern stock and the way that they handled even the toughest critics was something to behold. Needless to say I adored this book.
Rating: 5/5
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
This is only the second novel I have read by Kristin Hannah but I am starting to see why she gets such high praise for writing. I was transported to Alaska and became immersed in the landscape and the story of the young girl who is brought there by her parents looking for a new start. The scenery and climate were no match for the intense mental struggle that plagued her war veteran father as PTSD ravaged his thoughts, turning him into a violent man. The relationship between the characters is what drives this story as you follow the ups and downs of the family along with the coming of age of the young girl, all while navigating life in the often inhospitable terrain.
Rating: 4/5
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
This was the first selection for 2021 by the aforementioned book club, The Girly Book Club. The synopsis sounded great, a hunt to track down the whereabouts of 2 young girls that go missing. Another intriguing thing was that it was based in Russia and I have never read a contemporary mystery set there before, so needless to say I was eager to dive in. The sad part is that I found the whole thing disjointed and not terribly engrossing. I did however enjoy learning more about life in Russia so there was that.
Rating: 2/5
I Owe you One by Sophie Kinsella
I am going to start by saying that this was my least favorite of Ms. Kinsella's books, with that being said it was still a cute read. For the me the problem was the main character, I couldn't warm to her. She was, in my opinion, very flighty. Now I know that can be an endearing character flaw in some stories but it missed the mark for me. Premise of this one is that the main characters meet and get caught up in a game of IOU, during which the main character comes to several life changing realizations.
Rating: 3/5
The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
This book turned out to have a much more serious undertone than I originally thought when I read the synopsis and it made me enjoy it all the more. We follow a socially inept young woman who works in a bookshop with a mysterious past that we find about gradually. During her revelations she is courted by a young poet who brings out a more playful side to her character. This was a nice coming of age story with a melodramatic twist.
Rating: 3.5/5
Interesting plot from an always engaging author. A young woman goes missing and we learn the story from the different points of view of main suspects. Not all is as it seems as a few red herrings are thrown in the mix to make you think. A twisty and pleasurable read.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Schoolmistress by Tess Thompson
This was a longshot read. As you can imagine I follow a few, read loads, of authors on social media and I enjoy finding out who they read when they aren't writing. This author is one of those finds, and this particular book sounded like a good place to start. It turned out to be a very predictable historical romance, but I found myself drawn in to the story. A young teacher goes to a small newly developed town to teach the local children at the request of the widowed town benefactor and what follows is a lovely tale reminiscent of The Sound of Music.
Rating: 2.5/5
The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
This story had one of the cutest plots. A group of misfit people are brought together after finding a notebook entitled The Authenticity Project, in it are stories of those who found the book before them. The idea of the book is to write down your authentic story, your wants and likes. In doing so each character finds more about themselves by being honest with themselves. I really enjoyed how each character grew during the story and where they each found themselves by the end.
Rating: 4/5
So ends the first months round up. I hope you enjoy these posts and find some great reads in the process!
Happy Reading!
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