Anyone else think the months are flying by?! I can't quite believe we're already in April and it's time to talk about the books I read in March. It genuinely feels like a few days ago when I was talking about books from February. I can't say I'm sad that the days seem to be going by quite quickly at the moment though. I mentioned last month how much I struggled with the latest lockdown and now we're officially out of it (I think?) and better times are coming, it feels like a weight has been lifted. I'm definitely not reading at the speed I was last year just because I've been so busy with Bear's Brownies and More and generally life has been a little stressful so it just hasn't been on my radar but there's still loads of time to reach my goal for the year. In March I managed to read 5 books so here's what I thought of them!
My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon - ⭐⭐⭐
It had been quite a while since I'd last read a Jane Fallon book and after becoming really picky with thrillers which is one of my fave genres, I thought I'd go for something completely different and also from an author I always enjoy. My Sweet Revenge follows Paula who wants to make her husband fall back in love with her. She's discovered he's been having an affair so goes on a mission to revamp herself, so when she confronts him, he'll realise what he's lost. While this wasn't my fave book by Jane, it did give me the reading bug back a little. It was such an easy read and I loved how snappy the chapters were, nothing felt like it was dragging and there was a good twist towards the end which I didn't expect! I didn't initially like that she set out to lose weight and change herself for a man but I do think as the book goes on and she gains confidence that it does become more about her finding herself which I liked.
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ahh I really enjoyed this! I've read a few books by Mhairi McFarlane before, my favourite being You Had Me At Hello so I had just been waiting for this to be on offer on Kindle. If I Never Met You is about Laurie and Jamie, who to all of their work colleagues look madly in love. The reality is though that it's all staged. Laurie has just been dumped by Dan, her boyfriend of 18 years who she'll still have to work with & she wants revenge. Jamie is after a promotion and knows how much the bosses admire Laurie. Why not join forces? The rules are set via email, the photos are staged but over time do the feelings become real? I loved the tension between Laurie and Jamie almost instantly and whilst it might have been quite predictable how it would end, I still loved it. I felt Laurie's pain when Dan quickly moves on & she felt like a character I could really root for. I hope there's a short story follow up one day as I'd love to know what happens to Laurie and Jamie next.
The Perfect Nanny by Karen Clarke & Amanda Brittany* - ⭐⭐⭐
The first thriller of March and I really enjoyed it. The Perfect Nanny follows Sophy, a new mother whose struggling with looking after her nine month old, an overbearing mother in law and feeling like she's lost herself since becoming a mother. After bumping into Liv at a mother and baby group who offers her services as a nanny, Sophie is relieved. The thing is Liv has a secret. For years she has been convinced Sophy is responsible for her brother's death many years ago and now she's found her, she's going to make her pay. As Liv starts to work for Sophy though, has she actually got it all wrong? I have read books quite similar to this before so parts of it were quite predictable but overall it did keep me guessing throughout. I liked that we hear from both Sophy and Liv throughout and all of the characters were quite complex so I was never quite sure who to trust. I enjoyed the twists that are revealed towards the end too!
The Catch by T.M. Logan - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the second book I've read by T.M. Logan. I read his previous book The Holiday a while ago and to be honest I wasn't that impressed so I wasn't sure if this would end up being similar. It was SO different though and for that reason so much better and it's become my second 5 star book of the year. I've been so picky with thrillers recently but this was genuinely tense, kept me guessing throughout and had some really interesting characters involved. The Catch is about Ed's quest to figure out who his daughter's fiance Ryan really is. From the moment he meets Ryan, he's suspicious and knows that something is not quite right. Everyone else thinks Ed is just being an overprotective dad so the more he digs into Ryan's past, the more he pushes everyone else away. Has Ed got it all wrong or is Ryan actually dangerous? and who will come out top in the end? This was just everything you want in a psychological thriller. As soon as you think you trust a character, the next minute something happens that completely changes your opinion. The setting of the Peak District was perfect too & I could picture everything so clearly and the writing itself just flowed perfectly. When I read The Holiday, I thought the writing was a bit clunky and I just couldn't comfortably sit and read a lot of it in one go but I could with this. A really brilliant book.
The Shape Of Us by Drew Davies - ⭐⭐
The Shape Of Us is about several different characters all going about their day in London whose lives end up colliding in ways they never expected. Daisy, rushing to work is almost knocked over by a cyclist who then asks for her number. Jojo, a woman in her sixties is desperately trying to win her husband back from his mistress. Adam lies to his housemate every day since losing his job. Dylan has an illness which means he can't leave his home, but it hasn't stopped him falling in love. These four strangers have one thing in common, they're looking for love and totally hopeless at it. But could that all change? This started off really well and I quite quickly became really invested in Daisy's story and her chapters were the ones I always ended up looking forward to. About a quarter of the way in though I felt like the pace really changed and I found it a bit of a slog to get through after that. There are so many characters throughout that it became a bit too complicated trying to keep track of who was who and how they were connected. I'm glad I finally read this as it's been on my list for a while but it didn't blow me away.
A bit of a disappointing end to the month but overall quite a good month for books! My first five star book in a while and a nice variety which kept things interesting. I'd love to know if you've read any of these books or if you have any recommendations?
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2 comments
The Catch sounds like a really interesting read, thank you for sharing these choices. I love understanding the books that others enjoy x
The only one here I've read is the Jane Fallon book and that was years ago. I really enjoyed it when I read it but I think if I was to re-read it now I'd find it a bit problematic!
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