26ish books 2026

Just realised that the Nightingale was actually book 15 as I read My husbands wife by Alice Feeney just before. Great book to read on the train.

14- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

I have never cried so much while reading a book. I think it may take a while to get over but I’m now trying Liars by Katherine Fleet (looks like an easy non heavy read which is what I need!).

Book 15 - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
This was excellent. It needed a bit of understanding at first as you plunge straight into the story but once I'd sorted out who was who I couldn't put it down.

Morning :)
Books read so far:
(1) The French for Christmas by Fiona Valpy
(2) The Outside Boy by Jeannie Cummins
(3) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
(4) All the Broken Places by John Boyne
(5) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
(6) Crooked Branch by Jeannie Cummins
(7) Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
(8) Never Lie by Frieda McFadden
(9) All Her Fault by Andrea Mara (Audio book)
(10) The Locked Door by Frieda McFadden
(11) All the Light We Cannot See by By Anthony Doer
(12) The Book of Lost Names' by Kristin Harmel
(13) The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel
(14) The Names by Florence Knapp
(15) The Stationary Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
(16) Her Husband's Lover by Patricia Crouch
(17) Here One Moment by Liane Moriarity

Latest book.......

(18) The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas

Description taken from the internet.....

She’s sure her new neighbours – the Morgans – are planning a crime.

Her family say she’s mistaken.
They are a lovely, friendly couple.
She should forget it.

Yet Lena can’t.

And the more she investigates,
the worse her suspicions.

But Lena hasn’t counted on one thing.

A secret from her own past. One the Morgans seem connected to.

And which puts Lena in terrible danger . . .

Meh - another easy to read unrealistic book - maybe I need to start reading some non-fiction books.

Onto the next
Happy reading everyone

15. The Boy From The Sea by Garrett Carr. This novel was incredibly satisfying, the type you itch to get back to then end up reading for longer than you intended. Set in Ireland in a small fishing community it starts in the early 1970s when a local man finds a baby on the beach. A couple with a young son take him in but the boys don't gel and the novel follows them over the next couple of decades. Also on the scene are maternal aunt and grandfather in the next house, and the chorus of locals. And the landscape.

Told from the perspective of an unamed narrator who is one of the locals it's beautifully written in a colloquial style, as if you are being sat down and told a long tale.

There are lots of funny turns of phrase too, such as grandfather whose daughters are not getting on going "into waiting mode". In the pub an "alternative lifestyler" "caused a terrible disturbance one evening by pulling a tin whistle from her sleeve and playing it. No offense was meant, she probably thought we liked that sort of thing. It drove Manus McManus to go sit in the lounge and later he returned like an explorer, telling us that the lounge was actually quite pleasant."

I was exactly the same with this book! Slogged my way through it over about 2 months. Wish I hadn’t bothered. Especially when the only likeable character was killed off! My DH really enjoyed it though 🤷‍♀️

25 The Hallmarked Man - Robert Galbraith
The latest Cormoran Strike. I wait until these come out in paperback, otherwise it would seem like lifting weights...
I don't think this was one of the better ones in the series but I will still read them, as it's their personal lives that I enjoy. I hate the phonetic dialogue, however, as well as the confusing nicknames they give their clients/targets. I also wonder why as a detective agency they seem so outdated in terms of technology - handwritten note taking, as an example.

DNF: Cop Town by Karin Slaughter - set in 1974 America this was very raw and brutal in the way it depicted the racism and sexism of the time, I found it a bit intense, I’m sure the story is worth reading as it has many great reviews

Book 27: It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell
loved this, and the links to Don’t Let Him In. Really good well written characters with interwoven stories.

2026 books so far:
then she was gone
beautiful ugly
the intruder
the shadowman
the family upstairs
Rock Paper Scissors
The Family Remains
The House we Grew up in
It Should Have Been You
Dont Let Him In
Daisy Darker
Someone In The Attic
The Tenant
One Click
The Other Side Of The Wall
No One Saw A Thing
Ward D
My Husband’s Wife
The Silent Patient
The Night She Disappeared
The Divorce
Hide And Seek
None Of This Is True
I Found You
Such A Nice Girl
The Couple Next Door

17 - Female, Nude - Rhiannon Lucy Cosett
I am on holiday and this was intended as a fairly easy read - which is was! The main character isn’t terribly likeable but some interesting themes are explored as well as some complex female relationships

Book 14 Midnight in Vienna by Jane Thyme. A thriller that did not thrill me. Unbelievable characters and unbelievable coincidences. I know you should suspend disbelief but this was tiresome. Only finished because I was on a five hour train journey and had nothing else with me.

I read this a couple of years ago, picked it up in a charity shop on holiday and it was such good fun. Passed it on to a friend who said the same. 😄

24 The Names by Florence Knapp

This has been recommended several times on this thread and I'm so glad it was. Loved this book, great writing and interesting story as a concept. It took several months to arrive at the library, but it was worth the wait.

11 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A fantastic holiday read!
Covers the glitz and glamour (or not) of Hollywood and some deep topics such as sexuality, race and relationships.
love TJRs writing style (my first book of hers) - so easy to read and a great page turner.

A solid 4 out of 5

47 Lost Lambs by Madeleine Cash. A bit weird frankly though I liked some of the characters even though they were strange.
48 The River has Roots by Amal el-Mohtar. Too clever for its own good, very Emperor's New Clothes.

14. The Is Where The Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin. I persevered with this because a friend lent it to me but it didn't gel. Set over decades and following first an orphan, then a well off couple, then a servant living in Pakistan. It does all tie up but if any character had dropped dead next sentence I wouldn't have cared. I was reading it thinking "where is this going?" "How will these strands be tied up?" And the writing style didn't gel with me it was just awkward. All in all I wasn't absorbed by it or interested or invested.

That said I can fully see the merits and could easily imagine someone else loving it. Maybe I just haven't been in the right mood or frame of mind.

22 The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia This is quite a long book, it goes around in circles a bit. It is reasonable interesting but it lacked a little something for me and I had to push on to finish it. Many would find this very pleasant and enjoyable.

Morning :)
Books read so far:
(1) The French for Christmas by Fiona Valpy
(2) The Outside Boy by Jeannie Cummins
(3) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
(4) All the Broken Places by John Boyne
(5) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
(6) Crooked Branch by Jeannie Cummins
(7) Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell
(8) Never Lie by Frieda McFadden
(9) All Her Fault by Andrea Mara (Audio book)
(10) The Locked Door by Frieda McFadden
(11) All the Light We Cannot See by By Anthony Doer
(12) The Book of Lost Names' by Kristin Harmel
(13) The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel
(14) The Names by Florence Knapp
(15) The Stationary Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
(16) Her Husband's Lover by Patricia Crouch

Latest book....

(17) Here One Moment by Liane Moriarity

Description taken from AI: During a delayed flight from Hobart to Sydney, a seemingly ordinary woman (later revealed to be Cherry) walks down the aircraft aisle and stops at each seat. Without asking, she bluntly informs every passenger of the exact age and manner of their impending death. While some dismiss her as a lunatic, the passengers are thrown into chaos when one of the chilling predictions tragically comes true!

I really loved this book - grew to care about each character and what would become of them - definitely recommend!

Onto the next

Happy reading everyone :)

23 Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

I tried, I really did, but I just couldn't get into it. I found the writing style really flat and it had my pet hate, no speech marks! Half the time, I couldn't even work out which character was talking. It had all the hallmarks of a good read, it was set in 1970's Northern Ireland where a Catholic woman had an affair with a married Protestant, but not for me I'm afraid.

I'm very excited now though to move onto The Names - it's been on order from the library for months.

Posted ages ago and disappeared.

1. Peaches for monsieur le curé by Joanne Harris
2. Allen Carr easy way
3. The sirens by Emilia Hart
4. The compound by Aisling Rule
5. Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
6. Where the Crawdads sing by Delia Owens
7. The other wife by Michael Robotham
8. The life impossible by Matt Haig
9. For richer for poorer by Danielle Steel
10. The weekend by T M Logan
11. Wild by Kristin Hannah
12. Summer island by Kristin Hannah
13. The midnight train by Matt Haig

Currently reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah which I’m really enjoying.

21 Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd This is a spy thriller. I don't read many spy novels as I find they have tension but are quite boring. This one is pretty good. I am still working out Boyd's writing style. The main character is a travel writer and at times Boyd has another character taking the mick out of the character's very wordy and descriptive writing style. I found this amusing and wondered if Boyd was doing it to show he can write like that but choses not too (because Boyd's style is not flowery at all)?

I have that on my waitlist @Citygirlrurallife - but won't get it for ages - we'll see if I like it or not!

26 The Correspondent - Virgini Evans

i feel like this kind of central character is a bit overdone now, the stubborn, brilliant woman in her dotage who has to find the soft center of her heart before she dies. Reminded me a lot of the Lucy Barton series. But I still enjoyed this book, I liked the letter writing aspect and reveal of lifelong relationships, I especially loved how human and vulnerable the central character gradually became. Probably - 4 out of 5 for me (or a 3.75 if that’s a thing!)

@Twinsybalinsy last year I read everything I started but I regret finishing The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - according to Goodreads it was the longest book I read last year and it's hours I'll never get back 😫. I think that sometimes it's better to put a book aside and come back to it after a few months and sometimes you just really need to stop.

10 Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
Cassandra gets dumped and fired in the same day - then discovers she has the power to time travel, to go back in time and change things...

I found this easy to read, light hearted and funny. Lots of references to autism - and Greek myth!
Nothing too radical or life changing but a good read.

3 stars out of 5

16 - One of us by Elizabeth Day
I enjoyed this very much, well written and easy to read with fictional political characters not too far removed from some of our own in very recent history! An interesting look at revenge, desire for power and complex relationships