Recent Reads; isolation edition.
You
know how on holiday you somehow read wayyyy
more
books than you normally would? Well, it transpires that isolation has
the same kind of effect on my mind. When I haven’t been crying,
video chatting, doing the most ridiculously tedious
tasks,
playing Sims 4 or doing the washing up – I’ve
been climbing out a
window
onto my neighbour’s roof to read in
the sunshine.
(The
above photo
is slightly blurred because I took it in a rush before
running these books downstairs to Mama when she popped round for
doorstep/pavement hang time –
I’m
trying to move books out of my little flat as soon as I’ve read
them, to save space… ignoring the fact that I still have
at least 3 hefty boxes of unread books at the parents’.)
Now,
here’s the thing. I flew through these books, and as there are so
many of them, I really can’t do a full-length review of
each one. That said, there will be another
fabulous post about Boy
Queen with
exclusive author content – but you have to wait a couple more
months for that!
I
recently read a perfect succinct collection of reviews by one of my
favourites in my little blog world, Lauren Evie, and it’s inspired
me to not agonise over the plot summaries or pad out my opinions –
I’m just going to give you the facts.
So
get on with it, G!! Okay
then…
Our Stop, by Laura Jane
Williams.
I’d
been meaning to read this one for ages; it’s a very sweet and
clever love story about a man and a woman who sometimes get the same
tube, but keep missing each other and only talking via old school
personal ads. The twists and turns got so frustrating at times, but
in a good way. Y’know? I don’t want to spoil anything, so please
see my full Goodreads review here if you want to know what I thought
of the ending.
We
All Looked Up,
by
Tommy Wallach.
A
US YA story about the world facing imminent doom, and people going
mad waiting for it to kick off. Sound familiar? Some vivid
characters, interesting plot lines and arcs for each of them, but
really quite dark and a little too dramatic for me, in places. But
then some sentences made me feel things.
The
Lonely Fajita,
by Abigail Mann.
This
was actually the first one I read when my isolation started, and I’ll
admit it did take a bit of getting into, because the story was such a
downer to begin with. Elissa is dealt a shitty hand in life, and she
needs to sort things out ASAP. After she is forced to leave the flat
she shared with her ex, she makes the impulsive decision to move in
with an older woman, rent-free. A very cute tale.
A Sky Painted Gold,
by Laura Wood.
A
true joy to read, and can easily be gobbled up in less than 24 hours.
I loved the journey to the 1920s, and how it wasn’t the usual
flapper girl city story we normally get from that era; it was based
in dreamy Cornwall, and
it
wasn’t all romance and friendship dramas, there was also a great
story of sisterly relationships.
I
got this proof ages ago, and I’m so ashamed it’s taken me this
long to read it. Someone was kind enough to send me a copy of her
second book after they heard I liked this one, though, so I’ll be
on that one ASAP.
Boy Queen, by George Lester.
I
don’t think anything could have prepared me for the huge joy I felt
when the lovely George announced he had a book coming out. And
the fact that it was about a young man who found himself in the world
of drag? That was the perfect cherry on top. The
story was beautiful, warm and glitterific. Highly recommend, not just for drag fans, but for anyone in need of a good lift.
(I was fortunate enough to get a proof from My Kinda Book - that in no way affects my opinion that it was truly fabulous. Pre-order now!)
The Vanishing Stair and The Hand on the Wall, by
Maureen Johnson (parts 2 & 3 of her recent Truly Devious trilogy).
You
know when you need a good book to just fall
into because
life is A Bit Much? And you know how murder mysteries are perfect for
that kind of thing? Well, it turns out US YA murder mysteries, with a
full cast of quirky characters, set in a beautiful old boarding
school up in the Vermont mountains, are the very best for escapism
and fascination. Especially when they’re written by the genius
author of the Shades of London series.
That’s what I hear, anyway.
There we go, folks. My first few reads in isolation! If you want to see what I'm reading next, or read more of my reviews, head over to my Goodreads account. What have you been reading in this lockdown period? I'm open to all recommendations! Comment below, or tweet me please.
Book title links are all for A Great Read, a lovely family run online
bookshop who offer amazing discounts on current bestsellers, and free
delivery. They are also affiliate links, so thank you in advance!
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