With Christmas came book vouchers so this happy little bookworm skipped off to Waterstones to pick out even more new reads to add to the reading pile that is gradually stacking up in our bedroom. I had some great books given to me for Christmas so I decided to pick up a bit of everything with my vouchers including one I've wanted to read for so long... Daisy and The Six.
Daisy and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I think I've seen just about everyone read and rave about this in 2019 so as it's now on paperback, I picked a copy up. I'm not a lover of hardback books so I've been hanging on patiently and I can't wait to get stuck in.
"For a while, Daisy Jones & The Six were everywhere. Their albums were on every turntable, they sold out arenas from coast to coast, their sound defined an era. And then, on 12 July 1979, they split. Nobody ever knew why. Until now.
They were lovers and friends and brothers and rivals. They couldn't believe their luck until it ran out. This is their story of the early days and the wild nights, but everyone remembers the truth differently.
The only thing they all know for sure is that from the moment Daisy Jones walked barefoot, on to the stage at the Whisky, the band were irrevocably changed. Making music is never just about the music. And sometimes it can be hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin."
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
This was Waterstone's Book of the Month August 2019 but it has never been one I've been drawn too. I needed one more book and nothing else was jumping out at me so I took a chance and I'm hoping it lives up to the reviews. The gorgeous cover may have helped sway my decision a little too!
"1826, and all of London is in a frenzy. Crowds gather at the gates of the Old Bailey to watch as Frannie Langton, maid to Mr and Mrs Benham, goes on trial for their murder. The testimonies against her are damning - slave, whore, seductress. And they may be the truth. But they are not the whole truth.
For the first time Frannie must tell her story. It begins with a girl learning to read on a plantation in Jamaica, and it ends in a grand house in London, where a beautiful woman waits to be freed.
But through her fevered confessions, one burning question haunts Frannie Langton: could she have murdered the only person she ever loved?"
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
I saw a lot about Things in Jars over Christmas as there was a read-a-long taking place so I had this on my list after reading a few reviews. I'm trying to step out of my reading genre comfort zone, even more, this year and this seemed the perfect way to do so.
"London, 1863. Bridie Devine, the finest female detective of her age, is taking on her toughest case yet. Reeling from her last job and with her reputation in tatters, a remarkable puzzle has come her way. Christabel Berwick has been kidnapped. But Christabel is no ordinary child. She is not supposed to exist. As Bridie fights to recover the stolen child she enters a world of fanatical anatomists, crooked surgeons and mercenary showmen. Anomalies are in fashion, curiosities are the thing, and fortunes are won and lost in the name of entertainment. The public love a spectacle and Christabel may well prove the most remarkable spectacle London has ever seen. Things in Jars is an enchanting Victorian detective novel that explores what it is to be human in inhumane times."
Tangerine by Christine Mangan
I was recommended this by a member of staff while I was mooching around and as soon as I read the blurb I knew it would be something I'd lap up. I've been told it's a slow start but that it's totally worth sticking with it so we shall see! I'm really looking forward to getting through this one.
"The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the horrific accident at Bennington, the two friends - once inseparable roommates - haven't spoken in over a year. But Lucy is standing there, trying to make things right.
Perhaps Alice should be happy. She has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy, always fearless and independent, helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country.
But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice - she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice's husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind."
War Doctor by David Nott
War Doctor is one I've had on my list for most of last year, I love medical-based books and I'd heard brilliant albeit heartwrenching reviews about this one.
"For more than twenty-five years, David Nott has taken unpaid leave from his job as a general and vascular surgeon with the NHS to volunteer in some of the world's most dangerous war zones. From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out life-saving operations and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital.
The conflicts he has worked in form a chronology of twenty-first-century combat: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Gaza and Syria. But he has also volunteered in areas blighted by natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal.
Driven both by compassion and passion, the desire to help others and the thrill of extreme personal danger, he is now widely acknowledged to be the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world. But as time went on, David Nott began to realize that flying into a catastrophe - whether war or natural disaster - was not enough. Doctors on the ground needed to learn how to treat the appalling injuries that war inflicts upon its victims. Since 2015, the foundation he set up with his wife, Elly, has disseminated the knowledge he has gained, training other doctors in the art of saving lives threatened by bombs and bullets."
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
I think I need to owe all my book inspiration to Instagram at the moment as this is another one that has been doing the rounds. The plot really reminds me of An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena so I'm really intrigued to see how this plays out.
In a remote hunting lodge, deep in the Scottish wilderness, old friends gather for New Year.
The beautiful oneThe golden coupleThe volatile oneThe new parentsThe quiet oneThe city boyThe outsider
The victim.
Not an accident - a murder among friends.
What have you been picking up recently? I'm always open to more recommendations!
